"For me," Bud said, his eyes widening with greed after a moment of confusion. "What quality treasure is this?"
"Calculating by our human world's standards, it's a Stage Six," Xu Mu replied.
"That's excellent," Bud's wrinkles deepened, his eyes narrowing into slits as he took the precious saber and caressed it, nearly drooling on it.
He had seen treasures of this caliber before, such as Elder Yale's creations, which were comparable. But those weren't his. This saber, however, now belonged to him!
"Hahahaha!"
In high spirits, Bud burst into laughter. Nash, standing beside him, looked perplexed, unsure of Xu Mu's true intentions.
Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
"You've performed admirably. I'll take good care of you in the future," Bud said with a smile, sheathing the saber.
"Not in the future, but right now," Xu Mu replied with a faint smile. He then asked, "Actually, there's something I don't understand. Why did that sandstorm drag us here? What was its purpose?"
Bud chuckled at his question and began to explain, "It's not much of a secret. The sandstorm was naturally controlled by powerful Black Wizards. They brought you humans here to serve as laborers, to repair an altar."
"What's the altar for?" Xu Mu inquired.
Bud shook his head. "I can't explain that either. It's an order from our Black Dwarf leader, Lord Yabo Xi'en."
"This altar has been under construction for over a hundred years."
Xu Mu's eyes flickered. "So, before us, other humans were also captured and forced to labor for you?"
"Of course. Otherwise, with our tribe numbering less than three thousand, how could we have built such a large altar ourselves?" Bud smacked his lips indifferently. "There are over a hundred prisons like the one you were in, and they're just as large."
"Meaning, over ten thousand slaves," Bud boasted proudly.
Xu Mu narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly, his killing intent barely suppressed. He patiently asked, "Do you have a map of this place on you?"
"You're asking too many questions," Bud said, displeased. "Do I have to tell you everything I possess?"
"Then you don't have one," Nash interjected.
"Of course I do!" Bud roared, pulling out a scroll from his spatial pouch. It was taller than he was, filled with winding lines, seemingly depicting the entire underground kingdom.
"But I'm not showing it to you," Bud laughed heartily, his expression then turning grim. "You two worthless slaves, don't think you can speak to me so disrespectfully just because you brought me gifts. If there's a next time, I'll crack your skulls!"
"Heh." Xu Mu gave a cold smile and spoke, "One last question."
"You still want to ask?!" Bud exploded in rage, lunging at Xu Mu, grabbing him by the collar and roaring, as if ready to strike.
"Last question. Do you have any last words?" Xu Mu's voice turned icy. His right hand, which had somehow found its way to the massive club Bud used for killing, tightened its grip. With a slight exertion of force, the weapon, forged from metal and stone, deformed like soft clay, emitting cracking sounds.
Bud froze instantly, staring at Xu Mu's right hand in disbelief.
"This… this is impossible! I spent countless hours forging this weapon. How could you crush it so easily?!" Bud's face contorted in panic, his mind reeling. In reality, he had already loosened his grip on Xu Mu's collar and was preparing to flee the prison cell.
*Bang!*
Xu Mu gave him no such opportunity. He snatched the massive club and swung it into Bud's abdomen, sending him flying several meters to crash against the wall.
In that instant, before Bud could even cry out, Xu Mu flashed forward, stuffed straw into his mouth, seized his spatial pouch, and pinned him firmly under his foot, rendering him immobile.
"Ugly, repulsive creature. You dare enslave humans? You live underground for a reason!" Xu Mu's face was cold. He then turned to Nash. "Come here and search his soul."
"But… but I don't have any magic power. Aren't we under a curse?" Nash was stunned by the scene before him. He hadn't expected Xu Mu, without any special abilities, to possess such formidable physical strength, truly monstrous.
"No, you have abilities!" Nash suddenly remembered Xu Mu using his powers when exchanging blood. He wasn't cursed!
"You used my blood. The curse was broken long ago. Hurry, don't waste time," Xu Mu said coldly. Under the effect of his Glazed Blood, all darkness and evil were dispelled, including curses.
"Really!" Nash paused for a moment, then attempted to activate his abilities. A dark green light flashed around him, like fireflies in a field.
"An elf! You're an elf!" Bud, his mouth gagged, roared hysterically from the ground. Though they couldn't hear his words clearly, Xu Mu and the others could discern his meaning from his fragmented shouts.
"A Black Dwarf, huh? You almost got me killed. Die!" Nash's eyes glowed green. He walked over to Bud, crouched down, and his soul instantly invaded the dwarf's consciousness.
Not long after, Bud's eyes turned glassy, and after a violent seizure, he breathed his last.
"This old guy was lying to us earlier," Nash smacked his lips and transmitted the fragmented memories he had plundered from Bud's mind to Xu Mu, who received them all.
"This altar is named 'Heroic Soul.' Upon completion, it can resurrect the fallen heroes of the Dwarf race. They will possess human bodies and return to the surface to plot for the lands of the elves, or even humans."
"Dwarves want to return to the surface?" Xu Mu's face was frosty as he gripped his saber.
According to Bud's memories, the highest combat power of the Black Dwarf tribe was their leader, Yabo Xi'en, a peak Stage Five Domain Lord.
Yabo Xi'en rarely appeared in public and often visited other tribes.
Therefore, only a few scattered Domain Lords remained here, none particularly strong, as they were master weapon crafters and not skilled in combat.
"What's your plan?" Nash asked Xu Mu with a grave expression. As a half-elf, half-human, he had to stop the dwarves' plan, regardless of which side he identified with.
"Dispose of his body first, then follow me. They will pay for imprisoning humans," Xu Mu said, pushing open the prison door and walking into a dark tunnel.
He wanted to see what this so-called altar was.
Nash nodded, transforming into a black mist that enveloped Bud's corpse and even cleaned up the spilled blood, quickly tidying the scene. He then followed Xu Mu's footsteps.
Along the way, thanks to the map, they used the special passage for transporting human slaves, encountering no obstacles. After traveling for some time, they arrived at an underground world that resembled a colossal sinkhole.
Xu Mu was instantly awestruck.
The world before them was hundreds of thousands of meters wide and long, stretching beyond sight. Towering mountains, as high as the heavens, encircled the area, their surfaces covered in countless steep plank roads. Tens of thousands of stooped, emaciated humans with ashen faces carried gigantic stones, several times their own size, to construct a massive altar at the bottom of the sinkhole.
The enslaved humans, clad in ragged clothes, toiled laboriously throughout the space, like ants scattering during a downpour.
Black Dwarf overseers, their faces ruddy, wielded their weapons and whipped the old, young, women, and children indiscriminately. Those who were injured and useless were not treated; they died.
If anyone resisted, like the adventurers from the same group who had been swept here by the sandstorm, they, who were accustomed to a life of privilege, could not endure such demeaning servitude. But when their resistance failed, and those without powers could only be beaten to death with a club, they had no choice but to resign themselves to their fate.
Xu Mu's stunned expression gradually faded, replaced by a calm as still as an ancient well. He calmly observed everything before him.
Here, the spines of humanity were bent under the weight of the stones, their faces buried in dust. They were blacker than the Black Dwarves, and more like dwarves themselves.
"You two! How dare you unlock your shackles and handcuffs! Don't you want to live?!" At this moment, a Black Dwarf overseer, brandishing a club, strode furiously towards Xu Mu and Nash.
Xu Mu turned to face him, his anger simmering. Nash, witnessing the tragic scene in this world, was also quite furious, but he still possessed the reason to know they were outnumbered.
"Be patient," Nash said, turning to Xu Mu.
"There are Domain Lords. We can't win, but escaping is not a problem," Qiong Qi said, no longer lazy, his voice cold as he observed the scene. While hostility between humans, demons, and dwarves was normal, enslavement was a violation of heavenly principles.
He recalled the precedent of the Beast race being enslaved by humans after the Divine-Demonic Era, which eventually led to a long resistance and the current situation, with the help of some humans.
"They are my friends." Just as the Black Dwarf was about to reach them, and a moment before Xu Mu could make a move, Suna appeared from nowhere, interceding for them.
"Ah, friends of the Black Mage, my lord." Although the overseer didn't recognize Suna, the evil and dark aura emanating from her allowed him to identify her race. He respectfully retreated, shouting, "Take note! Those two are friends of the Black Mage. Show them no disrespect!"
"Yes!"
Xu Mu slowly loosened his clenched fist. He forced himself not to look at the scene in the sinkhole and turned to Suna with a chilling gaze. "Why did you help me?"
"Because we are teammates," Suna replied.
"The sandstorm was orchestrated by your tribe. You knew this would happen all along," Xu Mu snorted coldly. "What conspiracy are you plotting?"
Suna stared at Xu Mu, wanting to get angry, but ultimately said nothing more. She merely gave Nash a deep look beside him and said, "There's no conspiracy. Even if there were, I wouldn't tell you."
"You just need to know that I, like you, want to leave here and destroy this altar. We are on the same side."
Xu Mu stared at her for a long time, seemingly analyzing which of her words were true and which were false.
"Can you swear a heavenly oath?" Nash interjected at this moment.
"There's no need. If you don't trust me, we'll do it ourselves," Suna replied calmly.
"You?" Xu Mu seized on the key word.
"I, Nan Feng, and those physically powerful ability users, along with the adventure team leader Zuo Qi, are also searching for strong individuals among the enslaved humans," Suna said.
"But no matter how strong they are, they can't defeat Domain Lords," Nash pointed out.
"How do you know if you don't try? Besides, aren't I here?" Suna smiled and beckoned Xu Mu with her finger. "What do you think?"
"With your participation, this endeavor should be much easier."
"Alright." After a moment of consideration, Xu Mu nodded. "I have a way to increase their combat power to Stage Three or even Stage Four without using their abilities."
"However, this method is limited to one hundred people."
Xu Mu thought of the modern weapons in his spatial ring.
With that arsenal, he could assemble a highly modernized hundred-person legion. With good coordination, they should be able to contend with three thousand dwarves in this confined underground world.
Of course, this was all contingent on the opposing Domain Lords not interfering.
"One hundred people… Tsk, tsk. I knew you weren't simple. Though I'm curious, I doubt you'd tell me if I asked," Suna said with a light smile.
"Mm." Xu Mu nodded, then rolled up his sleeves and slowly walked towards the altar.
"What are you doing?" Suna asked in surprise.
"Helping them move stones," Xu Mu replied, blocking a whip swung by a Dwarf overseer and helping an old man who had fallen to his feet.
The Dwarf overseer, enraged by Xu Mu's actions, was about to curse when he saw Xu Mu single-handedly lift a massive rock weighing several thousand kilograms, requiring several people to embrace.
"Cough, cough. Let this be the last time," the overseer silently swallowed and turned away.
Both Nash and Suna looked at Xu Mu with a degree of bewilderment. They didn't quite understand his true intentions.
"Winning people's hearts, that's a good strategy," Suna mused, watching Xu Mu help the enslaved move the giant stones back and forth. She believed Xu Mu was preparing for a future rebellion.
"No, you're overthinking it," Qiong Qi jumped into Nash's arms and glanced at Suna with disdain. "He's just thinking that if he does more, these enslaved people will suffer less."
"Are you joking?" Suna looked at Qiong Qi in surprise. Xu Mu moving stones was simply an act of kindness?
"Of course not." Qiong Qi proudly raised his head. "You wouldn't know this, but Brother Hao is an official of the imperial court."
"Officials are meant to understand the hardships of the common people."
"So, he's a good person?" Nash, recalling the terrifying aura of Xu Mu's saber, asked in disbelief.
Based solely on the saber's aura, he would have thought Xu Mu was a ruthless devil. Yet, now a beast was telling him that the wielder of that saber was a patriotic official who cared for his people!
Qiong Qi said no more. He didn't need to explain such matters, for Xu Mu was indeed that kind of person. He had once stormed the Jin Yin Merchants Guild for Feng Qing Village.
Nash also fell silent, lost in thought. Only Suna, gazing at Xu Mu's busy figure, showed a flicker of seriousness in her obsidian pupils for the first time.
…