Chapter 87

The Grilbrese brothers left the alley, got into a carriage, and quietly departed.

Gordon was deeply impressed by Coayen's brother. Although he looked like a well-dressed fat man, no different from the most common type of fat noble, during the argument, he only said one sentence at the beginning and then let his younger brother handle the negotiation. Gordon could still feel the cold aura emanating from him.

To become the heir of the Grilbrese family, it probably wouldn't be that simple.

Gordon entered the workshop of Dwarven Iron River. The two dwarven guards at the door showed no reaction to the fight that had just taken place nearby. To them, as long as it didn't affect the Iron River workshop, even if it rained fire meteors from the sky, it wouldn't matter.

In the hall, he saw the blonde young lady who had just left in a huff, now having a friendly conversation with Dwarven Iron River. Next to her was a box, neatly stacked with pale gray metal ingots.

These metal ingots, although they looked dull and unremarkable, emitted a suffocating aura.

Dragon Steel.

In some dragons' lairs, natural open-pit ore veins can be found. When dragons sleep on these veins, they breathe out dragon breath from their nostrils and mouths, continuously burning the veins. Over time, these veins are burned and refined by the dragon breath, becoming a new type of metal.

The first dragon slayer to discover this metal, the Dwarven Royal Shield Guard Salada Ironfist, named it Dragon Steel.

The value of Dragon Steel even surpasses that of mithril. Gordon was quite surprised that the blonde young lady could bring out a whole box of it at once.

"Miss Jieer, I will spend four days crafting a knight's sword for you," Dwarven Iron River said with a smile to the third daughter of the Phoenix family.

Due to the unpleasant incident that just happened, the blonde young lady's mood was not high, but she managed to smile and said, "Thank you, Master. I am currently staying in a villa on the outskirts of the city. Among the luggage I brought, there is some fine wine from the south. Would you be willing to come and taste it..."

Although her mood was not high, the young lady still tried to build a relationship with Master Dwarven.

"I don't have time. Miss Jieer, please leave slowly, I won't see you off!" Dwarven Iron River suddenly waved his hand, signaling Jieer to leave.

The dwarf master, though short, had keen eyesight and immediately saw Gordon walking in. He immediately left Jieer and rushed over in a few quick steps.

"Oh, by the grace of Moradin, could it be that the Spirit of the Rock has manifested and brought you here?" Dwarven warmly hugged Gordon's waist, pressing his furry beard against the latter's stomach, and then gave a tight hug.

"It's been a long time, my brother."

Although still not used to the dwarf's excessive enthusiasm, Gordon could only put on a smile and greet him.

The blonde young lady stood to the side, feeling very awkward. She couldn't believe that the dwarf who had just been chatting with her so happily would suddenly ignore her and welcome that damned northern mage, leaving her, the daughter of the Phoenix family, completely ignored.

I just offered a box of Dragon Steel worth a fortune!

"Stupid big-bearded dwarf and that hateful, cunning mage!" Miss Jieer stomped her foot in anger and finally couldn't bear the cold treatment, leaving in a huff.

If Coayen were standing here, he would be laughing heartily. It was a wonderful thing to see someone else experience the same awkward situation he had.

The temperamental dwarf paid no attention to the blonde young lady's angry departure. Gordon, of course, wouldn't care about the capricious and spoiled noble daughter.

"What brings you here today?" Dwarven Iron River asked.

Dwarves like to be straightforward, so Gordon didn't waste time on pleasantries like "How's the weather today, hahaha," and told Dwarven about the idea of movable type printing.

"I think the material for the type should be an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony. As for the specific composition and how to meet the temperature and humidity conditions in the working environment, that's not my expertise," Gordon shared the only bit of information he had about movable type printing from his knowledge base.

He could only roughly point Dwarven in the right direction; the rest would have to be figured out by the metallurgist mage himself.

"Rest assured, I'll take care of it!" Dwarven Iron River thumped his chest with his thick arms. "My lord Moradin is also very interested in inventions. I'll do my best to help you with this."

Among the human gods, the god of invention is Eione, and in the dwarven pantheon, the main god Moradin is also the god of invention. Because they govern different races, the two deities, though overlapping in their divine duties, do not conflict and even occasionally cooperate.

After confirming the details of the movable type printing, Gordon politely declined Dwarven Iron River's invitation to "fill his belly and drink until dawn" and bid farewell and left.

He walked along the main north-south road of the city of Bishui. When he passed the temple of the Platinum Dragon Bahamut, he happened to see the handsome warlock by the side of the blonde twin-tailed young lady coming out of the temple.

Behind him followed several heavily bandaged noble private soldiers. It seemed that the warlock had followed the instructions of the Phoenix family's young lady and led the injured to the temple for healing.

Gordon took a closer look and found that among the injured was Captain Hana of the Grilbrese family.

"It seems that the naive Miss Jieer has some capable people around her. She knows how to win people's hearts at this time, gathering the soldiers abandoned by the Grilbrese family. Those soldiers have long served by Ship Grilbrese's side and should know some secret information. This warlock is not simple," Gordon thought to himself.

Gordon glanced at the handsome warlock and happened to catch his gaze.

Their eyes met in the air and then quickly passed by.

Gordon smiled and didn't pay much attention.

"Gordon Freeman." The warlock Salandor watched the young mage with black hair and black eyes as he walked away, silently repeating his name, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.

"Salandor, thank you for your kindness this time. The Grilbrese family's bastards abandoned us like beaten dogs. If you hadn't helped us, we would probably have died in that remote alley," Captain Hana, with a bandaged hand, bowed deeply to Salandor.

Salandor's lips curled into a charming smile, "It was nothing. The Phoenix family will not treat you poorly in the future. Captain Hana, even though you lost a hand, you still have your value."

Captain Hana, of course, knew what Salandor meant and nodded, "If you want to know anything about the Grilbrese family, just ask. I will tell you everything I have seen and heard without reservation."

"That's good. Go back to the villa in the outskirts of the city to rest. I have some personal matters to attend to."

Salandor gave some instructions and then parted ways with the noble private soldiers.

He called a carriage and wandered aimlessly through the city of Bishui for a while, finally getting off in the civilian area.

The warlock turned through the complex alleys for a long time, finally stopping in front of an old two-story building covered in vines.

"Who is it?" a man's voice came from behind the door.

"It's me, Father," Salandor said.

The door creaked open, and a short, fat middle-aged man welcomed Salandor into the house.

The man, whom Salandor called Father, was dressed in luxurious clothing that contrasted sharply with the old house. He was slightly bald, his face oily, and although he looked haggard, his eyes were firm.

He was Longge Ritter, the head of the Ritter family, who had been exiled and wanted for smuggling weapons to orcs.

Salandor, or now should be called Salandor Ritter, looked at Longge and said, "Father, in a few days, the autumn hunt will begin. I have arranged an identity for you in the Phoenix family's hunting team. You can follow me into the mountains."

"Very good, my son. Now that your brother is dead, the future of the Ritter family rests on your shoulders."

Salandor pursed his lips, not particularly concerned about the future of the family his father mentioned. He was a spellcaster, and his ultimate goal was powerful arcane power. As for other things, they would be easily obtainable once he had the power.

The Ritter family had suffered a great change, and his brother Dengwei had lost his life. Salandor had to end his training and return to his father's side. However, this trip to the north had unexpected gains.

"Father, you must promise me not to use that thing unless it's the last resort. I know you want to kill Gordon, and I do too. He is the one who caused your brother's death and the decline of the Ritter family. But please remember the purpose of our participation in the autumn hunt," Salandor said.

"I understand," Longge looked at his second son, who didn't resemble him at all, and nodded.

Salandor was born to a tiefling concubine. Tieflings are a half-human race with demonic blood, and Salandor also had blood from the Abyss.

At a very young age, the demonic blood in Salandor's body awakened, giving him the power to control fire and making his appearance very different from that of the Ritter family men.

Salandor was taken in by a great warlock at a very young age to learn how to control his bloodline power. Only a few people knew that Longge had a warlock son.

The only person in the Holy Trinity Baptism who knew about Salandor's existence, Amavre, was already dead. Even Coayen didn't know about Salandor's existence.

Longge asked, "By the way, how is your progress with the third daughter of the Phoenix family?"

Salandor smiled with disdain, "Just a naive, spoiled woman. I only had to use a little trick to gain her complete trust. If I wanted to, I could have her in bed in a few days. But right now, I'm more interested in the Elven stone tablet she has than in her body."

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**End of Chapter**