Under the guidance of the Dwarf, Zhao Hai and the others got up to ride the boat. While the Dwarf guided them, the other one was responsible for driving.

They traversed the underground quite steadily. While they were travelling, ZHao Hai can notice some magic lights coming from the walls of the river from time to time.

Inside the channel, boats can also be seen travelling in both directions. Their speeds were quite fast for boats, all of them were driven by Dwarves.

By utilizing the brightness from the Magic lamps, Zhao Hai can see that there were also some piers placed on the sides of the river. These piers also had some boats in it. Some of the boats were carrying iron ores, while some had weapons and armor.

Zhao Hai was now admiring the Dwarves, theyre really quite formidable. From what Zhao Hai can see, it seems like the Dwarves had scraped out entire mountains, making them into cities. How much skill did this need?

Juno sat on the ship and looked around before he sighed and said, From the time I came here, nothing much has changed. But I can fairly remember that there werent a lot of magic lamps before, torches were mostly used back then.

The lead Dwarf smiled at him and said, Mister Juno, these lamps havent been replaced in ten years. We happened to find a Magic Crystal deposit not far from the mountain. Otherwise, we wouldnt be replacing the torches with these Magic lamps.

Juno nodded and said, Your luck is really good. But since you discovered a Magic Crystal deposit, why havent you sold them?

The Dwarf shook his head and said, We cant, there arent a lot of Magic Crystals in that deposit. The only thing we have is only enough for our use.

Juno nodded. After sailing from quite some time in the underground river, they finally stopped at a pier. The Dwarf then led them to land and had them ride an Iron Beast carriage that was already waiting for them.

After the group entered the Iron Armor Beast carriage, they continued on to their travel along the mountain range. From what Zhao Hai can see in Junos expression, it seems like they were going to a special place.

Sure enough, when they came out of the mountain, a main road was seen. This road was very wide, it was paved with stone and it was extended from a distant the mountain. But from what Zhao Hai can see, the mountain was just like a tunnel, he can see the other side of it.

Upon entering the mountain, Zhao Hai immediately knew that he had made a mistake. The mountain was very big, moreover, a lot of Dwarf women were very busy inside.

Upon looking, Zhao Hai can see that there were tools for assembling full body armors. These armors were fish scale armors that infantry used. There were fully assembled armors as well as components waiting to be built.

After crossing the mountain, a building appeared not far away from the group. It was constructed like a temple very enormous and was constructed out of iron and iron ore. It was tall, about 20 meters in height, with 18 large stone pillars supporting it. The pillars were thick, each having about 5 meters in diameter.

There was a wide area in front of the building, about 10 thousand meters in diameter. The ground was paved with iron as well, making it very flat. Zhao Hai can see some people constantly cleaning the square.

Juno gave a sigh and said, This is a sacred land of the Dwarf Race, the Artisan Divine Palace. It was originally a small mountain, but it was hollowed out by the Dwarves. The stones from the mountain became the foundation of the entire palace. Every year, the Dwarves would all come to this place to worship the Artisan God, its quite a spectacle.

The Iron Armor Beast stopped on the square outside the Divine Palace. Then Juno turned to Zhao Hai and said, Lets head out, carriages are prohibited in the vicinity of the Divine Palace. Well give our respects to the Artisan God first before we see my old friends.

Zhao Hai nodded and then followed Juno down. The Dwarf guide was also with them as the group slowly walked towards the Divine Palace. Zhao Hai can see a lot of dwarves in the square, cleaning. They seem to be of old age, judging from their white hair and beard.

Although the Dwarves noticed Zhao Hai and the others, they seem to not care about it as they continued to get busy in their job. Before long, Zhao Hai and the others were already near the Palace Great Hall.

The closer you get to the hall, the more of its grandeur that you feel. He didnt know if it was an illusion, but Zhao Hai can feel a pressure inside the hall which made him very uncomfortable.

Zhao Hai and the others then entered the Great Hall upon which they were greeted with its beautiful interior, carvings and art that could be seen everywhere.

However, there wasnt any statue inside the Great Hall, what made Zhao Hai surprised was that the only thing that was present here was a hammer.

Yes, Zhao Hai did not misjudge it, it was a red hammer. Its like the hammers that the Dwarves use, but it was a bit smaller, about a couple of jin less heavy.

This hammer was just too small to be used by the Dwarves. It was even short enough to be called a one-handed hammer. But what made Zhao Hai confused was that this hammer had given him an immense pressure. The pressure was even greater than what he felt when he faced 9th rank experts.

When Juno saw that Zhao Hai was motionless as he looked at the hammer, he couldnt help but stare. Hi didnt understand why Zhao Hai was staring at the hammer. Juno had visited the Dwarves a hundred times before, and he had also seen this hammer, however, he just cant see anything special about it.

The Dwarf guide had also noted Zhao Hais expression, which made him gawk, and then his two eyes shined. However, he didnt say anything and just stepped towards the Hammer along with Juno and Zhao Hai.

Under the leadership of the Dwarf, the group paid their respects towards the hammer before they left the Great Hall. After leaving the hall, Juno then looked at Zhao Hai and said, Little Hai, why did you stare at that hammer? Did you see anything strange?

Zhao Hai shook his head and said, No, I just felt a very strong pressure from the hammer. Ive faced 9th rank experts before, but I still wasnt able to feel the kind of pressure that I got from the hammer. I felt that the hammer had a life, moreover, it seems to be much more formidable than a 9th rank expert.

After Zhao Hai finished talking, the Dwarf guide in front turned around and faced Zhao Hai in shock.

The Dwarf looked at Zhao Hai for quite some time before he turned back and proceeded. Zhao Hai and Juno looked at each other in confusion before they followed the Dwarf.

After they went past the Great Hall, they were once again greeted with another big mountain. When they entered, Zhao Hai was astounded by the number of people inside here. These people werent here for work or to play with iron. From what was seen, it seems like this place was the living area of the Dwarves.

Juno looked at Zhao Hai and smiled, Dont be surprised, this is the place where Dwarves live. Its almost the same as the village back at home.

Zhao Hai nodded, but he was still somewhat surprised upon inspecting these short Dwarves. Old Dwarves, Middle aged Dwarves, Dwarf children, all of them dont feel any different. Dwarf children were like Human children in the way they play all around the place, the Dwarf women were there doing sewing and knitting while they chat with each other, old Dwarves were sitting in threes or fours chatting away while drinking wine.

Like Juno said, it wasnt very different from any Human village. It was just that the people here were not Humans.

The Dwarf guide then led Zhao Hai and the others to enter the village. But before they went in, they stopped by the guards at the entrance as the guide said, Please inform the Patriarch, Hurricane Familys Patriarch Juno has come to visit.

Just as the guides request was said, a voice was suddenly heard, What? That old man Juno has come? Quick, quick, have him come over.

Along with the voice, a Dwarf also appeared in front of the group. This Dwarf wasnt young, he already had a white beard. The Dwarf was about 1.5 meters in height, and since he was a Dwarf, his build was very sturdy. He had a big pair of hands, each finger was very thick and full of calluses, all of them looked just like withered branches.

When this old Dwarf saw Juno, he couldnt help but laugh as he hugged his old friend and patted him at the back, You old fogy, I thought you had died. I didnt expect you to suddenly visit. Hahahaha.

Juno was obviously used to being greeted by the Dwarves this way, so he didnt care, instead he returned the old Dwarfs hug and said, You as well, who thought that youre still alive.

Zhao Hai was on the side, looking at the two old men. They looked just like two bickering children as they chatted with each other. But even so, Zhao Hai can feel the deep friendship that was shared between the two.

After a moment of talking, Juno gestured towards Zhao Hai and said, This is the Patriarch of the Buda Clan, Zhao Hai Buda. I accompanied him this time since he wanted to do business with you.

Then Juno turned to Zhao Hai and said, This is the Patriarch of the Dwarf Race, Billy.[1]

Zhao Hai bowed and said, Zhao Hai has seen Patriarch Billy.

Billy sized Zhao Hai up, then he looked at Laura and the others at the back before he nodded and said, Since you came with Juno, then you dont need to be polite with me. Kid, come with me, take your group and get some rest at a room nearby.

Zhao Hai didnt decline, then he turned to give a nod to Laura and the others. The group then gave Billy another salute before retreating with the Dwarf guide.

1. This naming offends me, I dont know why.