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

The iron ingot gradually took shape as he sang. Sweat began to bead on von Dahl's forehead, dripping down his thick beard and turning into golden beads in the firelight.

However, as he suddenly plunged the red-hot steel into cold water, and as steam roared and exploded in the room, a series of subtle and discordant notes forcefully broke through the reverberation of the forging process, and with the appearance of this sound, the beard and hair on von Dahl's face seemed to darken.

There was no need to continue. The dwarf knew this perfectly well, just as he knew his own hands—whether they were natural or artificial.

But he still seemed somewhat unwilling to give up, and took the nearly completed failed product out of the water. His eyes reflected the fine lines, which were almost exactly as he had expected.

How many times has this happened? Feng Daer couldn't quite remember. He needed to check how much material he had left in stock. He didn't have much left, neither material nor time.

"This is the third time, my son."

An aged voice, as if crawling out from the ground, appeared behind Feng Da'er. The dwarf turned around abruptly and saw an old dwarf much, much shorter than himself. His special clothing could not conceal his body, which looked like a rock weathered over millions of years. It was hard to imagine that this man had once been one of the toughest men in the Half-Hill Clan.

Feng Dahl couldn't help but recall the nightmare he had in Shinmu City, Lamia, the monster who had tried to deceive him with the appearance of the man before him. Feng Dahl emerged from that illusion, but he was unwilling to admit that perhaps part of the force that had freed him was because the memory wasn't the true face of the person before him.

“Father,” the dwarf’s hoarse voice seemed to have shattered along with the steel, “you shouldn’t have come. It’s probably too hot for you here.”

The dwarf, older than the old dwarf, raised his hand and waved it: "What, does my son think I'm that old? It's just the clan's foundry, not the Forge City."

"If it were that place, I'm afraid this old man wouldn't dare to go in. But right now... you probably can't actually open that gate yet, right?"

Feng Daer hesitated to meet those cloudy eyes. Back when he first returned years ago, he had already prepared himself for reprimands, punishments, and even expulsion from the clan, becoming a shameful "nameless one." Yet, to this day, the ending that seemed so fitting for him had not come.

Similar voices continued for a long time, but thanks to his father's strong opposition, the matter was finally dropped.

“…I am ashamed, Father,” von Dahl sighed. “I tried to do better, but the result was not as good as before.”

“It’s just a necessary setback,” the patriarch of the Banqiu clan said calmly. “But if you keep dwelling on this, it will inevitably lead to a lot of unnecessary suffering.”

"There's no need to rush, son. We are dwarves, created by Moradin, who gave us long lives. We don't need to be as impatient as humans, just like..."

von Dahl instinctively replied, "Just like that lost underground dwarf."

Although several centuries have passed, von Dahl still remembers the fairy tales and fables that circulate among the dwarves, which, like everything else, are part of their tradition and should not be easily forgotten.

If that human girl were here, she would probably summarize it as "haste makes waste." That's just how she is—crazy and eccentric, but sometimes she inexplicably clicks with something on her mind.

This is really strange...

"Thinking about the friends you've made outside?" The clan chief and Vondar's father, seeing through Vondar's thoughts, asked.

The most skilled craftsman among all the Haidong dwarves nodded.

“Then go see them,” a smile suddenly appeared on his wrinkled face, hidden beneath his sparse beard. “They’re waiting for you too.”

"They're here?!" Vondar's pupils constricted sharply. "Where are they? No one should be causing trouble..."

“While I must say that as a dwarf, your process of making friends is rather casual, to the point that it hasn’t been properly observed and tested over a long period of time, this wouldn’t happen if they were your friends,” the chieftain shook his head. “Besides, the reputation of your tall friend is really… too intimidating.”

No one would think they could compete with a Dubler who had fought across all three regions of Inathas, not even the most arrogant and conservative dwarf.

"I came to see you mainly for this matter. Apart from you, our clan is afraid it will be difficult to find a second person who can receive them. So pack your things. Now that you have returned to the clan, you cannot be too impolite."

Although dwarves mostly live underground and appear dark and damp compared to the elven realms, this is not actually the case. As a race that once built a prosperous empire, dwarves have their own etiquette and culture, which, while different from humans, are certainly not offensive to their alien allies.

But the elves don't care about such things—that's what the dwarves always say.

Feng Dahl had no time to think about any of that. He hurriedly changed out of his work clothes, took the prepared clothes from the servant standing beside his father, and then quickly walked out of the forge, leaving everything inside to the servant to handle. The father and son walked quickly through the tunnels of the territory, one after the other, and finally stopped in front of a cave hall made of dark granite, reflecting the black iron and copper luster under the torches and wall lamps.

As the door was pushed open with an impatient hand, the dwarf heard that familiar clamor again:

"Look, it's Old Feng! And there's an even older dwarf than Old Feng!"

Chapter 734 Pollution Behind the Gate

"What are you saying..."

Mary instinctively tried to pull Daisy along, but at that moment the excited poet was faster than the old swordsman of Corazond, and he dashed out like a dog, circling around the Halfhill Chieftain.

"I just wanted to ask if you have any books of hatred or anything like that. If you do, could you give me a separate page? I have quite a few dwarf stories..."

The patriarch of the Half-Hill Clan had not personally received or even seen Raslaufer and his party before. He was completely bewildered by Daisy's rapid-fire barrage of questions, which lacked any punctuation. In the end, it was von Dahl who stepped forward to protect him and gave Daisy a big bear hug.

"Daisy! My friend, you really haven't changed at all!"

"No change? I've gotten so much tanned." Daisy's attention was quickly diverted to the side by Von Dahl, which made the Half-Hill Chieftain breathe a long sigh of relief.

However, after meeting Daisy and the others, von Dahl noticed that something seemed to be missing from the bard, and he couldn't help but frown.

"If I remember correctly, you should have brought your zither... right?"

"You mean this?" Daisy took out her mattress. "It's broken! The strings can be reconnected, but it consumes magic, so it'll just have to stay like this—if you have time, could you fix it for me?"

"That's easy," the dwarf agreed without much thought. Compared to the mentally taxing work he was currently engaged in, repairing a magical item was a much better break.

However, before returning to work, there are obviously two other old friends who need special attention.

“Anne has grown into a young woman,” von Dahl chuckled, glancing at Angrita beside him, the girl wearing the breastplate he had crafted. “How is it? Old von Dahl’s craftsmanship is not bad, is it?”

“Thanks to you,” Anne gave him a sweet smile, “this armor has saved my life several times thanks to your kindness. Even the best craftsmen in the empire probably couldn’t forge such powerful armor.”

“Of course, of course,” the greatest praise for a craftsman is to be at the top of the industry, and von Dahl immediately smiled so much that his eyes narrowed. However, when he looked at Reislaufer, the old dwarf sighed again, “—but even so, my skills still can’t keep up with the speed at which you destroy them, can’t you, old Reislaufer?”

Reslaufer helplessly shrugged: "I don't want to ruin your work, but you know, my enemies can be like that sometimes, ruthless."

“I heard you also defeated one of Tiamat’s avatars. If that’s the case, then they died a worthy death,” von Dahl shook his head. “But it doesn’t matter. One of the meanings of forging is to constantly replace the old with the better. This time I’m going to forge several batches of new equipment, and there will be some for you to use—just don’t break them again. I’m not just heartbroken for my creations.”

Neither side mentioned Reslaufer's recent actions; von Dahl might not have been aware of them, but his patriarch father didn't intend to bring it up.

For the Banqiu clan today, there are far more important things to do than making moral judgments about a human being.

“Let’s get back to business,” Leslaufer steered the conversation. “You just said you were going to forge new ones? We heard from Oske that you seem to have opened that floodgate?”

“It’s just prying open a small crack, far from ‘opening’ it. To be precise, it’s just taking a shortcut,” von Dahl waved his hand. “If an analogy can help you understand the difference better, that door needs a key, but I didn’t make a key; I just made a lock pick.”

"If you just intend to go in and steal a little, this is enough, but for someone who wants to go home, it's far from enough."

"Especially when they discovered that their hometown had been taken over by some bad guys of unknown origin."

This was what Leslaufer wanted to hear; how to open the door was not his concern.

“Osker said you opened it once before and saw what was inside—what exactly was inside? It would be best to prepare in advance.”

Upon hearing this, von Dahl did not hesitate much. As he opened his artificial arm, a clever groove was immediately revealed, projecting blurry and strange images into the air.

“This little gadget recorded my perspective at the time,” the dwarf said. “Although it may not be very clear, I can explain it to you one by one—look at this, it’s the first one I saw.”

Leslaufer and his companions squinted. The image appeared to be of a humanoid creature, but its head did not reflect light properly under the illumination of the light source—its eyes seemed to be hidden.

“This monster has no eyes,” von Dahl added. “Where the eye sockets should be, I can only see a shallow indentation. This thing must perceive its surroundings through other senses, but it will still subconsciously turn its head toward the object it is observing—yes, I’m talking about me.”

The projected image began to shake. It appeared that Vondar had turned to run away, but a second later, an even larger black shadow pounced from the edge of the image, tackling the blind creature to the ground, followed by a bloody scene. Only then could the crowd barely make out the creature's outline.

“Wait, isn’t that…” Annie suddenly exclaimed softly, while subconsciously looking at Leslaufer, “…the chokehold monster?”

She had encountered similar strange creatures with Raslaufer before, but the problem was, the ones they encountered back then were much, much smaller than this one!

But its starfish-like hands and withered limbs were very easy to identify. However, the withered creature in the video was completely different from the one they had killed before. Its entire body had been magnified more than ten times, and even the smallest limbs had become thick and powerful, so much so that it could easily pounce on and tear apart a humanoid creature.

“The chokehold monster is a fairly common creature underground,” the chieftain of the Half-Hill Clan said slowly, “which is exactly what we are worried about.”

“Osker must have mentioned it to you, about the Forge City and the Gates, about the rifts in the Abyss. Perhaps those energies have affected these creatures, making them even more bizarre and deadly. As a result, going back has become extremely difficult.”

"And another question is: if we really go back, will we... also become monsters like these things?"

“Don’t worry, whatever the problem, I will help you solve it,” Raslaufer wanted to see more, but von Dahl’s image abruptly ended as the gate closed. However, this did not affect Dople’s confidence. “Not to mention the monsters affected, even real demons have died countless times in my hands. As long as I can open the gate again, they will all be doomed.”

"As for what you want to confirm after that, do whatever you want to confirm."

Chapter 735 The Dwarves' Needs

“It’s wonderful to have the help of friends,” von Dahl stroked his beard and smiled from the heart. “However, it will probably take some time before we can actually go in and take a look.”

He explained his recent predicament to everyone: "Although everyone understands that being impatient for success is not a good thing, to be honest, when success is right in front of you, it is really hard to calm down... I'm going to see if a different approach can help."

Or perhaps they will go in the opposite direction and stray further and further away—it's really hard to say what the final outcome will be.

Even a craftsman like von Dahl had no way of knowing the answer, after all, the person who set the question was his ancestor, the ancient dwarves who had a more advanced memory and a more complete tradition.

“So, the closer you are to success, the further you are from success…” Daisy muttered to herself, whether to herself or to someone else, it was hard to tell. After a moment, she suddenly looked up and said, “Old Feng, in that case, could you please fix my violin first?”

“Daisy!” Mary glared at her reproachfully. Although she was not as familiar with Daisy as she was with von Dahl, she was at least very familiar with Daisy and knew that the girl would come up with some strange ideas from time to time. It was just that this idea was really out of place.

"I know there are priorities!" the poet quickly defended himself. "But look, Lao Feng, you don't have any ideas right now. Trying things randomly will definitely waste time and materials, but it's also unrealistic to expect you to meditate like you're in seclusion and rack your brains—so how about you help me fix the zither? Just in case, just in case you get some ideas?"

Feng Dahl looked at Daisy for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Relax, Daisy! Everyone here is a friend, no one will blame you. Alright, I'll fix your violin first! For a bard, being without an instrument must be a very difficult time."

"Let me see the instrument. I need to figure out how you managed to break all the strings of such a magical item."

Daisy immediately cheered, glanced triumphantly at Mary, and then quickly handed the mate to von Dahl. The Half-Hill Chieftain was also watching from the side. Although he was now old and frail, he had been one of the best in the clan when he was young. With his rich experience, he quickly saw the problem.

“The magic burned away the runes, and the strings lost their restraint,” the chieftain nodded, turning to bow slightly to the crowd. “I am too old and I am afraid I cannot accompany you all for long. But do not worry, my children and other members of the tribe will fulfill my duties as host. You can rest assured and stay here. Although the East Sea Dwarves do not have a kingdom, I believe this place is no worse than Inathas.”

Even for long-lived species, the physical decline that comes with age is a tormenting experience, and Reislaufer and the others naturally wouldn't be harsh on an old man, even if he wasn't Vondar's father. With the Half-Hill Chieftain's departure, Vondar also temporarily bid farewell to everyone; he needed to return to his room to repair Daisy's harp. Therefore, the task of leading everyone on a tour of the territory naturally fell to Osk, whom they had met twice before.

The dwarf didn't want to take on the task, but he was also worried about the others—the consequences of angering the Kingmaker were something they couldn't afford.

Unlike von Dahl, who was quite sociable among the dwarves, the other dwarves wouldn't dare to bet on Leslaufer giving von Dahl's face. Generally speaking, it usually takes a dwarf almost a century to determine whether someone is a friend or not, and determining whether someone is hostile... well, at least several decades.

Holding torches, Osk led Reslaufer and the others through tunnels. In the watery East Sea, many of these tunnels connected to underground rivers. Some of the dwarves were engaged in fishing and farming on the riverbanks. Their activities were usually not as large as those of humans, but they were more than enough to support a clan.

"You've always made a living this way?" Bella looked around curiously. This was something she had never heard of before. "It seems... that's not enough, is it?"

The druid noticed that most of the crops grown here were a type of fungus adapted to dark and damp environments, and the fish that the dwarves could catch were basically all of the same kind. Although there were quite a few of them, the variety was extremely limited.

“Heh, this is only the majority, not the whole,” Osk said with a nonchalant expression. The dwarf was unwilling to show weakness in front of outsiders. “In fact, we also raise a large number of subterranean Loth beasts and grow some other crops near the underground as a supplement.”

“However…” Oske hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. “We do not have much territory on the surface. You probably already knew this when you came to Haidong or even before, so there’s nothing to hide. Therefore, trade is of course an essential part. Tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, wheat, and barley, common crops on the surface, sometimes sell for very high prices here. Those damn speculators.”

This is hardly surprising. Selling cheap goods to the East Sea dwarves at high prices and buying raw ore from them at low prices is a long-standing business in East Sea and Inathas. Unless the dwarves intend to become completely self-reliant and isolated from the world, this situation is inevitable.

But Angelita pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"Then... will the dark elves of Riha Forest disrupt your trade?"

It was common knowledge that the dark elves were allies of Leslaufer and his group, so it was somewhat impolite for Angrita to ask about it now. However, after a moment of stiffness, Osk nodded honestly.

"There has been an impact, of course... Sigh, it's just that the goods are more expensive and the raw ore is sold cheaper. But that's nothing. Believe me, at least our craftsmanship is something those dark-skinned, skinny bamboo sticks can't achieve, and we can be proud of that."

"However, if there were a more reasonable solution, I doubt that neither the Banqiu clan nor the other Haidong dwarves would refuse it, would they?"

Seeing Angelita's serious expression, Oske paused for a moment before replying, "Sorry, I didn't understand. You mean..."

“A more powerful and reasonable way to guarantee the daily needs of the dwarves. One way is through currency, and the organizations and individuals behind it.”

Angelita held out her hand and showed Oske a coin engraved with a bust of Reslaufer.

Chapter 736 The Assassin in the Herd

Osk stared intently at the coin. Of course he had seen it before. In Inas and even in the East, using this coin called Leso had become fashionable, and the kings and bishops had neither the power nor the courage to forbid people from using it.

But the meaning of these coins is completely different depending on who brings them out. Even if a merchant brings out a cartload of lesotho, the value of those coins is only equivalent to their face value. But if this girl takes out just one coin, it is almost equivalent to a living king standing there.

—Not to mention that he himself was actually there!

“Can I consider this a kind of recruitment?” Oske stroked his beard that extended from his sideburns and said slowly, “But unfortunately, I am not von Dahl. I don’t have much say in the clan, and I can’t make any promises.”

“Uncle Vondall will make a promise,” Anne smiled. “I just want to know, what do other dwarves like you think about this? Resentment? Resistance? Even hostility?”

“It’s not that serious,” Oske waved his hand. “In the end, whatever you want to do is none of our business. Even Vondar would never conscript us as soldiers to fight for you. Our main job will still be mining and forging. If the price is fair enough, what difference does it make who we sell to? Even elves have shiny gold coins.”

“But I must say, we are no longer the dwarves we once were. We don’t even have a kingdom anymore. As for the ‘Kingmaker,’ we probably don’t have a crown for anyone to crown.”

“The Evans family of the Dark Elves doesn’t have any either, but that’s not the point,” Raslaufer said. “It’s just that I would feel very accomplished, if the dwarves could mint my coins too, as a kind of… vanity.”

“It’s more like a kind of conquest…” Oske mumbled in his throat. “So, what if one day we don’t want to continue cooperating with you anymore? I mean, human lifespan is what it is, what are you going to do? Deal with us like you did with that king of the Kingdom of Wenzel? I’m serious about that.”

“Unless you’re planning to kidnap someone close to me again,” Raslaw spread his hands. “You see, mercenaries are actually a kind of business. If things go smoothly from beginning to end, everyone is happy. Even if the deal falls through, we can part ways.”

"But if someone insists on having other ideas... then things will become simple."

Without the exchange of benefits, without considering the bigger picture, even the two sides can become one.

“It would be best to let the chieftain and von Dahl make the decision,” Oske sighed. “I’m sorry, I have no say in this matter.”

Or perhaps, they simply don't want to have it in this matter.

Osk soon took Reslaufer and the others to tour other parts of the clan, including the foundry, mines, barracks, and even an outpost built between the ordinary underground and deeper.

The outpost was carved entirely from black basalt and covered with numerous runes, making it difficult even for magic to breach. Normally, the outpost was opened twice a day, allowing the dwarven herders to drive their subterranean beasts out to feed and then bring them back after they had eaten their fill.

But for some reason today, just as Osk was estimating the time and preparing to introduce their massive Loth beast herd to Reslaufer and the others, a short but loud horn sound suddenly rang out above the outpost!