Chapter 71: The Forging Hammer Deal: Dwarves' Gamble and the Wrath of Sylvus
"Looks like I've won, haven't I?" Sylvus asked with a smile.
Ronald and the others wore dark expressions, not knowing what to say. If they hadn't seen the forging hammer and if Mondo hadn't been healed, they would have been very happy. But now, in their hearts, Mondo's value couldn't compare to the forging hammer. They even wished that Mondo had died from Sylvus's potion.
If Mondo knew what his tribesmen were thinking, he probably wouldn't be so happy right now.
"If you want us to forge something for you, you'll have to give us the forging hammer," Ronald said as he looked at Sylvus.
"Oh? Are you trying to renege on your promise?" Sylvus asked mockingly. The one thing he feared least was people trying to back out of their deals.
"Hmph, we dwarves never renege on a deal. But you've caused us quite the problem by crippling our prince and killing his mount." Ronald said with a cold snort. "If you give us the forging hammer, we'll forget what happened before, and we'll even forge anything you want for free in the future."
Meylan couldn't stay silent after hearing that. "Isn't that reneging?" he was about to say something, but Sylvus cut him off with a smile.
"Alright, I'll give you the forging hammer. Just make what's on these blueprints for me." Sylvus said, throwing the small silver hammer and the blueprints toward them.
Meylan was momentarily stunned. He knew that every time Sylvus smiled when it seemed like he was about to lose, it meant that his opponents were in for a painful surprise. Ronald couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had thought Sylvus would refuse, but instead, he agreed and threw the hammer to them.
"Good, you're being reasonable. Don't worry, we'll definitely forge what you want... uh..." Ronald trailed off as he looked at the blueprints. After flipping through the first page, he froze. When he finished looking at all the blueprints, his face darkened again.
The other dwarves noticed the change in Ronald's expression and gathered around to look at the blueprints. One look was enough to leave them all speechless.
"This... this is impossible. This project is so massive that even if all our dwarves worked on it, it would take at least ten years to complete. And the materials required would drain all of our resources!" an elderly dwarf exclaimed.
The details on the blueprints were clear to them, but that only made them more shocked. Each page contained data that would require hundreds of billions of magic crystals to produce. There were over a hundred pages of blueprints.
Calculating all of it, even selling their entire dwarf clan wouldn't be enough to gather the necessary funds or materials.
"Don't worry, I know you dwarves are poor. You only need to make a simplified version," Sylvus said with a smile.
Even though he couldn't understand the blueprints, the system had told him that the Heaven Cannon on the ship could destroy the entire continent in one shot. Something of this level required immense resources, probably more than the entire Eslar continent could provide. Since a full version of the ship couldn't be built, Sylvus decided to settle for a simpler one.
He didn't intend to destroy the whole continent with one shot anyway.
"Even a simplified version would still require at least trillions of magic crystals. We dwarves can't afford that!" another elderly dwarf snorted. If it were something under a hundred billion magic crystals, they would agree. But this project was too massive.
As soon as the elder finished speaking, an intense aura erupted from Sylvus. In the next second, Sylvus struck with his palm, and before the elder could react, he was crushed into a pile of flesh with only a scream.
The sudden attack from Sylvus made everyone fall silent. Even the people waiting in line were filled with a mix of fear and excitement. Sylvus had finally taken action, and with a single palm strike, he killed a powerful Holy Knight. A being equivalent to a Magic Emperor!
Ronald and the five other dwarves were frozen in shock. They hadn't expected Sylvus to be this powerful. Even if their companion had been caught off guard, to be crushed with one slap was beyond belief.
"Ronald! You lost the bet, and I gave you the forging hammer. Do you think we dwarves are liars? Or are you not taking me seriously? How dare you push your luck! I think there's no need for your dwarven clan to stay on this continent anymore!" Sylvus said coldly as he looked at the six dwarves.
The crowd was shocked when they heard Sylvus's words. Was he really planning to wipe out the entire dwarf clan?
Ronald and the others trembled in fear. If they had doubts before, they no longer questioned Sylvus's capability to carry out his threat. The remains of a powerful Holy Knight were right there on the ground.
"Senior Sylvus, please, don't be hasty. We... we just haven't decided yet. We—" Ronald stammered, swallowing nervously. His heart was filled with terror. Earlier, he had thought that Sylvus was afraid of the dwarves because he had been so agreeable.
Now he realized Sylvus was just preparing to settle all the scores at once.
"Haven't decided yet? Then die first and think about it later!" Sylvus snorted coldly as an even stronger aura burst from him. Even Ronald, a Nine-Star Holy Knight, felt his legs give way, and he collapsed onto the ground. He could feel that Sylvus wasn't joking; he truly intended to wipe out their entire dwarf clan.
In that moment, Ronald finally understood why Boone had been so afraid of Sylvus. Sylvus's power was beyond what anyone could contend with.
"Who would've thought that such excitement could be found in the Holy City?"
Suddenly, a gentle voice echoed through the alley, and a fragrant wind filled the air. The fear that had gripped everyone's hearts vanished. Even Sylvus couldn't help but retract his aura. He was surprised that someone could make him change his mind. Whoever had arrived must be extraordinary.
As he pondered this, Sylvus turned to look toward the source of the voice. What he saw left him standing in place, utterly stunned.