"If a dwarf's mouth is like a closed iron door, then spirits are the only key to open it."

This is a proverb that is widely spread in the plains.

Although this proverb may seem exaggerated, it actually points to two indisputable facts.

One is that the dwarves are generally paranoid and extreme, and it is always extremely difficult to communicate with them, and it is even more difficult to get the information you want from their mouths.

The second is that dwarves always have a very high pursuit of spirits.

In the eyes of many dwarves, alcohol is even second in importance to their belief in the sun and their quest for forging and smelting.

But in fact, the dwarves do not drink as much as the legend says, they tend to use the influence of alcohol to go from one extreme to the other after drinking, no matter how gloomy they are before drinking, they will become enthusiastic and unrestrained after drinking.

The goblins of the plains have even made up a few jokes about it.

The so-called "one bottle is called a brother, two bottles leak secrets, and three bottles are treason to the enemy", the irony is the dwarves, and because of this widely circulated joke, the big-eared goblins have also been completely engraved on their own blacklist by the dwarves.

Hug was well aware of this special situation of the dwarves, so when he gave the gift, he made a point of mentioning that the bottle of wine was filled with a potion that could relieve the symptoms of seasickness, which gave the dwarves in front of him a signal that he was not simply bribing them with the wine, but after careful consideration, he gave them a carefully prepared gift for their condition.

The dwarf Badosa looked up in silence, his gaze resting on Shug's face for two seconds.

Eventually, he nodded slowly, took the delicate metal flask from Shug's hand, and after unscrewing the lid and sniffing it, the dwarf's old-fashioned face finally loosened, and he touched his huge nose and pinned the flask to his waist.

Immediately after, Badosa raised his hand and shook hands with Shug briefly.

Such etiquette may seem sloppy, but it is a huge breakthrough for rigid dwarves.

When the two finished shaking hands, the stocky Badosa asked in his dull voice, "Hmm...... Mr. Ernst, right? ”

"You can just call me 'Xiuge.'"

Xiug smiled and said, "I am not an emissary of the Kingdom of Waterl, and I cannot represent the Ernst family...... As you can see, I'm just a regular member of the Dawn Society. ”

"All right, Mr. Shugg."

Badosa clasped his hands, his beard swaying slightly in the sea breeze: "So, what are you looking for me for?" Are you looking to buy weapons? Or do you want to hire artisans? ”

Speaking of this, Badosa glared hard: "It's good in advance, Mr. Xiuge...... Now the situation is exceptional, we will not allow large-scale loan of craftsmen, and the employment of soldiers and instructors cannot be discussed, you understand what I am talking about? ”

This is the communication style of the dwarves, who regard all negotiations and mediations in public as a waste of time and hypocrisy, so that at such times, they will try to turn those troublesome interactions into the simplest and most crude bargaining.

No joke, even at the meetings of the Merlin Le and the organization, the dwarves' speeches are always full of a simple and simple "beauty".

Dwarves are also particularly fond of ending a sentence with a powerful question.

This situation is similar to those online scolding war participants that Xiuge has seen in another time and space.

He remembers that at a certain time in the past, people were very fond of adding a word at the end of the sentence that was full of strong contempt and questioning, and that thing would directly increase blood pressure every time people saw it.

Just one word: "Understand?" ”

Now, this habit of the dwarves is very similar to this situation.

For a moment, Xiuge really wanted to directly raise the Black Sun Scepter and smash it against the other party's skull, but his strong reason still allowed him to restrain this impulse.

He kept smiling: "Of course I know what Master Badosa said, please rest assured, the Dawn Society does not plan to talk to you about these things at the moment, and even if the Dawn Society needs it, it will not be me who will talk to you." ”

Badosa was a little surprised, he reached out and stroked his beard: "What? Don't you have a place in the Dawn Society? ”

"Status?"

Hearing this, Xiuge shook his head: "This term is not usually talked about within the Dawn Society, and the reason why I won't talk about related matters with you is just because this aspect of the matter needs to be handed over to more professional craftsmen and soldiers. ”

He looked at Badosa earnestly, "You don't want to discuss the smelting of minerals and the design of machinery with a mage, do you?" ”

At this moment, a smile finally appeared on Badosa's bearded face, and he gestured to the rest of the dwarves behind him, and walked forward: "Then come here to talk, I want to find a place to sit!" ”

Soon, Shuge and Badosa reached the middle of the deck, and by this time, the ship's attendants had already fetched wooden tables and chairs and fixed them to the ground.

The two of them chose a random table and sat down like that.

Badosa took out the flask that Shug had given him, he took a careful sip, and then narrowed his eyes in satisfaction: "Oh, Boldon Craft Brew as a base, mixed with a small amount of Hayne's 'seaweed wine'...... What's going on with this sweetness? Oh, maybe it smells like a potion? Did you add sugar to it? ”

Shuge shrugged: "I don't know about this, after all, I didn't make this bottle of wine myself...... My friend loves desserts, and she makes things that have a sweet taste, even potions. ”

"Well, that makes sense!"

Badosa laughed, his thick palm slapped on the table, "In our place, too, women will prefer dessert wines, and I can tell you, this type is best suited ......"

As the leader of this group of dwarves, Badosa's actions fit perfectly with the stereotypes in Shug's mind about the dwarven race.

After just two sips of wine, he became a completely different person, not only did his voice begin to grow louder, but the topics he talked about also began to become extremely unrestrained.

Luckily, Badosa didn't forget what he was doing because of that little bit of alcohol, and after a few casual nonsense words, the topic of conversation finally fell back to square one.

Badosa reluctantly hung the flask back on his waist, and then he said earnestly to Siug, "Mr. Siuge, I'll be straight...... I don't like humans, and I don't like those 'pointy ears' and 'big ears', but you're an exception. ”

Badosa fetched a clean napkin from one of the waiters, and after carefully wiping off the two drops of wine stained on his beard, he said, "I've heard about you before, huh...... A nobleman on the plateau, abandoning his stable situation and sacrificing his life for the refugees in a city, is something that only a hero can do. ”

He stared at Hug: "I didn't believe in these things at all at first, until I met those refugees in Boult, and every single one of them knew you and remembered your name, hmph, that's amazing." ”

Suddenly, he received a series of compliments and affirmations from a dwarf with a strange temper, and even Xiuge couldn't help but blush a little.

However, before Shuge could speak, Badosa continued: "Ah...... I know what you guys from the aristocracy like to say, every now and then you have to start to shirk that you haven't done anything noble, and you haven't done well enough like that, hey, I guess right? ”

"Pretty accurate."

"Still? Am I saying something wrong? ”

In the face of Badosa's questioning, Xiuge raised two fingers: "First, so many people have been able to survive from the city of Seren, not only me, but also those who did not leave any names and the survivors themselves, all of whom have paid a huge price in the process. ”

Shuge and Badosa looked at each other, and there seemed to be a deep shadow surging in their eyes: "I will not deny my efforts, but it is by no means something I did alone, and to accept them all is to deny their sacrifice." ”

The dwarf across the table felt a palpable sense of oppression, and he couldn't help but swallow and instinctively wanted to back away, but the back of the chair stopped Badosa's movements.

Then, Xiuge raised a second finger: "Second, I really didn't do well enough, this is not a shirk, but a real situation...... I had foreseen the tragedy that might befall the city of Seren, but my role in the progress of the disaster was extremely limited, and I was well aware that for some time I had been a cold spectator, like most people. ”

The sea breeze was blowing, but with these words of Xiuge, it was as if an invisible wall had risen nearby, cutting off all the forces around it.

In this terrible sense of oppression, Badosa took a heavy breath, he forcibly broke free from it, and nodded twice quickly at Xiuge: "Okay, okay, I know, Mr. Xiuge, I know!" ”

Shuge lowered his palm, and a gentle smile reappeared, and he pressed the Black Sun Scepter and said to Badosa, "Let's talk about these topics here...... If you're really interested, we can find a night to have a drink and talk, and I'm in for a treat. ”

Listening to these words, Badosa was not happy at all.

He only felt that he was now trapped in a terrible transparent cage, and that he could not get the slightest help from the smiling waiters, the familiar passengers, and the sailors who patrolled the deck with weapons in their hands, despite the constant passing of people nearby......

Although asking for help was a matter of moments, Badosa did not feel safe at all.

But in the next second, the flickering shadows in Shuge's eyes had calmed down, and the terrible feeling of oppression faded like a tide, and Badosa breathed a sigh of relief, and then he immediately adjusted his sitting posture to make himself appear a little more upright.

The dwarves have terrible personalities, but that doesn't mean they're stupid.

The terrible feeling that swept through just now made Badosa truly realize that the "young nobleman" in front of him and the "wine bags and rice bags" he had come into contact with in the past were not the same concept at all, and the instinct for survival told Badosa that he had better maintain enough respect when dealing with this messenger of the Dawn Society, otherwise the glittering silver cane could really fall on his neck or head.

At the same time, Xiuge's heart also stirred up a little wave.

Originally, he just wanted to use his abyssal magic to exert some pressure and influence on the dwarf in front of him, but at the moment when he mobilized this abyssal power, he actually directly captured some traces of similar power on this dwarf's body.

However, Badosa himself didn't seem to have any problems, his behavior was extremely normal, and there was not even any trace of magic in his body, and his every move was even more reasonable......

Xiuge's fingers rubbed slowly on the cane, and he was thinking endlessly: "Judging from the current situation, it is not very likely that the Black Sun Association will directly win over and erode these dwarves, these guys are too strange, and their beliefs are also very firm, as believers in the 'sun', their resistance to the so-called black sun is also destined to be extremely strong......"

"However, the perception just now should not be wrong, which means that these dwarves have recently come into contact with something 'wrong' or even in the last two days?"

After coming to this inference, Shuge calmed down and said, "Master Badosa, it may be a bit presumptuous to say this, but I wonder if you have interviewed certain people before and after you boarded the ship?" ”

"Hey, Mr. Shugg...... What do you mean? ”

Although Badosa is now quite afraid of Xiuge, he still shows the attitude he should have in the face of such problems: "This kind of problem involves both sides, both sides! It's a matter of principle! ”

Shuge didn't back down because of this, his body leaned forward slightly, and he threw out a question that made Badosa's body tremble: "I know it's a matter of principle, but what if it's about your own safety?" ”

"What...... What's safe? ”

Badosa was stunned for a second, but before he could react, the feeling of oppression that had subsided before actually returned, and before Badosa could even open his mouth to shout, his eyes directly touched the darkness surging in Xiuge's pupils, and the powerful force that was enough to interfere with his thoughts turned into an invisible whirlpool, as if to drag his will into the boundless abyss.

At this moment, Badosa suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his back.

It was as if a piece of his skin had been brought to life by the strange magic of Shug, and he felt as if his skin had detached from his body and squirmed around his back little by little.

However, the young man in front of him smiled: "It turns out that it is here, and it is well hidden." ”

(End of chapter)