Chapter 410: Let Us Celebrate! (Part 2)

Facing Jier's rhetoric, the old Dwarf dismissed it with disdain: "You really didn't think of it?"

Jier shrugged: "I really didn't think of it."

The old Dwarf was noncommittal; he knew that arguing with people about such matters was of little significance, so he said straightforwardly: "Since you didn't think of it, then I will truly take it that you didn't know."

Afterwards, he said solemnly to Jier: "Alright, the situation is as it stands now. As a new power that has suddenly appeared, especially when this power affects the fragile balance of other forces in the Valley, I hope—no, I demand that you establish a new negotiation agreement with us Dwarves regarding this matter."

Jier interjected: "Restrict the weapons and equipment of these people under my command?"

The old Dwarf nodded.

Jier waved his hand: "That is impossible, or rather, there is no necessity for it."

Upon hearing this answer from the Human Knight, the old Dwarf's eyebrows immediately stood up, and the other Dwarves present also revealed looks of fury. Before these Dwarves could start cursing, Jier immediately added: "Please listen to my explanation."

The old Dwarf had the best self-restraint and the best facial control. He pressed his hand toward the other Dwarves, and the others closed their mouths just as they were about to curse: "Then I will listen to your explanation."

"Look at the location we are currently in," Jier said, while stomping his feet on the spot.

The other Dwarves found this strange and also stomped their feet. The Soldier Captain, not understanding, asked: "What is wrong with this location?"

The old Dwarf crossed his arms, lowered his head to glance, and then he raised his head to look left and right, appearing thoughtful.

"This location is quite a distance from Torito Cunzi, and it is also quite a distance from your Dwarven mine; it is roughly at the three corners of a triangle. What does this explain? It explains that I, and my people, have no intention of meddling in the affairs between you and the local Human Villagers. If our people were completely leaning toward the villagers, I could have completely brought my people to establish the Yingdi inside the village, or right next to the village," Jier explained.

The old Dwarf said gloomily: "But you have been meddling from the very beginning. Without the battle you incited, things would not have developed like this."

Jier extended a finger and shook it: "No, no, no, you are wrong, old sir. You still haven't managed to set your perspective straight. That is, the battle and fighting I have had with you Dwarves over these past two days is not harming you, but saving you."

Upon hearing this, the old Dwarf touched the wound on his head with a wry smile: "We have discussed this, but this is how you save? My head still hurts a bit."

And the Soldier Captain patted his own injured arm: "This is also your method of saving? Although I am a Soldier who flaunts force, I am not stupid."

Jier pressed his palm downward: "The means were a bit intense, but isn't that because you Dwarves didn't hold back when you moved against me? Actually, I am indeed saving you. Perhaps that was not my goal before, but in terms of the result, it has made you set your position straight, adjust your mindset, and change your future survival route. Think about it carefully, isn't that so?"

Jier continued: "If I hadn't arrived, you would still be living your days as before, but these 'good days' would not last long. And when the real change appears, it will not be as 'gentle' and 'amiable' as I am."

The Dwarves roughly understood, and the old Dwarf had long understood this principle; at this moment, as Jier spoke of it again, he nodded in understanding.

Afterwards, Jier continued: "Therefore, I am like this, and my subordinates, they are actually the same as me, also standing in the position of an outsider to look at this place. As a newly appeared power, they will not randomly meddle in the affairs between you and the villagers in the village, and we do not want to do so either. Besides, aren't you Dwarves leaving soon? Then, as long as you retreat back to your mine during this period and make preparations for the upcoming long journey, I think you will not worry about these things that have nothing to do with you anymore, right?"

Jier finally provoked the Dwarves a little: "Don't tell me you Dwarves don't even have the confidence to defend your own mine?"

"Who says that! No matter how many people you have, it is impossible to break into the mine," the Soldier Captain said immediately.

And the other three Dwarves also said: "We will defend our mine to the death and not let any Human step inside."

"The God of Strength is above, He will give us the strength to defend our mine."

The old Dwarf shook his head and finally said: "So your people will not put down the weapons in their hands? Just because you believe that you and your people will no longer meddle in the affairs between us and the Humans in the village?"

Jier nodded: "Of course. I will also make a promise: my people will not lean toward the villagers during this period. Although we are all Humans, before the Dwarves leave this place, I guarantee that my people will not have large-scale contact or connection with the villagers. In these recent days, we will roughly be cutting timber, preparing the large amount of preliminary work before building permanent houses."

"Where do you intend to collect timber from? Huitou Forest?" the old Dwarf asked, guessing.

Jier smiled and nodded: "Yes, there are so many big trees in Huitou Forest, and those are the best materials for building houses. The timber from one big tree is even enough to build several houses."

Several Dwarves looked at each other and spoke a few words in Dwarven Language. Jier did not know what they had communicated, but soon the old Dwarf spoke to explain: "Since you guarantee it, I can also provide some information to you. Actually, regarding the fog that appears in Huitou Forest every night, the source is actually a fog-generating facility of us Dwarves located on a nearby mountain. Since you are going to cut down that forest that conceals this place, we will turn off that facility for you when we go back."

"To facilitate your cutting, how about that?"

"Oh?" Jier did not expect that the thick fog appearing at night in Huitou Forest was actually artificially created by the Dwarves.

This greatly exceeded his expectations, and he hurriedly said: "Then thank you very much. I wonder what kind of facility this is?"

The old Dwarf's expression changed: "Hmph, don't you go asking about that. Before we leave, we will take the initiative to destroy that thing. We won't need it anymore, and this kind of important secret Dwarven facility will not be left to you Humans. Please do not hold unnecessary expectations for this."

Jier shrugged, dismissing the idea of wanting to get this thing.

While they were talking, the dance of the young women also began on the open space in the center of the Yingdi.

Compared to when they signed up before, they had changed into beautiful clothing at this time, so once the dance started, the sensory experience was suddenly different.

Jier glanced at it and realized it was more or less the same as before, so he didn't look much more. Instead, he brought the Dwarves closer to the center of the Yingdi, while guiding the Dwarves to also watch the Human dance, and while talking to the old Dwarf about releasing the other captured Dwarven Soldiers and Warriors.

The Human Villagers living in Torito Cunzi had rarely held related celebratory activities before, so the several Dwarves present had not seen similar Human dances much. They watched with great interest; although the Human females dancing were too slender, causing a lack of power in the dance, everything else was quite good—at least it was a novelty to watch.

"Nemumuha, Harifata."

"Let us dance, to catch His eye," the young women sang.

The young women held hands and spun in circles, while their skirt hems flew; their bare feet and calves were visible from time to time. The smiles on their faces were not fake. Since last winter, everyone had lived very painfully: fleeing their hometown, begging and starving at Baishi Pass, the thrilling life-and-death struggles along the way, and now, at this very moment, everyone finally had a safe place to live.

Not only that, other family members still at Baishi Pass should also be able to arrive here in the future, safely avoiding the period of social turmoil caused by the outbreak of war.

Until the future society is stable again and the various Bandits are pacified by the lords of various places, only then will it be good for them to return to their hometown. Or, abandon the land of their hometown and start over here?

"Nemumuah, Haritatafa."

"Let us dance, to catch His ear," the young women sang.

The young women danced joyfully, and the surrounding people also clapped to keep time with the dance movements and the lyrics the young women sang. Although the lyrics the young women sang were a bit strange, this could not stop everyone's love for this dance.

Especially the male audience's love for this dance.

The young women in the dance slowly spun while dancing, and the people also swayed along. Some clapped their hands, some swayed their bodies with the beat, and some even repeated the lyrics the young women sang.

"Watching me, watching us," the young women sang.

Jier was talking to the Dwarf leader at this time, but as he spoke, he was slightly stunned. It was not because of anything else; the Divine Art that had been personally placed on his body by the God of Agriculture was now vibrating slightly, even though it had been completely still before.

This vibration was not that the Divine Art was truly trembling physically, but a kind of 'vibration' of power that could only be felt beyond his conventional senses. It was like a blind person seeing colorful colors, a nose smelling the fragrance of flowers after a long illness, or a youth touching the palm of their first love for the first time.

"Listening to me, listening to us," the young women sang.

At the same time, right next to Jier, the Wild Priest who had been holding the Metal Box containing the statue of the God of Strength also suddenly lowered his head to look at the Metal Box in his arms. This Wild Priest truly felt that the Metal Box in his arms was genuinely trembling.

"What is going on? Is the god watching me?" He was first confused, then revealed joy, especially when he felt the vibration of the Metal Box in his arms becoming more and more intense, as if the statue of the God of Strength in the box was truly moving.

However, the box was open at the front, and the other Dwarves did not see the god statue in the box moving. Jier suppressed the shock on his side and looked at the Wild Priest with the others without changing his expression.

"This is my wish, a beautiful wish," the young women sang.

The Divine Art blessed by the god on Jier's body vibrated more and more intensely. That special feeling made him have to clench his teeth to avoid attracting the attention of others. Fortunately, the several Dwarves present were all attracted by the change in the Wild Priest, and no one cared about his expression.

But then, Jier's expression changed, because at this moment, even the wooden statue of the Great Bird god on his chest began to tremble. He looked down and found that the wooden statue, which was simply tucked into his casual clothes against his chest, was slowly releasing streams of black feather-shaped gas, looking extremely eerie.

Jier hurriedly turned around so the Dwarves would not see the change on his side. Fortunately, the Dwarves were all gathered around the Wild Priest at this moment, seriously discussing the reason for the vibration of the God of Strength statue in low voices. Several of them had their hands on the Metal Box, clearly perceiving the eerie vibration of the entire box.

The two Dwarf Warriors who held Faith in the God of Strength showed joy on their faces, and the Wild Priest was even more pleasantly surprised; the shrewdness he had been masking could no longer be contained, and the smile on his face was so wide his back molars were visible. He was lost in pleasant thoughts, believing that having received the gaze of the deity, he would surely be able to suppress 'Shishou', that warrior who had been favored, in the future.

The Soldier Captain also wore a look of joy; after all, a revelation from a deity was ultimately beneficial to them, the displaced people. It meant that they were at least far away in the Human Kingdom, yet the deity had been 'watching' over them all along. The old Dwarf, however, showed no reaction; his background was vastly different from the other Dwarves, so he had seen such things many times before. But with the God of Strength making an appearance at this moment, did he have an opinion on what they had just been discussing?

This forced him to ponder.

"Just watching me, listening to me," the young women sang.

Suddenly, a sharp bird-like screech came from the sky, very abrupt, but fortunately, it came from very high up, and with the singing and commotion in the Yingdi, basically no one noticed this screech. Jier had keen senses, so he naturally heard it.

"What is going on? Even you are acting strange! Hey, hey, hey, Lord Buduolibuduolobuyika, what exactly is happening? Please, I beg you to answer me," Jier immediately whispered to the Da Niao Mujiao on his chest; the situation was strange, and he even called out the true name of the Da Niao Mujiao deity.

Do not think Jier had forgotten; he had actually kept the name of this deity clearly in mind, but he had not called it before simply because he did not want to.

Fortunately, the reply of the Da Niao Mujiao deity immediately rang out in his mind: "It is an invitation, it is an invitation! There are people sending me an invitation, I must respond to them. It has been many years since I received such an invitation, I must respond to them."

After saying this, the feather-like black mist on the wooden carving on Jier's chest quickly faded, as if it had never appeared at all. Jier raised his eyebrows; an invitation? A dance of invitation? Thinking of this, his expression became somewhat strange.

"This is our wish, a beautiful wish," the young women sang.

At the same moment, the Metal Box held by the Wild Priest stopped vibrating, which caught the Dwarves completely off guard. Logically speaking, when a deity provides a revelation, they would always say something, or leave something behind, or at least give them some tasks or tests, right? Appearing suddenly, and then stopping suddenly.

It really left all the Dwarves present confused. And the Wild Priest, who was still happy, was left completely stunned; he had thought he was favored by the deity, but this was it? Nothing at all, the deity came and left? Was this a joke?

"Just watching us, listening to us," the young women sang at the end.

Just as the singing fell and before the dance had stopped, a strange change occurred in the surroundings.

In the center of the Yingdi, many campfires had been set up for cooking. These campfires, used for roasting fat chickens and boiling Bean and vegetable soup, had been turned down by the Cooks after the cooking was finished; firstly, they were not needed until dinner, and secondly, with the fire reduced, the consumption of firewood would also decrease.

This was a small trick to reduce fuel consumption while on the road; although it was not important, the Cooks did it for the sake of the Refugee Team. With less fuel used here, the Lumberjacks could spend less time chopping wood each time.

Reducing the time spent chopping wood neither delayed their journey nor added extra danger to the Lumberjacks.

Therefore, at the very moment the young women's singing paused in the center of the clearing, these campfires, which had originally been reduced, suddenly flared up in a bizarre way.

The flames suddenly rose several meters high, causing the people nearby to scream repeatedly; those who were close even scrambled away in terror.

"Do not panic!" Bata'er Jiaoshi, who had been among the people, was closest to the crowd and the campfires undergoing the strange changes, so he was the first to stand up and loudly soothe those around him.

He had received professional training in priestly knowledge at the church, and although the strange change in the campfires also startled him, he vaguely remembered seeing similar descriptions and accounts before.

When a deity intends to spread revelations and divine miracles, if there are no corresponding artifacts related to the deity present, they will use the most primitive method—the fire surrounded by people—to manifest their presence.

Although it seemed somewhat unlikely, this sign was just as described in the books at the time, the Priest thought to himself.

Just as the Priest finished speaking, the many campfires that had flared up showed a new change; the originally hot yellow and white flames suddenly began to change from the burning wood into black, feather-like flames.

These flames rose straight up for several meters and then turned into black, feather-like sparks that scattered in all directions.

This change once again caused panic among the people.

Just as everyone was about to flee, Jier's roar rang out: "Everyone stay where you are! Do not move! Do not run around!"

The people immediately obeyed and stayed in place.

Then Jier's voice rang out again: "Slowly, everyone slowly move away from the changing campfires and move toward me and Bata'er Jiaoshi. Yes, all of you, come toward us two."

"Don't be nervous! Don't be nervous! These past few days, along this road, what haven't we seen? Don't be scared by this little bit of strange change! Show your Yongqi, women and the elderly and weak stay in the middle, Warriors take out your weapons and face the campfires."

With Jier's reliable instructions, regardless of whether Jier's instructions were specifically correct at this moment, the people felt as if they had a backbone, and they immediately recovered from their panic, one after another following the instructions and slowly retreating to the side of Jier and Bata'er Jiaoshi.

The Priest held high the Amber Metal Long Staff that emitted a dim yellow light, looking at the black, strange campfires with a solemn face.

Jier, however, was much more relaxed; he had his own guesses, so his expression was calm. He simply leaned against several Dwarves who were also on high alert, gathering the surrounding people behind him, and could even be said to be letting the Dwarves behind him help him protect the people who had gathered around.

"Woo-wah————! Caw!"

The black campfires, drifting with black feather-like flames, emitted a huge sound.

"Humans! Mortals! I am the Howler of Crows!"

The huge voice spoke.

Jier added in a low voice with a smile on his lips: "The Proud Hunter who hunts flying eagles!"

"The Proud Hunter who hunts flying eagles!" the huge voice continued.

At the same time, the tops of the campfires also changed; they gradually transformed as if they were made of mud.

It seemed that each campfire flame was turning into a huge black bird?

"The Protector and Hunter of the flying species!"

Jier whispered in addition: "The Whimpering Ghost in the dark night! Please, what kind of ghost is this?"

"The Whimpering Ghost in the dark night!" the huge voice declared with pride instead.

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? (End of this chapter)