Return to the Plateau

After crossing a rolling hilly area, the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war arrived at a temporary camp at the foot of the highland.

The temporary camp was built in a valley between two mountain ridges, which is located at the Mountain Road to the Pagisto Plateau. Following the winding mountain road in the valley behind it northwards will lead to the southern part of the Pagisto Plateau.

Several months ago, the Silver Pegasus Legion withdrew from the Pagisto Plateau, leaving behind a Valley Camp on the plateau and another camp in the ravine at the entrance to the mountain pass.

The Silver Moon Elf love a comfortable living environment wherever they are, so even their temporary camps are built in a very proper manner.

After a trek of more than half a month, the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war arrived at the temporary camp here, where they still needed to rest for two days before setting off again.

Along the way, the Half-Elf and the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war ate and lived together, and apart from the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war wearing shackles on their feet, they were almost no different.

These Gray Dwarf are thick-skinned and strong. Even if they are wearing heavy shackles, they can walk on the Mountain Road for most of the day without feeling tired. The Half-Elf in the Rampart Town do not hate the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war. They even feel sorry for the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war who are wearing shackles and walking on the Mountain Road. Therefore, these Gray Dwarf carry almost no weight.

These Gray Dwarf prisoners of war also appeared extremely docile, completely different from the Gray Dwarf miners Roy had found in the mines, and their eyes lacked the bloodlust and ruthlessness they possessed.

During rest stops along the way, the Half-Elf Warrior would offer water pouches to the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war, and occasionally they would even receive an apple.

Many of the Half-Elf were visiting the foot of the Pagisto Plateau for the first time. The mountains here are undulating, and the higher peaks behind are almost completely obscured by the mountains in front, so they are not as majestic as the Griffon Bulwark Mountain Range. The mountain peaks are still some distance from the clouds.

The vegetation on the mountains here is still very lush, a pale green stretching far into the distance...

Standing on the platform in front of the barracks, gazing at the rolling mountains behind him, Roy turned to a Half-Elf Warrior who was preparing for the trip and asked:

"The road ahead will be difficult. Do you regret coming here?"

The Half-Elf Warrior put down the plank in his hand, looked up, and smiled at Roy, saying:

"Why regret it? It's a rare opportunity to go to the Pagisto Plateau and see it. It's actually quite nice! Life in Rampart Town is good, but living the same thing every day gets boring. Rampart Town is a giant cage, and I'm a bird trapped in it."

A young Half-Elf Warrior seized the opportunity to say:

"I heard that Commander Helik is fighting against the natives of the Northern Plateau. I wish I could go and see the battlefield Northern Plateau..."

"I also want to see how fierce those natives really are. I heard that they have black patterns tattooed on their faces, hold long spears, ride argali sheep, and can leap across the mountains and cliffs."

Everyone chattered about the Highland Slavers, mostly stories told by the Half-Elf miners who had come down from the Highlands. Many of these miners now lived in Rampart Town, and the Highland Slavers they described were as ruthless demons from hell.

These Half-Elf Warrior regarded Commander Helik as a hero and also wanted to go to the Northern Plateau to see the Highland Slavers.

In mid-February 1408, Roy led a thousand Gray Dwarf prisoners of war away from the temporary camp at the entrance to the mountain pass and set off again toward the Pagisto Plateau.

With Leishande's caravan following along the way and having ample supplies, the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war only needed to conquer this extremely treacherous Mountain Road.

The path into the Pagisto Plateau was treacherous, mostly treading along the edge of cliffs. On one side was a cold, rocky wall, where rocks could fall at any moment. On the other side lay a bottomless abyss, making it easy for the Gray Dwarf prisoners to escape the group—a simple leap was all it took.

The Half-Elf Warrior who were traveling this road for the first time were all pale-faced, but each of them rode a argali sheep, which traversed the rugged Mountain Road as if it were flat ground.

Roy was surprised to find that these Gray Dwarf prisoners of war were also very comfortable with the Mountain Road, walking steadily with every step.

It was the Mountain Road here that blocked the carriages of Padesto City and the elf caravans.

Merchants who want to transport goods to the Pagisto Plateau have no choice but to use pack animals to carry them up, except to put them in their Magic Pouch.

Riding a argali sheep, one hand gripping the reins and the other holding its curved horns, Leishande turned to Roy behind him and said, "If only we could build a main road here. This road is just too difficult to travel on. It's a bit better now that it's sunny, but on rainy days, it's hard to find shelter on this Mountain Road. The path is wet and slippery, and you can't stop on this narrow path that's less than a meter wide. Otherwise, it'll be even more difficult at night. You'll just have to grit your teeth and keep going, and occasionally rocks will roll down your head, which is even more deadly..."

Roy glanced down at the cliff face; the steep, bare cliff face and the valley floor were filled with jagged rocks.

This was his second time walking this Mountain Road. Although he had prepared himself mentally, he still felt a sense of despair once he stepped onto the Mountain Road...

This is a road with no end in sight, and each section has strict distance limits. You can only stop and rest at each platform rest area.

"I've heard that on the Roland Continent, there's a Magic Airship created by goblins that can fly directly to the clouds and travel from one place to another. This Magic Airship looks like a large ocean-going ship, with masts and sails, and its carrying capacity is also excellent..." Leishande said with considerable envy.

"If Pattington had Magic Airship, we could transport those Magic Furnace directly to the plateau."

Roy was agonizing over this the whole way.

The Magic Furnace Klayr got for him was far too big, and he had been thinking about how to transport all three Magic Furnace to the plateau. To be honest, that was a bit difficult.

With Roy's current level of knowledge, the easiest thing he could think of to achieve was to build a hot air balloon and then rely on the wind to blow it to the Pagisto Plateau. However, building a hot air balloon requires constant attempts. The upper atmosphere of the Pattington Plane is in the Wind Stream Layer, and if one is not careful, it is easy to rush into the turbulent interlayer.

The hurricane that pulls the balloon away from the strata could tear it to shreds, and Roy doesn't have time to do that right now.

A griffin hovered close to the rock face.

The Griffon Cavalry were clearing a path for them from the sky; the griffins were likely located at a platform rest area.

Roy knew that the rest platform was not far away.

When they arrived at the rest platform, Kaka and his griffin were already waiting there.

Roy described the Magic Airship to Kaka, Kaka said to Roy with great longing, "I want to go to the Roland Continent someday..."

After spending time together, the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war discovered that these Half-Elf were quite different from the Silver Moon Elf they had encountered before.

The Half-Elf harbored no animosity towards them.

Even though they had to walk a long way through the Mountain Road every day, the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war were never harassed by the Half-Elf, and their daily rations were never reduced...

Gradually, both sides began to try to communicate.

Although we don't speak the same language, we can still say a few simple sentences using gestures.

While the old dwarf craftsman was resting, he suggested to Roy: if this Mountain Road is the only way to reach the Pagisto Plateau, then it should be properly repaired, at least by nailing a row of iron rings into the cliff face and threading a chain through it...

This will make traveling on this Mountain Road a little easier.

The method is simple, but also practical. With so many mines at Roy's disposal, it's relatively easy for him to forge some iron rings and steel chisels from any of them.

After traveling for nearly half a month, the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war finally passed through the most treacherous section of the Mountain Road. After crossing a moss-covered mountain area, the scenery before them immediately changed. The land here was flat and vast, and the clouds over the plateau were very low, making people feel somewhat oppressed.

These Half-Elf Warrior riding argali sheep clearly didn't care much. They rushed onto the purplish-blue carpet of grass, jumped off their sheep, and ran wildly across the soft tundra.

A group of Gray Dwarf prisoners of war sat down, looking at the sky above and the land before them, knowing full well that they would spend the rest of their lives here.

Leishande's caravan brought up the rear. The argali sheep carried a large amount of supplies out of the valley. They stopped at the riverbank 500 meters away. The argali sheep not only needed to drink water but also needed to rest by the river. The Half-Elf in the caravan had to unload the supplies from the argali sheep and pile them together...

The first stop for Roy's Gray Dwarf Prisoner of War Camp and Leishande's caravan was a Valley Camp built by the Silver Moon Elf on the Pagisto Plateau.

This is also an abandoned camp left behind by the Silver Pegasus Legion, but the buildings in the camp still exist. The Silver Pegasus Legion did not dismantle these temporary wooden houses when they withdrew. All along, these houses have been used by Leishande as warehouses to store some supplies.

Some Half-Elf lived in the camp; they had all come out of the mountains with Leishande.

Roy brought the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war to the Valley Camp and found it to be surprisingly lively. There were at least several hundred half -Half-Elf living there, and almost all the wooden houses were filled with Half-Elf. Since the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war could not be accommodated in the wooden houses, Roy could only set up some tents in the camp.

"Why are there so many Half-Elf here?" Roy asked Leishande secretly after settling the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war.

"I just found out that many of the Half-Elf here are miners from the Nikoba Mountain Range. You rescued them from the mines in the Nikoba Mountain Range, and after resting in the Northern Plateau for a while, they started heading south. The Half-Elf living in the camp are almost all preparing to leave the Pagisto Plateau with the caravan, which is why they are temporarily staying in the Valley Camp."

Leishande told Roy that this was something he had just learned.

The elven miners of the Nikoba Mountain Range wanted to live in Rampart Town, where they waited for Leishande's caravan to leave the highlands so they could accompany them.

Roy glanced behind him at the Half-Elf Warrior riding a argali sheep...

The Half-Elf people of Rampart Town are trying every means to come and live on the plateau, while the Half-Elf miners of the Nikoba Mountain Range are thinking about leaving the plateau as soon as possible.

These Gray Dwarf prisoners of war did not linger at the three Gemstone Mine. After leaving the Valley Camp, they went straight to the Mithril Mine in the Sudaso Mountain Range. The two Mithril Mine in the Sudaso Mountain Range were managed by Qian Ning, and due to a lack of sufficient miners, the two Mithril Mine had been barely maintaining operations.

This time, Roy brought a thousand Gray Dwarf prisoners of war to the Sudasornan Mithril Mine.

Upon arriving at the South Mithril Mine, Qian Ning was waiting at the South Mithril Mine of the castle with a group of Half-Elf Warrior. The castle gates were wide open, and the City Wall were filled with Half-Elf elves wearing standard armor.

Roy rode his horse into the castle, Qian Ning, dressed in an exquisite white gauze dress, personally stepped forward to hold the reins for Roy.

The two Half-Elf even brought over a ladder covered with a red carpet and placed it beside the warhorse. Roy jumped off the horse, and immediately Half-Elf maid handed him a warm towel to put on his hands.

Qian Ning had the Half-Elf Warrior taken to the castle's guest rooms to rest, while the Gray Dwarf prisoners of war were placed in the sheds of the Mithril Mine in the backyard.

"I'll leave you with four hundred Gray Dwarf prisoners of war. Can you manage them?" Roy's first words after dismounting were to ask Qian Ning how many miners she needed.

"Sure," Qian Ning replied confidently.

Roy nodded; he really liked Qian Ning's way of doing things.

Roy didn't linger at the castle; he went straight to the Mithril Mine in the backyard with Qian Ning, saying as they walked:

"If the mine needs Half-Elf Guard Squad, you can let me know anytime..."

"The South Mithril Mine has a 200-man Mine Guard team, which can handle the current situation," Qian Ning said.

Roy walked to the Magic Furnace in the backyard, pointed at it, and asked Qian Ning, "Do you know how the Sitney Mine Owners managed to transport this heavy Magic Furnace to the plateau?"

Qian Ning was slightly taken aback, then realized that the only possible reason Roy asked this question was that he had already obtained the Magic Furnace, but was currently facing a problem: the Magic Furnace could not be transported to the plateau.

Qian Ning frowned and thought about it seriously before saying, "Father rarely talks about these things with us, but I have heard other people talk about the Magic Furnace before. It is said that Father hired a Transport Team specifically to transport the furnace to the plateau."

"Lobato, do you remember how my father transported this furnace up here?" Qian Ning then asked the old Gray Dwarf miner next to the furnace.

The old Gray Dwarf miner named Lobato squeezed his wrinkled eyes, thought for a long time, and then said:

"The Transport Team hired by the Sitney Mine Owners wasn't really a Transport Team; it was a group of Half-Elf adventurers. I don't know where they got their hands on a Floating Device, but they had a mage operate it to suspend the Floating Device in mid-air. Then, they used a dozen or so argali sheep to pull the Magic Furnace floating in mid-air, and successfully entered the Pagisto Plateau..."

Roy had never seen Floating Device before, but based on the old Gray Dwarf miner's description, he roughly knew what it was.