I ascend to the throne of God with arcane magic.

Chapter 688: Lonely Mountain City, the Dwarf Capital

Gano Mountains, core area,
The Dwarf Capital of Lonely Mountain,
In this vast and towering mountain range, stands a magnificent city in gray tones.

It is like the heart of the mountain, blending seamlessly with the surrounding rugged rocks.

This is a secret city belonging to the dwarves. Its architectural style is unique and simple, and every detail reveals the dwarves' tenacity and ingenuity.

The houses in the city are low and solid, with no more than two floors. The roofs are mostly flat or slightly sloping to accommodate the dwarves' shorter stature and to help them stay warm in the severe winter with wind and snow.

The houses are built of grey stones with gaps filled with fine mortar, giving the entire city a calm and solemn grey tone in the morning light or evening mist, as if it were part of the mountain itself.

However, there is more to this city than that.

In the rocky mountains, the dwarves used their unparalleled digging skills to carve out countless intricate cave systems.

These caves served as their residences, workshops, warehouses and even sacred places for sacrifices.

The interior of the cave is brightly lit, and the stone walls are carved with exquisite runes and patterns, telling the history and legends of the dwarves.

Walking on the streets of the city, the clanging sound of forging can be heard from time to time. It is the craft that the dwarves are most proud of and also the belief of most dwarves.

Blacksmith shops, weapon shops, and armory workshops are everywhere. The dancing flames in the furnaces illuminate the focused and determined faces of the dwarves. Between the hammers and anvils in their hands, pieces of sophisticated equipment are gradually taking shape.

The air is filled with the unique scent of hammered metal, which interweaves with the faint smell of gunpowder, creating a unique and charming atmosphere.

The smell of gunpowder not only comes from the flying sparks during the forging process, but also symbolizes the dwarves' deep love for steel and fire.

In the center of the city is a majestic dwarf palace that stands like a rock.

Its walls are made of huge and thick obsidian, which gleams with a cold luster under the faint firelight, as if telling the vicissitudes and tenacity of time.

Inside the palace, thick stone pillars support the towering ceiling, which is engraved with the heroic deeds of the dwarven heroes of all generations. Every line contains power and glory.

At this moment, the dwarf king Preston was sitting high on the throne carved from a whole piece of basalt.

He was wearing a dark grey coarse cloth, but this simple attire could not hide his body as strong as steel.

This dwarf king is tall and strong with muscular body. Every muscle seems to contain explosive power, as if he can move mountains and fill the sea with just a slight movement.

His thick beard stood up like steel needles, trembling slightly with his breathing, as if each beard contained an unyielding will. His skin was bronze, rough and hard, like metal that had been tempered a thousand times, exuding a kind of vicissitudes and tenacity after going through wind and rain.

Preston held a huge wooden wine glass in his hand, which was filled with golden beer and exuded a rich and mellow aroma.

He tilted his head back and drank the beer in big gulps. The beer flowed down the corners of his mouth and soaked his coarse clothes, but he didn't care and just enjoyed the pleasure brought by the beer.

Below the throne, a group of dwarf ministers were standing respectfully, holding various documents and scrolls in their hands, reporting on the affairs of their tribe to the Dwarf King.

Some ministers looked worried, reporting the difficulties encountered in mining the mineral veins;

Some ministers looked calm as they introduced their exploration of resources in the small world;

Some ministers looked excited as they recounted the progress of trade negotiations with other races.

However, the Dwarf King seemed extremely impatient. A trace of annoyance flashed in his copper bell-like eyes, and his brows were tightly furrowed, as if he was extremely annoyed by these trivial matters.

From time to time, he tapped the armrests of the throne with his thick fingers, making a "dong dong" sound, as if urging the ministers to finish speaking quickly.

As soon as a minister finished speaking, he waved his hand impatiently and said loudly:

"Alright, alright, handle these messes on your own and don't bother me!"

The voice was as loud as a bell, echoing in the palace, frightening the ministers so much that they lowered their heads and dared not say anything more.

Only after Preston's figure disappeared from the palace did the dwarf ministers below raise their heads.

However, the fearful look on their faces was no longer there.

Instead, he looked accustomed to it.

There's nothing I can do about it. This is just the character of the Dwarf King Preston.

Although the ministers were well aware of Preston's habits, they still had to report to him on all matters concerning the kingdom.

Preston could choose not to ask, but they couldn't choose not to tell.

In fact, no one dared to deceive the dwarf king.

It was not known whether it was a personal talent or an ability bestowed by the dwarf gods, but Preston could sense his kindness and malice.

This is also the reason why he dared to hand over the affairs of the Dwarf Kingdom to others without worrying about any trouble.

Although the dwarves are not as intelligent as humans and elves, they are more stubborn and single-minded in comparison.

However, there are tens of millions of dwarves living in the Dwarf Kingdom in the Ganor Mountains, and among them there are always dwarves whose wisdom exceeds the average level.

This is also the origin of the ministers of the Dwarf Kingdom.

In fact, even though they are extremely wise, not many dwarves are willing to become ministers.

Their minds are simpler.

For most dwarves, so-called power is not as important as the flying sparks and fragrant ale beside the forge.

The dwarf ministers looked at each other and said as usual:
"Then this time, everyone should discuss the matters at hand and report to His Majesty after the final summary?"

"Is it the same this time?"

One of the younger dwarves frowned.

He had just become the minister of the Dwarf Kingdom and was still a little worried.

"It was fine before, but now that the Phillips Crystal in the north is in such a mess, why don't we take action?"

"Alfonso, let those people make trouble if they want."

An old dwarf named Habeden at the side shook his head and said indifferently.

His beard was beginning to turn gray and he looked quite old.

"Anyway, there are no minerals worth paying attention to in that area, and no tribesmen live there, so why spend the energy?"

"If you ask me, you can just set up a kingdom's trading market around it."

"We don't care about those people, but the extraordinary materials obtained from the small world are still quite good."

"What about the small world?"

After a moment's silence, Alfonso asked:

"Do we really not need to occupy the small world?"

"It's not necessary."

Habeden smiled, holding the wooden wine glass in his right hand, and said:
"Although the small world is good, our Dwarf Kingdom has not even occupied all of the Ganor Mountains. So much territory is barren. Why should we fight with those people for the small world?"

"There are very few lava environments suitable for our dwarves to forge in those small worlds. Even if there are, we can trade with those occupiers."

"Anyway, other races besides us dwarves won't care about those places."

"Similarly, those extraordinary metals and materials can also be traded here."

"I think no one will refuse the weapons and equipment of our Dwarf Kingdom!"

"There aren't many young people in the tribe, so why waste their lives in another world?"

"Okay."

Alfonso listened to Habeden's reasons and agreed after hesitating for a moment.

"I heard that there are often evil god followers around the Phillips Crystal. Should we just ignore it?"

"Contact the Church of the Gods and hand it over to them!"

Habeden nodded and said with a smile:

"Anyway, our Lords have not given us any oracle to let us participate, so why bother to intervene proactively?"

Alfonso nodded upon hearing this.

The reasons given by Elder Habeden were indeed very sufficient. Although Alfonso always felt that something was wrong, he could not find any reason to object.

Rubbing his hard beard, he didn't care about the matter any more.

Seeing that the two had reached a consensus, the other dwarf ministers around them also had no objections.

That's how the matter was decided.

Next, the dwarf ministers began to discuss other matters.

"Those long-eared people on the border are here to cause trouble again. What about us?"

"Fight back, you must fight back!"

"I heard that the followers of the evil god have been very active recently. Should we also pay more attention to them?"

"As you should. I'll ask the temple to pay more attention to this. If they don't obey, I'll cut off their beer!"

"We have recently obtained a lot of extraordinary metals and other materials from the small world. The Iron Hammer Forge would like to recruit more apprentices to help us."

"Those old stubborn ones are fine too."

The arguments in the palace continued, but it did not affect the clanging sounds of forging in the Dwarf King's City.

In fact, except for those in the Dwarf King's Court, ordinary dwarves rarely pay attention to what is happening in the outside world.

Apart from ale and ore, the dwarves have very few goods to trade with the outside world.

Moreover, the sophisticated weapons and equipment produced by the Dwarf Kingdom are very popular among the Human Kingdom and other forces.

Therefore, the goods in the Dwarf Kingdom are basically in a seller's market where supply exceeds demand.

Moreover, as the world situation becomes increasingly tense, the demand for strategic materials such as weapons and equipment is becoming even greater.

This makes the products of the Dwarf Kingdom even more popular.

However, this has no impact on the normal life of the dwarves.

For them, forging is an extremely enjoyable process.

And the forging is over, the process is over.

Unless the finished product is something they are extremely proud of, they don't care much.

At this time, a huge caravan was slowly approaching the dwarf capital.

Unlike other caravans, this one is a human caravan.

Most caravans go to the dwarf city-state on the edge of the Ganor Mountains to trade.

Caravans, especially human caravans, that are qualified to reach the Dwarf Capital are extremely rare.

Generally, only those with close relations with the Dwarf Royal Court can be allowed.

This is indeed the case with this human caravan.

They are from the Mithril Chamber of Commerce of the Kingdom of Hernandez.

The Mithril Chamber of Commerce is the first chamber of commerce in the Kingdom of Hernandez and also belongs to the Hernandez royal family.

As the human kingdom closest to the Ganor Mountains, the Kingdom of Hernandez has some special connections with the Dwarf Kingdom.

Because every king of the Kingdom of Hernandez was of short stature, or rather, this was the case for all members of the royal family.

So many people suspect that the Hernandez royal family has the blood of the dwarf royal family.

Of course, this is also speculation.

There is currently no evidence to prove this.

But within the Kingdom of Hernandez, the belief in dwarven gods does exist.

This is also true.

In the Mithril Caravan,
The leader of the caravan, Alfie, looked up at the magnificent capital atop the majestic mountain not far away, and couldn't help feeling a sense of emotion.

No matter how many times he came here, he could not help but be shocked by this masterpiece of natural craftsmanship.

"Everybody, come on!"

Alfie glanced at Lonely Mountain City in the distance, then turned around and shouted to the people in the caravan with a smile:

"Everyone has worked hard. When we arrive at Lonely Mountain, I will take you to enjoy the dwarves' delicious food and wine."

"But I have to say first, there is no place here that everyone likes to go."

"When the time comes, don't run around if you're drunk!"

Alfie's words caused cheers from everyone in the caravan.

"Don't worry, Boss. This isn't the first time we've come here. We all know the rules!"

"This time it's really not easy. I need to drink more good wine."

"Haha, I won't go to those places. I can't accept it."

As the end of the journey approached, everyone quickened their pace.

Seeing this, Alfie nodded slightly.

This time, the caravan was accompanied by members of the Mithril Chamber of Commerce, with no other outsiders joining, which made Alfie feel much more relaxed along the way.

At this time, Alfie noticed a burly figure standing next to the caravan.

"Sir Reese, this is Lonely Mountain City."

Alfie came up to the burly figure and said with a smile.

Reese looked at the Dwarf King City in the distance and said with a sigh:
"Is this Lonely Mountain City?"

"Sure enough, we should come here!"

"Sir Reese, I wonder what your plans are for entering Lonely Mountain City?"

"If you don't have a place to stay for a short period of time, why not take a rest at our Mithril Chamber of Commerce's residence now?"

Alfie persuaded with a smile, continuing to try to win over the dwarf.

Yes, Lys is a Dark Iron dwarf.

It is a more common dwarf race in the Dwarf Kingdom.

Reese shook his head and said in a deep voice:

"no need."

"I finally made it to Lonely Mountain City, I want to take a look around on my own."

"Thank you, Alfie, for letting me follow the caravan this time."

"You're welcome. Thank you for helping me many times along the way."

Alfie felt a little regretful, but didn't say much.

Although this dwarf joined the caravan halfway, he soon gained the respect of everyone.

Not only does he possess the strength of the Gold Rank, his ability in forging is also quite powerful.

With just a few simple treatments by this person, many of the caravan's damaged equipment can quickly be restored to their original state, or even better than before.

He waved his hand, and his men beside him quickly handed over an exquisite little box.

"Mr. Reese, this is a small gift from the Mithril Chamber of Commerce."

(End of this chapter)