Hearing Helaen's shout, several people on the shore immediately picked up their Chainsaw Swords and walked towards Helaen.
In the dense forest, Helaen was dragging a purple dwarf, meeting up with several nearby Fire Lizards.
"What is this thing?"
Kava curiously poked at the creature in Helaen's hand.
The creature looked somewhat human-like but was much shorter and stockier.
This purple-skinned dwarf was about 1.4 meters tall, but his muscles were extremely developed, making him look like a muscular lump from a distance.
Despite being dragged so easily by Helaen, if it were a second-level Fire Lizard, it would have already escaped from this dwarf's grasp.
The dwarf had a head of long black hair but was bald on top. Beneath the long hair were a pair of dark purple eyes and a large beard that hung down to his navel.
The dwarf appeared very calm, even though his feet were not touching the ground as Helaen dragged him.
He gazed deeply at the several Fire Lizards, showing no signs of tension on his face.
"Is this... a Wizard?" Mishan said uncertainly as he looked at the dwarf.
To the Fire Lizards, a non-modified Wizard was practically indistinguishable from one another.
Although this dwarf had purple skin, his appearance was quite similar to that of a Wizard.
The Fire Lizards knew that Wizards would modify their bodies, so a change in skin color was nothing unusual.
"I don't think so," Makar said, squatting down, his golden Dragon Eyes locking onto the dwarf's eyes.
He asked in somewhat awkward Wizard language, "Tell me your purpose, dwarf."
Under the gaze of the Dragon Eyes, the dwarf trembled slightly; Makar could tell that this creature was instinctively nervous.
And it was quite intense.
Makar had seen this reaction before; many Fire Lizards displayed the same behavior when they first encountered the Fire Lizard King.
Even after tens of thousands of years, the dragon's servants still instinctively trembled at the sight of a dragon's eyes.
The dwarf struggled to maintain eye contact with Makar and replied in the same halting Wizard language, "I need to see your master, the otherworldly powerhouse captured by the Wizard."
Makar exchanged glances with Helaen, who then set the dwarf down on the ground.
In front of four third-level beings, a mere second-level dwarf stood no chance of escape.
Makar communicated with his companions in Fire Lizard language, "This dwarf is strange; he is neither a Wizard nor a Wizard's slave."
Helaen agreed, "I think so too, which is why I called you over to take a look."
"Could he be a native creature of this world?" Mishan suggested, "This world is so vast; it makes no sense for there to be no intelligent race."
"Do Wizards share the world with others?" Kava countered, "Aside from the adults, these Wizards only think about enslaving other races."
"What if they don't share?" Makar interjected, "What if this race exists as pets or as a type of magical beast?
I heard from the adults that this world is the internal realm of an artifact forged by the greatest Truth Wizard of the Wizard World.
It is said that these great Truth Wizards have transcended the realm of World Masters and entered another dimension.
To them, an ordinary World Master might just be a pet."
Makar's reasoning was not without merit, and the Fire Lizards exchanged glances. Finally, Kava spoke up first:
"Let's ask this guy what he wants; maybe he can help the adults with something."
With that, Kava squatted down and asked the dwarf, "Dwarf, tell us your purpose; the Wizard master is not someone you can just meet."
The dwarf showed no sign of being affected by Kava's unfriendly tone and calmly replied, "I need to see your master, the otherworldly powerhouse captured by the Wizard."
Kava looked puzzled and glanced up at the other Fire Lizards.
"This dwarf can't just keep saying the same thing, can he?"
Makar looked at the dwarf and said in a low voice, "If you don't explain your purpose, we cannot let you see the master."
The dwarf fell silent for a moment and pulled out a leather scroll from his pocket.
Unrolling the scroll, its contents revealed a blood-painted portrait of Richard.
Though the portrait was drawn with only a few strokes, it perfectly captured Richard's demeanor.
Makar was certain that even if he were to draw it himself, he could not do better than this.
"The otherworldly powerhouse captured by the Wizard, our tribe's high priest saw your master in a recent divination. He held a wand made of gold and silver, followed by four Dragon Blood giants clad in steel armor.
He will be the savior of our tribe!"
The Fire Lizards were somewhat baffled by the dwarf's words.
Divination?
This excuse was too flimsy.
But oddly enough, what the dwarf said was quite accurate; Makar knew that Richard had two staffs, one made primarily of Mithril Alloy and the other of Adamantine Alloy.
These were not things a dwarf who appeared out of nowhere could possibly know.
However, it seemed the dwarf's high priest had overlooked a detail.
Richard couldn't help them right now.
"Go back and tell your high priest that the master cannot help you at this time," Makar said flatly.
Upon hearing this, the dwarf remained unfazed and replied, "Is it because he is currently immobile like a stone?"
Buzz! As soon as the dwarf spoke, four Chainsaw Swords were drawn against his neck.
Makar narrowed his eyes, his expression turning unfriendly.
"Dwarf, this is also what your high priest saw in the divination."
The dwarf nodded and unfastened an ancient-looking straw doll from his waist, showing no concern for the Chainsaw Swords beside his head.
"The high priest saw in the divination that this Wizard master is surrounded by a thick fog, like a white stone.
So before sending me out, he gave me this item to help this master break free from his bindings."
The dwarf's words struck a chord with the Fire Lizards; having stayed in this area for ten years, they could still hold their patience, but if they could help Richard escape early, they wouldn't mind.
"Do you believe this dwarf?" Kava, who was most eager for Richard to break free, asked first.
Makar shook his head, "I don't know, but I think this dwarf should be trustworthy."
This dwarf had never avoided Makar's gaze; in the dwarf's eyes, Makar seemed to see an unshakeable mountain.
Unyielding in spirit, unperturbed in heart.
Makar had seen this kind of determination in many Fire Lizards, and those individuals ultimately perished in the war against the Wizards.
"Then let him try?" Helaen said, his tone somewhat uncertain.
If they could help Richard break the curse, they wouldn't claim great credit, but they certainly wouldn't be at fault.
The only issue was, what if this dwarf was sent by the Meteor Academy Wizards?
Although the Meteor Academy had already cursed Richard, no one could guarantee they wouldn't strike again.
Mishan was also aware of this concern and spoke up, "Since this dwarf's high priest can perform divination, why don't we ask some questions and have him divine again?"
The group exchanged glances, agreeing that this was indeed a good idea.
So Makar said to the dwarf, "Dwarf, we need to verify. I will ask three questions; if your high priest can truly divine, he should be able to answer them.
The first question: where do we come from? The second question: what are our names? The third question: what identities have we held in the past?"
These three questions, aside from Richard and the Fire Lizards, not even a second Wizard could answer clearly. Even Jolod only knew the answer to the first question.
If the dwarf's high priest could answer these three questions, it would prove that the dwarf's words were true, and they would ask him to help Richard fight against the curse.
But if he couldn't answer, then there would be nothing to discuss.
After hearing Makar's questions, the dwarf did not turn to leave but instead pulled out another scroll from his body.
"The otherworldly powerhouse captured by the Wizard, the high priest has already anticipated your questions.
You come from a world full of flames; your names the high priest could not divine, but he saw your past.
Some of you once built a black pyramid, some reaped lives on the battlefield like a reaper, some fought against flame-beast giants, and some wielded golden knives alongside death."
Although the dwarf's words were somewhat cryptic, the content left the Fire Lizards in silence.
"I did indeed build Princess Akala's palace," Helaen said.
"I have always been a soldier," Makar stated calmly.
Kava's face showed a hint of disbelief, "How does he know I once fought against the Flame Behemoth Meat?"
Finally, Mishan slowly spoke, "I do have a golden knife used for making mummies; I also used that knife to save a Fire Lizard."
The facts were becoming clear.
Makar stepped aside, "Dwarf, take your things. If the master suffers even a slight mishap, we will not only kill you, but we will also annihilate your entire tribe."
The dwarf did not respond to this threat but calmly said, "Please lead the way; the great power of the Wizard master has blinded my eyes, and I cannot see where he is specifically."
...
Pushing open the wooden door of the laboratory, Makar led the dwarf inside.
Upon seeing Richard lying on a pile of animal skins, the dwarf's expression finally changed.
It was a joy and relief that came from the heart, like rain after a long drought.
He held the straw doll and quickly walked to Richard's side.
Then, he took out a small knife, causing the Fire Lizards to flinch, and their Chainsaw Swords instinctively raised.
The dwarf's small knife was covered in unknown runes, appearing to be a ritualistic tool.
He held the knife and chanted a long incantation, slicing Richard's finger.
Blood dripped, and the dwarf immediately caught it with the straw doll, using the blood to draw a rune on the doll.
Then he recited another long incantation.
As he chanted, the rune drawn in blood slowly seeped into the straw doll.
When the rune completely disappeared, everyone suddenly heard a piercing roar.
Immediately after, everyone present experienced a momentary illusion.
They saw an invisible white mist continuously pouring out from Richard's body, drilling into the straw doll amidst the dwarf's incantation.
"This dwarf's high priest is impressive," Kava murmured to himself.
After a long time, the dwarf finally stopped chanting.
Richard's body also trembled slightly.
Then, as if breaking free from a nightmare, Richard suddenly sat up from the animal skins.
"Time flies so fast, thirty years... No, why is there a magic dwarf in my laboratory?"
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