The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 115

The dwarves were a fairy tribe blessed by the earth.

They communicated with the ground and could hear the voices of minerals.

‘Thanks to that ability, they were born as blacksmiths, architects, and miners.’

Aden thought of contracting with them regarding the development and excavation of the mana stones buried in the Frozen Territory.

In fact, Aden was not the first to think of using dwarves in mining.

Stories of grateful dwarves finding massive chunks of gold buried in a homeowner’s yard were common.

Anyone who had heard such tales of the dwarves would dream of partnering with them or capturing them as slaves to find gold mines.

‘But it’s just a dream.’

The dwarf kingdom of Stoneheim was a subterranean kingdom deep underground.

Dwarves spent their lives moving back and forth between their personal subspace, the ‘workshop,’ and the underground kingdom.

Therefore, no one knew the location of Stoneheim.

No one knew how deep the kingdom was.

Only through dwarves with workshops could one enter the underground kingdom.

‘That’s why they are the only fairy tribe that has suffered almost no damage from humans.’

Unlike the Ents, who were nearly extinct due to human hunting, or the Elves, who disappeared after fleeing to the western continent, the dwarves were the only fairy tribe to establish a ‘nation.’

But despite suffering less compared to other fairy tribes, there were still many dwarves who went to the surface out of curiosity and were captured and enslaved by humans.

For that reason, they had no interaction with the surface and traded weapons and mined minerals through the Spirit Merchant Guild.

Only a few unique dwarves like Hetos interacted with a limited group of humans.

-Dragon Slayer, how do you plan to trade with those short folks?

‘How else? It’s time to use the dirty, sneaky power of connections.’

Even though Hetos appeared to be a grumpy old dwarf who just aged disgustingly, he held a rather high position in Stoneheim.

The title ‘Blacksmith’ he held was a name only given to those who were respected and recognized by all dwarves for their skills.

Through Hetos, meeting the dwarf king directly was not a difficult task.

‘Once I meet him, I can offer the wine brewed by the Ents as a condition.’

It was a fine wine that even Hetos admired, his eyes widening.

Surely, other dwarves would show interest.

Fortunately, Hetos’ reaction was positive.

He seemed to be quite fond of the lazy nap of the fairies.

For that reason, they decided to leave for the day and visit Stoneheim again the next day.

However, there was an unexpected companion.

“I want to go to the dwarf kingdom too! I really want to see it!”

-Woof woof!

By mistake, Aden had mentioned going to the dwarf kingdom during a conversation, and Elise and Choco insisted on going with bright, star-like eyes.

“Haha! If Saint Elise is going, I must accompany her.”

“Lord Aden, where are you going? I will join you.”

“Oh my, is everyone going? It sounds fun, so I will go too.”

Priest Bali, Lowe, Cassie, and the rest of the party all tagged along.

When they entered Hetos’ workshop, everyone was amazed.

“Wow! It’s bigger inside than outside!”

-Woof woof!

“Is this the legendary dwarf workshop?”

“How on earth did they create such a space? It’s amazing.”

“Oh, Lord Aden! There are weapons hanging all around! My goodness, these are all those famous dwarf-made weapons?”

With so many people, Hetos’ usually quiet workshop became noisy.

The unexpected housewarming party annoyed the homeowner.

“Do you think this is a market? Hey! You there, take your hands off that sword! Oh, damn it, listen, kid! You didn’t say anything about bringing companions!”

“I apologize, Hetos. Well, let’s consider it a short visit. I think they can join us.”

“Listen to this guy.”

Fortunately, Hetos allowed the party to enter Stoneheim.

“Fine. Whether it’s one human or five, it doesn’t matter. Do as you wish!”

“Hello, Grandpa Shorty! I’m Elise. Nice to meet you!”

“Oh? Uh, yes, child. I’m Hetos, the owner of this workshop… Wait, who are you calling Shorty!”

“Oh my! This mace here is exactly my type!”

“Oh? This iron pipe fits my taste.”

“Hey! Ogre or human or whatever you are! Put that mace back where it was! And you, cat lady, don’t touch that!”

It was complete chaos.

When things finally calmed down, Hetos looked as if he had aged another hundred years.

“Hoo, if it weren’t for that damn disciple of Vulkan, I’d have kicked you out long ago.”

“Stop grumbling and open the door, will you?”

“You’re just like your mentor, cheeky brat!”

“So, do you dislike it? If you don’t want to taste that wine again, you don’t have to open the door.”

“Damn it!”

If it weren’t for the Ents’ wine, Hetos would have been at a disadvantage.

-Aren’t you treating him too harshly, Dragon Slayer?

‘What are you talking about? He doesn’t actually hate it.’

Hetos, though he never showed it, was an old man with a lot of affection.

He was the owner of this workshop, and within the workshop, everything was at Hetos’ discretion.

If he truly disliked the people here and the atmosphere, he could have expelled them or forcibly restrained them.

“Damn it, if it weren’t for that wine….”

Grumbling, Hetos created a door to the dwarf kingdom in midair.

Creak.

Hetos opened the door and shouted.

“Alright! Enter through here, and you’ll be in Stoneheim! Get in quickly!”

Aden and his party entered the door with high expectations, followed lastly by Hetos.

* * *

The subterranean kingdom, Stoneheim.

Aden had never been there, so he was quite curious.

‘I wonder what kind of place it is.’

As they passed through the door, the panoramic view of the dwarf kingdom, which humans had only imagined, unfolded before their eyes.

The first thing that caught their eyes was the unexpectedly bright light.

A radiant light comparable to sunlight poured down from the ceiling of an unbelievably enormous cavern.

Sunstones.

Rare minerals that emitted bright light when infused with magic were densely embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the entire Stoneheim.

They saw massive stone pillars supporting the cavern’s ceiling and floor, preventing it from collapsing.

Below were quaint houses perfectly suited to the dwarves’ small stature, forming peaceful villages.

-Roar!

-Boom! Boom!

Giant rock monsters over four meters tall were rampaging through the village, destroying everything.

-Roar!

“Warriors of Stoneheim! Fight back!”

“Protect our kingdom!”

“Waaaaah!”

Dwarven warriors were seen desperately resisting and fighting against the golems.

The paradise and home of the dwarves, the subterranean kingdom of stone and rock, Stoneheim.

A fierce war was raging there.

The savage roars of the golems and the cries of the dwarves echoed like background music.

“……”

Aden and his party fell into a deep silence as they watched.

-Hoho, things are getting interesting.

Interesting, my foot.

On the other hand, Hetos was shocked to see his homeland turned into a battlefield.

“W-what on earth is happening here!”

“Hetos, even you don’t know about this?”

“No! Ten years ago, it wasn’t like this when I last visited!”

“……Ten years is enough time for even mountains to change.”

They had forgotten that Hetos was a reclusive old man who could stay holed up in his workshop for ten or twenty years.

Even as they stood there, dwarven warriors were fighting against the golems.

Aden looked around at his party members, including Lowe, Cassie, Priest Bali, Elise, and Choco, and spoke.

“This might be sudden, but it looks like we have to fight.”

They had no choice but to take action.

* * *

“Fight with all your might!”

“If we lose here, our kingdom is doomed!”

“The east side is breached! Send reinforcements!”

“These damned stone lumps!”

-Roar!

It was utter chaos.

Hundreds of stone golems clashed against dwarven warriors wielding axes and hammers.

Groups of five or six dwarven warriors wielding massive axes or hammers attacked a stone golem, severing its limbs.

-Roar!

A golem, having lost its limbs, tried to absorb surrounding rocks to regenerate.

“Krotal! Now is the time! Finish it!”

Responding to his comrades’ cries, the dwarf warrior Krotal raised his halberd.

“Haaah!”

With a spirited shout, Krotal struck the golem’s chest, where a brown Sword Aura formed on the halberd.

Crack! Crack!

The golem’s tough chest split open, and its core shattered in two.

-Roar…

The golem with a broken core lost its light and collapsed, ceasing to regenerate.

“Huff! Huff!”

Krotal panted heavily.

It was a victory befitting a top-tier Sword Aura warrior and the second-ranked warrior of Stoneheim.

But there was no time for Krotal to rest.

‘I need to take care of the other golems quickly!’

There were still countless golems left.

-Roar!

-Roar!

In his sight alone, there were over thirty of them.

“So many of them already!”

Hearing the roars of the stone golems from all directions, Krotal’s expression turned bleak.

‘How did this catastrophe come upon us…!’

It was about a month ago.

While mining as usual

, the dwarf miners discovered something underground.

Clang!

“Hmm? What’s this?”

It wasn’t endrillium, adamantium, mithril, or any magical metal, nor was it a gemstone like ruby or diamond.

It was a dungeon.

Finding a dungeon underground was not unusual.

But it wasn’t an ordinary dungeon; it was an ancient relic dungeon sealed with intricate sealing spells, buried deep underground.

The problem was that the miners accidentally struck the sealing spell with their pickaxes, breaking the seal.

-Roar!

“Ugh, a golem!”

Ancient stone golems poured out from the dungeon.

With the seal broken, golems endlessly emerged from the dungeon, destroying everything in sight.

Each of these golems possessed terrifying power comparable to ogres or high trolls.

‘At least their weak point is the core in their chest….’

But these golems were absurdly tough.

Only a few dwarves, who had awakened their Aura or mastered advanced elemental magic, could break their tough exterior and destroy the core.

Thus, they evacuated the elderly and infirm to the workshop world, and the dwarf king and the able-bodied warriors began their war against the golems.

Stoneheim was the only home of the dwarves.

If they lost this place, the only path left for their race was decline, so they fought desperately.

‘But… we’re reaching our limit.’

The number of golems they defeated was less than the number of new golems that appeared.

For every golem they destroyed, three more would appear.

As a result, they were pushed back to this state.

Now, their last remaining territory was the sole fortress of Heirota.

If that fell, regaining their land would be impossible.

-Roar!

-Roar!

The roars of the stone golems echoed from all directions.

On the other hand, the dwarven warriors were exhausted, their numbers dwindling, and their spirits crushed.

Their faces turned pale.

“My goodness… There are still so many….”

“Now our kingdom is finished….”

“Oh no, is the history of our Stoneheim ending here!”

Krotal and his fellow dwarves despaired at the approaching army of golems.

-Roar!

A stone golem swung its fist at them.

‘Damn it, we can’t just die like this!’

Gritting his teeth, Krotal raised his halberd and mustered all his remaining Aura to emit a faint Sword Aura.

Even if he was to die, he would take down as many as he could!

“Haaaaa…!”

With that desperate resolve, he swung his halberd at the golem’s fist.

Swoosh!

-Roar…!

With a flash of light, the golem was sliced in half, its massive body collapsing on either side.

“What…?”

The sight was so unexpected it made him forget his resolve to die.

‘Could it be that I broke through my limits and reached a new realm in desperation…?’

As Krotal looked at his hand holding the halberd with a hopeful expression, a strange voice came from beside him.

“Damn, what the hell is going on?”

Krotal turned to his side in shock and saw a young human with black hair and black eyes, Aden, holding a sword and frowning next to him.