Chapter 310
33. This too shall pass (3)
#2 Their situation: The situation of a certain dwarf
Beautiful.
It was the feeling I felt every time I looked at the sword, holding it up to the light.
I always think it’s beautiful, but it’s always a new feeling.
What should I say?
The glittering luster of the shining iron and the veil-like sharpness.
Whenever I touch the sword, it feels like it’s cooing ‘kiing kiing’ as if acting cuteness.
“No… I can’t express it… It’s even more lovely…”
It was the feeling I felt whenever I saw a finished work, but I couldn’t explain it in words.
It wasn’t because they were works I made.
It’s because I always think others’ works are beautiful too.
Creations are beautiful.
A sword with a sharp blade is beautiful, and a long spear has its own beauty as a spear.
The graceful curves of a bow are charming, and a shield that is big and rough but has a unique charm has a beauty that can’t be felt from other weapons.
And axes, halberds, maces and so on each have their own charm.
I make that with my own hands.
I’m proud to be born with the fate of an artisan.
To think I can make such beautiful things with my own hands!
I could vaguely understand why the gods love the living things on earth.
Because they can’t help but love such lovely beings.
“Alright, wait just a little more.”
Sharpening the blade was the most important part of the polishing process.
If making a sword with a hammer is like creating life, sharpening the blade is like breathing a soul into that life.
This process is truly important.
Breathing a soul into the weapon!
As an artisan, it was the most important thing above all else.
So there is no one who can disturb this task.
Since all dwarves are artisans, everyone understands the importance of this task well.
Thud!
No matter the situation.
Thud!
Because we have the soul of an artisan.
Thud!
We never give up on this task no matter what!
Thud!
“What’s that sound…?”
I kept hearing a thudding noise.
My mind was shaken because I kept hearing the noise when I wasn’t fully focused yet.
It was proof that I was lacking as an artisan.
To not be able to focus from just this much.
The elders were people who would reach absolute concentration even if a dragon was next to them.
Lacking.
I haven’t gotten anywhere near the realm of the elders yet.
“I need to concentrate.”
I picked up the sword and the whetstone again to resume the polishing work.
Alright, now…
“That Hectare is running amok with the metal bat!”
“Sh*t!”
I threw the whetstone and sword away and picked up a weapon decorated on the corner of the wall.
“Where, where is he?!”
It was an emergency situation. A situation where I had to rush out immediately.
Sharpening the sword’s blade?
All unnecessary things.
What good is the soul of a weapon?
My body and soul must exist for me to breathe a soul into a weapon or not!
“On the opposite side of the clan hall!”
The moment I heard those words, I rushed in the opposite direction.
You must not fight a human, no, creature wielding the metal bat.
No, even if it’s an inanimate object, you must not fight it.
That’s basic common sense for dwarves.
There’s no way there would be a fool who thinks of going to help the elders.
Evidence of that, numerous people were running towards where I was headed.
The elders are honorable people but… There are things in this world that ordinary dwarven strength cannot handle.
The metal bat is one such thing.
That’s why so many dwarves are fleeing.
A dwarf who doesn’t know that is not a dwarf.
“Huh?”
There’s no way a dwarf wouldn’t know that.
When the metal bat first came into being, the elders of the 12 dwarven clans all gathered and personally witnessed the power of the metal bat.
That day’s events are told as legends.
There are no dwarves who don’t know about it.
Especially for a dwarf of the Black Anvil clan, who made it and even demonstrated it!
“This is…”
A trap.
The moment I realized that, I ran in the opposite direction from where I was headed.
Yes, let’s suppose that evil-handed Hectare himself appeared.
Then who would be the first dwarves to encounter him?
Obviously it would be the elders.
In that case, when Hectare causes havoc with the metal bat, who should be the first to face him?
The answer is simple.
Precisely the elders he was talking to.
The very reason Hectare would cause havoc in the first place is because some talk with the elders went badly.
In other words, it was certain that Hectare was causing havoc at the clan hall where the elders would be.
“No need to let us know…”
Hectare is strong.
Blessed by the gods of earth and fire, he has a sturdy physique. As a master smith wielding hammers and swinging completed swords, he was an existence we dwarves acknowledged.
His strength was lacking but he had the skills to overcome that, he was not an existence we could never defeat but did seem like one we could never kill.
And he’s holding the metal.
The number 2 holy grail our clan created.
To be honest I wanted to make it number 1 but because it doesn’t kill living things, after much deliberation we ranked it number 2.
It was a ranking that contained the Black Anvil clan’s creed to not make tools for killing.
Well… As time goes by, more and more opinions are popping up saying we need to upgrade it to number 1 but…
“The more people who can buy time, the better.”
Why did they say Hectare was at the village hall on the opposite side?
It must have been to lure us to the village hall to fight Hectare.
A desperate measure to rescue the elders.
He deliberately guided us in the opposite direction thinking we would flee.
If he thought the elders and those trying to help the elders would win the fight, would he have lied to us?
There’s no way.
Compared to dwarves, Hectare has really weak health and strength, but his skills are top notch. The moment the metal bat we can’t even block is in his hands, the dwarves’ defeat was practically set in stone.
Because while we have strength and health, our combat skills are lacking.
Perhaps the elders are trying to escape using us as a sacrifice.
Well, I don’t want to blame them for that.
Didn’t Hectare say in the past?
The basis of tactics is to deceive the enemy. So why do you get deceived and do that?
Yes, it’s the fault of those being deceived.
So it’s all your fault for going to where Hectare is!
And my guess was right.
Crash!
“Aaaaaah!”
Through the window I see the elders jumping out, followed by Hectare also crashing through the window.
“Why break expensive glass windows, elders!”
“S-Stop him! Stop this bastard!”
The elders told us who were running towards them to stop Hectare, but there were no dwarves who listened and tried to stop Hectare.
“Ru-Run away!”
“Damn! We got tricked!”
“Why, why is the evil-handed Hectare here!”
The dwarves who instantly turned to start running,
“As expected, dwarves of brotherhood! The honorable elders came to visit and you welcomed them so warmly!”
Hectare swung his metal bat while laughing.
“Aaaaaah!”
“S-Save me!”
“Guh!”
Silver trails emerged.
With just one swing of his metal bat, 6 dwarves were hit.
What was more terrifying was that it wasn’t Hectare’s skill.
“Go, metal bat! Show them the true worth of the weapon I have honed!”
The moment Hectare shouted, the metal bat that was swinging like a whip began to squirm and split apart.
“Aaaaaah!”
“I hate thiiiiis!”
“S-Save me! Mom!”
Hectare was fair.
He did not distinguish between men and women, young and old, children and adults.
With the increasing number of metal bat… He attacked everyone fairly.
“S-Save… me….”
10 meters ahead.
I couldn’t help the one desperately reaching out their hands asking to be saved.
“S-Sorry.”
I had no choice but to run with all my baby-feeding strength.
If I had noticed a little later, the one being dragged over there would have been me instead of that guy.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Soon after, the terrible screams of the one who asked me for help earlier echoed out.
I want to cover my ears.
But there’s not even time for that.
Right now I have to escape the attack range of Hectare and his metal bat even if I have to use all of my baby-feeding strength!
“Haa… haa… haa….”
How long has it been?
The moment I feel the screams fading into the distance, my legs lose strength.
I looked up at the one who caught me as I staggered.
“Huff… huff… huuff….”
“We… We are the last survivors… Right?”
It was the question of the one who caught me.
“Gareth… You survived.”
“We were lucky.”
Hearing Gareth’s words, he said he was making a shield until dawn and took a brief rest when he heard Hectare had appeared.
He couldn’t make it to the tribal meeting hall in time because he heard it too late, but that allowed him to survive.
“I wouldn’t have expected Hectare to come….”
“What is going on?”
“I don’t know… The important thing is Hectare is hunting dwarves with his metal bat.”
Hectare was a smart human.
He devised various tools that even we couldn’t think of.
They weren’t ordinary tools.
They were outstanding items, enough for our clan to choose him as an honorary elder for the dwarves.
Someone like that wouldn’t have suddenly caused trouble.
That means the elders must have given him a reason…
“The elders must not have had proper talks with Hectare, which made him riot.”
“The elders? They know Hectare’s personality better than anyone though?”
“That’s why it’s even more problematic.”
The three elders of our clan were the ones who gave Hectare his name, Hectare, and his nickname, evil-handed.
It was in recognition of his outstanding skills and for devising weapon designs containing the wishes of our clan, that they gifted him the name of our clan’s ancient hero, Hectare. And after realizing his nature and the danger of his metal bat, they called him evil-handed.
The fact that such elders rejected Hectare’s request means…
“Could it be a request to fight together under the evil god army?”
“If it’s Hectare, it’s possible!”
If that’s the case, it would be easy to believe him being called an underling of the evil evil god.
That’s how evil and sinister Hectare was.
“No matter how powerful his metal bat is, asking to fight under the evil god would be going overboard.”
“Right. We are proud dwarves after all.”
“But if he keeps hitting us with his metal bat and threatens us…”
“We might give in.”
Those who were captured have no chance now.
We two are the last survivors of the Black Anvil clan.
Gareth and I had no choice but to make this painful decision.
“Let’s scram.”
“We have to!”
First we need to find another nearby clan.
The nearby dwarf clans are the Gray Gloves clan and the White Flame clan.
Unlike the Red Hammer clan, we have good relations with those two clans, so they should take us in.
“Then let’s get going quickly.”
“Yeah. Who knows when the evil-handed one will reach out his claws to us!”
Having finished a brief rest, the three of us got up at the same time…
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Three…?
“It can’t be!”
“Aaaaaah!”
It was a fleeting instant.
At the same time I twist my whole body to dodge, I hear a scream.
“S-Save… me… Aaaaaah!”
“Ah… ah….”
Unlike me, Gareth couldn’t dodge the silver-haired girl and starts screaming in a way unbelievable for a dwarf.
“P-Please….”
My legs gave out.
Dodging the earlier attack was just pure luck.
The moment I saw that silver-haired girl… That metal bat… My body wasn’t listening to me.
All I can do is beg for mercy.
“It’s alriggght.”
Seeing me like that, the silver-haired girl smiled brightly.
“Like my master always says… you won’t die, will you?”
“No, don’t!”
“I will!”
At the same time Gareth’s screams disappear, the metal bat’s blow lands.
My vision turns pale white after the first blow lands, and a scream bursts from my mouth.
I feel like I’m losing control of myself, only able to feel endless pain, then at some point I black out.
And so the Black Anvil clan was conquered by Hectare the evil-handed.
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