Ryan lifted the several hundred pound iron anvil with ease. As a Knight of the Holy Grail, he paraded through the city with the anvil held high, drawing the admiration and worship of the citizens.
Ryan knew that to gain the dwarves' trust, he had to avoid cunning tricks and shortcuts. Only by demonstrating his strength in the way they respected could he earn their trust.
In many novels, the protagonist faces challenges by cunning or cheating, but the dwarves would not be fooled. They might not understand the methods used by humans to cheat, but they would certainly know if cheating occurred, and that would never earn their trust.
While Ryan was carrying the anvil down the stone-paved street, in a carriage lined with dark velvet, a hoarse voice whispered to a younger one, "Can you defeat him now?"
"No, my godfather, he is the chosen champion of the Green Pond. He has at least the strength of a high-level legend, and there's a terrifying energy around him. I don't know what it is, but he's very dangerous," the younger voice replied.
Inside the dark carriage, two cloaked figures hid their identities. The younger one's blue eyes were barely visible, while the hoarse figure had no eyes, only empty sockets with soul fire burning inside.
After hearing the young man's words, the hoarse voice sighed deeply, a chill of dark mist seeping out from under his mask, "Then our plan must change. We can't handle both a divine champion and a holy realm sorcerer at the same time."
The younger voice asked, "My godfather, you're so powerful, not even all of Setra's tomb priests together could match you. Why do you insist on capturing the Lake Goddess Witch? Her power is weaker than yours, why take the risk here?"
The decaying figure nodded slowly, "Yes, Morgianna, a holy wizard of the sky and life domains, and the first chosen of the Green Pond. Even with the goddess's help, she's no match for me. But to resurrect our lord, we need enough sacrifices."
"We need nine books corresponding to nine sacrifices. We also need our lord's staff, sword, and armor. With these, the once-feared Master of the Dead will return to this world."
"Good news, due to the disturbance of the Double-Tailed Comet, the ritual that originally required all nine books now only needs five books and five sacrifices to start the resurrection ceremony. But we still need as many sacrifices as possible, the more we have, the stronger our lord will be."
"We've already captured the bishop of the Nature God Tarr, the chosen priestess of the Merciful Goddess Shaliya, and the archbishop of the God of Theft Ronald. Three of the nine sacrifices are in place."
"The most important three sacrifices – the Eternal Queen of the High Elves Elarireli, the Arch Bishop of the Church of Justice Vickma-Beckman, and the Lake Goddess Witch Morgianna – we need at least two of them. They are suitable carriers and storages of divine and magical powers."
As the carriage left the bustling street, the younger voice seemed enlightened, "No wonder she's so difficult to handle with all those protective items."
"My disciple, we need patience."
"Let's gradually destroy the witch's defenses and lure her away from the protection of the Knight of the Holy Grail."
"Another piece of good news, a tree spirit is willing to make a deal with us, a mad tree spirit, severely corrupted by chaos, has lost its sanity. We might use it to accelerate our plan."
"I'll handle the capture of the Lake Goddess Witch, my disciple. You go to Berlayne and retrieve one of the nine books. Then, let's overturn this realm built on lies and hypocrisy!"
…
After witnessing Ryan carrying the heavy iron anvil from one end of the street to the other, the dwarf artisan confirmed Ryan's strength and clapped his chest in satisfaction, "Ah, well done! Now I believe you are a true brother, the brother of Angrolan."
"What do you propose?" Ryan placed the anvil in the smithy and calmly clapped his hands, "Shall we continue?"
"Oh yes, I like your straightforwardness and strength, human. I'm fed up with the elves and their incomprehensible talk," Delron-Feinsen stroked his large beard, nodding repeatedly. "I've had enough of this place, with those tax officials and damned elves bothering me all the time. If you're willing to hand over the entire workshop and give me a good deal, I'd like to take a look. Now state your terms, Knight of the Holy Grail."
"Great, let's discuss the terms, long beard."
After negotiating, Ryan felt that the dwarf runemaster had a hard time in Boldero, as the high elves were clearly squeezing and excluding him.
Boldero's port was constantly harassed by dark elves, so the high elves naturally grew close to Duke Bodrick of Boldero. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, a universally understood concept… at least among the orderly races.
The high elves disliked seeing the bearded dwarves, and the dwarves also disliked the pointed ears. Brittany was different from the Empire, where the Empire and the Dwarves' High King had a sacred alliance dating back over a thousand years. Because of this, the Empire was more inclined to the dwarves, welcoming any dwarf setting up shop in their territory.
Brittany had no such rapport with the dwarves. They got along, but the dwarves clearly leaned towards the Empire. A classic example was the Empire's war with Brittany near Marlenburg a few years ago when the dwarves of Grey Mountain Fortress closed all their controlled roads and refused entry to anyone from the knightly kingdoms.
After their conversation, Ryan felt he had accomplished his task. Delron agreed to visit his place in a few days. If nothing went wrong, the dwarf runemaster would be employed by him.
He didn't believe the dwarf would remain indifferent after seeing the power sword and power armor.
"Well, Sulia, it's your turn now," Ryan said with a smile to the lady knight holding his arm, having completed his task.
"Let's go shopping there!" Sulia held Ryan's arm tightly, her eyes fixed on a jewelry store.
For the next while, Ryan and his companions elegantly strolled and played in the city, admiring magnificent buildings. Boldeux, originally a port owned by the high elves when they left the Old World, still bore many remnants of their architecture.
High elves were not uncommon on the streets, indicating a good relationship between Duke Bodrick of Boldero and the high elves. However, Ryan felt uncomfortable with their arrogance and the way they walked with their chins up.
He wasn't the ruler here and had little to say.
"Look, Ryan, this teddy bear is so cute!" In a jewelry store, the duke's daughter was captivated by a teddy bear made by skilled tailors. The fifty-centimeter-tall plush bear was crafted with fine goat wool, simple materials, and embroidery, looking very cute with its naive expression.
The beautiful duke's daughter seemed unable to resist the allure of the teddy bear. Her blue eyes sparkled with hearts as she held Ryan's arm tightly, "It's so adorable."
"Hello, esteemed Knight of the Holy Grail and ladies. This is a teddy bear, a masterpiece of our tailors. You must have heard the story of the teddy bear?" the shop owner approached with a bow, feeling honored to have the Knight of the Holy Grail in his shop, a story he thought he could boast about for ten years.
"We have," the girls nodded, while Ryan thought, I haven't heard of it.
"I assure you, this teddy bear is a hundred percent handmade. Our best tailor poured his heart and soul into it. I can guarantee it's the finest piece in our shop, so..." The owner bowed, his smile full of sycophancy, bending like a disabled person.
"If Sulia likes it, we'll take this teddy bear. Wrap it up," Ryan decided, signaling the owner.
"Ah! Sure, the original price is 30 gold crowns, but the Knight of the Holy Grail naturally enjoys a discount of 20%, a total of 24 gold crowns. You can also pay in gold marks or dinars!" the owner said flatteringly, quickly preparing parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle, "Also, respected Knight of the Holy Grail, may I have your autograph? We would be so grateful."
The three girls laughed heartily, clearly seeing the reverence for the Knight of the Holy Grail in this country.
"Alright," Ryan took the parchment and signed his name.
"Good heavens, you're Ryan, Ryan Makardo, the champion of the lady!"
"I'll display this in my shop forever, as a treasured item!"
After revealing his identity, the shop erupted into chaos.
Meanwhile, a black carriage passed outside the shop, its unusual appearance catching Ryan's attention. The carriage was completely enclosed, wrapped in black cloth, more resembling a coffin than a carriage.
So, Ryan left the matter to Sulia, "I saw someone outside who I think I know. I'll check if it's really him."
"Okay," the lady knight didn't probe or suggest going together, understanding Ryan must have his reasons.
"Alright, Sister Sulia!"
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