The secret of the Thunder Hammer is quite simple: the reason why the Mountain King can unleash lightning strikes is determined by his own physique. His ancestors were originally Earthen containing powerful electrical energy.
After evolving into Dwarf, he could no longer use the energy within his body at will. So he found a rare metal that could generate electricity and melted it into his weapon. Every time he unleashed a lightning strike, it had to pass through his Warhammer, and thus he gradually earned the title of Thunder Hammer.
Unas took out the broken Warhammer to examine it. "Is this weapon infused with some kind of rare metal?"
"We believe it exists. This rare metal should be evenly integrated into the Warhammer. We'll have to try refining it using our methods to find out," Stone quickly replied.
"But the Mountain King is dead. What do you need this metal for?"
Orphest explained, "Master Stone spent several years developing an alloy that can contain a large amount of stable electrical energy, very similar to the body of the Mountain King. It can only be used by activating this metal, but this metal is extremely rare. The amount they have collected is not even enough for one experiment, and they have been stuck at this stage for almost half a year."
Stone continued, "We've been buying up this metal all over the world, but with pitifully little success."
"So you're trying to extort money from me?"
"My lord, please calm down. They were just confused for a moment," Orphest quickly said. "As long as you are willing to sell this Warhammer for 100,000 gold coins, whatever compensation you desire, I will certainly provide it."
"If you were to seriously offer me a price, I might sell it to you for 50,000 Gold Coins. This thing is no different from scrap metal in my hands," Unas said, weighing the Warhammer in his hand, rekindling hope in the two regretful Dwarves. "But since the guild master has said so, don't blame me for asking for an exorbitant price."
"Please name your conditions, my lord," Orphest said, but inwardly he was praying that the demands wouldn't be too harsh.
"Puppets, I want puppets," Unas blurted out. "Didn't you want to take over Thaurissan's puppet factory? I want you to design a cheap and simple puppet that can be mass-produced and sold to me at cost price."
Orphest frowned deeply. "This... what kind of puppet to produce is not something we can decide on our own; it depends on His Majesty Rendaen's wishes, and we cannot sell such an important weapon of war privately."
Unas smiled smugly, "You don't need to worry about that. I've spoken with His Majesty, and he's agreed to about 70-80% of it. He's also given me the right to purchase. As long as you all suggest things in this direction, this matter will definitely be finalized."
"I will do my utmost to persuade the king."
"And another thing," Unas continued, "Master Stone said he could forge me a spear out of Adamantite. I've been very interested in that, but I don't know if it's a lie or the truth."
"Of course it's true. Master Stone's skill is beyond doubt. He is one of the few master blacksmiths in the Brotherhood, and every piece he makes is a masterpiece."
"Then I will entrust Master Stone with the Adamantite bestowed upon me by the King to forge. I wonder what percentage of the reward the Master intends to take this time?"
Stone had no right to haggle anymore. "It's all up to the Chairman."
Orphest stroked his beard, thinking that he probably couldn't very well take back the bags of Gold Coins Unas had thrown on the ground, so he said, "I just waived half the price of the armor for you, sir. I can't go back on my word. Consider these five or six thousand Gold Coins on the ground as payment."
The flux and other materials needed to craft the Adamantite weapon cost more than five or six thousand Gold Coins, making it a losing proposition, but that was the compensation he promised.
"At last,"
Unas's words immediately made the Dwarf curse inwardly; as expected of a greedy human, he even had conditions.
"I want you to share in the research findings of the Thunder Hammer."
"My lord, I'm afraid I can't agree to this request," Orphest politely declined. "This is a major secret of our Dwarves, and one of the Brotherhood's most important studies. If I agree to your condition, I'll be immediately ousted, and my successor will certainly not agree to it either."
Unas, seeing the sincerity in his words, knew it wasn't a lie, but he was still unwilling to give up and continued to press, "Then you must give me half of the rare metals you extracted from this Warhammer. I can have someone study them myself, okay?"
"That probably won't work either. We're unsure how much can be extracted from this Warhammer, but we do know the production of rare metals; it can't be much. I'm afraid I can't share that with you, sir."
Unas feigned anger, saying, "President Orphest, I'm increasingly losing sight of your sincerity. The compensation you've offered is far from sufficient. Continuing to negotiate like this makes any cooperation pointless."
"As for any other conditions, any compensation unrelated to the Thunder Hammer, Lord, please name them, and I will certainly agree," Orphest quickly added.
What good stuff Thorium Brotherhood left? After thinking it over, Unas could only think of those few siege vehicles. Although they malfunctioned frequently, they were quite formidable. They should be very effective at crushing spiders in the Canyon. After that failure, they must have improved them, and they might still be usable.
"The siege engines you built for King Rendaen during the attack on the Imperial Palace were very powerful. If they're repaired, I can borrow them for a while."
"This... that won't do either. The authority to deploy siege engines like siege engines rests with His Majesty the King. Using them without authorization is a capital offense. If you wish to borrow them, Your Excellency, you must have a direct order from the King."
"What do I need you for if the king has given orders?" Unas was getting impatient. "This won't work, that won't work, what will you do, Master?"
Orphest was speechless, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. After a long silence, Stone Greystone mustered his courage and said, "My lords, I have a compromise, but I'm not sure if I should say it."
"Speak quickly!"
"I have to craft Adamantite weapons for the lord and research the secrets of the Thunder Hammer; I simply can't manage both at the same time. Perhaps we should combine these two tasks."
The Dwarf guild leader immediately understood, "But our purpose..."
"I know," Stone interrupted him, "Our goal is to recreate the Thunder Hammer, to bring this legendary Dwarf artifact back from the epic, but why not try forging a Thunder Spear first?"
Upon hearing this, Unas understood; it turned out that Unas intended to use the Adamantite spear as a test subject for the Thunder Secret.
There are definitely risks involved, but the benefits are also significant. A magical spear that can unleash lightning strikes—just thinking about it makes me realize it's an absolute top-tier weapon.