From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 415: After the Black Lake
On the dark lake, only the oil lamp hanging on the bow of the gray dwarf's biplane provided a little light.

Last night, the adventure team rested in the Arcane Tower without being disturbed by anyone or anything, and everyone slept soundly, except Ivy.

It took him almost a whole night to add the feature of ignoring the weight of the contents to the mediocre treasure chest.

Then, without stopping, he stuffed the Whispering Flower Boiler in the power room into the mediocre treasure chest to keep it company with the Golem Bernard and his little brothers.

Even though he hadn't rested for the entire night, Ivy didn't have many spell slots consumed to begin with. With the spell slot expansion brought to him by multiple professions, he wouldn't be in a resource crunch at all. So he could simply use the three-ring rest spell to restore his spirit.

So after enjoying Gale's energizing breakfast, the adventure team quickly boarded the ship to the Adamantite Forge.

It is difficult for surface races to discern directions in the dark, but Ivy, who has the Philosopher's Stone to provide dark vision, and the drow who belong to the Underdark will not be affected.

Ivy had already used the dead conversation to ask the gray dwarf for the direction of the adamantium furnace. It was not too far from the mycon village on the shore, and it would only take about half an hour to sail there.

The gray dwarf boat carrying passengers sailed for about ten minutes before seeing another light source in the distance.

It was also a small pirate boat of the Gray Dwarfs, with five or six Gray Dwarf sailors standing on it. Due to the difference in the passenger capacity of the two ships, the Gray Dwarf sailors' boat quickly approached.

"Who the hell are you!" Pirate Greymont, a hairy, bald gray dwarf, shouted to the adventuring party, "Why are you on Gok's ship? Where is Gok?"

It was obvious who should be sent to negotiate with the duergar, especially since their leader was a male drow.

Minsara stood at the bow with her hands behind her back, her chin slightly raised, looking down at the gray dwarves opposite. As a woman from the largest drow family in Menzoberranzan, Minsara's arrogance and contempt for the gray dwarves did not need to be disguised, it all came from the heart.

"I don't know who the Gök you're talking about. But if you mean those duergar cowards on the shore... they're all dead, killed in the fight with the myconid fishermen."

Minsara and Greymon stared at each other for a moment. The latter uttered an angry groan and cursed in a low voice: "He is actually a religious lunatic... Damn it - the sergeant will be mad at the boots... I don't care what mission your shitty god gave you. You can say those things to your fellow shitty souls!"

"Why are there so many of you... Never mind, just follow my ship! I'll guide you to the camp." Pirate Greymont gave up the idea of jumping on Ivy's side and instructed his men, "Turn the rudder! Let's go back! We can only put the patrol aside for now!"

With the guidance of the gray dwarves, the way to the adamantine furnace no longer needed to be blindly felt. So after passing through a cave, the team soon saw the building complex emerging from the darkness.

In stark contrast to the darkness of the Underdark, the huge buildings appeared bright and eye-catching. Through the information shared by Dawn, everyone guessed that the lights came from the magma in the furnace.

A huge stone statue inlaid with gold edges stands on the shore. It is the statue of Shar, the Lady of the Night. There are two such stone statues, one on the left and one on the right standing at the entrance of the water gate. Together with the complicated gate lifted by gears and chains, they form a picture with a strong religious color.

"Lady Shar is watching us... This adamantine furnace undoubtedly belongs to her..." Yingxin knelt on the ground, whispered a prayer to Shar's statue, and marveled at this amazing spectacle.

In the waves of the dark lake, the boat quickly reached the shore, and more gray dwarves gathered around.

"Oh! This is interesting. We even have a welcome party." Years of mercenary career have made the pirate Greymont develop a character that is indignant about the world. Even though he realized that something was happening, he still couldn't help but complain sarcastically.

A female gray dwarf warrior spoke first. She was also very familiar with Greymon's character: "You bastard finally came back. We are in trouble!"

"If you have to fart, fart now!" Graymont threw the rope tied to the sail to his men and jumped down from the helm. "Let me guess, the sergeant major was finally choked to death by the chicken of the True Soul Nine?"

The female gray dwarf cursed: "Drugh (underground common language: fuck). That fart soul caused a landslide and got stuck in the passage!"

"Are you fucking kidding me? Did he pay?" Graymon asked angrily, spitting into the lake.

"That's the problem - the money is with him. The sergeant's whip was almost broken, and the dwarves couldn't dig him out." The female gray dwarf saw the adventurers jumping off another ship and was shocked by the strange lineup. "Who are these outsiders? So many drow..."

"A bunch of religious lunatics, the real deal." Graymon glanced back at Minsara, "from the other side of the lake. Gerke and his men were wiped out, and the sergeant's boots were never found."

"Where is that bastard Nine?" Mingsala, who heard the conversation clearly, asked, "I have completely replaced the appointment given to him by General Som. Let him come out to see me!"

"I'm afraid he won't be able to see you." The gray dwarf female warrior looked back. There was a staircase leading upwards. The red light emitted by the lava shone on the dark brick walls. There were faint sounds of shouting and the collision of iron and stone.

"He wanted to blast the rock at the entrance of the temple, but it caused a landslide. Now he is buried inside with several dwarf slaves. We are trying to dig him out, but it has been ineffective. The soul-farter still owes us a large sum of money. If he dies in there, you have to pay the debt, not a penny less!" The gray dwarf female warrior threatened, "If you don't see the money, I will make you suffer!"

Minsala did not take the threat seriously. Not only did she not get angry, she even laughed out loud: "You are just a soldier. It is not your job to discuss prices. Go and stand guard. I will renegotiate the employment contract with your leader."

The gray dwarf warrior was silent and looked Minsara up and down with suspicion, as if she was assessing her financial level.

But it doesn't matter whether she came to a conclusion or not, at least she pointed out a way forward for the team.

"Go up there," the gray dwarf warrior said. "The elders and the military commander are up there. You can have a good chat about this shit."

After saying this, the gray dwarf warrior ordered the guards on the high ground on both sides of the dock to withdraw their guards and return to their usual work. Ivy noticed some blood on the ground of the dock. Several drow bodies were lying in cages, and some were hung high up. It was their blood that stained the ground.

Yingxin came to Ivy at some point and said in a very low voice: "Ms. Shar's sacred temple is being desecrated! Their pickaxes and shovels are about to destroy it! The temple has so many years of history and is huge in scale. In addition to the most eye-catching adamantium furnace, there may be a library, a storage place for artifacts, or a trial field for the Dark Night Judge... We must prevent her temple from being destroyed. Ms. Shar guided me here, and she must have wanted me to become the protector of her temple, a true Dark Night Judge!"

Shar's idea was not good for Ivy, and he was going to let the drow loyal to Minsara stationed here. Those gray dwarves seemed to be greedy for money, and what Ivy lacked the least was gold. If he could make them abandon the Supreme God and turn to his side, the two forces could reach a temporary balance in the adamantine furnace.

But if Yingxin stood on the side of justice and demanded that they not desecrate the Temple of Shar, it would most likely turn into a conflict. Ivy was not ready to give up the chosen one of the two gods who would become white-haired in the future, so a timely lobbying was imminent.

"Ms. Shar did guide us here." When expressing a negative opinion, one should first affirm part of the other party's speech so that it is easier to distort the subsequent part.

Seeing the proud smile on Yingxin's face, Ivy continued, "But I don't think His instructions are for you to become a Dark Night Judge."

Being a Dark Night Judge was Ying Xin's dream since she was a child. After several years of training, she had always wanted to prove herself by becoming a Dark Night Judge. Now, after hearing Ivy's denial, she immediately hid the smile on her face and frowned, waiting for Ivy's explanation.

"Think about it, why did you travel with us?" Ivy asked back.

"To get rid of the mind flayer tadpoles in the brain?" The answer to this question is self-evident, and Yingxin answered quickly.

Ivy nodded and said patiently, "Ordinary mind flayer tadpoles will cause irreversible damage in just three days. What protected your pretty face from turning into octopus tentacles?"

"That astral prism..." The clever Yingxin immediately understood what Ivy meant. "The Supreme God is Ms. Shar's real target! But... why did she guide us to her temple? Other than the reason of making me the Judge of the Dark Night, I can't think of any other reason..."

"You really don't know? Think about how many evil warriors from different races have gathered in the goblin camp. As the base camp of the Supreme God, how many enemies are waiting for us in the Moonrise Tower? Can we, the goddess, fulfill your expectations just by relying on us?" Ivy did not explain, but instead raised a series of questions.

Yingxin was silent for a while, then whispered, "An entire army... The number is several times, even dozens of times, that of the goblin camp... The mind flayer tadpoles can infect any intelligent race... In addition to goblins, gnolls, and ogres, there are also drow from Menzoberranzan and the gray dwarves here... We are facing an entire army that works closely together..."

The answer to this question has been mentioned repeatedly by Ive in the past few days, but people always believe in their own conclusions and ignore the advice given by others.

"This is a furnace, one that has been sealed underground for who knows how many years." Ivy was stating the facts. "Even though it has always belonged to your goddess, after so many years, She never intended to activate it, until the army of the Supreme God gathered at the Moonrise Tower, until we arrived, until you arrived..."

"...Ms. Shar hopes that we can use this furnace to arm all the warriors who resist the Supreme God Cult." Yingxin took a long breath, his eyes filled with determination again, "I will forgive the blasphemy of these unbelievers, but... Ivy, you are a good speaker, I hope you can persuade them not to cause too much damage here..."

"As you wish, ma'am." A perfect smile appeared on Ivy's lips. He used only a few words to eliminate a potential risk that might erupt in the future, and did not leave himself any handle.

Because Ivy only raised questions, stated facts, and at most added a little insignificant guidance, and all the conclusions were drawn by Yingxin himself.

Remember, people are always very confident in the conclusions they draw?

Harsin, who was also behind the team, heard the conversation between the two clearly. After Shadow Heart quickly passed him, the Archdruid turned around and smiled admiringly at Ivy: "Your words are more convincing than the devils in the Nine Hells, Ivy."

"I'm just raising questions and stating facts. We need Shadowheart, and we also need the goddess behind Shadowheart." Ivy answered indifferently. He could see that Halsin was very uncomfortable in the environment of the Mithril Furnace. There were too few parts belonging to nature here. At least some mushrooms could be seen in the Underdark across the lake. Here, apart from rocks, there were only gray dwarves whose tempers were harder than rocks.

"That's the problem..." Harsin stretched out his hand and scratched his back, trying his best to suppress the urge to turn into a bear and rub it on the stone pillar. "But you are right, every bit of strength against the Supreme God is worth fighting for... I just hope we can move faster here, the forest is waiting for us."

"It won't take long, Archdruid." Ivy quickly followed the team's pace. There was another quarrel in front of them. It was between Xie Nian and a gray dwarf who looked very old. "I promise you."

"I have nothing to say to the malicious fart soul." The elder of the gray dwarves, a completely bald man, was glaring at the evil thoughts.

"What happened?" Ivy naturally interrupted the conversation.

"Huh... another religious lunatic?" The gray dwarf elder turned his eyes away from Xie Nian's face and looked at Ivy instead.

Ivy sensed a cold spiritual force trying to touch his mind, a cold hatred.

As an expert in brain occlumency, Ivy easily blocked the gray dwarf's detection and then launched a subconscious counterattack. The magic of Legilimency was like a sledgehammer, hitting the gray dwarf elder's tattooed skull hard.

Without even having time to let out a scream, the gray dwarf elder rolled his eyes and fell backwards, crashing into the arms of the young gray dwarf behind him.

Ivy secretly thought to himself, "Oh no! It's been a long time since anyone dared to launch a mental test or attack on him, so his subconscious counterattack just now didn't control the severity at all.

However, the Legilimency that he had just cast on the gray dwarf elder also provided Ivy with some useful information.

These gray dwarves were just mercenaries hired by the Supreme God, but just like the hired ogres in the goblin camp, the cult certainly had no intention of paying them. As long as the leader of the mercenary group was corrupted, this army would become the power of the Supreme God. They had used similar methods countless times and were already familiar with them.

The gray dwarf mercenaries have not been completely corrupted, at least the elders in front of Ivy are like that, but their sergeant-chief Slin has completely become a lackey of the Supreme God.

(End of this chapter)