Chapter 312: Chapter 213: Beset on All Sides (Part 2)
While Mofei was immersed in his daydream, he suddenly felt the atmosphere grow strange. This was especially true for Lizrite, who was standing not far in front of him and seemed... tense?
Before he even had a chance to look up, he heard a Dwarf’s distinct and deep voice from ahead:
"Welcome to the Solitary Peak Iron Fortress of Eight Peaks Mountain—Tisay—Son of the Crimson Calamity, Flame Steel Dragon David Uthos, and you visiting dragons. A millennium has passed. I, Temur the Oathswearer, am honored to receive you in my capacity as the third Supreme King of Tisay. This must be... our first face-to-face negotiation at such close quarters since the ’Battle of the Long Peak’, if I recall correctly."
Mofei wasn’t just surprised by what he saw when he looked up; he almost bolted out of the fortress gate then and there—Legendary-level powerhouses! And more than one!
To be precise, from left to right, one, two, three... nine? Nine?!
Thirty-two years ago, he might have been forgiven for not recognizing a powerhouse if he saw one. But after experiencing bloody battles and fighting alongside the dragons of Sed Ponga across more than ten planes, if he still hadn’t developed such discernment, his head would have long since been twisted off by a Legendary powerhouse and used as a wine cup.
But since when were Legendary powerhouses so common? According to the bardic chronicles he’d idly read in Barto Hell, enemies of that caliber only started sprouting like bittercress in a field once the protagonist reached a certain level!
This year, he had nothing in his arsenal to even attempt to break through to Sanctuary Master! Even their strongest, their leader, wasn’t Legendary.
At this distance, if the other side harbored hostile intentions and attacked, they couldn’t even handle a one-on-one fight; it was likely none of them would escape!
Clearly, all the dragons shared this understanding. Even though heavily injured, they still strained their bodies, attempting to form a protective circle around David.
In contrast to the dragons’ apprehension and caution, David stood erect on his hind legs as if nothing was wrong. He raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and surveyed the Dwarven Legendaries. Following the etiquette of Humanoid Creatures, he lightly lifted a claw to his chest and announced clearly:
"The honor is mine as well, King Temur. I am also grateful for the shelter you have all provided, allowing our group of traveling dragons, freshly returned from the Evil Scale Fortress of Barto Hell, to rest securely for a moment like this, despite the Elves’ ambush and pursuit.
"However, I must apologize. While Skanis in Elariya is indeed my birthplace, my mother, Pafila, was a Red Dragon from Toriel. Therefore, my draconic heritage doesn’t include much knowledge about the situation and history of Skanis a millennium ago."
The implication was clear: if their ancestors had any grudges against Chromatic Dragons, they should seek out the responsible parties. He wasn’t going to carry that burden.
However, their ability to escape so smoothly from the High Elves’ encirclement was indeed due to the significant deterrent effect of these Dwarves at this end of the Teleportation Gate, even if it wasn’t entirely of the Dwarves’ own volition.
Otherwise, under the relentless pursuit of ’two’ Legendary individuals, his group of dragons, having just emerged from the Teleportation Gate, might very well have been sent straight to the War God’s Divine Realm...
David always clearly distinguished between kindness and enmity. Since these Dwarves had, in a way, helped him, he wasn’t stingy with his reciprocation. Also considering the potential for future cooperation, he immediately emptied out a large quantity of goods from his Portable Cavern:
"Some ’local specialties’ brought back from Barto Hell. A humble token of my esteem."
This included dozens of barrels of Purgatory Wine brewed in Dis Hell, and a ton of Phlegyas green steel he had "acquired" from the Dragonkin Succubus Yolanda.
If the Purgatory Wine merely made the Dwarves’ eyes gleam with desire, then the sight of the Phlegyas green steel, cast into ingots by Devils, made their eyes practically turn green.
Dwarves who had spent their entire lives on the Elariya plane might have heard of this special mineral produced in the fourth layer of Barto Hell, but how could they have ever seen the actual thing? Their eyes practically bulged, like a starved wolf spotting prey.
If not for the dragons’ presence and the need to maintain basic dignity, they would have eagerly swarmed it to study the properties of this rare metal on the spot.
And just as David had anticipated, if his ’clean background’ was the icebreaker that began to melt the legendary stubbornness of these Dwarves, then the ’gift’ he brought was undoubtedly the true ’key’ to this meeting.
Of course, the Dwarves still needed a proper pretext to proceed.
Temur stroked his beard, which was adorned with Mithril rings, and asked, feigning curiosity:
"Could you let me see the arrow in your chest?"
David lowered his head, only then recalling the arrow lodged in him. With a flick of his tail, he gripped it and pulled it out:
"Certainly." He passed it to an approaching Dwarf Herald.
As the arrow was passed to him, Supreme King Temur frowned. He gently traced the magical runes engraved on it, and an irrepressible anger began to surge within him.
CRACK! He snapped the all-metal arrow—which was almost as tall as he was—in two. Holding up the broken pieces, he looked around at the other Dwarves, who seemed to be similarly reminded of all they had suffered in recent years, and said, nearly spraying spittle:
"See this? The magical inscriptions of the Moon Elf God!"
For a moment, all the Dwarves held their breath. So much so that, apart from a thoughtful David, the other dragons were rather puzzled—What are these Dwarves up to?
"The God’s Favored Ones of the Elven Gods have once again set foot upon this land beneath our feet!
"Lords of Tisay of the Copperbeard clan, and all my people, cast aside your fortunate hopes and delusions!"