On the Seven Towers

"The current nobles and civilians in the capital don't know what happened to the temple. But if the forging temple, which has not been moved for thousands of years, is demolished, this matter can't be concealed." The king's voice was full of worry. "Whether this matter is described as a false god invading the temple and pretending to be the god of forging, or a fire broke out between the nobles and the temple and caused heavy casualties, it can't be explained clearly to everyone. This will directly hit the dwarves' loyalty to the kingdom and their faith in the god of forging."

Luo Ling said: "But according to Bohawks, if these soul marks are not eliminated, the dwarves in the entire capital will continue to replenish energy for the false god, so there is no way to eliminate it."

The king said: "Maybe we can replace the stones with soul marks one by one."

Xiao Chen held his chin, looked at the gate of the temple and thought for a while, "Maybe I have other ways to solve this problem. And by the way, I can solve some of your troubles."

"What way?" asked the king.

"I need a larger warehouse and a large enough stone." Xiao Chen said.

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Three days later, a huge tent appeared in the central square in front of the Dwarf Palace, surrounding a very tall object, which was more than ten meters high and seven or eight meters long and wide. The king's guards stood around it in layers, showing a tense feeling as if they were facing a great enemy. And just around the guards, there was a wooden platform more than one meter high, with a podium and amplification array prepared on it. Some ministers of the kingdom, temple priests and palace servants stood on it waiting for something.

The central square in front of the palace is the largest open space in the lower part of the canyon. It is closer to the central axis of the lava river than the location of the forging temple. This location can be seen clearly on both sides of the canyon. Usually, dwarves with less than five strands of beard are not allowed to enter this square at will, unless they are summoned or invited by the king.

But today, this rule was broken. From 8 or 9 in the morning, many dwarves came from all over the canyon. If you look closely, you will find that among these dwarves, some have one to seven strands of beard. They walk on the road in a clear division. Only nobles with five or seven strands of beard and their followers can walk in the middle of the road. Craftsmen and farmers with one or three strands of beard can only walk on the sides of the road, and slaves without beards are not qualified to go on the road. They can only walk on the bumpy mud on the side of the road, or on the rocky slopes. Unless there is nowhere to go, they dare to step on the road carefully a few times and then quickly walk down. No matter whether they are nobles, craftsmen, soldiers, farmers or slaves, they were notified yesterday that they must arrive at the central square of the palace and the high ground several floors nearby at 10 o'clock this morning.

Dwarves have the best sense of time among all races. Because there is no sun or moon running underground, the ancestors of the kingdom placed large clocks that can tell time at several important locations in the canyon. These clocks are said to have been made with the help of humans in the ancient era when magic flourished, and they are still running stumblingly today.

When the hands on the clock crossed half past nine, many dwarves had gathered at the entrance of the square and were searched by the guards before being put into the venue.

Of course, slaves were not qualified to enter the square. They would be collectively driven to relatively high positions around them where they could see the square clearly and watch what was happening in the square from a distance. Farmers and craftsmen could only stand at the outermost part of the square, and the middle was reserved for nobles.

Even so, many dwarves with only three or one strand of beard felt fortunate. This might be the first and last time they had the opportunity to be so close to the palace in their lives. Many of them did not even dare to step through the gate when entering the square, and were pushed in by the soldiers on duty at the door.

There were naturally more dwarves in the capital. Those who could enter the square were selected representatives. Most dwarves did not have the opportunity to enter the square, but they were told that they had to find a place where they could see the central square after ten o'clock to listen to the king's speech.

When it was almost ten o'clock, the square was already crowded with people. Tens of thousands of dwarves had already filled the square. Only in the direction of the square facing the palace gate, there was a passage separated by soldiers.

At ten o'clock, the palace gate opened, and the king, accompanied by members of the six major families, walked into the square from the palace. What surprised the dwarves was that there were actually several tall humans walking around the king.

The king wore a heritage dress that would only be worn on the most solemn occasions. It was a gorgeous dress made of refined gold and mithril. Although the texture was a bit like scale armor, the style was like a robe. His crown, robe and beard were all inlaid with various gems, looking like a moving treasure pile. He held a scepter in his hand, which was also a gorgeous combination of metal and gemstones. The head of the scepter was square in shape, and it looked like a long-handled war hammer.

The six patriarchs of the six major families appeared behind him. They were wearing similar style of gorgeous clothes, but with fewer metal pieces than the king. Behind them were the important members of the major families, each wearing family clothes of different colors, and lined up in six rows.

Xiao Chen and his companions followed the king, slightly separated from the people of the six major families, and formed their own line. Xiao Chen walked slowly beside the king. Today, the king was the protagonist of this play, and he was the director behind the scenes.

The king stepped onto the high platform next to the huge object, and Xiao Chen, Luo Ling and the patriarchs of the six major families followed him up.

The king looked up at the huge object, took a deep breath, and looked back at the nobles. They were all staring at this thing, with different expressions, some nervous, some curious, and some looked a little disdainful. The king whispered to Xiao Chen: "I hope your plan really works."

Xiao Chen said: "As long as your Majesty tells the story well, I think it will be fine. You see, the curiosity of your people has been aroused. They will definitely listen to what you say carefully."

The king looked at the crowds of people around him and said: "If we don't do it well, these people will all be nutrients for the monster. Now it has come to this point, we can only pray for the blessing of the God of Forging. Of course, I mean it!"