Chapter 212: The Dwarves' Premature City Construction, Abducting the Rune Craftsmen
Beneath the deep night sky.
A biting cold wind blew over the Angelicisia Mountain Range.
Wrapped entirely in a black robe, Tang Zheng floated in mid-air. He wore a single-frame magic item that granted him night vision, his gaze fixed upon a fortress below.
That was the territory of the Dwarf Race!
*Rustle, rustle.*
The bitingly cold wind made his black robe flap audibly, but at such a high altitude and under the cover of night, the sound would not be detected by the fortress below.
His objective for this trip was the Rune Craftsmen among the dwarves.
To borrow these artisans from the Dwarf Race, he naturally needed to make contact with them. The best method was the one the Bone King had used.
By using the threat of the Digging Orcs to make demands of the dwarves, he could then take the Rune Craftsmen after repelling the Digging Orcs, and even establish a diplomatic-like relationship with the Dwarf Race in the process.
But such a method was clearly unsuitable for Tang Zheng.
It would leave too many traces!
It would expose too much information!
When the Great Tomb arrives in the future, if things go as expected, the Bone King will still become interested in rune technology and pay a visit to the Dwarf Race.
In that case, he, a mysterious human who had appeared among the Dwarf Race and also sought Rune Craftsmen, would enter the Bone King's field of vision. This was not something Tang Zheng wanted to see.
Besides the Rune Craftsmen, the Dwarf Race had nothing else of interest to Tang Zheng. So, after some consideration, he decided to use the simplest method.
Abduction!
Tang Zheng slowly descended from the sky. Through the vision of the night vision magic item, the objects below gradually came into focus.
The Great Fissure.
It was an extremely terrifying geographical feature in the Angelicisia Mountain Range, over sixty kilometers long and about one hundred and twenty meters wide.
Its depth was simply immeasurable.
For the Dwarf Race's eastern city, Fieo Jura, it served as a natural fortress, as no land-based creature could cross the Great Fissure.
However.
For Tang Zheng, who possessed the ability of flight, crossing the Great Fissure was obviously not difficult at all.
After descending to a position about two hundred meters from the ground, Tang Zheng could already clearly see a somewhat conspicuous fortress on the edge of the Great Fissure.
"Has the Dwarf Race already relocated to the Eastern City at this time?" Tang Zheng thought to himself as his gaze swept over the area below.
As for the current point in time, Tang Zheng couldn't accurately determine whether the Dwarf Race was residing in the southern city or in the eastern city where the story began.
Therefore, he had first come to the closer Eastern City to check. Since a fortress had already been built below, it meant the Dwarf Race was already living here.
"According to the timeline, the Dwarf Race shouldn't have moved to the Eastern City this early," Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
When he dealt with the Lizardman Race, Remiel Gugan, the tribe leader of the Dragon Tooth Tribe from the start of the future plot, had not been in the Dragon Tooth Tribe.
Tang Zheng had speculated at the time that this lizardman was likely still training in the southern city of the Dwarf Race.
It had only been a little over a month since he had dealt with the Lizardman Race. Had the Dwarf Race moved to the Eastern City so quickly?
With doubt rising in his heart, Tang Zheng quickly observed the dwarf fortress built on the edge of the Great Fissure below.
Although it was called a "fortress," it was actually just a headquarters built by the dwarves. The existence of the Great Fissure was enough to block any land-based enemy.
The fundamental purpose of this headquarters was to protect the suspension bridge that the dwarves had painstakingly built across the Great Fissure. As long as they guarded the bridge, they could repel any invasion by land-based monsters.
"Four dwarves on night watch. The headquarters isn't very large; at most, it holds only about twenty people."
After a period of observation, Tang Zheng analyzed silently, and then, with a thought, his figure descended rapidly from the sky.
*Swoosh!*
A sharp sound of rushing air came from above.
The four dwarves, who were yawning as they stood on either side of the suspension bridge, subconsciously raised their heads to look up.
All they saw was a tall, dark figure landing in their midst. Before they could react in any way, a cold flash of light shone.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*
Four dwarf heads soared into the air, falling into the great abyss of the fissure not far away.
Holding a magic greatsword, Tang Zheng looked expressionlessly toward the short, squarish headquarters building ahead, which was only about two meters tall.
Since the four dwarves had not made a single sound before they died, the other sleeping dwarves inside were naturally not alerted.
His gaze briefly lingered on a protrusion on the roof of the headquarters, which resembled a cannon barrel aimed at the suspension bridge.
There was a faint fluctuation of magic power coming from it.
It was likely a lightning strike magic item specially prepared by the dwarves to deal with the Digging Orcs.
Digging Orcs possessed excellent resistance to metal weapons, but attacks with the lightning attribute were a weak point for their race. If they were to be attacked by Digging Orcs, the suspension bridge would be the only route across the entire Great Fissure. Any Digging Orcs trying to break through via the bridge would be met with the piercing effect of a lightning strike.
*Thud.*
Tang Zheng lifted his foot and kicked the four dwarf corpses into the abyss, then began to chant in a low voice: "Camouflage."
A ripple like flowing water flashed across Tang Zheng's body. In the already dark night, his figure gradually blended into the darkness.
"Stealth!"
As the rogue skill activated, Tang Zheng silently bypassed the headquarters and walked toward the mountain wall behind it.
There was a stone door there, three meters high and two meters wide.
Tang Zheng entered the stone door with ease, as there were no dwarves guarding it.
"Aside from the headquarters outside, the defenses here are really lax."
Concealed in the shadows, Tang Zheng followed the faint, hazy light emanating from the crystal ores on the ceiling of the stone cave and continued deeper.
This was a spiral tunnel leading underground, and it was also the vital route connecting the external headquarters with the underground Eastern City.
Recalling the information in his mind, Tang Zheng continued to advance deeper. Soon, a gigantic, half-open stone door appeared before him.
Even in the dim underground, the stone door still reflected a bright, silvery luster under the light of the crystal ores on the ceiling.
According to the information in his memory, this was a gate made entirely of mithril and orichalcum. Among humans, its value could no longer be measured in money.
Only the dwarves, who excelled at mining and refining metal, could be so extravagant as to forge a gate from these two precious metals.
"Only one person is guarding this place?"
Tang Zheng looked at the dwarf soldier guarding the half-open stone door. The soldier was clutching a spear and reeked of wine, which made Tang Zheng all the more surprised.
This stone door before him could be considered the final line of defense for the Eastern City. Logically, it should be guarded by a large number of dwarf soldiers.
But the current situation exuded a sense of laxity.
Silently, Tang Zheng approached the drunk dwarf soldier. Passing through the stone door to observe what was behind, he saw a few dwarf soldiers guarding the sides, who also appeared to be drunk.
Lifting his head to look into the distance, he could already see the Eastern City.
"What is this?"
Tang Zheng's gaze froze.
Rows of box-like, featureless buildings came into view. Some were two stories tall, others were single-story.
Most of these buildings looked like they had just been recently completed. In the distance, he could even see some dwarves swinging their tools, still building.
Seeing this scene, Tang Zheng already realized something. He retreated from the stone door and looked at the dwarf soldier leaning against the corner of the wall, snoring away in a drunken stupor. He raised his hand.
*Smack!*
A crisp sound echoed.
The dwarf soldier's cheek immediately swelled up. He was jolted awake by the pain, his dazed eyes looking up at Tang Zheng, who was standing before him completely wrapped in a black robe.
"Charm Species."
The dwarf soldier's body stiffened, then relaxed. He swayed as he climbed up from the ground.
"What's the situation here?" Tang Zheng asked.
"We are building the new city, Fieo Jura," the dwarf soldier said, his words slightly slurred.
"Then what about your original southern city?"
"I heard from Lord Commander-in-Chief that a large number of Digging Orcs have been discovered near our southern city, Fieo Lezo."
"The lords of the Regency Council, just to be safe, have sent all the artisans here to build a new city in advance."
Tang Zheng asked a few more questions, and a look of understanding appeared in his eyes.
He had been puzzled before, as according to the timeline, the Dwarf Race should still be in the southern city at this point.
The current situation, however, explained that the Dwarf Race had begun constructing a new city several years in advance.
No wonder the security here was so lax.
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
The relocation of an entire ethnic group could not possibly be completed in a short time. They must have started preparations long ago and already laid the foundation.
In that case, most of the dwarves were still in the southern city.
Should he make a trip there?
Wait!
"He just said all the artisans were sent here to build. Does that mean the Rune Craftsmen are here too?" Tang Zheng thought of what the dwarf soldier had just said, and his eyes lit up.
"They should be here, I think," the dwarf soldier said with some uncertainty.
With the development of "magic infusion" technology, even within the Dwarf Race, the outdated craftsmanship of rune technology was no longer valued.
After finishing his questions, Tang Zheng raised his hand and knocked the dwarf soldier unconscious. He then propped him back up against the corner of the wall, making it look like he had passed out drunk.
His figure flashed.
Tang Zheng disappeared, entering the Eastern City.
Using the simple and brutish method of Charm Species, he found lone dwarf artisans and questioned them directly. He quickly pinpointed the location of all the Rune Craftsmen.
The rest was much simpler!
While these dwarf artisans were sleeping, Tang Zheng knocked out the Rune Craftsmen he found and used teleportation magic to return to the Lava Zone.
After dozens of trips back and forth, all the Rune Craftsmen had been taken away by Tang Zheng without alerting any of the other dwarves.
The next day.
Outside the Lava Zone.
More than twenty Rune Craftsmen lay on the ground, snoring loudly. Some rolled over in their sleep, crushing the dwarf next to them.
These dwarves were all around 140cm tall, with short limbs and bodies like beer barrels, their faces covered in gray and brown beards.
"Hnnggg-ronk!"
"*Grind...*"
"Hnnggg-ronk!"
All sorts of snoring, and even the sound of grinding teeth, came from the group of dwarves from time to time.
Tang Zheng sat cross-legged not far away, one hand propping up his chin. It seemed that the dwarves were sleeping so soundly that he couldn't help but yawn himself.
The evil spirit hound lay to Tang Zheng's right, its sharp bestial eyes occasionally sweeping over the group of dwarves with a curious glint.
And to Tang Zheng's left stood the Gray Dwarf Forging Minister, respectfully controlled by Charm Species.
Three sets of eyes were all focused on the group of dwarves.
Tang Zheng was in no hurry to wake them. The Charm Species ability could only control one creature at a time; it couldn't control over twenty dwarf artisans at once.
To make this group of abducted dwarves work for his somewhat crazy idea, he couldn't rely solely on forceful methods.
"Hooo~"
Gongde let out a powerful snore from his throat, causing his lips to blubber.
After letting out a snore, Gongde, with his eyes still closed, chewed his lips and, half-awake, raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
So hot.
The thought flashed through Gongde's mind.
Dwarves, who preferred to live underground, did not like cold environments, but the temperature in the Angelicisia Mountain Range was inherently cool.
Even underground, the temperature was never high.
But it was far too hot now.
Was the environment of the Eastern City this hot, or was he just not over the extra bowls of wine he drank last night?
As Gongde thought this, he groggily opened his eyes.
The first thing that entered his vision was the crimson light reflecting between the mountain walls—the light and heat radiating from the Magma Sea.
Gongde stared at the scene, stunned for a moment, before jolting fully awake. He scrambled up from the ground, yelling in panic, "Fire! Fire!"
His terrified shouts echoed between the mountain walls.
The other sleeping dwarves all leaped up from the ground, looking around in panic.
However, there were no flames anywhere around them!
No!
This wasn't their Eastern City, Fieo Jura, at all.
"What the hell is this place? Weren't we building houses?" a dwarf asked, bewildered.
*Clap!*
Just then, the crisp sound of two hands clapping came from in front of the dwarves, drawing all their gazes.
A human wrapped in a black robe, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, came into the view of every dwarf present.
There was also a monster that looked much like a demonic wolf and... a dwarf?
The Forging Minister's gray skin, different from their own, made all the dwarves pause.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Lava Zone."
"I am terribly sorry for inviting you all here without your consent."
Tang Zheng pushed off lightly with his legs, easily rising from his cross-legged position, and spoke apologetically to the dwarves before him.
As soon as he said this, all the noisy dwarves instantly fell silent.
(end of chapter)