"Is that so... I thought I was considered rude..."

Charlie rubbed her face awkwardly. She was the first one to go up and knock on the door. She wondered if her action would be considered impolite by the Utes - after all, customs were different in some places, and who knew if an unintentional act would leave a bad impression.

Elsa found it quite interesting, for no other reason than it was the first time she had seen a "dwarf". To be honest, they looked simple and honest, which was exactly what she had imagined.

"Come in quickly, don't just stand there."

"That's annoying."

"Okay, stop talking nonsense and hurry up!"

The gruff-voiced Ute man was holding a torch and carrying a large axe on his back. His broad back looked like he had undergone a long period of training, and his muscles were firm and powerful. After Aisha and the others entered the door, he sealed the door tightly with several metal rods.

"come here."

They crawled through the "door" and found a long "corridor" going down into the ground. This was a space opened up underground. The corridor was not very wide, but it left enough vertical height. With Elsa's height, she only needed to lower her head slightly to walk here, so she wouldn't hit her head. It was only a little difficult to get in and out - the door was relatively low, designed according to the height of the Utes, so Elsa had to "drill" to get in and out.

However, Sandal did not continue to walk in. He stuck the torch on the wall beside him, took off the axe behind him, and put it on the ground with a clang, blocking Aisha and the other two.

"Stop here now, stranger who has come from afar."

At this time, the end of the corridor was blocked by several burly figures. Like Sandal, these Utes were not tall, but they were all muscular, and their muscles were obvious even through thick clothes. They were holding weapons, either bows and crossbows, or hammers. It seemed that weapons such as spears and swords were not very popular here.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Sandar. Here, I am the most valiant warrior. They are all my people, experienced warriors with unparalleled bravery!"

Perhaps this is a title that makes people proud. Sandar spoke in a rough voice and banged his fists on his chest twice, as if to show off his overly strong muscles.

"But you don't have to be afraid. Our weapons won't harm us. But there are some things I need to make clear right here. I need to know what you're doing here. I mean, seeing outsiders like you now is really a bit suspicious - how did you get here?"

The flickering light of the torch illuminated Sandar's profile, and his brown beard, which was thicker than his hair and looked well-groomed, was very eye-catching.

"How did you get here?" Charlie didn't understand what Sandal meant for a moment.

"Don't play dumb. The cold wave has frozen the coast, and even our fishing boats haven't been out to sea for ages." Sandar's face tightened with seriousness, and he slowly swung the axe in his hand. "Not to mention, there are monsters roaming the snowy plains. Especially on nights like this, those terrifying monsters will appear from the coast. Fill their hungry stomachs. You really should thank the goddess for your good luck in surviving—but I don't believe luck alone can get you through the frozen canyon and make it here. You don't look like you belong here at all."

Although Sandar looks fat and fierce, he is not a bad-tempered person. He also shows the basic qualities of a warrior, observation, and caution - as Tricia said, most Utes are straightforward like this. When you first meet them, it is easy to mistakenly think that they are "ferocious" to others, but most of them are just talking about the facts.

Although there are many foreigners living in Belmont Freya, the accents of Elsa and the other two are obviously not locals. Moreover, the way Elsa and the others dress does not look like those of people who walk in the snow all year round.

"Please allow me to introduce myself - I am a nun of the church, named Aisha Faris, and these are my companions, Ceri and Shirley Bran."

Sandal's vigilance was not without reason, Aisha thought about it and explained.

"We've been investigating an incident involving the demons. I wonder if you've heard about what happened recently in the Linthesius Empire. We started from the northern border of the empire, and a clue led us here, but unfortunately, our trail ran dry on the north coast. We came here simply to ask you if anything unusual has occurred in this area recently."

While not entirely true, it wasn't entirely deceptive. Elsa and the others had indeed come here to investigate the demons. In a situation like this, a church identity was much more useful than an adventurer or traveler. As for Tricia, she hadn't revealed her identity, so Elsa wouldn't say anything.

"That's it?" Sandal looked at Aisha strangely.

"Well, that's it—if you want evidence, I can prove that I'm a member of the church, but I can't reveal any information about the demons."

"Okay, I believe you."

Sandar seemed to really believe it and put away his axe.

……

As if his figure was not proportional to his overly bulging muscles, Sandal held the torch high and, with a slightly funny twist of his step, led Aisha, Tricia and Charlie to his village - a real village, not a few mounds built on the ground.

"You just said that a monster would appear here—could you tell me what kind of monster it would be?"

Aisha asked as she followed Sandar with her head down.

They had come all the way here, but hadn't encountered any monsters on the way - was it because their targets were too small and they weren't noticed by the monsters, or was it because the direction they came from happened to be the dead sea, so naturally there were no monsters living there?

"They're just some giant creatures that live in the sea. They've become restless lately, attacking our fishing boats and even coming ashore. Hum, sooner or later I'll have to chop off their tentacles with my sharp axe, roast them, and bring them to my sister. She'll surely grow beautiful muscles like me."

Sandal snorted in annoyance, looking very unconvinced, and his words were a little strange, but Tricia didn't say anything, and Aisha and Charlie didn't ask any more questions.

At this time, he led Elsa and the others out of the corridor - in front of them, there appeared a building that looked quite simple but was quite amazing for an underground building.

"This is our village," Sandar said in a deep voice. "Stranger, welcome to Mengsk—I will take you to see our village chief. Just ask him anything you want."

"Wow...is this really underground?"

Charlie was very surprised. She covered her mouth and whispered in Aisha's ear.

"It feels really amazing... Aisha, have you ever been to the Ute city before?"

The tip of her ear was caressed by Charlie's warm breath. Aisha shifted her gaze and looked into Charlie's wine-red eyes, with the corners of her mouth raised.

"Why do you say that?—Do I look like I'm familiar with this place?"

The close distance made Charlie feel a little uncomfortable, and she shrank her neck.

"Because Elsa doesn't look surprised at all..."

"Really? Actually, this is the first time I've seen it, and I'm surprised too," Elsa said. "But I'm more wondering how a place like this was built."

Unlike what was imagined, the first impression of the underground was not bad. There was neither damp and cold air nor disgusting smell of decay. The clean and warm air brushed away the snowflakes on Elsa's shoulders. The air was filled with the aroma of beer, as well as the unique smell of some barbecue and some indescribable berries. The Utes here seemed to be enjoying dinner.

Sandal had an expression that said "it should have been done long ago", as if he had been waiting to see Aisha and Charlie's surprised expressions.

"Surprised, right? That's right. This is the wisdom of us Utes. Haha, you haven't been to the underground city—you really should go and see it. Everything there will definitely shock you."

They came to the end of the "corridor" and Elsa noticed that there was not only one independent building underground, but it was connected to the ground through a long and narrow passage leading from the ground to the underground. This passage, which looked like some kind of dry mud, seemed to lead to other "passages" and "buildings" - it turned out that the underground of the entire Mengsk village was connected to each other through this corridor structure. These Utes living underground did not need to go to the ground at all, and they could travel to each other through these underground "corridors".

It seems that a complete village has been built underground. It is hard to imagine that this is just a small fishing village. To be honest, the construction volume of this underground building complex is not small.

At the same time, Elsa was also observing everything here. The dwarves were not quite the same as she had imagined. Although there were dwarves like Rough Voice who were fat and had thick beards, there were also some slender dwarves who looked like children. Almost every one of them wore a lot of finely crafted metal ornaments, which were as natural to them as clothes.

The men here seem to like to grow beards. Long and thick beards can be seen on the chins of almost every adult Ute. Many people's beards are even thicker than their hair. They are tied into a ball or braid-like shape with some beautiful metal rings or colorful ropes, and are kept smooth and shiny.

Since women don't have beards, they transfer this love to their hair - of course, they can't miss the metal rings.

What impressed Elsa the most was...

Surprisingly, everyone here is muscular - regardless of gender, each one is as strong and muscular as the other. Originally, Elsa and Charlie thought that only Sandar was like this, but now it seems that all Utes are like this.

Charlie was already numb from watching it.

As Aisha and the others arrived, Aisha saw that many Utes had gathered around them, looking at them curiously, but they were reluctant to get close.

Elsa also heard a voice coming from the back of the crowd: "Is this the woman from the South? Oh, so ugly. Those merchants really didn't lie to me."

"Ugly? I think she's okay, just a little too tall and too thin."

"Come on, they're as skinny as sticks. Look at their arms, they're so skinny. Look at their faces and necks, there's not a muscle at all—"

Elsa didn't continue to listen to what they were saying, but just sighed in her heart - difference in aesthetic taste.

Aisha felt that Charlie was definitely a beauty, and Tricia was one in a million, but it seemed that in the eyes of the Utes, the three of them were just like a piece of wood.

Sighing, Elsa turned to look at Charlie.

Charlie noticed Aisha's gaze and looked over as well.

"Little Wood."

"what?"

Charlie looked confused, but Elsa just smiled.

"This is the village chief's home, and of course, it's also my home."

Sandal brought Aisha and others to the village chief's "home" - only then did Aisha and others realize that Sandal was the village chief's son.

As soon as they opened the door, they ran into a little girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old. Unlike the other people living here, the little girl didn't have such scary muscles. She looked similar to Elsa and the others, which immediately made Elsa and Charlie feel a lot more pleasing to the eye.

It’s not that I discriminate against muscles, nor do I hate women with muscles. It’s just that the muscles on other Ute women are already a little too accumulated.

The little girl was currently holding onto one end of a broad-bladed heavy sword with both hands, looking a bit strenuous in lifting it. When she saw Sandal, Aisha and the others, she seemed a bit frightened.

"Ah? Hello, you guys..."

Her voice was soft and weak, her eyes were a little evasive, and she seemed very reserved in front of strangers.

Sandal was also stunned for a moment, then stepped forward and carefully took the sword from the girl.

"Don't be so stubborn, this thing is still too dangerous for you..."

"I just...want to try..."

Sandal turned his back to the three of them, turned his head to take a look, smiled at them, turned around and introduced: "She is Sandela, hehe, what do you think, she is a beauty."

As he spoke, he had already grasped the broadsword in his hand.

Aisha nodded, Charlie nodded——

"She is indeed a beauty."

Sandra was praised, blushed, lowered her head and said nothing.

She is indeed a beauty - although she looks too young and immature, her face is pretty and her skin is delicate. If she were in other human countries, she would definitely attract many young men.

Charlie thought that Sandella should be Sandal's daughter, but -

"Sister, please ask father to come out and tell him that a stranger has arrived."

"Um……"

Sandra turned and left.

"Ah? What? She's yours..."

Charlie's eyes widened, and even Elsa raised an eyebrow this time.

"You outsiders are so clueless. She's my sister—what's wrong? Isn't it obvious?"

Sundar said unhappily.

Elsa glanced at Sandella's soft, petite and cute back, and then looked at Sandal, whose beard was thicker than his hair, his muscles piled up like a mountain, and his vigorous power could be felt through his clothes.

Generally speaking, is there such a big difference between older sisters and younger brothers?

She decided not to say anything.

"The Utes have a longer lifespan, so they generally develop later. For this reason, Ute men are particularly fond of their beards, as they believe it is a symbol of maturity and stability. Of course, the same is true for well-trained muscles and strong liquor - all of this makes them look mature and brave, so people with these symbols are more popular among them."

Tricia whispered the explanation into Aisha and Charlie's ears at the right moment.

But this also means that in the eyes of the Utes, Sandella is not actually a beauty - because she is really thin and looks fragile.

"I tell you, you are not allowed to call my sister ugly in front of her—and you are not allowed to gossip about her behind her back."

Sandar lowered his voice and spoke to Aisha and the other two with a serious face.

"If you want to say something, just say she's beautiful and pretty! Got it?"

Charlie glanced at Elsa, who sighed.

"To be honest, your sister is indeed a beauty—at least in my opinion. I am a nun, and I will not lie to you."

Sundar was very satisfied to hear that.

"I think so too. My sister is the most beautiful no matter what! Just for what you said, even though you..." Sandar scratched his neck and grinned, but it looked a little forced. "Well, it's okay. Actually, you're not bad looking either. Anyway, from now on, you're my friend."

……

------------

446. What Happened Four Months Ago

Sandal brought Aisha and the other two to a room to wait. During this time, Sandal kept talking to himself, and a lot of it was about his sister Sandella.

It can be seen that the relationship between brother and sister Sandal and Sandela is very good.

Sandal's sister Sandella is introverted and gives people the impression of being weak, while Sandal is the complete opposite and is straightforward. After a short time together, Aisha finds that Sandal is actually very easy to get along with - in fact, as long as you say a few more good words about his sister Sandella, Sandal will make friends with you with a very appreciative look, with a sincere look of "You really understand a lot".

——I don’t know if Sandal is always like this, anyway, Aisha and Charlie both responded, which made Sandal more and more excited.

Perhaps to the Utes, Sandella was not considered a beauty because she did not have strong muscles, but to the aesthetics of Elsa and Charlie, Sandella was still a beautiful person - but why didn't Sandella have a muscular body like others? Sandal didn't say, and Elsa didn't ask. Elsa was not stupid, and she vaguely sensed some unspeakable secret from Sandal's occasional vague words.

"It's a pity that you are a nun, otherwise a woman with such good taste like you would definitely be pursued by many men."

Sandal said regretfully, and Aisha just smiled faintly. In this regard, she still declined - Aisha liked women.

At this time, the village chief had not arrived yet. Aisha was chatting with Sandal while observing the house.

Although the Ute houses are built underground, the feeling that this place gives Elsa is different from the dark and damp basements or earth cellars. The first feeling when coming here is neatness, as if someone has drawn a square drawing with a ruler, measuring every inch. The walls look like they have been specially trimmed, and every corner is meticulously outlined with pleasing neat lines.

The walls and corners of the room were clean, and there was a large fireplace in the center of the room.

One side of the stove faced outwards, and it illuminated the room very brightly, bringing a comfortable and cozy warmth and isolating the coldness of the ground - it was both a lighting lamp and a heater. It seemed that every family in the village had such a thing, so the entire underground looked brightly lit. It looked like a structure similar to a fireplace that connected the inside and outside, but the chimney did not seem to go directly out of the ground, otherwise Elsa would have discovered it long ago.

There seemed to be some special ventilation structure set up underground. Elsa could clearly feel the wind flowing, which prevented the underground from feeling blocked and stuffy.

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