Raising all of humanity: Starting with a backyard pool world

Chapter 92 [An Encounter Beneath the Iron Fortress]

After nearly half a month of continuous trekking, the legendary dwarven border fortress finally appeared on the horizon.

The entire fortress is built of unpolished black rock, with no superfluous decorations on the walls, embodying pragmatism to the fullest.

"Finally here." Wang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his sore calves. "This map is really abstract; it almost led us astray."

Chen Kai remained silent, only habitually observing the defensive fortifications on the city wall and the rotation patterns of the patrolling guards.

All four of them looked rather disheveled.

The long journey had left their animal skin clothing tattered and their faces weathered.

Especially for Li Yao, even with the slight improvement in her physique from the Chaos Seed, the continuous travel still took its toll on her.

"Don't let your guard down yet." Aija pushed up her glasses. "Judging from the traces left by Mason, his team stayed here for a long time, which means that entering this fortress will probably not be so easy."

Aija's premonition soon came true.

When they were about a hundred meters away from the drawbridge, a short, loud horn sounded from the city wall.

Fully armed dwarven guards appeared on the city wall, clad in heavy iron armor, their standard crossbows gleaming coldly as they aimed at the uninvited guests.

"Hey! We're just passing travelers! No harm intended!" Wang Xuan raised his hands and shouted in the tribal common language.

The dwarves on the city wall looked at them with wary and scrutinizing eyes.

Chen Kai frowned, stepped forward, and tried to communicate using a simpler form of body language.

He lowered his weapon, spread his hands, and indicated that he meant no harm.

However, the warrior aura that he possessed, refined through countless life-and-death battles, became an even clearer threat in the eyes of the dwarves.

On the city wall, the sound of crossbows being nocked rang out in unison, and the atmosphere became tense.

"Damn it, why are these short guys so stubborn?" Wang Xuan said, somewhat annoyed.

They traveled a long way to get here, not to be turned away at the door.

"Their civilization is very xenophobic," Ai Jia analyzed. "And judging from their defensive posture, they seem to be on guard against something. Our sudden appearance triggered their highest alert."

"What should we do then?" Li Yao asked nervously in a low voice.

"Negotiations are based on equal strength," Wang Xuan said, stroking his chin. "Since we can't communicate verbally, let's show them our 'sincerity'."

He made a bold decision.

"Aijia, Li Yao, get ready."

Wang Xuan looked at a huge rock not far away, which was about half a person tall.

"The target rock, same old routine, [internal collapse]!"

He decided to flex his muscles a little, to prove to these rigid dwarves that they were strong enough to engage in dialogue.

Although it's somewhat risky, it seems to be the only way to break the deadlock right now.

Under the astonished and uncertain gazes of all the dwarf guards on the city wall, Wang Xuan calmly raised his hand and gently snapped his fingers at the huge rock.

Nothing happened.

Just as the dwarf guards thought the long-legged monkeys were putting on a show, the solid rock that had stood for countless years began to collapse and shrink towards its very center.

It turned into a small clump of black powder, finer than dust, which was completely dissipated into the air by the cold mountain wind.

If Wang Xuan had conjured a giant fireball or lightning bolt, they might have been surprised, but they would never have been so terrified.

Because fire and lightning are still powers they can understand.

But what they were seeing was completely beyond their comprehension.

In the dwarves' age-old belief, stone should be stone, iron should be iron, and all things have their inherent form and essence.

These mysterious visitors, with just a snap of their fingers, made a solid stone disappear!

"Witchcraft! This is the most evil black magic!" A young dwarf guard finally couldn't bear the fear and screamed.

"Enemy attack! It's a black wizard!"

The dwarf commander on the city wall, a robust dwarf with three thick braids in his beard, also turned deathly pale.

He sensed from this power a nauseating, chaotic aura that shared the same origin as the chaotic monsters of the south.

"Fire!" he roared, giving the order.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

Dozens of heavy crossbow bolts, powerful enough to pierce rhinoceros hide armor, rained down on the four-man squad with a sharp whooshing sound!

An old house in the countryside, in the basement.

Xu Ye, who had been observing the situation, put down his teacup.

"You've gone too far," he said, shaking his head with a smile.

But he has no intention of ending this farce.

The epic tale of a hero shouldn't end abruptly at the very first outpost outside the starting village, due to a failed attempt at showing off.

"Let me add fuel to the fire in this stalemate."

Xu Ye's will, through the [Heavenly Dao Foundation Stone], transcended dimensions and touched the authority belonging to [Forging God Lin Qi] in the distant Heavenly Realm.

He mobilized a trace of divine power, so weak it was almost negligible, and projected it onto the rough stone spear in Chen Kai's hand, which had been empowered by the concept of chaos several times.

Chen Kai instinctively raised his stone spear to block, and with a "whoosh," a burst of light erupted from the seemingly ordinary spear tip, making it impossible for any of the dwarves to breathe!

The outer layer is pure white flames representing the hottest core of the dwarven forge; while the core of the light is cold frost symbolizing the ultimate deconstruction of matter by the Kaz civilization.

Frost and fire, two completely opposite forces, intertwined perfectly on the tip of the spear, eventually condensing into a complex, sacred, and unseen runic mark!

That is... the supreme divine rune that can only be found atop the [Sacred Mountain of Craftsmen]!

All the crossbow bolts that were fired were frozen in mid-air by an invisible aura a few meters away from the four-man team, and then melted down as if they were being melted.

On the city wall, all the dwarves who had raised their weapons stared blankly at the slowly fading holy light emanating from the stone spear, especially the commander.

He recalled the supreme decree from His Majesty King Thoradin of the Dwarves, which had recently arrived from the capital city of Ironforge.

"I sensed the presence of a divine agent. He may be walking among mortals, holding the highest glory of our race. If we encounter him, we should treat him with the utmost respect..."

Agent of God...

The group before me possesses both terrifying void magic and the supreme mark symbolizing the [God of Forging]...

What on earth is going on?!

The massive steel gate behind the watchtower creaked as its winch turned, and the gate was raised.

A commotion came from behind the door.

It rang out in a standard human tribal language.

"Stop! Everyone stop! They are not the enemy!"

To everyone's astonishment, including the four-person player team, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure, accompanied by several human companions, ran quickly out from behind the gate.

It's Mason!

Compared to when he left the valley, he was thinner and darker, but he appeared bright and confident after shedding his former glamour and accumulating experience.

He wore a thick leather apron in the dwarven style, covered in oil and metal dust, and carried a hammer he had made himself, far superior to those in the tribe.

"Mason?!" Wang Xuan was the first to react, and almost jumped up.

"Holy crap! Bro! I've finally found my people! The newbie guide!" He was so excited that he wanted to rush up and shake hands.

However, Mason was taken aback by his strange way of addressing him.

Mason's gaze was fixed on the stone spear in Chen Kai's hand, whose divine light had just been extinguished.

Although the light had faded, as a "Forge Seeker" and an apprentice with the most devout faith in the God of Forging, he could still feel a supreme and sacred aura emanating from the tip of the spear that made his soul tremble.

That feeling was the same as the divine power he had felt when he gazed upon the [Sacred Mountain of Craftsmen] from afar!

The four people in front of him... were definitely not ordinary members of his clan!

They are messengers from mythology! They are God's representatives on earth!

Mason immediately abandoned all thoughts of reuniting with old friends and strode over to the still-dazed dwarf commander, quickly explaining something in dwarven language.

Then, he turned around, faced Wang Xuan and the other three, and bowed respectfully in an almost reverent manner.

"I was unaware of the arrival of the divine messenger; Mason has failed to greet you properly."

A divine messenger?

The plot... seems to be heading in a completely unexpected direction.