Survival in the game world begins with Biochemical 2

Chapter 881 The Aid of the Dwarf Dellin
Svartalfheim, the dwarf town of Nidwell.

As the home of dwarves, and also the name many dwarves use to refer to the entire kingdom, the town's buildings are low but densely packed, and every pillar of every small building bears the mark of a dwarven master.

This place should have been very prosperous, but ever since Odin took over the kingdom, there have been no pedestrians on the streets, and the blacksmith shops along the roadside have also lost the sound of forging and hammering.

Because Odin had gathered all the artisans he deemed worthy to forge weapons of war for him. He ruled Nidavel with absolute oppression, giving the dwarves no respite.

Odin's rule over Svartalfheim had actually lasted for many years. After all, this self-proclaimed Allfather could not possibly allow the dwarves, who were capable of forging weapons that threatened the gods, to go unchecked. He certainly wanted to hold onto this power firmly.

So the desolate scene in Niederville is not an isolated case; it's just that the streets are unusually quiet today.

When Kratos arrived in the game, the place was just as quiet, but that was because the dwarves had sensed the arrival of outsiders early on and had hidden themselves away.

As for now, it's because most of the valuable craftsmen were simply taken away by Odin in one fell swoop.

He also wants the dwarves to forge weapons for him; he can't let them die in a volcanic eruption, right?

All that remained were the old, weak, sick, and disabled, or troublemakers whom Odin had long wanted to get rid of.

The biggest troublemaker among them was a dwarf named Dellin.

Delrin is now a minor official in Nidver, in charge of managing the dwarven town. However, he was once one of the most opposed dwarves to Odin, and even joined forces with Kratos's wife, Laufey, Atreus's mother, to launch a rebellion against Odin's rule.

But it was clear that the uprising failed.

After that, Odin did not kill him, but instead appointed Delrin as an official to help him govern Nidver.

Although he survived, Delrin realized that the dwarves could not overthrow Odin's rule, so he gave up hope and spent his days in a daze, drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He also had to do his job well and serve Odin in order to protect the remaining dwarves.

Since then, the phrase Dellin most often uttered was...

"...I stopped opposing the Father of the Gods a long time ago."

Looking at Li You and Brock standing in front of him, the fat dwarf with a short beard, wearing a small felt hat, and a visor-like lens hanging over his right eye, he sighed and said this.

Brock immediately started bristling and glaring: "Don't try to fob me off with that! I know you too well. If there's a chance to cause trouble for Odin without getting caught, you'll be the first one there!"

The dwarf in front of them was none other than Dellin, who was also a cousin of Brock and Sindri.

So this time, unlike in the game when he dealt with Kratos and his son, he didn't use official jargon to fob them off. Instead, he held a small, somewhat murky water vat, sighed, and said, "You said it yourself, the premise is that we won't be discovered. Unlike you two, I can't just find a place to forge iron. I also have to take care of the dwarves who were left behind."

Brock's eyes widened: "Now you help us, and I promise we won't be discovered!"

Dellin simply shook his head.

Li You had been watching Brock and Dellin talk, but it was clear that Brock was not a good persuader; Dellin remained unmoved no matter how much he talked.

But this is precisely where Li You excels.

He looked up and then at the environment where the three of them were. This was not the Dellin office in the game, but deep inside the complex underground tunnels of the dwarven town.

If it weren't for this environment, Dellin probably wouldn't have dared to tell the truth even to Brok, since he would have to worry about Odin's ever-present spies.

As for why they met at the deepest part of the underground tunnel, that was naturally related to Odin's previous brilliant maneuver.

In order to escape, Odin did not hesitate to cause the Forge Mountain to erupt, completely disregarding the destruction of the Dwarf lands.

He took the most important craftsmen with him ahead of time, and as for the Lady of the Forge, this true master craftswoman was unwilling to serve Odin. Odin hadn't harmed her before because the dwarves strongly opposed it, but now that the dwarves' homeland was about to be destroyed, Odin naturally wouldn't spare her.

However, even Odin did not expect that Li You would actually have the ability to stop the volcano from erupting under those circumstances.

The rune array surrounding the mountaintop was actually Odin's backup plan in case the Lady of the Forge was still alive, but Li You discovered it.

Although even Li You couldn't stop the magic circle from exploding at that time, he couldn't just abandon Lady Forge.

So in that instant, Li You rushed through the explosion to the small lake on the mountaintop where Lady Forge was located, and dived down to find her.

The woman remained silent, but she naturally understood Li You's purpose.

Seeing that the lake where she had lived for countless years could not be saved, she did not hesitate and readily agreed to hide in Li You's companion space.

When Li You sent her into the companion space, it startled the three people inside, including Brock.

Finally, before the mountaintop was destroyed, Li You successfully rescued Lady Forge, but the dwarves' sacred site was reduced to ashes in the explosion.

Although Mount Forge did not erupt, a severe landslide still occurred, and the tremors could be seen and felt even from a great distance.

After that, Li You had already accomplished his purpose for coming here, but the three of them, including Brock, were furious about Odin's actions and immediately suggested that Li You go find their acquaintance, Dellin.

When Li You flew to Nidwell, the entire town was deserted. At first, Brock and the others thought that everyone had been taken away by Odin, but Li You used his powerful senses to detect a few dwarves hiding deep in the underground tunnels.

He then burrowed underground, and guided by the three Brocks, he went deeper and deeper until he found the refuge that Dellin had secretly set up, as well as Dellin himself.

—This is precisely where they are right now.

Of the three dwarves, Brock was most familiar with Dellin, so he and Li You found Dellin and followed him into the secret chamber. Sindri and Runda stayed outside, communicating with the other dwarves who had taken refuge. Seeing Brock talking animatedly while Dellin merely shook his head, Li You finally spoke:
“Dellin, you once led the dwarf rebellion with Fie, didn’t you?”

Dellin glanced at him, while Brock scoffed, "The leader of the uprising? Him?"

Dellin merely glared at Brock, ignoring him, his eyes still fixed on Li You: "What do you want to say?"

Li You said, “I know you want to rebel against Odin, and I know you care about your people. Now that Odin rules Svartalfheim, you are not confident that you can fight against him, so you choose to protect yourself and your people. I completely understand.”

“But you have seen what Odin has done today. If we have not stopped him, the erupting Forge Mountain will destroy all of Nidver!”

Li You stared at Dellin: "To Odin, only dwarves who can forge weapons for him are valuable. Troublemakers like you, as well as the old, weak, women and children who can no longer wield hammers and forge iron, are completely meaningless to Odin."

“You have been abandoned. In other words, Odin no longer cares about you, and now is the time for you to rebel against him!”

Dellin looked at Li You, and after a long while sighed, "No, I can't help you, at least not now. Besides these dwarves here, there are many of our compatriots living in the camp on Forge Mountain. At the very least, I need to ensure their safety before I can decide what to do."

However, upon hearing this, both Li You and Brock hesitated to speak.

Dellin was a shrewd man, and he sensed something was amiss: "...Do you know something?"

Li and You exchanged a glance, and then Brock spoke up, "Let me tell you."

A moment later, the two dwarves guarding the outside of the secret room heard Dellin's furious shouts burst through the heavy wooden door that was supposed to be soundproof!

"--What did you say!?"

Inside the secret chamber, Li You used all his divine power to calm Dellin down.

Even so, the dwarf was panting heavily, his chest heaving, and his eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Brock: "Everyone, you mean everyone over there...?"

Brock remained silent for a long time before answering, "No need to think about it. We checked several times before we came. There isn't a single living person left in those camps."

Delrin's last shred of hope finally shattered. He tilted his head back, took a few deep breaths, and said, "No wonder...no wonder you came to me. Odin, you lied to me again, you lied to me again—!!"

Delrin's roar was filled with boundless regret and grief. Everything he had endured for so long to protect had been destroyed with a casual wave of Odin's hand.

Therefore, he was now completely uninhibited. After catching his breath, he looked at Li You and asked, "How do you need me to help you?"

He could certainly tell that Li You was the one in charge.

However, Li You's answer surprised him: "There's no need to do anything for now. We are gathering the allied forces of the Nine Realms to fight against Odin, and we need to unite the strength of all parties. However, the dwarves of Nidver are not good at fighting, and besides, the rest of us are mostly old and young."

"I only need you to do three things for me, and that will be a huge help to us."

“First, Odin asked you to forge weapons of war. Although most of the craftsmen were taken away by him, there should still be people here who know the blueprints and weaknesses of those weapons, right? I need you to replicate the blueprints of the weapons of war and then design corresponding countermeasures based on their weaknesses. This will be of great help on the battlefield of Ragnarok.”

Dellin thought for a moment and nodded, "There are indeed a few dwarves in the shelter who were originally designers and craftsmen, but they retired due to an accident. They can handle this."

Li You was very satisfied with this, and then said, "Secondly, I need all the armor and weapons in your warehouse. The equipment made by the dwarves is of the highest quality, and we can use all of this equipment."

Dellin nodded at first, but then asked with a hint of doubt, "There is indeed a lot of equipment piled up in the warehouse, but most of it is for dwarfs. If you want normal people to use it, you'll need a blacksmith to adjust it. Do you have that many people on your side?"

Li You smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about that. This equipment isn't for ordinary soldiers, so there's no need to adjust it."

Dellin was somewhat puzzled, but after glancing at Brock and discerning something from his cousin's expression, he didn't say much and agreed: "That's no problem. I'll just give you the warehouse key, and you can go get it later. Wanshen!"

Dellin called out, and a small, pink octopus emerged from the somewhat murky water tank he had been holding in his arms.

The octopus "Wancan" opened its mouth and spat out a dark silver key, which landed on Li You, who then grabbed it.

"What is the third thing?" At this point, Dellin stopped beating around the bush and asked directly.

Li You said, "One last thing, I want you to take the dwarves here and move to Vanaheim to hide."

Upon hearing this, not only Dellin but also Brock frowned.

Seeing this, Li You was slightly puzzled: "Although you are hiding in the refuge and have avoided the impact of the landslide on Forge Mountain, what if Odin sends people back later? You are no longer of any use to him, and he will not show any mercy. It is not safe to stay here."

Dellin sighed and said, "I know you mean well, but unfortunately, we can't do that."

Brock added, "Don't even think about it. Those old guys out there are all incredibly stubborn. There's no way they'll leave this land. If they weren't so obstinate, Sindri and I wouldn't have left in the first place."

Li You glanced at their expressions and realized he had been somewhat presumptuous. He understood the dwarves' feelings, so he stopped insisting and simply said:

“In that case, you must be very careful. We don’t have enough manpower to defend all the kingdoms except Asgard. If you are discovered by Odin’s spies, we may not be able to get here in time.”

Dellin didn't seem to care: "Since we've decided to stay, we should be responsible for our own safety. You don't need to worry about it. Thank you for your suggestion."

The conversation with Dellin came to an end. Both of them knew that time was running out, so they skipped the pleasantries and immediately left the secret room.

They called Sindri and Lunda back, and then headed towards the warehouse in town.

(End of this chapter)