Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 110 Entering the Dwarf Kingdom

So Agreed used disguise magic to make his face appear human from an optical perspective and then slowly walked into the mountains. Soon after, the dwarf soldiers on the outposts of the outer mountains quickly discovered this uninvited guest. The dwarf captain in charge shouted through a megaphone.

"Halt! If you come any closer, don't blame us for being ruthless!" With that, the dwarves loaded their muskets and aimed them at Agred. As soon as their captain gave the order, they would fire and let the guy in front of them taste the power of bullets.

Argreed's soul sneered at this low-level threat. His Bone Forging Technique made his body extremely tough. Even if you used a missile to bomb him, you would have to make sure it hit accurately to injure Argreed, who was at the Yellow Bone Realm.

However, Agreed wasn't there to cause trouble, so he used telepathy to say, "Calm down, mighty friends, I am Agreed from the human kingdom. I've come here mainly to make a deal with you."

Upon hearing this, the squad leader of the dwarven guard suddenly beamed with joy and quickly confirmed, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Agreed Reiler?"

Agreed asked in confusion, "You...know me?"

The squad leader excitedly ordered his men to put away their weapons, then ran down the watchtower to the opposite side of Agred and explained, "We know your friend, Mr. Milton, who often speaks of you, a great mage whose enchanting skills are no less than his own."

Upon hearing this news, Agreed's soul fire immediately began to burn fiercely, and he excitedly grabbed the dwarf and asked, "Is Milton still here? Can you take me to see him?"

Upon hearing this, the squad leader suddenly felt a pang of sadness, then reminded him, "I can take you to see him, but... you should be prepared."

At that moment, Agreed suddenly felt a cold wind pierce his soul. His reason told him that the worst had happened, but his emotions prayed that it wasn't true.

The squad leader instructed his team to remain on guard, then brought over two ibex (special mounts of the dwarves) and had Agred ride one of them behind him. Ibex are the most suitable mounts for riding in the mountains; they can even walk on rock faces with slopes approaching ninety degrees. In addition, their size is not very large, so even dwarves can ride them, making them the best choice for dwarves living in the mountains.

However, due to his size, Agred could only awkwardly lie on the ibex's back, so that the ibex's center of gravity wouldn't shift too much, and at least the ibex wouldn't have to exert so much effort to climb the hill.

Soon, led by the dwarf captain, Agreed arrived at the dwarf capital, Ifiltal, their only place of residence that could be called a city (due to geological issues, dwarf settlements are generally scattered and rarely form city-sized communities). This huge dwarf city was built because the dwarves had been mining the veins day and night for thousands of years, clearing out a huge space in the process.

Along the way, the squad leader enthusiastically introduced the city's history and development to Agreed, as well as the various shops and fine taverns along the way. However, Agreed was more interested in the ruins all around. At this time, countless dwarves were rushing to repair the buildings that were about to collapse, but the dwarves were only interested in fine wine and forging, so the squad leader focused all his introduction on these things and remained silent about the ruins.

Agreed felt it was impolite to interrupt others, so he simply listened quietly. Since the squad leader didn't mention the mess on the road, Agreed didn't feel comfortable asking about it either. Soon, the two rode their ibex to the center of the city, where a huge humanoid statue stood. All the dwarves who passed by bowed or even knelt to express their respect for the statue.

Upon seeing the statue, Agreed instantly understood everything. His soul flame trembled involuntarily, expressing his sorrow. Then, Agreed murmured to himself, "Even you have left this wretched world, old friend..."

The humanoid statue before him was clearly modeled after Milton. Judging from the sorrowful expressions of the dwarves as they worshipped, Agreed had already guessed the gist of the matter: Milton must have died here while trying to save the dwarves.

The squad leader dismounted and knelt at the foot of the statue, offering a prayer as he spoke: "Just half a year ago, our greed incurred the punishment of the gods. A divine abomination broke its seal and rushed out of the mine because of our insatiable mining activities. To protect the city, Lord Milton lured the divine abomination into an abandoned mine and detonated a bomb, causing it to fall into the underground magma."

After hearing this, Agreed said with concern, "The abominations of the gods cannot be killed by mere magma from the earth's core. You are still in great danger. The best solution is to abandon this place and find another place to live."

The squad leader shook his head helplessly and said, "It's impossible. All our hard work is here. It's absolutely impossible for us to move it. Besides, even if that divine abomination wasn't killed, it would be swept away by the magma from the Earth's core to who knows where. Our king thinks it's completely unnecessary to go to such lengths."

Hearing their stubbornness, Agreed could only wisely shut his mouth. Obsession with one's homeland can make one lose their mind, and there was nothing he could do now. Life only awakens when it is on the verge of destruction, just like he did back then.

The squad leader stood up, pointed to a blacksmith's shop, and said, "The owner of that shop is Master Larry, the most skilled blacksmith among the dwarves, and also Milton's closest friend in this kingdom. If you want to know something about your old friend's past, go to him; he'll have everything you need to know. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now." With that, the squad leader removed his hat in salute, mounted his ibex, and returned to the border post to continue his duties.

Argreed silently walked to the blacksmith shop the squad leader had mentioned. After hesitating for a while, he pushed open the double louvered door, which resembled a tavern. The main purpose of this type of door was to maintain ventilation as much as possible while blocking the interior. The blacksmith shop was indeed very hot, with clanging and banging sounds coming from time to time, and sparks flying out from time to time, proving that every weapon here was genuine.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a dwarf with a slightly graying beard, striking the blade of a sword on an anvil with a tungsten steel hammer. He is so focused that he doesn't even notice the arrival of his guest, Agred. Seeing that he is busy, Agred doesn't dare to make a sound and carefully moves around the shop, looking at the works hanging in the display cases.

The weapons and ornaments were covered with very intricate enchantment arrays. Agreed could tell at a glance that these arrays were Milton's work. Suddenly, a few hissing sounds of quenching came from behind, and the dwarven blacksmith Larry then took off his equipment and walked out shirtless.