Seeing everyone looking at him with expectant expressions, Durin felt completely speechless. I really don't know anything!
But he knew he had to say something. After a brief moment of silence, he raised his right hand and coughed lightly in a deliberate manner.
"Do not worry. I have made arrangements for this matter."
Just then, a guard rushed in hastily, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"Your Majesty, Lords, the Shadewhite forces have retreated 500 miles! We can now rebuild our defensive line."
The moment these words were spoken, the entire room erupted into shock. Many stood up from their seats, staring at Durin in astonishment.
Duke Kafka was particularly taken aback.
"So that's it. I understand now! His Majesty just said he had a plan, and now the Shadewhite forces have withdrawn 500 miles."
"Could it be that, without our knowledge, His Majesty has already taken action against Shadewhite?"
The Shadewhite forces were not known for surrendering voluntarily. If they were retreating, it could only mean that they had suffered a major loss internally.
A demigod rank expert truly is terrifying! He had taken action without anyone even noticing.
Realizing this, Duke Kafka felt a mixture of awe and fear. He immediately bowed deeply to Durin.
"His Majesty is truly unrivaled!"
The other officials quickly caught on, their gazes toward Durin turning into pure admiration.
So it was His Majesty's doing all along! That explains everything!
For a moment, the roundtable conference room was filled with endless praise.
All doubts had now vanished, and everyone had completely entrusted their faith in Durin.
Meanwhile, Durin himself was utterly confused.
Wait, what did I even do?! How did I suddenly become unrivaled?
After a brief moment of contemplation, Durin had a rough guess.
It must be my reputation that intimidated them. But this won't last forever.
Sooner or later, the truth will be exposed.
If I don't want to get caught, I need to find a real solution before that happens.
At that moment, Duke Kafka spoke again.
"Your Majesty, should we reclaim the land and establish a new defensive line?"
Durin instinctively shook his head. It was obvious—this was a trap set by the Shadewhite forces. If they moved in now, they would most likely walk straight into an ambush.
I'm not stupid. I can see through such a basic trick.
"Then, Your Majesty, please share the intelligence you obtained on Shadewhite. That way, we can devise a strategy accordingly."
"Well… Actually—ah, the heavens cannot reveal their secrets."
Durin suddenly put on a profound expression, sighed deeply, and assumed a look of benevolence and sorrow.
"If I tell you now, it will affect my next plan. So, today's roundtable meeting ends here. I must return and make the necessary preparations."
Given all the previous signs of His Majesty's power, no one doubted him.
Duke Kafka murmured in anticipation, "I wonder how grand His Majesty's plan will be. I'm truly looking forward to it."
Durin nearly tripped over himself.
What are you looking forward to?! Even I don't know what the plan is!
Being the Emperor is way too much trouble!
I should find a chance to run away as soon as possible!
With this thought in mind, he unconsciously wandered outside the palace.
All around him, mages were busily flying around using levitation spells, each occupied with their own tasks.
Durin, on the other hand, was strolling leisurely on the ground, looking completely out of place.
He watched them with a bit of envy. If only I could use levitation magic too. It would make escaping much easier in the future.
Then, he overheard whispers from nearby.
"As expected of His Majesty! He refuses to use levitation spells even when walking. This is the true embodiment of mind power training. No wonder His Majesty became the strongest human!"
Several mages seemed to have had an epiphany, and they hurriedly descended to the ground, choosing to walk instead.
Durin was debating whether to sneak back into the royal treasury to grab some treasures for money—then find a way to escape—when a timid voice suddenly called from behind him.
"Your Majesty… This is some bread I made myself. Please accept it."
Hmm?
Durin turned around, confused, and saw a small girl in ragged clothes looking up at him with hopeful eyes, holding out a delicate little box.
"Alright, thank you."
Durin smiled as he accepted it, gently patting her head.
"Where is your family? Why are you here alone?"
"They're all dead."
The little girl still had an innocent smile, but the words she spoke were chilling.
"They died fighting the Shadewhite. I heard their souls were taken away as well."
"I'm… sorry."
"Your Majesty doesn't need to apologize! You gave us hope. Without you, we all would have died. You saved all of us!"
I saved everyone?
Durin forced a bitter smile. The truth was, he was a complete fraud. He didn't have demigod rank strength at all.
But… he couldn't bring himself to tell this little girl the cruel truth.
So he smiled and said, "Don't worry. One day, I will lead everyone to drive the Shadewhite out completely."
Of course, even Durin himself didn't believe his own words.
But looking into the girl's hopeful eyes, he realized something crucial.
Right now, Ilan Kingdom was humanity's last hope.
If their Emperor were to disappear, the Shadewhite army would sweep in unchecked, and humanity might face complete extinction.
So humanity needs an Emperor!
But this responsibility was way too heavy.
The problem is, I'm just an ordinary person.
Even if I have the will, I don't have the strength.
Durin muttered to himself, taking a bite of the black bread.
The texture was coarse, but the taste was surprisingly sweet.
Still… someone tell me how I'm supposed to deal with Shadewhite?!
Durin felt like he was about to go crazy. He had no plan at all—yet he had to keep pretending that he did.
Meanwhile, in Shadewhite Abyss
The atmosphere in the roundtable conference room was suffocating.
"This situation is not in our favor. We retreated 500 miles on our own accord, but two days have passed, and the humans haven't reacted at all."
The gathered Shadewhite officials were puzzled.
They had willingly withdrawn, so why hadn't the humans moved in to reclaim the land?
"Damn it, I understand now!"
The leading Shadewhite's expression turned grim as he cursed.
"These damned humans! They have no intention of negotiating with us at all, even when we voluntarily give up land!"
The room fell silent.
The statement was harsh, but it was likely true.
After all, the humans had their demigod rank Emperor. That was why they were acting so arrogantly.
A Shadewhite sitting at the far end hesitantly raised his hand.
"Is there… a chance that we retreated too quickly? Maybe we didn't show enough sincerity, and they think it's a trap, so they're afraid to advance?"
"That is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard!"
The leading Shadewhite lashed out in anger.
"Use your brain! The opponent is a demigod rank expert. Do you really think he wouldn't be able to tell whether we left traps or not?"
"I'm starting to believe that the Emperor has already seen through all our plans. He simply refuses to negotiate with us at all."
Hearing this, the Shadewhite high command collectively felt a chill run down their spines.
This demigod rank Emperor…
He was truly terrifying.