Chapter 251: Courtesy First, Force Later, Power Speaks

After the initial panic passed, the Dwarves immediately picked up their weapon s and prepared for battle. Although their long life underground had made their eyes unable to see in the normal light of the Surface, even with their eyes closed, they still formed a battle line.

However, this time, the first row was not occupied by the Dwarves’ pride, the Defenders. Instead, it was a group of alternative Barbarians who used heavy spiked steel shields. They called themselves the Break Army Axes. These Barbarians relied on a defensive stance to absorb the enemy’s blows, while also kicking to directly damage opponents and trying to shatter the enemy’s weapons with their Dwarf heavy axes. Compared to the Barbarians who wore light armor and screamed as they charged forward, these were quite unique.

The underground intelligent races, represented by the Dark Elves, did not have a good reputation on the Surface. So even before the enemy showed obvious hostility, the defenders in the camp had already strung their Longbows and drawn their swords, ready to fight these uninvited guests at any moment.

The weather tonight was quite favorable for the defenders. The clear night sky was cloudless, filled with stars. Bright, sparkling lights were embedded in the dark blue night curtain like shining gems. A faint crescent moon hung faintly in a corner of the sky, looking like a sharpened sickle.

Within this thin veil of moonlight and starlight, the Dwarves’ unique weapons displayed their eye-catching postures to the people on the Surface.

George, standing behind the wooden wall, watched the equipment in those Dwarves’ hands and instinctively swallowed hard. At the same time, he noticed the weapons in his own hands and those of the soldiers behind him, and his heart suddenly felt a bit weak.

‘Damned it, my intuition tells me that once my weapon collides with those Dwarves’ blades, it feels like it will definitely break after a few hits. And my own armor cannot withstand even a few strong attacks from the enemy…’ George’s palms were almost sweating. Although he tried hard to hide his nervousness, his constant swallowing betrayed him.

On the other hand, the carefree Hiren was still joking about the height difference between his lover and the Gnomes. His joking behavior actually prevented the soldiers below from focusing too much on the enemy’s weapons.

George, relieved for a moment, didn’t know whether to feel happy or worried: ‘I never thought Hiren’s current approach would work so well in the army. But it seems this only allows him to get along with ordinary soldiers or lower officers. They might see Hiren as a good charge captain, but at the same time, it increases their doubts about his command abilities…’

In his opinion, the best result for now was that the morale of the army would not be shaken due to equipment issues. In fact, George was overthinking this. It was not something an ordinary person could do to clearly distinguish the equipment gap between the two sides in such an environment.

In fact, George himself could only see that the enemy’s weapons were more refined than his own. He had no idea what the exact gap was, nor could he understand any data functions.

However, since practicing the “Doumu Yuanjun Visualization Method”, George’s perception had become increasingly sharp. Especially after condensing the “Ziwei Emperor” among the Nine Emperors, his direct judgment of everything around him had almost never been wrong. This direct judgment refers to the first impression, a non-reasoning, wild intuition.

He didn’t know if this had anything to do with one of the most important branches of traditional Chinese astrology, the “Ziwei Dou Shu”. The latter determines the positions of the twelve palaces based on a person’s birth year, month, day, and hour to form a fate chart. Combined with the star group combinations of each palace and the I Ching stem-branch theory, it predicts a person’s fate, good or bad luck.

But no matter what, George had already judged that once the battle started, the equipment gap between the two sides could no longer be described as obvious. It was almost like using a Type 98 rifle against an AK-47.

‘I used to only know that Dwarven weapons were refined. After seeing Hiren get that Star-Iron Longsword, I thought I had a fairly accurate understanding. But that was just a rare magical weapon. I still thought they couldn’t represent the overall equipment level of the Dwarves. But everything in front of me today told me that the gap between them is like a General from Tianchao visiting an American aircraft carrier in the 1980s…’ George suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

Fortunately, in this world, such an equipment gap could be made up for by personal strength. It wasn’t like the past where it was beyond human ability! But a deep worry still showed in George’s eyes. He didn’t know how many sacrifices his soldiers would have to make to drive these enemies back underground. All of this was caused by the equipment gap. Once the two sides came into contact during the battle, everything would be clear.

Undoubtedly, Dwarves were meticulous, imaginative, and practical; at the same time, they were dedicated and would not touch other tasks until they had perfected a specific skill. This made Dwarves exceptionally talented in metallurgy, stonework, and engineering, far surpassing the similar skills of other races. Although some other races could use Magic to make their works reach a mysterious and non-worldly realm.

At the same time, Dwarves were a race labeled as stubborn and brave, willing to do whatever it took to complete their mission. This trait allowed Dwarves to explore and settle in extreme dangers that other races would shy away from.

From the darkest depths of the Underground to the top of the ten-thousand-foot peaks, from the barren coastlines filled with steel shavings to the temples in dense jungles, Dwarves built fortresses and outposts, repelling enemies and holding on until the last moment, only considering retreat when their persistent fighting posture had surpassed human imagination.

This combination of the two made Dwarves particularly successful in standard equipment. Their simple and robust characteristics made them as popular as Soviet-style equipment that was tough, durable, and had no usage restrictions. A nation that was good at crafting and was constantly at war, pushing the art of equipment to its peak was not surprising.

Also, George’s judgment this time missed one point. The equipment these Dwarves had in front of him, if on the Surface, could only be mass-equipped by the most elite Royal Guard and Temple Warriors of the “Dwarf Kingdom Oso”.

Because the world had now entered a commodity society to a large extent, the “Dwarf Kingdom Oso” also needed to sell a significant portion of their self-made weapons to exchange for materials or other products they could not produce themselves. At the same time, this was also a diplomatic political measure used to ensure their safety on the Continent. Adding to the damage and other consumption during wars, the part that could be kept in their hands was actually not much.

In underground cities like Blindstone City, trade became very inconvenient. Plus, with those malicious Dark Elves all around them, their investment in armaments was exceptionally focused. When everything was serving for war, the investment in their own equipment would naturally be much higher.

Of course, there was one more point: the quantity of precious mineral deposits underground was far better than the Surface, which had been mined for tens of thousands of years. Now, only those Underground Dwarves could produce such uniform Adamantine and Mithril preparations.

Finally, Hiren, who had finished his chatter, turned to George beside him and asked: “George, I heard Dwarves are all good Blacksmiths. Should we kill these guys or capture them?”

“Didn’t you cast a spell-like ability to identify the Righteous Camp for yourself? Wait a moment and distinguish their alignment, isn’t that enough? Keep the Neutral ones as much as possible, and the Evil ones are up for grabs. As for the Good ones, I think there probably aren’t many in the Dark Elf slaves in the Underdark! It’s hard for good people to survive in such a terrible environment.” George gave him advice. After all, capturing a few more captives was a good thing. After all, living Dwarf Blacksmiths represented a continuous supply of refined weapons. A steady flow was much better than a one-time capture.

Hiren immediately closed his eyes upon hearing this. When he opened his eyes again, his pupils were gone. Pure white light kept radiating outward, but it was soft and not blinding.

“I said, you don’t need to use this trick so fast, do you? The battle hasn’t started yet. Are you trying to be a target?” George asked nervously.

“This is really great. Most of those in front are Neutral Dwarves. Even the Good ones are far more numerous than the Evil ones!” Hiren said happily with joy in his mouth. It looked like he was really ready to go all out.

George asked in disbelief: “Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong? Most of the Dwarves in front are Neutral Righteous Camp members, and the number of Good ones is more than the Evil ones?”

“Of course! How could I make a mistake on such a small matter!” Hiren said unhappily upon hearing George doubt him.

Then, as if deliberately showing off, he said: “Moreover, there are many underage Dwarf children and underage Gnome children behind those Dwarves. Those Dark Elves are really insane. Do they even send underage children as cannon fodder?”

Suddenly thinking of something, George grabbed Hiren’s arm and asked: “Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

“Isn’t that nonsense?” Hiren, who had received questions one after another, was obviously getting angry. “Even if I was so unreliable in the past, I never had any major problems on the battlefield, right?”

“Then come with me quickly.” As soon as he finished speaking, George pulled Hiren and jumped down from the shield behind the wooden wall. That agile movement, like a falcon turning over, did not look like someone wearing heavy armor. But Hiren, who was behind him, did not have such good skills. Having decided to go the strength route, his current movements looked like a big monkey.

“Sir Bart, Sir Bart! There is important intelligence to report now!” George dragged Hiren and ran all the way to the main tent in the camp.

It seemed that because of his shouting, Sir Bart had not even waited for him to approach before opening the tent flap and walking out. He stopped George and Hiren, who were running wildly, and said: “The number of enemies is truly beyond our expectations. Relying solely on the current manpower, even defending this camp is dangerous. So just now, we have sent a distress signal to Karada. If we can maintain this standoff, that would be best. If not, a few of us Knights will stay behind to cover the retreat, and eventually, most people can still retreat safely. So for now, we just need to wait patiently. There is no need to be so anxious.”

Seeing this, George hurriedly spoke out his guess: “No! I think those guys outside are not necessarily the vanguard slave camp sent by the Dark Elves. They could also be other Underground residents who were chased up by the Dark Elves during their march. Because Hiren just identified them, the vast majority of them are members of the Neutral Righteous Camp. Even the Good Alignment is much more numerous than the Evil Alignment.”

Sir Bart turned his gaze to Hiren beside him, and the latter answered his observation results truthfully.

“So there is still a chance for negotiation,” Sir Bart seemed to sigh in relief. After all, if possible, he also did not want to launch an attack from a disadvantaged position.

“Negotiating now is still too early. After all, we don’t know if the Dwarves will take a risk to build their new city.” George immediately stopped Sir Bart’s behavior. “So we should still delay time and wait for the main force to arrive before we have the capital to negotiate with them. Moreover, it is best to notify a few Temples and have them send people to witness the negotiation.”

Although there were claims that Dwarves did not like speculation, a more accurate statement should be that they were focused and dedicated to their respective tasks, only making timely changes after thoroughly examining the current situation.

When facing new environments and new needs, they would systematically adopt existing tools and technologies to cope, rather than trying to find a response for each situation separately.

If necessary, they would also use equal enthusiasm to expand new perfect means to crush obstacles. Once the goal was achieved, they would focus on consolidating newly acquired territory or abstract progress. Dwarves rarely made mistakes in this way, but they would also miss many opportunities. However, at this time, George dared not take the risk to try.

The subsequent progress was unexpectedly smooth. These nearly ten thousand Dwarves and Gnomes moved south after the negotiation ended. However, they also left about 500 Dwarf Berserkers to assist in defending against the pursuing Dark Elves.

However, during this period, George and the others were busy dealing with the pursuing forces that could arrive at any time, and they did not have much time to understand the content of the negotiation.

On the third day after the Dwarves were initially settled, the late-arriving Dark Elves finally appeared before everyone under the cover of night. This vanguard force was about 2,000 people. It seemed that due to the tunnel, there were no cavalry in this group.

The Knights present made a quick decision to use a charge to teach these Underground Black Skin a lesson. The organization in the camp was extremely efficient until the Knights launched their charge. Only then did those Dark Elves realize, as if waking from a dream, that their previous actions had long been exposed.

The galloping horses surged up and down. George’s brain was left with nothing; he forgot to think and handed the command of his body to his intuition. Then the scenery around him became bizarre, as if everything around had been slowed down.

Only the tip of his sharp spear was exceptionally clear. The enemy in front rushed toward him instantly. At the moment of contact, George naturally aimed his spear tip at the gap in the enemy’s face. A big watermelon exploded, almost without any obstruction.

Then someone else blocked his way ahead. George shook his spear hard, and the tough spear shaft vibrated. In the surprised eyes of the opponent, he dodged around that Dark Elf’s shield. As a slight resistance came, the spear pierced the opponent’s chest. The powerful impact caused a burst of blood and flesh at the wound. The person was thrown off by the momentum of the lance and died before hitting the ground.

After killing two enemies in a row, George felt the view in front of him darken and a great force hit his left hand. He had already rushed into the enemy’s infantry formation. Dropping the cumbersome shield in his hand, George began to wave his unique Spear. Because he was not using the lance commonly used by Knights, but the long spear from before he traveled. As he thrust it out, it was like a hundred plum blossoms blooming. Each spear tip was deadly. In an instant, all the Dark Elves near George fell to the ground.

As the saying goes, “Month for the Staff, Year for the Knife, a Lifetime for the Spear, the Sword Hidden on the Body,” or “Year for the Knife, Month for the Staff, the Long Practiced Spear.” This proverb explains that the difficulty of mastering various weapons is different. Among the four types of Knife, Spear, Sword, and Staff, the Spear is the hardest to master. Just the three movements of blocking, hooking, and thrusting require hard work to do correctly.

The variety of spear techniques is incomparable to other weapon skills, and each school of spear techniques has many profound aspects. Relatively speaking, staff techniques are easier to master. The Staff is the foundation of all weapons and can be said to encompass all arts. Knives and Swords are between the Spear and the Staff. A Knife has one edge, a Sword has two edges. Comparing the two, mastering swordsmanship is more difficult than knife techniques.

The spear used by cavalry is called the Great Spear, and the one used by infantry is called the Small Flower Spear. The Great Spear is over a zhang long, made of a single piece of white wax tree. The handle is as thick as a duck egg, and the spearhead is as thick as a duck yolk. The Great Spear is long and heavy; it is difficult to hold it level with both hands, making it hard to use. The Small Flower Spear is much shorter and thinner, easy to shake, with the spearhead flying wildly, hence the name Flower Spear.

During daily training, the Great Spear is often used without a spearhead to prevent injury, which is now commonly called the “Great Pole”. Shaking the Great Pole is an important training method for internal martial arts, capable of practicing whole-body power and listening to force.

The Great Spear is heavy and can only be wielded with waist strength. A good spear technique must be able to feel the force on the spearhead, merging defense and attack into one, to remain undefeated. Such internal martial arts spear techniques used to be an ultimate skill that could “complete the king’s affairs for the world,” granting titles to wives and children. In the early years, the Great Spear was the most precious skill in the Tai Chi School, passed down only by the Sect Master.