Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1259: Wish they were only dreaming.

---Pakkonaia---

“Wow, this place looks really modern,” Seth thought to himself. No matter what foreign world Seth had visited so far, it never felt close to modern to him. Even Chrona, the capital of the Chrona Empire with all its wonders that were comparable to modern technology, always had a hint of pre-industrial charm.

This place, however, reminded the blacksmith of the underground laboratories he had seen in the past when they went to save Drosi and the Tijaahk from experimentation in beta. Sterile white tile floors, just white marble walls.

If anything was different, then probably that nobody had skimped on the material costs in this place. The bright, sterile hallway was in clear contrast to the dark, wild forest above and the elf leading them, who stuck out like a shadow in a white paper.

They came past a bunch of doors and Seth could smell a slight hint of chemicals in the air reminding him of the way hospitals used to smell, however, this underground facility lacked the convenient glass windows or glass walls that would have allowed him or Al to look into the adjacent rooms.

Whatever they did behind closed doors was properly hidden from nosy eyes, however, Seth was able to feel a sinister aura, which gave the whole clinical look and occult feeling. Whatever they did here encompassed some nefarious powers. Although he was curious, Seth decided not to ask for now.

The room they were led into came as a shock to Seth, who had already gotten used to the sterile, modern exterior. The elf had led them into a richly decorated throne room, something completely unfitting to the place they just come from.

Crimson and purple banners with golden sigils covered the walls. To the left and right were currently empty stands where advisors may have sat during bis assemblies. Were these really the birthing pools? he couldn't remember such a room in any of the other places they visited...

Well, they had not seen that many either. They had actually only three different demons cultured previously and only entered three of them. he belatedly realized that there probably was no rule on how any member of the Abyss Alliance used their hell gates or supplied them with monsters. There might very well be no birthing pools in this place.

“Welcome, people of the big tree. I'm the heir of the Twilight Woods. My mother told me to greet you if there is a chance,” he exclaimed in a slovenly soft voice, but his eyes gave the elf that led them here a cunning look. The elf gave an almost invisible nod, before standing to the side.

“I heard you are not from the great empires, making your existence even more interesting. A power completely unknown to us, disabling 6 hell gates is unheard of,” the heir casually dropped a bomb in the room. “Visiting and making some gate managers close the gates makes it even more unique.”

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Seth had heard that the Abyss was a loose alliance of individual demon tribes and factions. Emphasis on “loose” alliance. He didn't expect them to be so well connected. hearing about the trees and connecting the dots, maybe, but they even knew what Al and he were up to yesterday..

“Imagine my surprise to hear that you didn't just beat up my men and force them to close the gate behind you,” the elf laughed out loud., sitting sideways on his throne. He kept chuckling as he continued. “ No, you even approached us “in peace” and asked for trade! Hilarious! You are really something.”

Seth watched him silently until he suddenly stopped chuckling. His head snapped to the side and he looked at them dead serious. “Is this a joke? What are you really scheming? Why would you put up this act for us?” the elf asked, flaunting his hostility and distrust. Seth furrowed his brows at the slightly bipolar behavior.

“Fine. Al?” At Seth's prompt, an aura of power swept over the room and through the facility. He felt the power of her legendary aura gush through his body, as her already alluring appearance developed a whole new level of attraction.

The effect on the surrounding elves and especially the heir before them was immediate. Their gray skin turned white like paper, facing the power of Al'Zalsar's legend. They were stunned, frozen in shock. it was always a good idea to decide the pecking order first when speaking with demons.

“As you can see, if we wanted to slaughter you all, we could. I have no need to put up an act for you. The fact is, the other worlds of the Abyss lacked any potential to hold what we were looking for, so we cut them off.

You have the potential to trade what we are looking for, so we came to talk. Don't mistake my kindness for a scheme and spit me in the face, or we will raze this place to the ground, before forcing one of yours to close the gate behind us,” the bard's sharp voice, cut into the minds of the surrounding elves.

The heir gulped and sat back up, now sitting properly on the throne. His face was neither the paranoid grimace of just now, nor the slovenly smile from the beginning. “Looks, like you know how to talk with demons,” he acknowledged solemnly.

“What do you want?” he asked seriously. It seemed like he decided that he should at least play along, in order not to die, although his face still seemed to question whether this was a nightmare.

“We are looking to purchase food and produce, “ Seth revealed naturally. The heir's eyes widened in surprise. “You are joking...” he mumbled, unable to believe that all of this happened for some farm product.

“Not at all. So, do you have fruits, grain, or something else that is suitable for human consumption without any strong side effects?” he asked with a friendly smile. of course, the blacksmith knew that this was a little surreal, to try and buy food from demons, but what could he do?

“Ah, ermm, probably. Sorry, I don't mean any disrespect, but this was not what I expected. I'm not prepared to talk about this kind of trade agreement...I would have to inquire about such things...” he stammered.

“But you do have access to palatable food, yes?” the bard continued to ask.

“Yes, but I can't tell you in what volumes we would be able to trade. We are not exactly specialized in agriculture...” the night elf acknowledged. Seth suppressed a sigh of relief. he would have felt a little embarrassed if they had gone to such lengths for nothing. Well, there was still the cave world, but whether that world would offer them food was not his business anymore.

“Good. That is all I need to know for now. if you agree to trade negotiations from now on, I will send someone from our side to talk about the volume and price we would buy from you. ” Seth said truthfully. After all, it was not his job to get a quote for the food. Mary, Jane, Leana, or Luf would have to take care of this part of the deal.

“This would also give you enough time to make your preparations.”

“...Y-Yes.”

...

“What an interesting place,” Al finally said after they returned under the shade of the Guardian Tree where no pursuers could follow or hear them. She had not done anything during the trip, except let her muscles play a little.

“Do you have a clue on what they are doing down there?” Seth asked. He was quite curious about the ominous aura of the subterranean complex.

“I can't tell for sure, but they are probably raising some kind of dark spirits down there. Something like a Revenant Farm. What an intriguing concept and a completely different approach compared to the birthing pools we saw so far,” the former lich suspected.

“So instead of beasts, they would send some kind of ghosts into the hell gate?” the blacksmith concluded from her words. Seth could not help but imagine this dark forest being filled with incorporeal spirits in the darkness, aiming to kill and rush into the portal the moment it opened.

He couldn't tell what was worse. Beasts of undead beasts...