Chapter 435: Sidemunier's Warhammer

"I dare bet my beard that this rune was carved by the hand of Thurni or Valaya."

Inspecting the gate, Sinuoli muttered softly; this was the standard style of the Ancestor Gods. It acted as a door lock, which by the standards of Sinuoli's past life was the simplest of padlocks—though thick and large enough, it was easy to open if one possessed the corresponding knowledge.

Any technology becomes more refined as it develops; when there was neither the immense power of the Ancestor Gods nor the materials produced by exotic beasts from the era of the Old Ones to serve as a medium, the Rune Smiths had no choice but to construct more complex runes to make up for it.

"Pfft!"

Finding the entry point and injecting his own Rune Power, the long-sealed gate swung open.

"Whoosh!"

Gripping his Warhammer tight and slipping through the gap sideways, before he could even explore his surroundings, a ball of blue flame erupted in the center of the room, instantly illuminating the interior.

"Hm? This looks like a Forging Room."

By the blue light, Sinuoli scanned the surroundings. The room was furnished very simply; in the center was a forge emitting flames, the corners were piled with ore raw materials and rough casts, and on the other wall hung a few pieces of equipment, though it was unclear if they were finished or semi-finished products.

"This fire is interesting, pure energy, hm, and it's energy from the Earth Vein Network! As expected, the Ancestor Gods discovered it while expanding underground and attempted to utilize it."

After confirming there was no danger, Sinuoli stepped forward. With a slight focus, he sensed a familiar aura from that ball of blue fire. He possessed knowledge obtained from the Slann, capable of channeling Ley Line Power into himself, but the former owner here could not; they could only draw out the power of the planet itself through the simplest of methods.

"This is, could it be, Sidemunier's Warhammer! Valaya above, this treasure almost fell into the hands of the corrupted!"

Beside the flames lay two items: one was a rough cast that had lost its spirituality over the passage of time, and the other was a magnificent Forging Hammer. The moment he picked it up, Sinuoli felt his shoulder sink from its weight; the raw materials used to forge it had clearly gone extinct in the current world.

Among the Dwarf Ancestor Gods, the only one known to frequently use a hammer was the Ore Shaper Sidemunier. This smith god wielded his own Forging Hammer and collaborated with Thurni to produce the first batch of Rune Weapons.

"Beep! New plugin loading!"

The moment he grasped the Warhammer, the system emitted a short, sharp prompt, though Sinuoli did not immediately...

"The legendary Sidemunier's Rune, which cuts through iron like mud, I must test it!"

After weighing it, Sinuoli quickly adapted to the weight and feel of the Warhammer. Its form was basically the same as his own—in fact, most forging hammers were modeled after it, only slightly smaller in size.

"Ding!"

Sinuoli grabbed a piece of raw material from the corner and struck it, but the feedback was still a crisp sound; the hammer head bounced off, and the recoil force made him stagger back a few steps.

"Could it be fake? No, no, I'm just muddled with excitement. This material appeared here to be smelted by the Ancestor Gods with the help of Ley Line Power, how could it be anything ordinary?"

A second thought clarified the crux of the matter: he had to go out and find something else to test just how extraordinary the Warhammer was. According to convention, the rune on it should be capable of active activation in addition to its passive buffs, erupting with the great power of an Artifact.

"Leave the remaining things here for now; once the rune is activated, no one can enter. The forge and the mechanism for drawing out Ley Line Power are worth studying in depth; even if they cannot be replicated elsewhere, keeping them as a high-level workshop for solving tough problems would be excellent."

Having made up his mind, Sinuoli hung the Warhammer at his waist, resealed the stone gate, and walked out of the tunnel. The energy fluctuations of the Warhammer could not be hidden; Khatep glanced at it and, knowing his place, did not ask more, driving the Kuluoma carriage to return quickly.

"Something's not right! There's a big problem here!"

When the wind and sand of the desert swept away the ecstasy of obtaining the Artifact, waves of doubt rose in Sinuoli's heart. What would make a god leave their livelihood behind in the Mortal World? A Forging Hammer is to a smith what an axe is to a warrior.

The door to the Forging Room had not been damaged before he opened it, and there were no signs of battle inside. As a lesser Ancestor God, even if not particularly skilled in combat, it was impossible for them to disappear without even a chance to fight back.

"Have you ever been to the Divine Kingdom of the desert gods?"

"Of course not. Mortals can only step foot there after death. I myself had hoped for such an opportunity, but they have already fallen into Twilight; if the Divine Kingdom hasn't collapsed, I fear it is nothing but a wasteland."

The soul fire in Khatep's eye sockets flickered. As the discoverer of these ruins, it was impossible to say he hadn't been curious and investigated what was hidden within. Thousands of years of life had taught him that some things were better left unknown, but Sinuoli's question had once again piqued his curiosity.

"It seems I can only go talk to my master. It appears no god in this world can remain in the Mortal World for long, yet no one seems to investigate the reason, as if it being this way forever is correct."

Leading the team back to Red Cloud Mountain, Sinuoli cashed in the bounty and did not return to Gaoyuanbao, instead going directly to Quata to board a ship back to the Old World. No Dwarf found this strange; if they were to guess, the Ancestor Chosen was surely going to mobilize troops to send all the traitors in the Dark Lands to repent before the Ancestor Gods.

"You've finally come! Persuade Krag Master, no, the Divine Krag! Never mind the victory banquet, my Engineers haven't had a holiday in two months!"

King Thorgin of Jiliuguan seemed to have seen a savior, grabbing Sinuoli and heading straight for the deep underground of the fortress. The fortress radiated a fanatical atmosphere from inside to out, but many people wore deep exhaustion on their faces.

"You've squandered the techniques of the Ancestors! Does the Engineers' Guild even have a review process? Half, no, two-thirds of them should shave their heads and become Slayers!"

From afar, Krag's voice echoed in the corridor. King Thorgin visibly shrank his neck; facing this powerhouse closest to the gods, he couldn't put on any airs as a host!

"Why are you here? Right, these Little Beards, they lack even a shred of research spirit, and they don't even understand what's going on before they want to announce it to the world. They aren't afraid of being laughed at by the rats!"

Seeing the suddenly appearing Sinuoli, Krag snorted and squeezed out a small smile. Although he had requested secrecy, the Rune Colossus made too much noise, and too many people were involved, so the news had leaked out after all.

"The progress is faster than I expected, but the Colossus is only part of the reason. Master, let's find a quiet place to talk in detail. Let the clansmen rest; inspiration cannot be forced by grinding away time."

"What's all the fuss about? I think it's better to offer a sacrifice to Mogelimu first to wake these little guys up..."

(End of chapter)