Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Chapter 161 The Current State of the Katinias Mountains

Early the next morning.

Before dawn, the Wind God Chieftain set off with the people of the Wind Flower Scripture.

They left in such a hurry that they didn't even have time for breakfast. With the help of magic, the group disappeared swiftly like arrows, heading towards the Kertinias Mountains.

As for the dwarves—

The sun was high in the sky when the Dwarf King finally got out of bed, clutching his head which was throbbing from a hangover, and staggered open the door.

Outside the door, the dwarf guards lay sprawled on the ground, some snoring, others muttering "one more cup." The several barrels of milk wine had been drunk clean, and the empty barrels were scattered everywhere.

Toronto sat on the doorstep, holding a cup of hangover tea, his expression complex.

"Your Majesty, you're awake?"

The Dwarf King rubbed his temples: "Where are the people from the Slane Theocracy?"

"They left a long time ago." Toronto sighed. "They set off before dawn, without waiting for us at all."

The dwarf king was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh in annoyance: "Oh dear! I've had too much to drink!"

He quickly woke up the guards, hurriedly packed his things, and set off.

The Catechnias Mountains are several hundred miles from the capital.

With magic clearing the way, the Wind God and his entourage traveled day and night, arriving at their destination on the first day and embarking on their return journey on the second.

On the way, they ran into a dwarf army.

The dwarves were still walking slowly, and after two days they had covered less than a fifth of the distance.

The chieftain reined in his horse, looked at the group of panting dwarves, and remained silent for a moment.

He nodded as a greeting and continued on his way with the people from the Wind and Flower Holy Scripture.

The dwarf king stood there, watching their departing figures, feeling a pang of sadness.

"Teacher, are they making fun of our short legs?"

Toronto thought for a moment and then comforted him, "It's probably not a mockery, it's the truth."

Dwarf King:

Several more days passed.

The dwarves finally reached the Catinius Mountains.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, gazing up at the towering peaks that seemed to pierce the clouds, the Dwarf King couldn't help but exclaim, "They're so high!"

Then he discovered a problem: how long would it take them, the dwarves, to climb such a high mountain?

Just as I was worrying about this, a group of adventurers came along.

Those people, dressed in all sorts of gear, came down the mountain chatting and laughing, looking like they had made a good haul.

The dwarf king's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward to strike up a conversation.

"Warriors, where can we find that special ore, the one with fire and death attributes?"

The adventurer team leader, a man in his thirties, glanced at them upon hearing this and chuckled, "You're here to mine too?"

The Dwarf King nodded: "I've long heard of your great name and have come to see for myself."

The team leader was very helpful and immediately gave them directions: "Follow this mountain path uphill, cross two mountain peaks, and there will be a red rock wall. Below that is a huge abyss, and the ore is at the edge of the abyss, but—"

He paused, glanced at the dwarf guards behind the dwarf king, and shook his head: "I suggest that apart from the two of you, the rest of you should not go. The environment there is too harsh; ordinary people cannot withstand it."

The dwarf king was taken aback.

An ordinary person?

He looked back at his guards, who were all warriors handpicked by the dwarf kingdom, the elite of the elite.

So now I'm just an ordinary person?

The guards clearly understood what he meant, and they all became indignant.

"Why can't we go?"

"We are the elite of the dwarf kingdom!"

"I'm not convinced! Shall we have a match?"

The team leader smiled, not angry at all, and glanced back at a young man carrying a greatsword in the group.

The young man understood, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in greeting to the guards.

Then, in less than a minute.

The dwarf guards were all lying on the ground.

The young man sheathed his sword, his expression calm, as if he had only done a trivial matter.

The dwarf king opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

He could sense that this young man's strength was probably a notch above his own, the Dwarf King.

And this is just an ordinary member of this adventurer team.

The Kingdom of Inberia is truly teeming with experts; they're all monsters in human skin.

From a player's perspective, this is based on in-game levels.

The average level of the dwarven guard is 10 to 15.

Toronto's rating is 28.

The Dwarf King's level is 33.

The adventurer who just defeated all the dwarven guards with his sword has reached level 35.

"Alright then." He sighed resignedly. "You guys wait down the mountain. The teacher and I will go up."

The guards lay on the ground and responded weakly.

After settling the guards, the Dwarf King and Toronto were preparing to go up the mountain when the leader suddenly spoke up.

"How about we give you a ride?"

The dwarf king was taken aback: "How could I possibly accept this—"

"It's alright, we were just about to go up anyway," the team leader laughed. "There have been a lot of treants spawning over there recently, so we can go and harvest some."

A magic tree? A tree person?

The Dwarf King didn't know exactly what the adventurer leader meant, but he was still very happy that they were willing to give him and his companions a ride.

And so, the Dwarf King and Toronto followed this group of adventurers on their journey into the depths of the Katynius Mountains.

Along the way, the team leader told them many legends about the mountain range.

"Do you know that more than sixty years ago, this place was a restricted area?" the team leader said as they walked. "Whoever went in died. No one ever came out alive."

"And then?"

"Then one day, a huge fireball suddenly appeared in the sky." The team leader pointed to the distance, "In that direction, it was as bright as a second sun. From then on, the fog in the mountains dissipated, and people who went in were able to come out."

The dwarf king listened, seemingly lost in thought.

As they were talking, a huge black shadow suddenly swept across the sky.

The Dwarf King and Toronto instinctively looked up and saw the two-legged wyvern.

That thing was over ten meters long, covered in dark red scales, and its wingspan could cover half the sky.

The dwarf king's hand was already on the hammer handle, and Toronto gripped the axe tightly.

As a result, the wyvern looked down at them, then turned and flew away.

It flew incredibly fast, like it was fleeing for its life.

The dwarf king stood there, stunned.

"What... what's going on?"

The team leader smiled and explained, "Don't be nervous. All the dragons and sub-dragons in these mountains are like this. As long as you don't attack them first, they won't attack you."

The dwarf king was even more bewildered.

Dragons? They don't attack humans unless provoked?

Both the Dwarf King and Toronto were somewhat surprised after hearing what the adventurer leader said.

After all, based on their understanding of those arrogant dragons, they knew nothing of restraint and only knew how to do whatever they wanted.

Toronto stroked his beard, seemingly lost in thought: "It seems that His Majesty the God-King also did something to the Dragon Clan."

After walking for a while, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

The dwarf king was stunned.

It was an enormous tree.

How big is it? So big that even when the Dwarf King looked up, his neck ached, and he still couldn't see the treetop.

The tree trunk was thick enough to house his palace, and its canopy blocked out the sky, casting shadows that covered the entire valley.

But what stunned him was not the size of the tree.

It's a lively scene around the tree.

There were at least a hundred adventurers surrounding the tree; some were lying in wait, some were chatting, and some were sharpening their knives.

Whenever a few seeds fall from the tree and one or two tree people grow, the adventurers swarm in, quickly chop down the tree people, and then happily divide the materials among themselves.

"This—" The dwarf king looked at the leader, "This is the magic tree?"

The team leader nodded: "Yes, that's it. It's said to have fallen from the sky not long ago. Some adventurers say it was thrown down by the hand of a god. Everyone guesses that it might be the work of that god-king."

If any player were to witness this scene, they would realize that this is practically a special instance.

Whether intentional or unintentional, Leylin's previous action resulted in creating a dungeon suitable for adventurers to fight monsters.

The Dwarf King looked at the demon tree that adventurers were using as a "dungeon" to farm, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Before he came, he heard from the people of the Slane Theocracy that this thing was a natural disaster that could destroy the world.

When he arrived, he discovered that this thing was being swarmed by people as a monster.

That's quite a big difference.

Not only did he feel a huge sense of disappointment, but the Wind God Chieftain and the Wind Flower Saints who came here back then almost had their eyes pop out of their sockets.

"Won't this tree resist?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Resist! Why don't you resist?" The leader pointed to the tree-men. "Isn't this what they've been fighting for? But their true forms seem to be suppressed by something, so they can only struggle with these saplings. Perfect, they're providing us with materials."

The dwarf king remained silent.

He suddenly understood why the people from the Slane Theocracy had such strange expressions when they returned.

After walking for a while, we finally arrived at our destination.

It was a red rock wall, and below it was a huge abyss.

The abyss was bottomless, and the rocks at its edges had an eerie, glassy sheen, as if they had been melted at high temperatures and then cooled.

The air was filled with a faint heat wave and an indescribable chill.

"This is it." The team leader pointed to the black ore at the edge of the abyss.

"That's the ore you're looking for. It's enhanced with both fire and death attributes, making it incredibly powerful when crafted into equipment."

The Dwarf King and Toronto stepped forward, squatted down, and carefully examined the ores.

Indeed extraordinary.

The rich elemental energy could be clearly felt even through a layer of rock; if forged into equipment, it would be absolutely top-tier.

The dwarf king raised his head and looked at the enormous abyss.

"How did this place form?"

The team leader shrugged: "I don't know. Anyway, it started after that big explosion more than 60 years ago. Some people say it's a blessing from the Dragon God, some say it's divine punishment. Anyway, nobody knows the specifics."