Free Web NovelChapter 580: Chapter 570: The Dwarven War Hero
The political structure of the Dwarves is entirely different from that of humans.
Human nations center around dukedom territories, forming the United Kingdom through pacts.
The Dwarves, however, are rooted in closer blood ties—clans. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
On the surface, lords across the lands hold governance and military command rights over their territories, possessing considerable power, but the real authority to decide the fate of the Mountains always firmly resides in the hands of the clan leaders and the Elder Council. A single lord is merely part of a clan.
Currently, there are four major clans controlling the lifeline of the Mountains:
The Deep Furnace Clan, which masters many forging secret techniques and some ancient combat puppet technologies.
The Fire Beard Clan, inheritors of the war god’s bloodline, the sharpest battle axes in the Mountains.
The Black Steel Clan, controlling nearly half of the kingdom’s precious mineral veins, capable of arming their subsidiary troops from head to toe with the finest equipment, unmatched among Dwarves.
And the Zafa Clan, inheritors of magical secret arts and wisdom.
Of course, these aren’t the only clans in the Mountains, but compared to these major clans, their presence is much weaker.
At the heartland of the Deep Furnace Clan’s settlement, within the Furnace Fire City.
In a mansion built on a black rock foundation and adorned with bronze, the quiet fire in the study room cast flickering shadows on the ancient battle axes and numerous forging blueprints hanging on the walls.
Vimak Deep Furnace stood before the desk, caressing a letter with slightly curled edges and somewhat scrawled ink.
"You’re looking at that letter submitted by a craftsman again?" came the voice of the clan leader from behind.
Vimak carefully folded the letter, put it into his pocket, and turned to face the slightly stooped yet dignified silhouette at the door:
"Father, this is the only clue since Tolin went missing. I’ve repeatedly compared the handwriting, it’s indeed his. I’m planning to send a reliable team to investigate the location mentioned in the letter."
"What is there to investigate? No doubt he fell into the hands of the Demon Race, becoming bait, trying to deceive our clan’s craftsmen with such a ridiculous trap."
The clan leader stepped closer, the firelight illuminating his furrowed skin.
"As for that useless Tolin... Falling into human hands last time already brought shame to the clan, and now in the hands of the Demon Race, aiding them to harm his kin, let’s just assume he’s already dead in the Underground City."
Vimak remained silent for a moment, then said, "After all, he’s my brother, your child. This time, the elemental violence wasn’t Tolin’s fault. Let me try."
"Do as you like," the clan leader snorted, "but don’t let this delay the important matters. Negotiations with the human delegation must take precedence."
He turned around and brought up the main issue this time:
"According to the message from Duvalin, that human named Inanna has extremely unique abilities, which might help us reclaim the Molten Fire Dungeon more quickly."
"Since the elemental violence in the dungeon, without this resource, the clan has had to supply the large amounts of equipment needed for the front-line war and maintain its own consumption. The stock of Demon Crystals, ores, and rare materials are constantly being depleted, so we can’t miss this opportunity, we must persuade her!"
"Yes, father." Vimak nodded slightly, "But regarding her escort into the dungeon, how much force are we planning to deploy? After all, we’re facing the Fire Elemental Lord directly, if a battle breaks out in the depths..."
"Duvalin’s legion will ensure her safety along the way. As for a close escort... Isn’t that Inanna revered as a ’war hero’ among humans?" The clan leader picked up a bronze goblet and sipped its strong contents, "Coincidentally, don’t we also have a ’war hero’ here? A hero guarding a hero, couldn’t be more fitting."
"That guy, huh..."
...
After Knight Puki returned, Lin Jun noticed that the specifications for the Dwarves’ reception of the delegation were quite high, even taking out their proud magic puppets to serve Inanna tea and guide her.
However, in Lin Jun’s view, the technical content of this thing was rather awkward.
The magic puppet’s movements were stiff and rigid, each action relying on a nearby Dwarf operator to continuously issue commands via a control panel before they could be executed.
Rather than a magic puppet, it resembled more like a complex remote-controlled toy.
Although Lin Jun couldn’t directly perceive the attribute panel of inanimate objects, judging from its sluggish movements and slight stagnation in its internal magic power circulation, the magic puppet’s combat attributes might not even reach the basic Copper Level, with very limited utility.
Don’t compare this with the high-end S Level units at Pujie Dungeon core entrance, it’s even a few notches below the combat puppets unearthed from the Northern Territory ruins.
In terms of practical usability, Lin Jun thought it might be more convenient to directly have a Puki Master control an ordinary Puki.
At least Puki has basic intelligence, able to understand and execute more complex commands, unlike the present situation where the operator must concentrate entirely, remotely controlling each breakdown action, to the extent that the dwarf operator struggling to maintain composure already shows beads of sweat at his temples, unable to hide his fatigue.
Clearly, what the Yellow-covered Book mentioned was true, that the dwarf combat puppet technology has indeed been lost. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Just as the delegation, led by dwarf officials, was about to go to the conference hall for another round of talks, a loud, hearty laugh came from afar.
"Hahaha! Let me see, let me see! Is this the war hero of the humans? And she’s actually a woman!"
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a figure resembling a moving small fortress blocked the front of the delegation, more accurately, directly in front of Inanna.
He was more burly and robust than the average dwarf, muscles propping up the mithril chainmail shirt, with a giant hammer slung across his back longer than his height, and a fiery red thick beard braided into several coarse strands, his bronze face full of undisguised curiosity and scrutiny towards Inanna.
"Lord Inanna, correct? Nice to meet you!"
Goron completely ignored the slightly awkward expression of the accompanying delegation official, extending his gauntlet-covered large hand as if he were about to pat Inanna’s shoulder in greeting, only to perhaps recall she was a woman and ended up pressing the air instead.
"I am Bador Firebeard, on this side of the mountains, people are accustomed to calling me ’The Crusher’ or ’Nemesis of the Demon Race’, hahaha! I heard you’ve also fought a few impressive battles against the Demon Race on your side? Great! I enjoy dealing with real warriors!"
The dwarf official in charge of leading the way cleared his throat, gently reminding, "Lord Bador, the delegation still needs to attend the talks, do you think..."
"Negotiations? What’s the rush with such scholarly matters!" Bador waved his large hand carelessly, "Just a few words worth of time! Let me get to know our human hero first!"
He enthusiastically turned towards Inanna, conversing familiarly, "Let me tell you, Lord Inanna, those demon lads may look fierce, but they’re quite fragile! Just the last round at Black Rock Pass, I led my lads and with a single charge tore through three hundred-man units of their defenses! Personally chopped down their self-important commander, that guy was riding an ugly Abyss lizard, I smashed both man and beast into a pancake with one hammer..."
He rattled off the battle details, spit almost spraying right onto nearby faces, eyes gleaming with pride over his own achievements.
Lin Jun didn’t know whether what he said was true, but on the panel, there was indeed lord-level strength at Level 70.
And as for his age, at least from the glossy beard, presumably not older than forty.
"Speaking of which, I heard the battles on the human side are also quite lively. At Dragon Roar Valley... how did you fare?" He leaned slightly forward, finally asking the question he was keen to know, "How many demon brats did you take out? How many significant officers did you personally slay?"
Everyone present could sense his undisguised competitiveness.
Inanna was slightly taken aback, seriously recalling.
The battle of Dragon Roar Valley... she had cast the crucial Lighting Technique, then spent most of the time hiding inside the Heavy Armor Puki, and finally handed the Sunstone to the leader.
As for personally killing the enemy... the magic she cast may have under the automatic tracking of the Elemental Spirit taken down one or two ordinary demon soldiers...
She honestly replied, "About one or two, I suppose."
As her voice fell, Bador’s face of expectations quickly transformed into undisguised disappointment, even... disdain.
"Oh, I see." He elongated his tone, nodded, with the enthusiasm in his voice disappearing, "I get it, it’s that kind of... commanding others to charge while hiding in a safe place, then claiming all the credit themselves, right?"
He tugged at his mouth, showing an almost mocking expression, as if all previous enthusiasm and friendliness had never existed.
"Tch," he turned around, his soft voice still clearly reaching everyone’s ears, "I thought it was someone who could wield a hammer."
The tendrils of Sword Saint Puki slowly coiled around the sword hilt—he intended to honorably duel.
The sudden surge of battle intent from behind made Bador delighted, soon locking his gaze on Sword Saint Puki, without any slight due to its appearance.
"I heard Little Badri got brutally handled by a Mushroom Race with a dagger, that’s presumably you, isn’t it? Looks like you really have some skill there!" he said, placing his hand on the hammer hilt behind him.
Just as things seemed to be on the verge of fight.
"Gentlemen." Vimak Deep Furnace at some point had already appeared between Puki and Bador, "I think neither of you wants to start a fight right in the core area of the City of Forge, right?"
He looked at the dwarf hero, "Lord Bador, the clan meeting’s penalty on last week’s ’instruction’ incident where you had Master Mark bedridden for three days in the communal forging area hasn’t been finalized. At this juncture, I think it’s best you... restrain your excessive energy for now, don’t cause any more trouble."
Bador’s excitement was doused with cold water, he pouted, muttering in a volume only those nearby could hear, "Tch... that old guy asked for it."
But he evidently had some apprehension about the "clan meeting’s penalty" Vimak mentioned, ultimately could only leave in dismay.
Vimak watched him leave, then turned to Inanna and the delegation, with a polite smile, "Forgive us for the scene, Lord Goron’s personality is rather straightforward, please don’t mind. The negotiations are ready, please follow me."
