Chapter 587 438 Climbing the Mountain (with Popular Science)

The Grey Mountains are a mountain range between the eastern Empire and Bretonnia and western Athel Loren, extending from the Black Mountains in the south to the Pale Sisters near the Claw Sea in the north. This endless mountain range is the natural border between the Empire and Bretonnia, forming an almost insurmountable border between the two sides.

On the Empire side is Reikland, and below the mountain is the entire Wobergland Hills. It is different on the other side of the mountain. Montfort and the Principality of Paraon have absolute control over the Grey Mountains. Their capitals are built on the mountains. They are formal fortress cities that are easy to defend and difficult to attack. There is no essential difference from the fortress cities of the dwarves. The Principality of Montfort has knights who are good at foot combat, while the knights of the Principality of Paraon ride Pegasus.

In addition, the duchies of Quinaris, Cologne, and Gisoleo have control over some hills.

Several roads can cross the mountains, such as the Crooked Corridor and the Durak Road, but few people recommend this approach. It is a complete suicide. No mercenary will choose to die no matter how high the price is. Only some fearless mountain guides will choose to lead some poor merchants and smugglers through the more hidden passages, just for the sake of taking a chance.

Two passes with heavy patrols and tax collection are used by people. From the map, one is the Axe Mark Pass in the north, guarded by the fortress city of Helmgart on the Imperial side and the Duchy of Montfort on the other side, with the dwarf fortress of Karak Breeze as the boundary between the two sides.

The other is the Gray Lady Pass. Of course, the Gray Lady is a unilateral title on the Imperial side, and the Bretonnian side is disdainful of it.

The reason... The Gray Lady is a woman in the War Age who promised to wait faithfully for her warrior husband to return from an expedition against Bretonnia. When her husband did not return, she went to the top of the pass and built a hut to wait. After waiting for more than fifty years, she died of grief and cold in a blizzard. Her legend spreads in Uberik, where she still remains as a ghost, waiting to catch travelers she mistakes for her husband.

To the left of the Gray Lady's Pass is the Empire, where Uberik is located, and on the other side is the Principality of Parravon, separated by the dwarf fortress of Karak Nevertail. A road to Athel Loren is hidden in the pass, and the team will go there to enter Athel Loren.

Apart from these two roads, Dakwus believes that the other roads are not for people to walk. There are no roads at all, and the ice ridges are so high that they are almost impassable. Relying solely on experience and direction, he felt like he was back in Naggaroth when walking in the mountains. He felt that walking in Aruyi was not fundamentally different from walking in the treacherous peaks.

Yes, Aruyi, this is the name of the Gray Mountains when the elves were still active in Elsing Arwen.

These peaks have an evil reputation, and their dark cliffs are the source of many dark legends. The legendary Blood Castle, the home of an ancient vampire knight. A terrible fortress guarded by a lich army, horror stories of corpse carts and the night parade of a hundred ghosts are circulating in Wobergland, and of course there are more terrible stories about Drakefels Castle.

However... the source of these legends was killed intentionally or unintentionally by Daxus. The group of Blood Castle knights and the lich old Jasper were crushed during the Battle of Altdorf. Drakefels...

The tunnels under the Gray Mountains are occupied by greenskins, goblins, trolls, Skaven ratmen and worse things, and the peaks are occupied by giant eagles, war falcons, wyverns and red dragons. In addition to these, there are also rampant human bandits and robbers, which makes the Gray Mountains particularly dangerous and unusually exciting. Even the two passes with a large number of patrols are not so safe.

Good elf companions such as giant eagles and war falcons also need to eat, drink, defecate and urinate, and humans are on their menu.

On the crumbling edge of the Grey Mountains, there are many mines belonging to human nobles, where a large amount of minerals and precious metals are mined. These mines and mining villages are protected by lonely watchtowers and tall fortresses to resist attacks from the mountains, and the rubble of the collapsed old fortifications surround these fortresses.

Apart from a few human gathering points, most of the Grey Mountains are occupied by dwarves, more common in the southern mountains than in the north. However, as the mineral deposits are exhausted, more and more people migrate to human-dominated cities to make a living. The number of dwarves in the dwarf community of Uberrick is increasing, and the number of dwarves in the dwarf fortress is rapidly decreasing. The population is seriously increasing. This seems to be the drawback of resource cities?

The daunting peaks are full of dilapidated tunnels and skybridges built when the dwarves ruled the area. Now, the skybridge is dilapidated, and walking on it requires constant prayers to Granni. That era has passed, and only a few staunch clans are still defending their ancestral fortresses. The entire Grey Mountains now only have Karak Breeze Fort in Axemark Pass, Karak No Tail Fort in Gray Lady Pass, and Karak Desolation Fort in the south near Wissenland.

But the glorious era of the dwarves did exist after all. During the team's stay in Uberrick, they heard many legends about the buried treasures in the lost dwarf fortresses. Those foolish and desperate people were attracted to the ancient halls like moths to a flame, but few people survived their greed.

Dakwus expressed no interest in this. He didn't want to take the team to find some lost shit treasure, because there was no point, unless it was right in his face. He didn't lack money. The dwarf's armor was too short for the elves to wear, and the weapons were not handy. And the most important forge hammer and doomsday anvil he also had.

Before the elves and the red dragon parted ways, Azogallon told Daquus that he had destroyed the Thunder Mountain Dwarfs' Karag Deron Fortress, and that in his treasure house there was a Doomsday Anvil that was not the same as the one in the team. In addition, there was a hammer that matched the Doomsday Anvil, the Hammer of Kurgaz. He was willing to take out these two things that were useless to him in exchange for something else, such as a pile of gold or a small promise, and Daquus readily agreed.

Forging hammer, Kurgaz Hammer and Doomsday Anvil, what else do you need? Daquus can open a workshop. The dwarves in the mountains will jump up and write him into the Book of Hate when they know about it.

In fact... The Gray Mountains were not originally the territory of the dwarves. If you really want to go there, the most profitable place is Karak Kuro, which was destroyed by Malok during the War of Revenge... However, it was occupied by the dwarves again. It is now called Karak Desolation Castle, which means barren land in the dwarf's Kazarid language.

The gray mountains in winter are shrouded in a cold silence, and the towering peaks appear even more majestic and spectacular under the cover of ice and snow. The canyons and cliffs between the peaks appear particularly steep, as if they were natural barriers carved by the hands of giants. When the wind blows, the cold air condenses into crystal clear ice crystals, covering the peaks and rocks, shining coldly like pearls.

In addition to the towering peaks and steep canyons, there are some other spectacular natural landscapes. Deep in some valleys, there are hidden glacial lakes, the lakes are frozen, and surrounded by towering peaks, forming a quiet and mysterious picture. The ice on the lake surface glitters with blue light, as if it is a huge mirror, reflecting the magnificent scenery of the surrounding snow-capped mountains.

And on one side of the mountain range, a huge waterfall rushes down from the towering cliffs, and the water solidifies into icicles in the winter cold, forming a spectacular ice waterfall. The water flow of the ice waterfall will occasionally be slightly fluctuated by the wind. Ice crystals condense on the icicles, sparkling with crystal light, like a wonderful picture of the ice and snow world.

"My Lord?"

"You also found it? Let's go up and take a look." When he rested again, Dacus did not appreciate the scenery in the distance, but looked behind him. He felt something, and when he saw Ryan coming, he made a decision.

Dacus, who chose to ride the Scourge Walker Chariot, soon came to the peak, and a huge natural lake came into his sight. It was winter at this time, and the lake was covered with a thick layer of ice and snow, crystal clear, sparkling with silver light, reflecting the outlines of the surrounding mountains and the white snow.

Under the lake, the deep blue lake water under the ice layer flows quietly, peaceful and mysterious. The sky is blue, and the white clouds cast colorful shadows on the lake, like a beautiful picture. The waterfall in the distance has also been frozen into a huge ice waterfall, and the icicles hang on the cliff, like an exquisite ice sculpture. The sun shines through the icicles, forming colorful lights and shadows, illuminating the lake, which is beautiful.

"What Changbai Mountain Tianchi." Standing by the lake, Daxus feels the tranquility and mystery, and his heart is full of admiration. After complaining, he twitched his nostrils, and the next second, the Trident of the Sea appeared in his hand.

"It's good that Chupakoko is here, I will kick him down with one foot."

"I miss him a little."

Amid the laughter of the elves, Daxus smashed the halberd to the ground fiercely. With his roar, the lake surface cracked, and a huge crack began to spread from the center of the lake to the surroundings, making a low rumbling sound. The lake water between the cracks began to churn and form a huge vortex with a strong downward suction.

The lake water was sucked into the vortex, forming a huge water column, and ice and snow danced in the water column, flashing cold light. There seemed to be an endless abyss hidden deep in the center of the water column, exuding a gloomy breath.

The elves stopped talking and admiring. Sometimes they looked at the turbulent lake, and sometimes they looked at Daquus who was in full power. Except for the Twilight sisters who insisted on following, the other elves were no longer surprised. They had seen too many similar scenes along the way, and even more spectacular scenes than this, but they couldn't help but exclaim every time they saw it.

Drusala didn't look at her lover, but looked at the Twilight sisters who were looking at her lover, thinking constantly in her mind. When the Twilight sisters looked at her, she looked at her lover calmly again. She could feel her lover's state...

After the lake water was sucked into the whirlpool, the depth of the lake bottom still did not appear. It was too deep, so deep that Daquus was a little tired. He stared at the bottom of the lake. The breath hidden in the bottom of the lake made his heart tremble. He was at full power and released more powerful energy. The ice and snow in the water column were agitated more violently by his power, and the lake water was churning more violently.

Finally, Dacus's gaze penetrated the lake and reached the bottom of the lake.

"What is this? A bronze door?" (End of this chapter)