Chapter 3656: The Intrigued Dwarf Elders
Chapter 3656: The Intrigued Dwarf Elders
The Wine was smooth and balanced. Perfectly crafted with every note hitting just the right way. Even for the snobby dwarves who preferred their ale and liquor, this wine was satisfying.
A silence fell.
Not of tension.
But of focus.
They drank.
And did not stop.
The barrels emptied rapidly.
Every last drop consumed until finally...
CRASH!
One by one, the dwarves slammed the empty barrels onto the ground, shattering them with raw force.
Then, as if a signal had been given... They roared.
"HAHA! MORE!"
"GIVE US MORE!"
Their voices filled the chamber, no longer angry, but filled with excitement.
The shift was dramatic.
Lin Mu smiled faintly.
"With pleasure," he said.
With another motion, dozens of additional barrels appeared.
The dwarves wasted no time.
They grabbed them and opened before drinking again.
Another round.
Each one emptied their barrel with the same enthusiasm as before. This time, when they finished, they did not immediately demand more. They exhaled deeply.
BURRRRRRRRRPPPPPP!
A long satisfied burp was heard, united together in a strange dwarven symphony.
Their earlier hostility had vanished entirely. It was now replaced by appreciation and interest. Jing Wei watched the entire exchange in stunned silence.
He had expected resistance.
Argument.
Perhaps even punishment.
He had already prepared himself mentally to accept consequences for bringing outsiders into Mantleheim. Scraping slag from exhaust channels for months would have been a light penalty compared to what could have happened.
Yet...
None of that occurred.
Lin Mu had handled it effortlessly.
And that too with just a few barrels of wine.
Jing Wei shook his head slightly, unable to suppress a small smile.
"So you still know how to deal with them," he muttered.
The elders returned to their seats and their expressions had changed. Their gazes toward Lin Mu now carried respect.
One of the Fireforge elders leaned forward.
"That was... acceptable," he said, his voice calmer now.
Another nodded.
"You have good taste in drink," a Mountain Dwarf added.
The Rune Dwarf elder stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"You may speak," he said. "State your purpose."
The tension had dissolved.
In its place... Opportunity.
The atmosphere within the grand hall had shifted entirely from hostility to anticipation. The dwarven elders, once again seated upon their stone-carved thrones, leaned forward with sharpened interest. Their earlier anger had dissolved into a keen curiosity, the kind that only true craftsmen possessed when faced with something unknown yet promising.
One of the Fireforge elders tapped his thick fingers against the armrest of his seat, the faint glow of heat pulsing beneath his skin.
"Now then," he said, his voice steady and commanding. "You have brought us fine drinks and shown proper respect. Speak clearly, human. What is it that you want made?"
All twelve elders fixed their gaze upon Lin Mu.
Lin Mu stepped forward calmly.
"I possess a material," he began, "one that requires the expertise of masters such as yourselves. It is complex. It is difficult. And it cannot be handled by ordinary means."
A murmur passed among the elders.
Their interest deepened.
A Rune Dwarf elder narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If it is merely skill you require," he said, "then why not ask the Rune Dwarves you encountered before? You already hold their trust."
Lin Mu nodded.
"I did," he replied. "I asked them first."
"And?" another elder pressed.
"They refused," Lin Mu said plainly.
The hall fell quiet again.
"They said it was beyond their capabilities," Lin Mu continued. "They told me that the material I carry cannot be forged by conventional means."
The dwarves exchanged glances.
Now, their expressions shifted from curiosity to seriousness.
"And what did they suggest?" a Mountain Dwarf elder asked.
Lin Mu took a breath.
"They said that if I wished to forge it... I would need something far greater."
He paused.
Then spoke clearly.
"The Dao Forge."
The words echoed through the chamber.
A heavy silence followed his words.
The dwarven elders did not react immediately.
Their expressions hardened.
One of them slowly leaned back.
"Do you understand what you are asking?" he said, his tone now grave.
Another elder spoke, his voice lower.
"The Dao Forge is not something that can be used at will."
"It does not exist to serve requests," a third added. "It chooses its purpose."
Meng Bai, who had been listening intently, could not hold back his curiosity.
"How can a forge choose?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice. "It is just a tool, is it not?"
Jing Wei stepped forward slightly.
"It is not," he said.
All eyes turned to him.
"The Dao Forge is created from the Dao Embryos of past dwarven grandmasters," Jing Wei explained. "Every master who contributed to it left behind their will, their understanding, their craft."
He looked toward Meng Bai.
"It is alive in its own way," he continued. "It carries the collective will of generations of craftsmen. If it does not deem a task worthy, it will reject it."
Meng Bai swallowed, clearly trying to process the concept.
"Reject... how?" he asked.
"You will not even be allowed to begin," Jing Wei replied. "The forge will refuse to respond. It will remain inert."
The weight of those words settled in the room.
The elders turned back to Lin Mu.
"And yet," the Fireforge elder said, his eyes narrowing, "you claim your material is worthy of it."
Lin Mu met his gaze.
"I am certain of it," he said.
A faint challenge entered the elder’s expression.
"And how can you be so sure?" he asked.
Lin Mu did not answer immediately.
Instead, he raised his hand.
A faint spatial fluctuation appeared.
Then the object emerged.
The husk of Xukong!
The moment it appeared, the atmosphere in the chamber changed. A subtle distortion spread through the air as the elders stiffened.
Their senses reacted instinctively and they stared. At first, their expressions showed surprise. They had expected a rare ore, perhaps a divine metal, something forged by nature over countless years.
What they saw instead...
Was the remains of a creature.
A husk.