Chapter 575, Section 574: The Banquet

In the banquet hall of the Forged City, a variety of delicacies were laid out on the long table: a whole roasted rock lizard, honey-soaked ribs, and dwarven spirits, an essential part of the dwarves' diet.

The dwarves at the banquet tore at chunks of meat, drank heartily from barrels of wine, and danced in a manner that resembled a charge, their laughter wild and unrestrained.

Inanna sat quietly in the center of the whirlwind of revelry, completely out of place with her surroundings.

The previous conflict did not escalate into a full-blown fight thanks to the mediation of the Dwarf King's envoy.

Upon returning to Forgefire, the Dwarf King generously declared that, as Bardol had said, the Ring of Imprisonment was the spoils of war rightfully belonging to the victor and should be the property of Inanna.

If Lin Jun hadn't known that the messenger had been observing from the shadows the whole time, she might have really thought that the Dwarf King was a true hero like Bardor.

This boisterous banquet is both a celebration of the recapture of the Molten Dungeon and a farewell party for the mission.

Bardot had long since forgotten the argument; all he could see was the strong liquor.

He downed a cup, and Number Four next to him followed suit, pouring a cup onto his own mushroom cap.

Whether Puji will get drunk or not is unknown, but the stool and floor are completely soaked.

Half-drunk, Bardot embraced the soaking wet Number Four, slurring his words as he praised its "good capacity for alcohol."

He also wanted to clink glasses with the Sword Saint.

Elvien liked his straightforward nature, but he had no interest in having wine poured on his head, so he decisively avoided it.

Bardot could only sway back to Inanna, raising his glass high: "To the warriors! Let those... hiccup... cowards all go to hell!"

Not far away, several members of the Deep Furnace Clan stood with ashen faces, but dared not utter a sound.

Seeing this, Bardot laughed even more heartily.

Inanna gently touched him.

Bardot saw that Inanna's glass contained juice and shook his head regretfully, muttering, "What a brave warrior, it's a pity she's a woman who can't drink."

Then, Bardot picked up a nut-shaped fruit from the mountain of food piled on the table.

"Come on, try this! It's a real gem from our mountains, the Lava Thorn Chestnut!" He stuffed the fruit into Inanna's hand, urging her to try it quickly.

Inanna peeled back the hard outer shell, revealing the flesh inside, and put it in her mouth. She raised an eyebrow slightly; it was indeed a good thing. The taste was probably around [Delicious LV4] level!

"It's delicious," she complimented politely.

"Right! Haha!" Bardot swirled his wine glass smugly. "I've had your delicious mushrooms too, they're really good, but compared to our Thorn Chestnuts that have absorbed the essence of the mountains and rivers, they're ultimately... hehe, just a little bit lacking!"

Just then, a wet, wine-soaked mycelium gently tapped Bardot's shoulder.

Bardot turned around, feeling dizzy, and was met with the mushroom hat of Number Four.

Inanna didn't mind Bardot's boastful remarks, but Number Four was not having it.

Number Four picked up a nearby kitchen knife, struggled for a long time but failed to cut off his own tentacles, and finally had to run to Sword Saint Puji to borrow his sword.

The swordsman's tentacle twitched, and no one around him even noticed that he had drawn his sword, but a layer had already been cut off the tip of the fourth tentacle.

It immediately rolled up the piece of mushroom and presented it directly to Bardo's mouth.

This outrageous act startled Bardot so much that he lost half of his drunkenness.

"What...what are you doing? Making me eat this?" He stared at the mushroom slices, his face scrunched up.

Tentacle number four pushed forward again, its attitude resolute.

Under the curious yet suppressed laughter of some dwarves around him, Bardot, with an expression that said, "What haven't I eaten?", picked up a slice of mushroom and stuffed it into his mouth.

The next second, Bardot's eyes widened like copper bells, as if struck by a lightning bolt called "delicious," his whole body stiffened, and a series of meaningless strange noises came from his throat.

"Ugh! Oh! Oh oh!"

Before you know it, your foot slips.

Before everyone's eyes, this dwarf war hero, dancing and gesturing wildly, leaned back and plunged into a large wine barrel, splashing wine everywhere.

Glug, glug... The barrel tipped over, and amber liquid gushed out. When the liquid was gone, Bardo was found with most of his body inside the barrel, only his legs sticking out, and a deafening snore was already emanating rhythmically from inside.

Pfft—

Number Four's short legs stepped on Bardo's buttocks, and it raised its round mushroom cap, with several tentacles on its hips (if you can call them hips), striking a victorious pose—nothing tastes better than Puji!

Inanna, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly.

The dwarves around him were taken aback at first, then burst into even louder laughter, and the noisy atmosphere of the banquet reached a new peak at this moment.

When Bardot awoke from his hangover, the mission had already left the Forged City and embarked on its journey home.

Though the person is gone, the aftershocks linger.

The entire Forging City was bustling with activity, as artisans and laborers from all the clans were busy preparing for the complete recapture and redevelopment of the Molten Dungeon.

A minor incident occurred during this time—the residence of the Deep Furnace Clan Chief was robbed.

The thieves did not break into the heavily guarded treasury, but they ransacked the outer hall and the clan chief's private study.

Precious jewels, rare runestone tablets, and even the clan leader's staff inlaid with a small pure S-grade magic crystal... all vanished without a trace.

All that remained at the scene was a cabinet ransacked in disarray and the clan chief's face, which was ashen with rage.

On any other day, this would be enough to make headlines that shake the entire city.

But now, everyone's attention is focused on the redevelopment of the dungeon. Apart from the chaos within the Deepforge clan, few outsiders really care.

...

Inside Inanna's carriage within the delegation's procession.

The knight stretched out its mycelial tentacles and probed into a crevice where its mushroom cap connected to its body, making a rustling sound as it rummaged around. Then, it tossed several items onto the cushioned seat.

A single S-grade magic crystal, no thicker than a finger; a luminous pearl emitting a soft glow inside the carriage; two metal ingots of unknown type, but clearly of high quality…

"Where did these things come from?" Inanna asked, her eyes wide with curiosity as she picked up the warm, luminous pearl.

"I found it," Lin Jun, who hadn't attended the banquet, said.

...

This trip was very rewarding.

Of course, this doesn't refer to the scrap metal picked up from the Deepforge clan.

The clan chief's staff was only inlaid with such a tiny S-grade magic crystal, what a poor bastard!

The real gains were the seal and the Fire Elemental Lord.

Needless to say, the Fire Elemental Lord is now like Inanna's Pokémon; it can be partially released simply by activating it through the Ring of Imprisonment.

Although he couldn't forcibly control the fire elemental lord after being released, how could this guy, whose core was stained pink, refuse if Inanna asked for help?

Of course, given that only the blessed Inanna is currently immune to the Fire Elemental Lord's indiscriminate high-temperature field, how to avoid harming friendly forces in actual combat still needs careful consideration.

The other is the seal of the Binding Ring.

Lin Jun's original plan was to find a sealing method to take back and control the Frost Elemental Lord in the Northern Territory, so that the continued cooling would not affect the development of Fungus Castle.

Unexpectedly, the dwarves had no sealing magic at all, only a manual on the use of some functions of the Ring of Imprisonment.

Fortunately, Lin Jun actually had more than one Binding Ring on hand.

The water elemental from the Tide Sanctuary disappeared into the mist without ever being seen, leaving behind a broken ring of confinement, which Lin Jun picked up.

The damaged area isn't large. I can compare it with the Fire Elemental Lord's one later and try to repair it. After repairing it, I can put the Frost Elemental Lord inside.

At that time...

With two elemental lords at her disposal, and with the Sword Saint already "fallen," Inanna's strength is probably enough to contend for the throne of "humanity's strongest warrior"!

She glanced at Inanna, who was rubbing her face against Puji and had barely reached the diamond level thanks to the nourishment of the Water of Life.

Putting ourselves in others' shoes, the future of humanity... seems rather worrying.

...

Rewind slightly, to when Inanna was still in the dungeon.

"Are you serious?" Vera, who was standing on top of the head, gripped the adventurer's shoulders tightly with both hands.

"Really, really! An elf that beautiful, I can't be mistaken! Ouch... Vera, calm down a bit, you're hurting me..."

(End of this chapter)