Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 1009: Chapter 804: William’s Source of Information

The Undead Tribe cared little about the abnormalities of the enemies before them; in their minds, it was normal for enemies to transform into anything.

As long as they could break defenses, they were good opponents… If they didn’t look disgusting, they were even more heavenly gifts.

Though the Dilo Dwarves were ugly, their ugliness held a unique charm, resembling the appearance of monsters… As long as they weren’t maggots, it was fine.

Thus, they quickly formed their battle formations… taking advantage of the enemy kneeling behind barriers ahead, not yet clashing with their own forces, and the magic-based professions started a blizzard swiftly.

‘Snow Cloud Peak’ was already familiar with the styles of various monsters in this world, so upon seeing the flowing river of lava, he ordered the Undead Tribe to primarily use ice spells for now… There’s no choice; in terms of mass attack spells, they could only choose one—either ice or fire.

Ice and fire combined was indeed a good combat method, but the Undead Tribe couldn’t achieve the perfect alternation… simultaneous neutralization was about as good as they could do.

However, Hill noticed one thing… those Light Mages in platinum robes were placed with Time-Space Sorcerers in one area… this was likely their trump card.

Sunlight greatly harmed the Dilo Dwarves, but their most powerful warriors were either shadow stealth stalkers or Sun Warriors who could survive in daylight.

Before clearing out these Sun Warriors, the Light Mages indeed needed to stay hidden… after all, they were fewer in number, with less accuracy in their attacks.

As for the Time-Space Sorcerers, they likely had the Space-Time Dragon capable of disappearing in the sunlight, right?

They were indeed very suitable partners.

The live broadcaster quickly set his filming equipment in the right places… one at the forefront, fixed behind the knights, the other at the rear, personally controlled by him.

Hill didn’t focus on those Undead Mages being scolded for nervous mistakes, but concentrated his attention on the forefront footage.

He really wanted to know why the tribe, supposedly under the watchful eye of the Dilo Dwarf God Dilinca, had fractiously divided when they supposedly obeyed authority… It seemed the several elders from the council were each leading their own factions.

Standing last in the middle was a clan leader; judging by the attire, he was a Sun Warrior… Typically, only a clan’s strongest warrior might be elected as a ‘Fearless Warrior’ to become the leader, so normally, Dilo Dwarf clan leaders would charge forward bravely.

Yet this clan leader chose to stand at the rear, and it wasn’t as if he was plotting some cunning strategy—he just watched the battlefield with a cold demeanor.

Surrounding him were only dozens of Sun Warriors… All other shadow stealthers stood behind barriers, firing crossbows at the Undead Tribe… Clearly, they had all allied with the five main elders forming the Sava Council.

Hill exerted effort to observe the elders and their entourages for a long time but found nothing strange… Though their Dark Arts were used well, the Undead Mage commander had Dark Vision… The others, when casting spells, didn’t need to observe the enemies; they only needed to follow ‘Rain Falling on Mortal Dust’s instructions for adjustments in direction and distance.

Compared with letting them judge themselves, doing so seemed to significantly reduce errors!

When aiming, many people’s eyes indeed seemed less effective than not using them at all.

The rainbow glow shining from ‘Rain Falling on Mortal Dust’s thumb made Hill understand why he could so accurately determine the direction of enemies… When Hill crafted such Earth Attribute equipment, he typically received some enhancements; if the basic Mining Ring offered dozens of meters of Dark Vision, his creations started at least around 1000 meters.

Only if Shaer herself used Dark Arts might the vision of someone wearing this ring be completely invalidated in the darkness… Even the mighty Divine Artifact ‘A Thousand Petals in One Night’ required seeing who wielded it.

As for the poisoned crossbow bolts, the Undead Tribe’s numerous Priests and Water Mages rendered them mostly ineffective… Although the crossbows shot quickly, their power was low; unless someone was unlucky enough to be directly hit in a vital spot, they created minimal damage.

Despite the Dilo Dwarves proving tough, if not for the defensive magic array supported by their magicians, they would have collapsed long ago… But the dark transparent eggshell trembled under the blizzard, and it seemed close to breaking.

Finally, several elders simultaneously raised their Magic Books, releasing gray-black light that supported their defensive array… Seeing this, Hill shifted his attention to those Magic Books.

The so-called scholarly elders had primarily been responsible for maintaining these Magic Books known as the “Scrolls of Forbidden Names,” but their levels were actually low, which initially didn’t catch Hill’s attention.

But clearly, the books these elders held were different… Although the lens couldn’t clearly capture the books from afar, Hill still concentrated his focus, staring hard at those small leather books.

As the elders once again used gray-black light to sustain the defensive array, Hill finally realized where the difference lay… Though the light seemed to originate from the books, it actually drew from the volcano beneath Dilo Dwarves’ feet.

These weren’t Magic Books with a priest function but Divine Arts containers with a mage function… Even if Dilinca had once left a presence here, he must have been expelled from Toril by now.

So if it’s still possible to directly grant divine arts to a priest like this… Hill couldn’t help but laugh… Did Dylinka leave his divine artifact behind here?

No wonder this Dilo Dwarf tribe is so chaotic… A god like Dylinka would definitely never easily grant his divine artifact for use by his subordinates.

But for these evil followers, the will of the Main God is sometimes important, but other times it’s not even worth a penny.

Especially when it involves a divine artifact.

So Dylinka would definitely not allow a clan leader or even an elder in this tribe to hold absolute power… And no matter what kind of enemy they encounter, these Dilo Dwarves would never flee.

That’s a divine artifact!

For most evil factions, possessing an evil divine artifact and getting close to the edge of the Divine Throne is quite normal… Sometimes, even if it’s a divine artifact created by the evil god himself, they can’t fully control it… Things resemble their creator, which god would be submissive?

Thus, the biggest problem with evil divine artifacts is their uncontrollability.

Once they leave their owner’s hands for a long time, these artifacts tend to try to become independent or even suppress their original owner.

Dylinka might be planning something with this tribe… He loves to amuse himself with cruel actions and has a strong interest in magic… So when the Goddess of Magic clearly turned against the Deity of Mages, wanting to get involved seems quite normal.

However, he probably didn’t expect that Mystra would be eliminated in her own home… Such things are likely never part of the evil gods’ plans… In their own residence, if not watertight, it should at least be fortified like a fortress!

So, Dylinka schemed here but was bluntly kicked out of Toril, leaving only his divine artifact behind… One wonders if it’s his famous magic robe.

He wore it back in Teraxil too, but it was clearly just a copy… However, in Toril, if Dylinka wanted to deceive other deities, he’d certainly have to use the real divine artifact to hide himself.

Even if it’s not that robe, given the divine power reactions, Hill can be sure that the divine artifact hidden beneath the volcano is of a high level… It’s a true weapon used by deities, unlike Acreber’s Holy Grail, which is merely a personal accessory of the deities.

This is an artifact even more powerful than the A Thousand Petals in One Night just retrieved by Shaer, losing which would make even deities feel deep pain.

So… Hill couldn’t help but glance toward the Alchemy Hall, wondering if William already knew about the existence of this thing?

How did he know?

Hill has been in Toril for quite a while, and has kept a keen eye on this deceitful and vile character, but it’s difficult to trace his whereabouts… There are bits of stories coming from the Gray Dwarves, but genuinely no information from the Dilo Dwarves… The Santalin Meeting back then did sell a lot of Underworld news, but barely any information related to Dylinka came out.

From Dylinka’s actions in Teraxil, it’s clear that he is adept at hiding himself, and though cruel and mad in style, he’s extremely secretive and cautious… The Dwarves of Teraxil have swaggered for tens of thousands of years yet they’ve never realized the deity controlling them isn’t Lord Radug of the Gray Dwarves.

Could it be Shaer told William?

Shaer actually knows that her friend harbors deep hostility towards Dilinca?

And then she truly went to pay attention to what that ugly little dwarf is doing?

Indeed, there’s hardly anything hidden in shadows within Toril that the Goddess of the Night isn’t aware of… But unless someone’s trying to interfere with her divinity and the Shadow Realm, Shaer doesn’t actually care about the evil gods’ misdeeds… To her, if someone really wrecks Toril, so be it!

If that’s the case, the relationship between William and Shaer surely isn’t just that of a devotee and a goddess… Has this guy evolved from a lap dog to a best friend?

Going further is impossible, William couldn’t manage it… Admiring a ruthless goddess from afar is one thing, treating her as a pillowside companion is entirely another.

Shaer would never put down her butcher’s knife… She exists because she’s the Primordial Darkness.

If she truly turns toward the light, it would mean she desires not to live anymore… William definitely wouldn’t harbor such fantasies.

Tch, the phenomenon of a best friend, aside from a very few specific cases… the rest are either due to mismatched sexual orientation or a lap dog settling for the next best thing when unattainable with the goddess!