Chapter 21: The Departing Team

"That's all of them."

Jier moved the three Dwarf Double-handed Heavy Weapons he had picked out to his feet, then pulled three Gold Coins from the inner pocket of the armor he was wearing.

"Take them."

Jier handed the Gold Coins into the other person's hand; although the other party had complained that the money Jier gave was too little, judging by the eager way they took the money, they were clearly impatient.

"Don't you want to pick a few more? The equipment of us five good brothers is all different, and it would be perfect for dealing with different enemies." This Miner, a Dwarf Strength God Believer, rubbed his hands and pointed to the other finished and semi-finished Heavy Weapons on the ground to introduce them.

"The Double-handed Battle Axe I use myself is best suited for attacking monsters with thick Leather Armor. I once smashed the head of a water-spraying crocodile with one blow; you have to know that thing's skin and scales are tough, and ordinary blades or hammers can't deal them fatal damage."

The other Dwarves around nodded to confirm this, and even Shishou nodded, indicating that this had indeed happened.

Jier waved his hand: "One of these is enough. Such a sturdy weapon doesn't look like it would break easily, right? Besides, I mainly use it for breaking down doors and walls."

Then this Dwarf introduced other things, pointing to a Double-handed Metal Club on the ground: "This weapon is most suitable for dealing with monsters that have shells, especially those monsters with smooth surfaces. Give them a hard hit, and either you smash them to pieces, or their outer shell remains intact while the inside is turned completely into minced meat."

Jier had never seen a giant insect monster with a sturdy shell, and he didn't want to see such a monster either, so he waved his hand: "No need, no need."

Helpless, the Dwarf Miner had to continue introducing another Dwarf Double-handed Battle Axe: "This kind of battle axe is most effective against giant monsters. My companion once used it to chop off the leg of a giant mountain forest wild ox with one axe. Whoa, thinking back, that was also a monster of too huge a size. I remember its size seemed to be slightly larger than the wooden houses of the Humans in the village?"

Shishou nodded: "Two circles larger; when that thing walked, the ground was trembling."

The other Dwarves also had lingering fears; that giant wild ox monster was even a head taller than the Stone Wall on the east side of Torito Village. If it exerted force to ram the stone wall, it was estimated that a single strike could knock down the stone wall the Dwarves had worked so hard to build.

Fortunately, the giant wild ox, which had one leg chopped off by a charged strike, although it didn't die on the spot, still fled the place on its remaining five legs.

And the remaining wild ox leg, which was larger than a carriage, although the old Dwarf wouldn't let everyone eat it, was still used as bait for traps, luring and killing many monsters and beasts in the nearby mountain forest.

After listening to the Dwarves' sighs, Jier saw that the Dwarf Miner still wanted to introduce his other unsold Double-handed Heavy Weapons, so he quickly dragged the three newly purchased Heavy Weapons away with a rope.

He had a fruitful harvest tonight; it took two trips to move the boxed Wooden Carvings and several Dwarf weapons he had obtained to the outside of the mine entrance, and then trip by trip back to his own carriage at the Yingdi.

At this time, the Dwarf mine entrance was opened, and Dwarves were constantly going in and out, either going to the nearby Torito Village overnight to find people to order Backpacks, or heading to New Xiwang Town with a Torch.

In the past, the Dwarves didn't carry Torches when they went out at night, and it was unknown what was going on, but tonight the old Dwarf insisted that his subordinates who were going out carry Torches, and that they must carry them in the future as well.

They didn't understand, but Jier understood; he knew that what he had said earlier still made the old Dwarf feel uneasy, fearing that there really was some kind of tiger-headed eagle haunting the Valley.

The Dwarves had short legs and short arms, and they really had no good way to deal with such silent-flying nocturnal raptors.

The next day, Jier sent most of the things he had obtained last night into the lady's dream; for the sake of concealment, he didn't hide everything in the dream, but left a box of Wooden Carvings and several Dwarf One-handed Hammers in his carriage.

There were indeed these things, but the people around didn't know the specific quantity. After all, Jier was the leader of the team, and he didn't need to explain what he did to others.

That day, the Dwarves' mobility was extremely strong; their previous hesitation was only because they lacked experience and guidance. After Jier informed them of the preparations for the long journey, this group of only a few dozen Dwarves erupted with extremely strong organizational ability and mobility.

Forty or fifty novel Shoulder Backpacks suitable for the height of Dwarves could not be made in a day or two by the women of Torito Village alone. Therefore, the old Dwarf handed over at least half of the production volume to the people of New Xiwang Town from the beginning.

Mr. Bafute gathered the women in the chaotic town that night, and everyone cut and sewed leather and cloth according to the dimensions and specifications given by the Dwarves, making the components of the Backpacks piece by piece.

Jier discovered that the design drawings for the Shoulder Backpacks he gave the Dwarves had actually undergone a round of modifications, not only adjusting the size to adapt to the short Dwarves, but also replacing the original internal metal reinforcements with a lightweight and sturdy wooden frame.

With this wooden frame as the skeleton of the Backpack, it could carry heavier things.

"Clearly they still want to take away more things." Jier shook his head.

New Xiwang Town gathered people overnight to start production, and as a negotiated condition, the Dwarves would provide some durable self-made metal furniture as an exchange. The negotiating Dwarf even personally brought one of these pieces of furniture as a sample.

This thing was full of Dwarf style.

Uh, specifically, it was not high in height, suitable for the short stature of Dwarves, and it was sturdy enough not to be snapped by the strong Dwarves. If you don't consider the height issue, it would be fine for ordinary Human Villagers to use it as an ancestral piece of valuable furniture.

However, Mr. Bafute had other plans.

"Knight Jier, you understand, for something like this, if we keep it for ourselves, apart from being sturdy and durable, it has no more benefits compared to ordinary wooden furniture. It's even less useful than the wooden furniture we make ourselves because it's a bit low, right?"

He rubbed his hands, his eyes looking toward the direction of Yemei Town in the North: "So I think rather than keeping it as furniture or melting it down for metal raw materials, it is far better to transport it to Yemei Town in the future and sell it to the various Merchant Guilds in the town."

"This is genuine alien furniture made and used by Dwarves; there's no problem selling it for a high price, right?" The traded Dwarf furniture was not just one piece; clearly, for the Dwarves, these pieces of furniture they could never take away were better exchanged for services and supplies beneficial to them before leaving.

"Decide for yourself; after all, you are in charge of New Xiwang Town now. Just make sure to keep records of the corresponding transactions, and after the transactions are completed, you need to notify others and let everyone check the retained documents to ensure that no one has any objections to each matter."

Jier looked at the energetic Mr. Bafute; the other party was originally quite fat, but the busyness of these days had actually made him thinner, which made him look even more imposing.

The Dwarves solved the production of the Shoulder Backpacks in a short time; they completely outsourced it to the Humans in the Valley, and at the same time collected some Wooden Water Bottles that everyone in New Xiwang Town hadn't been using much lately.

More importantly, the Dwarves traded with Torito Village for food, large water barrels, and carriage repairs and maintenance.

Because there were not enough horses, the Dwarves also bought five sturdy Plowing Oxen from Torito Village to pull the carts.

Oxen can certainly pull carts; although they are not as fast as horse-drawn carriages, oxen have more strength and can pull heavier carriages—no, ox carts.

And the Dwarves chosen as drivers also indeed had some skills; it is said that they had once driven vehicles pulled by Panshan Yang, and they had no problem controlling these more obedient ox-drawn vehicles.

Therefore, on the morning of the third day after Jier returned to New Xiwang Town, the Dwarves were fully prepared, and after completely sealing their mine from the inside, they all set out, appearing outside the New Xiwang Town Yingdi looking like they were well-prepared for a long journey.

As expected of a group of Miners with super-strong organizational ability, they basically realized everything Jier had said that night. Each Dwarf wore comfortable and breathable shoes suitable for long-distance travel, had leggings wrapped around their short, thick calves, and their clothing was thin but sturdy. Around their waists, they first had a multi-functional leather belt, and then buckled the auxiliary load-bearing belt of the Shoulder Backpack. They walked over with their hands empty, wearing sun-shading metal hats they had improved themselves, and carrying a nearly full Shoulder Backpack on their backs.

Each new Backpack was brand new, with a lightweight and sturdy wooden frame inside, connected by leather materials, and the outside was wrapped in finely sewn Linen Cloth—sturdy, easy to use, and with no problems at all when filled with things.

Each Dwarf's Backpack had a small piece of kitchenware hanging on it, as well as clean spare shoes, and even a small metal folding stool, making it convenient to rest without having to sit on the ground during the long journey.

On their multi-functional belts, a Single-handed Crystal Shield, Single-handed Weapon, Dagger, Water bottle, and small Leather Bag were all present; clearly, every Dwarf had made unified preparations before setting out.

And the ox carts controlled by the Dwarf drivers were also fully loaded with large water barrels, food, tents, firewood, and other necessities for the long journey. But more on the ox carts were sets of Dwarf Miner armor and equipment; once these packed pieces of equipment were worn by these Dwarf Miners, they would become Dwarf Warriors with no low combat power.

Five Dwarf Soldiers sat next to the drivers with full armor and hands on their blades and swords, while the old Dwarf sat in a special empty seat reserved for him on the first ox cart. There was no help for it; he was old, and unlike the other Dwarves who were still middle-aged, his physical strength could not support him walking for a long time.

"How is it, Knight Jier?" The old Dwarf jumped off the ox cart; he was also wearing his own set of armor, and asked Jier proudly.

But in fact, there was no need to ask. Just by looking at the people in Jier's carriage team who were also preparing to set out, and comparing them with the fully equipped and orderly Dwarf team, all the onlookers could see that the Dwarf team was much more impressive.

Jier showed an awkward smile and turned his head to glare fiercely at his subordinates, making these scattered and casual Warriors feel baffled.

What had they done? They hadn't done anything at all!

"Very good, it seems everyone has carefully listened to the long-distance travel experience I provided. This is very good, this is very good!" Jier came to the Dwarf team and clapped for these Dwarf Miners who were ready for the long journey.

The Dwarves also felt it was very good, because compared to these Humans, they looked more like a very experienced team.

"You are about to leave; do you have anything to say to the people in the village? Quite a few villagers have come to witness your departure."

Jier pointed to the many onlookers outside the New Xiwang Town Yingdi. Most of these villagers were watching from outside the town, but many villagers who had dealt with the people of New Xiwang Town also squeezed in, watching these Dwarves leave in silence.

Their expressions were complex; many of them had grown up under the management of the Dwarves since they were born, and now seeing the Dwarves about to leave, they all had a sense of trance.

Clearly, a few days ago, when they were forcing the Dwarves to negotiate together, many of them had gathered under Jier's command; they were also one of them.

The old Dwarf glanced at these Torito Village Villagers, turned his head, and snorted with disdain: "We have nothing to say to these people. Let's go quickly; I have waited for this day and this moment for a long time."

After speaking, the old Dwarf climbed onto the lead ox cart, sat in the spot specifically reserved for him, and said to his clansmen nearby: "Just follow the caravan of Knight Jier; they will take us with them."

Jier saw that the old Dwarf did not like the Torito Village Villagers who could be considered to have driven them away, so he shrugged; he himself went forward to speak with the village elders for a while, encouraging them to intermarry and be on good terms with the people of New Xiwang Town in the future, and to face the Human society outside Huitou Forest together.

Do not go out frequently in the short term; wait until the current Parasitic Vine Monster is repelled and the war between the Southern Province and the neighboring country ends before expanding outward communication activities.

Even if he did not say this, the village elders actually intended to do so anyway. After all, they had also inquired about the situation in the outside world from the people from various places who made up New Xiwang Town these past few days.

No one is stupid; they will not rashly contact the outside world at such an awkward moment.

As for New Xiwang Town, Jier gave instructions to the town representative delegates here, telling them to immediately send out armed teams once the situation in New Xiwang Town stabilized to bring back the elderly, weak, and family members of most of the people remaining at White Stone Pass.

Or, wait until the war ends to return to their respective hometowns. After all, many people still have houses and land there.

Many people whose lives Jier had saved came forward emotionally to hug Jier; they knew that once they parted, the next time they met, or perhaps never met again, would be a very long time from now.

But Jier gave a vague answer, his gaze occasionally glancing toward the north side of Torito Village in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking in his heart.

No one knows exactly how much metal and rare minerals these Dwarves mined and smelted in this Dwarf mine after their external communication was cut off.

How much these materials of unknown quantity are worth.

"I will come back, rest assured! I will come back." Jier said affirmatively.

Afterward, Jier jumped onto the back of his Licking Blood Grass Horse and led the way out of the west gate of the Yingdi amidst the cheers and farewells of the people.

Behind him, Xueya Site drove a carriage pulled by two horses, with the Herbalist Zuojigela sitting in the seat beside him, and his family members inside the carriage cabin. Amidst the laughter of children, he led the entire team to start moving at a steady pace.

Because they were carrying a lot of supplies and materials this time, Jier's Warriors and the captured Defeated Soldier prisoners all walked beside the fully loaded carriages.

The Warriors had all taken off the Plate Armor assigned to them and were walking on the road in light gear.

The Dwarf team also silently followed behind the carriages of the Mao Mao. Although these Dwarves had been quiet and solemn before, not saying a word, at this moment, they kept turning their heads to look at this familiar land where they had stayed for at least a hundred years.

"Not coming back anymore, right?"

"Yeah. How about you?"

"Me too."

The Dwarves whispered to each other.

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