We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 278 [Fiery Seed] [Warhammer Tribe]

A series of hurried footsteps broke the silence in the underground cave.

Shaun, carrying the sledgehammer, turned his head and looked warily in the direction from which the footsteps were coming.

A group of dwarven warriors clad in finely crafted armor emerged from a passageway, searching anxiously for something.

What they saw first was naturally the enormous red lizard and the horrific wounds on its body.

"It's that fire lizard from before!"

"They look like they just died recently; there are signs of a fight nearby!"

"Quickly search the surrounding area; Bronzebeard might still be alive!"

Upon hearing these words, Shane immediately understood that these dwarves had come to rescue "himself".

Based on Xia En's observation just now, it's basically confirmed—

Although the fire lizard was crushed to death by the hammer, "Bronzebeard Warhammer" also suffered irreparable injuries during the battle and eventually died.

This gave the [Projected Body] the opportunity to possess the corpse.

Thinking of this, Xia En let out a low groan: "Ugh..."

Upon hearing the sound, the dwarves quickly stepped over the fire lizard's corpse and saw Shane, who appeared to have just awakened from unconsciousness.

"Great, Brother Copperbeard! It's so nice to see you again."

A dwarf with a thick beard exclaimed excitedly, "You actually took down this beast all by yourself! You truly deserve to be the bravest warrior in the tribe!"

The other dwarf also expressed his relief: "I thought... I would never see you again."

But soon, the dwarves noticed that Shane looked somewhat bewildered, as if he didn't understand what had happened.

"Bronzebeard, are you alright?"

With a wary look in his eyes, Xia En asked in a hoarse voice, "Who...are you?"

"Huh? What's going on?"

Upon hearing this, the dwarves' expressions changed slightly, and they asked in surprise, "You...you don't recognize us?"

Xia En remained silent, only looking at them with suspicion and wariness.

The dwarf doctor in the team carefully observed Shane's condition and speculated, "His head appears to have been hit hard by a fire lizard. This kind of injury may cause temporary amnesia."

"Hiss... Amnesia..."

Upon hearing this assessment, the dwarves' expressions darkened.

The bearded dwarf who had spoken first said apologetically, "It's all my fault. If only I could have returned with reinforcements sooner..."

In fact, Bronzebeard wasn't the only one who encountered the fire lizard earlier.

However, these companions were far weaker than Bronzebeard, and staying with them would only be a burden.

To cover their retreat, Bronzebeard volunteered to stay behind and fight the fire lizard.

Don't be so pessimistic.

The dwarf doctor said, "In any case, Bronzebeard is still alive, he's just temporarily suffering from amnesia."

"There will be a chance to recover your memories in the future."

"There might be other nests of the Fire Seeds around here. Let's head home as soon as possible."

The dwarf doctor's words immediately drew agreement from the others, so they carried the fire lizard's carcass, along with Shane, and headed back the way they had come.

Such a fire lizard is a very valuable trophy for the Warhammer tribe.

The dwarves, of course, had no reason to waste anything.

Perhaps out of apology, or perhaps out of concern, the dwarf with a thick beard, who was standing beside Shane, took the initiative to speak.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Kur. Before you lost your memory, I was your good brother."

"Anything you want to know, you can ask me."

As he spoke, Kur patted Shane on the shoulder, a hint of guilt still lingering in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Xia En's eyes lit up slightly.

The "amnesia" story was, of course, something he made up to deal with the dwarves; it was the best strategy for the time being.

After all, he inherited Bronzebeard's body but not the dwarf's memories. If he were to communicate normally with the dwarves, he would probably be exposed immediately.

It has to be said that although this tactic is old, it works very well!

At this point, Kur was undoubtedly an excellent source of intelligence.

Before long, Shane asked Kur several questions.

Kur patiently provided his answers.

According to Kur, Shane learned that these dwarves had lived in this strange underground cave since birth.

Countless complex and ancient tunnels, caves excavated at an unknown time, and naturally formed karst caves... together constitute this vast underground world.

The dwarves call this underground world...

【Ghana】!
It means a space that is perpetually hot and exists underground.

The Warhammer tribe, to which Bronzebeard and Kul belonged, was just one of many dwarf tribes, and one of the weaker ones.

Therefore, the area where they live is relatively remote.

It is said that the truly powerful and prosperous dwarf tribes have already built real cities underground!
"Guao!"

Just as Shane was gathering information from Kur, a deep, muffled roar suddenly came from the tunnel not far away.

Upon hearing this sound, the dwarves' expressions changed drastically. They quickly put down the fire lizard's corpse and hid in a corner of the cave.

Kur also pulled Shane aside to hide.

All the dwarves held their breath, not daring to utter a single exhale.

Clearly, they were terrified of the creature emitting the low growls in the tunnel, as if they had encountered a natural enemy.

Soon, a faint sense of oppressive power and heaviness began to spread, the air became exceptionally hot, and the perceived temperature rose by several degrees.

Even with the dwarves' constitution adapted to the [Forge Realm], they couldn't help but sweat profusely.

Fortunately, this oppressive atmosphere did not last long.

In a short while, the presence hidden in the tunnel seemed to have moved away from the cave and gradually disappeared into the distance.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and resumed their work.

Kur let out a long breath and muttered to himself, "That was close... we almost ran into another Flame Seed."

"Fire Seed?"

Xia En asked curiously.

He remembered that "Fire Seed" had appeared in the "Potential Loot" section of the "Forge Realm".

Moreover, the lizard that Bronzebeard killed earlier also had a simple and crude name: "Fire Lizard".

"Brother Copperbeard, you've even forgotten this..."

Kur looked at Shane with sympathy, but still explained, "In this underground world, dwarves have never been the true masters."

"The spark of fire is the true darling of Ghana."

"They are born with powerful bodies, tough scales, and the ability to directly control fire. It took a whole team of dwarves of ours to kill one of those fire lizards."

At this point, Kur's guilt deepened.

“If you hadn’t lost your memory, Brother Copperbeard, your record of defeating a fire lizard all by yourself would rank you in the top five in our tribe.” Upon hearing this, Xia En immediately understood.

He had been a little puzzled earlier, as the strength these dwarves displayed didn't seem to pose much of a danger to the [Projected Body].

Looking back now, the real danger may not have been the dwarf race, but rather the fire seeds hidden deep within the caves.

Those are the true powerhouses in the [Forge Realm].

However, Xia En couldn't help but think of another question.

These dwarves, judging solely from their racial characteristics, are no different from the dwarves of the Seven Seas World.

You could even say they are the same species!
So why do dwarves live in the Forge Realm?
Moreover, according to Kuer's description, they have lived here for at least several hundred years.

A bold conjecture popped into Xia En's mind.

Perhaps the ancestors of these dwarves came from the [Secret Sea World]!
They arrived in the [Forge Realm] through some special means, settled there, and have continued their race to this day.

Therefore, the Fire Seeds are the original inhabitants of the [Forge Realm].

The dwarves were merely a group of outsiders!
This explains why the [Furnace Realm] and the [Seven Seas World] have a high degree of correlation.

Why does the Flame Seed naturally possess such a significant advantage in the [Forge Realm]?

The reason Xia En made this guess was because he was reminded of the [Blood Moon Secret Realm] from back then.

Hundreds of years ago, when the first great flood came.

Since those despicable vampires could choose to sacrifice the residents of a city, causing the [Blood Moon Secret Realm] to detach from the [Seven Seas World] and sink into the [Secret Sea], thus avoiding the catastrophe of destruction.

So, the dwarves might also have the ability to hide in other [secret realms].

Although it was just a guess, Xia En was already 70-80% sure.

……

……

There is no sunlight in the underground cave.

But occasionally, a crimson crystal could be seen in the tunnel walls, emitting a faint but resolute light.

From a distance, it looks as if flames are burning fiercely deep within the rock face.

Kuer explained to Shane that it was a specialty of Ghana—lava ore.

It not only serves as a light source, but also as fuel for "mining lamps," and is widely used in the forging of various equipment and weapons.

The so-called "miner's lamp" is the kind of strangely shaped lamp that Shane had seen before, and it is also one of the essential pieces of equipment for every dwarf when traveling.

However, even though lava is so useful, the dwarves don't mine it from every rock face.

Instead, they would deliberately leave some lava deposits for lighting in important passageways.

Because in this world, darkness is a terrifying existence.

If a dwarf is placed in a dark environment, within a day he will begin to mutter meaningless murmurs and delirium, and his rationality will gradually slide into madness.

The longer the time, the more unstable one's mind becomes.

Even if they return to the light afterward, they will be left with indelible psychological trauma.

No dwarf can survive for three days in complete darkness.

Because once the three days are up, the dwarf will mysteriously disappear without a trace, as if... he has been completely swallowed up by some being in the darkness.

For these complex reasons, the closer one gets to the Warhammer Tribe, the more lava deposits are found in the rock walls.

The passageway also appeared increasingly bright.

At the same time, the temperature in the air was gradually rising, and a slightly hot sensation came from the skin.

However, the dwarves, including Kur, adapted well to the temperature here, and wore relaxed smiles on their faces.

Clearly, in the long process of survival and evolution, the dwarves have also evolved a physique that adapts to the [Forge Realm].

After passing through a somewhat long tunnel.

Xia En's vision suddenly opened up.

What appeared before them was a spacious space resembling an underground hall.

In the central rock layer above this underground space, there is a huge crimson crystal, like a small sun, providing light to the entire space.

Scattered among the surrounding rock walls are individual stone caves—each dwarf's own dwelling.

Although it may seem somewhat hasty, this way of living together can greatly protect the safety of ordinary dwarfs.

At the very center of the space stood a massive furnace.

Something appears to be forging inside the furnace.

Around the furnace, several strong dwarves were swinging iron hammers bigger than themselves, hammering a red-hot metal block.

clang!clang!clang!
With each resounding strike, the metal block gradually took shape, and numerous tiny, scale-like patterns appeared on its surface.

At this moment, one of the white-haired dwarves poured a basin of thick blood onto the metal block.

With a hiss, crimson steam rose up.

The unique power within the blood, in a wondrous way, seeped into the metal block, giving it an ethereal luster.

Xia En stared intently at the scene, feeling a sense of awe.

He had long heard that the dwarves' forging skills were exceptional, and seeing it today, he could confirm that their reputation was well-deserved.

But then again, based on what Xia En knows...

The dwarves of the Seven Seas seem to have lost some important heritage, causing the equipment they forge to lose its soul and its quality to decline.

But now, Shane is witnessing a lost art, which inevitably leaves him feeling shocked.

At this point, the dwarves' forging seemed to have come to a temporary halt.

The dwarf with a white beard and bare arms also noticed the return of Shane and the others, and waved to them.

"Bronzebeard, Kur, you're back?"

"Not bad, not bad at all. They even brought back a fire lizard. I was just worried that we wouldn't have enough blood from the Fire Seed!"

Kur hesitated, then said, "Chieftain..."

"Ok?"

Chieftain Hope, a straightforward man, disapproved of Kur's hesitant attitude and asked.

"Speak your mind, or shut up!"

"What kind of behavior is this, all alluring and hesitant?"

Upon hearing this, Kur could only say, "Brother Bronzebeard seems to have injured his brain in the battle with the fire lizard and has temporarily lost his memory."

Upon hearing this, all the dwarves were startled and looked at Shane with astonishment.

At this moment, Xia En also noticed something was amiss.

Normally, such amnesia shouldn't be publicized so extensively.

Or does Kur have other motives?
Hope glanced at Kur meaningfully, then turned to Shane and asked, "Bronzebeard, is that so?"

Xia En nodded "bewildered" and "innocently," perfectly portraying the state of an amnesiac patient.

Hope said calmly, "Alright, Bronzebeard, you go back to your cave and rest."

I'll come find you later.

(End of this chapter)