Chapter 126: The Perilous Duolong City
After receiving confirmation from Eve Frostleaf, Ji Ma was so ecstatic that she seemed ready to float away. It was indeed true; her wings flapped slightly, her steps were light, and she looked like she could take off at any moment.
In front, the dwarven suicide squad was leading the way, and the horned helmeted bearded dwarf kept chattering to George while looking at his back. Ji Ma inexplicably felt a rush of mischievousness.
Look at him, diligently doing his official duties, working hard, completely unaware that I’m just behind him, undermining him.
Thinking this, Ji Ma suddenly grabbed Eve Frostleaf’s hand, squeezing her palm lightly. Eve seemed startled, her hand stiffened, and her emerald-like eyes turned to Ji Ma.
Ji Ma smiled at her, and the innocent expression that bloomed on her face was enough to make almost everyone feel joy.
Eve Frostleaf relaxed her grip, reciprocating Ji Ma’s hold, her calloused finger brushing against Ji Ma’s soft palm.
Ji Ma felt a thrill, but at that moment, a loud rumble erupted, reverberating through Duolong City.
Immediately releasing her hand, Ji Ma leaped into the air, flapping her wings and wielding a branch axe spear, her gaze scanning the area. She quickly spotted a spot on the ground where dust was billowing, creating a hole, and the shape of a ratman was seen inside.
Ji Ma immediately reported, “Eight o’clock! A large hole has been blasted in the ground, suspected ratman presence!”
Below, Eve Frostleaf, George, and Saint Jenna sprang into action, leaping onto the rooftops, arriving at the scene within twenty seconds.
The dust in the large hole had not settled yet when a group of well-equipped ratmen charged out. George raised the holy battle flag to block the hole, and with the assistance of the other team members, they managed to trap the ratmen inside the hole.
Five minutes later, a crowd of dwarves arrived. Clad in heavy armor, they looked like walking golems, carrying thick steel pipes and backpacks, and aimed at George and the surrounding ratmen, unleashing torrents of fire that scorched the ratmen, causing them to collapse. George charged in with the dwarves, fighting deep into the tunnel before collapsing it.
“Thank you,” the horned helmeted bearded dwarf said. “This is the eleventh underground raid by the ratmen.”
The dwarves’ gratitude lacked sincerity; it was just a formality. After all, we had just helped them out in a big way.
Ji Ma looked at the fire-breathing dwarf soldiers in heavy armor, enviously eyeing their equipment, and asked, “What’s this called?”
“Ironhand Dragon Gunner,” the horned helmeted bearded dwarf replied. “A superior weapon against ratmen, much better than those long-eared ones…”
Ji Ma pondered how to leverage these two favors to acquire the Ironhand Dragon Gunner’s equipment.
At that moment, the horned helmeted bearded dwarf shifted the topic, pointing at the matchlock gun held by a dwarven engineer. “This is an ancestor’s item, far superior to your new toy. Wasting time on this is pointless; you should maintain the ancestor’s items.”
The dwarf engineer’s face turned red and pale, remaining silent.
Ji Ma spoke up for him, “The future is promising. At least, I have faith in his weapon.”
“What do you know?”
“The most important thing is that he owes me a favor now and must develop a more advanced and terrifying weapon for me.”
The horned helmeted bearded dwarf muttered for a while and led them further into the city. Apart from the towering and solid outer wall, Duolong City had three inner walls. Under the guidance of the horned helmeted bearded dwarf, they passed one wall after another.
After passing the first wall, a dwarven officer came over asking for people; they needed reinforcements. The recently completed mission’s suicide squad dwarves hadn’t had any rest or received any celebratory rewards and were now being sent to fill the gaps.
Suddenly, the entire team became smaller. Butcher Hightrick and the dwarven engineer left, while the bard Felix went off to rest; he was just an ordinary person and it was truly remarkable that he had lasted this long.
In the end, only the horned helmeted bearded dwarf and four team members remained.
Stepping into the inner city of Duolong City, Ji Ma’s first impression was that she had returned to a major metropolis on Earth.
The streets were paved with stone, smooth and solid, free from animal droppings and potholes, with sidewalks and well-planned drainage ditches on the sides.
The buildings on both sides were constructed from gray-white granite, with iron thresholds and low structures that required bending down to enter. The buildings were neat and tidy, much better than the imperial capital—Adolf.
There, the streets were always filled with the smell of waste and urine, and the buildings beside the streets were usually chaotic constructions.
But Ji Ma’s second impression was that she had stepped into a graveyard.
The street was deserted, so empty that Ji Ma doubted even if she ran around naked here, she wouldn’t have to worry about social death. Occasionally, she saw a few dwarves hauling supply carts, sporting deep dark circles under their eyes, hurrying away.
The residential houses on either side were silent, with chimneys devoid of smoke and windows without light, devoid of any vibrancy, resembling ash urns.
Apart from the muttering of the horned helmeted bearded dwarf, there was no other sound, only the distant sound of dimensional lightning striking the outer city wall.
Although the imperial capital—Adolf—had its flaws, it was very prosperous, bustling with people.
It was only after passing through the “industrial area,” densely packed with blacksmith shops, with chimneys belching black smoke, the red-hot iron glowing brightly and the sound of hammers striking steel ringing out, that Ji Ma felt that Duolong City was alive. The industrial area resembled a resilient heart, keeping this massive corpse barely alive.
Leaving the industrial area and heading towards the innermost inner city, Ji Ma noticed that fewer male dwarves were present, with more female dwarves around. They wielded steel crossbows, some in training, others carrying bloodied round shields, hurrying outside in groups.
Dwarven females were outnumbered by males; it was said that among dwarven newborns, two out of three were males. To ensure population growth, female dwarves were heavily protected and would not go to battle unless in emergencies.
It seemed the dwarves were in a dire situation, and luckily, we arrived quickly; otherwise, Duolong City would likely fall.
As Ji Ma was deep in thought, she scrutinized the passing female dwarves, finding none to her taste, and thus felt no regret.
Instead, she was determined that she must whisper adequately to George, lest this lawful good idiot, in a moment of distraction, vows to assist the dwarves against the evil ratmen.
Eventually, they arrived at the innermost inner city, which resembled a fortress more than anything. Climbing step by step towards the empty dwarven palace—a place that looked like a tomb.
Under the massive stone pillars, firepots flickered. Inside the palace, they did not see the clan leader; they waited for over ten minutes before the sound of clashing armors echoed from the staircase below.
Ji Ma looked over and saw a small mountain of iron emerging from down the stairs; they were the Iron Shards warriors. Clad in meteorite armor with golden edges, wearing round helmets, with golden-bearded visage beneath their visors, they carried half-human-height round shields and bloodstained axes.
Their armor was the best in the entire dwarven clan, in every respect. Ji Ma looked on enviously, contemplating how much profit could be made if she could acquire a set of armor. Even if melted down in a furnace, the materials could yield unimaginable wealth to an ordinary person.
The lead Iron Shards warrior removed his steel-bearded helm, revealing white hair; he was the clan leader. He first apologized, explaining that he had just gone into the tunnel to repel the despicable ratmen, neglecting their guests. He then patiently listened to the ramblings of the horned helmeted bearded dwarf’s report and George’s requests.
What relieved Ji Ma was that George did not mention wanting to assist in defending Duolong City.
A look of disappointment appeared on the clan leader’s face as he said:
“You previously mentioned your armor needed repairs. I can see that it does. It comes from a master craftsman; its current state must have accompanied you through epic battles. Fortunately, Duolong City has an elderly runesmith. Given your contributions to Duolong City, I shall arrange for your armor to be repaired immediately.”
George replied, “Thank you very much.”
“But I have a request.”
Ji Ma’s heart sank, preparing to use words to reject the clan leader’s request at any moment.
“…How much treasure can you carry?” the clan leader asked. “In Duolong City’s treasury lies a substantial amount of gold; you can take as much as you want. I only hope that you can take a few dwarven treasures with you. If you survive, please hand them over to the Supreme King.
“When he sees them, he will certainly know that even if Duolong City falls, we have not lost our dignity as dwarves.”
George’s expression turned serious, even Eve Frostleaf, who often enjoyed mocking dwarves, showed a faint sadness.
Ji Ma, however, breathed a sigh of relief and then felt cheerful again.
Ah, so it’s a final testament; that’s great. If I can take the treasure at will, wouldn’t I become immensely wealthy?
“Respected clan leader, please forgive my interruption,” Ji Ma said. “Are you sure you want to take as much as you want? To be honest, one of my extraordinary abilities is connecting to another world and providing supplies for the team. Theoretically, as long as I have ample time and magic power,
“I could potentially empty your treasury.”
At this moment, her sincerity was aimed at future benefits.
The clan leader looked at George and asked, “Really?”
George nodded, “That’s correct. Ji Ma has contributed significantly to our team.”
The clan leader waved his hand, saying:
“You can take all the gold; that gold is worthless for food, hiring mercenaries, or buying peace. Keeping it in the treasury only serves to embellish it; we originally planned to seal the treasury so that even if the ratmen broke in, they couldn’t take the treasures.”
Ji Ma smiled.
“But,” the clan leader said, “in any case, there is one precious treasure that you must hand over to the Supreme King, unless you die; this requires signing a contract.”
George asked curiously, “What treasure?”
The clan leader commanded, and four dark-eyed dwarves emerged carrying a treasure chest. The chest was solid and ornately designed. Everyone’s eyes were fixated on the chest, curious about what could be inside that made the generous clan leader so concerned.
Ji Ma already had an inkling of what it might be.
The clan leader took out a key and twisted it with force to open the chest. Inside lay a book thick enough to serve as a pillow for Ji Ma; the clan leader reached in and turned a page, revealing sheets stained yellow and covered in dark red blood inscriptions of dwarven characters.
The clan leader spoke with a solemn and holy expression, “This is the Book of Hatreds of Duolong City, filled with the precious hatreds of our dwarves.”
The atmosphere momentarily grew somewhat subtle. George’s expression stiffened.
Ji Ma glanced elsewhere, the corners of her mouth twitching.
One could only say that it was indeed typical of dwarves. Even when delivering their final wishes, they would rather lose all their gold than part with the Book of Hatreds.
