Chapter 16 The Dilemma of the Dwarves

To be honest, Fang Senyan was quite displeased with this motley crew in front of him.

They were more than capable of messing things up, but utterly useless at achieving anything. They were like persistent, annoying flies.

If they weren't inside Rivendell, where he feared alarming others, Fang Senyan would have really gone on a killing spree with Reef!

Although they were outnumbered, Fang Senyan could clearly see that obvious rifts had appeared within this temporary team, with signs of small groups splintering off. This was due to the lack of a strong team leader, and it was the opportunity Fang Senyan had been waiting for.

Two people taking on a team composed of at least half Contractors, and winning decisively! This sounded absurd, but in practice, it wasn't that complicated.

Once the battle started, Fang Senyan and Reef would first reveal the Silver Team's team abilities and benefits. Then, they'd raise their arms and announce that they had a Silver Team and were recruiting members, and that this was their chance to prove themselves. The terrifying HP and MP bonuses, plus a life-saving skill like Divine Heal! Even Zi, a team leader who had seen plenty of action, would be amazed, let alone these guys.

This was a blatant inducement.

Then, the two would strike decisively, suppressing one side. Reef would demonstrate his incredibly powerful MT abilities.

This was a classic case of coercion!

With this combination of coercion and inducement, how much cohesion and appeal could that navy blue tower shield reserve Contractor MT really have? How high would their loyalty be? It wouldn't be too difficult to defeat and destroy this temporary team!

However, Fang Senyan was in no mood to consider new members. Almost all of his energy was focused on Mu Ge, so he temporarily let them off the hook.

"Now that those annoying flies are gone, let's continue," Fang Senyan said to Franklin.

Franklin was a smart man. Even though he had just witnessed Reef's power and knew that he was dealing with two exceptionally strong backers, he didn't make any demands. Instead, he focused even more intently on the music.

He knew that pointless talk would only distance him from these powerful figures. Only by demonstrating his abilities would he have a chance to advance further.

At this point, Franklin, having made up his mind, said to Fang Senyan, "I have the ability to create illusions. If you can provide me with specific information about scenes or events, I can make the people listening to the performance truly feel them, greatly increasing the success rate of your plan."

Fang Senyan was moved. "Oh, you have such an ability?"

Franklin smiled. "In the real world, I was a magician. I've been studying magic since I was ten years old and have spent thirty years on it since entering the space."

"Then, let's do this..."

Because Franklin needed to refine the tune that Fang Senyan had hummed, and he wanted to perfect it, he would postpone the performance until tomorrow.

Fang Senyan and Reef parted ways with Franklin. Although Prince Legolas had become an option, some investigation into him still couldn't be neglected.

According to the original plan, Fang Senyan went to find the dwarf Mr. Gimli. Reef, it seemed, had struck up a relationship with someone from a human delegation. His family apparently had extensive connections, and Fang Senyan would save a lot of trouble through his acquaintanceship.

However, Mr. Gimli seemed to be in a bad mood today. He had gone to the bar early in the morning to drown his sorrows. Watching him eat a grape and take a few sips of wine, he didn't seem to care what he was eating or drinking. His only goal was to get drunk.

When Mr. Gimli saw Fang Senyan, he forced a weak smile and said, "My friend, I've already contacted Mr. Sam at the tavern. He'll have an hour to discuss music with you."

This Mr. Sam was a minstrel, and more importantly, he had spent at least ten years in the northern Kingdom of Sa-han. Every tavern there was like his home. He sounded like a common minstrel, but it was important to note that Prince Legolas came from the northern Black Forest Kingdom, which bordered the Kingdom of Sa-han. Therefore, if Fang Senyan wanted to inquire about any news, Mr. Sam was undoubtedly one of the most likely people to provide him with answers.

However, Fang Senyan wasn't in a hurry to find Sam. Instead, he sat down in front of the dwarven youth and looked at him seriously. "Mr. Gimli, I don't think you should keep your troubles to yourself. Sharing them with friends is a good way to deal with them."

Mr. Gimli looked at Fang Senyan gratefully. He was a man who couldn't keep things to himself. "My family is in some trouble, my friend. The Shari Alakarat (Dwarvish: meaning Immortal Hammer, Red-Hot Anvil, Smell of Burnt Beard) festival is coming up soon."

Fang Senyan said, "Is this大会 important?"

Mr. Gimli said worriedly, "We dwarves hold this大会 every hundred years. The winners will be determined by the finest crafted tools. The better the performance, the more abundant and high-quality ore veins they can obtain. The fact is, my family originally planned to make a necklace, a staff, and a suit of armor, but this morning I received news from my father that the necklace couldn't be included in the selection... So, I'm afraid that after this festival, my family will decline."

"So, you're short of one item?" Fang Senyan suddenly understood. "Then, your Shari Alakarat大会 will be held tomorrow?"

"No, in half a year," Mr. Gimli shook his head.

Fang Senyan asked curiously, "Then why not reforge it immediately? Are you lacking a master craftsman?"

Mr. Gimli said dejectedly, "The Gimli family has Furnace, the best forging master among the dwarves. His skill can even surpass those evil Gray Dwarves! But... the associated minerals of the three main ore veins that the family controls have been exhausted. There are no raw materials. The reason we chose to make a necklace in the first place was because of the lack of raw materials."

Fang Senyan couldn't help but ask, "What kind of raw materials are you lacking?"

Mr. Gimli said, "Mithril, Adamantium!"

Hearing these two words, Fang Senyan's brow furrowed slightly. He had ransacked the White Wizard Saruman's Orcish wizard tower and obtained a lot of Mithril and Adamantium. Unfortunately, because the way he obtained them was too clever, Fang Senyan couldn't take them as his own and bring them back to the Nightmare Space, so he could only give them to Mu Ge to bury.

Although he had told Mu Ge not to reveal this news to the clan when he left, and to only arm herself, he felt that with Mu Ge being a bit of a simpleton and naturally clueless, she would probably spill everything after a few words from the clan, so he didn't have much hope.

However, Mu Ge's performance at the ceremony in Rivendell had subverted Fang Senyan's view of her. Fang Senyan suddenly realized that Mu Ge's growth absolutely couldn't be described by common sense. After all, the Dawn Elves had inherited memories from their previous lives! That meant that Mu Ge's current situation was likely much better than he had imagined.

Of course, Fang Senyan wasn't in a position to make sweeping promises yet, because he didn't know the whereabouts of that wealth. He tentatively asked, "So, you need to forge large equipment? It seems like a shortage of fifty or sixty kilograms of Mithril and Adamantium is unavoidable, right?"

Mr. Gimli immediately looked at him with an idiotic, disdainful gaze, but also with deep, unspoken words, "Fifty or sixty kilograms!! Sir! The entire Dwarven Kingdom's annual production of Mithril and Adamantium is less than ten kilograms! Do you think we're using these two expensive treasures to forge armor directly? Their role is just to add and permeate, like salt sprinkled on greasy roasted meat - if our family could get five or six pounds of Mithril and Adamantium, then not only would we be able to keep our current ore veins, but we'd also be very confident in challenging the top three families in the clan."

Fang Senyan smiled awkwardly, but he had already begun to calculate rapidly in his mind...

The next morning, Franklin, who had made sufficient preparations, began his operation.

For him, street performing was a hobby. He had always loved music. Unfortunately, music couldn't give him bread, a house, or a decent job. Magic could, but that didn't stop him from treating music as a hobby outside of work.

Finding where Mu Ge lived was very simple. Why? Because the Dawn Elves had a transcendent status. The place they lived was called "Yaritan Tiss" in Elvish, which translated to the place where starlight bathes. Elven architecture was already gorgeous and exquisite. The residence built for the Dawn Elves was even more magnificent and splendid, with a very obvious unique style, so you could tell it from a distance.

After Franklin and Aamir Khan made a good demonstration yesterday, some minstrels had also taken a liking to the way of singing casually on the streets. The elves didn't resist this method either, so when Franklin strolled on the clean, white stone path, playing a melodious saxophone, he wasn't very noticeable. The passing elven guards would occasionally stop to listen for a while, nod appreciatively, and then continue patrolling.