The Dwarf Mountains.
In the study of the Zafa Clan Leader Bretta's mansion, the fire in the fireplace was burning vigorously.
Bretta Zafa leaned back in her chair, holding a theoretical proposal on using runes to precisely eliminate mycelium.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a tiny figure wrapped in cold wind rushed in, his boots thumping loudly on the floor.
"Grandma! Grandma!"
Bretta's brows had just furrowed before immediately relaxing. She placed the report on her lap and opened her arms to the little dwarf throwing himself at her. Her grandson, his reddish-brown hair sticking up messily, had a nose frozen bright red and a face smeared with dirt from who knows where. "Running so fast again, what if you fall?" Bretta pulled him into her arms, her rough fingers smoothing his messy hair.
"I won't fall! I'm super strong now!" Her grandson struggled out of her embrace, stood up straight, and raised his little hand. A cluster of firelight lit up in his palm and floated up unsteadily. "Look! I learned this today! The teacher said I'm improving the fastest!"
Bretta smiled and reached out to rub the top of her grandson's head: "Mm, Grandma sees it. You learn very fast, much better than Grandma back in the day." Her grandson squinted his eyes at her touch. After a moment of silence, he suddenly raised his head again.
"Grandma, Grandma," his voice lowered a bit, carrying a trace of curiosity. "Will those clansmen parasitized by mycelium really have their minds controlled?"
Bretta's smile froze on her face.
She opened her eyes, her hand still resting on her grandson's head.
"Tell Grandma," her voice was deliberately kept steady, "who told you this?"
Her grandson, his head still being rubbed, didn't notice this change and replied: "Everyone is saying it. Gepan also said Aud's father is parasitized, and told us to stay away from Aud..."
Bretta's hand moved away from her grandson's head and landed on the back of the chair.
A moment later.
"Go look in the kitchen. Grandma had someone leave some honey cakes for you." Her voice returned to its usual gentleness. "If you don't go now, they'll all be secretly eaten by those gluttonous servants."
Her grandson's eyes lit up. Disregarding the previous topic, he turned and ran out. Reaching the door, he turned back to shout "Grandma is the best!" before disappearing down the corridor.
The next day, the Royal Council Hall.
"What are you trying to do? Spreading these rumors, what exactly are you trying to do!" Bretta's voice was full of anger.
"I am merely stating the truth." The Deepforge Clan Leader said slowly. "Only in this way will people be vigilant against those mycelia and guard against parasitism. The example of the northern Empire is right before our eyes; we shouldn't turn a blind eye."
"Then you should also be clear that doing this will cause division!" Bretta pressed her hands on the table. "The Rune Masters are already researching a solution. Why did you take it upon yourself to broadcast these matters out?"
Her voice suddenly dropped lower: "Are you planning to abandon those parasitized dwarves?"
The Deepforge Clan Leader looked away; he did not answer.
The Dwarf King rubbed his temples. He had now developed a condition where hearing about the North, mycelium, or Puchis gave him a headache.
This wasn't their first dispute over the Mushroom Fortress. The various Clan Leaders held different attitudes toward the Mushroom Fortress, so whenever related matters were brought up, it would always end in a dispute.
Right at this moment, the usually silent Black Steel Clan Leader tapped the table with a hand clad in pitch-black armor, indicating he wanted to speak. "It's rare for Black Steel to want to say something; let's hear him out first!" The Dwarf King took the opportunity to stop the dispute between Zafa and Deepforge, then muttered softly to himself, "Ancestors above, I hope it's not about those Puchis again."
A muffled voice came from the heavy armor, and the very first word shattered the Dwarf King's illusion: "The Mushroom Fortress is looking to do business with us; they want to purchase dragons." A brief silence fell over the council, before Black Steel added: "Live ones."
The Firebeard Clan Leader's beard bristled up, and he roared gruffly: "Purchase what? Dragons? And live dragons at that? Does he think dragons are Highland Goats we keep in pens? You can just buy them whenever you want? Do they not know how much damage these dragons have caused the mountains recently?"
The Deepforge Clan Leader leaned forward: "We cannot agree. Those mycelia might have methods to control dragons. If we let them control a dragon flight and the Mushroom Fortress becomes the next Empire, what should we do? Don't forget that the vast majority in the Mushroom Fortress are Demon-kin! We should strengthen our defenses against the Mushroom Fortress; it's enough for both sides to merely maintain the magic crystal ore trade."
Right at this moment, Black Steel spoke again: "Three S-Rank magic crystals, half the size of a fist."
Deepforge frowned: "What?"
"Their offering price for one live dragon." Black Steel's armor shifted slightly, as if adjusting his sitting posture. "They said if the dragon's condition is good, the price can be increased a bit."
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard, and the sound was exceptionally clear in the council hall.
The Mushroom Fortress and the dwarves indeed had some magic crystal trade dealings. The quality of the magic crystals provided by the Mushroom Fortress was indeed decent, mainly consisting of B-Rank, with the occasional A-Rank magic crystals traded in exchange for the aid of dwarven craftsmen.
However, S-Rank magic crystals had never been traded.
The dwarves were certain that the Mushroom Fortress's high-grade magic crystal vein must produce some S-Rank magic crystals, but they didn't know exactly how many.
And now, they were actually using S-Rank magic crystals as the starting price to directly purchase giant dragons!
The combat power of a giant dragon was definitely far higher than a few S-Rank magic crystals, but that only mattered if one could actually command the giant dragon!
Nowadays, apart from the highest-tier contract items possibly being able to control a giant dragon, almost any other manipulation method was ineffective. Even regarding what Deepforge had just said about mycelium controlling giant dragons, no one present really took it seriously.
"Do they... really have that many S-Rank magic crystals?" Deepforge's voice trembled a bit.
"Ahem." The Dwarf King coughed and said, "Deepforge, didn't you just say..."
"But King, if... if we really can catch a few more giant dragons, then that Slaughter Dancer War Golem in the mountain vault might just be able to..." Deepforge's voice wasn't loud, but all the dwarves present heard him clearly.
Thinking of that legendary War Golem... if it could be mobilized... the Dwarf King also fell into deep thought.
A long time later.
"Go talk to them again, see if we can negotiate the base price up to four..."
Zafa looked at them, constantly feeling that future interactions between the mountains and the Mushroom Fortress would not only not decrease, but would instead become more and more frequent.
She realized that she had to hurry up and find a method to resolve the mycelium parasitism.
It wasn't just the dwarves; through the Mushroom Fortress, Lin Jun also issued purchasing requests to humans and elves.
After all, he couldn't expect all the dragons to fly up to the North.
Furthermore, the magic crystals used for trade were all half the size of a fist, whereas the standard magic crystals ordinarily produced by the Mushroom Fortress were the size of a fist. It could be considered using one crystal as two.
Of course, the other races didn't know this yet; they still thought the Mushroom Fortress's S-Rank magic crystals were also directly mined like that.
However, just as Lin Jun issued a bounty for giant dragons across the world, Duke Lorenzo, keeping an eye on Dragon Roar Valley, spotted the figures of the exclusive servants of giant dragons—Kobolds.
(End of Chapter)
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