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"If all three of them were at their peak at the same time..."
Sometimes, even Ota couldn't help but fantasize.
What if the three supreme pillars of the kingdom were born at the right time and fought side by side at the height of their power? Just thinking about it made Ota's hands tremble with excitement.
Then this world would probably be elevated to its highest level!
Chapter 413 Beyond the Kingdom, The Tale of the Mino Succubus
"The birth of the hero Shana is both a great fortune and a misfortune for the kingdom."
After a long silence, Ota said with a complicated expression.
Fortunately, Shana's birth filled the vacancy of the strongest hero. Even if she could only swing one sword, it was a sword strike more powerful than any hero in history—enough to deter evil demons.
The unfortunate thing is that the hero is Shana, who is too young, impulsive, and reckless. If anything happens to her, Ota knows he will be unable to answer to either the kingdom or his best friend.
"In short, we absolutely cannot let the Heroine Shana act so easily! Her infamous reputation is now the kingdom's greatest shield; if it's torn apart, the consequences will be unimaginable—"
Taking a deep breath, Otta quickly made a decision.
"I understand. The Knights will definitely keep an eye on and protect Hero Shana."
Erwin understood; he and His Highness shared the same view on this matter: rather than squandering the limited power of the hero Shana, it would be more effective to use her as a deterrent.
Irwin stood up, and after receiving clear instructions, gave a slight bow and prepared to leave.
As he turned around, Ota caught a glimpse of Erwin's waist out of the corner of his eye, and his brows furrowed slightly.
He called out, "Wait a minute."
Erwin tensed up.
Although he was already used to the prince's majesty, since the concert night, Erwin felt even more awe for Otto. That dark, demonic aura instilled a chilling fear in him... Erwin, feeling uneasy, quickly turned around and knelt on one knee:
"Your Highness Ota, is there anything else?"
Raising his head, he saw Ota shaking his head with a dissatisfied expression: "Erwin, not to be mean, but..."
"How can you, as the Grand Master of the Royal Knights and one of my most trusted confidants, always carry such a simple and crude wooden sword? What will the whole kingdom think of you?"
When Erwin saw that Ota was referring to the sacred wooden sword at his waist, he felt relieved; so that was what it was about.
Erwin spread his hands:
"Your Highness, there's nothing we can do about it. The kingdom is currently facing a severe shortage of ironware, and even the Knights cannot produce a standard longsword."
"Besides..." Erwin began toying with the wooden sword in his hand.
The wooden sword was just an ordinary wooden sword, but it bore sacred inscriptions added by the clergy of the Holy Church, thus granting it considerable power.
“I always feel that I am more comfortable using this sacred wooden sword than before, I don’t know why, it’s as if I have been using it for many years.”
"And you should also know why there's a shortage of iron swords..."
Erwin looked helpless.
Ota nodded.
Ever since the night Pope Brad went mad and the God of All Weapons rioted, the entire civilian district of the capital was razed to the ground, and the armor and longswords of all the kingdom's soldiers and paladins were evaporated and annihilated by that strange power.
This left many problems for the reconstruction of the capital.
"Our iron ore reserves have been almost entirely used for the reconstruction of the civilian districts, involving a large number of buildings covering a quarter of the capital's area. This has already depleted our reserves to almost nothing, not to mention the recent destruction of the Mage's Round Tower..."
"In addition, in order to ensure the security of the capital, the newly made weapons were given priority to soldiers and guards."
"The Knights Order has a small number of members, so using the Sacred Wooden Sword as a substitute is already the best solution."
“Most importantly, we not only lack iron ore, but also craftsmen… After all, the kingdom hasn’t experienced such a large shortage in a long time. Both mining and forging take time, which is why the Knights have been using wooden swords engraved with sacred runes.”
Erwin glanced at the long table and cautiously explained, the king before him simply nodding slightly in understanding:
“I understand all of this, but we can’t keep ignoring it. Since I’ve brought it up, it’s to be resolved.”
"Putting everything else aside, these sacred wooden swords may indeed be useful, but what is the price? The real power comes from the inscriptions engraved on them, which need to be sent back to the Holy Church regularly so that the high-ranking clergy can re-infuse them with power. It's them who suffer and work hard... Elwin, I have several complaints from the Holy Church that I'm dealing with."
Erwin's face fell, realizing that this was indeed a fatal flaw. Constantly pushing high-ranking priests to their limits was undoubtedly a major hidden danger.
"However, the paladins' armor will still need time to be fully equipped..."
Erwin lowered his head, somewhat helpless.
He has already explained the problems and difficulties clearly. If they were easy to solve, he wouldn't be in such a predicament.
"Don't worry, I already have a solution."
At the table, Otta was not prepared to blame anyone for this, as both the Knights and the Holy Church had considered various aspects.
The one who truly needs to solve the problem is him, the king:
"Erwin, the kingdom does indeed face a short-term shortage of iron mines and craftsmen, but: what if we look further ahead and consider areas outside the kingdom...?"
"Outside the kingdom?" Erwin was taken aback, but he quickly grasped Ota's meaning.
After all, there is only one race on the entire continent that possesses abundant iron ore resources, exquisite craftsmanship, and artisans whose reputations are renowned throughout the continent.
"Your Highness Ota, are you referring to the dwarves who live on the edge of the continent, in the Savage Forest...?"
Erwin understood something.
The dwarves are a race with great strength and a talent for forging.
Ordinary dwarves in their adulthood already possess basic qualities several times greater than humans, and well-trained and well-equipped dwarven warriors even possess the power to contend with dragons.
For a long period of time on the continent, the dwarves were even the rulers of the land.
However, due to the slow growth and reproduction of their population and their relatively limited combat abilities, they were gradually overtaken by humans.
However, the dwarves are a race that does not like fighting. Over the course of their long history, they quickly devoted themselves to the study and mastery of forging techniques. Every adult dwarf is a highly skilled craftsman.
They settled in the Savage Forest, located on the edge of the continent and bordering the Kingdom of Kur. Although the area seemed small, the Savage Forest had a bottomless underground city with abundant ore and space, which allowed the dwarves' talents to be fully utilized in that unique environment.
From ancient times to the present day, the dwarves have stayed away from the conflicts in the center of the continent, and have produced a large number of exquisite weapons, armor and even magical items. The name of the race is synonymous with top quality... Each item can be sold for a high price in the market, and this is even more true as the Rote Merchant Guild has expanded its business to all parts of the continent over the past thousand years.
Possessing immense strength and talent, they accumulated vast wealth and skilled craftsmen. Furthermore, after the new generation of dwarf king Turu, who combined savage bloodline with gold craftsmanship, unified the fragmented tribes, the dwarf race's cohesion reached its peak.
Such a race is naturally proud.
They were arrogant and looked down on all the races on the continent. Only the high and mighty dragons could earn their respect, but they coveted more the hard and sharp dragon scales and claws.
They stay away from war and noise, and do not actively contact any ethnic group, because those groups need to take the initiative to come to them to borrow their exquisite craftsmanship.
Races that are weak and lack resources may even be turned away by the Savage Forest.
Even when facing the humans in the center of the continent, the same applies. The Dwarven Forest, which borders the edge of the continent, is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The forged armor and weapons further enhance the strength of their powerful bodies.
Throughout history, human kingdoms have only been viewed with disdain by the dwarves. Forget about diplomatic cooperation, even one-way communication was difficult.
If the dragons see humans as merely slightly larger ants, then the dwarves see them as nothing more than a bunch of monkeys oblivious to the mineral treasures they guard, with absolutely no need for communication.
This situation remained unchanged for thousands of years.
Until... the appearance of Mino Rayquaza, the strongest hero in human history—
Chapter 414 Weapons Surpassing the God of All Weapons
"About ten years ago, a terrifying 'mineral' was suddenly unearthed deep underground in the Savage Forest."
At his desk, Otto recalled:
"This is not a blessing for the dwarves, but the beginning of a disaster... It is said that the smell of the minerals alone caused large numbers of dwarves living deep in the underground city to mutate or even die."
"The dwarves racked their brains but could not suppress the effects of that terrible mineral. Even the dwarf king Turu, faced with those powerful elders who had mutated, and some of the powerful warriors who were former dwarf kings, could only choose to seal the underground... But the effects of the 'mineral' were spreading step by step. In just a few years, the habitable area of the underground city shrank little by little, even putting them at the great crisis of the extinction of their race."
"It was at that time that Mino the Dragon Slayer became famous throughout the continent. After receiving the blessing of the Goddess on the thirty-seventh floor and the title of Warrior of Light, the Dwarfs finally could not hold back."
With a "let's give it a try" attitude, they made their first request for help from the human kingdom and Mino.
"And Mino lived up to expectations."
"The strongest hero in human history single-handedly quelled the out-of-control underground city, reaching the depths of the earth, and successfully sealed the leakage of the mineral's aura using the suppression barrier developed by the dwarves over the years."
"And for the first time, the human kingdoms forged a deep friendship with the dwarves—"
At his desk, Otta began to speak eloquently:
"Although Mino is no longer here, given our friendship with the dwarves, it shouldn't be a problem to ask them to forge a batch of exquisite iron swords and armor for us."
“Actually, I’ve wanted to send you to the Savage Forest for a long time, Erwin.”
"The equipment shortage is just a simple request; what needs to be negotiated... is a more important matter."
Please give your instructions.
Erwin answered decisively, knowing that with Prince Ota's tone, the mission was probably none other than his.
Ota rubbed his temples; for him, this was a rather tricky matter.
“Erwin, this matter is simple in some ways and complicated in others. Although it is a diplomatic matter, it is more appropriate to send a paladin to carry it out this time.”
"In fact, after Mino helped the dwarves suppress the dungeon a few years ago, he gained not only a friendship, but also... a contract."
"contract?"
Erwin was puzzled; this was something he didn't know.
“Yes, at the time, Mino wanted to destroy that terrifying mineral directly, after all, its aura was really quite frightening... As a spoil of war to resolve the crisis of the dwarf race's extinction, Mino had every reason to completely destroy that 'ore'.”
"But at that moment, the Dwarf King Turu stepped forward to stop it: he proposed that although the power within the ore was terrifying, with the forging skills of the dwarves, it might be possible to transform it into the most powerful strategic weapon to destroy the demons!!!"
"The dwarves rarely displayed such selflessness; for them, simply studying and refining that ore was already an extremely valuable experience—"
Therefore, a contract was reached: Mino would entrust the ore to them for safekeeping, and in return, they would provide the kingdom with that incredibly powerful and terrifying weapon once it was forged!
"This...this is simply..."
In the study, Erwin's eyes widened, overwhelmed by the sudden shock and joy:
"A power that even the Mino Warriors fear, once completed, wouldn't it be even more unstoppable than the God of All Weapons?!"
“That’s right.” Ota nodded, also looking on with some anticipation.
But soon, he had to return to reality and sighed: