Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 568: The Hammer
Under the guidance of the dwarves, Zhao Hai and the others boarded a small boat. The dwarf who drove the cart followed them, while another dwarf was responsible for rowing.
The speed of the boat was quite fast in the underground river channel. Zhao Hai noticed that along the stone walls on both sides of the river, magical lamps illuminated the entire channel brightly.
Occasionally, small boats carrying mined ores passed by, and those boats also moved quickly, generally with only one dwarf at the helm.
With the light from the magical lamps, Zhao Hai observed that there were small docks on both sides of the river, equipped with some small boats. Some boats were loaded with iron ore, while others carried weapons.
Zhao Hai had to admire the dwarves; they were truly impressive. Judging from the state of the mountain cave, it seemed the dwarves had excavated the entire Dwarf Iron Mountain, turning it into a vast underground city. How much effort must that have taken? Truly remarkable.
Juno, sitting on the boat, glanced around and sighed, "It’s not much different from the last time we came, except there are a lot more magical lamps. I remember the last time we were here, torches were used."
The dwarf leading them smiled and said, "Yes, Mr. Juno. These magical lamps have only been in use for less than ten years. We dwarves discovered a small magic crystal mine not far ahead; otherwise, we wouldn’t have these magical lamps."
Juno nodded, "You’re quite lucky to have found a magic crystal mine. What? Didn’t you sell the magic crystals?"
The dwarf shook his head, "No, that was a small magic crystal mine with limited reserves, so we didn’t sell the magic crystals. We just kept them for our own use."
Juno nodded again. After traveling in the underground river for over an hour, they stopped at a small dock. The dwarf led them ashore, where a cart pulled by an Ironclad Beast was already waiting for them.
As they boarded the Ironclad Beast cart and slowly made their way out of the mountain cave, Zhao Hai noticed Juno’s expression was somewhat excited. He knew they were about to reach their destination.
Indeed, upon exiting the cave, they were greeted by a wide road made of stone, stretching into the distance towards another mountain cave. However, as Zhao Hai looked closer, that cave appeared more like a tunnel, as both ends were visible from the entrance.
Once inside the cave, Zhao Hai realized he was mistaken; this cave was quite spacious and bustling with many dwarf women hard at work.
He observed that they were assembling armor using various tools. The armors included plate armor for heavy infantry and Scale Armor. Each piece needed to be assembled little by little to be usable.
After passing through the cave, they came upon a large building not far in front of them, resembling a temple. It was quite tall, constructed entirely of reddish-brown iron ore, with an overall height of over twenty meters. Eighteen massive stone pillars stood at the entrance, each about five meters in diameter.
In front of the temple was a large square, approximately ten thousand meters in diameter, also paved with iron ore and very flat. Zhao Hai noticed some elderly dwarves were busy cleaning the area.
Juno sighed, "This is the sacred land in the hearts of the dwarves, the Temple of the God of Craftsmen. There used to be a small mountain here, but the dwarves flattened it and used the stones to build this palace. Every year, the dwarves gather here to pay their respects during worship, and it’s quite a spectacular scene."
The Ironclad Beast cart stopped at the road outside the temple square. Juno turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Let’s get off. Vehicles are not allowed in the temple square; we’ll first pay our respects to the God of Craftsmen, and then we can meet some of my old friends."
Zhao Hai nodded and followed Juno down. The guiding dwarf also got off the cart, and they made their way slowly to the temple square. Zhao Hai observed that many dwarves were busy cleaning. They looked quite elderly, with many having white beards.