Chapter 7: The Stubborn Dwarf
"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, Captain Pidro. www.biquge.info"Just as Piedros shivered at the blue-glowing triangular arrow, and was about to turn and flee, Tees walked into Batuu's courtyard with a troll and a group of short, stout gnomes.
"Haha, my lord, it's Ali, my brother. Piedro took off his helmet, secretly wiped a cold sweat, and stepped forward to give the troll Ali a bear hug.
"Ali, why are you here?"
"I've seen adults. "Troll Ali saw Pidero and saluted Liang Ke on his chest. "Hmph! It's not these dwarf winter melons, and they came to ask for Mithril ore, we remember what the adults told them, and when they told them about the adults trying to test their weapons, they said with red eyes that they were going to make the adults look good, and forced me to bring them to the adults. I couldn't help it, so I found it here. Don't worry, if you don't bother to compete with these guys, Ali will send them back to his hometown. With that, Ali waved the stick in his hand.
"Bastard, you're the dwarf melon. A young dwarf jumped over everyone's heads from behind a dozen dwarves and jumped in front of Ali with a thud. The dwarf was no more than one meter four or five tall, but the width of his shoulders was a full meter, and his beard stubble nearly an inch long was exposed under the round semi-enclosed helmet, and the mixed body was completely wrapped in thick brown armor except for two arms and below the calves, and the exposed muscles were as angular as those carved by a knife, and at a glance it was full of terrifying power, and the steel boots on his feet made a crunch sound as the dwarf moved, as if it could break gold and stone. The most peculiar thing is that the dwarf carries a short-handled war hammer in his hand, the head of which is a regular cube, five or six times larger than the sixteen-pound sledgehammer used by Batu for ironing, and it is estimated that it weighs at least a hundred catties. The hammer head was carved with intricate graphics and texts, emitting a faint dull golden light, which flickered and flickered. At the end of the handle of the hammer was a piece of rubber rope that was wrapped around the dwarf's thick arm, and it was unknown how long.
"I'll listen to you if you scold again. See me, dwarven warrior Tucker doesn't smash your bones," the dwarf shouted as he jumped his feet and pointed a sledgehammer at Ali's nose.
"You dwarf ......"
"Ali, let me emphasize again, you must know how to respect others, so that you can get the respect of others for you, understand?" Liang Ke spoke up to stop the quarrel between the two sides.
"Brother dwarf, your name is Tucker, isn't it?" Liang Ke tried to communicate with the dwarf in the most cordial tone he could.
"Who is your brother, the only friend of the dwarves is the most powerful mountain giant, is your embroidered pillow also worthy of being a friend of the dwarves?" The dwarf Tucker saw that Ali was so afraid of Liang Ke, as if Liang Ke was the boss of these evil trolls, so he poured out his anger directly on Liang Ke. A dozen dwarves behind Tucker watched this scene with smiles on their faces, as if they also wanted to see how this human who could subdue the trolls could use to deal with Tucker's cannon barrel.
"Haha, pride is a noble character, but I don't know what kind of self-confidence your little guy's pride comes from?" Liang Ke, who was a two-life person, obviously would not be angered by this stunned sentence.
"Dwarven pride is many, but you don't necessarily have the right to know. Little white face, don't say I won't give you a chance, if you can handle my hammer, I'll tell you where our pride is. With that, the dwarf Tucker untied the rubber rope and slammed the hammer in his hand to the ground.
"Hehe, interesting. Liang Ke walked up to the hammer, bent down and reached out to easily hold the hammer in his hand, and then danced a few hammer flowers like a cloud, and finally in the surprised eyes of everyone, he slammed the hammer on the ground with his backhand, and the hammer head broke directly through the ground and plunged straight into the ground, and even the handle of the hammer could not be seen. Liang Ke casually patted his hand covered with dirt and said, "I'm sorry, I'm going to use a lot of force, I'm afraid you have to borrow a pickaxe from Brother Batu and dig out your hammer." ”
"You ......" Tucker's face was flushed with anger, his fists clenched, and he was about to fight with Liang Ke.
"Tucker, don't be rude. A red-bearded dwarf stepped out of the crowd, grabbed Tucker by the collar, and whispered, "Stand aside." ”
The dwarven warrior Tucker glared and gasped, but stepped aside as the old dwarf commanded.
"You're Mr. Aragorn, aren't you? I heard the trolls say that the Mithril Mine already belongs to a human, and they are willing to protect the mine for you, at first I didn't believe it, but when I saw it today, Mr. Aragorn was really extraordinary. That war hammer is a relic of the ancestors, weighing five hundred and sixty pounds, even if we are born with divine power, it is difficult for us to use it with such ease as Mr. On behalf of my nephew, I apologize to you for the faux pas of going first. After speaking, the old dwarf leaned over slightly and saluted Liang Ke.
"Haha, old gentleman, you are too polite. Don't know what you call it?"
"Zida Soluto, just call me old Zida. I am the current Grand Elder of the Hill Dwarves, and Tucker is the youngest son of our patriarch, and he is young and vigorous, and he does not know the height of the sky, and I ask Mr. Aragorn to bear with me. ”
"Haha, Master Zida, don't say that, I really like the straightforward character of the Tucker brothers. "Liang Ke has always believed in a truth, that is, if you can become a friend, you should not make more enemies for no reason. "Brother Tucker, do we already have the foundation to be friends now?"
Tucker, who was standing on the side, blushed slightly, and said stubbornly: "Friends can't talk about it yet, but your strength is indeed greater than mine, I'm afraid you can compare to my father, I really admire you." However, I'm here to test weapons with you today, and I heard that you have a lot of research on the manufacture of weapons and equipment, and I don't know if those stupid big guys are blowing nonsense for you. ”
Liang Ke smiled slightly. "Hehe, there is no research to talk about, in terms of metal synthesis and forging skills, no one in this world can surpass the dwarven clan that even the god of work is jealous of. I just like to figure out weird gadgets. Brother Tucker, I wonder what you think of this armor that my troll guard is wearing?"
"The design is pretty clever and looks strong enough, but the alloy forging technique is low-grade and wasteful of materials. If it was made by Uncle Zida, the armor made of these Mithril would be enough to equip a hundred people, and it would definitely not be worse than these armors. Tucker touched it, tapped Pidero's armor again, and then did a brief analysis from a professional perspective.
"Mr. Aragorn, don't listen to Tucker's nonsense. You've designed this armor to be compact and sturdy, with components that connect well and don't interfere with each other, giving the wearer maximum flexibility and defense. I'm afraid that it is difficult for the conventional weapons of the whole continent to cause effective damage to this kind of armor, and if the forging technology is more sophisticated, it will almost be perfect!" Old Zidar pulled the corner of Tucker's coat and smiled to alleviate the embarrassing situation created by Tucker.
"Conventional weapons, Great Elder, do you mean that there are some unconventional weapons that can cause damage to such a sturdy armor? Please forgive me for being unheard, can you explain a thing or two to me?" Liang Ke put on a modest and studious posture, and looked at Elder Qida earnestly.
"Oh, Mr. Aragorn is so knowledgeable about weapons and equipment, doesn't he really know that there are magic weapons in this world?" Old Zida looked at Liang Ke inexplicably, and then looked at the trolls who also looked dazed, not knowing whether what Liang Ke said was true or false.
"Hehe, I'm not afraid of the Great Elder's jokes, although I like to study some strange gadgets, but I really don't have much research on weapons and equipment, everything is based on my own creativity. Even if you can make something good by chance, it's a blind cat running into a dead mouse. Makes you smile. In this way, everyone comes from afar to taste my wife's handiwork at my house, and drink some home-brewed rum, and we talk while eating, what do you think?"
As soon as the dwarves heard that there was wine to drink, they immediately became interested, and they all looked at Elder Zida with eager eyes. Old Zida was also a drunken old man, licked his lips, and said with a smile: "Then bother!"
When the dwarves each poured a jar of rum and ate half of the roast pig beast, Liang Ke and the dwarves became friends, and the trolls and dwarves began to pat each other on the shoulders and call each other brothers. I don't know which ancestor summed it up with foresight, "wine is the best catalyst for men's emotional communication", and it is true.
"Brother Aragorn, you do have a great talent for weapon design. The structure of your bow is really unprecedented, using cams and secondary chords to reduce the difficulty and stability of the bow, and using composite materials and valgus structural design to enhance the tension of the bow and provide a longer range, I really don't know how you came up with it. I don't know how lethal the arrows fired from this bow are, but if this kind of thing were to be attached to the army of any country, I am afraid that that country would be able to defeat any opponent. I shudder to think about it!" Qi Da couldn't help but caress Liang Ke's compound bow repeatedly, as if caressing the tender hand of a young daughter-in-law, and then reluctantly handed the bow to Liang Ke.
"Haha, if the Great Elder likes it, take it, and it will be regarded as a meeting gift from the elder brother. Liang Ke pushed the bow back again.
"This ...... I'm afraid it's not good! How can you win people's love? Besides, I can't pull this perverted bow, haha. Zida smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, that's okay, I'll give you the drawings when I get back, and you can build a bow yourself. ”
"Brother Aragorn, you are so generous, you are not afraid that we will make a large number of such strong bows to exchange for gold coins, then you will lose a lot!"
"Since it's given to you, it's up to you to exchange it for gold coins or equip it yourself. Since I regard you as a friend, I will absolutely trust you as a friend. If you really use this kind of bow to shoot me one day, it can only mean that I don't know people myself, and I offended you by being a person who can't go home. Brother, if you recognize me as a brother, you can have a drink, and I will do it first as a respect. After speaking, Liang Ke raised his head and poured most of the remaining half of the bowl of wine into his stomach.
"Okay, just with your heart, I made this friend of yours, and in the future, Aragorn will be my Zida's best friend, and also a friend of all our dwarves, you guys will give me a good listen, and when you see the Aragorn brothers in the future, you will be the same as seeing me, you have to respect, understand?" Old Zida blushed and shouted at all the dwarves, and then followed Liang Ke's example, and drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp.
"Brother, I have received your wishes, but this bow is long and wide, and it is indeed not suitable for our height, and the dwarves will not do anything to hurt their friends. So, you should keep the drawings!"
"Haha, my brother is right, I really didn't think it through. But it doesn't matter, I also designed something called a crossbow, which works in a similar way to this bow, except that it doesn't have the same range as this bow, but it has a lot of lethality, high accuracy, and a small construction that can be used with one hand. Go back, I'll draw the drawings for you, this is a friendship between friends, please don't refuse. Liang Ke brazenly plagiarized an advanced cold weapon design from his previous life.
"Oh, is there such a thing? That's great, we dwarves are strong, nimble, and have little opponent in close combat. When you fight against people, you will suffer because you can't use a bow and arrow, so you have to add a piece of leather rope behind the warhammer to increase your ability to attack from a distance. If we can also use that thing called a crossbow, then we will have the ability to wrestle with the archers, which is too important to us. Brother, you are a blessing to us dwarves. Old Zida excitedly put down the wine bowl and was about to give Liang Ke a salute.
"Don't be like this, brother, Aragorn's heart for his friends is evident from the sun and the moon, and we still have something to share with each other. I'm happy when you're happy, and I'm sad to see my friends being beaten, brother!" Liang Ke hurriedly grabbed Qida's rough hand and said affectionately.
"I won't say much about thanks, you are kind to the dwarves, I will tell the patriarch truthfully when I go back, if you need help in the future, even if you come to me in the mountains of Narondo, the dwarves will never be stingy to help their true friends. Oh, by the way, I want to take that bow back with me, and ask the master of the elven clan to enchant it for you, so that its lethality will be greatly enhanced. It's a little bit of a reward for me!"
"What's the matter with enchantment?" Liang Ke asked a question that he thought he was idiot.
"Haha! You can really make fun of my brother. Enchantment is the use of special methods and materials by magicians to add magic to weapons and equipment or some tools, instilling magic power, and making ordinary equipment with some unexpected magical abilities. For example, carving a wind-based swift magic array on a two-handed sword can make the sword body lighter, making the swordsman more swift when swinging the sword, and carving a fire-based flowing fire magic array on the arrow can make the arrow with flames, producing a burning effect and igniting the enemy's grain and grass. And so on, that's what enchantment means. Old Zida patiently explained the enchanted noun to the idiot, slowly drank the last sip of wine, put the wine glass on the black basswood dining table, and then glanced intently at Liang Ke's expression, and finally confirmed that this guy was really an idiot.
"Oh, I see, this is amazing! Come, my dear Zida, for the sake of our friendship, another toast!"
A meal is eaten until the cups and plates are messy, and not a drop of wine can be poured into the wine urn before it ends.
Early the next morning, old Zida and the dwarven warriors came early to say goodbye to Liang Ke.
"Brother Aragon, no matter how sweet the rum is, there is a time when it will be dry, but our friendship will never drift away like the aroma of wine. We're going back, dwarves thank you for your hospitality, the Mithril Mine in the Gega Forest is yours, and I'll restrain the children from disturbing your troll attendants. Old Zida took Liang Ke's hand and said seriously.
"Brother Zida, how can this be, in the future, as long as the dwarven brothers need Mithril, even if you go to the mine to get the ore, as long as you report your name, I believe that my mine guard team will give you what you want. Also, I didn't bring much ore back from my trip to the pit this time, but there are still some left, so you can take them all with you. "Liang Ke showed extraordinary generosity to these powerful new friends.
"That's your private property, and if we need Mithril, we'll trade some weapons and equipment with your guards in the future, and we can't take your things for nothing. ”
"We're friends, aren't we, and if I don't hesitate to help my friends, my parents won't forgive me. Besides, you have to enchant my bow, and the knives of my squires need your help to forge them, and Mithril will be all paid for by me, do you think?"
"My dear brother, I am ashamed of your generosity, the dwarves have always considered humans to be the most cunning and miserly creatures in the world, and it seems that from this day onwards we need to re-examine our views. Old Zida was so excited that his eyes were a little red, and he couldn't stop praising Liang Ke, who was actually so cunning and stingy.
Liang Ke's face turned slightly red, and he quickly lowered his head to hide his embarrassment. "Ahem, the master said this to make my brother and me ashamed, since you are a friend, you don't have to be polite to me, you can help your friend, that is the source of my happiness. Liang Ke's two statements have changed from simple transactions to help between friends, and this kind of linguistic suggestion is not yet something that the simple thinking logic of the current dwarves can see.
"Hahaha, dear brother Aragorn, since you say so, then I also want to show my sincerity to my friend, I will make the big sword you need with my own hands. However, it is really difficult to build a knife that requires thousands of pounds, and this is also a big challenge for old Zida!" Old Zida subconsciously touched his long beard, and seemed to have begun to think about how to create this unusual and peerless knife.
"Then I'm here looking forward to the master's immortal work. Liang Ke wasted no time in using words to force old Zida into a corner.
"I'll do my best, my brother. Old Zida stood on tiptoe and patted Liang Ke's shoulder, indicating that he was reassured.
"Master Aragorn!" Tucker tightened the last bag of Mithril ore into the mouth of the bag, placed it on the broad shoulders of a dwarven warrior, and walked up to Liang Ke and saluted respectfully.
"Last night, I had a bit of a martial arts session with Mr. Piedro, and although that guy was far worse than me, I found that his martial arts were much worse than the trolls I knew before, and we had a fight the first time we fought over the mines, and that guy was smashed with two great swords by me, and finally he had to draw with me with a few extra arms, but last night he put the broken wood on my neck after only two breaths. He said that this is entirely from your teachings, which is unbelievable, and that Tucker is still young, but in any case, I will not be ignorant of a super warrior like you, isn't Aragorn your real name, and why are you living in seclusion?"
"Brave Tucker, reputation is sometimes a big trouble, didn't your father tell you the truth that Mu Xiu will be destroyed by the forest wind?" Liang Ke squinted his eyes slightly, pretending to be deep, learning to teach children.
The dwarf Tucker looked puzzled, tilted his head and frowned at old Zida.
"Mu Xiu will be destroyed by the forest wind. Haha, Brother Aragorn, this is a great wisdom!But how can the majestic spruce be obscured by the low shrubs, in you I seem to see the light of the refracted sun, your future will definitely not be blocked by the Narondo Mountain, I only hope that by that time, you will remember the old brother who lived on that mountain. Master Zida did not explain that sentence to the dwarf Tucker, because he himself did not understand very well, and only reluctantly touched Tucker's metal helmet to express comfort.
"Elder, can I learn some martial arts from Master Aragorn, and some truths like the ones I didn't understand just now?" Tucker looked at his toes shyly, and made a request that he didn't know if he would be able to support.
"Oh, it seems that our little Tucker has grown up, and I'm glad you've learned to be humble and studious, and I think your father will support your decision even if you're here, but it's up to our Hill Dwarf's most respected friend, Master Aragon, to teach you that stupid boy. Old Zida smiled and looked at Liang Ke's research, and the wrinkles on his face were full of sincerity, but this sincerity looked like a kind of cunning no matter how you looked at it.
It's too cunning, Liang Ke is a little depressed in his heart, this old guy learns quickly, this is simply too damning, if you don't agree, then not only will you not be able to be friends, I'm afraid you will have to bear the reputation of being stingy, people just praised their generosity like Kua Zua, how can they not be more generous?
"Hahaha! Brother Zida is serious, I can't ask for it, I hope my meager knowledge doesn't mislead people's children. It's better for Tucker to stay with me, on the one hand, I can learn martial arts with Piedro and them, and on the other hand, I can also be our liaison officer, if it's really time to go to Mount Naronto to beg you, I really need a guide to show me the way!" Liang Ke's habit of only taking advantage of the situation and not suffering losses was displayed at a glance, and the implication was to tell Elder Zida that this kid would be our bond in the future, and don't want to break off the relationship with me.
"Brother, your words are really profound, but I probably understand them, brother. ”
"Tucker, learn from the Master, and I'm sure that one day you'll be able to make our enemies tremble before your hammer, just like our ancestors. ”
"Yes, Elder, I will not disappoint you and Father. Tucker saluted the elder Zida respectfully.
"Goodbye, my brother Aragon, I am waiting for your arrival at the top of the Aragonese mountain, take care!"
"Take care, brother!" Liang Ke took the dwarf Tucker and a few troll guards to watch the dwarf disappear into the dark Gega forest across the river, suddenly, a drop of water fell on Liang Ke's face, cold and cold, making people feel a little chill, Liang Ke looked up at the cloudy sky, looked at the more and more dense rain, listened to the rolling thunder, and scolded casually: "Damn, this thief God, this autumn rain came too early, it seems that the idle days of catching fish and rabbits with little Taji will not last a few days, hey!"