Chapter 93 The Irritated Stone Giant
The Blade Market, with its dazzling array of stalls, is named after the most typical gray dwarf products, but in fact almost everything can be bought here.
Bryan and Hesiah were walking in the lively market, and the various noises mainly in dwarf language could be heard constantly, even covering up the sound of hammering and iron coming from the steel factory in the city in the distance.
Majestic stalactite pillars are located on both sides of the market. Under the huge, wrinkled mushroom umbrellas, merchants set up stalls and hawked a variety of items.
Countless perfumes, fragrant woods, spices, and sweet-smelling exotic fruits from the surface world add a pleasant fragrance to the musty and pungent air.
For Hesiah, the strangest thing is that the hostile races trading here can actually live in peace with each other. The underground dwarfs with stone-like skin color called "Svirfneblis" and the black-hearted goblins make her The disgusted dark elves and humans all mingled in front of the stalls or passed each other on the streets.
"Hey, we went to Smoky Quartz Cave yesterday, and we didn't take this route." She frowned without leaving a trace, reached out and touched Brian's arm, and said to him.
“I know.” Brian stopped another derro dwarf thief who was trying to get closer to Hesiah with a look. He looked at her and said:
“This is the most beautiful place in the Underdark. The bustling trade bazaar, I want to observe how corrupted the gray dwarves and merchants are by demons."
"Then what have you noticed?"
Hesiah looked at him helplessly and said absently.
Although the dazzling streets were lively, she did not like the prosperity presented by the mixture of evil races in the Underdark.
"Don't worry, I've got what I want. Let's leave as quickly as possible." Brian knew that the noble lady beside him was a little impatient, and he looked thoughtfully at A gray dwarf businessman who kept asking the air for advice even though there was no one around him unconsciously accelerated his pace towards the Smoky Quartz Cave.
Under his careful observation, he indeed discovered many strange phenomena.
For example, a gray dwarf merchant constantly insults the customers who come to sell things, but is very polite to the customers who buy things. Some gray dwarf merchants give the same goods when buying or selling. Different prices and insisted that the other party was changing the price.
A gray dwarf businessman suddenly became invisible while negotiating with a buyer, and continued to communicate with the dumbfounded buyer as if nothing had happened.
There was even a gray dwarf merchant who held an adamantine dagger and put it on his neck, threatening his life to bargain. When the buyer called the gray dwarf patrol over, he Holding the weapon with a strong attitude, he denied that he had done these things.
In fact, the gray dwarves' character of strictly abiding by their duties can be seen from their appearance and posture.
Whether as individuals, or as members of a family or clan, gray dwarves accept their class status in society.
They will not use intrigues to destroy their opponents like the drow. Instead, they will roll up their sleeves and work hard to improve their prestige through the fruits of their labor.
The honor and integrity they show in front of their compatriots will not be shown in front of outsiders. When trading with foreign merchants, they constantly modify the contracts in order to take advantage of them.
They even use various excuses to enslave city visitors who don’t seem strong enough, even if they are adventurers.
But at the market at the moment, these gray dwarf merchants with gloomy and black hearts gave Brian a half-hearted impression.
This made him vaguely realize that somewhere in Aldus King City, there must be some evil ritual that intensifies the radiation energy of the earth veins and affects the mind.
“Hey, stranger, please stay.”
At this moment, a deep voice came from behind Brian.
Even though the streets were in such chaos, Brian could still feel that this low underground lingua franca was calling the two of them.
So he signaled Hesiah to stop and looked back at the person calling.
He saw that the person shouting was a gray dwarf. Except for his gray beard stained with soot and a pair of uneasy dark gray eyes, his entire body was covered by a black cloak.
“Don’t try to guess my identity.”
Before he could speak, the gray dwarf in a black cloak approached him, deliberately lowered his voice, and said to him mysteriously, "Actually, I am the Deep King Hogar Steel Shadow V of Aldus King City."
“Did you know?”
The gray dwarf continued, “The ‘dragon blacksmith’ Agtus in the city has long been possessed by the demon lord, and he threatened to destroy My kingdom will eat all the gray dwarf girls in the city. Therefore, I want to spend a lot of money to recruit you two to fight against the 'Dragon Blacksmith' Agtus. If you help me kill this evil dragon, I will. I will make you the general of Saron's spearmen, and reward you with ten beautiful gray dwarfs." After hearing the astonishing gray dwarf, Brian and Hesiah looked at each other, and his eyes flickered. , suddenly reminded the gray dwarf who called himself the King of the Deep, "Be careful! The patrol is here to catch you."
"Ah? Where is it? Where is it?" The gray dwarf looked surprised, His dark gray eyes were full of fear, and he turned around quickly, his head spinning around like a rattle.
"Let's go, this is a lunatic." After the appraisal, Brian told Hesiah the conclusion he had come to with a smile, then turned and left.
Hesiah nodded with deep understanding.
"Guard! Guard! Come here quickly!"
Brian had not taken a few steps when a gray dwarf businessman jumped out without warning and pointed with the warhammer in his hand. He grabbed the two of them and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"The two foreigners in front, a man and a woman, stole my ancestral warhammer. Don't let them escape. Catch them quickly!”
When pedestrians heard the words, they all looked sideways at Brian and the two men. When the two gray dwarf guards patrolling nearby heard the call, they also moved towards this direction.
“Fart, you are a foreigner!”
Just when Brian was about to teach this crazy dwarf a lesson, another dwarf blacksmith ran away from the clanking stall. He came out and stood bravely in front of them with his burly body. He blew his beard and glared at the gray dwarf who accused him:
"This is obviously my biological brother who has been separated for more than a hundred years. He is not a stranger. You're fucking blind!"
"Stop here, brother, you are finally back. I miss you so much. Go back with me quickly." The gray dwarf blacksmith burst into tears after he finished speaking. He opened his arms and ran towards Brian.
The people who were looking at him were immediately stunned by this scene, and even Hesiah on the side was a little dumbfounded.
With a look of disgust on his face, Brian avoided the gray dwarf who was trying to hug him. He raised his right leg and kicked him on the butt, making him chew the mud like a dog.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar interrupted the pointing and whispering towards Brian on the street.
Then there was a sound like an explosion of broken rocks, causing the gray dwarves on the street and the merchant adventurers from all over the Underdark to look around at the same time.
The moment Brian turned around, he happened to see a gray-skinned giant swinging his hammer-like fist, smashing through the door with one blow, and roaring crazily as he rushed towards the crowded Blade Market.
Along with the trembling sounds coming from the ground, a stalactite tower was broken by the gray-skinned giant, causing countless rubbles and rocks to scatter around.
Suddenly, the gray-skinned giant that appeared was like a boulder shot from a trebuchet, exploding on the crowded street. An ogre was so frightened that he screamed, and the crowd on the street rolled and crawled to the ground. Stay away from the crazy gray-skinned giant.
The four-meter-tall giant roared angrily, jumped into the crowd, reached out to grab a gray dwarf soldier, picked him up like a chicken, and drew an arc in the air with his body. The line fell heavily to the hard ground and turned into a crunching pile of mud.
Immediately afterwards, the gray-skinned giant picked up a stone the size of an ogre's head from the ground and threw it with one hand.
“Bang!”
The roaring boulder fell from the sky and accurately hit the head of another gray dwarf soldier who was escaping, killing him on the spot.
"Brian, isn't this the stone giant that stopped us yesterday?" Hesiah, who had fled to a safe area, looked at the crazy stone giant from a distance and confirmed to Brian.
"Yes, that's him." Brian nodded, his keen eyes noticing that the stone giant's hands had an extra finger at some point.
This made him realize that this big guy had succumbed to some kind of demonic curse.
At this moment, he saw a group of gray dwarf soldiers being alerted by the giant's roar and rushing over quickly.
Among these soldiers, in addition to a dozen gray dwarf crossbowmen holding heavy crossbows, there were also five warriors wearing dark red armor and holding spears.
Dergar Saron Spearmen.
This is another elite force in King Aldus City, besides the Stone Guards and Karavo Cavalry.
These specially trained gray dwarf soldiers hold the flame spears forged in Aldus King City as special weapons, with an average challenge level of about 5.
“Stop him!”
The leader of the pikemen immediately gave the order.
After receiving the order, more than a dozen gray dwarf crossbowmen behind him held heavy crossbows, pulled the triggers, and all aimed at the charging stone giant, firing gleaming crossbow arrows.
——"Stoneskin Technique!"
The stone giant roared, and its burly and muscular body was suddenly covered with a layer of marble-like surface.
"Ding ding ding" dense crossbow arrows hit his body, like being tickled, and they all fell to the ground without strength.
——"Earthline fluctuations!"
Immediately afterwards, the stone giant raised his foot and stepped hard, and the invisible earth element energy surged past.
The hard surface rippled, and the splashing ripples were like raging winds, shaking the group of gray dwarf crossbowmen and Saron spearmen off their backs.
——"Stone Hail Technique!"
The violent stone giant looked at his achievements. He did not stop because of this. He roared and fist-sized stones fell rapidly like raindrops.
In the blink of an eye, these ten gray dwarf soldiers were smashed into a pile of mud, and the lucky survivors ran out crawling on the ground.
As if the spell had been released, the stone giant took shocking steps and rushed towards the five surviving gray dwarf Saron spearmen.
Almost the moment the stone giant rushed up.
——“Gigantism!”
The five Saron spearmen stood firm and activated their natural abilities at the same time.
Amidst the bursts of crackling and popping sounds, their armor, bodies and weapons all grew in size at a speed visible to the naked eye, until they became as big as an orc over 2 meters tall.
——"Spray flames!"
As the flame spears held by the five Saron spearmen, dark red runes flowed out of wisps of fire element energy.
Their gun heads were like focused flamethrowers, spraying out hot cone-shaped flames at the same time, covering the stone giant's burly body in raging flames.
The stone giant roared again and again. He endured the severe pain of the flames and rushed out of the sea of fire angrily. With his body like a hill, he mercilessly knocked away a Saron spearman who was caught off guard.
Then, he clenched a spear that stabbed himself in the abdomen with both hands, and swept it out with all his strength, sweeping away all three companions next to the gray dwarf.
The two gray dwarves bumped into each other, staggering and falling to the ground as if they were drunk.
The head of another gray dwarf wearing a steel helmet hit the ground first. The helmet collided with the hard surface, making a loud clang and denting a large area.
The stone giant kicked away the last Saron spearman. A stream of earth elemental energy floated through, and he released his own magic again.
——"Stone Claw Technique!"
A rock arm as thick as the stone giant's thigh suddenly broke out of the hard rock surface, twisting like a snake and locking a panicked Saron Pikemen.
The gray dwarf screamed and struggled wildly, but the moment the stone giant clenched his fist, his body and armor were crushed flat.
A stream of blood flowed down the rough outline of the rock arm.
This tragic scene made the people watching from a distance gasp and subconsciously stay away from the battlefield.
"Roar!"
The stone giant roared excitedly and stepped on the gray dwarf whose helmet was severely deformed.
The two gray dwarves who got up from the ground quickly grasped the spears in their hands and aimed the spear points that jumped out of the flames at the stone giant's buttocks.
"Bang! Bang!"
However, what dumbfounded the two gray dwarves was that the stone giant's "Stoneskin Technique" had not disappeared, and their spears seemed to be piercing the hard surface. on the stone.
Fortunately, however, the flames from the spear hurt the stone giant.
His body suddenly tensed up, as if he had been hit somewhere. He covered his buttocks and let out a low roar of pain.
At this moment, a dark purple force field energy appeared out of thin air behind the stone giant's head.
"Bang!"
The sparkling purple force field energy transformed into a ram's head-shaped battering ram, and hit the stone giant's hard head hard.
The pained stone giant rolled his eyes, his burly and majestic body softened, and he fainted on the ground.
“Kill him!” The captain, who finally took off the deformed helmet from his head, wiped the blood on his bald head and gave the command breathlessly.
“Wait a minute!”
Brian appeared from the corner, came to the stone giant, and stopped their actions.
“Foreigners from the surface, thank you for helping us subdue this crazy guy.” The captain of the Saron Pikemen thanked Brian, and then said: “But you have no right to interfere with our exercise of power. The Law of the Royal City of Dus"
"It is true that I have no right to interfere with you."
Brian replied calmly, "However, I know the covenant signed between the Stone Giant clan and your gray dwarf clan. Therefore, according to tradition, you have no right to deal with this A stone giant cursed by a demon."
Petit crimes are rare in Aldus King City.
The duergar here follow a strict code of honor, so their laws are streamlined and practical.
All gray dwarves, whether they are guards or civilians, can become invisible and observe secretly at any time, which makes any possible crimes and disputes full of uncertainty and danger.
Clan landowners had the power to punish criminals of their own clan.
Criminal acts that occur between clans will be brought to the Landowners’ Assembly for swift and strict adjudication.
Since punishments such as humiliation, body mutilation, and imprisonment are seen as a waste of resources and the creation of social weaklings, gray dwarves prefer direct execution of intentional crimes.
If a duergar commits an accidental crime, it is usually offset by property or work.
However, when derro dwarves, slaves, or outsiders are caught committing crimes, any duergar can execute the sentence on the spot.
The only exception to this is the stone giant in the Smoky Quartz Cave.
“I will definitely report today’s incident to the Deep King.”
The gray dwarf captain carried his own spear and resisted stabbing the unconscious stone giant a few times. The impulse of the transparent hole said angrily, "Let Hegram, the Stone Whisperer, be responsible for the misfortune that happened today."
"As long as you are happy."
Bu Ryan shrugged and gave him a small smile.
As he expected, another burly stone giant came to the market where order was gradually restored.
“I’m very sorry, Captain Saron.” The newly arrived stone giant said apologetically to the gray dwarf captain:
“Lewood is a student of His Excellency Stone Whisperer. When he was 'communicating with the stone' in the cave, he suddenly fell into madness. After growing a finger on each hand, he rushed out angrily. In order not to affect the order of the city, Mr. Stone Whisperer asked me to take him back. "< br>
"As long as you are happy."
The gray dwarf captain touched the wound on his bald head, replied impatiently, and then said angrily, "I will take care of today's Report the matter to the King of Deep Earth, you stupid stone men, let’s wait and see.”
After saying that, the gray dwarf captain carried his spear and led his men away.
"My friend, thank you for your help and saving my friend's life. Your Excellency Stone Whisperer already knows what happened yesterday."
The newly appeared stone giant carried the The unconscious companion looked at Brian and the two apologetically, and said in a sincere tone:
"Leawood was affected by the devil's curse and made a rude act. I am deeply sorry for this." I apologize. At the same time, Your Excellency Stone Whisperer sincerely invites you to visit the Smoky Crystal Cave, and is willing to guide you to the 'Land of Dreams'."
"Please show me the way. "Brian nodded and followed the steps of the stone giant.
(End of this chapter)