A sharp gleam appeared in his pitch-black eyes.
"No one can remain calm in the face of an existential crisis, especially a group like the dwarves who value their race so highly.
Although the dwarves are currently seeking allies, from their behavior it can be roughly deduced that while the dwarven clan is in a difficult situation, the crisis they face is not that urgent.
In other words, the dwarven clan does not face the threat of destruction in the short term.
They are not yet at a desperate point and still have options.
That’s why even though these few dwarves are being detained in Dawn City, they can still remain composed and absolutely refuse to reveal any information about the mithril vein.
Because they know that their clan will not encounter great danger in the short term. This is why they can repeatedly refuse our offers."
By analyzing the dwarves’ actions, Li De quickly discerned the true situation of the dwarven clan.
He placed the dwarves in Dawn City’s smithy not only to vent some frustration but also to test them.
If the clan were truly facing a great crisis and on the verge of destruction, these three dwarves, unable to communicate with each other, would definitely try every possible way to make contact and exhaust all their means to escape Dawn City.
If that were the case, the initiative would be firmly in his hands, because the enemy would be desperate and would have to seek reinforcements immediately.
But judging from the dwarves' recent actions, although they were under house arrest, they did not show a strong desire to escape by force.
This allowed him to deduce a great deal of information.
The three dwarves forging in the smithy probably could not have imagined that by doing nothing, Li De had nearly figured out their situation.
"Moreover, the Beastmen attacking the dwarven clan, aside from plundering, were most likely also targeting the dwarves themselves.
What are the dwarves most famous for?"
"Their ability to forge weapons?" Harrison responded with some realization.
"Exactly. The Beastmen not only lack food, but also lack precious resources like weapons. Green City has always banned the sale of weapons to the Beastmen.
If I were the Beastmen, after capturing these dwarves capable of making excellent weapons, I definitely wouldn’t kill them, but instead enslave them and have them forge weapons for me."
By this point, the entire sequence of events was already quite clear in Li De's mind.
The Beastmen discovered the dwarven clan, perhaps for wealth, perhaps for food, or perhaps for weapons, and launched an attack on the dwarves.
The dwarves were unable to resist the overwhelming number of Beastmen, and soon the entire clan was overrun. Except for a small group that managed to escape, the rest were all captured.
The Beastmen did not kill the captured dwarves, but enslaved them, forcing them to forge weapons and provide food.
The dwarves who escaped carried with them important information, the location of an unmined mithril vein, and sought forces capable of driving the Beastmen away.
However, because the mithril vein was too valuable, the dwarves were unwilling to offer it fully in trade.
At this point, Laurent, a merchant who had previously cooperated with the dwarves, entered their field of vision, as his backer was the Crimson Mage Tower, which had recently risen to fame because of the magic scrolls.
And coincidentally, the Crimson Mage Tower was backed by the Grand Mage Spark.
By a twist of fate, so many things had unfolded.
"The dwarves won’t be in serious danger in the short term. We have plenty of time to search for traces of the dwarves. Harrison, there’s no need to worry too much." Li De’s gaze was full of encouragement.
Harrison breathed a great sigh of relief upon hearing this. Li De’s initial sense of urgency had placed him under great pressure.
In Dawn City, Li De's will was the direction in which the entire city moved forward. Never mind searching for traces of dwarves at the border, even if he called for war against the Beastmen, Dawn City would immediately begin preparations.
But the Barren Plains were too vast, and the Far Mountain Range within them was far too expansive. Even with the considerable number of Bloodline Descendants, it was hard to see any results in a short period of time.
"Patriarch, I believe Odys will bring us good news."
"Mm."
At present, the major projects of Dawn City had all been completed, and there were no other projects requiring concentrated effort for now. Therefore, he could devote a significant portion of his energy to searching for the dwarven clan.
Li De nodded and lowered his head, gazing at the tea leaves gently floating in his cup, his thoughts slowly shifting toward the construction of Dawn City.
Dawn City’s achievements over the past half year had been impressive.
In agriculture, the wheat had all been harvested and stored, and the winter wheat wouldn’t be planted until the end of September, leaving more than a month of buffer time.
The livestock farm had already entered full operation and was running at capacity, though expansion was temporarily limited due to manpower shortages.
The cultivation of Whispering Bats would yield results in September; for now, they only needed to be fed adequately and then left to grow.
In terms of urban development, the Dawn Mage Tower had been completed and had begun training mages. This would be the future production base for Dawn City’s mages.
Although the expansion and housing renovation in the Southern District had not yet been fully completed, with the Construction Department managing and planning everything uniformly, idle residents were being attracted to the construction effort by Silver Pucks. It was foreseeable that in another two months, more houses would be built.
Overall, the first phase of Dawn City’s construction, which had taken nearly a year, was preliminarily completed.
The reclamation of farmland, the establishment of the Mage Tower, the construction of the livestock farm, the expansion of the Southern District, the building of the smithy, and the prosperous central streets of the city, all of these were the fruits of the tireless efforts of everyone in Dawn City during this time.