Jack Williams drew a circle of over two hundred square meters in the open space. He then turned to Abel and Harold, both of whom wore puzzled expressions, and said, "How about this: you fifty, and I'll send fifty of my skeleton warriors to stand around the circle. If anyone among you manages to break through the circle, I'll reward them with something. How does that sound?" He casually pulled a one-handed sword from his spatial ring and declared aloud, "I'll give this sword to the winner."
"Huh? Th-this... this seems to be the Sword of Heroes!"
Glinda, who had been standing nearby, initially cast a casual glance, but her eyes suddenly widened with astonishment. She could not contain her excitement and blurted out, "Oh, revered Guardian God, may I... may I have a closer look at this sword? My heavens..." She was so overwhelmed with emotion that she could barely speak clearly.
"The Sword of Heroes?" Jack Williams blinked, glancing at the one-handed sword etched with strange patterns. It seemed unremarkable to him, so he asked with confusion, "You say this sword has a significant history?"
Glinda, trembling, slowly approached him, swallowed hard, and nervously stammered, "Revered Guardian God, could I... could I touch the sword myself? Though, though I'm somewhat certain that it's the legendary one, after all, this is the legendary holy sword, and I need to touch it to be sure." He knew his request was somewhat unreasonable, yet the longing in his eyes could not be concealed.
Jack Williams, unconcerned, handed the sword to him and said, "Sure, whatever. I have plenty of these. Feel free to examine it for as long as you like, but whoever manages to break out of the circle will get this sword, so I'll let you have ten minutes for now."
"Ah? Plenty of them?" Glinda was stunned. What weapon could possibly be more powerful than the Sword of Heroes? But he did not dwell on that thought for long. Instead, he cradled the legendary sword in his hands, gently tracing its exquisite patterns, feeling his heartbeat accelerate. To lay eyes on this fabled holy sword in his lifetime was enough to make him feel that he could die without regret.
"Swish!"
He suddenly drew the sword from its sheath, and a brilliant white light flashed before everyone's eyes, swirling like a dragon in flight, roaring like a celestial beast rising, dazzling and blinding. The intense radiance made it almost impossible for anyone to keep their eyes open.
"Huh? Is it really, truly the Sword of Heroes?"
Glinda exclaimed, his voice rising in awe, as he immediately dropped to his knees, reverently holding the sword with both hands. After three deep bows, he trembled and said, "I've finally seen the work of Master Blass! I, Glinda, am finally privileged to behold this rare treasure! I... I... I'm so overjoyed." Tears welled up in his eyes as his emotions surged, and he let out a primal roar.
The surrounding dwarves, who were equally bewildered, also knelt down, their faces filled with astonishment.
Jack Williams, seeing Glinda's loss of composure, hurried over to him, bent down, and patted his shoulder, asking, "Chief Glinda, are you alright?"
"Boss, looks like his mind just short-circuited!" Toby murmured quietly.
Realizing his loss of control, Glinda quickly wiped away his tears and said, "Oh, revered Guardian God, you truly are the protector of our Sam Dwarves. Seeing this divine weapon forged by our ancestors has overwhelmed me. Please forgive my outburst." With the help of two nearby dwarves, he rose to his feet and handed the Sword of Heroes back to Jack Williams, though a fleeting hesitation lingered in his eyes.
Jack Williams scratched his nose, perplexed, and asked, "Chief Glinda, is this sword really that extraordinary?"
Glinda, almost swearing, exclaimed, "Extraordinary? It's invincible! Master Blass is one of the greatest craftsmen of our dwarven people. He forged countless exceptional weapons and armor, including three or four holy-grade weapons and even a divine-grade weapon! He was a leading figure in the field of weapons and armor on the continent of Oksas!"
Weapons and armor on the continent of Oksas are classified into levels ranging from ordinary to exquisite, superior, excellent, holy, divine, and super divine. The further one goes, the rarer and more expensive the items become. It's said that an excellent two-handed sword can fetch up to two hundred thousand gold coins, while holy-grade and divine-grade weapons can command astronomical prices, often unattainable even with money. As for super divine-grade weapons and armor, they are purely legendary.
Jack Williams pointed to the "Sword of Heroes" and asked, "So, this sword is one of those holy-grade weapons?"
Glinda nodded affirmatively, "The Sword of Heroes is a work from Master Blass's middle years. It was crafted specifically for the Holy Knights of the Church and took three years to complete. Not only is it incredibly sharp, but it also enhances holy light power by twenty percent and wind magic power by fifteen percent. It's immune to fire and water magic."
Jack Williams and Toby were stunned. So this sword was that formidable? They had treated it as an ordinary tool just a short time ago, even using it to slay a Firecloud Lion for a roast.
Glinda continued explaining, "With this Sword of Heroes, one's magical abilities automatically improve by one or two levels, and without the need for wind control magic, one can move at incredible speeds. It has become the favored weapon of many Holy Knights. According to historical records, the sword eventually ended up in the hands of Kailon, but during a great battle, Kailon perished, and the sword disappeared without a trace."
Jack Williams and Toby exchanged a glance. Perhaps the Aletta Gorge was the site of that battle, which explained the discovery of so many treasures there.
The other dwarves of the Sam tribe, having heard Glinda's explanation, now regarded Jack Williams with a mixture of excitement and awe. After all, the dwarves excelled at forging weapons and armor, and encountering such fine pieces was akin to a predator encountering its prey—one could hardly resist the urge to study them.
Jack Williams, however, shrugged indifferently and said, "Oh, it's just a holy-grade weapon, not even divine-grade. It's no big deal. If that Blass fellow can forge it, you dwarves can certainly do the same. Three years for one, thirty years for ten—if you sell them, your people could live much better."
Glinda immediately forced a wry smile and replied, "Revered Guardian God, your words are easier said than done. Master Blass was one of the great masters of our dwarven people, from over a thousand years ago. Not just anyone can match his skill. Moreover, due to the passage of time, many of his forging techniques have been lost, meaning that even our finest weapons today are only of superior grade, and even fewer are excellent."
"Really? You guys are that weak? You can't even forge a decent weapon?" Jack Williams asked, dissatisfied.
Glinda's face flushed with embarrassment, and he awkwardly explained, "Revered Guardian God, it's... it's not entirely our fault. Over the years, humans have secretly captured many of our master blacksmiths, turning them into slaves or killing them, which has caused many forging techniques to be lost. That's why each generation has been less skilled. But, if you, revered Guardian God, could allow us to replicate the Sword of Heroes, we might be able to forge excellent-grade weapons."
"What? You can only replicate weapons that are one grade lower than the original?" Jack Williams asked, surprised.
"Well, revered Guardian God, you know that even achieving such a result with replication is impressive. After all, it involves skill and craftsmanship," Glinda patiently explained.
Jack Williams waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Well, then, do as you like. The sword goes to whoever wins. If you want to dismantle it afterward, that's up to you—it's no concern of mine!"
"Thank you, revered Guardian God!" Glinda responded, overcome with gratitude.
Suddenly, Jack Williams had a thought. Since Glinda was such an excellent appraiser, could he also help evaluate the "junk" weapons and armor in his spatial ring? He immediately smiled and said, "By the way, Chief Glinda, I have a few more weapons and armor here. Could you help me appraise them?"
He casually pulled out a weapon.
"Oh, this weapon is... ah, heavens, it's... the Hammer of Thor, a holy-grade weapon."
"Ah, this is... the Sigh of the Goddess of Life, a divine-grade set."
"No, this can't be real, is this... the Tears of an Angel—a magical staff favored by mages...?"
...
"Crash!"
The more Glinda looked, the more stunned and excited he became. Finally, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness.
With the help of Jack Williams and the other dwarves, Glinda eventually regained consciousness. He immediately sprang up, tightly clutching the weapons, his hands trembling uncontrollably. "Heavens! I, Glinda, am so fortunate to behold these holy-grade and divine-grade weapons and armor. I... I..."
Seeing that Glinda was on the verge of fainting again, Jack Williams hurriedly patted his shoulder and said, "Alright, enough with the 'I' and 'I.' If your fifty warriors can break out of the circle, I'll give you some weapons and equipment. But I won't let you appraise any more of these—I'm worried you'll pass out again."
To his surprise, Glinda shook his head vigorously, saying, "That... that is absolutely out of the question..."
This time, not only Jack Williams but also the other dwarves were taken aback.
Who wouldn't want a powerful weapon? It was the dream of many.