Chapter 137: Prince Sinuoli

Upon hearing that the Weifengbao treasury had been pilfered by Greenskins, Sinuoli felt a mix of joy and concern; he was glad because, under these circumstances, the weight of the Oath Gold in his hands had undoubtedly increased, but he was worried because he did not know if that Doom Anvil had been damaged or even stolen outright.

However, Sinuoli knew that this was not the time to press further with such sensitive questions; after all, the fact that Weifengbao possessed an extra Doom Anvil was already considered classified information, and its specific status was likely not something one could inquire about in a tavern in the neighboring fortress.

After gaining a general understanding of Kalake-Zifulin through a few more questions, Sinuoli relaxed and began to enjoy the fine food and wine. After finishing his business, shouldn't he reward himself? In a few more days, he would be marching through the cold wind again.

In the following days, Sinuoli heard from the surrounding clansmen that Lord Sawake was purging the elder ranks of the fortress.

Riding the momentum and prestige of a successful relief, the young Dwarf lord began to replace the administrators with a heavy hand, which made Sinuoli shake his head inwardly.

In his view, Lord Sawake was still too impatient; in a relatively conservative race like the Dwarfs, such work should be done gradually, as being too radical was very likely to invite a backlash.

On the other hand, this was undoubtedly putting Sinuoli, who had secretly provided the ideas, on the spot; although his prestige was such that no clansman had yet jumped out to slander him, it was clear that Sinuoli did not want to interfere in the internal affairs of other fortresses with such a sensitive status.

Facing this situation, Sinuoli simply holed up in the inn for a few more days, and when the day arrived, he did not stay a moment longer, urging the caravan to leave Karak-Azgalaz.

Looking back at the fortress's gates and walls, which were undergoing tense reconstruction, Sinuoli took a deep breath of the cold mountain air. Feeling the chill penetrate his chest from the outside in, he dispelled the weariness in his heart.

Here, he had slain the great enemy Skarsnik, but the past was already in the past; he had to stride forward and continue to strive for the revitalization of the Mountain Kingdom.

To Sinuoli's surprise, this trip did not have the wind and snow he had imagined; the road to Weifengbao was almost a smooth path, and one could barely see any accumulated snow while walking on the mountain ridges.

Along the way, Sinuoli quite enjoyed the exotic scenery; this place was close to the Vast Ocean, and the mild sea breeze brought a completely different climate.

For someone like Sinuoli, who was once a person from Huaxia, a temperate continental climate was undoubtedly more suitable. By comparison, the bitter cold of the World's Edge Mountains made him somewhat uncomfortable.

The southern foothills of the mountain range along the way were the Mengtefute Gongguo; the Duke who ruled here was a Living Saint who had drunk the Grail Water, and under his relatively enlightened and merciful management, according to Dwarf merchants, the lives of the farmers here were better than in other places.

The northern side was still the Reikland controlled by William III. This future Emperor of the Empire was a powerful and visionary leader, and under his governance, the Reikland could be described as flourishing.

Due to the relatively strong governments on both sides, the security along Sinuoli's route was quite good, and after passing through two small Dwarf settlements in succession, Sinuoli finally arrived at the last pass of his trip.

"Axe Bite Pass!" Sinuoli looked at this famous trade route. It connected the hinterland of Bretonnia and the hinterland of the Reikland, and could be said to be the most important passage between the Empire of Man and Bretonnia.

Axe Bite Pass was therefore highly valued by both sides; on the Bretonnian side, it was the Duke's own towering Montfort Castle that guarded the narrow passage through Axe Bite Pass.

As early as thousands of years ago, at the beginning of the founding of the Knight Kingdom, the first Duke of Montfort—Ma'erkelude, one of the companions of Jilesi the Unifier, was deeply missed by his subjects.

He chose this place for his residence and built the fortress walls to a height that touched the clouds; this castle was famous throughout the Old World for its sturdiness, so much so that the image of its towering towers was depicted on the Duke's family crest.

And on the side of the Empire of Man, Hemujiade Yaosai was also a true majestic pass. She was not only an important fortress but also a major trade hub.

As the most powerful neighbor of the Empire of Man, the Bretonnian would occasionally invade, and to prevent trouble before it happened, the Empire built solid fortresses here and deployed a large amount of artillery.

Hemujiade Yaosai consisted of three massive defensive walls carved out of the granite mountains of the Grey Mountains. In addition, there was another defensive wall extending from the fortress to the other end of the valley. Anyone attempting to cross Axe Bite Pass had to pass through these walls, which had only single-gate entrances.

From the fortress, one could overlook the surrounding area, and unrestricted lines of fire covered one-third of the passage distance on the side of Axe Bite Pass near the Empire.

"Let's go, we are going to Helmgart!" Sinuoli issued his command; according to the plan, the caravan would stay in this human fortress for three days, something that had almost never happened on the road before, but considering the importance of Axe Bite Pass and the nature of Helmgart as a trade center, this was not surprising.

There was a reason why, among the fortresses at both ends of the pass, he chose Helmgart instead of the larger, sturdier, and more important Montfort Castle.

Between the two major human-led powers of Bretonnia and the Empire of Man, the Dwarfs undoubtedly preferred the Empire of Man more. First, because of the ancient Oath established between Ku'ergan-Tiexu and Sigmar,

On the other hand, the Dwarfs did not like the Knight lords who held power in Bretonnia. In the eyes of the Dwarfs, these knights were mostly too arrogant and difficult to communicate with, and they also liked to get cozy with the pointy-ears from the forest to breed their warhorses.

Putting that aside, there had always been rumors in the Mountain Kingdom that the Lady of the Lake, whom the Bretonnians worshipped, was also some deity worshipped by the pointy-ears. However, this rumor had never been confirmed.

Of course, Sinuoli knew this was true; the Lady of the Lake was the Elf goddess Lilisi, who presided over the moon, dreams, and magic. But considering that she had many sycophants under her command and was quite capable in a fight, Sinuoli did not want to expose her without any benefit.

Sinuoli sent a few Anvil Guards to protect Balin as he went to the fortress to report, then lowered the speed of the caravan and moved forward slowly, waiting for the humans' reaction.

After a while, the three gates of Helmgart opened one by one, and a human noble dressed in fashion, with colorful feathers stuck in his wide-brimmed hat, appeared before Sinuoli, surrounded by a group of human warriors.

Out of respect for their Dwarf friends, these humans did not ride horses, so as to avoid further widening the height gap.

"Greetings to you! Prince Sinuoli, who has come from afar! May our friendship be as eternal as gold!" The human noble took off his wide-brimmed hat, bowed across his chest, and performed a bow.

Thanks for the monthly ticket rewards from the Cangjiang Sea Area and the book friends' monthly tickets; there is an extra update today.