"The Giants are coming?" Vaggron and the rest of the Wyvern Riders gazed at William with grim expressions on their faces.
The one thing that Dwarves hated the most wasn't Humans, Elves, Demons, Gnomes, or the other races.
What they hated the most were Giants.
Perhaps, due to their small size, their instincts naturally feared something that was several times taller than them.
There were several members of the Giant Race in Hestia like Cyclops, Mountain Ogres, and other creatures whose sizes ranged from ten meters up to a hundred meters.
Hundreds of years ago, the Dwarves had fought against these towering monsters who treated their race as prey. Fortunately, the Dwarves were smarter, and smaller than the giants, allowing them to use the mountains as their natural fortress against their kind.
In time, the Dwarves developed weapons that could effectively injure, and kill the Giants, allowing them to turn the tide of battle in their favor.
Hundreds of years later, no more Giants could be found around the Kingdom of Beldaral.
Even so, the moment the Dwarves hear the word Giant, their initial reaction was to find these monsters and fire their cannons in their faces.
"You said Giants are coming?" Vaggron asked. "From where, and when?"
The artifact in his hand wasn't reacting to the Half-Elf's words, meaning that what he was saying was the truth.
The other Dwarves who knew of the artifact in their captain's hands, couldn't help but feel anxious after hearing William's announcement.
"This is why I came to your kingdom," William stated. "Please, inform your King that I want to have an audience with him. This matter is of great importance, and I can't discuss it out in the open. I hope you understand that this news isn't something to be discussed lightly."
Vaggron frowned, but he didn't refute William's words. Since an Emperor had personally come to their Kingdom, they had to be shown proper etiquette, even if their arrival was unannounced.
"Wait here," Vaggron replied. "I will send word to his Majesty. He will be the one to decide if he wishes to talk to you or not."
The Half-Elf nodded his head in understanding. Since the Dwarf Captain had already compromised, he made the flying ship land on the ground, as a sign of good faith.
Astrape and Bronte, were quite tempted to shoot the Dwarves out of the sky with their lightning bolts. However, William had forbidden them to use violence beforehand, which left the two Pseudo-Gods no other choice, but to bottle up their anger inside their chests during Vaggron's interrogation.
"Calm down, okay?" William said as he pacified the two Pseudo-Gods. "We didn't come here to fight."
Astrape sighed before nodding her head. "I know, Master. I will keep that in mind."
"I will endure to the best of my abilities, Master," Bronte commented. "However, if that Dwarf had really shot you with his hand cannon, I would have turned him into a piece of charcoal by now."
"Thank you for being angry for my sake," William stated. "But, there will be many more opportunities for me to receive the same treatment as we visit the Kingdoms in the Gunnar Federation. I just hope that the two of you will remember what happened here today. I don't want any trouble, so both of you behave yourselves, okay?"
"Understood," Astrape replied.
Bronte nodded. "If that is your wish.
Maple and Cinnamon, who were currently eating some snacks that had been prepared for them by Charmaine and Haleth, sat at the round table that William had summoned on the deck of the flying ship.
Suddenly, three beautiful ladies emerged from the cabin of the flying ship.
They were none other than Lira, Shana, and Melody, who had used the temporary portal that William had placed inside the cabin.
William had installed it before leaving the Central Continent because his lovers didn't want to be trapped in the Thousand Beast Domain, just in case something happened to him. Because of this, the Half-Elf relented and placed a temporary portal so those whom he had given his permission to, could exit and enter his domain freely.
"We saw what just happened from inside your domain," Lira said as she hugged William, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "We decided to assist just in case the negotiation gets dicey."
"Thank you," William replied. "But, as you can see, things are peaceful right now."
"We can see that," Melody commented as she too gave the Half-Elf a hug and kiss. "But, we came just in case. The others wanted to come as well, but we persuaded them that we are more than enough to handle anything that the Dwarves can throw at us."
Shana, who was about to vomit sugar from the public display of affection by Lira and Melody, cleared her throat to catch William's attention.
"To think that the always reserved Melody is acting so bold, now of all times," Shana said in a teasing tone. "Is this the side effect of drinking William's juice on a regular basis? I want to have some of that as well."
Melody's face slowly turned beet red as she ran after Shana, who ran around the deck while giggling.
The Dwarves who were circling around the flying ship from the air looked down at the ladies on the deck before glaring at the handsome Half-Elf who was surrounded by beautiful women.
They had spent most of their time patrolling their kingdom, and had no time to mingle with the Dwarf girls at the taverns as of late. This made them look at the Half-Elf, who was being spoiled by the ladies around him, as if he were an eyesore.
Half an hour later, Vaggron returned with the messenger that came from the Royal Palace.
"Emperor William, the King wishes to meet with you at the Royal Palace," the messenger of the King said. "You are given permission to land your flying ship at the landing port that we have designated to our Wyvern Riders."
William thanked the messenger and once again operated the flying ship to soar to the skies once more.
Now that he had been given permission to meet with the King of the Dwarves, he would definitely use this opportunity to forge an alliance with him.