Richard and Reilly led a team of Knights of the Dawn and seven representatives of the nobility to the Crucible under the guidance of Firebeard.

Behind the rock fortress is a tunnel built into the mountain, which is five meters wide and less than two meters high. Reilly had to be careful with the top of his head when he walked, and the Dawning Knight had to bend over. However, for dwarves with an average height of about one meter four, this kind of tunnel is the environment where they can best exert their combat effectiveness. Under the advantages of one another, it is understandable that the human kingdom has always had no way to deal with the dwarves in the mountains.

The capital of the Crucible Kingdom is Fort Forge, a city built on a volcano that has been around for almost a thousand years. Under the excavation of countless dwarves, the entire belly of the mountain was almost hollowed out, and the magma flowing underground provided the dwarves with an inexhaustible source of energy. Due to the abundance of ores in the territory of the Furnace Dwarves, there are natural furnaces to exploit. As a result, they are known for their achievements in metallurgy and blacksmithing.

When he actually stood in front of the Crucible, Reilly couldn't help but be shocked by this miraculous city.

A kilometer-high mountain appeared before people's eyes, as if it had been cut by an ancient giant with a sharp axe, and appeared on a plane full of windows, entrances and ventilation ducts. On the top of the hill is a dwarven head tens of meters high, which is said to be the statue of the founder of the Forge Kingdom, Doro Anvil.

From a distance, the city resembles a giant beehive, and from time to time you can see dwarves coming in and out of the various holes.

After passing through two modest checks, Reilly and his party entered the Crucible. As soon as I walked into the gate, a hall nearly 100 meters high appeared in front of me. Standing in this hall with a radius of five hundred meters, Reilly frowned. At the end of the hall is an iron gate ten meters high, flanked by four passages that can be entered and exited. However, the height of these passages is embarrassing. If you fight in such a place, the combat effectiveness of the human army will be reduced by at least half.

In addition, the opposite wall is also covered with large and small windows, which are like natural arrow towers. If an enemy enters the hall, the dwarves can watch the invaders from all angles by closing the iron door.

Reilly glanced at Richard, who knew that the latter had the intention of capturing Forge, but that it would be difficult for the existing forces to breach the dwarven fortifications. A hint of disappointment flashed in Richard's eyes, and he smiled and discussed the greatness of Forgefort with the dwarves.

(It seems that he has given up on the idea of capturing Ironforge)

Reilly thought.

After entering the Crucible, Firebeard took Reilly and his party on a tour of the Crucible in the depths of the castle. Hot magma gushes out of hundreds of meters deep crevices, rises to the surface through specialized channels, and then splits into several tributaries.

After flowing at the foot of several dwarven statues, the originally violent magma immediately stabilized and flowed faster. These streams of heat provided a constant supply of energy to the furnace for the dwarves to smelt metal.

Seeing those statues, Reilly's heart moved, and he asked Firebeard, "Those dwarves have powerful souls in their statues, are they controlling the power of magma?"

Firebeard said proudly, "Those are some of the most outstanding masters in the history of the Crucible Kingdom, and they all had Sanctuary-level powers during their lifetimes. Before they died, they sealed their souls in statues and became heroic spirits who guarded the kingdom. ”

Hearing this, Richard and Quicksand glanced at each other, and both saw regret in each other's eyes. It was a very uncomfortable feeling that the precious sacrifice was right in front of you, but you couldn't hold it in your hand.

Reilly turned on his divine vision, took a closer look at the furnace, and said, "I think there should be an even greater being in the Crucible Kingdom, whose power is close to the legendary level, so he can extract this magma from hundreds of meters deep crevices. ”

"You've got a lot of vision!" said Firebeard with a fanatical expression, "That's the power of the great Doro?anvil! If it weren't for his power to restrain the magma, you wouldn't see the Crucible today." ”

After visiting Forge, Reilly and his party meet the dwarven king Barmor Hammer in the King's Hall. He sat on a throne at the top of the stairs, looking down on the humans below. The high platform where the king sits extends on each side of a curved platform, and on each side are placed four high-backed iron chairs, on which the eight dwarves are the eight elders of the Crucible Kingdom.

Through Firebeard's introduction, it is known that half of these elders are descendants of Anvil, and the other half are dwarves who excel in their various fields.

The chairs of the elders are carved with different totems, symbolizing the eight realms of exploration, excavation, mining, smelting, forging, brewing, sacrifice and battle. From the division of labor among the eight elders, it can be seen that the dwarves love ore and forging. However, these little men actually set up an elder in the brewing field, which made Reilly and the others feel unaware.

As a representative of the human side, Richard performed the courtesy of Jin to the dwarven king.

Barmor nodded and said, "Human, your manners are very thoughtful, and we see your respect for the dwarves. If it weren't, you wouldn't be here. In front of Forge, your 10,000-odd warriors are nothing at all!"

Richard agreed: "Fort Forge is indeed an impenetrable fortress. ”

"Forge has never fallen since the day it was built," said Barmore. ”

"Forge's defenses are shocking, but they mean nothing to me. Richard's words made the dwarves' faces change, but then he said, "Because I came here through the Bloodstained Lands to be friends with the Crucible Kingdom and to help each other in the years to come." ”

Bamor nodded slowly, and said, "There are still many dwarves living in the camps of the slave traders, but you don't look like any other human. Well, let's see, what exactly you've brought. ”

With a wave of Richard's hand, the four Knights of Dawn carried the barrel behind him to the stairs, and the guards stepped forward to take the barrel and deliver it to Barmor. The dwarven king picked up the barrel and pulled the lid up. The rich aroma of wine wafted out, and he was immediately moved. Bamore took a deep breath and shouted, "Bring me the gold cup!"

The guards galloped away, and in a moment they brought nine cups. These glasses vary in material and style, but the only thing they have in common is their size. A whole barrel of wine, filled with nine glasses, bottomed out.

In fact, by the time the guards went to get the glasses, Barmor and the elders were already restless. If it weren't for the fear of embarrassment in front of the guests, they would definitely have a drink with a barrel.

The rich aroma of wine filled the air, and the guards kept swallowing. Holding up the golden cup, Barmor said to the elders, "For the furnace!"

"For the furnace!" the elders gulped, and the guards' throats rolled.

Bamore glanced at the remaining three barrels, then turned to an elder next to him and asked, "What's this human's name?"

The elder was more attentive, and he replied without thinking, "Richard." ”

"Very well, Richard. This cask of yours is one of the best I have tasted in 130 years. While humans know that dwarves love spirits, only the one you bring is the best. Barmore pointed to the remaining three barrels and said, "Is there any difference between them?"

The four barrels of wine that Richard had sent each had a different decoration. Just by looking at the barrels, one can tell the grade of these wines. Just now, Barmore directly opened one of the best barrels of wine, and the other three barrels have not moved.

Richard smiled and said, "Why don't you try them all?"

"Good!" Bamore immediately asked the guards to open the remaining three barrels of wine, and quickly finished drinking with the elders. The taste of these three barrels of wine is really worse than the previous barrel, and the taste is also weaker than the barrel.

Bamore stroked his beard and said, "Is this what you're going to sell us?"

Richard nodded and said, "These four barrels of wine are four grades: superb, high-grade, medium, and ordinary, what do you think of the most ordinary wine?"

Bamore and the elders looked at each other, and one of the elders said, "It's actually good. The best wine sold by human beings in the past is this grade. ”

Richard smiled even more happily: "It's this ordinary wine, and it only costs five gold coins per barrel. ”

"What?!" Hearing his words, five elders jumped up from their seats. In the past, such a barrel of wine was sold for at least fifty gold coins in the Dwarven Kingdom.

Barmore was also surprised, if ordinary wine was at this price, then there was no need to ask about the price of the other three grades. After the elders recovered from the shock, Bamore asked, "So, how much wine did you bring?"

Richard smiled and said, "In my logistics convoy, there are twenty thousand barrels of ordinary grade wine. ”

"Twenty thousand barrels!" was a figure that moved Bamore.

Richard continued: "The fine and medium wines together have five thousand barrels. However, there are only ten barrels of the best spirits. I guess it comes with a giveaway. ”

Barmore's chest rose and fell sharply, and he exclaimed, "Very well, Richard, what else have you brought with you?"

Richard said very simply: "Three thousand tons of grain." These include barley, wheat, oats, and corn, and this is just the first batch. ”

Bamore jumped straight from the throne and roared in a thunderous voice, "Is it grain?"

"Grain. Richard was calm.

"Why grain?"

"Why can't it be food?"

Barmore strode down the stairs, then stretched out his arms in front of Richard. Richard bent down and hugged him.

It was a hug from the king, marking Richard as a true friend of the Forge Dwarves.

Now, there are only half a million dwarves in the entire Crucible Kingdom, and even the Forges can't be filled. The reason why their population is so small is mainly due to food constraints. The Pale Highlands had a cold climate, and only a small part of the valley produced food, so the number of dwarves never increased.

After a while, Barmore let go of his hands and said, "Richard, my friend, what do you want from the Forge Dwarves?"

Richard had already written about this issue. Without thinking, he said, "I need metal, ore, weapons, and muskets and gunpowder. ”

A glint flashed in Bamore's eyes, and he laughed and said, "Richard, you have a great appetite! Of course, you deserve it." The friendship of the Forge Dwarves will not disappoint you!"

The aristocratic delegates were all overjoyed. Barmore's promise, every word is worth a thousand dollars.

At the beginning of the Second Westward Expedition, these nobles did not understand why Richard had asked the logistics troops to bring so much food. Spirits are a traditional trade between humans and dwarves, but food is different. It is heavy, difficult to transport and store, and of limited value. A lot of people don't understand what these things can be exchanged for. It was only now that the nobles understood the role of food, which was exchanged for the friendship of the dwarves.

Next, Barmore threw a lavish dinner to wash Richard's dust. As for some details of the trade, Minnie Mouse naturally led the nobles and dwarven elders who were proficient in this way to negotiate.

Since leaving Deep Blue, Minnie Mouse has grown at an astonishing rate. Now, she is a talent who can take charge on her own.