"After him!"
Zong Shen pointed down the mountain path!
Old Travel Horse was a large animal, after all. It would leave very obvious hoofprints on a mountain trail like this.
At the same time, Zong Shen began calling out to the Strategy Guide in his mind.
"I need to find my horse. Please point me in the right direction."
(Just follow the arrow.)
(A drunken little dwarf stole your horse. Be careful—he's very strong.)
A golden arrow appeared in Zong Shen's field of vision.
It pointed down the mountain, just as before.
Zong Shen didn't waste any time. He took Tie Zhu and broke into a run.
They raced downhill in pursuit.
On foot, Tie Zhu's speed advantage became clear.
After blending into the shadows, he moved with astonishing speed, like a black shadow darting beneath the trees.
The two of them sprinted to the foot of the mountain.
Before them lay the Land of Buried Bones and the wide grassland.
Zong Shen stopped.
The arrow before him pointed straight across the grassland.
A short distance from the edge of the mountain, several large trees stood scattered apart.
Two figures, one large and one small, were resting beneath them.
"Whew... whew..."
"Would you look at that? He even stopped to rest!"
"I'll give him a good beating when I catch him!"
Panting, Zong Shen cursed under his breath and rolled up his sleeves.
"Keep going!"
He called to Tie Zhu.
The two of them raced toward the trees.
They ran at full speed.
If Zong Shen's physical abilities hadn't been enhanced by his four attributes and skills, he wouldn't have been able to keep up such a strenuous pace.
As the saying went, a horse could be run to death trying to reach a mountain that only looked close. It took the two of them more than ten minutes to cover about three kilometers before they finally reached the trees.
A dwarf with a thick, bushy beard and simple light armor lay under one of the trees, fast asleep.
Old Travel Horse had been left to graze nearby, leisurely munching on the grass.
As Zong Shen and Tie Zhu approached, they caught the strong smell of alcohol coming from the dwarf.
Just the odor alone was enough to make their eyes sting.
This grassland was open on all sides, yet the smell of alcohol was still so strong. Had the dwarf in front of them spent a year soaking in a wine barrel?
As Zong Shen drew closer, a name appeared above the dwarf's head.
[Bronzebeard Winefire???]
[Race: Dwarf]
[???]
[???]
(He's drunk. You can easily subdue him. He has an advanced blacksmithing skill and might be useful in your territory.)
A string of question marks appeared after his name.
It seemed he wasn't a hostile monster. He appeared to be some mysterious member of the Dwarf Race.
The many question marks seemed to hint at the strength of this drunken dwarf.
Still, he had stolen Zong Shen's horse. Zong Shen couldn't just let it go.
He walked over and crouched beside the dwarf, gently patting his flushed face.
The man's skin was rough, and his face seemed to be made of solid muscle. It felt anything but soft.
"Hey, hey!"
"Wake up!"
"Snore... snore... snore..."
The only response was the steady sound of snores and the rise and fall of his sturdy chest.
Zong Shen stared at him, speechless. He really wanted to draw his sword and give the careless drunk a good stab.
But he was worried about provoking someone powerful.
Suddenly, an idea came to him.
First, he took the hemp he'd looted from the unfortunate lord's Storage Grid and made several sturdy lengths of Hemp Rope on the spot.
Then he called Tie Zhu over, and together they hoisted the dwarf up.
They removed his light armor and the enormous, oddly shaped iron hammer hanging at his waist.
All they left him wearing was a pair of oversized red-striped underpants.
Watching his chest hair sway in the breeze, Zong Shen felt a little better.
Then he wrapped Hemp Rope around the dwarf's legs again and again, tying him securely to the tree with his feet dangling off the ground.
Just to be safe,
he practically wrapped the dwarf up like a dumpling.
When he was done,
Zong Shen took a large Wooden Bucket full of water from his Storage Grid.
It was the extra water he'd brought with him that morning.
He stood up, lifted the bucket, and poured half of it over the drunken dwarf's head.
"Gurgle..."
"Cough, cough..."
"Which bastard's disturbing my sleep?!"
"I'll smash his damn head in with my hammer!"
The drunken dwarf jolted awake, cursing as he instinctively reached for his hammer. Then he realized he was hanging from the tree, his legs bound.
Even with his immense strength, he couldn't do a thing in that position.
"Human brat, why did you tie me up?"
"Are you a Marauder or a bandit?"
"I'm broke! Apart from the tavern, nobody can take a single copper coin from me!"
He'd regained some of his senses.
He began speaking to Zong Shen of his own accord.
Zong Shen smiled.
He reached over and led Old Travel Horse closer.
"You stole my horse."
"So I tied you up."
Hearing that, the drunken dwarf looked enlightened.
Then he grew a little embarrassed.
A man of few words, he chose to stay silent.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"The whole continent says the Dwarf Race is brave, tenacious, easygoing, and hardworking. I never expected dwarves to be good at stealing."
"I'd like to know how your people deal with thieves."
Zong Shen said it deliberately, trying to provoke him.
Sure enough, the drunken dwarf's face turned red again.
"Bullshit! Damn human brat!"
"I'm not a thief!"
Seeing his expression, Zong Shen's smile grew wider.
"Then why is my horse here?"
"This old horse was passed down to me by my elders. I'm deeply attached to him."
Zong Shen put on an exaggerated show of grief and gently stroked Old Travel Horse's head.
The horse was clever, too. He affectionately rubbed his head against Zong Shen's arm.
That only made the drunken dwarf feel more ashamed.
"I... I..."
"I'm sorry, human brat. I was drunk..."
Realizing he couldn't make excuses, the drunken dwarf chose to apologize.
"I accept your apology."
Zong Shen looked up at him, his expression serious.
Then he seized the opportunity to make an offer.
"I'm a lord, and I'm building a great territory. Right now, my territory is short of a skilled blacksmith."
"Would you be willing to help me?"
With the drunken dwarf already feeling guilty, Zong Shen promptly extended an olive branch.
This dwarf had question marks all over his profile and possessed an advanced blacksmithing skill.
It was said that dwarves excelled at smithing.
A territory couldn't develop with only warriors skilled in battle.
It also needed all kinds of people to help build it.
Blacksmiths, tailors, construction workers, administrators—even people skilled in farming and education.
All of them were indispensable to a territory's development.
This dwarf was a real talent!
Zong Shen had already decided to sweet-talk and trick him into coming back to his territory.
Hearing this, the drunken dwarf hesitated.
Before you continue