Aside from the tunnels, the most intense fighting was near the giant white pyramid at the center of town. The army had secured it already and they were evacuating civilians constantly… But only the ones that weren’t normal Dwarves.

There were a few really powerful groups mixed together too. Mercenaries that I met personally a few times. The Black Stripe Pride were a group of ten Tiger Tribe men and women, who wore heavy plate armor that was made out of black mithril and had white stripes painted on. They carried giant bows, crossbows and javelins. Their armor withstood the weak firepower of the other side, while a single attack from any of their weapons could immediately kill any of the Dwarves that were dumb enough to get close to them.

Then there were the Six Dryad Sisters. A mysterious group that supposedly came from a different part of Lorthon Forest. Their base of operations was the herbal plantation to the south of White Mithril called, Hestia Gardens. I actually invested in that little farm when it first popped up.

Another notable group was called the Ironhoof Slaver Slayers. They were a group of horse and bull centaurs that either were slaves once themselves, or had friends and family who had been stolen from them by the slavers of White Mithril. Compared to the other mercenary groups, they were particularly vicious and aggressive in their attacks against the Dwarves.

Even in such a chaotic battle, nobody tried to stop me as I charged passed the wall of Red Goblins and Dark Dwarves that were wearing heavy armor. Some of them even shouted “Lorelei! Oh wow! It’s actually Lorelei! Quick, let her through!”

They didn’t really need to ‘let me through’, since I just jumped a few meters over their head and latched onto the side of the smooth pyramid. Levi told me to head towards the top for the best ‘reception’, so I climbed as fast as I could. It wasn’t that steep and my feet were bare, which allowed me to sprint every few seconds. There were actually a few people that were shooting at me, but their aim was terrible.

“Okay, that’s the sweet spot right there! Just sit on the tip and try not to fall off.” Levi whispered in my ear as I reached the top of the pyramid. The very top was actually a flat platform that was only big enough for someone of my stature to sit on comfortably. That little snake disappeared down into the white metal for a few moments, then came back out. He yelled “Oh wow! Holy shit! Terra was ‘really’ happy to see me, if you know what I mean… Hehehe~, anyway, I ‘convinced’ her to give me enough power to do the spell. Give me a second. It’s been a while…”

“Do you expect me to believe that you screwed the Spirit of the Earth?!” Although I definitely wanted to hear all the juicy details, I didn’t have time. A surge of mana coursed up my butt and legs, into my chest and stopped when it hit my brain. It felt like my head was going to explode and the whole world seemed to be going in slow motion.

Levi snickered and then whispered into my ear “I’ll give you some time to think up a speech. When you’re ready, just start talking. But be careful what you say Lori… Words have power after all.”

Time wasn’t completely still, so every moment I wasted trying to put together a speech, would’ve cost lives. Besides, since when have I ever had trouble improvising?!

“Stop!” The moment I screamed, almost everyone in the whole city was forced to their knees from the pain in their heads. Even those super powerful mercenaries were no exception. Then a massive image of my head appeared in the sky above the giant white pyramid, projected down by the countless crystals on the ceiling that usually illuminated the town.

I glared around at all the chaos and destruction, the corpses and injured, all the fucking property damage! Then I asked “Do you know who I am?”

Everyone shouted “Lorelei Fleisher”, “A celebrity”, “Our leader”, “A butcher” or other similar answers.

They were all right, but I still shook my head and growled “No! You’re forgetting the most important thing! I’m Michael’s representative! Forget about Michael for a second, because many of you don’t even know who he is or how scary he can be… What do you think Trixie would do right now, if she saw you guys acting this way?! General Beatrix doesn’t screw around! I’m willing to show mercy and pardon all of you for your crimes, so long as they don’t cross my bottom line but… If Trixie was here, most of you would be executed on the spot!”

After I said that, I could see the fear in many of the soldiers’ eyes… The people from Beast Haven all knew Mikey and how terrifying he could be. While everyone else knew about Trixie, because she was the one who passed judgement on thousands of Dwarves in White Mithril a few months before then. The trial was mostly just a really long series of mass executions, where begging, bribes and threats were all useless. You couldn’t lie, because even if the twelve psychic Jurors couldn’t read your thoughts, she would do it herself.

“I’m different than them though. I understand that life is hard and sometimes you make mistakes. Sometimes you’re forced to do things or tricked… All of you need to stop fighting each other, now! I can see each and every one of you right now. I can hear your thoughts and control your lives. The people responsible for starting this shitstorm will get what’s coming to them! But everyone else needs to focus on putting out those fires, helping the injured, burying the dead and repairing all the damage you’ve caused! I’m not going to condemn people who were caught up in the confusion and made mistakes, but if I see anyone repeating those same mistakes, then don’t expect me to be merciful again! For the next twelve hours, I am your God! I see all! I control all of your lives! And if anyone fucking pisses me off, then they’re dead! Now hurry up and get to work! We need to clean up this mess before Trixie shows up and starts going on a rampage!”

***

In Ael Tol, there were actually ‘Spirits’ or beings that were powerful enough to become local deities in a sense. Maeleth and the three treants were the best examples. If anyone was stupid enough to try to start a rebellion, it could be crushed with a few telepathic attacks from any of them. Not to mention that most of those people worshiped Michael and his laws religiously.

In Black Mithril, we worshiped money and personal interests a bit more. At the very least though, we had the sense to never be tricked into infighting again. If we had conflicts, they were usually pretty civil. The Black Mithril Defense Force was powerful and stable enough to keep order regardless. That’s also where Lorelei Incorporated and Trixie’s army had their main base. We were more worried about outside enemies than internal ones, because of the problem with the humans in the west.

Angren was a place where everyone was really strong and fights broke out all the time, but no one was stupid enough to take things too far. Most of the Mercenaries hung out there and everyone was heavily armed. It just wouldn’t be possible to control a large group of people like them, even if you offered a bunch of money. They typically cared more about their own small group of friends and family than the whole rest of the country. That was fine though, because most of them had ‘connections’ too. Just like how there were a few groups of mercs helping out in the emergency and trying to save civilians in White Mithril.

Levi was right though. I was too careless. Way too lenient on the rising threats. Even if most of the casualties from the failed rebellion were on the side of the Dwarves… Most of them were innocent bystanders! Just caught in the crossfire or targeted because of their race.

“Did you enjoy it? Hiss~! The power to control the lives and actions of so many people… The screams of agony and pain as you flooded their bodies with mana… Popping them like meat balloons! Hahaha~! I personally loved it. Kinda sad that you’re normally so weak though. A single stray bullet probably could’ve killed you. Lucky brat, hehehe~!”

I was in a daze and felt really sick. Levi was just teasing me like always. It was good that I didn’t have to pretend to be White Mithril’s ‘God’ for more than three hours, because the side effects were really horrible. Even just holding out until then was really hard for me.

Once the train arrived and a few hundred soldiers from Black Mithril came to deal with the aftermath, I took a trip to Angren. From there, I went straight to Beast Haven because… It felt like I was dying.

Whenever I got worried about my health, I would always go to Ael Tol and see Pinky. Even if our first few encounters were a little scary, I trusted her medical skills a lot more than Levi’s “Meh, stop being such a pussy! It’s just a little bit of mana-poisoning! Take a nap and you’ll probably be fine.”