The whale snorted coldly, and it took the two dwarves several minutes to regain their composure. After they secured Vorion, they calmly asked, "Where can I find this metal?"
The dwarf king, Nival, quickly responded, "It naturally appeared on a planet near the galaxy’s core. It’s a wild planet, nothing particularly noteworthy, but since it’s at the point of highest Yin concentration in the galaxy, a mutation occurred, creating Netherium. This metal is exclusive to that planet."
Alm and Bruno nodded. In powerful galaxies, natural phenomena like this sometimes pop up randomly. In their previous universe, they had only read about similar things, but never seen them. It was rare and hard to come by, because as soon as the planet ceased to exist, everything disappeared.
The difference now was that they were in the Queen’s universe, where everything was much more powerful, and these surprises probably occurred more frequently. As for the dwarves, with their vast information network thanks to the Larimar market and the incredible mobility granted by the Prana Law, they were certainly among the biggest beneficiaries, living to find these rarities.
"We were lucky that it was born on a planet close to us, and that we discovered it before it was exploited by outsiders. That was two hundred thousand years ago. Today, the wild planet is heavily guarded," Nival added calmly.
"Great, I’ll visit it soon. I need to forge a new weapon in time for the Convention. But first," the whale said, turning to Zaimo, "he is one of my allies, and I brought him because his forging skills are unique."
The two dwarves turned to Zaimo, surprised. Had this young man really caught the attention of the God of the Forge?
Zaimo felt pressured by their gazes, but only for a second; he quickly became indifferent. He had fought so many times and trained so harshly that something as small as this had become meaningless.
The dwarves nodded, recognizing that in the eyes of this young man, there was an almost beastly willpower. He didn’t seem like a dwarf, but rather a seasoned and confident cultivator. The whale waited a moment and continued:
"Don’t get me wrong, Zaimo isn’t a forger. In that area, he’s probably the worst dwarf you’ve ever seen." The two were completely stunned to hear that. "His talent lies in a different kind of work, something unique that you’ll rarely find elsewhere. I came to ally with the dwarves because I’m certain his skills will change the entire history of dwarves in the universe. There will be a before and after his arrival."
The king and the Master of the Forge were now completely in shock. The whale’s words weren’t small; he was promising something unimaginable that would change everything.
"Tomorrow, gather all the dwarves with cultivation and potential to go to the Convention with me. And also summon the most powerful dwarf army for the battle. Over these three months, Zaimo will teach his skills, and all the dwarves must study and practice day and night."
The whale spoke slowly, while the two dwarves, both frightened and curious, nodded. He continued, "But first, since everyone is celebrating, the Master of the Forge must want to see this with his own eyes, right?"
Valzi quickly nodded, his eyes shining with excitement. "Let’s go to a safe place for a practice battle," the whale said, and the king also nodded, eager.
They were taken to a location on the surface, a training arena surrounded by a high-level defense formation. The dwarves almost never used this arena, but it existed for testing weapons and other items they produced.
Zaimo and Valzi calmly approached the center of the arena. Zaimo was only at the fifth level of the Spirit Fusion Realm, the first realm of divine cultivation. Valzi, a follower of the God of Merchants, although he rarely fought or focused on cultivation, was at the elementary level of the Divine Sovereign Realm, the last divine realm.
"I’ll only defend and won’t use anything. Please, show me your creations," Valzi said politely, like an art connoisseur.
Zaimo glanced at the whale, a bit hesitant. "Try not to hurt him. But go all out," the whale replied calmly.
The king was stunned—hurt him? That was impossible.
Suddenly, Zaimo raised his hand, and a surge of power coursed through his body. In an instant, his small figure transformed into a monstrous being clad in silver armor. His height shot up to almost two meters, and his entire silhouette was covered in metal plates that seemed to grow directly from his skin.
The armor was flawless, every piece seamlessly fused, as if it were an extension of his own body. Intricate runes covered every inch of its surface, radiating a frantic energy. Quickly, the atmosphere around him grew heavy, an overwhelming aura emanating from Zaimo, suffocating everything around him.
"The focus of this armor is defense. I’m a shield made to protect, not attack," a robotic voice echoed, dry and impersonal. "So don’t think this is my full potential. Now, I’m going to attack."
As soon as he spoke, the runes on the armor lit up intensely. Zaimo gestured, and small openings appeared in his armor. Immediately, the runes detached and floated around him like tiny stars.
The arms of Zaimo’s armor twisted, morphing into two heavy rifles. Valzi watched, confused, but with his sharp eyes, he noticed they were projectile weapons.
’He really thinks he can hit me with that?’ Valzi thought, incredulous.
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
But without warning, the runes around Zaimo vanished. Valzi felt his body freeze, as if an invisible force was holding him in place.
*BANG!*
The deafening sound of the two rifles firing echoed through the air. Before Valzi could react, he was violently thrown back, crashing into the formation that surrounded them. He felt every bone in his body crack from the impact.
Valzi looked down, stunned, seeing two burned holes in his chest. The projectiles had struck him with deadly precision. There was no warning, no fluctuation of an attack, not even a chance to move.
He was pinned down and hit, and even with his far superior cultivation, he had no chance to escape. If it were someone with a cultivation level closer to Zaimo’s, what could happen?
The King, who had the same cultivation level as Valzi, watched in disbelief as the events unfolded before his eyes. Valzi, lying on the ground, breathed heavily, his body trembling with pain. With great effort, he stood up, staring at the metallic figure floating in front of him.
"This is the only offensive weapon my armor has. It’s used only in emergencies," the robotic voice reverberated, cold and indifferent. "But I can also attack directly. See for yourself."
Zaimo’s metal hands clenched tightly, and in an instant, he shot toward Valzi like a comet of steel.
Valzi, filled with humiliation, felt his pride burning in his chest. He knew he had to counterattack, or the disgrace would be unbearable. Concentrating some of his Qi, he channeled his strength into a single punch.
The silver giant and the dwarf closed in midair, and the impact between them was like the clash of two titanic hammers.
*BOOM!*
Valzi was once again slammed into the magical formation, this time with even more force. He spat out a mouthful of blood before passing out.
His body collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Not because Zaimo’s power was absurd, but because he was too weak. Zaimo had simply made his Qi invade and strike his weak points. Yet he was only slightly hurt, and even so, he fainted? It was ridiculous.
Zaimo, unmoved, continued to float, his metallic presence representing an imminent and crushing threat.
Nival was completely stunned. The whale casually commented, "Zaimo is an experienced warrior, and his strike was filled with Qi. He knew how to exploit the weak points in the dwarf’s body, which is why it was so effective."
The king turned to the whale, trembling. Indeed, it seemed like a miraculous magic. The whale continued:
"But... that would be impossible for someone with his cultivation. It all came from the armor he wears, which is capable of amplifying physical strength more than a hundredfold. This armor of his wasn’t designed for attacks—if it were, its offensive power would be just as colossal. If that were the case, someone as ridiculously weak as Valzi would have been severely injured at the slightest mistake."
The dwarf king’s legs trembled as he imagined how powerful the dwarves could become with something like this.
They had always excelled in high cultivation, but in one-on-one combat against real cultivators of the same realm, they would lose pathetically. Everything they had was given to them by the God of Merchants; they never bothered to practice or learn combat techniques.
However, the number of cultivators at the peak of the divine realm among the dwarves was overwhelming. Even compared to the greatest sect in the universe, they had four times more cultivators at that level.
Still, those numbers only guaranteed their survival, preventing them from being easily wiped out without irrecoverable losses to their enemies. This created a psychological terror in their enemies that protected them.
But if everyone learned this kind of forging... who could compete with them?