Greece brings evildoers

Chapter 487 Loki, take the blame

The dwarves have always had an extremely fanatical pursuit of gold and other rare minerals.

Since the formation of the Nine Kingdoms, they have continued to use their bloodline talents to dig out various rare mineral deposits in the mountains and underground to fill their treasure troves.

With the end of the war between the two great gods of Warner and Asa, the nine kingdoms entered a longer period of peace, and the dwarf population experienced a surge;

At the same time, due to the large demand for fine wine and food, the dwarves have maintained a long-term deficit in trade with the Atrium World, which has also led to a large outflow of local gold.

As a result, there is less and less gold on the market, but more and more dwarves are hungry for gold.

However, due to uncontrolled mining in the past, most of the mineral veins in the dwarf country have been hollowed out, and most dwarves don't know where to start if they want to get gold.

Until a few months ago, news of the discovery of a new gold vein came from the northern border of the dwarf country.

The gold reserves there are extremely abundant and of extremely high quality.

In addition, there are also a large number of associated precious mineral deposits such as mithril, fine gold, orichalcum, and Uru Kobelco. It is simply a treasure trove given to the dwarves by the goddess of luck.

The craze for gold attracted a large number of dwarves to go to the north to pan for gold.

At first, there was news there, and many dwarves would send home the gold and various precious mineral deposits they collected to improve their families' lives.

But as time went by, things became strange.

First, the dwarves saw strange shadows or heard some kind of terrifying cry while mining the mineral deposits.

Immediately afterwards, people disappeared frequently in various mines, causing constant riots.

However, due to their thirst for gold, the dwarves who went to gold mining were still unwilling to leave and give up this opportunity to get rich.

And this endless greed finally ushered in terrible consequences.

A month ago, thousands of dragon species flew out from the depths of the earth.

They first killed the dwarf miners who were prospecting for gold in the north and occupied the gold mines there. Then they appeared in various parts of the dwarf country through the mines dug by the dwarves underground, madly attacking cities and plundering treasures, forming a chain of events. The "dragon disaster" sweeping across the entire dwarf kingdom!

Some people say that this disaster was caused by the dwarves draining the lakes to fish, digging out the mine veins, and awakening the monsters that were originally sleeping deep in the earth;

Some people say that it is because the wealth accumulated by the dwarves for generations has attracted an army of evil dragons who also love collecting treasures;

Some people also say that the excavations of the dwarves disturbed the underground goddess of death, Hela, who turned the souls of the dead dwarves into evil dragons to punish the dwarves for their greed...

In short, there are different opinions on the cause of the disaster.

After listening to the old man's story, Xili couldn't help but frown and asked:

"No one cares about this matter?"

As far as she knew, the dwarves had innate divine power and were good at forging, so they had top-notch heavy infantry and dexterous equipment from the nine countries.

Now that this dragon disaster has developed to such an extent, the dwarves should conduct conquest and resistance.

"Of course I do."

The old dwarf answered with a wry smile.

"Half a month ago, the Dulin clan stationed in the north united with the dwarves of the other six clans, including the Firebeard clan, the Kuanliang clan, the Hardbeard clan, the Iron Fist clan, the Black-haired clan and the Stonefoot clan, to jointly conquer the dragons. Trying to recapture the gold mine and quell this disaster, but this dragon disaster is far more powerful than they expected.

Not only did the seven dwarf clans fail to eliminate all dragon species, they also suffered heavy losses as a result. "

"It shouldn't be." Galadriel questioned, "We have just seen these so-called dragons, and their strength is not very good. A team of well-trained soldiers combined with the powerful siege equipment of your dwarfs can How could it be so completely defeated when it could be easily solved?”

"Because these you see are just the lowest-level soldiers among the dragons, and a large number of elites are still entrenched in the gold veins in the north." The old man sighed and added faintly, "And among the dragons, there are fully three The top dragon! Each of them has strength comparable to that of a god!"

Galadriel gasped after hearing this.

The dragon species is a powerful species as famous as the giants in the nine kingdoms, and its individual strength is second only to the two major gods of Asa and Warner.

Not only do they have powerful magical defense, but they also have full physical resistance. They are almost a group of beings standing at the top of the food chain.

A high-ranking dragon with a true name can even spar with the gods who hold the priesthood among the two major divine races.

The most famous Black Dragon King, Nidhogg, can even directly pose a threat to the World Tree. The twelve main gods of the Immortal Palace do not dare to easily provoke this doomsday monster.

In the current dragon disaster that is sweeping across the dwarf country, three giant dragons have appeared at once. No wonder the seven major dwarf clans have also been beaten into disgrace.

In this situation, even if it were their family of light elves, there might not be any good results.

In the dull atmosphere, the dwarf elder continued to answer slightly proudly:

"If the dragon disaster is only of this magnitude, we dwarves can still cope with it and find a winning strategy through constant attempts. After all, no matter how strong the defense is, there are weaknesses, and the dragon is not invincible."

As a veteran who has experienced the war between gods, he once followed the fire **** Loki to defeat the giants of Muspelheim and Jotunheim; he also listened to the call of the **** king Odin and fought with the warriors of the Warner family. I've passed it before, so I don't have any strong fear of the dragon itself.

"But the key point is that [Dragon Disaster] also brought [Dragon Disease]." The old man's expression dimmed and he continued to add, "This disease is very strange. Once the dwarves are infected, strange changes will occur. At first, They have a crazy desire for gold jewelry, and then their skin hardens and scales grow on their bodies. In the final stage, they will be transformed into dragons and become irrational monsters.”

Lorne's eyes flashed, thoughtfully:

"So, the reason why the seven dwarf clans failed miserably in conquering the dragons was because [Dragon Disease] was widespread among the army?"

"That's right. I heard from people who escaped that at that time, a full 30% of the dwarf warriors were infected with dragon disease and turned into crazy dragons. They attacked the dwarves around them crazily, which led to the complete defeat of the coalition forces."

The old dwarf nodded, his furrowed face full of anguish and helplessness.

"So far, there is no antidote or treatment for [Dragon Syndrome]. It is mainly prevalent among dwarves, and we don't know the specific cause. Once the disease begins, the patient's symptoms are difficult to reverse, and the patient will gradually become a crazy person. The dragon species that pursues treasure is simply a curse specifically targeted at dwarves.”

After listening to the story, Lorne's doubts were solved:

"I see. You can't solve this [Dragon Disease] that specifically targets dwarves, and you urgently need to solve the increasingly severe [Dragon Disaster], so you can only seek help from adventurers of other races through the [Chamber of Commerce]."

"That's right."

The old dwarf responded with a wry smile and apologized again for the rudeness of his compatriots.

"Don't blame them for what happened in the evening. Many of their relatives and friends went to the north to pan for gold, or participated in the conquest. Although there is no guarantee that the dragon species that attacked the town were all transformed by dwarves, I'm afraid it is inevitable. There are their relatives. Seeing dragons who may be compatriots and relatives dying in front of them, they can't force a smile and express their gratitude to them. "

"I see."

Lorne nodded to express his understanding. While comforting the old man, his thoughts were secretly surging in his heart.

Isn't it guaranteed that the dragons attacking the town are all transformed from dwarves?

Not necessarily.

Maybe the dwarves themselves are the source of this dragon disaster. Because this [Dragon Syndrome], which turns dwarves into dragons, is mentioned in the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda, and the heroic epic "Volsung Saga".

Moreover, this story is also related to "Loki".

According to legend, the dwarf Hreidmar had three sons, the eldest son Fafnir, the second son Ot, and the youngest son Regin.

One day, his second son Ot turned into an otter and was fishing in the water, and was accidentally killed by Loki who passed by. Unknowingly, Loki also brought Odin to Hreidmar's home, hoping that he would help cook the otter he had hunted.

Seeing his son's body, Hreidmar, as a father, was naturally furious and asked Loki to find treasures that could be covered with otter skins as compensation. This was a difficult request, because the otter skins left behind after Ott's death It has been enchanted to extend indefinitely.

Loki used the power of Poseidon's wife to find a dwarf named Andvari who lived in the water. This Andvari possessed the largest treasure among all dwarves. Loki ruthlessly took away his treasure. , which includes a ring: Andrea Notte. In his grief and anger, Andvari cursed that anyone holding the ring would suffer infinite disasters.

When making compensation, Andvari's treasures were spread all over the otter skin, leaving only the tip of the nose uncovered. But Hridmar was still not satisfied, so Loki had to give the ring to the dwarf as well.

However, Hridma's greed also brought consequences.

Although he obtained a huge treasure and a ring, he was killed by his eldest son Fafnir, who also coveted the treasure.

Immediately afterwards, the youngest son Leijin was also bewitched by this treasure with an evil curse, and instigated the great Nordic hero Sigurd to go and slay the dragon, trying to kill Sigurd afterwards and take the treasure alone.

But during the process of slaying the dragon, Sigurd bathed in the dragon's blood, received blessings, understood the language of birds, and then learned about Lei Jin's intention to murder him, so he killed him with his backhand...

The original article can be found in Liu#9@书/吧!

With this case, it is enough to prove that the [Dragon Syndrome] spread among dwarves is no accident.

This incident is likely to be related to the legendary dragon Fafnir.

Because according to some legends, Fafnir does not refer to a single evil dragon, but to a special "dragon transformation" phenomenon, which coincides with the "dragon syndrome" in the dwarf population.

Thinking of this, Lorne pretended to be casual and asked:

"By the way, do you know the names of the three superior dragons?"

"The greedy worm Glaurung, the golden Smaug, and the black dragon Ankaragon...the army in the north and the miners who escaped back called them so."

The old man answered truthfully, but the content disappointed Lorne.

No Fafnir?

So what is the source of [Dragon Disaster] and [Dragon Disease]?

Lorne thought for a moment and continued to ask:

"Then do you know the dwarf named 'Hridmar'? He also has three sons, named Fafnir, Ott, and Regin. I have something to do with him."

The old man shook his head, a little helpless:

"I haven't walked around outside for a long time. There are so many dwarves from the seven clans. How can I possibly recognize them all? I'm afraid I won't be able to help you."

But then, the old dwarf gave some feasible suggestions:

"However, you can go to the north and ask. The Dulin family there holds the most comprehensive personnel files in the dwarf kingdom."

Due to their control of the trade rights of fine wine and the support of the Midgard World behind them, the Dulin dwarves have grown rapidly in the past few hundred years, becoming the head of the seven dwarf clans and the dwarf nation in a sense. ruler.

This gathering of the seven dwarf clans to jointly conquer the dragons is a manifestation of the Dulin dwarves' control of the kingship.

After listening to this, Lorne couldn't help but sigh at the changes in the world.

Unexpectedly, what he did casually back then actually pushed the Dulin dwarf to the throne.

However, big trees attract the wind, and standing too high is not always a good thing.

Maybe the sudden dragon disaster in the north was directed at the Dulin clan.

Thinking of his adopted daughter Holo, who was doing business with the dwarves of the Dulin tribe, and the little Loli Eden who had a good relationship with him, Lorne's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice to the old dwarf:

"Old man, we have to rush to the north as soon as possible, so we won't bother you tonight."

"It's getting so late, so there's no rush."

The old dwarf opened his mouth to persuade, trying to retain the four foreign heroes who killed the flying dragon for them.

"Let's forget it. To put it nicely, people in the town may not welcome us to stay."

Rose on the side played with the dagger in her hand and sneered.

The old dwarf couldn't help but look embarrassed when he heard this.

Although they looked coldly on the hero who had just rescued them and were a little ignorant, most dwarves still had a little illusion about those relatives and friends who had not heard from them, hoping that they could return safely or that there was really a way to solve the problem. Dragon Syndrome], allowing the dragon-turned dwarves to return to normal.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, the old dwarf took out a bulging small bag from his waist and handed it to everyone:

"In that case, I won't keep you guys here. This is a small gift from the town to thank you for your help in the evening. Without you, I don't know how many people would have died here, so please accept it. "

Lorne took the cloth bag and opened it, and found that it was some gold nuggets and gold sand, which seemed to be newly mined mineral deposits.

After careful inspection, he did not detect any strange aura from it.

However, for the sake of safety, Lorne still advised seriously:

"Old man, please listen to my advice and try not to deal with gold and jewelry during this period, especially don't collect gold from unknown sources."

The old dwarf heard the implication and couldn't help but look stagnant:

"You mean, gold is likely to be the source of infection for [Dragon Syndrome]?"

"I'm not sure, but given the passion these dragons have for gold, it's always a good idea to be careful," Lorne replied.

There was too little information at present, and he could not judge whether [Gold] and [Dragon Syndrome] were necessarily connected. He could only give the other party a warning for the sake of the old man's friendliness.

Fortunately, the old dwarf was also obedient and kept these words firmly in mind.

When they were about to leave, he waved his hand to summon his granddaughter and brought some food supplies to the four of them.

The moment Rose bent down to take it, the little dwarf girl who raised the basket suddenly stood up on her tiptoes and kissed the spider goddess on the face, waving goodbye vigorously:

"Sister, you are all good people. Thank you for saving so many uncles and uncles. Be careful on the road!"

As the town gradually became distant in the night, Rose on horseback couldn't help but raise her hand to touch her moist cheek.

(End of chapter)