Volume 5: The Great Plains Chapter 141: Dwarf City

  Ironfist Fortress, the dwarven stronghold, was almost carved directly into the mountain peak, with only a twenty-meter high wall exposed outside. It's not just that it would be difficult to attack, but even without the permission of the dwarves, it would be hard to pass through the city gates in peacetime. I looked up and carefully observed the walls of the fortress, and the only way to break in was through the magnificent city gate. However, when we climbed halfway up the mountain and saw the true face of the gate, everyone gasped in unison. The dark, black gate was actually made from two massive blocks of black iron cast together. Not even a normal siege engine could breach it, let alone if the gods themselves came to attack Ironfist Fortress.

  Dakuru's eyes widened in amazement and he said: "Such a solid city, I'm afraid that no army on the continent of Asia can break in?"

  "Ha! You green-skinned folks should be impressed, eh? Let me tell you, every single brick on this exposed wall is made from the finest steel rock from the Akin continent, stacked block by block. And as for the mortar used to hold them together, it's mixed with plenty of iron sand. The defense of our dwarven city is absolutely perfect!"

  No wonder that for thousands of years, no force has ever been heard to truly threaten the dwarven city. Such a strong defense is indeed difficult to break through, and I couldn't help but nod in agreement.

  As you enter the inner gate of Ironfist Castle, the first thing that catches your eye is a statue almost as tall as the gate itself. A dwarf with a long beard holds a massive war hammer and battles a demon. Mr. Copperfist explains that this is a story about the third king of the dwarven kingdom who led his warriors in battle against the demons from the underworld. Legend has it that the demons once emerged from a rift in the earth and attempted to conquer the continent, but were ultimately driven back by the dwarves under the leadership of this very king after a fierce and desperate battle.

  Passing by the statue, a huge square appeared before our eyes. The center of the square was empty, with only occasional short people passing by hastily. The whole city was filled with the sound of iron clanging everywhere. Surrounding the square, except for the magnificent palace directly opposite the entrance, were neat and majestic houses. Those iron clanging sounds came from behind those houses.

  Mr. Copper Hammer specially took us to the back of the house for a visit, and it turned out that there was an extremely large smelting furnace behind the house, which was almost as high as the entire city. The molten iron flowed out of the furnace like a river, and around the furnace were many dwarves working hard to forge iron. They were surrounded by piles of various iron-made and black iron-made objects, with the most being weapons and armor.

  We were all extremely unaccustomed to the scorching temperature emitted by that huge furnace, and soon followed Mr. Copper Hammer back to the square in front of the Dwarf Palace.

  "Mr. Copper, can you tell me how a city of dwarves this size, with furnaces this large and temperatures this high, ventilates?" I asked somewhat puzzled along the way.

  "Master Fa, our city is built on the middle of a mountain. On top of our city, there's actually a ventilation hole that goes all the way to the summit. Haven't you noticed that we don't feel any stuffiness in this city?" said Mr. Tongchui with a smile.

  Xī Lù chimed in from the side: "Aren't you afraid that enemies will invade the city through the ventilation?"

  Tong Chui burst out laughing and said: "If the enemy dares to enter the city from there, they will indeed be seeking their own death! However, this is a secret, I cannot tell you."

  It seems to be a secret of the city, so we didn't ask any more questions. By then, we had also arrived at the gate of the palace.

  "Auguste, Mr. Copper Hammer said to the guarding soldier: "Go and inform them that the person who came to welcome Copper Hammer has arrived, ask our king if he will see them immediately."

  The guard nodded and immediately walked inside. After a while, he hastily ran out and loudly said to Tong Chui: "Captain, Wang said please bring them in, our king wants to meet these guests from afar."

  The copper hammer nodded and tilted its head towards us, saying: "Follow me, our king wants to see you."

  Dakuru said: "I didn't expect it, you are actually still the captain of the palace guard! It's really amazing."

  Tong Chui patted Dakuru's shoulder with a satisfied smile and said, "Of course, when I was young... Ah, never mind. Anyway, after you meet Wang, I'll invite you to my place for a drink. If I don't get you drunk, I'm not a good man."

  Dakuru happily also used his fist to pound the shoulder of Tongchui, and loudly said: "Good! Who's afraid of who? Let's see who will be knocked down!"

  A few people were laughing and watching the performance of this pair of living treasures, when suddenly a loud and piercing alarm sounded from above the palace, and troops of dwarf soldiers and guards rushed into the palace.

  We exchanged glances with each other, speechless. The copper hammer's face also changed greatly, and he rushed to the palace first. We hurriedly followed behind him.

  As we entered the palace, we saw two groups of hundreds of dwarves fighting each other. The massive war hammers and battle axes clashed in mid-air, striking sparks everywhere. These heavy weapons could completely disable a person with just one hit, instantly turning the scene into an extremely bloody one. Dwarves were smashed into pulp by hammers and chopped into pieces by axes, blood splattered everywhere, and cries of agony echoed back and forth.

  "Tong Chui's face turned sour as he said, 'This is terrible! The people of the eldest prince and second prince are fighting. What can be done about this? It must be stopped immediately.'"

  There were groups of guards gathering around Tong Chui's side, and a small team leader came over to report to Tong Chui and ask how to resolve the current chaos.

  "Tong Chui scowled and said: 'How am I supposed to know what to do? I just got back, and I haven't received any orders yet!'"

  At this time, a dwarf with golden hair and beard walked quickly from afar, carrying a war hammer and shouting at the copper hammer: "Copper Hammer, why are you still dazed there? Bring your people with me to stop the fight between Big Brother and Second Brother first!

  Tong Chui looked at the dwarf and suddenly seemed to have a backbone, excitedly shouting: "Ha, Man Chui, you're here! What do you say we do? I'll follow you!"

  Only to see that the barbarian took his heavy black iron war hammer in hand and swung it, shouting: "Everyone, follow me! First, separate those who are holding back my brothers. Whoever dares not to obey will have their legs smashed with this hammer. I'll go stop them from subduing my brothers!"

  The dwarves charged towards the battlefield like a tide, and we exchanged a glance. Evan nodded and said, "This is our dwarf companion, Fregley, he's fierce."