Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"The war against the sleeping Triton."

"That was the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Dragon Priest Council. We were secretly gathering strength, preparing to support the rebellion and rise of the eldest son of the dragon. Priscilla discovered the activities of the evil god Triton, who had been banished to the deep sea by the dragon father Yemotar and lay wounded and dormant. We, who possessed the knowledge of dragons, knew the horror of the evil god, and we realized that we had to deal with this potential trouble."

"Dozens of dragon priests gathered their warriors and marched toward the Temple of the Sleepers, and the Molten Dwarves were no exception."

"It was a brutal war against the gods. The sky was cleaved by the wings of dragons, and the ocean was teeming with the claws of evil. In the end, we joined forces with the dragons to defeat Triton, breaking his body into pieces and sealing them under the supervision of different dragon priests. That war cost every dragon-follower race a bloody price; less than one in ten warriors survived, and most of the dragons and dragon priests perished. We sealed the evil god, but at the cost of our power being on the verge of collapse, and the power we had accumulated to overthrow the Dragon Father was exhausted."

"The devastating losses were like a warhammer, shattering the pride of the Molten Dwarves and breaking our reach to the outside world. The dwarves began to loathe contact with other races, fearing to continue to bear these terrible costs. My people began to hesitate, becoming cowardly and timid. But this was not the worst of it. Shortly after the Sleeper was sealed away, His earlier ambush descended upon Mackenbert."

"That was an army of insectoids that surged from the depths of the earth. They were the slumbering kin of the sleepers, the monstrous creatures twisted and corrupted by the evil gods to kill us, the dragon's kin. They emerged from deep underground caves, with carapaces comparable to cast iron and forelimbs no less formidable than steel blades. We had not yet recovered from the damage of the divine war, and were powerless to resist. The bronze gates were breached, and the forging and gourmet areas fell one by one. Our newly trained recruits were completely unable to stop the advance of the insectoid swarm."

"Red Dragon Freyheimer stepped forward, wielding the Molten Core, and detonated lava that engulfed our enemies and most of Mackenbert's city. He saved us all, but nearly destroyed our home. The Molten Core is the heart of the mountain range of the Great Forge, and its power was almost completely exhausted by the Red Dragon. The Great Forge is cooling down, and the fire elementals are falling silent. Without that warmth, the Molten Dwarves will soon lose their home."

"This desperate situation drove many dwarves to madness. Years of misfortune gave them an outlet for their frustrations: the gentle red dragon. They had gone insane, and my efforts and those of the royal family could not quell the twisted flames in their hearts. All sorts of disgusting and repulsive curses were directed at the red dragon, making him a sitting duck for the dwarves."

“We lost the hearts of the people, even though we were not wrong. Red Dragon Freiheimer and I avoided the crowds and returned to our secluded place. It was near the fire elemental stronghold, the red dragon’s permanent residence. Just as I was thinking about how to comfort Freiheimer, my gentle mentor comforted me instead. He held the fading Molten Core in his hands and left his last words.”

Everything will be alright, my apprentice.

The fire hammer burns eternally.

Two days later, the Garden Baron told me the truth about the restoration of the Great Forge.

[Freiheimer burned himself, and the red dragon became the kindling that ignited the Great Forge and Mackenbert. Although I now desperately want to show you damned dwarves the wrath of the elements, I promised the red dragon that the fire elementals would be the dwarves' allies, in the name of noble Freiheimer.]

……

“I used to not care about superficial fame, but now I do.”

“I will never let Immelt repeat the same mistakes. I want my people to change. I want the creature I admire most to be loved by my people. But I am too powerless.”

“Morokiy often tells us that Lyle is special, that Lyle is the hope of breaking free from constraints.”

"Honorable Dragon King Priest, please heed my request."

"My stubborn people need your grace."

Chapter 623 The Red Dragon's Flaw

Lyle stepped through the bronze gate opened by the guards. These dwarven guards wore standard enchanted armor. The wide, dwarven-style armor made these half-man-high warriors look even more like iron barrels. The small eyes peeking out from the gaps in their armor showed only wariness and disgust for the alien race.

“Dwarves don’t seem to be a passionate race… I thought your character would be as bold as your beards.”

“That was my fault. When I was harvesting the power of the tribe, I shook the heart of the molten core, and a brief volcanic eruption flooded a small area of ​​Mackenbert. They had just ended their refuge and were easily able to associate that disaster with the alien race. Immelt must have received a lot of glares for that. I tried to explain, but it didn’t work. Don’t try to persuade a dwarf, unless it’s over drinks.”

"The dwarves' stubborn wariness is indeed a problem in advancing their faith. So what's wrong with Immelt now? Are we going to see her?"

“That’s right.” Freheimer nodded, his gaze scaring away several dwarves who were whispering in the street corner. Mackenbert was almost entirely forged from steel, and the thick smoke rising from the chimneys of the forges filled the city's tops with dark clouds, clusters of orange-yellow clouds shimmering in the firelight. When the smoke clouds accumulated to a certain extent, the dwarves would select them, firing special potions into the clouds with cannons. The smoke would then clump together in the air, raining down coals on Mackenbert. This was also why all the buildings in the dwarven kingdom had roofs, and the shops lining the streets had thick leather roofs. “But first we need to go to my workshop to get some equipment to help us get deeper into the Great Forge. Let me check, Lyle, what is the ignition point of humans? If it's sufficient, we can skip this step.”

“Please allow me to tour your workshop.” Lyle tossed his hair, revealing a sweat-drenched forehead. The sweat evaporated before the red dragon priest, a small puff of steam rising from Lyle’s collar.

The strange pair, one tall and one short, walked down the street, and the red dragon priest began to describe the recent situation of the red dragon Immelt.

"She is the best blacksmithing apprentice I have ever seen. Her small hands, which never get covered in furnace ash, wield the hammer with absolute precision. I am truly amazed by Immelt's incredible talent. Her growth rate has always been so astonishing. Just recently, I confirmed that her true skill level has reached that of a master blacksmith under my tutelage. So I came up with an idea that would make Immelt respected, a bold idea."

"I had her sign up for the Craftsmen's Council's examination. It's the kingdom's designated authority, and if she succeeds, she'll not only gain the dwarves' respect but also become part of Mackenbert's top-level authority. Don't be so surprised; forging is life to dwarves, and a good master blacksmith is definitely a good politician—dwarven logic."

Lyle stroked his chin. "I remember you once said that dwarves' favorite things are beards, blacksmithing, and fine wine. So you also have a council of drunkards?"

"Can't the best blacksmith be the best drunkard? Every talented artist should spend half his time soaking in alcohol. Three days ago, after Immelt turned 18, I gave her a bottle of brandy as a coming-of-age gift. Her expression at the time was very cute, but now I regret it a little. If it weren't for that alcohol, this little girl might not have been persuaded to take the craftsmen's council exam, and she wouldn't be so depressed now."

"You think even the best apprentice failed? Are all the forging masters in the Craftsmen's Council that abnormal?"

“No, Immelt’s failure was not due to her technical skill. My nephew Wieselger was tempted to hire her as the court blacksmith just by looking at her technique and carving. What truly caused her failure was her great talent.”

"The requirements for the Craftsmen's Council to assess candidates are to forge a weapon by hand and then use it to directly collide with the army's standard weapons. If a weapon can destroy the royal armed forces, the candidate will pass the council's assessment. Although these are mass-produced weapons, the warhammers and blades of the Firehammer Corps are the culmination of the work of all the masters in the Craftsmen's Council, and their performance has long surpassed that of ordinary weapons."

“I understand the standards of military weapons, and I also understand Immelt’s talent. This should have been easy for her, but Immelt’s talent is not only in fire. The Dragon Father gave her a power that combines fire and life, and her creations embody her talent. The intensity of the fire forges materials into sharp blades that can cause injury, but the rich life force erases the danger of the weapons.”

"The weapons Immelt made were incapable of causing harm. And a weapon that can't even kill is, to put it cruelly, just trash. Immelt's weapons clashed with the army's weapons, but she couldn't destroy them. I even took that weapon back, trying to find a dent on it to comfort Immelt. Unfortunately, there wasn't one."

"That damned battle sword, after clashing with Immelt's warhammer, is as good as new!"

Freheimer pulled out his key and unlocked his tightly locked forge. Gleaming, enchanted gear lay piled in a corner, gathering dust. The best-preserved piece of equipment was the anvil. The battle sword sat on the counter. The red dragon priest pointed to it and began rummaging through the pile of equipment, his casual manner resembling that of someone scavenging in a junkyard.

Lyle picked up the battle knife.

"Good weight!"

It was smaller than a regular longsword, but almost twice as heavy. Even for a dwarf, the weapon's size made it difficult for Lyle to wield freely. The blade was smooth as a mirror, reflecting Lyle's face. The edge of the blade gleamed coldly, without a single nick or nick—unlike a used blade, it was completely unmarked. Removing his glove, Lyle gently ran his fingers along the edge; a cut appeared on his finger. A blade capable of severing a hair in an instant, killing without bloodshed—while not a divine weapon, its power was truly astounding for a dwarf's weaponry.

"Found it!" The red dragon priest pulled a suit of armor out of the dust. It wasn't of dwarven standard; it was even larger than Lyle's size and could be worn by almost any race.

"The Fire Avoider Armor. It provides both defense and heat insulation. This is for you, Lyle. Immelt is currently at the Great Forge. The Craftsmen's Council's assessment has been a huge blow to her, and a few old, undead dwarves who I don't get along with have mocked her. Fire elementals are definitely easier to get along with than dwarves. I have no right to comfort her right now; I need you to cheer her up, Lyle. Before she is loved by others, I want her to maintain her enthusiasm, not this self-pitying look."

With Nia's help, Lyle put on the armor. Now Lyle looked just like a tin man. The enchantment made the heavy armor light, and after putting it on, the heat completely disappeared, and he even felt a little cold.

[Frost runes, really good. This armor will draw your mana to activate the air conditioning.]

The magical equipment transformed into a shape that fit Lyle's body perfectly, and feeling comfortable, Lyle skillfully controlled the armor and gave it a thumbs up.

"Let's go."

Head to the Great Forge.

Chapter 624 The Dragon Encouragement Master

The Fireseeker's armor revealed a complete dwarven society to Lyle. It wasn't that the armor contained any built-in vision-enhancing spells, but rather that Lyle, wearing the Fireseeker's armor, resembled a dwarven-designed steel golem. Without any outsiders to draw attention, the dwarves returned to their most comfortable way of life.

They would talk loudly to their friends, and they would groom their thick beards, some of which were so smooth and shiny they reached their waists. Several metal hooks made the dwarf's pride gleam like a grand tie. Most dwarfs had unkempt, bushy beards, like the fur on a bear's chest, with edges stained with soot or wine, giving the impression of a disheveled dwarf. In reality, this was because they had just finished forging or drinking heavily; they could spend an hour or two getting their beards dirty, and twice as long cleaning them.

Because their voices were loud enough, Lyle could hear them clearly.

"Damn it, that brat who hasn't even grown his hair yet stole half of my wine cellar's treasures. My heart is bleeding, and I have to send this bastard who was kicked by a goat to the hospital to treat his alcohol poisoning. I really want to hit him with a hammer."

"Damn it! I knew poor Tabu had a square mark on his forehead, and you lied to me and said he fell on the fireplace himself!!! You wretched hairy savage! Put your bottle down right now!!!"

"Damn woman!!! You actually tried to trick me with strong liquor!!! You ruined the taste of fine wine!!"

"You wait here at the door! I'm going back to my room to get the hammer so you can go to the hospital with Tabu!! Don't you dare run away! You coward!!"

"Only a brainless iron golem would listen to you! Get out of my way, you iron idiot!!!"

Lyle took a step back, watching the dwarf rush past him, followed by a valiant female dwarf wielding a hammer and riding a goat. Lyle glanced back at the red dragon priest, who calmly continued on his way.

"Don't worry, you'll be stopped by the guards if you ride a motorcycle at high speed in Mackenbert."

"Is that guy safe now?"

"He would hide at his brother's house for a few days, until the woman's anger cooled down, or until the most ferocious beating. A few days would be enough to forge and strengthen the hammer."

Lyle and the Red Dragon Priest distanced themselves from the crowd and walked down the secluded, spiraling passage. The staircase carved into the mountainside led directly above the lava pool of the Great Furnace, where molten lava occasionally spewed dozens of meters high, creating splashes (or sparks?) ten meters away from Lyle. Protected by his armor, Lyle didn't feel the temperature change. What alerted him to the change was the gradually softening of the steps beneath his feet. The rock was gradually transforming from solid to molten, and at the end of the path lay a lava pool.

They arrived at the Great Forge. The red dragon priest led Lyle onto some crimson stones floating in the lava. These stones, brought from the elemental plane of fire, could withstand high temperatures and burning. Occasionally, splashes of lava touched Lyle's feet, but the Fire Avoider's armor only made him feel a slight warmth.

Upon stepping onto the largest lava floating island, some fire elementals crawled ashore from the lava pools. They danced in circles around the red dragon priest, while some stood outside the circle staring at Lyle's armor.

"Don't touch them, they'll think you're inviting them to play. Fire elementals are restless creatures, and provoking them will cause a lot of trouble. Besides, accepting one will attract more." More and larger fire elementals with more intense flames "walked" out of the cave. The more powerful the fire elemental, the more humanoid its shape would be, which represented the concentration of wisdom.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Baron Garden."

The fire elementals all gathered around, and the red dragon priest released his pressure to suppress these troublemakers, leading Lyle into the largest cavern.

"Release your pressure, but do not attack them. They will explode at the slightest provocation. Only high-level elementals can suppress their true nature and become communicative beings. The Garden Baron is such a high-level elemental lord; he is an elemental being with normal thinking."

A majestic voice echoed through the cave.

"My little Mel! Don't be sad! Smile! I'll put on a special show for you! The Elemental Lord jumps through a ring of fire!!!"

Lyle fell silent.

Freheimer covered his face.

"It's just relatively normal."

As Lyle ventured deeper into the cave, he saw a giant of fire elementals, over ten meters tall, pull a ball of flame from between his pectoral muscles, form it into a fire ring, and then crawl through it. He conjured some exploding fireworks in the air, and then began hula hooping the fire ring around his waist.

The figure appeared much smaller in comparison to the Flame Lord. It was a red-haired female elf, whose appearance was seven-tenths similar to Sylvie's human form. She was curled up in a ball with her hands around her knees, and a pair of red agate-like dragon horns identified her as Immelt.

“We have a guest, little Mel.” The Garden Baron shaped the hula hoop into a donut, swallowed it in a few bites, glanced at the Red Dragon Priest with burning eyes, and then stared intently at Lyle.

Immelt looked up, his eye bags appearing particularly red in the hazy air.

“Professor Freheimer, and also…”

"Lyle." Lyle maneuvered the Fire Averter armor and slowly approached the Red Dragon, proceeding cautiously as he passed the Garden Baron.

“No need to be so formal, Dragon King Priest. Immelt often mentions you; you were her first friend. Immelt’s friend is my friend.” The Garden Baron placed his hands on his hips, controlling his flames to slowly cool them down.

Lyle knelt down in front of Immelt, one knee on the ground. This little girl he had watched grow up had become a young woman in just half a month.

"I'm sorry to have shown you my cowardly side, Lyle."

“You were beaten to tears by Nia many times when you were a child, and that magic crystal that recorded your childhood is still kept in your father’s treasury. It’s all so clear to me, it’s like it happened yesterday, even though it was only last month.”

Immelt puffed out his cheeks and raised his left hand to angrily pound Lyle's chest.

when!

The Fire Avoider armor, with its scale-like surface, rippled with waves, the impact spreading throughout its body. Even with a human appearance, Immelt's power was at the level of a dragon.

The child is grown up and can't be joked about casually anymore.

“That’s different. I’m an adult now, no longer a spoiled young dragon who can be pampered at will. I’ve let my teachers down, and they don’t like me. I don’t know what I did wrong. I… maybe I’m just not suited to come to Mackenbert. I should be protecting the clan and the city I’m supposed to be protecting…”

The dwarves' prolonged hostility and the setbacks at the Craftsmen's Council plunged the young girl, who had just left her lair, into self-doubt. Moreover, Immelt, the red dragon, was a dragon with a strong sense of teamwork; she longed to integrate into the group. Her other brothers would certainly have adapted better to the current situation. This unease became the source of the red dragon's sorrow, and without proper guidance, it could cause her confidence to crumble.

"Am I the worst one? Alcaron and the others must have been living peacefully with their clans long ago! Why did I receive two conflicting powers? Does my father dislike me? Was I picked up from a trash can by my mother?"

The somewhat obsessed red dragon's thoughts went further and further astray, and Lyle quickly stopped her.

“当然不，你的父母深爱着你们，我亲眼看见你是第一个破壳的孩子，你可是长女。实际上恰好相反，你的父亲很欣赏你的温柔，你能照顾好其他兄弟。难道你没发现，在你们进入青春期之后，你是唯一一个没被巨龙教训过的孩子。亲子活动只是一个掩饰，我很确定阿尔卡隆经常被揍，不是因为巨龙对他的期望最高，而是他最熊。”

"Regarding the power bestowed upon you by the Dragon Father..." Lyle held Immelt's hand, "that is the most beautiful blessing your father gave you. Everyone receives the best. The dragon gave you two conflicting powers because... he believed you could control them. They repel each other, yet they can also complement each other. And when the two are united, Immelt, your power is perfect."

“You don’t need to change anything, perfect child. It’s the dwarves who need to change. I will help them change so they can learn to appreciate the perfection of you.” Just like before, Lyle reached out and stroked the red dragon’s head. “Take courage and take the Craftsmen’s Council exam again, Immelt.”

"But my weapon can't do any damage..."

“I have a plan. You will be dazzling, Immelt. This time, you must give it your all and fully utilize the power the dragon has given you. Do not be discouraged. You must proudly show those dwarves your true self and display the noble bearing of the daughter of the dragon father, Yemotar.”