It was noon.

The area around the smelting furnace behind the workshop was already bustling with activity.

Martha somewhat clumsily tossed the gold ore into the furnace. The bearded man wanted to help, but Martha stopped him. She didn't want him to get involved; she needed to experience each step of the smelting process herself.

"Martha, remember to keep a close eye on the fire in the stove. Don't let it go out, and keep a close watch on the flames, otherwise we'll waste such good materials!"

The older dwarf was standing beside the furnace, patiently instructing Martha on how to operate it.

"Yes, Father!"

Martha was overjoyed; the sweat on her body didn't make her feel uncomfortable at all, but rather made her very happy.

"Big Beard, you've really found a capable wife!"

Standing next to the bearded man, Joey watched Martha busily working and couldn't help but offer his praise.

"It's alright, Martha is indeed quite strong, you have no idea, last night..."

"Alright, alright, big bearded man, I got it. You really don't treat me like an outsider!"

"You're my brother, of course you're not an outsider!"

"Alright, alright, my good brother, I'm not an outsider. I just feel that some things don't need to be explained to me in such detail. I've been through this before!"

"Alright then!"

Hearing that Joey was indeed not interested in what happened between him and Martha last night, the bearded man stopped insisting.

He turned to look at Martha, whose body was soaked in sweat, and felt a pang of sympathy.

He approached Martha, and even after she said a few more words to the bearded man, he didn't leave, but helped Martha pull the bellows.

Martha gave up when she realized she couldn't get rid of the bearded man; it was indeed quite tiring to do the smelting work by herself alone.

The older dwarf had now settled down, having said all he needed to say, only occasionally offering a few words of advice when Martha did something slightly wrong.

Joey approached him, thinking that she was also quite bored and could learn about Sandstone City.

"Hello, my name is Joey Brown, Sam's brother!"

Joey stretched out his right hand, but was afraid that the dwarf's grip was too strong and would hurt him; Joey had already experienced the strength of his daughter's grip.

"Hello, my name is Katar Bronzebeard, a dwarf who loves strong liquor and hammers!"

Martha's father was originally named Carter.

When Joey came to greet him, he warmly extended his right hand and shook Joey's hand.

Fortunately, he was quite measured in his touch and didn't use too much force, making Joey feel much more comfortable. However, Joey did admire Carter's thick calluses; it seemed he was truly a skilled blacksmith, and these calluses were his best badge of honor.

"Sam is a good man, but sometimes he's too slow to react. If he likes my daughter, he should say it out loud, instead of just standing at the door watching. That won't get him anywhere!"

Carter still vividly remembers how the bearded man stood in front of the workshop all day yesterday.

"Uh...yes, yes, my brother has both obvious strengths and weaknesses, but he's definitely a good person. You made the right decision to entrust Masha to him!"

Joey dared not reveal the truth about the bearded man standing in front of the workshop. They had already slept together, so why bring up those things? Sometimes you have to look forward and not back.

“We are Bronzebeard dwarves, and Sam is a Blackrock dwarf. In the past, we would have fought every time we met!”

"But look at the world now, the dwarves are falling apart, so they can't care about their old hatred anymore!"

"After the King of the Hills died, the dwarves lost even their main city and their home. So, the infighting naturally lost its meaning. But it will probably be very difficult for the dwarves to return to their former glory!"

"I escaped from Baikanburg, which was known for its ever-burning furnace, and have been in Sandstone City for eighteen years. Martha's mother also passed away two years ago. It's a pity that her wish to return to Baikanburg was not fulfilled before she died!"

"Martha has never even left Sandstone City. It's because I'm useless that I've kept her here!"

As Carter spoke, his eyes grew sad. It seemed that the decline of the dwarves was indeed causing him great pain. After all, he had witnessed the dwarves' glory, and this current disparity was what he found most unacceptable.

Joey had read a book about the rise and fall of the dwarves, "The Rise and Fall of the Dwarves," by Denise, who seemed to be the same Grand Scholar who escorted Catherine. Joey had forgotten to ask him about it back then, but now that he thought about it, he remembered that Denise was the author of that book.

There are three races of dwarves: Bronzebeard Dwarves, Wildhammer Dwarves, and Dark Iron Dwarves.

After the death of the Mountain King, the first Bronzebeard dwarf recognized by all three races, the three races began to fight for control of Bykanburg. At first, it was just some superficial friction, but it later evolved into war.

The three races were unwilling to submit to each other, and a war between them lasted for twenty years, resulting in heavy losses for each race. In the end, Baikan Fort was even occupied by an adult black dragon.

Finally, the leaders of the three races made a vow that whoever could reclaim Bykanburg from the black dragon would become the new hill king of the three dwarves!

However, due to the depletion of resources from decades of war, the strength of each race has been greatly reduced. Although the Bronzebeard Dwarves and Blackrock Dwarves have attacked the Black Dragon, they have all suffered crushing defeats.

Now, Baikanburg has been lost for thirty years, and the dwarves have not attacked the black dragon for nearly ten years.

After listening to Carter's words, Joey could feel his longing for Bykanburg, and the desire to go home was becoming increasingly urgent in the heart of this dwarf who was getting older.

“Cartel, you don’t need to be so pessimistic. There are still quite a few dwarves scattered all over the world. The three major races of dwarves all have their own territories. As long as everyone can truly put aside their hatred and work together, it’s not impossible to take back Baikanburg!”

“I put Martha with Sam in the hope that the dwarves could put aside their hatred and truly unite. But as far as I know, the dwarven leaders of the three territories have not truly put aside their hatred. Although there is no more war, no one has mentioned taking back Baikanburg. Everyone wants to be the second Mountain King, but no one wants to become a stepping stone to the Mountain King!”

Carter gave a wry smile. After all these years, he had come to terms with it. But talking about these things with Joey had inevitably stirred up some deep-seated thoughts, so he said a few more words.

"At least Sam and Martha are a good start. Let the rest be handled by this generation of dwarves. I think you will see the day when the dwarves re-enter Baikanburg!"

After Joey finished speaking, he looked at the two busy figures beside the smelting furnace. Although Martha was somewhat disgusted by the clumsy bearded man, he was still quite hardworking. At the same time, there was no complaint in his eyes when he looked at Martha, only deep love.

Carter looked at Martha and the bearded man, and his previously disappointed eyes lit up again.