The sound of digging had been ringing in Siegel's ears for days, and now he could finally be relieved. When the air elemental wind drill finally penetrated the rock formation, and the fresh air from outside continued to pour in, Siegel felt as if he had been reborn.

It was still dawn outside, and the world was silent and gray. It was as if they had just woken up from a dream, and they staggered into this lonely gray. Siegel stood on the hillside at the entrance of the cave for a moment before adjusting his sense of direction. He had long been accustomed to the fact that the walled mountains were to the west of the realm, but now he was to the west of the mountains.

"It's finally through. "The dwarven breath is steaming in the cold air, which is colder and drier here than on the east side of the mountains. Maybe it's been too long in the ground, and winter is starting to fall quietly? Siegel is a little unsure, maybe it's just the local climate.

A few men walked down the hill to a gentle ridge. At this time, the morning light finally revealed its face, emitting a faint golden light from the top of the city wall mountain range. It occurred to Siegel that the sunrise here would be later than in the east due to the blockage of the mountains, especially at the foot of the mountain, where the cold and dark nights were longer.

They stopped, and by this time they were miles below the entrance of the cave. With the help of the morning light, I looked into the distance, and within my vision was the vast grassland. Under the cold, the grassland turned yellow, but it still seemed to have a heavy blanket spread on the ground. Siegel kept looking at the distant horizon until his eyes ached and he couldn't find the so-called areas of hills and ravines. It seems to be bigger than the sea, and the straight people feel terrible.

"This is the scenery west of the walled mountains. The dwarf said. He crouched down and pulled out a thatch. Grab a handful of dirt from the pit. "Look. The soil here can be cultivated. But no one has ever taken advantage of it. What a pity, what a waste!"

"Aren't there any tribes nearby?"

"I don't know. The dwarf said, "The barbarians roam around, they have no fixed dwelling, and they do not build castles. They seldom plant because they can't always take care of farmland in one place, and there are a lot of wild animals here, which can destroy crops if you are not careful. There are very few stones in the vast grasslands, and there is a lack of iron ore and copper ore unless you reach the ravines, so you can't make good tools. ”

"But it doesn't matter to me. I can ship it from the east of the mountains. Siegel asked, "So what can the barbarians here provide?" ”

"It's winter, so I don't think there's too much meat, but they always have dairy and fur. The dwarf smiled and said to Siegel, "Actually, there are many animals in this land, and I have seen nearly 10,000 bison migrating together many times. Do you have enough weapons? Go hunting!"

"I'm afraid it's not time to hunt yet. Siegel said, "Is it necessary to protect the entrance to the cave first, and also to avoid being discovered by the top of Mora?"

"You're right, my lord, this matter is primary. Dwarf Locke replied, "But let me breathe a little more air outside the cage first." ”

After a while, when the sun was shining on everyone's shoulders, they walked back. The dwarven runemasters, along with Siegel, set up spell enchantments around the entrance to the cave. Except for people who know a particular secret language. Otherwise others are unable to open the entrance to the cave. And in order to silently break this layer of protection, it is necessary to remove both the rune and the mage spell at the same time. This is too difficult for outsiders.

Later, they planned to build a fortress on the hillside below the cave entrance as a transit base that could later serve as an important hub for the exchange of goods. Since it was not built on the entrance to the cave, even if someone captured the fortress, it would not be possible to find an entrance to the east of the mountain, and Siegel could mobilize his forces to fight back at any time and retake his castle.

At the same time, it is necessary to continue to lay the ropeway system, especially to solve the problem of transporting the section of the former emerald mine. For fear of being discovered by the rune array of the city wall mountain range, the width of this tunnel could not be easily expanded, and vehicles could not walk in it. If you rely on people to pull shoulders or wheelbarrows, it is difficult to form a stable transportation environment. The ropeway system is able to pass undulating in the direction of the tunnel, which will save a lot of manpower.

In this respect, Siegel is far less experienced than the dwarves. These sturdy miners have a wealth of experience in underground construction, ropeways, and hoisting systems, which makes it completely impossible for mages to get involved. They gathered the remaining rune materials and used a metal rope made of alloy as the main body, and used the strong runes, repair runes, and light runes to make a slide hook. The dwarves tried it, and each hook could support four hundred pounds of items, and could move forward very steadily with the help of the ropeway.

It would take at least ten days for the fort and ropeway system to take shape, and Siegel would not rush into contact with the barbarian tribes until then. He attempted to teleport back to Myr, only to find that his spells were unable to establish a connection to his castle across the Walled Mountains. It was then that he learned what a border closure is and what a wall wall is. There was no way, Siegel could only walk back to Mir City, and at most cast light spirit magic to speed up.

Only a handful of people, including Janet, Fezak, Mana, Hum, and Janis, knew about the secret passage, and they would all have cheered when they heard the news of the tunnel's opening. However, Manna was not in Myr now, and she led a team of fifty escorts north along the walled mountains to visit the lords of the castles of the defensive chain.

Siegel called Moore, patted him on the shoulder, and ordered him to kneel. "Will you swear allegiance to me, More, and be a brave and upright man, will you be able to face your enemies fearlessly, and remain honest even when you may incur death, and will you be able to protect the weak with your own life and weapons, and will not do it for the sake of evil?"

Moore nodded, clenched his right fist and put it on his chest: "Yes, I swear!"

Siegel tapped More's shoulders with Stardust's cold blade, then told him to his feet. "You are now my knight, and you must remember your oath and be strict with yourself even if you are not by my side. I now want you to go to Red's temple for half a day of meditation and then go home and celebrate with your family. By tomorrow morning, you'll be ready to go. Remember, you will be the first to build a castle west of the Walled Mountains. ”

"Your Lord, you're saying I'm going to have a castle?" More's hands and feet trembled, clearly overwhelmed with excitement.

"Don't be nervous, you heard it right. "I'm planning to build a fortress to protect the tunnel exits, but it's still in its infancy, and you'll have to worry about everything," Siegel said. The city of Myr will give its full support, especially with the materials to build the castle. You can also ask your grandfather to help you recommend people and help you take care of the day-to-day affairs of the castle. My request is simple: this passage must be kept safe and clear, and you must be careful to maintain trading relations with the barbarians and keep things flowing between the two ends of the tunnel. ”

"Yes, my lord, I will do it!"

"Alright, go get your grandfather, I'm going to ask him about the elves. ”

Moore hesitated for a moment, but still mustered up the courage to say honestly: "My lord, there is one thing I think it is better to tell you in advance. The elven army on the outskirts of Haim's territory was led by Master Leah. ”

A shadow suddenly enveloped the room, and there seemed to be the sound of a raging fire burning in the black shadows. Siegel's body suddenly seemed heavy, powerful, and as cold as a rock, and the shadows that obscured all light radiated from him. Moore shuddered as the shadows hit him, but soon felt a tremendous heat, as if he were in the middle of a volcano.

Siegel clenched his fist, then slowly let go. The fiery shadows faded, and Mohr regained his breath. "Go, call Fezak. Siegel said weakly, "Let the kitchen bring some warm red wine, and then bring me my pipe." ”

Moore hurriedly went to talk about these things, and by the time the one-eyed father came, Siegel was already sitting in the lord's chair in the study, apparently calm.

Before Fezak could speak, Siegel said to himself:

"I calmed down and thought about it, it's a good thing that Leah is in the legion on the other side, it means that she still has feelings for Heim Territory, right?"

Fezak nodded, then shook his head again. "Not necessarily for Heim Collar, but certainly for you. ”

"When Master Leah left Myr City, she probably didn't know the elves' strategy. At the time in Isloris, I thought there was something his druid father couldn't say, and now that I think about it, it might be the Elves' War Ancient Tree Project. Leah returned to Isloris, and after learning about it, she had various options and was able to go in all directions, but she ended up choosing the southwest, which was the direction of Heim's territory. ”

Fezak agreed: "As far as I know, the Heim Territory is the least affected and damaged area in this mess. And a few days ago, she gave us time to quickly harvest turnips and increase grain reserves. Siegel, I suggest you meet her as soon as possible, it's good for both of you. ”

"In what capacity do I see him?" said Siegel, taking a sip of red wine and clearing his throat, "My plan is to provoke the Elves and Knox to join together and turn the focus of the war to the north, and I have prepared some information for this. But if this information is true or false, if it is submitted by Leah, after the war, if the elves are still there, she will definitely be implicated. ”

"Your lordship, you have to think about it at the same time. Leah is just outside the city, and the elves know about your relationship. If the information is not given to her, no elf will believe it. ”

"That's why I'm hesitant. Siegel buried himself in the back of his seat and slowly highlighted the question: "Fezak, what do you think I should do?"

"You can't pass up this opportunity. Fezak's one-eyed glinted. "Don't change your original plan unless you have another plan. If you can't make up your mind, I can go again and deliver these materials for you. ”

"No, there is no difference between you and me, I compiled all the information. Siegel closed his eyes and fell silent before speaking again after a long time. "You've made up your mind, you can help me arrange a meeting with Leah, but be careful to keep it a secret. (To be continued......)