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nChapter 568 – Hammer

nUnder the guidance of the Dwarf, Zhao Hai and the others got up to ride the boat. While the Dwarf guided them, the other one was responsible for driving.

nThey traversed the underground quite steadily. While they were travelling, ZHao Hai can notice some magic lights coming from the walls of the river from time to time.

nInside the channel, boats can also be seen travelling in both directions. Their speeds were quite fast for boats, all of them were driven by Dwarves.

nBy utilizing the brightness from the Magic lamps, Zhao Hai can see that there were also some piers placed on the sides of the river. These piers also had some boats in it. Some of the boats were carrying iron ores, while some had weapons and armor.

nZhao Hai was now admiring the Dwarves, they’re really quite formidable. From what Zhao Hai can see, it seems like the Dwarves had scraped out entire mountains, making them into cities. How much skill did this need?

nJuno sat on the ship and looked around before he sighed and said, “From the time I came here, nothing much has changed. But I can fairly remember that there weren’t a lot of magic lamps before, torches were mostly used back then.”

nThe lead Dwarf smiled at him and said, “Mister Juno, these lamps haven’t been replaced in ten years. We happened to find a Magic Crystal deposit not far from the mountain. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be replacing the torches with these Magic lamps.”

nJuno nodded and said, “Your luck is really good. But since you discovered a Magic Crystal deposit, why haven’t you sold them?”

nThe Dwarf shook his head and said, “We can’t, there aren’t a lot of Magic Crystals in that deposit. The only thing we have is only enough for our use.”

nJuno nodded. After sailing from quite some time in the underground river, they finally stopped at a pier. The Dwarf then led them to land and had them ride an Iron Beast carriage that was already waiting for them.

nAfter the group entered the Iron Armor Beast carriage, they continued on to their travel along the mountain range. From what Zhao Hai can see in Juno’s expression, it seems like they were going to a special place.

nSure enough, when they came out of the mountain, a main road was seen. This road was very wide, it was paved with stone and it was extended from a distant the mountain. But from what Zhao Hai can see, the mountain was just like a tunnel, he can see the other side of it.

nUpon entering the mountain, Zhao Hai immediately knew that he had made a mistake. The mountain was very big, moreover, a lot of Dwarf women were very busy inside.

nUpon looking, Zhao Hai can see that there were tools for assembling full body armors. These armors were fish scale armors that infantry used. There were fully assembled armors as well as components waiting to be built.

nAfter crossing the mountain, a building appeared not far away from the group. It was constructed like a temple very enormous and was constructed out of iron and iron ore. It was tall, about 20 meters in height, with 18 large stone pillars supporting it. The pillars were thick, each having about 5 meters in diameter.

nThere was a wide area in front of the building, about 10 thousand meters in diameter. The ground was paved with iron as well, making it very flat. Zhao Hai can see some people constantly cleaning the square.

nJuno gave a sigh and said, “This is a sacred land of the Dwarf Race, the Artisan Divine Palace. It was originally a small mountain, but it was hollowed out by the Dwarves. The stones from the mountain became the foundation of the entire palace. Every year, the Dwarves would all come to this place to worship the Artisan God, it’s quite a spectacle.”

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nThe Iron Armor Beast stopped on the square outside the Divine Palace. Then Juno turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Let’s head out, carriages are prohibited in the vicinity of the Divine Palace. We’ll give our respects to the Artisan God first before we see my old friends.”

nZhao Hai nodded and then followed Juno down. The Dwarf guide was also with them as the group slowly walked towards the Divine Palace. Zhao Hai can see a lot of dwarves in the square, cleaning. They seem to be of old age, judging from their white hair and beard.

nAlthough the Dwarves noticed Zhao Hai and the others, they seem to not care about it as they continued to get busy in their job. Before long, Zhao Hai and the others were already near the Palace Great Hall.

nThe closer you get to the hall, the more of its grandeur that you feel. He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but Zhao Hai can feel a pressure inside the hall which made him very uncomfortable.

nZhao Hai and the others then entered the Great Hall upon which they were greeted with it’s beautiful interior, carvings and art that could be seen everywhere.

nHowever, there wasn’t any statue inside the Great Hall, what made Zhao Hai surprised was that the only thing that was present here was a hammer.

nYes, Zhao Hai did not misjudge it, it was a red hammer. It’s like the hammers that the Dwarves use, but it was a bit smaller, about a couple of jin less heavy.

nThis hammer was just too small to be used by the Dwarves. It was even short enough to be called a one-handed hammer. But what made Zhao Hai confused was that this hammer had given him an immense pressure. The pressure was even greater than what he felt when he faced 9th rank experts.

nWhen Juno saw that Zhao Hai was motionless as he looked at the hammer, he couldn’t help but stare. Hi didn’t understand why Zhao Hai was staring at the hammer. Juno had visited the Dwarves a hundred times before, and he had also seen this hammer, however, he just can’t see anything special about it.

nThe Dwarf guide had also noted Zhao Hai’s expression, which made him gawk, and then his two eyes shined. However, he didn’t say anything and just stepped towards the Hammer along with Juno and Zhao Hai.

nUnder the leadership of the Dwarf, the group paid their respects towards the hammer before they left the Great Hall. After leaving the hall, Juno then looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, why did you stare at that hammer? Did you see anything strange?”

nZhao Hai shook his head and said, “No, I just felt a very strong pressure from the hammer. I’ve faced 9th rank experts before, but I still wasn’t able to feel the kind of pressure that I got from the hammer. I felt that the hammer had a life, moreover, it seems to be much more formidable than a 9th rank expert.”

nAfter Zhao Hai finished talking, the Dwarf guide in front turned around and faced Zhao Hai in shock.

nThe Dwarf looked at Zhao Hai for quite some time before he turned back and proceeded. Zhao Hai and Juno looked at each other in confusion before they followed the Dwarf.

nAfter they went past the Great Hall, they were once again greeted with another big mountain. When they entered, Zhao Hai was astounded by the number of people inside here. These people weren’t here for work or to play with iron. From what was seen, it seems like this place was the living area of the Dwarves.

nJuno looked at Zhao Hai and smiled, “Don’t be surprised, this is the place where Dwarves live. It’s almost the same as the village back at home.”

nZhao Hai nodded, but he was still somewhat surprised upon inspecting these short Dwarves. Old Dwarves, Middle aged Dwarves, Dwarf children, all of them don’t feel any different. Dwarf children were like Human children in the way they play all around the place, the Dwarf women were there doing sewing and knitting while they chat with each other, old Dwarves were sitting in threes or fours chatting away while drinking wine.

nLike Juno said, it wasn’t very different from any Human village. It was just that the people here were not Humans.

nThe Dwarf guide then led Zhao Hai and the others to enter the village. But before they went in, they stopped by the guards at the entrance as the guide said, “Please inform the Patriarch, Hurricane Family’s Patriarch Juno has come to visit.”

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nJust as the guide’s request was said, a voice was suddenly heard, “What? That old man Juno has come? Quick, quick, have him come over.”

nAlong with the voice, a Dwarf also appeared in front of the group. This Dwarf wasn’t young, he already had a white beard. The Dwarf was about 1.5 meters in height, and since he was a Dwarf, his build was very sturdy. He had a big pair of hands, each finger was very thick and full of calluses, all of them looked just like withered branches.

nWhen this old Dwarf saw Juno, he couldn’t help but laugh as he hugged his old friend and patted him at the back, “You old fogy, I thought you had died. I didn’t expect you to suddenly visit. Hahahaha.”

nJuno was obviously used to being greeted by the Dwarves this way, so he didn’t care, instead he returned the old Dwarf’s hug and said, “You as well, who thought that you’re still alive.”

nZhao Hai was on the side, looking at the two old men. They looked just like two bickering children as they chatted with each other. But even so, Zhao Hai can feel the deep friendship that was shared between the two.

nAfter a moment of talking, Juno gestured towards Zhao Hai and said, “This is the Patriarch of the Buda Clan, Zhao Hai Buda. I accompanied him this time since he wanted to do business with you.”

nThen Juno turned to Zhao Hai and said, “This is the Patriarch of the Dwarf Race, Billy.”1

nZhao Hai bowed and said, “Zhao Hai has seen Patriarch Billy.”

nBilly sized Zhao Hai up, then he looked at Laura and the others at the back before he nodded and said, “Since you came with Juno, then you don’t need to be polite with me. Kid, come with me, take your group and get some rest at a room nearby.”

nZhao Hai didn’t decline, then he turned to give a nod to Laura and the others. The group then gave Billy another salute before retreating with the Dwarf guide.

n1. This naming offends me, I don’t know why.

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