Stanley finally spoke up, barely suppressing the urge to interrupt. “Your Majesty, allow me to handle it.”

Li De raised an eyebrow. “You have an idea?”

Stanley's eyes lit up with eagerness. "The dungeons of the Evening Bell Church house hundreds of torture devices. I doubt anyone could keep a secret when faced with those."

As a textbook example of an evil being, Stanley had no psychological burden whatsoever. Torture was nothing to him. He had even dismembered people to offer them as sacrifices to evil gods.

But Grot abruptly cut him off, his tone carrying a strange nuance. "Your Grace, torture devices will have little effect on prying open a dwarf’s mouth.

Dwarves have extremely unique physiology. They possess a strong resistance to pain. Moreover, their stubborn nature makes them utterly fearless in the face of torture.

I’ve never heard of anyone extracting information from a dwarf through interrogation."

After saying this, he glanced at Stanley. The latter opened his mouth to argue, but ultimately just nodded toward Li De, acknowledging the truth of Grot's words.

"There’s an old saying passed among bards in Glory: ‘Only a dragon’s breath can change an elf’s arrogance or a dwarf’s stubbornness.’"

Dragon's breath? Li De was momentarily stunned, and then his expression turned sour. Damn it, is that saying they’d have to be killed first?

"Is there really no way to make them talk?? Is there a soul-controlling spell or anything??"

Li De was getting frustrated. He had already prepared to face off against an army of over ten thousand beastmen, yet now he was being thwarted by two dwarf captives.

This was intolerable for someone like Li De, who was used to having the wind at his back.

He had crushed the seemingly invincible Dark Pact when it was at full strength, he refused to believe that two dwarves could now render him helpless.

Stanley shook his head. "Your Grace, dwarves are naturally highly resistant to soul and mental spells. Most mind magic is ineffective against them."

He paused, then added with a strange expression, "Unless… you can have a Transcendent mage cast the spell."

Li De nearly gave the order right then to have those stubborn bastards killed and be done with it. What the hell kind of game is this?

He took a deep breath, forcing his anger down.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke in a low voice.

"Take them back to Dawn City. Have Emi think of something. Also, send the Holy Maiden Nilo of the Dawn Church along."

Then, as if he remembered something, he snarled viciously, "Assign those two dwarves to the smithy. I want them forging 100, no! 200 weapons a day. No food unless they meet the quota.

Let them get a real taste of labor reform. Aren’t dwarves supposed to be masters at forging? I’ll let you hammer to your heart’s content."

Stanley nodded in acknowledgment.

Even now, Li De remained unwilling to accept the situation.

Those damn bastards had thrown his entire plan into chaos.

He took a deep breath and began rethinking the whole strategy.

After a long silence, the confidence slowly returned to his eyes.

"Although the two dwarves didn’t talk, we were at least able to confirm one thing."

"What is it?" Stanley and Grot asked in unison, and even Betty looked at him with curiosity.

They were all slightly impressed he could recover and think clearly so quickly.

"The mithril vein... it's real."

Recalling the dwarves’ facial expressions, Li De’s voice became increasingly certain.

"So, even though we didn’t form an alliance, this round wasn’t a loss."

You might profit greatly, but I will never come out at a loss.

"At the very least, we’ve confirmed the authenticity of the information. That alone is a significant gain.

Next, we need to verify the location."

"Stanley, take this down."

Stanley’s expression turned solemn immediately.

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Notify Harrison. Have him send out bats to patrol the borderlands and search for any signs of the dwarven clan, especially focus on the remote mountain ranges within the Barren Wastes."

As he spoke, Li De’s eyes gradually lit up.

"According to Laurent, all their transactions took place near the border. That means the dwarves’ location can’t be far from there.

Dwarves transported goods by horse. That suggests they don’t have flying mounts, or at the very least, very few. That limits their activity range to a fixed area.

Laurent already gave me the addresses where they made their trades. Bring the border map here immediately. We’ll mark off a probable area and begin a grid search."

The more he spoke, the clearer Li De’s thoughts became. "And with over ten thousand beastmen attacking the dwarven clan, it must have caused a huge commotion. Tell Harrison to also look for signs of the beastmen’s army movements.

Any traces of large-scale mobilization must be recorded."

Li De’s thinking gradually fell into place. Even if the dwarves stayed silent, their clan’s location could still be found. The process might be more troublesome, but the allure of a mithril vein was more than worth it. No amount of hassle would stop him.

"Additionally, I’ll have Laurent assist the Dark Pact to see if we can contact any other dwarves along the border.

At the same time, we can issue a mission through the Mercenary Guild. The goal is to investigate beastman military movements. Make sure the mission looks as ordinary as possible."

Only after laying out this entire plan did Li De finally pause, still brimming with energy.

Everyone else in the room now looked at him with deep respect and admiration in their eyes.

Sure, given enough time, they probably could’ve come up with similar plans. But to bounce back this fast after such a setback?

That required a strong will and exceptional intelligence.

"To summarize: One, search the area near the dwarves’ trading locations along the border. Two, look for signs of beastman military movement, track the beastmen’s traces. Three, assign people to locate other dwarves near the border. Gather as much useful intel as possible. Four, issue a mission through the Mercenary Guild to scout for signs of beastmen activity."

Li De’s pitch-black eyes swept over the three of them as he spoke in a low voice.

"The mithril vein is a matter of great importance. Even though the dwarves haven’t spoken, it’s still worth investing resources to pursue this lead.

If we really obtain that vein, the benefit to Dawn City will be immeasurable.

I doubt any of you would object to having all your gear made from rare mithril."

That remark lit up everyone's eyes. If they truly found a mithril vein, their equipment would rise by several levels.

Morale immediately surged.

"Yes, Your Grace."

Grot and Stanley both bowed deeply. Even Betty, who had remained seated until now, stood up to show her respect.

Even if Li De’s combat power was still weaker than hers, the Northern Valkyrie couldn’t help but admire his intellect.

If it had been her, she probably would’ve just killed the two stubborn dwarves on the spot. As for what came after? She’d be completely in the dark.

With Li De’s orders issued.

Over the next week, the Dark Pact, the Crimson Mage Tower, and even far-off Dawn City deep in the Far Mountain Range, all three mighty factions began to move in frenzy under his will.

For the first time in nearly a year, bats flew to the border once more. The second-generation blood descendents marched in full armor.

Under the protection of twenty Level 10 Dark Pact warriors, Laurent set out for the border to search for any trace of dwarves.

The Mercenary Guild in Green City posted a mission to investigate unusual movements of beastmen forces in the Barren Wastes. The generous bounty drew hordes of mercenaries to head there.

Every action was driven by the desire for the mithril vein, an item even more precious than a dragon’s hoard.

Anakin, Valen, and the previously captured dwarf were indeed sent to the blacksmiths in Dawn City.

These three stubborn dwarves, once determined to die before yielding, were now forging weapons like madmen every day, just for a bite to eat.

This brought Li De no small satisfaction. Every time he saw the weapons, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of catharsis.