The towering metal gate slowly opens, revealing a long, straight and narrow road behind it, and the empty "abyss" on both sides of the road.

It was the interior of a hollowed-out mountain, empty up and down, and the light dimmed as soon as you walked in.

Looking upwards, the faint rays of the sun pierced through the cave at the top of the mountain, enveloping most of the stone road that resembled a bridge beneath your feet.

Looking down, beneath the bridge was a deep space, with a crimson glow radiating from the bottom, as if there was a huge furnace there.

Looking around, this place is roughly cylindrical, and the square rock wall is full of hollow caves.

A large amount of fire and dwarf figures faintly came from the countless caves, and at a cursory glance, they were densely packed like beehives.

Stone staircases are carefully carved out of the surface of the mountain wall, curved and wound, layered on top of the mountain, connecting the top of the mountain with the abyss......

This is Nogrod, the hollow garrison of the Firebeard Dwarves, the hollow city-state.

Even Charles was shocked by what he saw, not to mention the captain of the guard and the other two guards who walked in behind him.

However, this does not hide their dissatisfaction with the dwarves here.

That's right, dissatisfaction.

Regarding King Nando's visit, the two clans had already communicated before they set out.

It stands to reason that their arrival should have been greeted with a grand reception, but along the way, they encountered many dwarf checkpoints, but they were greeted only by a group of soldiers and a dwarven attendant who was currently leading the way.

This is nothing for ordinary elves, but it is obviously too simple to receive an elven king.

"Maybe the dwarves are treated differently than we thought?"

"No, I have seen them receive King Findelo of Nagoslund, and the dwarven king himself ran out to meet him."

"Even if we are weaker than Nagoslund, this kind of reception is very rude."

……

The whispered chatter of many of the guards before entering was still lingering in his mind, and on the surface Charles didn't say anything, but secretly he frowned, feeling that the trip would not go well.

Dismounted? Or is there another reason?

Thoughts flashed through my mind, but the surface and jaw didn't mean anything.

They followed the bridge to the mountain at the end of the line of sight, and then led by the attendants, they continued to descend the rocky stairs on the mountain, and saw that the fire in front of them was getting worse and the temperature around them was getting higher and higher.

The sound of a large number of gold and iron echoing sounded faintly and became clearer and clearer, until when they reached the bottom of the mountain along the stairs, a scene of fire came into view.

At the very bottom of Nogrod is a large underground plaza with a dark and flat rocky surface, where many shirtless dwarves are busy.

Raised hammers, red-hot swords, huge furnaces, winding chains, and a path that leads to the depths of the hall at the end of the square.

The arrival of the group did not attract the attention of any of the dwarves here, and the dwarves were so engrossed in their work that they did not take their eyes off the table.

And here, too, they finally met a dwarven royal family.

"I've heard that the elf king under the mountain is good at all kinds of interesting magic, but I didn't believe it." The sound of laughter came from the end of the road, and as far as the eye could see, a small man with smooth hair and a height of about one meter two or three came into view.

Compared to the other dwarves he had seen, he was more neatly dressed, with yellow robes and red hair, a neat beard on his face, and even a gold belt around his waist.

The dwarves are generally between one meter three and one meter five in height, so the person in front of him actually belongs to the ranks of the dwarves among the dwarves. But his voice was heroic when he laughed.

It's just that those small eyes are really detrimental to the image.

At the same time, the words that come out of his mouth are also thought-provoking.

Is this knowing what happened outside before?

The thought crossed Charles' mind, and he couldn't help but squint.

After exchanging names with each other, he immediately entered the hall of King Norgrod with three guards.

The hall is connected to the rear square, so the sound is also noisy, but when you walk inside, you can see that it is very neat.

Inside a rocky hall, lined with stone pillars, the path leading to the depths of the hall was paved with a carpet of fiery red wool to the stone throne at the end.

On either side of the throne stood two rows of dwarves resembling the golden belt, and on the throne sat an old dwarf with a crown with a large beer belly.

The old dwarf's beard was slightly gray, he wore a golden crown, and his round face and thin eyes made him sit unobtrusively on a throne that matched his height, and the pedestal above the ground allowed him to look down on the crowd of visitors at the end of the hall.

That's right, it's looking down, and he didn't even get up.

Seeing this, Charles smiled suddenly, and stood at the entrance of the hall dozens of meters away from the dwarven throne.

Immediately after that, he turned his head and motioned for the guards to hand over the gifts he had brought from his visit to the Belt and Road Gold Belt. He stroked his chest and saluted slightly to the fat king on the throne, and then turned around and left without saying a word.

This happy appearance made the dwarven king, who was originally sitting there with the old god, a little stunned.

What's going on?

Isn't it time to ask for help?

You're asking for help?

What's going on?

However, after glancing at the children and grandchildren next to him, the old king did not open his mouth to stop the other party, but just stared at the departing back with wide eyes, and disappeared from sight.

After waiting for a long time, I finally heard the sound of the steel gate slowly opening and slamming shut, and I couldn't help but hey.

"It's not a small temper." He muttered, turned his head and asked, "Since he doesn't ask for help, it's not good for us to take the initiative to run to offer courtesy, right?" ”

"That's right, father."

The dwarf with braided hair next to him snorted in reply, but his eyes were fixed on the gift brought by the young elf king in the hand of the golden belt.

It was an object encapsulated in an emerald green sealed keg, which looked ordinary, but a faint scent of rose flowers wafted from the surface of the cup, proving that the palm-sized keg was not an ordinary object.

"If you put it in such a big cup, it must be wine."

This is the consensus of all the dwarves here. And it's clear that the Green Elves have always had good wine.

It's a pity that he kept peeking and reminded the old fat king on the throne, and he waved at the gold belt, and when the other party approached, he grabbed the small wooden barrel and pulled it out, and the thing was opened.

"It doesn't seem to smell."

Looking down and sniffing the emerald green liquid in it, the old king muttered a few words vaguely, as if complaining about this, being too stingy or something.

Then he looked up and drank it all.

A sweet and cool sensation is poured into the throat, and it feels like drinking a glass of high-quality honey blended with mead, with a hint of sourness.

The dwarven king smacked his lips, it felt delicious, but that's about it.

Then he turned his head and glared at his pigtailed son, who was looking at him and wanted to wear it, and said, "Look at your appearance, if it weren't for the absence of outsiders, you would have simply lost the face of our Firebeard Clan!" ”

"I just want to know what it tastes like." His son's voice was a little aggrieved.

"What else can it taste, if you want to drink it, run back to the mountains and forests, and find a nest of bees......"

King Humpty Dumpty was about to find a nest of bees to steal their honey and drink it with wine, but suddenly he felt a surging burning sensation in his stomach hit him violently, and the dull pain and dark wound left by the iron on his body also dissipated in an instant, and his face couldn't help but be stunned, and then his expression was in a trance.

"It feels...... It feels ......," he squinted and muttered, his mouth slightly open, as if he were about to yawn.

But in the end, under the curious gaze of the dwarves beside him, the old and fat dwarven king did not really yawn, but suddenly stood up from his throne after a long pause.

"Quick, go and call him back for me!"

"Father, I ......"

"What are you, I have bad legs, do you want me to go in person?"

"But you just said ......"

"What did I just say!?"