Chapter 112: Ironbeard Fortress

"Your reaction is swift; you are the Thunder God's Hammer."

Zuo Ertan nodded slightly, speaking gravely: "But you may not know that the Thunder God's Hammer has had five masters, and Emperor Ai Er Fa was only the fourth. The first three owners were all Supreme Kings of dwarves from the Ironbeard Clan, because the Hammer was forged by the Ironbeard Clan with the collective strength of the tribe, serving as a tribal treasure."

Lei En felt a sudden clarity.

In dwarf history there have been dozens of Supreme Kings; for the Ironbeard Clan to produce three is exceedingly rare, and evidently this Legend Grade war hammer is a crucial factor.

And the underground fortress beneath Longshande was built by the Ironbeard Clan.

This connection made Lei En instantly understand why Zuo Ertan mentioned Emperor Ai Er Fa.

He asked, a little excited, "Did Emperor Ai Er Fa enter the Ironbeard underground fortress, obtain the Thunder God's Hammer, and then emerge from it?"

"Yes," Zuo Ertan said. "Not only Emperor Ai Er Fa, the fifth master of the Hammer, a thousand years ago, a man who called himself the Great Emperor's heir, Walden, lived in Longshande for many years before he rose to fame; he certainly also entered the Ironbeard fortress."

"Usurper Walden?" Lei En recognized the person.

Walden is also a renowned figure in Empire history, his reputation a mix of praise and infamy.

He was born into a blacksmith family, later became a transcendent, originally obscure, then suddenly acquired the Thunder God's Hammer that had been missing for a millennium, performed many astonishing heroic feats, and proclaimed himself the legitimate heir of Emperor Ai Er Fa, using his great power to try to force the emperor to abdicate.

The emperor at the time was also a strongman, of course unwilling to relinquish the throne; Walden had many supporters behind him, and the two sides launched a series of conflicts.

The turmoil lasted several years, sweeping across the entire Empire.

The final outcome surprised everyone.

The emperor died amid the conflict, and Walden, gravely wounded, was slain by an assassin; to this day it is unknown who ordered the hit, becoming a famous historical mystery.

Walden's supporters, to avoid purge by the successor emperor, massacred the entire royal family; Emperor Ai Er Fa's bloodline was cut off, and the imperial authority vanished.

From then on, the Empire never had another emperor; rulership fell into the hands of the "Kermitis Supreme Council."

That calamity‑causing Thunder God's Hammer vanished again after Walden's death.

Lei En's mind raced.

The Thunder God's Hammer is a treasure forged by the Ironbeard Clan; after the dwarves withdrew from Hosikintak, many years later Emperor Ai Er Fa obtained the Hammer and founded the Empire.

The Oriense Empire was formally established in the New Era year 221, while the dwarves' withdrawal occurred around 1,200 years before the New Era, a gap of over 1,400 years.

When the dwarves left the underground fortress, they surely took the Thunder God's Hammer with them.

Yet over a thousand years later, Emperor Ai Er Fa obtained this Legend Grade war hammer from the Ironbeard underground fortress.

Emperor Ai Er Fa reigned for fifty years before dying, and the Thunder God's Hammer vanished, not reappearing until around New Era year 1350 when the usurper Walden acquired it—a span of nearly 1,200 years.

After Walden's death, the war hammer disappeared again and has not been seen since.

Linking these clues, Lei En formed a hypothesis.

"It seems you've already guessed," Zuo Ertan said, seeing his expression and smiling smugly. "I discovered in an ancient tome of the Ironbeard Clan that the Thunder God's Hammer's primary material is an extremely rare Void Meteor Steel capable of traversing space; it is very possible that each time it vanishes it returns to its birthplace, the Ironbeard underground fortress."

Lei En's eyes lit up as he listened, his heart pounding with excitement.

Zuo Ertan shook his head, speaking seriously: "This is merely our conjecture, not necessarily correct; you shouldn't have too high expectations."

"Moreover, it's a Legend Grade weapon; even if it sits there, it won't be easy for you to take it away."

"You should know the rumors about the Thunder God's Hammer better than I do."

Zuo Ertan mentioned these things merely because he thought Lei En would be interested, not because he truly intended to enter the fortress to hunt the legendary war hammer; that is not his goal.

"I understand," Lei En said, nodding slightly, exhaling a long breath to quell his excitement.

The Thunder God's Hammer is reputed to be the heaviest weapon in the world, earning it the nickname "World Breaker"; in various legends, Emperor Ai Er Fa placed the hammer on the ground and let others try, yet no one could lift it.

Whether human, elf, dwarf, or even giant, troll, or dragon, no matter how great their strength, they cannot budge the hammer an inch—truly wondrous.

The secret of raising the Thunder God's Hammer is known only to its master.

Nevertheless, Lei En does not want to miss this chance; he must at least visit the underground fortress, even just to catch a glimpse, lest he regret it later.

Without further hesitation, he said, "Zuo Ertan, I'll go in with you."

"Fine." Zuo Ertan was pleased, then added, "I'll go up and tell Luo Jue, you go back and rest well; tomorrow morning we'll go in."

"Do I need any special preparation?" Lei En asked carefully, admitting he lacked experience in this area and that asking more couldn't hurt.

"No need, I'll prepare it for you." Zuo Ertan said with a confident air.

Lei En felt reassured; Zuo Ertan had been planning for years, he is a dwarf, and this time they were entering a dwarf underground fortress, like returning home, so nothing should go wrong.

He said nothing more and returned to the Viola Manor.

That evening, Lei En told Viola about it; she was very surprised but did not object, and offered to give him her Space Pendant to wear.

Lei En immediately refused.

The Space Pendant was the most precious item left by Viola's parents; most of her wealth was stored within it, and without it her power would be at least halved—if anyone plotted against her during this time, it would be too dangerous.

Lei En did not want to cause Viola to fall into danger because of him.

This time entering the underground fortress, with the legendary demon hunter Luo Jue accompanying them, safety was assured, so there was no need to bring the Space Pendant.

He only accepted some demon elixirs that Viola gave him and refused everything else.

The next day, Lei En arrived at the Basil Inn early in the morning.

In the Mechanical Workshop, Luo Jue stood at the secret room's doorway, gazing at the rune formation on the floor.

"Master Luo Jue," Lei En greeted.

"Hmm," Luo Jue replied lightly.

Lei En noticed the demon hunter's complexion had improved since earlier; no dark circles, his cat‑like eyes were especially bright, two cross swords strapped to his back, wearing sturdy leather lock armor, his posture upright, exuding a robust aura.

"Why haven't we seen Lord De Lai Er Sha lately?" he asked.

"Since we killed that Shadow Blade Assassin last time, De Lai Er Sha hasn't returned," Luo Jue said with a hint of melancholy.

"Uh..." Lei En didn't know how to comfort him, thinking, no wonder Luo Jue's complexion improved.

At that moment Zuo Ertan entered from outside; he had finished briefing about the inn, said nothing about where he was going, only that he would be away for a few days.

He closed the entrance to the Mechanical Workshop, pulled a large crate from a corner, and Zuo Ertan began to fully arm himself.

First he donned a full set of gray‑silver rune armor, then a heavy double‑edged battle axe, two soul pistols, five or six coils of ammunition belt around his waist, and a half‑human‑height metal chest on his back, packed with all sorts of items: over a dozen tools, a large sack of compressed rations, an alchemical water‑collecting rod, and many other miscellaneous things of unknown purpose—a veritable treasure chest.

The most eye‑catching thing was a book as thick as a brick, bound with iron chains at both ends of its spine, hanging askew from Zuo Ertan's waist.

Noticing Lei En's gaze, Zuo Ertan gave the book a hard pat, producing a series of "bang—bang" sounds, and said, "This is an ancient tome obtained from the Iron Beard clan; it records much about the Iron Beard underground fortress and includes a simplified map. Whether we can reap any gains this time depends entirely on it."

Lei En nodded, opened his phone's library, saw the book listed, and immediately downloaded it.

He flipped through the pages on the interface; they were all written in Dwarven script, incomprehensible.

However, the dozen or so maps were simple: top‑to‑bottom, divided into many levels, each level marking several key points.

"Alright, let's go in," Zuo Ertan led the way, stepping into the rune formation.

Lei En checked his shotgun and ammunition, drew the Crushing Ice War Hammer from his dragon‑skin harness, and also stepped onto the formation.

Only Luo Jie remained outside the doorway, his face twisted with conflict.

Lei En let out a faint chuckle; he had long noticed that Luo Jie suffers from teleportation phobia and avoids any magic related to teleportation.

Zuo Ertan was also well aware of this, and the two watched Luo Jie without urging him.

Luo Jie muttered a few words, then finally steeled himself and, as if heading to an execution ground, shuffled reluctantly into the bounds of the rune formation.

Zuo Ertan put on a pair of mechanical goggles resembling protective eyewear, activating an attached dark vision.

A spell uttered from his mouth.

The entire rune formation lit up instantly, trembling faintly for a few seconds; the air filled with a faint magical energy, and the space before them gradually warped, sky and earth spinning as if they had fallen into a massive vortex, their bodies weightless, causing panic.

The sensation lasted only a brief moment.

In the blink of an eye, Lei En found himself no longer in the secret chamber.

The powerful effect of Truth Willpower kept him from feeling any discomfort during the teleport; his gaze swept around, seeing complete darkness with no light source, yet under the combined influence of Soul Eye and Truth Willpower, the darkness formed no obstacle.

What lay before him was a massive cavern.

No matter which direction one looks, the view is eventually blocked by stone walls; above, a dome more than thirty meters high is upheld by massive square stone pillars, and beneath those pillars, stone houses stretch endlessly, forming a sprawling complex.

These stone houses vary in height—some carved out of walls, others standing on the ground—accompanied by countless stone steps, plazas, and statues, all grand and imposing, bearing a strong Dwarven style.

Although several millennia have passed, most structures remain intact, with only a few collapsed, all covered by a thick layer of dust.

The entire cavern is dead silent.

Lei En's All‑Things Sense heard no sound, yet the air he breathed felt normal—not as stifling as imagined—and there was a faint subtle movement.

This discovery eased his mind a bit; the air's ability to flow indicated an exit.

"We've entered!"

Zuo Ertan first observed warily for a few seconds, found no danger, and couldn't help but exclaim with joy.

Beside him, Luo Jie pressed his hand to his forehead and shook his head vigorously, still not recovered from the teleport‑induced dizziness; his gaze was dazed, his complexion a bit pallid.

"Where is this?" Lei En asked.

Their position was on a small plaza paved with intact stone blocks, surrounded by open space, and the rune formation on the ground was faint.

"Let me see," Zuo Ertan said, opening the ancient tome at his waist; its pages were made of thin metal sheets, producing a crisp sound when turned.

"According to the book, the entrances to the five rune formations are scattered throughout the fortress at different locations, one per level from the first to the fifth."

"This is a residential area, most likely the second or third level."

Lei En also searched his phone for information on Dwarven fortresses.

Whether in the Dwarves' origin world, the Shi Jie Shan Mai, or regions beyond it, the underground fortresses share roughly the same structural layout.

A Dwarven fortress typically consists of ten levels from top to bottom.

The topmost first level serves as a defensive line against external invasion, usually heavily garrisoned; the entire level is comprised of barracks and watchtowers, guarding the passages downward, with armories and forts, and its overall area is not large.

From the second through the fifth levels lie the dwarves' primary living zones; the king, clan elders, and common folk mostly reside within these four levels, and all life‑related facilities—thrones, temples, taverns, and markets—are concentrated there.

The sixth level houses mushroom farms, as well as factories and forges.

The seventh through ninth levels serve as the fortress's treasury, storing countless relics, also functioning as dwarven tombs and, for the dwarves, the most important mines.

The tenth level, the lowest, generally contains several underground dark rivers as water sources, and enemies may infiltrate the fortress via these rivers; the terrain is complex and chaotic.

Zuo Ertan quickly identified it.

"This is the third level; we need to go to the fourth, where the Mordain Temple lies, most likely housing rune technology," Zuo Ertan said.

Lei En asked, "Which way should we go?"

The cavern has several exits, each leading in different directions.

"I don't know either; we'll have to search as we go," Zuo Ertan scratched his scalp, noting that this fortress, built millennia ago, resembles a massive underground labyrinth, even dwarves can easily lose their way.

The three of them followed a spacious corridor, arbitrarily choosing a direction to proceed.

Walking along the road, gazing at the towering, grand structures on either side, Lei En felt a sense of insignificance and thought, "Dwarves aren't tall, yet they love building houses so massive—why?"

Moments later, the three passed through a hewn stone passage and entered another cavern.

This cavern's terrain was deeper; standing at the passage's exit, they could see the full layout.

Lei En's gaze swept the cavern's scenery, and he suddenly spotted something clearly not of dwarven make; his complexion shifted slightly, and he whispered,

"Someone's been here!"

(End of chapter)