Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 165 - 161: High-peak Dwarves

Chapter 165: Chapter 161: High-peak Dwarves

Having spent the last night at the training base, the group set off for the headquarters. Here, they would part ways; the Advance Team would continue their mission in the Otherworld, while the Orion Squad would return to Earth, with a high probability that they would never meet again in this lifetime.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive on the return journey, but no one wanted to break the silence. After nearly a month of time spent together, the two squads were no longer the strangers they once were. Now that separation was imminent, everyone was feeling rather unsettled.

Yaning quietly leaned in Tangmo’s arms, watching everyone. After this period of recuperation, her psychological trauma had mostly healed, but it seemed her brain would never fully recover to normal.

After two units of travel, the group arrived once again at the headquarters. Once settled, Luo’er and Tangmo came to Wang Xu’s office to receive the next order.

In the office, Wang Xu was busily checking the weapon list provided for Melia. Upon seeing Luo’er and Tangmo’s arrival, he put down the list and smiled at them, "Have you had a good time these last few days?"

"What about Yue’er’s stuff?" Luo’er, mindful of this matter, didn’t hesitate to ask right away.

"Ah, I forgot about that. All I remembered was to report back," Wang Xu slapped his forehead, exclaiming.

"You..." Luo’er was speechless, not knowing what to say.

"Don’t be mad," seeing Luo’er’s annoyed look, Wang Xu was quick to reassure, "I’ll have Li Si bring them over when he returns for a break."

"Whatever you say," Luo’er shrugged and said.

"You got me so sidetracked, I almost forgot the main issue," Wang Xu coughed, saying seriously, "We have a new mission from the top brass. You’re to go to the High-peak Dwarven Country, Ronisca, for reconnaissance."

"High-peak Dwarves?" Upon hearing this, Tangmo was taken aback, turning his head to look at Luo’er.

Ronisca was the country of High-peak Dwarves, located in the northeastern corner of the continent, across the Winter and Galoni Mountains from Masya. To access Ronisca by land, the only route was through the Laining River Valley, located between the two mountain ranges.

At Tangmo’s words, Luo’er suddenly remembered she was of Dwarven mixed blood. If he remembered correctly, Tangmo was, to be precise, of High-peak Dwarven mixed heritage.

"Are we going now?" Ignoring Tangmo, Luo’er looked at Wang Xu and asked.

If it was indeed early spring, that would mean Ronisca, situated at high latitude, was still covered in snow. If they were to travel from Yazhi City to Ronisca, it wasn’t clear how long it would take. If it was impossible by land, sailing by sea would be the other option, from Luofu Port through the coastline to a port city within Ronisca’s borders. As long as they stayed along the coast, they would not have to fear the Leviathans in the deep sea.

"Yes, headquarters is pressing for an immediate departure," Wang Xu nodded in confirmation.

"Is it about the High-peak people selling cannons to the Masya?" Luo’er asked tentatively.

"Yes," Wang Xu nodded, seeing no need to hide it anymore since he was assigning them a new mission, "Do you know where the High-peak people get the technology for the cannons they’ve given to Masya?"

"Where?" Luo’er asked. One must understand that the ability to manufacture cannons implied that the High-peak people must already possess a relatively complete industrial system.

"The technology for these cannons is from Russia!" Wang Xu’s statement left them stunned.

"Are you saying, the Russians gave them the cannon technology?" Luo’er asked incredulously.

"Not just them, us too," Wang Xu continued after a moment’s pause, "The entire industrial technology of the High-peak people was provided by us."

"What’s going on here?" Luo’er could hardly believe his ears. He thought that setting up the front command base in the Otherworld was the best possible effort from the headquarters, but he didn’t expect that they had reached such an in-depth cooperation with the High-peak people. It’s well known that mastering industrial technology was no quick task.

"Our cooperation started with the second Otherworld War and has been ongoing for three decades," Wang Xu stated calmly, "After the second Otherworld War, the High-peak people captured a large number of soldiers from China and Russia, and returned them to Earth through diplomatic channels. Their attitude was acknowledged by the Otherworld War Staff Department at the time, and cooperation began from there, continuing to this day."

"In the last thirty years, we have provided them with many advanced technologies covering military, civilian, and industrial fields. Now, Ronisca is no longer a simple High-peak kingdom. They should be the first industrial country in the entire Otherworld," Wang Xu continued.

"By aiding the High-peak people so much, aren’t we afraid that they might unite the Otherworld and drive Earthlings back to the Otherworld Gate?" Luo’er couldn’t help but ask.

"That’s not a concern," Wang Xu shook his head, "The High-peak people’s population is scarce. No matter how much they develop, they’ll only amount to a medium-strength nation at most. Unless their technology can reach the level of Earth’s fourth industrial revolution, aiming for Otherworld domination would be pure delusion."

According to Headquarters, no matter how the High-peak people try to draw closer to Earth’s industrial level, their population limitations are bound to make them a regional power at best.

The High-peak people are a branch of the Dwarves, and the Dwarves are a subspecies of the Elves. As a result, they also inherited the Elves’ low fertility rate. Despite their long lifespan, their population limits their further expansion.

However, the Human Race is different. They have a high birth rate. Since Earth introduced agricultural technology to the Otherworld, the food shortage problem in the Otherworld began to ease. To grow more food, human nations reclaimed a lot of wastelands for farming. To solve the problem of population shortage, they cancelle the poll tax and transferred the tax to the land. This is the well-known "Land Tax System" on Earth.

The cancellation of the poll tax caused a surge in the population of human nations. Since the end of the Second Otherworld War, the population of the entire Otherworld has at least doubled, with the Human Race accounting for the majority.

If we allow human nations to industrialize, their massive population will inevitably lead them down the path of Western capitalism. When they complete industrialization, these nations in the Otherworld will fully tap into their potential, making them truly uncontrollable.

Therefore, while dealing with the issue of human nations, all Earth nations surprisingly agreed to limit their civilisation and keep them in the Middle Ages era. Even though it is impossible to prevent them from developing further, delaying it for as long as possible remains the unanimous opinion of all Earth nations.

"What is Headquarters’ stance on the High-peak people selling cannons to Masya?" Luo’er asked.

"Headquarters had no idea about this." Wang Xu couldn’t help but swear when the topic of cannons was brought up, "Damn it, our representative in the UN Security Council solemnly assured that we don’t know the origin of these cannons."

"It seems the High-peak people do not completely align with our interest," Luo’er analysed.

"They probably think our intelligence gathering capabilities in the Otherworld is limited, hence not knowing what they are doing. But they have forgotten that we now have our own Advance Team. We do not have to depend on the unreliable Blaiqi people anymore. Headquarters wants you to investigate their situation and find out what else they are hiding from us," Wang Xu said.

"What is the specific task?" Luo’er asked.

"You’re to go to Helros, the capital of Ronisca, to investigate the military capabilities of the High-peak people. Try not to engage them head-on and avoid exposure," Wang Xu instructed.

"Understood!" Luo’er nodded in reply.

Wang Xu sighed and then continued, "The Third Otherworld War is imminent, and it’s still unclear whether the High-peak people will get involved again. Although their representatives have explicitly stated that they will not participate, the current cannon issue with Masya has certainly decreased their credibility."

"Are we departing immediately?" Luo’er inquired.

"No rush. You need a week to boost your proficiency in Dwarven language, scripture and the technology to pilot air vehicles. We also need to arrange your route to Ronisca," Wang Xu said.

"Air vehicles?" Upon hearing this high-tech term, Luo’er was taken aback.

"Yes, the High-peak people’s air vehicles are quite mature, and they possess the strongest air force on the entire continent. There’s a chance you might have to pilot an air vehicle during the mission, so you need to familiarize yourselves beforehand," answered Wang Xu.

"It all feels a bit fantastical," Luo’er commented.

"There’s nothing fantastical about it. Those air vehicles are products based on anti-gravity engines. A lot of their air vehicle technology was provided by us and Russia, and their operational manuals for these air vehicles are still held at our base," Wang Xu shrugged and said.

"How do we enter Ronisca?" Luo’er asked about his most pressing concern.

"Depending on the situation. It’s obviously too slow to go on foot. Taking a ship isn’t reliable, so we’re considering getting you onto an airboat," Wang Xu said.

"Airboat!" It wasn’t Luo’er who exclaimed in surprise but rather the silent Tangmo.

"The High-peak people’s commercial airboats dock at Yazhi City’s air harbor to transport daily commodities to Helros. We’ll figure out a way to get you onto an airboat. It’ll be a lot faster, and you can reach Helros within ten days at the most," Wang Xu nodded and said.

"I’m just glad we won’t have to walk," Luo’er breathed a sigh of relief, although he was a bit regretful they couldn’t journey south. He was quite willing to travel by airboat if that was an option.

"Regarding transportation, we admittedly haven’t done a great job," Hearing Luo’er’s complaint, Wang Xu awkwardly chuckled, "Once you leave, we’ll arrange a few speed horses to help optimize your means of transportation."

Speed Horses are specially trained horses; they have lighter movements that aren’t as bumpy. Riding these horses is not only faster but also a lot more comfortable for the rider.