Chapter 264 My Weapon Will Only Be A Normal Tree Branch
Hearing the Dwarf King's words that attempted to threaten him, Alister remained indifferent and replied, "None of the dwarves died, right? Don't worry, I won't go too far."
"You only need to fight with me in a spar. If you can defeat me, I will owe you a favor. The favor of both a Grand Mage and a Grand Warrior is very valuable. I don't think I need to emphasize to you how valuable it is."
"And don't worry. I know you can't defeat me so I will fight you with a handicap. I won't use mana or any magic spells. My weapon will only be a normal tree branch."
When the Dwarf King heard Alister's words, the Dwarf King felt humiliated as his opponent would even go as far as not using magic and any magic spells as well as using only a mere tree branch.
Although the Dwarf King wouldn't underestimate a tree branch as a weapon since there were durable and thick woods such as the wood in the Elf Race's World Tree, that doesn't seem to be the case since his opponent had said that he would use only a normal tree branch.
The definition of "normal" might vary from person to person, but the Dwarf King would at least be assured that his opponent wouldn't use those tree branches from powerful trees.
It might be tantamount to humiliating and underestimating him, but the Dwarf King didn't have any complaints. After all, even he knew the limit of his power and he was well aware that he couldn't defeat this human in front of him.
It was not that the Dwarf King hadn't prepared to deal with Alister. After all, Alister's previous introduction when he had entered Goghdor City was relayed to the Dwarf King. noVe-lb-In
It was just that the Dwarf King had never expected that this human was too impatient. He didn't plan to offend this powerful human and even planned to give luxurious accommodations.
However, Alister didn't seem to go by the plan he had envisioned. The Dwarf King expected that Alister would go sightseeing in Goghdor City first and that was crucial to his plan as he could buy some time.
After buying some time, he would be able to show his generosity as the king of the dwarf race. Even a Grand Warrior like the Dwarf King wouldn't underestimate other grand-level powerhouses even if that powerhouse was weaker than him.
'Sigh, never mind. At least this human didn't go too far. Although I can't defeat him in a normal and fair battle, I am at least confident I can defeat him with the handicaps this human had set upon himself.'
'If a Grand Warrior such as myself can't even defeat a Grand Warrior wielding a normal tree branch, then I don't deserve to boast as the top 10 strongest in Fantasia.'
'Even the Dragon King wouldn't be this arrogant in proclaiming that he could defeat me without magic and just using a normal tree branch as well as aura alone.'
With those thoughts in his mind, the Dwarf King was assured that his chances of fighting Alister were very high.
However, confidence was confidence but he still needed to confirm one thing.
"What do I have to pay in return if I lose? Don't get me wrong, I know I can win since it's impossible for you to defeat me with just a normal branch. Even your advantage is your power as both a Grand Mage and a Grand Warrior. Not using magic and magic spells, it's already my win."
"But since you are this generous, I don't want to be labeled as an unjust king. For a king such as myself, reputation is still important."
Hearing the overconfident words of the Dwarf King, Alister knew that his plan of manipulating the emotions of the Dwarf King was taking effect.
The more overconfident the Dwarf King was, the more the Dwarf King would agree to fight with him.
After all, Alister knew that the Dwarf King wouldn't agree with this spar if the Dwarf King was afraid of his power. The handicaps he had imposed on himself, brought the confidence of the Dwarf King and created an illusion that the Dwarf King could easily defeat him.
Although Alister could force the Dwarf King to hand over the knowledge, experience, and blacksmithing techniques of Dwarf Grand Blacksmiths, it would still be quite problematic if the Dwarf King would resort to waging a war with him just to maintain his majesty as the king of the dwarves.
Of course, even if that did happen, it was not like Alister couldn't forcefully plunder the memories of those Dwarf Grand Blacksmiths.
All in all, everything was according to Alister's plan and the Dwarf King was like a puppet dancing in his palm.
"If you lose, all of the Dwarf Grand Blacksmiths in your race will have to pass their experiences, memories, and blacksmithing techniques to me without any omission. Even the secret blueprint for the hero-slaying artifact is included."
The overconfidence on the Dwarf King's face immediately disappeared after listening to Alister's words.
No matter how confident he was, he still knew that he couldn't gamble to this extent.
"Impossible! Even I can't completely order around the Grand Blacksmiths. A powerhouse like you should know that their attainment level in their profession is equal in status to ours. Even if I am the Dwarf King, I can't force them to hand over their blacksmithing techniques."
"At most, I can only give you the blueprint for the hero-slaying artifact since I have it in my treasury. As for the blacksmithing techniques, even I can't convince those Grand Blacksmiths."
Regarding the Dwarf King's replies, Alister had already expected it. Even he wouldn't underestimate those Grand Blacksmiths since they were indeed equal in status to grand-level powerhouses.
Furthermore, in terms of usefulness, a Grand Blacksmith might outweigh the status of an average grand-level powerhouse. After all, the artifacts forged by the Grand Blacksmiths were useful in improving military power.
To further persuade the Dwarf King, Alister nonchalantly replied, "I won't use both aura and mana. My weapon will only be a normal tree branch."