Hero of Darkness

The High Elders of the Dwarven Council, which represented the entire dwarven species in the whole Vulcan empire gave their conclusion regarding the dispute between Throk Oakenshield and Bifur Tawerik, two of the top 5 saint blacksmiths of the empire. 

However… both Kahn and Throk were left bamboozled after the elders declared that they'd organize an event in front of the eyes of the whole empire and carry out the challenge between Throk and Bifur. 

And their respective students, Kahn and Helsi would represent their masters and compete against each other to prove who was the better teacher and a skilled blacksmith among the former two figures. 

But the main reason why Kahn turned speechless was because this whole arrangement completely thwarted his expectations and future plans. 

Prior to this decision by the council, it was supposed to be a challenge held only between the two saint blacksmiths and the amount of audience would be limited. 

But now… if the Dwarven Council was to make it an empire-wide event… there was simply too much at stake and too much attention would be paid to this faceoff than it was needed. 

Kahn only wanted the challenge to use as an excuse to learn the skills from Throk after the latter made a bet with Tawerik. His intentions were only to learn the blacksmithing skills and even he didn't take the challenge seriously at all. 

And once he was done… he'd either carry on with managing the Oakenshield company as it was a safe source of income and resources and planned to make breakthroughs to higher saint stages quietly. 

Even if he lost the challenge… only certain individuals would know of it and Throk's reputation could be recovered in the future. 

But if the challenge becomes something that attracted the attention of the whole empire… then Kahn was going to get into everyone's eyes even if he didn't want to. This included even the church, and the imperial clan itself. The two of them were the forces he was trying to avoid and only revealed himself as Throk's disciple till this point. 

The competition that was supposed to happen behind closed doors was now going to become a public exhibition because of this verdict. 

In a way, the Dwarven Council had fucked over Throk and Kahn big time. 

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"I refuse!" bellowed Throk with eyes full of disagreement. 

"This is between me and Tawerik, why is the council trying to make it a big deal and intervene more than they need to? 

"Who even asked you to organize an empire-wide event? 

Not only I am falsely accused, but now you're dragging me into bigger troubles just to show your authority. 

Looks like the council is very desperate to appear relevant at this point." rebutted Throk without a shred of respect in his tone. 

Because he too was well aware of the consequences. In a way, the council had cornered him in an unfavorable situation. 

"Ha ha! 

Why? What happened, Oakenshield? 

Didn't you say that day that you could even turn this human into one of the best blacksmiths in the empire?" asked Tawerik, the bald blacksmith with an exhilarated expression. 

Because as things stood, this was indeed a blessing for him. Not only he'd get to clear up the bad reputation that he currently had and on top of it… he'd be able to publicly shame Oakenshield as well as raise his reputation to the point where he'd become a behemoth of the blacksmithing industry. 

To him, the victory was already in his grasp because Helsi himself was a semi-saint blacksmith already. 

"Don't tell me that you were just bluffing that day and you don't actually have the skills to do anything than barking around. 

If you're going to chicken out… then admit that I'm better than you in front of everyone and maybe then I'll rethink." he said with a smug smile on his face. 

"And don't forget that you still have signed that contract. It can't be unless both sides agree. 

So if you don't accept the decision by the council… it can be considered as my win and I will take your whole company and all of its assets as per our contract." reminded Tawerik. 

Kahn remembered the day when he got mixed into their fight. It was indeed Throk running his mouth aloud and shamelessly boasted that he could even make a normal human from the street one of the top blacksmiths of the empire. 

And now, his words came back to bite them in the ass. 

"You!... You just want to look good when you're the one who should be scrutinized and not me." retorted Throk. 

Because Throk also felt that if the challenge was indeed displayed across the empire, he was going to lose everything he had since Kahn was most likely to lose anyway. 

And then, his entire life's reputation, as well as the company will be gone. Just because the issue had been overblown out of proportion… he couldn't hand out a husk of his company like they planned before and would eventually have to give Tawerik everything they owned as per their contract. 

At this moment… both Kahn and Throk were indeed in a pinch. This time, even others who backed Throk didn't speak up. 

Because often, this was how things were settled between the famous blacksmiths of the empire even in the past. 

The skills and talent was what their entire species acknowledged as per the old customs. 

And if Throk backed out from this… then they'd all feel stupid to take the side of this dwarf without a backbone. 

Even Throk could also feel the judgemental and expectant gazes on him without even looking. 

[Kid… what do you say? I'll lose everything at this point.] he spoke with Kahn. 

Kahn then started contemplating many things. Because till now… everything he learned was due to curiosity and his will to learn and perfect his blacksmithing skill set for future gains. 

But now… the issue was bigger than himself and involved Throk, his company and also the people who chose to support him in the hearing. This time… it was for a bigger cause. 

And after a lot of thinking… Kahn spoke in a loud voice that resounded in the entire council hall and declared… 

"We will accept the challenge!"