The snow and ice flying in the sky looked extremely monotonous with the snow-covered earth, and the cold air rose on the earth in bursts of ice mist. Once the wind blows, mixed with snowflakes and ice fog, the world is blank. The cold stone walls were stacked with thick snow, adding to the chill. It is covered in snow all year round, and there is a huge shadow cast by the giant mountain behind it.

This is the most magnificent ice and snow stone city on the northeastern ice field of the Talk continent - Iron Fist Fort.

The dwarves who live here worship the sun, so much so that they love the house and the black, and they worship the gold that they call the tears of the sun.

The royal family of Monta, who ruled the entire Al Ain dynasty, had become obsessed with gold, and they were like the rice-loving rats in the fields of the Trians, and if they realized that the rice was not a trap, they would immediately take what they saw as 'rice' for themselves, even if it was at a slight foreseeable cost.

This city of snow and stone is also the hinterland of the Al Ain dynasty, which is home to the royal family of the Al Ain dynasty.

THESE SMALL DWARVES WITH WELL-LIMBED LIMBS CARVED OUT A MAGNIFICENT PALACE FROM THE ROCK WALL OF THE GIANT MOUNTAIN IN THE IRON FIST FORT BUILT ON THE MOUNTAIN, AND THEY CALLED THIS PALACE "STONEHEART". Of course, human beings also have their own name for this magnificent palace, Shixin Palace.

Even though the establishment of the Stone Heart Palace has demonstrated the proud craftsmanship of the dwarves, they are still a wandering race in the eyes of the humans of the Kingdom of Limston because of their short stature, so they are not very recognized by humans, and the nobles jokingly call them "dwarf stones", or ridicule their stature, calling them "snow potatoes". The land of the Al Ain dynasty was seen by them as a tasteless land of snow, rich only in dwarf sweet potatoes - nothing more.

On the rock wall of the entrance to the palace stand two huge dwarf statues, two huge statues carved to life, one with a blacksmith's hammer on his shoulder, the other with a chisel and a smile in his hand, they are the creators of this magnificent stone heart palace, two brothers, Ain Monta and Somra Monta.

They are the legends of the Al Ain Snow and the ancestors of Monta XII, who now sit on the throne.

Monta XII, the Greybeard wearing the Mithril Crown on his head, sat on a tall amethyst throne that was completely out of harmony with his stature, and leisurely combed his mustache, which was his pride—like a thick mustache wrapped in snow and frost worthy of the title of Greybeard.

He squinted at the Baron Perland, who stood at the foot of the throne steps with gold and letters in his hand, and tried to contain the joy in his heart, enjoying the feeling of being tributary—he had not experienced the taste of being tributary by the Trians for a long time.

The dwarven guards beside Monta XII walked towards the Trian baron with a big grin, silently took the letter from the tray while looking up, blew his thick beard, and respectfully presented it to Monta XII.

Monta XII, who was originally excited, was immediately a little disappointed when he took the letter and read it, but he still looked at the gold in the hands of Baron Perland's servant, and couldn't help but tighten the letter in his hand.

"Your Excellency Baron Perland, don't you Yafen know why we dwarves resort to the strategy of shrinking back and never take the initiative to claim more territories?" Monta XII finally took his eyes off the pile of gold coins and looked at the bald baron beneath his amethyst throne.

"Your Majesty the Dwarven King. I've never been good at using words to exalt or belittle another people. Arno looked at Monta XII on the throne.

"You Trians have elite knights, and we have a solid mountain barrier, even if everything is imaginary, but your King Linston is not a good man, and I have to worry about that." Monta XII propped up his waist and sat as straight as he could on his throne so that he could look down on the visiting vassals of the county of Affin, "Oh, I don't mean His Royal Highness the Duke of Ella or His Excellency Easttem, Earl of Jarfin. But let me send a large number of warriors to support you Yafen and defeat your monsters who have invaded from the northern shore of Lake Santa Kana, this"

"Your Majesty the Dwarven King, I express my sincere admiration for your previous remarks, and raise my hands in agreement. But what you say is very clear from what my Excellency Earl has already said in his letter. Repeating a word for you," Arno shrugged his shoulders and continued: "The subject that everyone already knows, I wonder if it is not satisfied with the too little gold that my servant holds in his hand? ”

"Your Excellency Baron Perland, you know. We dwarves have never had any grudges or grudges against goblins or lizardmen. Nor have I had any notes with any unheard of cave trolls, minotaurs. In general, the gold you hold in your hands is for us to declare war directly on the four races. I don't think it's necessary. Graybeard stroked his proud mustache.

"Your Majesty, I may have misunderstood you, but please be patient and listen to me. I've visited the Highland Mountains and the town of Goodbay under the Centaur chieftain of Gilberg. I heard that there was once a large wave of dwarves of the Al Ain Dynasty, where goblins were massacred. Arnault was the word 'massacre' very seriously, "If this is not a matter of grudge or grudge, I think Your Majesty is really too merciful." ”

"Declare war! Dare to kill our people! Several of the dwarven chieftains on the second seat next to the throne roared with stingers.

"Maybe it's just a rumor?" The Dwarven King waved his hand disapprovingly, "My chiefs, I, Estorm, don't remember where our people gathered in the town of Gudebai. ”

"Maybe it's a fellow Digger?" There were still a few chiefs who remembered the great surname of the dwarf.

"Hah, we have Mithril under the mountain. Besides, Digger has been cut off from us for a long time. They joined the Grinster dynasty, but the Grinster dynasty had been completely defeated for more than a hundred years. This was the mistake of my grandfather's generation who rushed to help. The Dwarven King spoke eloquently, occasionally twringing his greybeard with his thick fingers, "Therefore, we must be cautious in sending a large number of troops to support the ancient realm of Easttem. This is not a small redeployment more than two years ago. The Earl of Yafen of House Eastem is now on loan to 8,000 men! ”

"You don't like the gold anymore. Your Majesty. Baron Arno took out a gold coin from the tray, shook it in his hand, then stroked his chest with one hand, ordered the servant to put away the tray, and then bowed to Monta XII, and after a series of ceremonial actions, he quickly turned around, looking like he was about to leave the Dwarven King's Stone Heart Palace, but before he left, he suddenly turned around, "This is just a deposit from His Excellency the Earl." Since Your Majesty has refused, I can only send this wealth to Karkhand to persuade the people of Karkhand to help the west of the Mountains. Although I don't really like the guys who live in the red-crowned woods of El Helinor. ”

In the tray held by the baron's servant, the gold shimmered with gold. It was not only Monta XII on the throne who coveted this gold coin, but even several chieftains on the second seat around him began to sneak a peek at these golden creatures from time to time.

"Wait. His Excellency Baron Perland. I didn't say I wouldn't send troops to 'support' you. Monta XII quickly lost his beard and raised his hand, "I think we still have something to discuss." After all, if you put this money in the hands of Mahoganybeard on the west side of Shanyan Pass, the support provided by an earldom will not be comparable to that provided by my Ain Dynasty. ”

"Your Majesty, so we still have something to talk about. The point is not whether to declare war or not. Those races are nearly a thousand miles away from you, not to mention that you have a strong 'stone dragon' - the mountain rock pass as a shield. The towering mountain rock barrier makes all those who covet your territory sigh. Arnault's trick worked, and he smiled in his heart, but his face did not show the slightest excitement, and his years of business had allowed him to do his best in such an important negotiation situation.

"Oh, you see. However, I still have some questions, and I hope you can answer them truthfully. Monta XII pointed to the gold bluntly, "This time Lord Istterium has spent a lot of money to borrow troops from me, and I estimate that the gold coins in your servant's hand will have a year's tax revenue from your county. Then I want to know, what will be your subsequent payment? ”

"Your Majesty is really a good eyer." The stone in Arno's heart fell to the ground, and the dwarven king was falling step by step into the question and answer that he had thought of along the way. He thanked Arcana for her blessings and, of course, for the gold. For a businessman, the time has come for the power of gold to manifest.

"Yafen's tomorrow will be supported by the power of gold." Arno thought to himself, smiling kindly at the dwarven king Monta XII, and he held his blindfold, the remaining single eye narrowed into a slit, and the gaze that shot slightly out of the slit was mysterious.

The expressions of the dwarven king on the throne and the chieftains on the second seat had already given him enough hints.

He also believed that Count Culosius and his plan were about to be completed.