My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

The dungeon was crowded with short but sturdy figures.

Most of them had dirty faces, were dressed in rags, and had scars on their bodies.

But their eyes were filled with fervor and fanaticism as they looked at Lin Mo.

Upon seeing this, Father Harlin quickly jogged over and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"M-My lord, these dwarves... were imprisoned on the orders of that guy who called himself the Demon King. When he attacked the town, the dwarf warriors resisted fiercely and all... died in battle. The remaining ones are craftsmen, miners, women and children... He took a liking to their forging skills and planned to imprison them and force them to forge equipment and weapons for the future Demon King's army..."

As he spoke, Yin Xue flapped its wings and flew over, landing on Lin Mo's other shoulder.

With intrigued eyes, the dwarves behind the fence were observed, and the dwarves muttered in a voice only Lin Mo could hear.

"Tsk, you're quite lucky. Back when I roamed the continent, I never managed to subdue an organized dwarf tribe. These little devils are notoriously stubborn and difficult to tame. But... they are quite valuable."

"value?"

Lin Mo glanced sideways.

"Of course, and it's of immense value!"

A hint of interest appeared on Yin Xue's small face.

"Dwarves are natural-born miners and blacksmiths! They can delve into the most dangerous mines to unearth rare metals and magical gems. More importantly, their craftsmen can level up during the forging process and master the unique dwarven forging runes and enchanting techniques. Having them is like having a mobile gold mine and armory!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

He may not care about this wealth, but his parents really need it.

With more wealth, one can buy more rare medicinal herbs and alchemical materials, and develop new prescriptions.

They even went so far as to melt it down into gold and send it back to their parents.

That way, you won't have to worry about money.

Moreover, these dwarves are generally of low rank.

Lin Mo glanced at his current attribute table.

Name: Lin Mo

[Level: 46]

【Body: 59336】

[Agility: 59336]

【Spirit: 59336】

Free attribute points: 6350

[Skills: Mirror Image, Double Strike, Steel Sword, Soul Corrosion, Fatal Strike]

【Sacred Revelation: Killing Domain】

With attribute values ​​approaching 6, even killing these dwarves wouldn't significantly improve his stats.

As for experience points, they can be ignored.

From this perspective, keeping them might be a good choice.

Thinking this, Lin Mo stepped into the circle of cages.

The tall figure cast a shadow that made the nearest dwarf children instinctively shrink back.

But most of the adult dwarves cast respectful glances at Lin Mo, and several even knelt down to pay their respects.

After all, they had witnessed Lin Mo avenge them by killing those demons.

Given their stubborn nature, even if Lin Mo were to kill them right now, they would still express their gratitude first.

Lin Mo lowered his head, looking down at them, and asked in a calm voice, "Are you the original inhabitants of this place?"

One of the tallest dwarfs stepped out of the crowd; he was a full 1.3 meters tall!

He first performed a dwarf salute to Lin Mo.

"Yes, my powerful benefactor! My name is Kuangshan, the chieftain of the Blackrock Tribe, and this town is our home!"

He looked around at the devastation and the corpses of monsters, a look of grief flashing in his eyes.

"Five days ago, a huge horde of crazed orcs attacked us without warning! Our warriors fought valiantly, but... they were too many, we were defeated, all the warriors died... only we craftsmen are left imprisoned here..."

Lin Mo nodded, showing little sympathy for the dwarves' plight, but confirming their identities and purpose.

"You may continue to live here, but you need to craft equipment for me and pledge allegiance to me."

The dwarf leader, named Kuang Tie, nodded vigorously.

"Of course! Even if our benefactor hadn't said it, we would have sworn to be loyal to you to the death. From now on, wherever your sword points, that will be the direction our Black Stone Tribe's hammer will fall!"

Lin Mo nodded.

Yin Xue revealed a hint of jealousy: "Dwarves don't easily acknowledge a master, but once they do, they will never betray you. First it was Mingbei City, and now it's the dwarf tribe. I really don't know what to say about you."

At this moment, Harlin excitedly pulled out a bunch of keys.

"My lord, I will release them immediately."

He looked eager to make a name for himself.

However, Lin Mo spoke calmly.

"No."

With that, he swung his longsword.

The black sword light swept across the ground, directly ripping open the top of the dungeon.

The dwarves finally saw the light again, and some even hugged each other and cried.

Kuangshan and several other dwarves clumsily crawled out of the dungeon.

He immediately knelt down in front of Lin Mo.

"On behalf of all the dwarves of the Blackrock Horde, I express my deepest respect to you."

Lin Mo nodded, then asked, "Can you trade with humans now?"

Kuangshan was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lin Mo to be in such a hurry.

He considered it for a moment and then said, "It's possible, but... but human merchants are too cunning. We've always been cheated by them in business, even trading with us spoiled food, so..."

Lin Mo had a general understanding of the current situation of the dwarves.

"Pack up the remaining equipment and sell it to the city lord of Mingbei City. Tell him it was Lin Mo's idea. The city lord will open up trade routes for you. Then, repair the town and resume production as soon as possible."

A glint of wild joy flashed in Kuangshan's eyes.

The equipment of the dwarves has a very good reputation throughout the continent.

However, because they are really bad at trading, dwarven equipment rarely circulates.

If you have someone of city lord caliber as your backer, you'll never have to worry about being scammed again.

Seeing Kuangshan deep in thought, Lin Mo spoke again: "After you go to Mingbei City, tell the city lord to send Liu Yishou to Ash Fortress and tell him that Lin Mo has something urgent to discuss with him."

Kuangshan clasped his hands in a fist and bowed again: "Yes! I guarantee I will complete the mission!"

Yin Xue was taken aback: "Why did you bring him here?"

Lin Mo took a deep breath: "I plan to have him deliver the medicine next time."

Yin Xue revealed a hint of understanding: "You want him to see your mother's illness with his own eyes, and then refine a more effective medicine."

Lin Mo nodded: "The current Qingyuan medicine can only restore physical strength, which doesn't solve the problem at all. I need to treat the root cause."

Lin Mo had kept this matter in mind ever since he delivered the medicine last time.

Doctors must see the symptoms in person in order to develop more effective medicines.

Thinking this, Lin Mo took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Then, pointing in the direction where the red-haired, blood-stained man had just fled, he asked Kuangshan.

"Your enemy ran in that direction. What's in that direction? Where might she have gone?"

Upon hearing the words "enemy," Kuangshan immediately revealed a look of resentment.

He looked in the direction Lin Mo was pointing and pondered for a moment.

"My benefactor, that direction... if you keep going, you'll reach Troll Canyon."

He paused, then continued explaining.

"That's a very steep and deep canyon area, the lair of a large number of trolls, but it was probably... a few decades ago, it was occupied by humans. I've heard human caravans occasionally mention it; it's now used exclusively for human heroes to train and level up!"

Yin Xue nodded to the side.

"Yeah, that guy is probably going to recruit new followers. Trolls are all brawn and no brains and they're easy to fool. With her abilities, she should be able to gather a large group of followers in a short time."

Lin Mo nodded, pondering for a moment; that was his next target.

At this moment, Harlin ran over again, rubbing his hands together, and said to Lin Mo, "Um... sir, you see, I was also bewitched by that guy. How about you send me back to Ash Fortress first?"

Hearing Harlin's ingratiating request, Lin Mo snorted coldly.

"When did you get the idea that I wouldn't kill you?"