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Chapter 226
chapter 212 part 1
Chapter 212: The Dwarves' Premature City Construction, Abducting the Rune Craftsmen
Beneath the deep night sky.
A biting cold wind blew over the Angelicisia Mountain Range.
Wrapped entirely in a black robe, Tang Zheng floated in mid-air. He wore a single-frame magic item that granted him night vision, his gaze fixed upon a fortress below.
That was the territory of the Dwarf Race!
*Rustle, rustle.*
The bitingly cold wind made his black robe flap audibly, but at such a high altitude and under the cover of night, the sound would not be detected by the fortress below.
His objective for this trip was the Rune Craftsmen among the dwarves.
To borrow these artisans from the Dwarf Race, he naturally needed to make contact with them. The best method was the one the Bone King had used.
By using the threat of the Digging Orcs to make demands of the dwarves, he could then take the Rune Craftsmen after repelling the Digging Orcs, and even establish a diplomatic-like relationship with the Dwarf Race in the process.
But such a method was clearly unsuitable for Tang Zheng.
It would leave too many traces!
It would expose too much information!
When the Great Tomb arrives in the future, if things go as expected, the Bone King will still become interested in rune technology and pay a visit to the Dwarf Race.
In that case, he, a mysterious human who had appeared among the Dwarf Race and also sought Rune Craftsmen, would enter the Bone King's field of vision. This was not something Tang Zheng wanted to see.
Besides the Rune Craftsmen, the Dwarf Race had nothing else of interest to Tang Zheng. So, after some consideration, he decided to use the simplest method.
Abduction!
Tang Zheng slowly descended from the sky. Through the vision of the night vision magic item, the objects below gradually came into focus.
The Great Fissure.
It was an extremely terrifying geographical feature in the Angelicisia Mountain Range, over sixty kilometers long and about one hundred and twenty meters wide.
Its depth was simply immeasurable.
For the Dwarf Race's eastern city, Fieo Jura, it served as a natural fortress, as no land-based creature could cross the Great Fissure.
However.
For Tang Zheng, who possessed the ability of flight, crossing the Great Fissure was obviously not difficult at all.
After descending to a position about two hundred meters from the ground, Tang Zheng could already clearly see a somewhat conspicuous fortress on the edge of the Great Fissure.
"Has the Dwarf Race already relocated to the Eastern City at this time?" Tang Zheng thought to himself as his gaze swept over the area below.
As for the current point in time, Tang Zheng couldn't accurately determine whether the Dwarf Race was residing in the southern city or in the eastern city where the story began.
Therefore, he had first come to the closer Eastern City to check. Since a fortress had already been built below, it meant the Dwarf Race was already living here.
"According to the timeline, the Dwarf Race shouldn't have moved to the Eastern City this early," Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
When he dealt with the Lizardman Race, Remiel Gugan, the tribe leader of the Dragon Tooth Tribe from the start of the future plot, had not been in the Dragon Tooth Tribe.
Tang Zheng had speculated at the time that this lizardman was likely still training in the southern city of the Dwarf Race.
It had only been a little over a month since he had dealt with the Lizardman Race. Had the Dwarf Race moved to the Eastern City so quickly?
With doubt rising in his heart, Tang Zheng quickly observed the dwarf fortress built on the edge of the Great Fissure below.
Although it was called a "fortress," it was actually just a headquarters built by the dwarves. The existence of the Great Fissure was enough to block any land-based enemy.
The fundamental purpose of this headquarters was to protect the suspension bridge that the dwarves had painstakingly built across the Great Fissure. As long as they guarded the bridge, they could repel any invasion by land-based monsters.
"Four dwarves on night watch. The headquarters isn't very large; at most, it holds only about twenty people."
After a period of observation, Tang Zheng analyzed silently, and then, with a thought, his figure descended rapidly from the sky.
*Swoosh!*
A sharp sound of rushing air came from above.
The four dwarves, who were yawning as they stood on either side of the suspension bridge, subconsciously raised their heads to look up.
All they saw was a tall, dark figure landing in their midst. Before they could react in any way, a cold flash of light shone.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*
Four dwarf heads soared into the air, falling into the great abyss of the fissure not far away.
Holding a magic greatsword, Tang Zheng looked expressionlessly toward the short, squarish headquarters building ahead, which was only about two meters tall.
Since the four dwarves had not made a single sound before they died, the other sleeping dwarves inside were naturally not alerted.
His gaze briefly lingered on a protrusion on the roof of the headquarters, which resembled a cannon barrel aimed at the suspension bridge.
There was a faint fluctuation of magic power coming from it.
It was likely a lightning strike magic item specially prepared by the dwarves to deal with the Digging Orcs.
Digging Orcs possessed excellent resistance to metal weapons, but attacks with the lightning attribute were a weak point for their race. If they were to be attacked by Digging Orcs, the suspension bridge would be the only route across the entire Great Fissure. Any Digging Orcs trying to break through via the bridge would be met with the piercing effect of a lightning strike.
*Thud.*
Tang Zheng lifted his foot and kicked the four dwarf corpses into the abyss, then began to chant in a low voice: "Camouflage."
A ripple like flowing water flashed across Tang Zheng's body. In the already dark night, his figure gradually blended into the darkness.
"Stealth!"
As the rogue skill activated, Tang Zheng silently bypassed the headquarters and walked toward the mountain wall behind it.
There was a stone door there, three meters high and two meters wide.
Tang Zheng entered the stone door with ease, as there were no dwarves guarding it.
"Aside from the headquarters outside, the defenses here are really lax."
Concealed in the shadows, Tang Zheng followed the faint, hazy light emanating from the crystal ores on the ceiling of the stone cave and continued deeper.
This was a spiral tunnel leading underground, and it was also the vital route connecting the external headquarters with the underground Eastern City.
Recalling the information in his mind, Tang Zheng continued to advance deeper. Soon, a gigantic, half-open stone door appeared before him.
Even in the dim underground, the stone door still reflected a bright, silvery luster under the light of the crystal ores on the ceiling.
According to the information in his memory, this was a gate made entirely of mithril and orichalcum. Among humans, its value could no longer be measured in money.
Only the dwarves, who excelled at mining and refining metal, could be so extravagant as to forge a gate from these two precious metals.
"Only one person is guarding this place?"
Tang Zheng looked at the dwarf soldier guarding the half-open stone door. The soldier was clutching a spear and reeked of wine, which made Tang Zheng all the more surprised.
This stone door before him could be considered the final line of defense for the Eastern City. Logically, it should be guarded by a large number of dwarf soldiers.
But the current situation exuded a sense of laxity.
Silently, Tang Zheng approached the drunk dwarf soldier. Passing through the stone door to observe what was behind, he saw a few dwarf soldiers guarding the sides, who also appeared to be drunk.
Lifting his head to look into the distance, he could already see the Eastern City.
"What is this?"
Tang Zheng's gaze froze.
Rows of box-like, featureless buildings came into view. Some were two stories tall, others were single-story.
Most of these buildings looked like they had just been recently completed. In the distance, he could even see some dwarves swinging their tools, still building.
Chapter 212: The Dwarves' Premature City Construction, Abducting the Rune Craftsmen
Beneath the deep night sky.
A biting cold wind blew over the Angelicisia Mountain Range.
Wrapped entirely in a black robe, Tang Zheng floated in mid-air. He wore a single-frame magic item that granted him night vision, his gaze fixed upon a fortress below.
That was the territory of the Dwarf Race!
*Rustle, rustle.*
The bitingly cold wind made his black robe flap audibly, but at such a high altitude and under the cover of night, the sound would not be detected by the fortress below.
His objective for this trip was the Rune Craftsmen among the dwarves.
To borrow these artisans from the Dwarf Race, he naturally needed to make contact with them. The best method was the one the Bone King had used.
By using the threat of the Digging Orcs to make demands of the dwarves, he could then take the Rune Craftsmen after repelling the Digging Orcs, and even establish a diplomatic-like relationship with the Dwarf Race in the process.
But such a method was clearly unsuitable for Tang Zheng.
It would leave too many traces!
It would expose too much information!
When the Great Tomb arrives in the future, if things go as expected, the Bone King will still become interested in rune technology and pay a visit to the Dwarf Race.
In that case, he, a mysterious human who had appeared among the Dwarf Race and also sought Rune Craftsmen, would enter the Bone King's field of vision. This was not something Tang Zheng wanted to see.
Besides the Rune Craftsmen, the Dwarf Race had nothing else of interest to Tang Zheng. So, after some consideration, he decided to use the simplest method.
Abduction!
Tang Zheng slowly descended from the sky. Through the vision of the night vision magic item, the objects below gradually came into focus.
The Great Fissure.
It was an extremely terrifying geographical feature in the Angelicisia Mountain Range, over sixty kilometers long and about one hundred and twenty meters wide.
Its depth was simply immeasurable.
For the Dwarf Race's eastern city, Fieo Jura, it served as a natural fortress, as no land-based creature could cross the Great Fissure.
However.
For Tang Zheng, who possessed the ability of flight, crossing the Great Fissure was obviously not difficult at all.
After descending to a position about two hundred meters from the ground, Tang Zheng could already clearly see a somewhat conspicuous fortress on the edge of the Great Fissure.
"Has the Dwarf Race already relocated to the Eastern City at this time?" Tang Zheng thought to himself as his gaze swept over the area below.
As for the current point in time, Tang Zheng couldn't accurately determine whether the Dwarf Race was residing in the southern city or in the eastern city where the story began.
Therefore, he had first come to the closer Eastern City to check. Since a fortress had already been built below, it meant the Dwarf Race was already living here.
"According to the timeline, the Dwarf Race shouldn't have moved to the Eastern City this early," Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
When he dealt with the Lizardman Race, Remiel Gugan, the tribe leader of the Dragon Tooth Tribe from the start of the future plot, had not been in the Dragon Tooth Tribe.
Tang Zheng had speculated at the time that this lizardman was likely still training in the southern city of the Dwarf Race.
It had only been a little over a month since he had dealt with the Lizardman Race. Had the Dwarf Race moved to the Eastern City so quickly?
With doubt rising in his heart, Tang Zheng quickly observed the dwarf fortress built on the edge of the Great Fissure below.
Although it was called a "fortress," it was actually just a headquarters built by the dwarves. The existence of the Great Fissure was enough to block any land-based enemy.
The fundamental purpose of this headquarters was to protect the suspension bridge that the dwarves had painstakingly built across the Great Fissure. As long as they guarded the bridge, they could repel any invasion by land-based monsters.
"Four dwarves on night watch. The headquarters isn't very large; at most, it holds only about twenty people."
After a period of observation, Tang Zheng analyzed silently, and then, with a thought, his figure descended rapidly from the sky.
*Swoosh!*
A sharp sound of rushing air came from above.
The four dwarves, who were yawning as they stood on either side of the suspension bridge, subconsciously raised their heads to look up.
All they saw was a tall, dark figure landing in their midst. Before they could react in any way, a cold flash of light shone.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*
Four dwarf heads soared into the air, falling into the great abyss of the fissure not far away.
Holding a magic greatsword, Tang Zheng looked expressionlessly toward the short, squarish headquarters building ahead, which was only about two meters tall.
Since the four dwarves had not made a single sound before they died, the other sleeping dwarves inside were naturally not alerted.
His gaze briefly lingered on a protrusion on the roof of the headquarters, which resembled a cannon barrel aimed at the suspension bridge.
There was a faint fluctuation of magic power coming from it.
It was likely a lightning strike magic item specially prepared by the dwarves to deal with the Digging Orcs.
Digging Orcs possessed excellent resistance to metal weapons, but attacks with the lightning attribute were a weak point for their race. If they were to be attacked by Digging Orcs, the suspension bridge would be the only route across the entire Great Fissure. Any Digging Orcs trying to break through via the bridge would be met with the piercing effect of a lightning strike.
*Thud.*
Tang Zheng lifted his foot and kicked the four dwarf corpses into the abyss, then began to chant in a low voice: "Camouflage."
A ripple like flowing water flashed across Tang Zheng's body. In the already dark night, his figure gradually blended into the darkness.
"Stealth!"
As the rogue skill activated, Tang Zheng silently bypassed the headquarters and walked toward the mountain wall behind it.
There was a stone door there, three meters high and two meters wide.
Tang Zheng entered the stone door with ease, as there were no dwarves guarding it.
"Aside from the headquarters outside, the defenses here are really lax."
Concealed in the shadows, Tang Zheng followed the faint, hazy light emanating from the crystal ores on the ceiling of the stone cave and continued deeper.
This was a spiral tunnel leading underground, and it was also the vital route connecting the external headquarters with the underground Eastern City.
Recalling the information in his mind, Tang Zheng continued to advance deeper. Soon, a gigantic, half-open stone door appeared before him.
Even in the dim underground, the stone door still reflected a bright, silvery luster under the light of the crystal ores on the ceiling.
According to the information in his memory, this was a gate made entirely of mithril and orichalcum. Among humans, its value could no longer be measured in money.
Only the dwarves, who excelled at mining and refining metal, could be so extravagant as to forge a gate from these two precious metals.
"Only one person is guarding this place?"
Tang Zheng looked at the dwarf soldier guarding the half-open stone door. The soldier was clutching a spear and reeked of wine, which made Tang Zheng all the more surprised.
This stone door before him could be considered the final line of defense for the Eastern City. Logically, it should be guarded by a large number of dwarf soldiers.
But the current situation exuded a sense of laxity.
Silently, Tang Zheng approached the drunk dwarf soldier. Passing through the stone door to observe what was behind, he saw a few dwarf soldiers guarding the sides, who also appeared to be drunk.
Lifting his head to look into the distance, he could already see the Eastern City.
"What is this?"
Tang Zheng's gaze froze.
Rows of box-like, featureless buildings came into view. Some were two stories tall, others were single-story.
Most of these buildings looked like they had just been recently completed. In the distance, he could even see some dwarves swinging their tools, still building.
