The road leading to Lone Dragon City was a very long corridor that required nearly two hours of walking. Several teams of Hammer Warriors and even more Dwarven Rangers were on guard in the corridor, leaving space for the Knight King, Laing, Morgiana, and Lilith, as well as the Old Guard and the Red Sea Army behind him, as well as the poor Otto Bagley. The merchant had yet to recover from his cold. The Dwarves sneered at the incompetence of humans and found a hand-pushed cart to push the merchant away. However, after accepting the Dwarves' advice and taking a sip of Lone Dragon City's specialty liquor, Otto felt much better.
The two sections of the long corridor still had countless murals and statues of the Dwarven Ancestral Gods.
The statues of the three Dwarven Main Gods were needless to say, as mentioned many times before.
What really caught the attention of Laing and the others were the statues of the other four Dwarven Secondary Gods in the corridor. They were:
The Dwarf God of Mines and Caves, Smidnir.
The Dwarf God of Rune Magic, Tughni.
The Dwarf God of Engineering, Morgrim.
The Dwarf God of the Dead, Gazul.
It was worth mentioning that the Dwarven Gods were fundamentally different from the Elven Gods. The Dwarven Gods were all Ancestral Gods. In other words, these Dwarven Gods all lived, built, and fought together with their children. The God of Mines and Caves, Smidnir, and the God of Rune Magic, Tughni, were the children of Granny and Valaya, while the God of Engineering was the child of Grimnir and Valaya. Gazul didn't know.
"About seven thousand years ago, our God of War, Grimnir, decided to bring an army of Dwarves to the extreme north to close the chaos portal." The Norsk Dwarven Monarch, Tolgard Crimson, explained to Laing and the others, "Granny and Valaya tried their best to persuade Grimnir not to do so, but Grimnir was as stubborn as his axe. His thirst for victory and enemies was like a drunkard's thirst for ale. Grimnir insisted on going, and to show his determination, he even trimmed his hair and beard before setting off with his son, Morgrim, and the expedition."
"The expedition didn't go well from the start. Grimnir and Morgrim led the army through all obstacles, but they still ran into trouble after entering the chaos wastelands. After defeating a Chaos Dragon together, they drank and chatted merrily. Grimnir then ordered them to continue the expedition and fought three Demon Princes. Although they won, they were heavily injured. Grimnir had Morgrim lead the rest of the army back to the Mountain Kingdom, while he strode into the chaos wastelands and never returned."
Tolgard pointed at the murals and continued, "After Grimnir's disappearance, Granny and Valaya decided to go on another expedition to the chaos wastelands. This time, they brought an even larger army. Many of them arrived at the current location of Lone Dragon City. This place is rich in minerals, fish, and livestock. Many of the mountains can be used to grow barley and graze livestock, so our ancestors settled here."
Laing nodded. Everyone knew what happened next. When the Chaos invaded, Granny sent out a messenger in time before he disappeared, and the Norsk Dwarves survived.
Tolgard sighed. "We've always tried to find a way to the south, but every time we were surrounded by Chaos Beasts and armies, we were forced to retreat. We were temporarily safe, but alone. We used our ancestral statues and runes to isolate the corruption of the Chaos, and hid our fortress in the mountains. We spent thousands of years slowly recovering our strength and avoiding war."
"But you lost all contact with the southern dwarves?" Morgiana asked. "Logically speaking, there should be Ugor and Mrs. Kiesler in the south, right?"
"We once had trade and contact with the Norsk Dwarves." Tolgard nodded. "But as you know, as time passed, the Norsk Dwarves gradually abandoned all their beliefs and began to worship the Chaos. Because we lost contact with them again, we were isolated again. After that, we suspected that the Nords, Empire, and Mrs. Kiesler also worshipped the Chaos. It was only on the eve of the great holy war that we realized that the humans in the south did not worship the Chaos, and that our distant dwarven relatives still existed."
"We once thought that the Savior and his empire would be able to regain their former glory, and there was no doubt that he did. However, there was only one problem. This guy was too short-lived. He had only been the emperor for fifty years. I dare say that none of our great monarchs lasted less than three hundred years as long as there were no accidents." Rogamir Ufason, the king of Thunder City, interjected. "After that, we saw it. After losing the Savior, a bunch of traitors fought each other all day. Why can't the humans have any decent, long-lived leaders? Why do they always like to pester each other, and the next one always denies the promise of the previous one? "
"You don't have to worry about that." The Lady of the Lake heard this and giggled. "Laing will live long enough and be strong enough."
"That is why we are here to welcome you, Knight King." Togarde nodded slightly. "We know about the recovery of Eight Peaks Mountain. Solgreen also wrote a letter saying that you are a decent leader. He hopes that the human traitors can slow down a little and pursue some stability and prosperity."
"We will." Laing thought for a moment and said, "But as far as I know, a bigger and more terrible storm is approaching. Motekin's invasion is just the beginning."
"I don't know what the beginning is. I only know that we are here." Tolgard raised his hand.
That's right, they were here.
A fifteen-meter-tall meteorite gate opened with a loud bang under the power of water. The entire underground rock wall was as bright as day. About five hundred dwarven crossbowmen and more than a hundred musketeers were waiting for the arrival of their king at the gate. On both sides of the gate, three ten-meter-tall statues of their ancestors were shining brightly. As usual, Granny was holding a hammer and a shield. Grimnir, who had a mohawk and a trimmed beard, was glaring at all the visitors. Valaya, on the other hand, was holding a shield in one hand and an axe in the other. Her hair was combed into two big braids as if she was thinking about something.
"Oh, the statues here are much shorter than the ones on the Eight Peaks Mountain," Little Solgreen shouted excitedly. "But what rune is that? I don't think I've seen it before!"
"Shut your mouth, mustache!" Tolgard glared at Little Solgreen. "Or I'll feed you to the piranhas in the depths of the earth!"
After passing through the gate, a huge city in the mountains appeared in front of everyone.
The mountains had been hollowed out, and only the light from the top and torches provided illumination. The excellent planning and construction skills of the dwarves were on full display here. Dozens of square tunnels divided Lone Dragon City into hundreds of squares. The rune-reinforced walls were sturdy and reliable, decorated with words and reliefs, silently telling the story of their ancestors. Several galleries were opened in the ancestral hall, overlooking the dining hall, the armory, the reception room, and the forging hall.
Togarde clapped his hands, and several dozen long-bearded veterans emerged from the dwarven monarch's clan. The Crimson One laughed loudly and said to Leon, "Even if you are the Knight King, you still have to follow the rules in our Lone Dragon City."
"What rules?" Laing gestured for Morgiana to calm down. He spread out his hands and said, "I have to say in advance that I won't follow all the rules."
"This isn't hard for you." Tolgard emphasized, "It's very simple. If you want to negotiate with us about trade, then you have to show your sincerity. There are only three conditions. First, compete in strength. Second, compete in drinking. Third, compete in singing!"
Laing nodded. "That's not hard, but I need a clear standard."
"We won't compete with you on the first condition. Your strength is there." Tolgard laughed. "We won't compete with you on the third condition either. Because dwarves sing is different from humans, we'll only compete on the second condition, drinking!"
In the ancestral hall, there was a group of long-bearded dwarves, a golden dome, a long sandalwood table, wine glasses inlaid with gems, hundreds of barrels of highland barley wine, twenty baskets of bread, a dozen plates of cold cut mutton and sauces, and all kinds of mushrooms and pickled fish.
The king's kitchen of Lone Dragon City was in full swing, and delicious dishes were served one after another.
Llane took his seat. Across from him sat five bearded dwarves, each of them wearing crimson robes and down jackets made of animal hide.
The four dwarven kings of Lone Dragon City also sat down one after another.
A dwarven maid with a body as round as a bucket brought over an oversized diamond beer glass. Laing estimated that this glass could hold a liter of beer.
"Drink a glass, say a word, tell us all your intentions and conditions for negotiation!" Great Lord Tolgard sat down opposite Laing. "In the name of Granny, we will set the rules of the ancestors!"
"Whoever speaks will drink! How about it? "
"Sure!" Clayon's lips curled into a smile. "Are you ready? Dwarves? "
"Very well. In the name of the great monarch, I declare that Granny's Feast has begun!"
I am the dividing line of Granny's Feast.
Two days later, in the ancestral meeting hall of Lone Dragon City. Under the golden dome, Great Lord Torgarde, the Crimson, and the other three kings were sitting together, along with five clan leaders, runic craftsmen, and master engineers. They were discussing the outcome of the negotiations.
"Then the problem is obvious. This Knight King is very powerful, and he keeps his word among the humans. He has a relatively good reputation, and he can speak the dwarven language fluently. Although he speaks with the accent of the Mountain Kingdom, we have to admit that talking to him isn't as tiring as talking to other humans." King Halcon of Crow Nest said, "At least, that's what it seems to be on the surface."
"The only unsettling thing is that according to the news, he seems to be close to the elves." King Tyr of Eaglepeak City crossed his arms, "Those damned pointy ears are not reliable at all."
"We are trading with the Knight King, not with the elves. Moreover, elven goods are sometimes quite good." King Rogamir of Thundercrash City stroked his white beard, "The premise is that we can get our hands on them. For example, silk and all sorts of fine embroidery? Jewelry? "
Everyone present nodded. Although the dwarves and elves didn't like each other, the dwarves were very fond of many of the elven luxuries.
"Our Knight King also proposed to build a large dwarven smithy in his territory, in a place called Muxilon," the Guild Leader of the runic craftsmen said. The president of Lone Dragon City's Craftsmen Association, Rune Craftsman Master Eric, said, "He was told by Little Solgreen that our Rune Craftsmen are the best and most complete, so he hopes to hire a few of my subordinates to help."
"What's the price?" Tolgard burped. They had drunk too much that day, and everyone slept the entire day the next day.
"The price … isn't bad. Moreover, he promised that he wouldn't order the dwarves around, as long as the quality and output are guaranteed. I promise that it won't affect the work here."
Everyone started to discuss among themselves. They spent an hour or two discussing what they should do.
"Listen, everyone. Normally, we would need a year or two to think and discuss these things, but the Knight King won't wait for us for a year or two." Tolgard gestured for everyone to be quiet. Under the special echo wall of the golden dome, every word of the dwarf could be heard clearly, "In fact, the problem is very simple. We all know that his people are in charge of Örengrád in the south. He's better at fighting and more trustworthy. The price he offers is also lower than that female Tsar, and in large quantities. More importantly, he promised to bring us a lot of food, a lot of food, meat, fish, and a lot of textiles that we urgently need. This way, we can build a new brewery and meat processing factory, and let our children all wear clean and beautiful robes!"
"Oh ho! A new brewery! "
"That's good. Highland barley wine isn't tasty enough. The dark beer and Bagman beer from the south are better!"
"Can he really do it?"
"We have 110,800 dwarves in the Four Kingdoms!"
"Listen, everyone, listen," Tolgard gestured for everyone to listen. "The Knight King wants to use food, cloth, luxury goods, and other things to exchange with us for our rune armor, rune weapons, ores, and rare metals. My people have already calculated the accounts overnight. This trade will help us fill up the treasury and treasury of our family. The only requirement is that Örengrád is the only trading port, and that we only trade with the merchants he specifies."
"If he can provide us with all the goods we need, then why not? Humans are short-lived and unreliable. It's not the first time that we've met a treacherous human who deceived us. When they finally found us, they were already dead for many years. "
"Then it's settled. We'll use our ores, rune weapons, jewels, and other things to trade with them."
In the end, the ancestor council voted. The trade agreement was passed with eight votes in favor and one abstained. The abstaining vote came from the largest merchant in Lone Dragon City, the Ubrak clan. This clan had just signed a trade agreement with the Kislöw Romanov Tsar clan. They were unwilling to give up such good trade profits, but there was nothing they could do about the current situation. They could only symbolically object.
This trade agreement was known as the 'Lone Dragon City Trade Agreement'. Relying on this agreement, the dwarves of Lone Dragon City received a large amount of urgently needed goods from the old world and quickly moved towards a new round of prosperity. The Brittany royal family represented by Laing relied on this agreement to obtain an unimaginable amount of wealth.
But this is a story for another day.
"Very good. Now let's discuss the second matter. It's also proposed by His Majesty the Knight King."
"It's about his proposal for the so-called 'Great Retreat'."
"This proposal is about how we, the dwarves of Northca, should encounter a situation like the Battle of the Mountains where we're besieged by the dead Supreme King of Northca, Aisling, for a long time. How should we retreat from here?"
"Now, let's discuss whether we should prepare for the 'Great Retreat' plan."
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