Bobeni had no secrets from Ansaldo, and two hours later, Xiao Chen got the information at the Huojing family's mansion.
"Those are envoys from the southern city-state Dark Tide City." Ansaldo relayed the news to Xiao Chen, "They arrived here two days earlier than us, so I didn't notice their situation."
"Do people from the southern city-states often visit the Dwarf Kingdom?" Xiao Chen asked.
"No, it's rare. But Dark Tide City is an exception, because their lord has some dwarven blood. So it is a city-state with a close relationship with the Dwarf Kingdom. This city-state even hired dwarf mercenaries in times of crisis." Ansaldo said.
"So what are they doing here this time?"
"It is said that they want to develop an island in the open sea together with the Dwarf Kingdom. They are contacting the Black Rock Family, one of the six major families. So it is difficult to find out the specific details. But in this case, they are also likely to go to the capital to meet the king." Ansaldo stroked his beard and said, "They will probably get permission to go down at about the same time as us."
"There's something strange about this matter." Luo Ling said.
Xiao Chen also nodded in agreement: "It just so happens that at this time, there are also humans preparing to go to the Dwarf Kingdom. This matter must be prevented."
"Is that island newly discovered?" Luo Ling asked Ansaldo.
"No, it seems that it has always been under the control of Dark Tide City, but recently it is preparing to develop it together with the Dwarf Kingdom as a transit station for ships." Ansaldo tugged at his beard lightly, "But, it is indeed a bit strange to hear you say that. Because the route from Dark Tide City is very easy, it seems that there is no need for this island to be a transit point. Is this just an excuse? Do those people who came here have other purposes?"
"Could he have the same goal as us? Also heading for the Forging Tower?" Luo Ling asked.
"Could it be the gods from the Temple of Nature?" Xiao Chen guessed. He stood up and took two steps. "It seems necessary to meet these people."
Ansaldo said anxiously, "You don't want to start a fight in this city? That will definitely cause trouble. Listen, the Black Rock Family is very powerful here. If you provoke their guests, it may affect your permission to enter the city."
Xiao Chen comforted him, "Governor, don't be nervous. All you have to do is find out their specific information, and we will act accordingly. There is nothing more important than meeting the high priest right now, so we will not act rashly."
"That would be great," said Ansaldo.
In the following days, Xiao Chen and Luo Ling tried more than once to investigate the situation of those people. However, since these people discovered Xiao Chen and his party, they hid in the Black Rock Family's house and never showed up again. The Black Rock Family was also very well prepared, and arranged various defense and detection arrays around the house where they lived. Xiao Chen found that if he didn't break up, he couldn't secretly observe them. So he had to give up.
However, Ansaldo found out another piece of information, that is, this team from Dark Tide City has six people, and it seems that each of them is a master, and there is more than one master among them.
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Three days later, Ansaldo obtained permission from the Tower of China to enter the Dwarven Capital. He also received news that the Black Rock Family also obtained permission to lead the people from Dark Tide City to the capital. As soon as they got the news, they immediately went deep underground.
Ansaldo said, "They seemed to have deliberately set out ahead of us. I heard that it only took them one or two hours from getting permission to going underground. It seems that they were well prepared. Now it has been three hours since they went down. It will be difficult for us to catch up with them."
Xiao Chen said: "Whether they are trying to seize the initiative or avoid us, it means they have something to hide. Let's set off immediately. Since we have already met them, we should keep an eye on them. They will show their true colors eventually."
Xiao Chen did not bring the two dwarf marine companies with him. Instead, he selected a platoon of elite dwarves. These people all had beards, and after they were re-tied, they could dress up as ordinary soldiers of the Dwarf Kingdom. They would blend into Ansaldo's escort team and go to the capital with Xiao Chen. The remaining dwarf warriors would be stationed in Bobeni, ready to respond at any time. If necessary, they would forcibly seize the entrance to the underground to ensure that those who followed Xiao Chen down had a safe retreat.
The underground entrance is located in the north of the city of Bobeni, at the foot of a mountain range. There is a huge naturally formed cave at the foot of the mountain. Later, it was expanded by the dwarves and turned into a large hole that is more than 40 meters wide and more than 10 meters high.
Although Xiao Chen had seen many caves, tunnels and underground passages in that world, he still found this entrance quite spectacular when he saw it.
The entrance is like the mouth of a monster, lying on the ground, with its mouth wide open waiting for people to enter. The stone pillars and stalagmites above and below are like the monster's sharp teeth.
It was a little different from what Xiao Chen had expected. There was no strict guard at the entrance. There were only dozens of dwarf guards holding spears and shields standing lazily around the entrance. It seemed that there had not been any trouble here for many years.
There was a busy scene around, with dwarf caravans constantly passing through the opening from top to bottom or from bottom to top.
Only when Xiao Chen and the other humans and elves arrived at the entrance did the gatekeeper come over with a team of ten soldiers to check their pass.
But Ansaldo was the governor of a big city and an important member of a big family. The gatekeeper saw that he was humble and flattering, and did not pay much attention to Xiao Chen and others.
They did not search the luggage carried by the group, but just glanced at their passports and let them go.
A few dozen meters from the entrance, it branches into several tunnels that go deep down. The wide road is more than ten meters wide, which is slightly wider than a two-lane road on Earth. The narrow road is about half that.
"These roads lead to the various underground cities in the kingdom." Ansaldo pointed to the widest one and said, "This is the main road leading to the capital. Because this road can accommodate cars, it is not difficult for you humans to travel on it. But the branch roads below are not for you to enter.
We should be able to reach the capital in half a day if we walk along this road." (To be continued)