Chapter 113: Aphnora's Resentment

Chapter 113: Aphnora's Resentment

The stone palace of the dwarves fell silent as a group of dwarves stared in shock at the metal constructs scattered across the hall.

With their experience, they could tell at a glance that these familiar yet unfamiliar metal constructs were definitely not products of the Dark Pit—Kazad-dûm.

Dwarven King Kaut descended from the Throne of the Arsenal with a look of bewilderment.

He picked up a double-barreled firearm that had fallen onto the steps and examined it closely.

The firearm was exquisitely crafted, with no trace of hammering visible. Every piece of metal appeared to be cast as a single, seamless unit, displaying remarkable precision.

The Dwarven King casually removed the barrel and took a closer look. His pupils contracted abruptly, and his face twisted in astonishment.

To the untrained eye, it might seem impressive, but an expert could discern the true craftsmanship.

The most challenging part of firearm production was the barrel!

Most imitations from outside were simply cast from refined iron.

Such cast barrels were utterly fragile.

Not only could they not guarantee the hardness and elasticity of the barrel, but the uneven distribution of molten iron during casting would also cause uneven stress, making them highly prone to exploding.

Through painstaking research, the dwarves had invented an external hammering method.

This involved inserting a core rod into the cast steel pipe and rolling it between two rollers simultaneously to achieve a forging effect, thus producing durable seamless barrels.

This was the dwarves' core secret, never disclosed to outsiders!

Yet the steel pipe before him displayed forging techniques that matched—no, even surpassed—the dwarves' craftsmanship.

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, the Dwarven King raised his head and fixed Beast God Bruhman with a piercing gaze. "Where did these come from?"

"Where did they come from?" Bruhman sneered. "You ask me? I was about to ask you the same thing! What a fine trade you’ve been running—playing both sides and reaping the benefits. Have you grown too comfortable, forgetting your place?"

The Dwarven King roared in fury, "Are you suggesting these firearms came from Kazad-dûm?"

The Beast God retorted, "Didn’t they?"

A clamor erupted in the stone palace as countless dwarves grew agitated.

The Dwarven King raised a hand, suppressing the furious crowd. His bloodshot eyes glared as he hissed through clenched teeth, "Tell me, where did these come from?"

Beast God Bruhman frowned. Even he could sense something amiss now. "What? You mean to say you didn’t sell these?"

"You insult the great dwarves!"

Before the Dwarven King could finish, the dwarves in the stone palace could no longer restrain their anger. The crowd was furious.

"Are you blind? Our firearms have always been forged from Mystic Black Steel!"

"This isn’t our dwarven forging technique!"

"We dwarves would never make such bizarre-looking firearms!"

The dwarves' reaction left the Beast God unsettled.

"Impossible! Who else in the multiverse could forge firearms of such quality besides you?"

"I don’t know, but these were definitely not made by us. Tell me, where did you obtain these weapons?"

The Dwarven King pressed for the third time, his tone growing increasingly urgent.

……

"These were really produced by the Dragon Factory?"

In the Dofi Temple of the Dofi domain, Aphnora also looked at Yu Sheng'an with curiosity.

"Correct. Haven’t you been to the Dragon Factory before?"

Yu Sheng'an nodded, his gaze fixed on the virtual screens floating before him, each monitoring the actions of countless players.

"Are those things in the Dragon Factory products from your homeland, Azure Star?"

Aphnora, of course, wouldn’t admit that she couldn’t understand the assembly lines of the Dragon Factory at all, let alone discern whether those peculiar metal parts were meant for manufacturing bicycles or firearms.

"No!"

Yu Sheng'an withdrew his surveillance gaze and pondered for a moment before replying, "They all come from a primary domain that hasn’t been discovered by the gods yet."

"Oh!"

Aphnora nodded, then suddenly froze, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at Yu Sheng'an.

"What did you say? A primary domain? An undiscovered primary domain?"

"Mhm, that’s right. That primary domain is occupied by four gods who call themselves the Four Primordial Gods. They are the Mechanical Steam God, the Night Goddess, the Space God, and the Storm Lord. Have you heard of them?" Yu Sheng'an said calmly.

"Wait… you’re just telling me about a primary domain like this?" Aphnora’s face was filled with disbelief.

Was the focus supposed to be the Four Primordial Gods?

Shouldn’t it be the fact that this primary domain hadn’t been discovered yet?

Wasn’t he afraid she might leak this information?

"We’re allies, aren’t we?" Yu Sheng'an smiled at Aphnora. "Unless… you have other domains you haven’t told me about?"

"No!" Aphnora took a deep breath before adding, "Though I have secretly spread some faith in a few small domains. The numbers aren’t large—just something to pass the time."

Yu Sheng'an nodded. This was standard practice for gods.

"What’s the name of that primary domain?"

"Vilia." Yu Sheng'an had no intention of elaborating further.

"Can you take me there?" Aphnora asked.

"No!" Yu Sheng'an refused outright.

"…" Aphnora was stunned.

"I’m still securing that domain. Until I’ve firmly established myself there, I don’t want anyone to know of its existence. I hope you understand."

Yu Sheng'an explained.

Telling an ally about Vilia’s existence was a matter of alliance ethics. But refusing to disclose its coordinates? That was purely for personal gain.

The two weren’t mutually exclusive.

"I understand."

Aphnora nodded, though deep down, she still felt a pang of disappointment and discomfort.

Yu Sheng'an was still guarding against her!

But at least he was honest about it.

From that perspective, it was actually something to be grateful for. At the very least, this was infinitely better than outright concealment.

"Do you know about the small and medium-sized domains occupied by beastmen?"

"I know a little. Why?"

"I’ve heard that many of these domains still have local resistance forces?"

"You’re thinking… of spreading the internet there?"

"Exactly."

"That might not be easy. The reason these resistance forces still exist is largely because they have gods backing them."

"They’re just small and medium-sized domains. Gods can’t intervene directly—their room for maneuver is limited. No form of support can compare to the internet."

Yu Sheng'an wasn’t boasting. Just the instant communication alone surpassed countless material resources.

Besides, he wasn’t spreading faith—just the Internet Divine Technique.

This would minimize conflicts with the other gods.

"Fine, spreading it is better than doing nothing."

Aphnora nodded, relaying the coordinates she knew to Yu Sheng'an, then added:

"Can you transfer part of your Dragon Factory to Vias? You know, most of my people are idle."

"No!"

"Why? I’ve seen the Dragon Factory’s production lines—most are just metal constructs, with only the core being magic artifacts. With your power, you could easily replicate many of them!"

Aphnora’s delicate brows furrowed, her clear eyes flashing with irritation.

First, he wouldn’t share the Vilia coordinates with her—fine!

Now, he wouldn’t even spare a portion of the Dragon Factory? What was this supposed to mean?

Hogging everything for himself?

Yet, Yu Sheng'an’s subsequent explanation left her wavering between belief and doubt.