Chapter 83: Chapter 25: New Runes, New Equipment, and New Troop Types
The distinctive voice of dwarves is very recognizable; they always sound as if they’ve been drinking, with a rumbling from their throats, yet their voices are sonorous and loud, echoing thunderously.
If you’ve ever slept in a male dormitory, you would have a very intuitive understanding of their voices. The loudest snoring in the dormitory is probably equivalent to the regular speaking volume of the dwarves.
Once dwarves get excited, their high-pitched echoes will reverberate throughout the whole room, making it so that ordinary humans will find their ears painfully jolted.
Hearing the excited voice of a dwarf from afar, Su Li looked in the direction of the sound, and sure enough, it was the territory’s Rune Blacksmith, Belos Dragon Hammer.
It is well known that a dwarf’s status is related to the length of their beard (due to their age), and Su Li also summarized another characteristic of them: their voice’s decibel level is also related to their strength.
The stronger the dwarf, the more sonorous and thunderous their voice, so Su Li never speaks to Belos Dragon Hammer indoors.
Seeing Belos Dragon Hammer running over with his short legs from afar, Su Li already felt a slight pain in his ears. But he couldn’t raise his hand to stop him from approaching; that would make the dwarf feel that their feelings were offended. These short-statured species have characteristics of enthusiasm and closeness, and if one shows resistance and aloofness, they would get very depressed, and it might even result in a note being made in the Book of Hatred by a grudge-holding dwarf.
Belos Dragon Hammer clearly didn’t think of all that; he excitedly ran all the way to Su Li, placing in front of him a massive iron box that covered him from the knees up.
The iron box hit the ground heavily, crashing into the earth with a roar, kicking up a mass of dirt and grass clippings.
Before Su Li could inquire what was inside, Belos opened the lid of the box, immediately revealing a chilling glow from within.
Belos first took out a set of Vibranium Rune Armor from the box and said to Su Li: "My Lord, this is the Perfect Grade Vibranium Rune Armor - Blazing Soul Law worn by our Territorial Knights. You are already familiar with the effects of the Cold Steel Rune and Crown of Honor engraved on it, so I won’t elaborate. But I must mention, this dwarf-made armor, besides having rune effects, also offers protection far exceeding the other sets. Dwarven products are bound to be high quality. And thanks to the Star Iron you found, the armor’s sturdiness far surpasses ordinary battle armors, making it one of the top-tier items in the perfect quality range."
Su Li nodded in satisfaction; the smooth lines of the armor and its chilling armor light reflected its extraordinary nature.
He smiled and said, "My Rune Master, your craftsmanship is renowned throughout the territory. I will personally wear this set of armor in the future."
With this set of battle armor, the territory now has four sets of Rune Armor, worn respectively by Su Li, Oerstein, Hilude, and Schwartz.
Although Su Li does not fight on the front lines, having such armor is very beneficial for enhancing his leadership charisma and boosting morale.
Belos naturally also hopes this armor can be worn by the most noble lord of the territory, which would significantly enhance his own reputation.
According to the agreement between Su Li and him, he is not Su Li’s slave, unlike other dwarves who have to work for the territory for a hundred years. He is considered a free citizen.
So Su Li has to pay him a salary of 5 Gold Coins every month for crafting various equipment and tools for Su Li.
This also means that during his off time, he can forge equipment to sell externally.
The difference between the free citizens and serfs is that apart from working 12-hour shifts, the remaining time is at his disposal.
Dwarves have abundant energy and can go two days and nights without sleep when they have iron to work on.
Theoretically, he has plenty of time to forge armor and weapons.
Then he can open a dwarf weapon shop within the territory, selling various weapons and armor to the knights.
However, due to the current lack of trade caravans in the territory and since the materials come from Lord Su Li, Belos Dragon Hammer has recently focused all his energy on crafting equipment for Su Li.
As long as a dwarf has iron to work with, they are happy and don’t much care for whom they are crafting the equipment.
Even if he procures raw materials on his own, if he can forge a set of True Gold Rune Armor, he would immediately indulge in the joy of crafting higher-grade equipment, working for days and nights without rest.
This set of armor is his masterpiece during this period. After he handed over the armor to Hilude to manage, he took out a two-handed longsword from the top right corner of the box.
After holding the hilt, he couldn’t help but shake his scorched right hand, grinning and saying to Su Li, "Lord, this is a rune sword. I’ve named it Fiery Sun Dawn, a rune sword for knights of the light attribute."
"Initially, I planned to make you a fire attribute warhammer, but there wasn’t enough vibranium left to create a warhammer, so I crafted a rune sword first."
The dwarves generally have an extremely stubborn and conservative nature, and the rune weapons they make usually contain well-tested runes.
So Belos Dragon Hammer proudly introduced to Su Li, "I’ve inscribed two very perfect runes on this rune sword: ’Broken Rune’ and ’Dawn Oath.’"
"Please allow me to introduce the effects of these two runes: The Broken Rune is our dwarves’ proudest masterpiece, and the favorite rune among our kind. It first appeared on the axe of our Dwarf Supreme King, Gottrik. During the Battle of the Longbeards, this axe once destroyed the magic blade of High Elf Phoenix King Caliduo II. Since then, it has become a commonly used rune; we dwarf rune blacksmiths particularly enjoy hearing the sound of inferior weapons from other races shattering like ice under a hammer."
"The Dawn Oath gives knights a strong light attribute enhancement, making each of their attacks equivalent to a heavy strike. If the enemy’s power check fails, they will never be able to block the sword’s attack. Additionally, when the sword strikes head-on, there’s a probability that the opponent will be blinded and scorched by the intense radiance of the Fiery Sun, with each subsequent attack on the same target increasing the chance of triggering and extending this status for a certain period. Without a strong protective talisman, the effects of the Dawn Oath could prove deadly."
"A protective talisman?" Su Li’s expression changed immediately. He had a protective talisman, a powerful Glory Holy Artifact, also known as the Phoenix Wing Talisman. He couldn’t help but ask, "Are protective talismans something that can be crafted?"
Belos Dragon Hammer nodded proudly and said, "Our skill as rune blacksmiths is, of course, more than just a little. Although a knight can be equipped with many miscellaneous trinkets, at most they can be called pendants, not equipment."
"The main equipment a powerful knight should have includes five items: weapon, armor, ring, protective talisman, and emblem."
"Correspondingly, our dwarves can create several types of runes: weapon rune, armor rune, protective talisman rune, battle banner rune, and engineering rune."
Understanding the weapon rune, armor rune, and protective talisman rune, Su Li curiously asked, "What are battle banner runes and engineering runes?"
Belos’ expression became even more proud, raising his chin and squinting his eyes. For the extremely stubborn and conservative dwarves, nothing pleases them more than showing off their ancestors’ technology.
In a booming voice, Belos introduced, "First, on the simpler engineering rune, it’s a rune inscribed on engineering and war machines. Like Flaxson’s Seeking Rune, which was first invented during the War of Revenge, used for catapults to shoot down Dragon Knights. The Burning Rune, war machines using this rune, any ammo they fire will ignite on hitting the target."
Su Li was delighted. If the territory possessed a few catapults or dragon-hunting crossbows specifically against giant dragons, inscribed with runes targeting dragons, the chances of winning against the Young Green Dragon, Deceitful Wings, would improve.
"Then what about battle banner runes?"
"Battle banner runes are runes inscribed on battle banners and clan emblems. Like the master-level Gronni Rune, this rune can stir up the Wind of Spiritual Power, using swirling spiritual energy to protect its bearer and nearby dwarves from enemy ranged attacks. The master-level Fear Rune gives troops taking this banner to battle an illusion, that they seem larger than their enemies. Dwarves are formidable opponents themselves, and a gigantic dwarf unit can intimidate even the strongest foes!"
"A gigantic dwarf unit?" Su Li asked curiously, "What’s that called? Giant Dwarves?"
Belos was exceptionally serious, saying, "Lord, do not underestimate our dwarves’ combat power. Among us, many are butchers, with even the lowest level, the Giant Butcher, capable of slaying giants. Above them are even stronger Giant Butchers, Dragon Butchers. Their size compares favorably with great horned beasts and ogres, with some even larger than knights on horseback. They can wield sharp-bladed giant axes to butcher giant dragons!"
There really are gigantic dwarf units? It seems not all dwarves are part of the Ironfoot Army. In this world, dwarves are just a racial term; some older, stronger dwarves grow enormous due to various reasons, such as divine favor or dragon’s essence.
It’s just a pity there’s no Dragon Butcher nearby; otherwise, the Young Green Dragon wouldn’t dare nest here.
Then Su Li said to Belos, "If I see a dwarf butcher, I’ll certainly employ him to help us deal with the dragons around the Hesse Territory. Now, my rune master, your box is so heavy; what else is inside?"
"Oh, there are also three fine sets of dwarf heavy armor, all hefty plate armor." He said as he took out three sets of chillingly bright knight plate armor from the box.
Su Li asked amazed, "Can you forge so much armor by yourself?"
Surely, without rest, one person couldn’t make it all, right? Su Li remembered that it took 7-15 days for Imperial people to forge a suit of plate armor. This efficiency was based on an improved forging process by the Empire; dwarves being stubborn and conservative weren’t supposed to have such efficiency.
Belos seemed frustrated, repeatedly slapping his thigh, "Oh! Damn it, I really lost to that bunch of clumsy fools. Lord, didn’t you notice this isn’t my forging technique? It’s the dwarven plate armor made by those dwarf juniors I guided. It cost me three cups of Giant Brew!"