Elena also got off her horse and walked to Luo Ling and said, "The Dwarf Kingdom is a place with strict hierarchy. People of different classes braid their beards into different numbers of braids to show their status. The king has eleven strands of beard, great nobles and priests have nine strands, middle nobles have seven strands, lower nobles have five strands, senior craftsmen, stewards and junior officers have three strands, civilians have one strand, and serfs are not allowed to wear beards. People with a big class difference cannot marry each other, and if the class difference is too big, they can't even talk to each other. It's really a dead place."
"No wonder there's a rumor that you elves don't like dwarves."
"We don't hate any particular dwarf. We just don't like the way the dwarf kingdom looks. Of course, the human kingdom isn't much better. Only you guys give me a different feeling."
"It's different. But it's not enough. There's still a long way to go." Luo Ling said, "These dwarves don't have beards and hate the Dwarf Kingdom. It seems there are many stories. You see, Farel's story has already touched them."
After Farrell finished his story, several dwarves came over and patted him on the shoulders. Two of them even hugged him tightly.
Then Farrell brought the leading dwarf to Luo Ling and said, "Sinclair, this is Ms. Luo Ling. She is the leader of us. She is a powerful wizard and a good wizard! She and another wizard named Xiao Chen rescued me from the trap of humans. Well, I mean, although they are also humans, they are different from those people you know. Those bastards only know how to exploit us dwarves, but Mage Luo Ling really respects me. Yes, she treats me as an equal!"
"Sinclair is the hunting captain of the valley dwarves. His tribe used to be slaves of the Black Dragon Empire. The most terrifying thing is that these slaves were secretly sold to humans by the dwarf nobles! Those bastards actually exchanged civilians and serfs for food and weapons. But later when the Black Dragon Empire fell, they escaped. They didn't want to go back to the kingdom that betrayed them, so they lived in these deep mountains. Sinclair was still a child at the time, but he remembered that the dwarf nobles secretly transported them out of the kingdom and gave them to human officials. So, he was very nervous when he saw dwarves with humans."
"This should have happened two hundred years ago during the Dwarf Kingdom's throne war, right?" Luo Ling asked.
Sinclair seemed surprised, but no matter how bad-tempered the dwarf was, he still had to be careful in front of the wizard. He nodded to Luo Ling and said, "Yes. Mr. Luo Ling, I am now 220 years old, and it was indeed at that time."
"Then the one who betrayed you was probably not an ordinary noble, but one of the two princes at the time, or they were both doing this kind of business at that time." Luo Ling guessed.
Sinclair's thick eyebrows knitted together, and he muttered loudly: "It doesn't matter who it is. We don't want to know anything about that kingdom. We just want to stay as far away from that damn place as possible."
"Indeed. There's no point in talking about this now. So tell me why you want to stop us."
Sinclair said, "Sir Luo Ling, we didn't know there would be a wizard in your team, otherwise I would explain it clearly like I am now. For many, many years, there has never been a wizard here. Usually there are only a few caravans and some adventurers who come into the mountains. We used to do business with them and take them in for the night. But these days... We have had some troubles ourselves, so it is no longer convenient to take in outsiders."
"Sinclair, maybe Lord Luo Ling can help you solve that problem? In addition to mages, our team also includes alchemists, elven priests, and high-level warriors. To be honest, it's hard to find such a comprehensive and powerful team."
"Yes. So when Farel told me about your power, I wanted to seek your help." The dwarf spoke without any hesitation.
"Please go ahead." Luo Ling answered directly.
"There is an ancient ruin behind the village where we live. When we moved here, we didn't know it was there. A few years later, the slope on the mountain collapsed due to rain, and the gate of the ruins was revealed. But it doesn't matter. Although we can't open the gate of the ruins, it doesn't affect our lives.
However, in the past few years, strange things often run out of the ruins through the cracks in the door. Those things have no body, cannot be seen clearly during the day, and are a faint ball of light at night. They can attach themselves to people or animals and make them crazy. Once these people or animals are possessed by those ghosts, they will go crazy and cut and bite people everywhere. We can only lock up the people and kill the animals.
The dwarves in our village are all craftsmen and warriors, and no one understands these strange things. I hope to use your power to figure out what they are and then destroy them. As long as you can solve this problem, we will give you enough rewards. "
"How many people have been affected by these strange things?" Luo Ling asked.
"Over the years, more than a dozen people have been driven crazy. To be honest, if you can't solve this problem, I'm afraid we will have to move out soon. This phenomenon has become more and more frequent in the past few months. Two people went crazy last month."
"Mr. Sinclair, we can help you try to solve this problem. What we need in return is very simple." Luo Ling pointed to A Dan who was listening carefully behind them. "This young man is the heir of this relic. You just need to let us enter the relic and take away the things inside. I even think that opening the relic and entering inside is the ultimate solution to your problem."
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With the permission of the dwarves, Luo Ling and his group followed the hunting team into the mountain road. There were cliffs on both sides of the mountain road, and the road was winding. After walking for about half an hour, they suddenly saw a clear view and came to a large valley.
The terrain at the entrance of the mountain road where Luo Ling and the others were located was slightly higher, and they could clearly see the scenery in the valley. A waterfall fell from the cliff, formed a pool of water, and then extended to a small river that flowed through the entire valley. Stone houses were distributed along both sides of the river, and outside the houses were farmlands, orchards and animal pens surrounded by fences. There were many dwarves working in the village, and there were also children playing. Even the well-informed Luo Ling and the discerning Elaina had to admit that this was a paradise full of pastoral scenery.
However, a sudden shout broke the beautiful scene, and a young dwarf, waving a hammer, rushed out of the house and rushed directly towards several children who were playing not far away.
"Sinclair, look! Another evil spirit is coming out. Ah! Why is it your son?" a dwarf shouted.
Sinclair let out a roar: "Babiq!"
Fiery fighting spirit burst out from his whole body and he rushed towards the village like a flying arrow.