Arcane Journey

Deep underground, a caravan of gray dwarves traveled through the intricate underground passages.

With the help of the sickly blue light emitted by those fungi, they moved forward in this dark and dim environment, like explorers exploring the unknown, and every movement revealed a cautious attitude.

The gray dwarf merchant Tallacot was sitting in a cart pulled by a giant underground slug, and was excitedly describing to Brian the city they were about to arrive at.

His voice was full of excitement and pride, as if it was not his first time in this city, but that he had deep feelings for this city.

"Dear Mr. Brian, what awaits us ahead is the city of Ancient Orens. This dark elf city was first established five thousand years ago. It was the most prosperous, powerful, oldest, and of course the richest city among all the drow city-states during the Crown War. When the first kingdom of the dark elves collapsed in the Great Subsidence, the city of Ancient Orens became the leader among many drow city-states."

After leaving the Eye Demon Tyrant's lair, Brian headed towards the city of Ancient Orens.

His purpose was clear and determined, to find the magic ritual notes of the Spider Mage and Chief Mage Haizhuofu.

This is the key item to resolve the chaos in the Underdark and send the Lord of the Abyss back to his hometown.

For this, he had already made full preparations.

Although Brian possessed great strength, he knew that these two mages were not easy opponents.

After careful consideration, he decided to take a safer approach to sneak into the city - joining a caravan.

And Tallacot, the gray dwarf merchant, was a perfect choice he met in the tunnels of the Underdark.

Brian couldn't help but admire the gray dwarf Talacot's endless story.

He pretended to be surprised and said, "Five thousand years? That's incredible. Even the once glorious arcane empire Netheril only has a history of more than three thousand years."

The gray dwarf merchant nodded in agreement, his eyes sparkling with awe for history:
"It is indeed remarkable. The Dark Elves have a long history of more than 10,000 years. Even among the current Drow cities, there are few that can rival the Ancient Orens City."

His voice revealed a deep respect for history.

The gray dwarf merchant paused for a moment, as if recalling the long history, then shook his head and continued:
"Although the dark elves have unparalleled attainments in craftsmanship and aesthetics, their erratic style of doing things always gives people headaches. Although doing business with them is lucrative, the risks are also huge. To be honest, every time I trade with them, I feel like my life has been shortened."

Brian smiled after hearing this and said, "I once heard a scholar say that if a businessman has a 50% profit, he will take risks. If he has a 100% profit, he will dare to trample on all laws in the world. If he has a 300% profit, he will dare to commit any crime, even at the risk of losing his head."

He looked at the gray dwarf merchant and asked, "Talacot, since you are so afraid of the dark elves but are willing to do business with them every year, I guess the city of Ancient Orens is a place where you can make huge profits, right?"

The gray dwarf merchant laughed loudly, slapped his thigh and praised: "The scholar's words are really wise! As for the ancient city of Orens, it is indeed a place full of opportunities and challenges. Want to make a lot of money? That is almost impossible, unless you take the risk of robbery.

However, if we want to earn ten or a hundred times the profit, as long as we act carefully and take into account the proud character and face of the drow, there is still a great chance. How about it, Mr. Brian, would you consider cooperating with me? With you by my side, the treasures in the dark elves' treasury will flow to us like a spring. "

"Cooperation? I don't know how to do business." Although Brian asked this, he seemed to be lacking interest.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know. I can teach you. Do you know what the dark elves' favorite entertainment is?" Talakot deliberately kept the question in suspense, with a mysterious light flashing on his face.

Brian was confused, his eyes full of curiosity and desire to explore. He asked softly, "What on earth is that?"

The gray dwarf merchant raised his lips, his eyes revealing a deep wisdom: "That is gladiatorial combat. For the dark elves, a race obsessed with blood and fighting, gladiatorial combat is a stage for them to release their passion and wildness."

He became more and more excited as he spoke. He raised his head and took a big gulp of wine. He wiped the wine that spilled on his snow-white beard and continued to talk nonstop: "The dark elves are like hawks in the Underdark, eager to fly freely in the sky. When facing enemies, they will not hesitate to wield swords and show their heroic and fearless fighting spirit. In the absence of enemies, they will create enemies for themselves like hunters create prey, and even kill each other under the drive of passion.

However, under the strict control of the ruling council of the ancient city of Orens, they could not openly satisfy their desire to fight.

Thus, gladiatorial combat was born as a place for them to vent their vigorous energy. Imagine that the dark elves captured all kinds of strange monsters from the deep tunnels of the Underdark and put them into the magic-protected arena.

There, the wild beasts bit and fought each other, and the scene was bloody and spectacular.

The dark elves watched this cruel feast from the sidelines, as if it were their festival.

Not only that, the dark elves sometimes even go out in person to engage in fierce battles with these monsters.

They experience the joy of victory in battle, and feel the excitement and sense of accomplishment brought by every swing of the sword and every dodge. "

Brian smiled, seeing through the thoughts of the gray dwarf merchant, and said with a smile: "It seems that as long as I am willing to serve as a fighting opponent for the dark elves, Tallacot's purse will be filled instantly, right?"

As expected, all crows are black. It is almost impossible to meet good people in the underdark.

If you really believe in these underground races, you might be sold out and still be counting money for others.

The gray dwarf merchant Tallacott laughed dryly and rubbed his hands. He was still a little unwilling, with greed flashing in his eyes. He tried his best to persuade Brian:
"Sir, you have to know that although the army of the Dark Elf is the nightmare of the Underdark, the strength of a single Dark Elf is not that great. They usually choose Bugbears, Trolls, or Ogres as their opponents.

And you, with your strength, will be able to deal with those monsters without any problem, and you can even fight against earth giants or minotaurs. Your participation will undoubtedly bring unprecedented passion and excitement to this fight..."

In the heated atmosphere of the conversation, the gray dwarf merchant suddenly changed his expression, stood up abruptly, and nervously ordered his subordinates:

"Stop the car immediately! Gather everyone and do a quick head count!"

The order spread as fast as thunder. Every member of the convoy felt the unquestionable sense of urgency and they executed the order without hesitation.

The tense atmosphere quickly spread in the convoy, hanging over the hearts of every member.

The results of the check were shocking; three gray dwarves had mysteriously disappeared.

This sudden change filled the hearts of the gray dwarf warriors with fear. A hint of determination and resoluteness flashed in their eyes. They immediately drew their weapons from their waists in a well-trained manner, ready to deal with the impending crisis.

This is a team of fully armed gray dwarves. Even in the dangerous Underdark, these powerful warriors are enough to scare away any potential enemy.

More than fifty gray dwarves carefully formed a defensive circle with their backs to each other. Their eyes were sharp and they would not miss any suspicious points.

However, in the large cave where they were at the moment, the huge stalactites hanging upside down above their heads were like a darkness covering everything, the ground was rugged and broken, and there were countless places where monsters might be hiding.

Brian quietly observed everything around him, his eyes deep and sharp.

Suddenly, he seemed to have sensed something unusual, and immediately reminded the gray dwarves: "Watch out for the top of your head!"

Just as he finished speaking, dozens of gray tentacles suddenly stretched out from under the inverted stalactites, like man-eating monster pythons, and shot towards the two gray dwarves on the ground, causing them to scream in fear.

The two unlucky guys didn't even have time to wave their weapons to resist before the tentacles had already tightly wrapped around their necks.

In an instant, the sound of a broken neck bone could be clearly heard. After two crisp "clicks", the tentacles that lifted the heavy body of the gray dwarf quickly retracted and disappeared into the shadow of the stalactites.

The whole process was completed in less than ten seconds. (End of this chapter)