The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 627: Chapter 651 Belen Brothers

“Hey, it’s finally our turn!”

The two Dwarves cheered simultaneously as if they had been eager for this moment.

“After you, please!”

“No, after you!”

“No, you go ahead!”

“No need, no need…”

“Ah!!! Stop!!!” Bruto abruptly slammed the table, “I can’t take it anymore…”

“Which one of you two is the elder brother?” Lancelot asked with a tearful smile, “Why doesn’t the elder brother go first?”

“Me!” the Dwarf closer to Lancelot replied happily, “My name is Valen Belen…”

“My name is Rein Belen!”

“And we are… the Belen brothers!”

As soon as they finished speaking, two metal spheres the size of eggs rose from behind them, creating the illusion of fireworks in the air, complete with explosions, cheers, and the upbeat sound of trumpets, like a festival celebration.

“Wow!” the Dwarf’s eyes nearly popped out, “What is that? How did you do that?”

“Heh heh, just a little trick combining mechanics and Illusion Technique, nothing special.” From the expression on Valen Belen’s face as he spoke, he was actually quite proud of it, “We come from a Gnome kingdom called Jirago, which has clean and tidy streets, the best universities and libraries on the continent, and where everyone seems happy. But that’s just how it looks to outsiders; the reality is that there’s a secret agency called ‘The Agency of Truth’ that monitors everyone’s every move, and when they find someone not playing by the rules, they act without hesitation, with poison, magic, or blades to eliminate the threat, and the dead never see the agent that killed them.”

“That sounds truly awful.” Alamir, sitting across the table, frowned in disgust, “I wouldn’t want to live in such a society…”

“Outsiders find it hard to understand this system set up to prevent crime, but if you play by the rules, it’s actually not that bad, at least for most people. In fact, about a third of the Gnomes in Jirago are agents of ‘The Agency of Truth,’ although most just monitor those around them and report any deviations.”

“I guess you guys did something unacceptable.” Lancelot looked thoughtfully at the Dwarf brothers, “But not to the point where you needed to be assassinated?”

“We just made some comments about the refugee policy, and life suddenly became full of inconveniences,” Valen shrugged, “The packages delivered to our door were always tampered with, our monthly research allowance had a bunch of unheard-of deductions. Everyone started avoiding us like we had leprosy, and distant relatives we hadn’t heard from in ages suddenly started sending letters, asking about our well-being… Who would’ve thought, likening the council to a bunch of pigs grateful to the farmer would lead to such severe consequences?”

“One day, my brother and I couldn’t take it anymore. We packed up, paid some money, went through four or five Portals, and then… bang! Our homeland was a whole other world!”

“However, we soon realized that in most places in this Multiverse, people had strong… prejudices against Dwarves,” Valen’s beard trembled with indignation, “They never take us seriously! As if a person’s value depended only on their height and weight, ironically, it’s the Giants who are a declining race… Anyway, our current life goal is to prove that Dwarves are not weaker than any other race, and can achieve many great things too…”

“So you decided to take part in the Blood War?” Lancelot looked at his two small companions in surprise, “Isn’t that a bit… extreme?”

“Actually, we have a long list, most of which is checked off, including but not limited to: placing in the top three in the unrestricted wrestling competition in Mark City, defeating an adult Giant Dragon, robbing the Bartez bank in Rib City… There aren’t many items left unchecked, and participating in the Blood War is just one of the… less dangerous ones.”

“That’s one of the less dangerous ones?” Bruto raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Can you tell me what other… grand plans you have?”

“Let’s see…” Rein Belen, the younger brother, opened his backpack with glee and took out a long parchment, “Stealing an egg from Dragon Queen Tiamat’s nest… Foiling a Demons’ invasion on the Prime Material Plane… Finding any ‘Book of Keeping’ that records the true name of a Yugros Demon… Having a… tryst with Queen of the Succubus Mekanshut…”

“Cough cough!! What?” Tijana, who had transformed into a human woman, choked, “The last one, are you serious?”

“When we first made the list, it was just a kind of prank.” Valen shrugged, “But as other whimsical ideas were accomplished one by one, that didn’t seem so preposterous anymore. I mean, we’ve seen images of Dimogorgen, and if you’re only comparing appearances, we do have some advantages…”

“You two really are well suited to serve on behalf of Tanari…” Tijana covered her face with her hands, so others couldn’t see her rolling her eyes.

“I’m not questioning your abilities, but the achievements you’ve already made sound quite astounding.” Lancelot said with a smile, “Could you tell me about your combat skills?”

“Of course! Watch closely!”

Valen clearly got excited; he leapt onto the table, unbuttoned several buttons near the collar of his shirt, revealing his small but well-defined upper body. He wore a special metal necklace around his neck, with links thick as a thumb and a metal pendant the size of a fist at the end, which housed a bright blue gemstone. Its wearer gently pressed it.

The gemstone suddenly emitted a dazzling white light, and some internal mechanism began spinning at high speed. A sharp and piercing metal scraping noise followed, and the necklace seemed to come alive, breaking down into countless tiny metal pieces which swiftly covered Valen’s skin like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, the green-bearded dwarf transformed into a little person made entirely of metal. He sprang from the table, and when he landed, it sounded like an ogre had toppled to the ground.

“Let me show you my prowess!” Valen’s voice rang out again, though it sounded oddly metallic as if his throat had also turned to metal, “Ha! A window on the ceiling, that’s genius. Watch closely!”

The metal dwarf raised his arms, and thick arcs of electricity, like javelins, flew from his palms with a frequency matching that of an experienced short bowman; Lancelot knew for sure that these were real attacks, no illusions. Then, the metal little man grabbed his brother, tossed him into the air, caught him, then threw him up again as easily as if he were tossing a pillow.

“Hahaha! Valen, stop!” Rein called out to his brother gleefully whilst being repeatedly thrown, “Everyone’s seen it now!”

“Hey!”

With a final toss of his companion, the metal dwarf rolled twice on the ground, spun around in place three times, and then spread his arms—just in time to catch the falling Rein.

Seeing this, everyone applauded, including the always grim-faced human Holy Warrior. Valen put down his chuckling companion and without any visible mechanism, the metal pieces flowed like water off his body, quickly reverting him back to the green-bearded dwarf.

“Let me reintroduce myself; I am Valen Belen, a gearsmith who specializes in armor, nicknamed ‘Metal Box’!”

“And I am Rein Belen, a gearsmith who specializes in magic cannons, nicknamed ‘Lightning Storm’!”

“Whether it’s the mountains…”

“Or the desert…”

“The gale…”

“Or the downpour…”

“The searing fires of Barto Hell…”

“The tempests of the noisy empty tunnels…”

“Nothing can stop…”

“The greatest adventurers in dwarven history~”

“The Belen Brothers!!! (x2)”

(Fireworks effects, cheering, explosions, and the sound of trumpets)

……

“Look at that momentum!” Bruto quietly kicked Lancelot under the table, “We should put on something similar!”