The Red of Gemstones

Deep within the Second Mine, the Gray Dwarf built a bunker-like structure at the end of the Mine Road.

The Gray Dwarf went to great lengths to defend themselves against the Dark Moon Elf in the mines.

To the surprise of the Gray Dwarf, the Dark Moon Elf couldn't even break through the Mine Road riddled with traps, so the bunker the Gray Dwarf built underground remained unknown for decades.

The Gray Dwarf Dashel is in charge of guarding the Mine Road...

Normally, he needs to maintain the traps and mechanisms in the Mine Road, and occasionally he can trade with the Dark Moon Elf and Half-Elf for daily necessities such as pickaxes and hemp rope. The dwarves only need to take out the dried mushrooms and Moss Cake they have cultivated.

Dashel finds this amusing.

Those elves who usually only eat fruit and fish make quite a funny expression when they eat dried mushrooms, and they even make a crunching sound.

Dashel heard elves ringing bells outside the Mine Road and thought business was coming his way, as he could trade for things like pickaxes and hemp thread, just like before.

To his surprise, when he went outside, he found a group of Dark Moon Elf surrounding a human boy, who then pulled out a jug of rum. What angered him even more was that the boy poured the entire jug of rum directly onto the ground.

At that moment, the Gray Dwarf Dashel wished he could pounce on him, lie on the ground, open his mouth wide, and let the human boy pour all the rum on his face.

After agreeing on the Gemstone Mine deal with the human boy, Dashel hung the wooden goblet on his waist, swung his sturdy short legs, and ran straight back into the bunker to report to the elders about exchanging rum for Spinel Ore.

The ceiling of the bunker's main hall was inlaid with a row of moonstones, and the entire hall was bathed in a pale white fluorescence. A row of long stone benches was placed along the walls of the room, and in the middle of the hall were two rows of long stone tables. Stone plates on the tables were piled with dried mushrooms and Moss Cake, and some teacups were placed around the tables.

The dwarves sat on long stone benches, listening quietly as Dashel described rum.

When Dashel got emotional, he even took out the wooden wine glass that Roy had given him and placed it on the table.

Some of the dwarves, unable to resist their craving for alcohol, quickly went over and, sure enough, found a faint aroma of ale still lingering on the cups.

I heard that human kid gave Dashel a glass of ale for free...

A group of dwarves cast envious glances at Dashel.

"Dashel, are you saying they're willing to give up the Northern Mining Area so we can mine Spinel Ore without limit?"

Elder Ampton, seated in the main seat, pondered for a moment before slowly asking the question.

"Yes, Elder."

Dashel stood in the center of the hall and responded loudly.

"Trading spinel for rum?" Elder Ampton squinted, stroking his beard.

"Yes, Elder. I think they are somewhat sincere this time!" Dashel replied again.

There were about twenty Gray Dwarf sitting in the hall, all talking at once.

One of the Gray Dwarf, named Neil, stood up and shouted, "Those Dark Moon Elf are a bunch of treacherous villains who like to stab people in the back. What sincerity could they possibly have? I think they just want to lure us out and then take the opportunity to seize the bunker we've worked so hard to build."

The other Gray Dwarf nodded in agreement, agreeing that Neil's words made a lot of sense.

Even Elder Ampton nodded repeatedly, saying, "Um... that's possible."

At this moment, another Gray Dwarf stepped forward and said, "Elder Ampton, why don't we just take some of the spinel from the vault and trade with them right at the mine entrance? Even if they have some kind of scheme, we can turn around and escape back into the Mine Road."

A group of Gray Dwarf immediately chimed in, "That's a great idea! I think it's worth taking a risk for that barrel of rum!"

The Gray Dwarf, unwilling to venture out but also unwilling to give up the readily available rum, set their sights on the Dwarf Treasury.

Elder Ampton looked at the expectant expressions on the Gray Dwarf in the hall. Although he was reluctant to part with the spinel he had painstakingly accumulated, he could only agree and listened as he said:

"Trading some spinel from the treasury for rum... that sounds good! But who's willing to go with Dashel on this deal?"

Elder Ampton looked around at the Gray Dwarf.

The dwarves in the hall all avoided Elder Ampton's gaze.

Elder Ampton was somewhat angry, and he fixed his gaze on the two Gray Dwarf at the entrance of the hall.

"Malanduo and Maigedi, you two are responsible for helping Dashel deliver twenty barrels of spinel to the Mine Road!"

The two Gray Dwarf sitting at the entrance of the hall stood up at the same time and immediately asked loudly, "Elder, why are we brothers?"

Elder Ampton snorted and said, "In the past, when we were mining, you two brothers always contributed the least. Unless you don't drink a drop of the rum after it's brought back, I can assign this task to other dwarves."

Malanduo and the Maigedi brothers were a little dumbfounded, but immediately changed their tone and agreed, "How could that be! We'll go... we'll go."

Everyone knows that Dragon Clan love to collect gold and silver treasures in their Dragon Lair, but the dwarves are also powerless against these glittering gems.

Inside this bunker, there are piles of spinel that have been accumulated little by little over the past few decades.

These spinels were all polished and were filled into stone troughs by the dwarves, filling an entire stone chamber.

Dashel took the key chain and walked to the stone door of the vault. He casually poked at it a couple of times and opened the lock. The Gray Dwarf behind him worked together to push the stone door open, revealing a mountain of spinel inside that emitted a bright red glow.

The entire room was filled with an aura of magic.

Dashel squatted at the entrance of the vault, stuffing the spinel into a burlap sack, and said to his dwarf brothers behind him, "Luckily I was smart enough to change the trading location to the Mine Road, otherwise the risk would have been much greater..."

The dwarf brothers behind them also squatted at the entrance of the treasure vault, stuffing pieces of spinel into their pockets.

The Gray Dwarf named Malanduo said to Dashel, "I know you, Dashel, usually don't like us brothers because we are not pure Gray Dwarf. You never treat us as real brothers, and we always do the hard work. But this time is different... The three of us are now in the same trench, so we must work together to deal with those Dark Moon Elf."

Dashel turned his head, glared at Malanduo, and said angrily, "What are you saying? I, Dashel, am not that kind of person, and I have never looked down on you two brothers..."

The dwarf named Malanduo didn't continue. He changed the subject. "Maigedi, I don't quite understand what those elves are up to. They clearly occupy the main spinel vein, but they refuse to mine it. In the end, they expect us to mine it and then trade it to them with fine wine."

Maigedi was a strong Gray Dwarf, but sometimes he was a bit simple-minded and seemed a little simple-minded.

At this moment, he answered without hesitation, "Laziness! This is definitely caused by laziness. Look at all the Dark Moon Elf in the mine. If they weren't lazy, how could we possibly have gotten this good deal of trading ore for wine?"

"Mining spinel from the main vein is... it's as easy as digging potatoes in a vegetable garden. Just thinking about all that rum makes my mouth water and my beard..."

Dashel couldn't help but say, "Malanduo, Maigedi, let's hurry up and fill our pockets with spinel. We'll have to carry it into the Mine Road after we're done."

The three Gray Dwarf carried bags full of spinel into the Mine Road. They didn't have a flatbed cart, so they had to carry the spinel out bag by bag, making four trips back and forth.

The three Gray Dwarf returned to the Mine Road exit, and this time Dashel hung a Carbide Lamp at the entrance.

"Do you think those Dark Moon Elf might suddenly jump out and rob us?"

Malanduo, the Gray Dwarf, squatted at the Mine Road, looking at the dark Mine Road ahead, and couldn't help but ask.

Dashel shook his head and said, "I don't know. If they dare to attack us... we'll turn around and run!"

Roy knew without a doubt that the Gray Dwarf wouldn't dare deliver the spinel to the mine entrance.

So he was to lead the Dark Moon Elf to transport a barrel of rum to the Mine Road. In addition to the whole barrel of rum, Roy also brought a barrel of ale, a few salted fish, and some Breadfruit.

He actually planned to hunt Unicorn Wild Ox on the grasslands ahead, but his suggestion was firmly rejected by Captain Kepler.

This time, Roy also brought several wheelbarrows into the mine, so the Dark Moon Elves could easily transport the Gemstone Mine to the mine entrance...

When a group of Dark Moon Elf appeared at the entrance to the Gray Dwarf Mine Road, Malanduo and Maigedi, seeing the Dark Moon Elf standing before them, screamed in terror, "My God! The Dark Moon Elf are here! Run!"

The two Gray Dwarf turned and ran into the Mine Road, leaving Dashel speechless.

When Roy saw the two Gray Dwarf turn and run away in fright, he quickly shouted, "Why are you running? Don't you want your rum anymore?"

"There's wine, wait... stop."

Malanduo immediately stopped and even grabbed his good friend Maigedi's arm...

The two Gray Dwarf stared at Dashel with bewildered expressions and asked innocently, "They're not here to rob us?"

Dashel pointed to the linen sacks in the Mine Road and said, "Help me take these over there, we need to make a trade with them..."

The two Gray Dwarf then caught up with Dashel, carrying their burlap sacks full of spinel out of the Mine Road.

Roy walked up to Dashel, untied a linen bag, and immediately discovered that it contained not Spinel Ore, but further polished spinel. The fiery red spinel had a jelly-like color and came in all sizes, some as small as a pigeon egg and some as large as an adult's fist.

The bright red color is a bit dazzling...

besides