DKIE CH71: Dwarfs

The business of borrowing without returning was being talked about with great conviction.

The quill pen looked over and saw Luka’s profile with a smile in his eyes, and was momentarily lost in thought.

Until the other party took out the terminal, and on the lagging news live stream, a very flamboyant little stone-pusher appeared.

At almost the same time, a super-decibel scolding sound came from the city, continuously being transmitted through a wall.

“Damn it, why did the picture freeze?”

“What a crappy network, this insidious little monster image, is there anyone who will do something about it!”

Among the complaining voices, there was also the speechlessness of the city lord of Boulder City.

The news live stream he was chasing was stuck halfway through. He had to fly up to find another way to watch the battle. He said to the old monster perched on the sky, “Old friend, let me up.”

He wanted to look and see where the battle had reached.

In the distance, in the land of exile, the battle had already reached a white-hot stage.

The previous generation’s Saintess was about to return home, but unfortunately, it was to the underworld.

A single wisp of the old ancestor’s divine sense was definitely no match for the Saintess. After the latter thawed, she still maintained a certain level of vital signs.

After several rounds of fierce exchanges, there were fewer and fewer divine senses around, but the woman’s state was also extremely pathetic.

If this continued, she would be completely defeated in at most another quarter of an hour.

Defeat was not terrible. A crushing defeat without meaning was what was unacceptable.

The woman’s body transformed into a stream of light and phantom, trying to break through the encirclement and self-destruct in front of the Elf King.

The Elf King stood suspended in the air and shot another arrow. A longbow also appeared out of thin air in the hands of the first-generation dark elf clan leader.

One after the other, two terrifying magic arrows of light and darkness intertwined. In a short range, the woman simply could not avoid them.

Crack, the sound of flesh and bone breaking was very crisp.

One sword hit the target, and the woman fell heavily.

The divine sense of the first-generation dark elf king no longer looked at her, but swept his gaze towards the Elf King.

His divine sense had exhausted its power and was about to dissipate. He only said the last four words: “If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.”

The two clans had been at odds for a long time, but they were once of the same lineage. The extinction of either one was definitely not a good thing for the other.

The Beast Ancestor was much more open-minded. He didn’t actually care too much about his descendants. Anyway, he had already made a move once, and he had done his best.

In the last moments of his demise, he seized the time to take a look at the natural world.

There were still more than twenty wisps of soul left. They were positioned as a reserve force, had contributed less, and could still linger on for a while.

Everyone seized the time to do their own things. Anyway, not a single one was looking at a certain generation’s Saintess.

The scene once again returned to a chaotic state, and the cage formed by the cold air had already collapsed.

First, she was ganged up on and abused, and then she was completely ignored. The successive generations of Saintesses were all prouder than the next. How could they endure this kind of humiliation?

She looked at the Elf King angrily.

However, the Elf King also did not look at the Saintess and took out his terminal.

Soon, Barry received the news and began to rush over. On the way, he did not forget to maintain his commentary at all times:

“The result of the life-and-death duel is out. The Elf King has won! This station has successfully contacted the Elf King, and he is willing to accept our interview.”

“This is undoubtedly an earth-shattering battle. This Saintess is not that Saintess, this Beast King is not that Beast King, this dark elf is not that dark elf…”

The network began to gradually restore its signal.

The reporter’s powerful summary, combined with the community that could finally be logged into, the truth was finally slowly revealed to the world.

During this period, the audience had doubted their ears countless times. The Saintess was not the Saintess, and the helpers were not the helpers of this era.

After the entire news live stream, they were filled with all sorts of questions, and a thousand words were reduced to two sentences in the short video—

What is real?

Then what is real?!

As Barry rushed along, every place the camera passed was proof of the previous large-scale duel.

The originally noisy divine senses had already dissipated. In the pile of rubble, the woman’s abdomen was soaked in blood, and the strange snow-white mask was cracked.

For safety’s sake, Barry stood at a distance. As a demon, he was exceptionally polite.

“Hello, may I interview you?”

He was originally going to interview the Elf King first, but seeing that a certain generation’s Saintess was on the verge of death, he estimated that if he didn’t interview her now, she would die.

“May I ask what you are thinking now, and can you accept the outcome of this battle?”

What responded to him was the woman’s cold gaze and the blood that was constantly overflowing from her mouth.

“Times have changed. You may not be very clear, but our interview content can be broadcast live to the audiences of all races on the continent. Everyone is very concerned about the outcome of this duel.”

Pfft.

This time it was a big mouthful of blood.

Seeing that she really couldn’t speak, Barry began to interview the other party in the duel.

The Elf King was very cooperative. “After the Life Elixir incident, I dare not flatter the character of the Holy Court. If it weren’t for someone substituting for another, I would have conducted a fair duel.”

This was true, and it was also Luka’s only worry.

The elf race had an unyielding spirit. As long as the Holy Court didn’t play tricks, the Elf King would not use these divine senses even if he had them.

Fortunately, the Holy Court was the most cooperative.

The Elf King looked up at the sky. There was still one more thing he didn’t say.

If the Holy Court’s bottom line was any lower, today might have been a ‘double happiness.’

…

A great battle caused the temperature within ten thousand miles of the Boulder City to drop, and it was even colder in the sky.

The extreme temperature was blocked by the sturdy scales. Berlanie shuttled through the clouds, and there was almost no fluctuation in his aura as he moved.

As a rare frost dragon, traveling in this kind of weather was the most perfect cover.

The dragon’s eyes quietly looked down at the front from the clouds.

Found it.

Luka had said to speculate on the enemy with the greatest malice.

“He really got it right.” On the necessary path from the Boulder City back to the Elf Island, the Holy Court had set up an ambush.

The Holy Court’s strategy was not bad, setting up a checkpoint in the high-altitude domain.

The formation and distance could perfectly shield the magician’s aura. After a normal final battle, the Elf King’s strength would inevitably be depleted, and perhaps he would be ambushed due to lack of energy.

Berlanie then sent a message to Luka with his location.

The latter replied in a second: [Coming right away].

When the two figures arrived at the same time, Berlanie’s probing gaze paused on the quill pen.

They had just met half an hour ago. How did this person’s aura suddenly become stronger?

Having just absorbed the negative emotions of half the continent, the quill pen looked far into the distance, confirming that it was still about a hundred miles away from the ambush point.

“After the Holy Court learned of the defeat, they will soon cancel the ambush plan. These magicians should be waiting for the order to withdraw.”

Now was their most lax moment.

“Do we fight?” the quill pen asked after analyzing.

Luka nodded. “I’ll start.”

As he spoke, he stretched out his long, slender fingers. The heavy bomb formed by the gathering of faith was even more majestic than the sneak attack on Alex at the guild hall that day.

The excessively powerful light ball, at the moment of its formation, the magician in the distance seemed to feel something and looked up.

Luka took a step forward and kicked violently. The light ball shot out straight like a missile.

“Truth, fire!”

The pure, large ball of light hit the target direction at the speed of light.

The speed was too fast. By the time the ambushing magicians noticed, there was no time to set up defenses.

They had never thought that they, who were the ones sneak attacking, would also be sneak attacked. As the large ball of light exploded, the scene instantly became chaotic.

Luka started off well. The quill pen did not give this group of magicians any chance to react. It tore open space, and the fine threads condensed from the gray-white mist controlled the nearby magicians.

“Leon, are you crazy!”

The magician who was attacked by his companion let out a low roar.

After being continuously subjected to explosions and sneak attacks, the first reaction of the crowd was not that the other party was controlled, but that there was a traitor.

Otherwise, how could such a hidden high-altitude position be discovered?

The quill pen, without anyone noticing, controlled a few more magicians.

Of the more than three hundred great magicians, about twenty were seriously injured in the explosion. The rest gathered together, which was also an extremely powerful force.

Unfortunately, their internal suspicion made their first reaction to flee.

Reaching a higher position, Berlanie’s body became almost invisible. He sprayed terrifying ice flames, and the magicians covered by the flames were instantly turned to ashes.

“Retreat! Retreat quickly!”

At this time, no one would be foolish enough to wait for the Holy Court’s command and just fled.

The quill pen used them and then threw them away, unhesitatingly controlling the great magicians in its hands to self-destruct.

On the other side, since Luka had stepped into the tenth tier, the time he could support himself after launching the “Truth” was far greater than before.

The moment the magician self-destructed, he took the opportunity to condense a heavy bow out of thin air and launched a ten-shot faith arrow.

Corpses fell from the sky like dumplings.

The tragic screams behind them made the magicians in front speed up. Some of them reacted and reminded them not to disperse and to first determine the number of people who were attacking them. But these were too thin in the face of survival.

In the end, the fleeing people still scattered like loose sand.

Luka watched this scene with a blank expression.

A moment later, he stopped and said to the quill pen and Berlanie, “Let’s not chase.”

They had the advantage of the first move and had caught the other party off guard. If they really pushed these great magicians to the brink, it would be troublesome if they regrouped.

The smell of blood and the sound of dying spread through the heavens and the earth.

In the direction where the blood flowed, further away was the ruin of the high mountain after the duel.

At this moment, countless powerful auras were still rushing towards the Land of Exile, trying to witness the scene after the final battle with their own eyes.

The terrain of the Land of Exile had been forcefully changed by the self-destruction of the ancestral souls, just like the situation of the entire Saint-Demon Continent, which was advancing with an unstoppable momentum.

…

A duel caused the Holy Court to lose a trump card to check and balance the Saint, and also lost many magicians.

The real-time broadcast of the news caused a shock on the internet. Until now, everyone was still discussing the substitute tactics that both sides had played.

When Luka went back, the city was much deserted, but the sound of discussion on the roadside was still endless.

The city lord of Boulder City had come at some point and was sitting opposite a man with a dignified face in a hotel. The latter’s eyelids and neck were covered with a layer of light scales, and he was clearly not of the human race.

The quill pen guessed the other party’s identity: “It should be the transformed form of the guardian beast in the sky of the Boulder City.”

Just as Luka was curious about the other party’s race, the man spoke first.

“I have half dragon blood in my body. My mother is from the Chaos Beast clan.”

Luka looked at the pure-blooded dragon, and Berlanie nodded. “There is indeed the aura of a dragon.”

As for the Chaos Beast clan, they were once an incomparably powerful race. Because their physical bodies were strong and reproduction was difficult, they had already gone extinct.

The man looked at Luka. “When I first saw you half a year ago, you were still running around for a few gold coins.”

This kind of big monster-level demon beast would actually pay attention to him?

“I have seen many different kinds of travelers. The rise of some people is only a matter of time.” The man stood up and said to the city lord of Boulder City, “It’s getting late. I’ll head to the Holy City first.”

Luka pricked up his ears.

Knowing his curiosity, the city lord of Boulder City took a sip of tea and said, “The Holy Court has suffered a great loss this time. The Saint is preparing to restore the outer court and invite some guest officials to preside over it to help the Holy Court tide over the difficulties.”

The Holy Court used to be divided into inner and outer courts. Later, in order to better monopolize power, the outer court was abolished.

The Saint was obviously now going to intervene forcefully.

Hearing this, Luka raised an eyebrow.

What a “guest officials to preside over.” Isn’t this just direct surveillance?

Killing people and attacking their hearts.

He took out a storage ring and said to the man, “I’ll have to trouble you to take this to the Holy Court for me.”

It was the most ordinary storage ring. A strong person could scan the contents with their divine sense. There were forty-nine corpses inside.

The man said lightly, “It’s a small matter.”

“Should I round it up?” he asked.

Luka: “…No need.”

After the man left, the city lord of Boulder City also had official business to attend to. He reminded Luka, “The wind on the terminal is a bit strange. You should be careful.”

Luka nodded.

He had been busy before and didn’t have time. Now, looking at it, the community was full of crazy discussions, and thousands of new channels had been added in a short period of time.

The whole process was full of reversals. The biggest discussion point was how the Elf King had obtained so many ancestral souls.

One after another, a few races came out to respond. Their rhetoric was very unified. They said that it was a deal that the Elf King had actively proposed for the cooperation of the terminal. They had not expected it to be used on the dueling ground and were very shocked.

It would be a ghost if they didn’t expect it!

But everyone knew that this was destined to be a muddled account.

The Holy Court had suffered a great setback this time and would definitely not open fire and offend so many races at this juncture.

Throughout the entire duel, the biggest beneficiary was undoubtedly “Today’s News.”

The entire process was factually followed and reported. Under the circumstances where the Holy Court had ordered a ban on watching the battle, they were still able to get first-hand news.

And the successful interview with the duelist afterwards made it the most authoritative news release channel by public consensus.

Luka was satisfied as he browsed the updates. Suddenly, his gaze tightened slightly.

[Warning! The terminal will explode!]

This post was made about twenty minutes ago, but its popularity was very high.

[I was injured by an explosion this morning. There are pictures to prove it. If you don’t believe it, you can try to study your own terminals.]

[Uh, you’ve voiced my long-held suspicion. The terminal itself is a magical equipment, and the essence of every equipment is a weapon.]

[Is it that scary!]

The spread and appearance of the remarks were very concentrated, and the content was similar, showing an explosive growth.

The dwarf race even issued a public statement:

[Warning! The terminal contains dangerous explosive inscriptions!]

In terms of technology, the dwarf race was the absolute authority. After their certification, the internet was instantly filled with various opinions.

#Terminal, explosion# became the absolute high-discussion entry.

In addition, there were some other complaints from other angles, and their popularity was also gradually rising:

[I’ll just point out one thing. The terminal was said to be a replacement for the communication stone, but what’s the result! It lags and can’t log in.]

[That’s right, what if we encounter a fatal threat and need to call for help? Wouldn’t that be the death of us?]

[It’s said to be a life-saving device, but in reality, the terminal itself is the most fatal.]

“They’re quite good at finding entry points,” Luka said after reading, shaking his head.

The terminal did indeed contain an explosive inscription. Its core was the leaf of the Wisdom Tree. When it was forcibly taken out for research, the leaf would self-destruct.

However, this kind of self-destruction was almost in the form of burning, and the possibility of injuring people was very small.

A general lag could be fixed within a few minutes.

Encountering a fatal threat, you’re about to die, who would still send a text message?

Of course, if you encounter a very special situation, there’s nothing you can do. There is no perfect product in the world.

Putting away the terminal, Luka lazily stretched his muscles and said to the quill pen, “Let’s go, let’s rest.”

Inside the Holy Court, completely different from Luka’s relaxation, the majestic hall of the past was now filled with a low-pressure terror.

The female attendant reported carefully, “We have already ordered people to divert their attention. The dwarf race has long had a rift with Iliad and is also willing to cooperate with us.”

The Saintess was sitting in the main hall today, and on both sides of the endless long steps, the guards stood motionless.

After the female attendant finished her report, the temperature in the hall seemed to be even lower.

After a long while, the Saintess spoke softly, “With so many accusations against the terminal, my good son hasn’t come out to respond?”

The female attendant shook her head.

This was what she found strange. The Elf King, the terminal distributor, and other interested parties, not a single one had come out to verbally defend it in this matter.

Such a serious accusation could very well ruin the sales of the terminal. Why did they choose to ignore it?

“Heh.”

No reputation is good reputation.

The Saintess understood Luka’s arrangement. Between the news and the terminal, the other party only cared about the reputation of the former.

She couldn’t help but close her eyes slightly.

The Holy Court was burdened by its reputation. If it were the demon race who used the substitute plan today, everyone would think it was natural, but they couldn’t.

The reputation accumulated over countless years had collapsed in one day.

“Postpone the curse-killing plan for now.” This card would probably not be of much use if played now. It would be better to save it for a critical moment.

The Saintess suddenly frowned. “With such a big commotion, the Demon King actually doesn’t care.”

The female attendant lowered her head. “It is said that the Demon King is in seclusion.”

“Is he in a death seclusion!”

The moment the cold air leaked out, everyone in the main hall lowered their heads in fear.

While the female attendant was afraid, a sense of unease grew in her heart.

The Holy Court was not a monolith. After a series of defeats, it was likely that many people had already begun to doubt the Saintess’s ability.

The Saintess also realized that she had lost some control of her emotions.

She gave two consecutive orders:

“Deploy all our hidden pawns in the Demon Domain and be sure to investigate the Demon King’s movements.”

“By the way, go and investigate the identity of the man who has been following Iliad.”

That child had a good fate. From the beginning of his rise, he had known many big shots, and it was normal to have some experts protecting him. But now, she had some other guesses.

…

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It will not change because someone has died.

When everyone was very busy, Luka had a good sleep.

Every time he launched the “Truth,” he would be mentally tired. He had slept for a whole day before he finally recovered.

After waking up, he found an unread message from the Elf King on his terminal: [Today was too hasty. I will come again another day to enjoy the music (smile).]

The entire continent was now paying attention to the Elf King. It was definitely not suitable to meet at this time.

[Luka’s Review: Okay.]

In the outer room, Berlanie and the quill pen were talking about something.

Seeing him wake up, Berlanie said, “The accusations against the terminal are still deepening. Do you need me to warn the dwarf race?”

“The dwarf race…”

Luka really did not have a good impression of this race. From the Land of Exile to the Boulder City, and even later in the Holy City, every time he encountered the dwarf race, there would be friction.

But he had to admit that the dwarf race was quite powerful.

In terms of craftsmanship and technology, they were almost unique.

In the future, if he wanted to reduce the consumption of magic stones for using the terminal and develop technologies like three-fold, five-fold, and eight photo stone installation slots with extra charges, he would not be able to do without the dwarf race.

Luka thought for a moment. “Can you tell me more about this race in detail?”

Berlanie thought for a moment. “Every civilization has its strong and weak races. The dwarf race is one of the few that have stood firm. Their clansmen are spread all over the continent. It is said that the ancestor of the dwarf race suffered a bloodline curse, and all subsequent dwarf races have ugly appearances and bad luck.”

Luka hit the nail on the head. “To be able to survive in a civilization like this, it seems their skills are very strong.”

Berlanie: “That’s right. The dwarf race’s mechanisms are even more powerful than formations, and their weapons and equipment are top-notch.”

He particularly emphasized, “This generation’s dwarf king is a top-tier weapons master.”

Luka estimated that the dwarf race was probably even more powerful than Berlanie had described.

Otherwise, the other party would not have offered to warn them on his behalf.

He looked at the quill pen, which had not spoken much.

The quill pen had also dealt with this race. “Giving benefits and reasoning with them is useless. It might even backfire. Occasionally giving them a little something sweet and continuously suppressing them, the dwarf race just eats that up.”

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong, with a twisted mentality.

Luka opened his mouth.

What kind of chosen villains are these?

Excerpt from Luka’s diary:

Reporter: May I ask, as the mastermind behind the scenes, what are your thoughts on the outcome of this duel?
Luka: …
This is a diary, a diary! Why are you coming to someone else’s diary for an interview?!
Randomly dropping a hundred small red packets~
Finished the manuscript, have to go out. I’ll fix the typos when I get back~

Support me on Ko-fi