Chapter 182: The Gray Dwarves

Controlling the Kobold Sorcerer was like controlling the entire Kobold Tribe. This tribe, which had thousands of kobolds, was a significant labor force. With these kobolds, the monthly iron ingot production of the territory was nearly doubled.

Of course, the most valuable things were gold and gems. Usually, the purer and larger a gem was, the more valuable it became. Gems used for enchanting needed to have as few impurities as possible. Most of these gems were used for inlaying.

Gems with poor purity and small size were made into gem dust to serve as spellcasting materials or enchanting materials.

Su Lun opened the System to check the Kobold Sorcerer’s information.

“Name: Pitla; Loyalty: 100 (Contract Locked)

Race: Kobold (Small Creature)

Level: Junior Warlock; Level: 9

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 13

Constitution: 12

Spirit: 11

Charm: 16

Command: 80 (Limited to kobolds. Every Kobold Sorcerer was a leader of a Kobold Tribe.)

Talents: Darkvision, Draconic Language, Bloodline Awakening, Dragon Scales, Intelligence, Alertness, Keen Smell

Kobold Sorcerer: He was a natural leader of the kobold tribe.

Skills: Deception, Stealth, Slow Spell, Dispel Magic, Group Frenzy, Fireball Spell”

After taking control of the entire Kobold Tribe, Su Lun began collecting the gold and gems from the other kobold clans. Although the gold and gems stored by the remaining dozen or so clans were only about a quarter of the previous amount, it was still a decent gain.

After thoroughly looting the entire Kobold Tribe, Su Lun continued to explore the Underworld. In fact, the part of the Underworld they were in now was the upper layer of the Underdark, close to the surface. It was only one or two kilometers from the ground and located in a remote area.

Guided by several kobolds, Su Lun and his group continued walking through the maze-like underground tunnels. The Gray Dwarf town was not close to the Kobold Tribe. After passing through several tunnels and caves, Su Lun finally approached the Gray Dwarf territory.

The Gray Dwarf territory was also in a huge underground cavern. As a type of dwarf, the Gray Dwarves built a city there. An underground river passed through the entire city, providing ample water. Skilled Gray Dwarf craftsmen built winches, water pumps, waterwheels, and other mechanical devices on the river to power the Blacksmith Shops in the city.

The ceiling of the city was covered with a large amount of Fluorescent Moss. These mosses emitted a silvery-blue glow, providing light for the city in the darkness. Around the outskirts of the city were large areas of cultivated farmland. Many edible mushrooms, fungus grass, and other plants were grown in the fields. At that moment, many troglodytes were working in the fields.

Su Lun estimated the size of the city. It was not very large and could accommodate about a thousand people. Su Lun did not get closer to the city, but even from a distance, he could clearly see that all the Gray Dwarf Soldiers were equipped with metal armor.

A patrol squad of five dwarves all wore armor and carried warhammers or maces. They had shields on their backs. A set of equipment like that would cost at least five hundred Gold Nar in Karlt City. Such fine equipment was something that even Zhenbei City could barely match. The dwarves were indeed rich.

If this dwarf city had five hundred dwarf Soldiers, along with Priests, the cost for Su Lun to capture it would likely be very heavy.

The Gray Dwarves worshipped the god Laduguer. Legend said that he led all the Gray Dwarves to successfully break free from the control of the Mind Flayers, gain freedom, and seek revenge on the Mind Flayers.

The most prominent building in this Gray Dwarf city was the temple, indicating that the city had Priests. This made Su Lun, who was originally planning a sneak attack, temporarily set aside his plan. With Priests present, who knew if a chosen one might appear among them.

Su Lun decided to gather information first. Even if it took more time, he would not rush for quick success. When faced with situations beyond his understanding, he needed to control his curiosity. He was now the Lord of a city and had to act steadily.

Just as Su Lun was about to leave, a cavalryman riding a short-horned horse rushed quickly into the city. After just a few minutes, a squad of Gray Dwarf Soldiers rushed out of the city. These Soldiers all rode animals similar to short-horned horses and ran in the direction from which the cavalryman had come.

“Follow them,” Su Lun said to Aydin, then cast Invisibility again to chase after the group of Gray Dwarf cavalry.

The cavalry’s speed was average. The short-horned horses had average running ability but good load-bearing capacity and endurance. The two of them could keep up. There were fifty of these Gray Dwarf Knights, two cavalry squads. They did not stop along the way and galloped toward another dark tunnel.

The roads in the Underworld were not smooth, but these Knights showed no concern. It seemed there was some urgent matter. The two followed closely behind. After about half an hour, the group of Knights arrived at an underground cavern and slowed down.

Seeing this, Su Lun and Aydin also slowed their pace. The underground cavern was very large. As soon as they entered, they saw many excavated Mine holes in the surrounding rock walls. It seemed this was the dwarves’ Mine.

However, the Mine was currently in chaos. A group of monsters with wings, resembling females in appearance, were present. These creatures had female upper bodies with broad wings, and lower bodies with eagle claws. Their faces were fierce—they were a group of Harpies.

At that moment, these Harpies were besieging the Gray Dwarves in the Mine. However, they were not killing their enemies. Su Lun had already seen some Gray Dwarves being captured by these Harpies and flown deeper into the dark area.

“Is it the Harpies’ mating season?” Su Lun said with a hint of schadenfreude.

Harpies were monsters with only females. Every mating season, they would capture large numbers of other humanoid males—humans, Orcs, Dwarves, Elves, even Gnolls, Hobgoblins, and others. Harpies had low intelligence and were not picky. They would capture any strong male and take them back to extract semen.

Do not think this was a good thing, that one would have a great time. Ordinary Harpies were ugly and cruel. The experience was definitely not pleasant, and they would feed the captured males a type of red fruit.

This fruit had strong aphrodisiac properties. Then, one after another, Harpies would take turns extracting semen from them until they were completely drained.

Finally, the Harpies would tear the drained remains into pieces and eat them.

Due to biological instincts, Harpies would subconsciously seek strong males to extract semen. It was said that this allowed them to collect higher-quality essence and have a chance to breed stronger offspring.

There were hundreds of these Harpies. The besieged Gray Dwarves had about thirty people left. As soon as the group of Gray Dwarf cavalry arrived, they charged forward to provide support.

Using the momentum of their horses, the fifty Gray Dwarves took Hand Axes and Throwing Spears and hurled them at the Harpies in the air. Over a dozen Harpies fell from the sky and were killed by the Gray Dwarves below.

After throwing their spears, the Gray Dwarves immediately switched to hand crossbows and continued shooting at the Harpies. Many Harpies were injured, and for a time, their offensive was halted. The group of dwarf cavalry seized the opportunity to join the other group of dwarves.

With the support of the dwarf cavalry, the group of dwarves quickly stabilized their formation. The Gray Dwarves raised their shields and soon formed a defensive formation. At the same time, the crossbows were reloaded. After several attempts to attack, the Harpies gained nothing except for some casualties.

Seeing this, the Harpies changed their formation. They spread out and surrounded the dwarves. Some of the dispersed Harpies drew fire, while others picked up stones and threw them. A large number of stones fell continuously. The dwarves could only raise their shields for defense. Several-kilogram stones falling from high altitude, combined with the throwing force of the Harpies, made the shields clatter loudly.

From time to time, shields could not withstand the impact and shattered. Then the Harpies would swarm in, rushing through the gap to capture people. However, the Gray Dwarves fought back fiercely, causing many Harpy deaths.

The Gray Dwarves fought while retreating. Their crossbow arrows were fired continuously. Soon, the Gray Dwarves retreated into the tunnel. The tunnel had low height. If the Harpies dared to chase inside, they would have to fly lower, which would greatly increase their casualties. The Gray Dwarves would be happy if they chased inside.

“There is a commander among these Harpies,” Su Lun said after watching for a while. Harpies had low intelligence, similar to beasts. Their current performance was not that of mindless beasts. The only explanation was that a higher-level Harpy was commanding them.

After seeing the Gray Dwarves hide in the tunnel, the Harpies did not charge in to attack. They still lingered outside unwilling to leave. Finally, after confirming that the Gray Dwarves would not come out, the Harpies slowly left.

At that moment, Su Lun suddenly noticed a distinct figure among the Harpies. Unlike the other Harpies, she had striking fiery red hair, snow-white wings on her back, and to Su Lun’s surprise, she had an additional pair of arms under her wings. She wore a snow-white robe embroidered with golden threads. Her ears were long and narrow, and her face was charming. Moreover, her lower body was different from other Harpies—she had a pair of slender legs. She wore an exquisitely crafted Crown on her head and a pair of rings on her hands. She looked completely different from the surrounding Harpies.

A large number of Harpies guarded her. She only revealed a glimpse when they were preparing to retreat. She was already a completely different creature from the Harpies.