Chapter 347: Peace Talks Turn Sour

Chapter 347: Peace Talks Turn Sour

In the legacy of the Black Iron Dwarves, the status of Quenching Castle is second only to the Ancestral Temple.

After the Abyssal Descent, the Black Iron Dwarves, to avoid the pollution of the Abyss, underwent multiple migrations, and many of their traditions were lost.

The Ancestral Temple has become a sacred place that the Black Iron Dwarves can no longer return to, only appearing in their dreams.

Similarly, before Lu Heng mentioned Quenching Castle, it was already a legendary holy site for the Black Iron Dwarves, one that no longer existed.

Now, with Quenching Castle reappearing, the Black Iron Dwarf Kingdom has re-established contact with Quenching Castle.

This means that the Black Iron Dwarves have reclaimed their dreamtouched holy site.

It's easy to imagine how excited the Black Iron Dwarves present were.

To the point that, when Gurgl spoke with a commanding tone, even King Sorenthal Copperforge felt no discomfort.

Sorenthal Copperforge hurriedly stepped forward, using the highest ceremonial greeting of the Black Iron Dwarves, and said, "I am the third king of the Copperforge Kingdom, Sorenthal Copperforge."

Gurgl observed for a moment, then nodded in approval, "You look very strong, a good material for forging."

If this statement were made to a human, it might be considered a mockery.

But for the Black Iron Dwarves, forging is the most important skill, and praising a Black Iron Dwarf for their forging talent is a high compliment.

Gurgl continued, "Lu Heng is the closest friend of Quenching Castle. He entered the Abyssal World to help our tribe revive, so you must follow Lu Heng’s orders. This is the will of Quenching Castle."

The Black Iron Dwarves present immediately bowed their heads in reverence, agreeing devoutly, "Yes, Master."

Seeing how devout these Black Iron Dwarves were, Lu Heng realized that invoking Quenching Castle had a much better effect than he had anticipated, and it was far better.

This meeting, spanning different worlds, consumed a vast amount of magic energy, so after such a long conversation, the connection began to fluctuate.

Seeing this, High Wizard Hoggrey hurriedly said, "Great Master of our clan’s forging, may we establish regular contact in the future?"

"Sure," Gurgl replied matter-of-factly.

In fact, when Gurgl was brought to Quenching Castle by his teacher, there were already few Black Iron Dwarves left in Quenching Castle.

Therefore, Gurgl had not received systematic training and only mastered the skills of forging and quenching. As for knowledge of witchcraft and magic, he knew very little.

There were many legacies of the Black Iron Dwarves left in Quenching Castle, and he had read some, but no one had systematically taught him, so he only had a basic understanding.

He had no clue how to communicate across worlds.

Of course, this was not a problem.

Since High Wizard Hoggrey had managed to establish the connection once, he could do it again, and with the world coordinates noted, it would be much easier.

With Gurgl’s permission, Hoggrey hurriedly said, "Then, Master, please set a time for regular communication. The tribe needs the legacy of Quenching Castle."

"Sure, I have forging work on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I’m free on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Pick a day," Gurgl agreed straightforwardly.

Currently, many human blacksmiths, tempering masters, and rune masters have entered Quenching Castle, and the forging days are every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

So Gurgl spends these three days in the forge.

Since the time in the two worlds is different, the exact time needs to be calculated.

Hoggrey would handle the time calculation, so only setting the time was needed.

...

After meeting with Gurgl, Lu Heng and his group became the most honored guests of the Black Iron Dwarf Kingdom.

With this relationship established, the subsequent talks became much simpler.

After discussion, King Sorenthal Copperforge agreed to all of Lu Heng’s requests.

The first request was to reconcile with the Mermaid Clan and agree not to dump volcanic ash into the Tidal Sea anymore.

Since the Mermaid Clan’s demands were not excessive, the peace talks were not difficult.

Simultaneously, Sorenthal Copperforge expressed concern about Flame Demon Gross.

Not being able to dump Groth’s Ashes into the Tidal Sea meant the Black Iron Dwarves had to face the crisis of Flame Demon Gross’s resurgence alone.

Although the Mermaid Clan promised to find a solution to the Flame Demon Gross crisis, the resurgence of Flame Demon Gross would not pose a significant threat to the Mermaid Clan.

Therefore, everyone understood that placing Hope in the Mermaid Clan was unrealistic.

To resolve the crisis of Flame Demon Gross, the Black Iron Dwarves must take action themselves.

Lu Heng made a promise: if this summoning could not resolve the crisis of Flame Demon Gross, upon returning, he would publish information about Flame Demon Gross to the Empowerment users in the human world and unite all future summoned human Empowerment users to solve this problem together.

The crisis of Flame Demon Gross would not appear immediately and could not be resolved overnight.

This was a problem that needed time to solve.

Sorenthal Copperforge naturally understood this. They had been dumping Groth’s Ashes into the Tidal Sea for ten years.

In the ten years since the Flame Demon Grohs' resurrection, its presence had grown increasingly stronger, but it would still take some time before its full revival.

...

The mission to the Black Iron Dwarf Kingdom was a success, as the negotiations for reconciliation were successfully concluded, fulfilling the primary purpose of the visit.

Subsequently, High Wizard Hoggrey of the Black Iron Dwarf Kingdom led a team to the west coast of the Tide Sea to negotiate with envoys sent by the Merfolk Clan.

Although both parties had agreed to reconcile, the specific terms of the reconciliation still needed to be discussed.

Both parties would present their demands for reconciliation, but Lu Heng chose not to get involved. As long as he facilitated the negotiations, the mission would be considered a success.

Lu Heng still had some business to attend to in the Black Iron Dwarf Kingdom.

First, he wanted to see the site where the Groth's Ashes were buried, which was being excavated by the Black Iron Dwarves.

If it had been any other Summoner, they would have been driven away by the Black Iron Dwarves for attempting to see the burial site of Groth's Ashes.

However, Lu Heng had the backing of Quenching Castle, and in a sense, he was acting on behalf of Grumble in the affairs of the Black Iron Dwarf Kingdom.

Therefore, King Sorvill Copperforge personally escorted Lu Heng into the underground mines beneath the Crown of Magma.

Lu Heng and his team of four entered the mines, navigating through passages filled with restrictions, until they reached a spacious underground space.

As soon as they entered this space, they were hit by a scorching heat wave.

Even with the high Flame Resistance provided by Lu Heng's Tempering Master subclass, he still felt the intense heat.

Su Muyu and Xie Shien, who did not have Flame Resistance from their subclasses, immediately furrowed their brows.

Xie Shien quickly erected a psychic barrier to shield the team from the heat wave.

The Black Iron Dwarves were accustomed to this heat, as higher-level Black Iron Dwarf Warriors could even roll around in magma.

After withstanding the heat wave, Lu Heng finally had the energy to examine the space.

The underground area was filled with marks of chiseling and axing, indicating that the Black Iron Dwarves had been mining here for many years.

The rocks here were extremely sturdy, containing traces of dark red ashes that seemed ready to ignite at any moment.

Sorvill Copperforge explained, "This is the most concentrated area of Groth's Ashes. If you light a fire here, it will ignite into a raging inferno and give birth to Flame Spirits."

Flame Demons like Grohs have the ability to split into numerous smaller Flame Demons.

Powerful Demon Lords like Flame Demon Grohs can eventually split into tens of thousands of Flame Spirits.

Since Flame Demons can split, they can also recombine.

That's why the Black Iron Dwarves transported Groth's Ashes to the Tide Sea to dispose of them, aiming to separate Grohs' Ashes to increase the difficulty of its recombination and hoping that the deep-sea glacier would suppress the Flame Demon's revival.

Lu Heng crouched down, scooped up a handful of Groth's Ashes, and felt the heat emanating from the soil, deep in thought.

Before his rebirth, Flame Demon Grohs had resurrected two years after descending upon Bluesphere.

Due to the different time flows between the two worlds, Grohs should officially revive in approximately five years in this world.

After that, the Black Iron Dwarf Kingdom was forced to flee the Crown of Magma, once again becoming homeless.

Even at the time of his rebirth, Lu Heng had not heard any news about Flame Demon Grohs being conquered by Summoners.

To save the Black Iron Dwarves, the best solution was to prevent Flame Demon Grohs' revival.

If they waited until Grohs returned, it would be more challenging to deal with him.

Sorvill Copperforge asked anxiously, "Mr. Lu Heng, have you thought of a solution to the Flame Demon crisis?"

Lu Heng pondered for a moment and replied, "Not yet. However, based on my inspection of Groth's Ashes here, I estimate that there are still four to five years before the Flame Demon revives, so we still have time."

High Wizard Hoggrey had also estimated the time for Grohs' revival, but it wouldn't be very accurate.

The three-year timeframe wasn't long, but it wasn't short either.

The Black Iron Dwarves still had time, but it would become increasingly urgent.

Lu Heng continued, "I haven't found a solution yet, but I'll figure something out. If I can't find a way, I'll seek help from the Tree of Knowledge of the Elven Race. We must find a way to resolve the Flame Demon crisis."

Upon hearing that they could seek assistance from the Tree of Knowledge, Sorvill Copperforge felt a glimmer of hope, "Then I'll leave it to Mr. Lu Heng."

After inspecting the burial site of Groth's Ashes underground, the group exited the mines.

As soon as they returned to the entrance of the Crown of Magma, they saw High Wizard Hoggrey, covered in blood, returning with the envoy.

As soon as they reached the entrance, Hoggrey reported anxiously, "Your Majesty, the Merfolk Clan cannot be trusted! We were attacked by the Merfolk at the coast!"

"What?" Sorvill Copperforge's face showed surprise, and he turned to Lu Heng beside him.

Lu Heng also displayed a look of astonishment.

Previously, they had convinced the rulers of both parties, King Sorvill Copperforge and High Priestess Sona of the Merfolk Clan, to agree to reconciliation, and the matter should have been resolved.

Both sides had agreed to send envoys for peace talks, requiring only a simple exchange of reconciliation demands to consider the matter resolved.

Lu Heng hadn't expected such a turn of events and asked, "You're sure it was the Merfolk who attacked you?"

High Wizard Hogre, seething with anger, replied, "Of course, we had just reached the shore and didn't wait long before the Merfolk emerged from the water. We approached them, intending to communicate, but they said nothing and launched a surprise attack with their spears.

"We barely managed to escape. The Merfolk are too despicable; Mr. Lu Heng, you must have been deceived by the Merfolk!"

If another summoner had led the mediation between the two races, they would have already been captured by the Black Iron Dwarves and thrown into a dungeon.

After all, the Black Iron Dwarves' envoy, led by the High Wizard, had been attacked by the Merfolk, leading to the failure of the peace talks.

Logically, Lu Heng, the summoner who initiated the mediation, would be suspected.

Fortunately, Lu Heng had a relationship with Quenching Castle, and the Black Iron Dwarves would never suspect him. They instinctively believed that Lu Heng had been deceived by the Merfolk.

Sorvill Copperforge, upon hearing this, clenched his fists and shouted, "Damn Merfolk!"

Lu Heng's eyes narrowed, sensing something was amiss.

Normally, even if they didn't intend to reconcile, the Merfolk shouldn't attack the envoys for peace talks. Doing so would only escalate the conflict between the two races.

If one of the parties was a barbaric race, such an incident might occur.

However, Lu Heng had met with High Priestess Sona, the Merfolk's high priestess. Although it was only for a brief two days, it was enough to understand her intentions.

High Priestess Sona was willing to face her clan's doubts and release Friggs, which clearly showed her genuine desire to resolve the conflict between the two races.

Moreover, antagonizing the Black Iron Dwarves would bring no benefits to the Merfolk.

The Black Iron Dwarves had already agreed to reconcile and stop dumping volcanic ash into the Tidal Sea, which was exactly what the Merfolk needed.

From both a motivational and a benefit standpoint, the Merfolk had no reason to sabotage the peace talks.

This didn't make sense.

Su Muyu and Xie Shien had also considered this and whispered to Lu Heng, "There might be more to this."

Lu Heng nodded in agreement and then looked at King Sorvill Copperforge, saying, "I think this matter needs to be investigated. Whether or not it was the Merfolk's action, we should find out the truth before making any decisions."

Sorvill Copperforge, seeing his injured and fleeing clansmen, was extremely angry. If someone else had suggested this, he would have refused.

But remembering the instructions from the Lord of Quenching Castle, he had to suppress his anger and asked, "How does Mr. Lu plan to investigate?"

Lu Heng took the initiative to lead this task, "I'll go personally. Since I initiated this, and the Merfolk suddenly turned against us, I share the responsibility. I will investigate the cause of this incident and seek justice for the Black Iron Clan."

Seeing that Lu Heng didn't shirk responsibility, Sorvill Copperforge's anger subsided somewhat, and he agreed, "Alright, then this matter will be entrusted to Mr. Lu. If the Merfolk are indeed to blame, my Black Iron Clan will fight them to the death."

...

That afternoon.

Lu Heng set out with his team, heading to the shore to investigate the site of the attack.

On the way, everyone gathered to discuss the matter.

"Something seems off. Didn't the Merfolk's high priestess agree to the peace talks? Why did they suddenly attack the Black Iron Dwarves' envoys?"

"We don't know the reason yet. I feel that even if it was the Merfolk, it probably wasn't on the high priestess's orders," Lu Heng recalled his interactions with High Priestess Sona, seeing that she genuinely cared about the Merfolk's future.

"But Hogre clearly said it was the Merfolk, so it must be true, right?"

Lu Heng nodded and said, "Indeed, the attackers were likely Merfolk. However, the possibility of another race impersonating them is low."

As he spoke, Lu Heng opened the Abyss Battlefield information interface to confirm the battlefield mode.

This time, the battlefield mode was [Multi-Faction Chaos Mode].

This was a very complex mode, summarized as the world's forces being in chaos, with at least three factions engaged in a free-for-all.

Lu Heng had known from the start that this mode would be tricky, but since he hadn't encountered a free-for-all before, he hadn't mentioned it.

Now, it seemed this mode was already in effect.

The concept of multiple factions was straightforward: the Black Iron Dwarves were one faction, the Merfolk were another.

Human summoners in this world also constituted a faction.

The first challenge mission required the elimination of 20 Abyssal Summoners.

This meant that there were Abyssal Summoners who had summoned Abyssal races into this world, bringing the total to four factions.

If there were internal divisions within the Merfolk and Black Iron Dwarves, it would become even more chaotic.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end