Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1316: We would never let it

“Iʼm not sure how to say this, but you probably understand that i donʼt feel comfortable with my neighbors not just booting up a volcano, but even prepare for something dangerous like elementals to be born,” the bard finally said, after staring at Kutun for a while.

What were elementals? This was not about the bosses in some dungeon at the Adventurer Guildʼs Holy Land. The Salamander, whose leather served as material for his gloves, was a legend. Proper elementals were born somewhere close to being legends and grew to be fully fledged ones.

“We would never let it break out,” Kutun assured him.

“All the heat that would be lost! That would be a nightmare,” Valint wailed at the thought of their hard work going up in smoke. Seth was almost willing to believe this, but that was not the problem.

“You just told me that you are repairing a spawn point for quasi-legendary monsters. How exactly am I supposed to not take that as a hostile action?” Seth asked honestly. Maybe something like a salamander was less of a threat than the whole mountain going up in a bloom of magma and smoke, but it could also do a lot of damage.

Especially considering that these guys were the survivors of a declining Kingdom. They could very well be planning to turn the whole area into a hellscape of fire and death to make their lives more comfortable and reinstate their kingdom.

“P-Please let me finish! It would take millennia for an elemental to be born from a place like this. We are really just doing so trying to survive!” Kutun pleaded pitifully. The massive, fire-bearded man had actually sunk to his knees, practically begging Seth.

The blacksmith stepped back awkwardly. He didnʼt think that his words were this harsh. Wasnʼt the chief overreacting a little? It was disconcerting, seeing such a massive man, made of magma, beg in fear...

“Yes, please donʼt send the Horsemen after us!”Valint fell to his knees next to chief. “ I have a small daughter struggling with the cold and a son with barely enough brains to make a living. they still have their whole life before them, please spare us!” Valint cried, hot tears of molten metal dripping from his cheeks.

What in the world was going on here?
“What the hell makes you think I would suddenly send the horsemen here?” Seth exclaimed, exasperated. Ignoring whether he would do it, probably only Bazilith would be able to fight effectively in such a hot environment.

“K-Kiki told us that Minas Mar is not to be messed with, that you had several legends and commanded the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. She told us about your battle against Spatia, where you defeated almost ten legends! And that Minas Mar knows no mercy for their enemies!” Everything flowed from Valintʼs lips, as if it had been fermenting for a long time.

Seth stared at Valint. Dan, maybe he should hire that girl for propaganda. her talent was clearly wasted on trading with these guys. If she was able to instill just half of this fear in the cultivators or other invaders, Urth would be a lot more peaceful.

“We tried to confirm what the little trader said, but we couldnʼt find anything that contradicted her stories. Please show mercy;” Kutun full-on kowtowed to him, making it even more awkward ot the blacksmith who didnʼt know how to react.

Of course, this could have all been a smart ruse. Seth wasnʼt a lie detector like Ray, but the small amount of EQ he had raised since he left home and became a bard made him think that Kutun and Valint were honest.

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“Okay, listen here. Iʼm tired and I want to go back home. For now, I will believe you, but I will have people verify all you said again, so i want you, Kutun, to come down the mountains tomorrow and visit our embassy in Delta officially.

I have people that are better in these kinds of negotiations. When you come, we can work out a way to become good neighbors and nobody has to bother any legends, okay?” the blacksmith offered honestly.

He didnʼt feel like dealing with this any longer at this point. the best tactic for that, was to make Leana or Mary deal with it instead. The perfect strategy for stress management. Delegate the problem somewhere else.

“Thank you for this chance! We will not disappoint you,” Kutun said, touched. It was this kind of overreaction that made Seth suspicious. Either they were acting, or this Kiki girl was a real menace. Leana had to see if they could recruit her. Someone able to plant true fear into the heart of people like this had to be an outstanding talent.

“Okay, calm down. Just show up tomorrow, and we will find a way to deal with everything. Bye,” Seth said his farewells and vanished. Usually, he avoided using his daily Home Call in case of an emergency, but on this rare occasion, he had no motivation to walk the way back home.

Without Chronaʼs shield, nothing stopped Seth from directly appearing at the entrance hall of Minas Mar; he no longer needed to take the detour through the system church. With the Tower Ego, he wasnʼt there for long and directly appeared at his quarters.

Since he had eaten during Kutunʼs fairy tale, he just had to change into his pajamas and fall into bed. Minas and Fin had not returned today, so he had to go to bed alone, once again. At least, he would he home when the two came back.

....

---Delta, Minas Mar Square---

“Whatʼs going on here?” the curly-haired blonde asked, surprised when the two of them came to the small square in front of the headquarters of Minas Mar in Delta. The former embassy seemed to be under the siege of a dense crowd of people.

“I have no idea, maybe something happened while were in Spring City?” the taller cat girl beside her said, shrugging with her shoulders. Mina and Fin had just returned from their mission in Spring City and decided to take a walk to the embassy, instead of directly porting there and down to the magic tower.

The other day, they had tracked a few remnants still hiding in the city before they could return this morning. However, when they left the System Church, they found this commotion blocking their paths.

They exchanged a look and raised their hands to the air. A hologram of the golden crest of Minas Mar appeared above their hands. These were the upgraded versions of Sethʼs original rings, which could identify members among each other and allow entry.

“Itʼs Minas Mar!” “There are lords of Minas Mar!” the crowd clamored at the sight of the signs above the ladiesʼ heads. Of course, not everyone got this kind of ring, these signs identified them as Lords of Minas Mar and only the original founding members had these versions.

“Isnʼt that The Smooth Shadow, Mina?” “And the other one is The Golden Fist, Fin!” “The Fairy Brute is here?” “The Sinuous Shadow, where? I want to see!” Some even recognized them and couldnʼt help but exclaim weird nicknames.

“Make way!” “Please let us through!”

Taking full advantage of their position, the two split the crowd like an ancient prophet once split the Sigmaen Sea. Despite being treated as an even bigger attraction than whatever had drawn in all of these people, they did not dare to stand in their way. Minas Mar had become an absolute existence; nobody in Delta would want to offend.

When the two finally got though the crowd, they arrived in a circle at the stairs of the embassy. Kneeling at the steps of Minas Mar seat of power, was a group of 25 humanoid creatures made of magma.

If they had not been kneeling, with their heads lowered, they would have looked quite menacing. The aura of power and tremendous heat they emitted was enough to roast ordinary people and even burn higher leveled adventurers.

“Kutun, what happened? Valint? Why are you doing this?” a young woman asked worried. She was walking around them the group of magma people, desperately trying to talk to them, but she couldnʼt get close because of their heat and they didnʼt respond to her pleas.

They didnʼt speak it out loud, but both had exactly the same question on their mind.

“What did Seth do this time?”