"Whitty~ Whatty~ whitty~ Stupid Whitty~" Anna sang another strange song while running around the snowy ground.
It's been a few hours since Angus' group escaped from their previous encounter. As Angus couldn't just throw away their current opportunity to find the forging place King Leon talked about, they decided to stay and search for it on their own.
"Anna, don't run around!!" called Jayna with worry before releasing a deep sigh.
Jayna still felt guilty about their current situation. They may not need to sneak around like this if she decides to reign her emotions. However, she didn't want to back down from such a rude gesture.
During her practice of mastering her phoenix power, she finds that a phoenix is not just a power and ability. Instead, it is more like a way of life or an identity. Phoenix is not only famous for being an immortal creature, but they are also prideful to the bone.
This nature is not just a simple rumor or arrogant behavior. As a creature not limited by life and death, the phoenix will soon become indifferent to anything. This emotion will grow stronger as time passes until the phoenix does not regard her own life.
This will lead to their true elimination or, in the worst case, erased by the world. To prevent this problem, phoenixes must have a prideful nature to the bone from the early days. Only by having deep arrogance and pride will the phoenix not regard their own life as nothing.
According to the fire that teaches Jayna, the more arrogance and pride Jayna holds in her heart, the stronger her phoenix ability. No one knows how it works, but it could be said to be the way of the phoenix.
In other words, as long as the phoenix has their pride, they will be immortal and live forever. As for the side effect of this arrogance, the phoenix never cared for it as they are immortal creatures in the first place.
At worst, they will only die and rebirth because of their own arrogance but never to truly die.
Having a prideful nature means never backing down from anything, even if it is just a small matter. There is even a rumor that the arrogance of the phoenix is the initial source of their conflict with God. It is not wrong to say their pride is so high that it reaches God's realm.
'Perhaps this is also why Fire Phoenix merged with Jayna. She is already prideful as the princess to the bone.' thought Angus inwardly.
Knowing Jayna's brooding, "Don't worry about it. You do what you should do. Although I don't really approve of forcing others to respect us, it doesn't mean we should tolerate any single rude behavior, especially those who couldn't bear their own action." reassured Angus while embracing Jayna lightly.
"In my opinion, they are just like those weak nobles. I bet if it is your father or Uncle Jade, their hypocrisy act will also change. Just looking at their fearful faces when they see my magic circles already truly disgusts me." grumbled Angus.
"Hahahaha... Good words, lad. True. I find those humans are behavior." laughed Bornja.
"No wonder you are trying to pursue us without fear of death." said nothing but hypocrites. They are lucky, they are not dwarves, or they will be disowned by all their ancestors for such shameful behavior." laughed Bornja.
"No wonder you are trying to pursue us without fear of death." said Angus.
"Fear of death?! You are wrong about us, brat." said Kusibella.
"Hm?" asked Angus in confusion.
"We, the dwarf, still fear death as much as the other race. In fact, I don't think there is a living being in this world that doesn't fear death. It is just that we are more scared to live in shame and waste our lives." said Bornja.
"As expected of the dwarf race, your warrior spirit truly lives up to its name." said Angus with respect.
Despite their previous conflict, Angus still respects the warrior spirit of the dwarf race. For him, this type of person is also a hassle for Angus. But, he still prefers to deal with these stubborn dwarves rather than the previous hypocrites.
'At least, those stubborn dwarves will not hide their intent and follow their true heart when it comes to confrontation.' thought Angus inwardly.
"Enough of this depressing talk, lad. So, what is your plan after this? We can't just possibly search this special location you told us about before." asked Kusibella.
"That's what the initial plan is." said Angus playfully.
"You are kidding, right?" asked Bornja.
"Hahaha... That's really my initial plan. But now, it has changed. Jayna, you also feel it, right?" asked Angus.
"Yeah. No wonder this place is infuriating." said Jayna from the side.
"Ehhh... What is it? What is it? Another meat? Piggy? Or cute smart Anna?" chimed Anna from the side.
"Gezz... Anna, don't be naughty. Here, have some snacks." said Jayna while carrying the little energetic monster.
"Yay!! Thanks, Mommy." replied Anna while snuggling into Jayna.
Ignoring the playful Anna, "It is the fire elemental. Although it is very subtle, the fire elemental in the surrounding area seems to be moving into one place." said Angus.
"Fire elemental? Now, you said that... I feel it is hard to gather fire elementals in this place." said Kusibella.
"Yeah, it is as if the fire elemental is fleeting or attracted to something." said Bornja.
"Bingo. I am not sure what kind of special place King Leon promised us. Since it could contain heat, it should be related to fire elemental. A magical phenomenon like this should be related to our special place." said Angus.
"True. If this special place could absorb fire elementals at this scale, it might be able to solve our heat problem. Though I still prefer to search for a mountain." said Kusibella.
The dwarf smithing tools often release destructive excess heat during the forging process. To control the heat and not destroy the environment, they often put their smithing tools deep inside the mountain and connect it with an enchanted magma reservoir.
Unfortunately, enchanting the magma reservoirs needs a lot of effort and time. Based on Angus' calculation, he needs around three years to prepare the magma reservoir for his use. However, Jayna couldn't wait for three years. Her marriage contract will be due at that time.
Mastering a sword also needs time, especially if it is an artifact-grade weapon. No matter how talented someone is, they still need at least a few years to master their weapon.
This is also why Angus decides to forge Jayna's sword as soon as possible. The faster Jayna had her sword, the faster she could master it.
"From my observation, the fire elemental seems to go towards the deepest part of Frostfall County. It is possible that it is where Everwhite City is located." said Angus.
"Now, this city really piqued my interest. Did you truly don't know anything about it, lad?" asked Bornja.
"Nope. Nothing at all. All I know is that it is always covered by snow all year long." said Angus.
"That's weird. Are you sure it is okay for us to sneak around like this?" asked Kusibella.
"Nahh... They probably hide something shady or taboo there. With their stuck-up rules and hypocritical culture, they may not know the real reason behind their strict procedure." said Angus.
"It's probably something like following the way of their ancestors or something." added Angus.
"Not that we complain about. Just by seeing that Alkin is already worth this trip for us, I bet that Groodin would go crazy if he knew about Alkin." said Kusibella.
Angus and the female dwarves chatter while Lilith and Brigida prepare their tent. With the help of these two genius private maids, Angus and Jayna didn't need to be busy with their accommodation.
They could focus on other things while Lilith and Brigida prepare everything. Rather than sneaking around to forge swords, they are more like a family outing. Yet, Angus is still vigilant about their surroundings.
In the span of a few kilometers away, no one was able to bypass Angus' detection. With this kind of detection, they could safely camp here for the night. They also do not worry about moving from here swiftly since no one still will not expect them to camp in this place.
In the meantime, Duke Jacob is already having a serious conversation with King Leon after receiving an emergency call.
"*Sigh* So, where is he now?" asked Duke Jacob while massaging his head.
"We don't know. Duchess Amberblaze is trying to find them in the surrounding perimeter but finds nothing. I also doubt the guardian could catch them without making a huge ruckus. For now, I think you should call your home first in case they are going there like last time." said King Leon.
"I see... I will do what I can. Just one question, Your Majesty." said Duke Jacob.
"Hm?" asked King Leon.
"If Angus truly wants to fight these guardians, which side will you choose?" asked Duke Jacob.
"If Angus truly wants a bloody battle with the guardians, I will be forced..." said King Leon before taking silence as if he struggled to say the following words.
Duke Jacob didn't say anything and awaited his King and friend's next decision.
After a few minutes of struggling, "I will be forced to do what I should have done long ago." said King Leon resolutely.