Chapter 017: The Past

“Karu, I admit I made some mistakes in certain matters, but it’s not enough to send Basha to his death just for that. Basha is the only son of your own aunt,” said the Dwarf King with some sorrow.
“Hmph! If we don’t get rid of Basha, your shadows will keep haunting the Dwarf race. Without eliminating Basha, how can we restore the glory of our Dodge family?” Karu said snortingly.
“Karu!” This time, Basha no longer called him “Cousin Karu.” “Is this why you’re dealing with me? Was it really your intention to tell me the Golden Dragon’s resting place so you could use it to kill me? And did you follow me to the Divine Ruins to take the chance to kill me as well?” Basha shouted.
“Haha, exactly! Have you figured it out now, my dear Cousin Basha?” Hearing Basha say this, Karu simply admitted it all.
“Third brother, it seems your guesses are all correct,” Basha said gloomily.
“Dufan, hmph! If not for you, this fool would have been killed by me long ago. It’s ridiculous! I’ve been scheming to get rid of him, yet this fool still affectionately calls me ‘Cousin Karu’. How foolish!” Karu suddenly burst into laughter.
“Karu, since we’re here, you should know that your so-called Dodge alliance, with tribes like the Bilu and Tata, has already been defeated, right?” Dufan ignored Basha’s words and directly mentioned that the Dodge alliance had been defeated.
“As long as I’m still here, even if they’re defeated, what does it matter? Just think—once I kill you all here, and then lead the Dodge tribe’s army, what can stop me among the Dwarves?” Karu said.
“Karu, I remember you’re only at the Saint level. Why can you confront both the Dwarf King and the Grand Commander?” Dufan asked again.
“Haha, Dufan, I have to thank you for that!” Karu laughed loudly.
It seemed that Karu wasn’t nervous at all surrounded by everyone.
“Filer,” Karu called out the Dwarf King’s name directly. “Do you know? The position of Dwarf King should indeed be held by someone from our Dodge family. You should know that our direct Dodge lineage carries the blood of the Sun God,” Karu said.
“Nonsense! How could you possibly have the blood of the Sun God!” Leibao shouted from the side.

“Leibao, you’re just a mere figure in this realm—how much can you possibly know? Hmph, Du Fan. This is all thanks to you! Back then, forced by circumstances, I entered the Divine Ruins and followed you all the way into the Green Mountains,” Karu began to say tactfully.

“Haha, indeed, we owe you our thanks. If not for you paving the way ahead, how could I have entered the Green Mountains?” Karu continued, laughing heartily.

“The deity I met in the Green Mountains immediately saw that I carried the bloodline of the Sun God. Moreover, the deity guarding that place was actually one of the Sun God’s subordinates. So, I didn’t even need to fight—I was protected by him. Not only that, but he also gave me some divine essence, and it was even the essence of a mid-tier god! Furthermore, that deity helped refine my divine essence, instantly raising my cultivation to the peak level of a lower-tier god,” Karu said with a smile.

Hearing Bashaa’s words, Du Fan began to believe it. In the Supreme God Temple, Du Fan had indeed seen a deity pour its essence into a dwarf’s body. It seemed that deity was the Sun God, and that dwarf was the ancestor of the Dodge family.

“Karu, since you carry the bloodline of the Sun God, why did you still stir up civil war among the dwarves? Don’t you know that almost all dwarves are descendants of the Sun God?” Du Fan asked seriously.

“Haha, Du Fan, it seems you know something after all. Indeed, the dwarves were created by the Sun God. But just as the Supreme God created humans, do ordinary human lives really matter in the eyes of the Supreme God?” Karu laughed loudly.

Karu’s words made sense. The dwarves were indeed created by the Sun God, but would the Sun God care about the lives of these ordinary dwarves?

“Only those in our Dodge family who are direct descendants possess the noble bloodline of the Sun God. Phile, don’t you think, based on this alone, I’m more qualified to sit on the throne of the dwarves than you?” Karu suddenly said to the Dwarf King.

Phile remained silent at this moment, but Du Fan took over the conversation. “Karu, that statement of yours is completely wrong. Yes, even if you carry the bloodline of the Sun God, since you started a civil war among the dwarves as soon as you left the Divine Ruins, you’re not worthy of being their king,” Du Fan declared firmly.

“Du Fan, how dare you say I’m not fit to be the king of the dwarves?” Karu said angrily upon hearing Du Fan’s words.
“That’s right, Karu. The king of the dwarves must consider the interests of the entire dwarf race. It’s not enough just because you have the bloodline of the Sun God and are at the peak of a lower god’s power to become their king. Look at you—when your cultivation improves, instead of thinking about bringing benefits to the dwarves, your first reaction is to use your suddenly increased power to seize the throne of the dwarf king. Karu, do you know how many dwarves have died because of your actions? With such self-interest and complete disregard for the welfare of ordinary dwarves, how can they accept you as their king?” Du Fan said firmly.
“Du Fan, you say that about me, but didn’t Phile also rise to the position of dwarf king thanks to his divine-level cultivation? Did he ever care about others’ feelings? If it weren’t for him trampling on many people’s interests, why would the Bilu and Tata tribes be willing to join my cavalry against him?” Karu retorted immediately.
“Karu, His Highness Phile may have violated the interests of a few people, but his actions were done for the benefit of the majority of dwarves. Sacrificing the interests of a few for the greater good is precisely what considering the interests of the entire dwarf race entails. But you, on the other hand, only care about your own interests and trample on everyone else’s,” Du Fan said to Karu.
“Hmph, what did Phile do? To form his Black Panther Knights, he seized countless assets by force. To cover those huge expenses, he took over many tribal treasures,” Karu said disdainfully.
“Karu, without the Black Panther Knights, how could the dwarf race have remained uninvaded by foreign forces for so many years? And think about it—didn’t the wealth gathered by His Highness Phile come from those at the top of your so-called dwarf race? The mines he acquired were also from wealthy tribes. His Highness did this for the benefit of all dwarves, that’s why he established the Black Panther Knights. As for funding, he targeted wealthy individuals and tribes, thereby narrowing the wealth gap among dwarves. Isn’t that also for the benefit of the majority?” Du Fan said earnestly.

“Du Fan, I never expected it—someone who understands me the most is actually a human.” Hearing Du Fan say this, the Dwarf King sighed.
“Haha, Phile, you can’t say that. Old friend, if I hadn’t rushed over at the critical moment, you would likely have died at Karu’s hands by now,” the Grand Commander said with a laugh.
Seeing the Grand Commander like this, Du Fan smiled slightly. In his eyes, the Grand Commander should have been a rival to the Dwarf King—if not a rival, then at least not a friend.
But it seemed the two of them were not only friends but also close comrades!
At the Dwarf King’s most desperate moment, the Grand Commander had stepped in to help.
“Grand Commander, I, Karu, will remember this favor! If not for your intervention, I would have already killed Phile. By now, I would have unified the dwarf tribes. Grand Commander, remember this—once I get out, you beasts of the magical world, huh, I won’t let you live in peace ever again,” Karu said coldly.
Here’s how it happened: That day, after coming out of the Divine Ruins, Karu returned to Grass City right away, arranged the ambush on Basha, and then began coordinating with the Bilu and Tata tribes. Du Fan chose these two tribes because they had always shown dissatisfaction with the Dwarf King, and they were both quite strong. More importantly, both tribes had many experts at the Sacred level. Under Karu’s temptation and the threat of his godly power, these two tribes were firmly tied to the Dodge Tribe’s cause.
Given their usual attitude toward the Dwarf King, these tribes surely knew that once they chose to oppose him, it would be a fight to the death.
So, in their subsequent battles against Basha and his army, they fought with all their might.
After securing allies and making military arrangements, Karu went straight for the Dwarf King, intending to kill him outright. It could be said that Karu’s approach was perfectly correct—the Dwarf King was the spiritual pillar supporting all the dwarves who backed him. Once news of his death spread, Karu could easily imagine that those armies opposing him would immediately collapse!

But just as Karu had completely subdued the Dwarf King and was about to kill him, the Grand Commander received a distress signal from the Dwarf King, arriving at the most critical moment. Seeing the Grand Commander, Karu was also greatly surprised! Initially, Basha had intended to approach the Grand Commander to discuss how to deal with the Dwarf King, but unfortunately, Karu never met the Grand Commander himself; instead, he only met the Second Commander. After making some promises, that Second Commander of the magical beasts happily agreed to Karu’s request to help deal with Basha’s side. However, the Second Commander had one condition: he would participate in the Dwarf clan’s internal strife in a personal capacity, without involving the magical beasts at all. The Second Commander strictly followed the Grand Commander’s orders and would never allow the magical beasts to interfere in the Dwarf clan’s internal affairs. It is said that such an agreement was a bilateral pact signed between the Dwarf King and the Grand Commander.