The whale absorbed Vuard’s words with surprise. That crystal was born underground on the planet, being found almost exclusively in the southern region where they were...
’So what we felt in the desert when we first arrived must have been a moon crystal.’ Bruno concluded. ’Because it’s an inhospitable and almost unexplored region, there must be some. We entered the desert for the first time from the south, so at the beginning of the desert from the south, there should be some. In the more inner region, there shouldn’t be anything, so we didn’t feel it.’
The whale then addressed the dwarf, asking, "In a week, we should finish off 90% of the ogres in the region. We saved more than 150 thousand dwarf women. That should be enough for the king to owe us a big favor, right?"
They said this because they wanted to keep the diagram a secret from the outside. They would hand it over to the king, but the king couldn’t reveal where it came from. If he wanted to reward the whale, he would have to give another reason to the people around him. He was a king chosen, not something inherited; any move must be approved by others. If he gives a too large reward, he will be severely questioned.
Vuard nodded quickly. "Dwarves reward very well those who help them. Just for you having helped us in that alchemy city, it would be enough for him to owe a big favor. Added to these great feats, you can rest assured."
They nodded and headed to a tent. This crystal was so rare that only dwarves possessed it, so they would hardly find another ogre with it. For such bad luck to have happened, Alm and Bruno knew that the will of the heavens was manipulating things.
They could have traveled to the dwarf kingdom without encountering any ogre, and the most likely outcome was not having any women with them. If that happened, they would return from the dwarf kingdom without having seen this crystal, and they would never connect it to the sensation of their bloodline. But everything happened as if a road was being built for them to discover this crystal and go to the dwarf kingdom in search of it.
As they entered the tent, they laid Ruri down and carefully analyzed her soul. Bruno, who had studied and developed a soul technique called "Soul Link," sighed and said. ’Her condition is just stable. It’s at the same level as when she got injured while killing the patriarch; it will take more than a month just for her to be able to walk normally. Getting minimally recovered to fight will take much longer.’
Alm sighed as well and then remembered something. ’I think it’s time to test that idea.’
Bruno quickly recalled. They had won a single random chest in the main quest. Initially, they had forgotten about it. But before leaving the city, Bruno remembered to open it, so Alm stopped him with an idea.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
’This is definitely a moment of need,’ Bruno said, nodding to the whale.
Immediately, the entire tent was surrounded by stones of various sizes. They were all the infamous lucky charms they brought from the abyss. They used only half to make some statues in the city; the rest they kept.
’Random chest means luck. A lucky charm fits perfectly, and with this quantity, let’s see if it works,’ Alm said slowly, then thought about the reward, and the green screen appeared asking for confirmation.
’Yes.’ He accepted immediately.
[Faded leaves from an ancestral tree obtained!]
An infinite fury surged in the eyes of the whale, and then three small and withered leaves appeared from the void before them. Alm raised the whale’s arm to destroy it furiously... then Bruno roared.
’WAIT!’
He calmly picked up the leaves and examined them for a while. Then nothing happened...
’They’re just ordinary leaves, they don’t have any QI or energy,’ Alm said furiously.
Bruno tried everything; he didn’t want to believe they had gained something so useless. Then, out of ideas, he applied a bit of soul energy. Suddenly, the whale’s eyes gleamed.
’These are leaves from a spiritual tree!’ Bruno exclaimed excitedly.
Alm, in disbelief, infused his soul into it. In a second, he lost contact with that energy.
’The amulet really came in handy, excellent,’ Alm said now with rare happiness. ’This tree only exists in the divine realm, and its leaves are withered. But it serves our purpose.’
’It’s a waste that would make Almin spit blood. You could make a pill thousands of times more powerful, but fuck it,’ Bruno added and began infusing a large amount of soul energy into the leaves; Alm did the same quickly. In minutes, the leaves began to glow with energy, then stopped. That was the maximum limit.
Those leaves came from a tree that naturally cultivated soul power, so all its leaves had the ability to absorb it easily. They filled them to the brim; and now they rolled them up and gently opened Ruri’s mouth, pushing them inside.
A leaf was something natural and could be easily absorbed by the body; their soul power was taken by the leaf, and it would merge with Ruri easily. So Alm and Bruno monitored the leaf inside her and helped expedite everything. Half a day later...
CRACK!
A muffled sound echoed inside her body, and the whale watched a bit surprised. ’Her soul broke through to another level... her soul gained a divine trace thanks to the leaves from a divine plant. Her soul is now slightly above someone in the Spirit Fusion Realm.’ Alm analyzed.
Bruno added, ’Her misfortune turned into a significant breakthrough. When she reaches the Spirit Fusion Realm and undergoes another baptism, her soul will not only have a trace of divinity... well, we almost died to advance a few times, too.’
An hour later, Ruri woke up perfectly healthy and full of energy. The whale explained about her breakthrough, and she just smiled happily. Sometimes breakthroughs come at unexpected moments, Alm and Bruno told her, and she nodded in understanding.
So, after a week, they completed the entire quest in the mountainous region. More than 150 thousand dwarf women were rescued, and about two thousand human women were with them; surprisingly, there were no other races. The total numbers were the same as the babies, an army of crying children day and night, which no one could stand... except for Corin, for the wrong reasons.
When they prepared to leave, Ruri came to talk to her master a bit sulky. "Master... I talked to all of them... two-thirds of them really want to stay with their children. But the other part seems to feel a repulsion towards their babies... and it’s very painful to see that."
The whale sighed, it was expected. No, it was actually a lot better than they expected. After all, judging by the experience these women had, it wouldn’t be a surprise if not even half of them wanted to keep the children. "They went through something traumatic, and not everyone has a strong will. Some may have family, other children, or even husbands. They were kidnapped and had to have children forcibly, you can’t blame them or their children." Bruno spoke gently.
Ruri nodded, still bitter, but that was the reality, and there was nothing to be done. Then, the whale continued. "There’s no need to be like this. Langrum will take care of them as if they were her own children. Our city exists to welcome them, doesn’t it?"
Ruri nodded, recalling the familiar woman who was a product of the same situation. It was a pity that the children would live without parents, but Langrum would take good care of them.
The reason the dwarves in the city didn’t harbor a strong hatred for Langrum was solely because the whale converted them to his side very quickly. She was someone very close to him, so no one had any ill thoughts about her.
Soon, the whale gathered with Vuard. They were going to the dwarven kingdom, and on the way back, when they went to the Three Extremes Sect, he would take to the city anyone who wanted to live peacefully with their children there. There were those who abandoned their children to stay with the dwarves, but they welcomed everyone without any problems.
The journey with a giant army was slow and took another three weeks to leave the mountainous region. Now, four months had passed since they left the city. Soon, a coniferous forest emerged.
After three days of walking, they saw an imposing mountain in the center of the forest. Vuard explained that the entire dwarven kingdom was underground, but it wasn’t something small; there were three different cities, and each was half the size of the desert city.
There was only one entrance and exit to maintain strict control. All the women stayed at a distance to avoid causing an alert with so many people approaching; only the whale, Ruri, and the dwarf presented themselves. When the dwarf soldiers spotted Vuard, they all recognized him happily, and one of them said, "Vuard finally returned! The princess asks about you every week."
Vuard smiled; it had been almost ten years since he last returned. Soon, another one said, "Did you finally become a master? The princess won’t stay single forever; she already has several suitors."
The red-bearded dwarf froze, then turned to the silent whale and saw Ruri smiling faintly at him. He then explained with a slight atypical shyness.
"Sorry, princess is just an empty title for the king’s daughter. Among dwarves, the only thing that matters is your skill in forging. I was young and inexperienced, so I went on a pilgrimage with some friends to improve myself and return as a master. Only then would her father approve of me."
The whale nodded, pretending to be interested in that, while Ruri seemed genuinely interested in the dwarf’s love story. Surely, she would ask more about it later. Alm and Bruno would know everything in the end, even if they didn’t want to; Ruri always told them excitedly about these things, and they listened, unable to reject her joy. Langrum’s entire relationship was documented by Ruri for them.
"Now, I’ve found a disciple of the god of the forge! And he helped me improve my techniques; I’m sure I’ll be approved by the king soon." Vuard spoke proudly; the whale had already given him permission to talk about it.
The dwarves were in a stir with the news of a disciple of the god of the forge. When Vuard mentioned that it was the gigantic being, at first, they narrowed their eyes and stared at him. "Disciple of the God of Forge? An Ogre? Vuard, this is no joke. You are tarnishing our god’s name... wait, he is not green..."
The while’s mouth twitched as Ruri spoke furiously. "He is not an ogre. He just looks like one! I mean, he looks a lot like one, but he is definitely human!"
Bruno and Alm were speechless. Was she truly on their side? That was hard to say...
Vuard quickly explained everything, making those dwarves a little skeptical.
Then, the whole army of saved women was told about. The dwarves practically called Vuard a liar, but when they saw the hundreds of thousands, they almost fell back in joy. However, they soon turned cold when they saw the babies they were carrying; it was as Vuard had said, the dwarves had an intense hatred for ogres.
"Don’t worry, whoever wants to stay in the kingdom can stay. But I’ll come back to my new home, and I’ll take everyone with me," Vuard spoke, calming the spirits. "No hybrid ogre will stay in the kingdom if that’s what you are thinking."
It would be impossible for an ogre hybrid to live in the dwarven kingdom with so much animosity. So, anyone who wanted to stay would have to leave their child. The reality was harsh for those who wished to be accepted.
Soon, everyone entered the tunnels inside the mountain. The tunnels quickly became larger and larger. Soon, they were walking in tunnels so wide and high that, if it weren’t for the complete lack of light and the smell of earth, they might think they were on the surface.
In no time, they reached a gigantic open area underground. Due to torchlight, they could see the ceiling, which was hundreds of meters high. It was the main city of the dwarven kingdom.
Vuard introduced them to the city. They saw various human merchants and even some cultivators with the Three Extremes Sect symbol on their chests. Most dwarves knew Vuard, and everyone asked if he had become a master.
From the conversations of the dwarves who approached them, they could understand that the princess and Vuard were childhood friends. Among the dwarves, there were not very strict hierarchies; after all, the high dwarves did not exist, and if they were alive, things might be different.
As for the dwarven women, they dispersed and ran to their families. Some left their children with the human women who stayed, and clearly, they would not come back to retrieve them. Others left with their children in their arms, hoping they could be accepted. But unfortunately, Bruno knew the huge majority would be back soon.
Following that, Vuard left them in a bar designated for important visitors, located near the central area of the city. He informed them that he would request an audience with the king to tell everything and would soon come back to take them to the castle.
Time passed, and Corin continued to cause trouble for Ruri with his penetrating glances at the dwarven women. The temperature throughout the city was comparable to that of the desert during the day; forges were present practically everywhere, and women also performed the same activities as men. Due to the heat, their clothes were simple and revealing, which exerted an irresistible attraction on Corin.
Ruri roared internally while keeping Corin’s lecherous glances under control. Loeus and the whale observed him with expressions of oddity. The difference in size and appearance from a human was enormous; some dwarven women even had beards. However, Corin seemed completely unfazed. How he found that attractive was a mystery to everyone.
Bruno commented mentally with a sigh, ’Maybe Corin hasn’t made any moves towards the dwarves we brought because their children intimidated him...’
’Don’t be naive. He was content just watching them breastfeed their children; there were so many that Ruri couldn’t stop him.’ Alm cut in, his words laced with disgust.
After two hours, the whale noticed something strange.
People around them were becoming scarcer; whenever someone passed by the bar, they didn’t return. Using their souls, they felt a distant, silent movement. They were dwarves... holding axes and other weapons, calmly surrounding the bar.