Chapter 159: The Former Witch Hunter (Part II)

Sinuoli passed through Axe Bite Pass quickly; this trade route was held at both ends by Montfort Castle and Hemujiade Yaosai. As long as nothing went wrong on either side, the trade route itself was fundamentally safe.

The closer one got to the west of the Old World, the more the sea breeze from the Vast Ocean made the climate relatively mild. The northern section of the Grey Mountains did not even have snow cover. Sinuoli's little goat's pace was also much lighter.

By noon on the third day, he and the caravan finally arrived before the gates of Kalake-Zifulin. This was a Dwarf citadel carved out of a granite mountain. She was the last one completed during the Golden Age, and thus was the highest embodiment of Dwarven craftsmanship from that era.

As the caravan gradually approached, the gates of Weifengbao opened. Sinuoli looked out from afar and saw a group of Hammer Guard escorting several high-ranking figures as they walked out.

Sinuoli saw the plate armor on the leading Dwarf shimmering under the sunlight. Through what he had learned in a tavern in Karak-Azgalaz, he knew this was one of the few legendary pieces of equipment held by the Weifengbao royal family—the Sunrise Armor.

This legendary piece of equipment, like the heirloom of Sinuoli's own clan, was also made of stone, though it was crafted from a granite core excavated when Weifengbao was first being carved.

Granite is an exceptionally hard crystalline rock; because its crystallization process is very slow, its crystals are interwoven one by one like a Rubik's cube.

Granite presents various colors because it often contains other minerals, such as hornblende and mica. The reason this armor was named "Sun-Rising" was because it was interspersed with pale red and yellow crystals, looking at a glance like the halo of a rising sun.

Sinuoli breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that plate armor. Clearly, it was Lord Granite Hand who had come out to welcome him personally, which meant the master of Weifengbao did not intend to make things difficult for him regarding the marriage proposal.

If that lord had decided to settle private matters first, he could have completely waited for Sinuoli in the throne room. After all, caravans came every year, but a daughter only gets married once; even the most old-fashioned clansmen could not criticize anything for that.

"Welcome, Master Sinuoli. May the Ancestor Goddess always protect you and the entire Mountain Kingdom!" As Sinuoli approached, the Dwarves opposite also came up to meet him, and the middle-aged man in the lead offered him a warm greeting.

"Greetings to you, Lord Luoleike, in the name of my father, Thorgrim Grudgebearer!" It seemed this lord wanted to discuss private matters later, so Sinuoli also used official rhetoric.

The current master of Weifengbao was named Luoleike, while Granite Hand was a nickname passed down through the generations of Weifengbao; every city lord would automatically receive it.

Unlike the clansmen in the World's Edge Mountains who needed to undergo miner training, the clansmen of Weifengbao were famous in the Old World for their stonemasonry techniques. Generally speaking, every master of Weifengbao was also an excellent stonemason.

Even if his skills were truly average, with the help of Mountain Breaker—another heirloom of Weifengbao, a legendary gauntlet engraved with a Master-level Cleaving Rune—he could also possess the great power to turn stone into mud.

Sinuoli chatted with several other high-ranking figures of Weifengbao while walking toward the main hall of the citadel. There were not many mineral deposits beneath Weifengbao, so the portion above ground accounted for a larger share.

Among these people, Sinuoli chatted a bit more with the Rune Master of Weifengbao, Haleke-Armor Breaker. From their similar names, one knew he had a deep blood relationship with Lord Luoleike.

This was very common in Dwarf society; as the saying goes, nepotism was not a derogatory term here. Often, powerful clans were more likely to cultivate high-level professionals under the tilt of resources.

Sinuoli did not know much about this elderly Rune Master because, due to the long distance, he had not traveled to the Rune Smith Guild located at Everpeak after completing his Master-level certification.

Sinuoli rolled his eyes, searching for that Prince Sitelinge; after all, this was his potential rival for the Doom Anvil. However, it seemed that because his status was still insufficient, that prince did not appear before the gate.

Generally speaking, Dwarves liked to hold grand ceremonies at night; the joyous occasions of the Sons of the Mountains could not do without alcohol to catalyze them. Noon was just a simple light meal, and after dining, Sinuoli went to the guest room where he was staying.

Because he had to stay here for the New Year and, besides official business, had to welcome the bride for his eldest brother, Sinuoli did not stay at his own expense in the largest tavern in the citadel as before, but instead accepted the room arranged for him by Lord Luoleike in the upper levels of the citadel.

After watching the accompanying attendant leave, Sinuoli did not take a nap but moved quickly. Arriving at noon was the result of him deliberately controlling his time along the way, just to win himself an afternoon before the official welcome ceremony.

Now Sinuoli had to figure out the matter of the Doom Anvil; such a treasure meant a lot to him. On one hand, it was a symbol of his status as a Rune Master, and on the other, it was a great boost to his own strength.

Relying on its characteristic of gathering the Winds of Magic to charge runes, while limiting the performance of enemy spellcasters, Sinuoli could also strike runes more frequently during battle.

If he hadn't known about it in advance, he definitely would have gone to the local Rune Smith Guild to discuss it with Haleke-Armor Breaker, since he knew the most about the Doom Anvil and they were colleagues, creating a natural sense of affinity.

But right now, Sinuoli knew that Prince Sitelinge was a disciple of Master Haleke, so he could not gauge that master's attitude. If he rashly ran over to ask, even if he beat around the bush, there was a high possibility of exposing his intentions.

A Rune Master without a Doom Anvil traveling thousands of miles to inquire about this thing—even a toddler who couldn't drink beer would know what he wanted to do!

Weifengbao was the Dwarf settlement furthest from the World's Edge Mountains; in terms of straight-line distance to Everpeak, she might not really be closer than Karaka-Delake, the central city of the Norscan Dwarves.

In this place, Sinuoli did not have a single acquaintance. Under these circumstances, he decided to find his sister-in-law—if there was only one Dwarf in all of Weifengbao who would help him, it could only be that Princess Pamila.

Sinuoli pondered along the way that the number of high-ranking Dwarves who knew about the Doom Anvil was limited, and the only one among them who had a connection to him was his future sister-in-law.

Considering that as a woman she was born a believer of the Mother Goddess Valaya, and had once studied at the Physician Guild that believed in Valaya, no matter what, she would be friendly toward him, a Chosen of the Goddess.

Sinuoli made up his mind, put on a fake beard, and slipped out the door. He had already arranged for Balin to find out his sister-in-law's residence; of course, that was not difficult.

In Dwarf society, due to the sparse population, etiquette was relatively less emphasized. Sinuoli himself had a special status, so he would not be gossiped about for a private meeting between an unmarried man and woman.

Thanks to the book friends for their tips: fox puppet, Banshi Tianxie, zhil55, and the wedding monthly ticket of Zi Ma.