Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

“You should hoist the sails; the wind is favorable now and will take you to shore,” the dragon turtle said as Leslaufer stepped onto the deck, its head emerging from the steam at the stern. “I don’t want to get too close to shore.”

"Whatever you want." Leslaufer sensed the wind direction. Although he didn't know much about navigation, he wasn't far from the shore and could get ashore no matter what, so he didn't intend to worry about it any further.

However, as he hoisted the sails, an idea popped into his head.

"Wait, you're just going to leave like this? Do you still want this ship?"

This was a two-masted warship, and it had been well maintained by the Ampiri people. Hearing that Raslaufer did not intend to take it away, the Dragon Turtle was naturally willing to take it in.

But this annoying human will definitely not be given to me for free.

"What do you want me to do?" The dragon turtle's face wrinkled with wrinkles. "I'm not going to risk my life for you. I'm completely free in the ocean!"

“You’re no use to me,” Raslaufer waved his hand. “I’ll borrow the guy I gave you before. I’ll return him to you after I’m done, along with the ship.”

He was referring, of course, to Henning, the new toy of the dragon turtle.

Upon hearing that someone wanted to borrow his property, the dragon turtle was naturally not very happy, but it wasn't really any real treasure. If it were exchanged for a warship... that wouldn't be impossible.

Soon, Henning, who had been soaked in seawater for several days and was even somewhat swollen, was thrown onto the deck. He still did not die, or rather, he simply could not.

Looking at Leslaufer approaching him, the former king could only utter a weak cry for help:

"Please...kill...me..."

For him, death was an exceptionally merciful release.

However, Reislaufer's response was:

“Not so easy—Dieter, just find something and draw one of my flags.”

Reislaufer was naturally referring to the black three-circle flag. As Dieter responded and went to prepare, Doppler grabbed an iron chain, wrapped it around Henning's neck, and then hurled one end of the chain towards the mast.

"No...no!" Henning's bloodshot eyes widened instantly; he knew exactly what this thug was about to do!

It would be better to let the dragon turtle take him underwater!

But he never had the right to refuse. The next moment, Raslaufer took the iron chain hanging from the mast. As the deadly noose was pulled by his arm, Henning was lifted into the air like a real blood eagle and hung in mid-air on the mast!

“I’ve heard that you did a lot of things while I was away,” Raslaufer said, glancing at Dieter as he approached with the flag and gesturing for him to hang it up as well. “Unlike the ones I personally intervened with, many of them may have never even seen me or heard of me before.”

"It's alright, they'll hear about it soon."

Several days later, when the sails of the ships appeared on the shore, almost everyone who saw what was hanging on the mast could not believe their eyes.

"That...that's our king? How did he become like that?!"

"Look at that! I recognize it, that's the Kingmaker's banner! His mercenary groups all fly that banner!"

"What are flags? Look at the one standing on the bow of that ship, isn't that the Kingmaker himself!"

"Even more so than what's engraved on the money... Wait, isn't that Countess Skadi? Didn't she say she was missing..."

The last person to speak had a companion beside him hurriedly tug at him: "Shh! Are you crazy? Don't you know what's going on in the capital—"

Before the admonisher could finish speaking, a terrifying black shadow, carrying immense pressure, loomed over his face. Trembling, he turned his head to look, only to see the man he had seen countless times on gold and silver coins standing alive and well before him.

"Uh, Your Excellency the King, good morning... good afternoon... good evening?"

When Raslaufer raised his hand, the civilian almost thought his neck had left his body, but Dupler simply patted him on the shoulder.

"Tell me, what happened in the capital?"

"Why do you ask me?" The man's face immediately fell, wrinkling into countless lines. "It was Miss Anne. Not long ago, one night, she took over the entire capital with about twenty people, and then..."

He glanced cautiously at Henning Wenzel, who was being "looked up to" on the mast: "There are no more Wenzel family members now, at least not in the capital."

Raslaufer patted the man on the shoulder again, watching as he and his companions fled as if granted a pardon, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“Annie?” Skuld and Dieter finally disembarked. “She’s quite clever and quick to act.”

Reslaufer paused for a moment: "She should have left with me, ha. I didn't let her come, but she's fine."

“Someone has already done it, so you don’t need to continue,” Skottie immediately understood Angelita’s intentions after hearing about her actions. “Otherwise, it’s probably not just the Wenzel family that will die.”

“Doleling is a good place,” Raslaufer said, turning to look at the warship. No one dared to approach it; by nightfall, it would disappear into the steam and clouds along with the dragon turtle. “It’s time to change the so-called capital.”

Skadi gently shook her head: "If you intend to promote me, you can't let me manage a kingdom full of corpses. What Anne did was actually... too much. She was too influenced by you. When you went to Purgatory before, she imitated you like a madwoman."

Reslaufer thought of the greatsword and nodded slightly: "Now that I'm back, I shouldn't need her anymore."

“I’m afraid it’s too late,” Skadi disagreed.

Leslaufer couldn't quite put his finger on this change; perhaps he was indifferent, or perhaps he simply wasn't sure whether it was good or bad. He instinctively reached out and touched a ring of metal hanging from his waist.

“Come here,” he beckoned to Skadi, gesturing for her to come closer. “You won’t refuse, will you?”

The daughter of the chief of the Ampiri tribe, a slave, a countess, today's Earl of Doule, lord of Ironforge, and tomorrow's queen of the kingdom smiled slightly at Raslaufer, stood before him, and bowed her head, letting the crown, still bearing the dried blood of two generations of Wenzel kings, settle on her head.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Kingmaker."

Chapter 731 The Second Visit

The Wenzel family sacrificed their lives for peace in East Inassus. Along with them were the Earl of Katina's family and all the Strongman family members who were aligned with Louise's faction.

Dieter's furious outburst after his near-death experience surprised everyone. Just half a month after the turmoil subsided, the former patriarch, who had not yet fully abdicated, collapsed at the manor gate due to exhaustion and died of blood loss on the way to the nearest church. With his death, the family's inheritance right quickly and naturally fell to Dieter Strongman.

"Died from excessive blood loss?"

At Zebrecht's home, Daisy looked at Reislaufer with bewilderment. The man had just come out of the bathroom and was telling his companions about his experiences on the trip: "You can fly now, how could you let something like this happen to him?"

"And... what exactly is the connection between exhaustion and excessive blood loss?!"

"Of course it's because of excessive blood loss, which leads to exhaustion," Dople shrugged indifferently. "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, for a nearly 100-year-old man, having a hole in his chest will definitely cause excessive blood loss."

This probably has nothing to do with age, right?

“I’m just someone who does things for money. Kindness has nothing to do with me,” Raslaufer said calmly. “Scotty and Dieter will play the good guy, what you often call… the ‘bad cop.’ All I need to do is show everyone my anger and my power.”

“It’s a red face,” Daisy said, patting her forehead in exasperation. “This redness isn’t from anger or blood! And you can’t say it’s not your fault now—every coin has your name engraved on it!”

“Some people compare you to Emperor Richard, Uncle Leslaufer,” Angelita appeared out of nowhere, her face flushed, “but others still dismiss it. I think our next step might be…”

“Even in my opinion, this is far too extreme,” Leslaufer said, slapping Anne on the head with a wry smile. “There’s no next step! If we do it your way, we might not be able to kill them all. Get these extreme thoughts out of your head right now!”

If anyone dared to glance at Raslaufer on the street, Doppler wouldn't mind rushing over and punching them a couple of times, but to rush over and kill someone just because they were unhappy with him would be far too sensitive.

More importantly, it might look like...something they're afraid of, just like how bald people often avoid words like "bald" or even "bright" or "glowing."

Leslaufer did not have this fear, nor did he need to.

“That might be a bit difficult,” Angelita said nonchalantly, rubbing her head. “I’ve been by your side the whole time, and my father is a notorious tyrant and mad king. You can’t count on me—ouch, ouch, ouch—”

Leslaufer reached out and grabbed the girl's ear: "Even so, let's talk about it again in twenty years. You're not that old yet."

"Besides, you're neither a mercenary like me, nor do you have a crown on your head. Such things are far from your reach."

Leslaufer turned and went into the kitchen to serve herself a bowl of broth, and also took two slices of bread. Angelita, however, stood motionless. Although Leslaufer's pat and tug made her face turn bright red, the girl's face showed no other expression except for a silly grin.

Even when Daisy waved her hand back and forth in front of her, she didn't react.

"Damn it," the bard sighed. "Old Lei, look at you, you've practically fished a mandarin fish into a mandarin fish!"

Raslaw rolled his eyes. He didn't understand Daisy's meaning at all. Besides, what had he done? He hadn't done anything.

Suddenly, Black Claw's cries rang out from the courtyard outside. They were rhythmic, consisting of three long cries followed by one short one, and after a brief pause, a long howl followed.

“There was a visitor, someone who had been here before, but not someone I knew.”

Bella went out first. No one knew exactly what she had taught the Deinonychus, but in any case, Blackclaw was now smarter than the most trained dog. Everyone, including Leslaufer, was wondering when Blackclaw would be able to speak human language after being trained by Bella.

Everyone rushed out to check, but although the courtyard gate was open, they couldn't see anyone no matter how they looked left or right. It wasn't until Leslaufer stood at the door and pulled the black claws that were on the ground away from his neck that they saw the dwarf who had been tackled to the ground.

"Ah! Your big dog! Ah!" A deep voice leaped up from the ground, though still much shorter than Leslaufer. "It licked me all over! Where did it get so much drool?!"

"This manticore leather armor I'm wearing isn't some cheap stuff..."

“If you’re not afraid of getting soaked, I can help you with that,” Bella snorted, turned around and squatted down to hug Black Paw, stroking the cold-blooded animal’s scales and feathers in a rhythmic motion. “Actually, compared to a dog, Black Paw is more like a big cat in some ways.”

No one would argue with a druid about whether a deinonychus's habits were more like a dog or a cat. After handing the dwarf a cloth to wipe himself clean, Angrita recognized him: "Mr. Osk? What brings you here?"

The dwarf rubbed his large beard with a cloth with great effort, grumbling, "What, am I not very popular here? Or do I need an appointment to see the great and valiant Kingmaker now?"

“That doesn’t sound very friendly,” Leslaufer raised an eyebrow, but still made way for her. “Come in and talk. Since you’re here, you’re definitely not just here to look around.”

“I don’t have the guts to drop by an executioner’s den every now and then—just to be honest,” Oske shook his head, but showed no intention of going inside. “I’m just passing on a message. I don’t intend to stay any longer, nor do I plan to work with you. As always, it was von Dahl who asked me to come.”

"Ha... He's poured all his energy into his career. If he knew what you've accomplished so far—look at my fingers, I'm not exaggerating—I wonder what he would think."

"But I have to say, if he were to ask someone else for help besides you, I might not be willing to come—it would be hard to find anyone stronger than you in this world."

Oske was a straightforward person who said whatever came to mind. After a long and agonizing rant, he reluctantly began, “Vondar is almost there, but if he wants to succeed, he needs your help. Otherwise, he’ll definitely get himself killed.”

Chapter 732 Von Dahl's Invitation

"That serious?!"

Upon hearing this, the poet immediately tensed up. After all, von Dahl had saved her life, so she couldn't help but care. However, Daisy's train of thought quickly took another turn.

"I know!" She slammed her fist into her palm. "He must be planning to defy the heavens and forge something invincible, right? An imperial weapon, the kind that can dominate all ages! And then he's summoned the Heavenly Dao to prepare for a tribulation, so he needs us to protect him—"

"Stop, stop, stop! What nonsense are you spouting?" Osk waved his hand vehemently, interrupting her. "I have no idea what you're talking about! How could the Hammer of the Worlds not allow dwarves to forge the best possible things? Let alone impose some inexplicable punishment for it!"

“Actually, the main reason for all this is the change in nature,” Oske seemed to have been provoked by Daisy’s crazy words. After refuting Daisy, he visibly became somewhat depressed. “Naturally… perhaps this is a test that Moradin has given us… If we can’t even do this, then we are not qualified to return… to our former home…”

“Don’t listen to her nonsense, it’s not true at all,” Mary, who had been standing behind Angelita, couldn’t help but speak up. “She’s always been so unreliable, just ignore her. Tell us, what really happened?”

Osk paused for a moment, then spoke: "You all should know about the dwarves' lost forge city, right?"

“The most magnificent creation of the ancient dwarven empire,” Raslaufer nodded. “Fondal has mentioned this to us more than once. It is said that you will need a set of master-crafted mithril equipment to open the road to there.”

“Yes and no,” Osk shook his head. “First of all, I must correct one point: our ancestors once established another magnificent empire that spanned the earth, underground and even the sky. Compared to that era, Forge City was far from being the ‘most glorious.’ It was only after an irreversible disaster—ancient memories, not even legends, have been lost, and we have no way of knowing what exactly happened—that the entire ancient empire began to slide down like a mudslide.”

"The sky city crashed to the ground, and the cities on the ground collapsed underground, crushing everything below into ashes and dirt. The clan's scholars are generally convinced that the catastrophe wiped out at least 30% of the dwarf population in one fell swoop."

“This is the consequence of their lack of reverence for nature,” Bella said without turning her head, still playing with Blackclaw. “So the dwarves can’t even establish a decent kingdom now, while the elves are able to make a graceful exit.”

Osk let out a heavy nasal tone to express his dissatisfaction: "But dwarves are a very resilient race. No matter what setbacks we suffer, we will not easily give in. Back then, our ancestors put in the effort of generation after generation to rebuild our homeland. Unfortunately, all we got in return was failure after failure. And more importantly, as if it were a punishment after each failure, we began to lose our traditions and skills of ancient crafts, laws and many other things. With each failure, we lost more."

“Moradin’s glory is not particularly dazzling in this world.” It was Bella who spoke again, but this time, the dwarf didn’t even make a nasal sound.

Because it is indeed as the Druids said.

"...In short, the last few generations, our most distant ancestors, adopted the most conservative approach: to build an absolutely safe sanctuary underground, an impregnable fortress, to seal everything else away there, so that no matter what changes occur, as long as the city does not fall, the dwarves' traditions will not be lost."

"And then you just packed up the whole city and lost it all?" Daisy's eyes widened.

Upon hearing this, Osk forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Back then, they didn't know that an unstable abyssal rift was opening there. We... had no choice but to leave and forge the final gate to stop the demons from invading."

“Of course, we can’t go back ourselves. Even according to calculations, we should have left that rift long ago, even at the slowest migration speed,” the dwarf sighed deeply. “Master-crafted armor sets, things that demons could never forge, but sadly, we can’t now either—until Vondar.”

"So he's succeeded?" Leslaufer frowned. "But there are still a lot of demons inside, so it's impossible to get in?"

The dwarf remained silent for a long while: "It's not that optimistic. The old saying that you know about using the mithril suit to open the gate may be problematic. It's also possible that there was a problem with the gates themselves. In any case, a few months ago, von Dahl's attempt only opened a crack, and that crack quickly closed again."

"According to him, behind the gate he saw a world that was almost bizarre and grotesque. It was definitely not the abyss, but it was full of traces of being corrupted by the abyss. Most of the subterranean creatures had become different, more ferocious, more brutal, and more chaotic."

"Based on the gap he opened, he can only get through by himself at most, but he definitely can't handle those creatures, not to mention that it will be a long time before he can find a furnace to support him."

Angelita poured cold water on the idea, tossing down a stone as she spoke: "Not to mention, Furnace City isn't necessarily safe."

"...This is precisely what we are more worried about."

Osk looked at Reslaufer with a hint of disdain, but more so with anticipation: "Fondal intends to continue improving his work, trying to allow as many people as possible to pass, but if it's just members of our Half-Church Clan, I'm afraid it will be difficult to complete this task... Would you be willing to help with this?"

“Vondar has always been our friend,” Raslaufer answered without a second’s hesitation. “We would love to go to the East Sea, but before that, we probably have some things to take care of. As you probably know, I was away for a while not long ago, and a lot of things happened after I came back, so we need to prepare in advance.”

“As for whether you want to come with us, that’s fine with you,” Raslaufer said. He wasn’t even wearing the boots with the special spurs, but as he blinked, a nightmare burning with red flames appeared out of thin air beside him. “Let it go with you. I’ll know the coordinates so you won’t get lost.”

Once they have the coordinates of the two locations, they can easily travel back and forth between them.

Chapter 733 von Daryl

Flames roared in the stone furnace, like the breath of an ancient behemoth. The air was distorted by the heat, and every breath carried the bitter taste of iron and coke.

The dwarf von Dahl Halfhill removed his heavy leather gloves, revealing a hand almost entirely free of calluses. This hand, also crafted by his own skill, was forged from countless rare materials, its strength as steady as a mountain. He removed a red-hot steel billet from the fire, placed it on the anvil, and raised the giant hammer high.

"--when!--"

Sparks flew, the rhythm like war drums, each strike steady and powerful, echoing throughout the dome of the foundry. As the hammer blows mingled with the crackling of flames, the dwarves' deep voices sang in rhythm with the music.

This is one of the few legacies that the ancient dwarf empire has left to the dwarves of today.