MMB Chapter 55 [The Forged Immortal Contract]
Chapter 55 [The Forged Immortal Contract]
After Lynch ascended to the Northern Mountains, he was swept up in a strange frenzy.
Every dwarven city, every mine, every blacksmith's shop was celebrating all night long.
The dwarves sang ancient war songs, poured ale on the earth, and praised the name of their new king.
At the heart of the artisan kingdom, in the throne room of the main city-state, joy reached its zenith.
Lin Qi sat on the throne, silently watching his jubilant subjects below.
A white-bearded dwarf elder, raising his wine cup, excitedly walked toward the throne.
He wanted to offer the finest wine to the new god.
Within three steps of the throne, the wine in the glass boiled, billowing out white steam.
The elder's hand trembled, and the golden cup fell to the ground with a clang, its surface scorched into a dark red color.
He stepped back in alarm, looking down at the ground beneath Lynch's feet.
The deep black faded, and a sense of gradual disintegration and restoration spread from where the dwarf king had set foot.
The temperature inside the hall was rising.
Even the dwarves' naturally strong physiques were no match for this change, and they experienced difficulty breathing.
The frenzied celebrations cooled down.
The dwarves looked at their god-king with awe and unease.
An insurmountable chasm had appeared between them and God.
Lynch rose and left the throne.
As you walk, changes follow.
The next day, bad news came from the furnace district on the west side of the city-state.
A young craftsman named Green is one of the most fervent admirers of Heart of Rock.
He attempted to mimic a divine miracle by throwing an ordinary piece of iron into his modified furnace and using ordinary fire to perform "divine forging."
When Lin Qi arrived, the piece of ordinary iron had disintegrated in the furnace, and the uncontrolled torrent of forging energy had blasted the furnace apart.
Green lay on the ground, his body charred black, barely breathing.
Lynch simply extended one hand.
The raging torrent stopped, then turned into specks of golden light and dissipated into the air.
He walked to Green's side, and a wisp of pale frost covered Green's wound, causing the fatal injury to heal rapidly.
Green opened his eyes and saw the god he worshipped.
A look of shame crossed her face: "Your Majesty... I..."
"This isn't your fault." Lynch slowly became emotionless, and simply helped Green up gently.
"Relying on the gods will rust the dwarves' hammers. Your glory should not be bestowed by me, but forged by your own hands."
Lynch's words made the young Green fall into deep thought.
That night, Lynch summoned Master Brock and Commander Thorin.
"I have to leave," Lynch said bluntly.
Master Brok was excitedly planning the future of the Kingdom of Famous Craftsmen when he heard this, and he was completely stunned.
"Leave? Your Majesty, where are you going? We've only just..."
"Master, my existence here is a pollution to you and will make you feel uncomfortable."
Lynch did not hide anything, and told the whole story about his influence on the mortal world as a god, as well as the fact that Green almost lost his life.
"My feet purify the earth, my breath ignites the air. Any mortal who tries to touch my art will be consumed by divine fire. If I remain here, the dwarves will no longer need artisans, only priests. Your civilization will stagnate and ultimately become my vassals."
Commander Thorin remained silent for a long time, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his battle axe tightly.
He asked, word by word, "Is your will unshakeable?"
"Unwavering," Lynch replied. "I will journey to the higher realms of the gods. But before I depart, I will leave behind a true treasure for the dwarves."
Master Brock raised his head, his cloudy eyes filled with confusion.
Lin Qi looked out the window at the towering peak that overlooked the entire Kingdom of Craftsmen—Mount Dufeng.
"I will leave a way out for you."
"A mortal can also, through learning and hard work, eventually touch the heavenly path of divine arts."
The next morning.
All the dwarves of the entire Craftsman Kingdom gathered at the foot of the Solitary Sacred Mountain.
They looked up at their young god-king, who stood alone, holding a warhammer burning with frost and fire, and walked toward the summit of the holy mountain.
Lin Qi walked step by step along the rugged mountain path.
He arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Scattered here are the most basic ores of the dwarves.
He raised the Frostfire Warhammer and gently tapped it on a piece of hematite.
"Buzz—"
The moment the warhammer fell, golden runes appeared on the surface of the hematite.
The flowing runes outlined the internal structure of the ore, the distribution of impurities, and the optimal heat treatment temperature for it.
Lynch climbed the mountain path, his warhammer falling continuously.
The entire area at the foot of the mountain, with all the rocks and mineral veins, has become a living textbook.
From ore identification to heat treatment techniques, from alloy proportions to forging angles, he inscribed the most basic forging knowledge into the earth in the most intuitive way.
He continued upwards and arrived at the halfway point of the sacred mountain.
The mountains here begin to steepen.
Lynch swung his warhammer, and the side of the warhammer scorched deep grooves into the rock wall with its molten gold-fired surface.
These grooves constitute the core understanding of the Frostfire Forging Technique.
The reverse warhammer froze the other side of the cliff with its pale frost-red side.
Hundreds of basic dwarven runes, rendered with the most standard strokes, are frozen on it, with every turn clearly visible.
Dwarves who wish to climb the mountain must first endure the test of frost and fire.
Artisans who want to learn must touch these products that embody artistic conception with their own hands.
The higher you go, the more treacherous the mountain road becomes.
The wind and snow began to howl, the power emanating from the pale frost.
The air also became scorching hot, from the lingering heat of the lava and golden flames.
Lin Qi's figure moved through the wind, snow and flames.
He left behind even more profound knowledge here.
The combined application of runes, in-depth analysis of material structure, and even simplified versions of stasis runes.
This knowledge transforms into seemingly insurmountable natural barriers, hindering every soul that attempts to climb them.
The mountain walls here are no longer just rocks, but have been recast into crystals by divine power, shimmering with light containing the might of the gods.
Finally, Lin Qi reached the summit of the solitary sacred mountain.
The gale stopped beneath his feet.
Looking down at the vast kingdom of artisans below, he put away his warhammer and placed his right hand, burning with divine fire, on the highest point of the mountain peak.
A golden beam of light shot into the sky from the mountaintop, tearing through the clouds.
The entire solitary sacred mountain trembled violently.
From the foot of the mountain to the summit, all the runes and knowledge that Lin Qiming had inscribed were activated at this moment.
Golden runic light shone from bottom to top, illuminating the entire mountain.
Thus, the sacred site, shining with divine light, was born.
At the summit, at the source of the beam of light, lay an incredibly complex golden mark.
It seems to contain the ultimate secrets of forging and craftsmanship in the universe, the condensation of Lynch's divine power, and the final test for all climbers.
Lynch's will transformed into a resounding divine oracle, echoing in the minds of every dwarf.
"This is my way. All who can reach the summit and comprehend it will receive my divine grace."
As the divine decree was issued, all the dwarves of the Craftsman Kingdom, regardless of age or gender, knelt on the ground, paying their highest respects to the radiant holy mountain and to the departing god-king.
Having done all this, he turned around and didn't look back.