CHAPTER 98: The Arrogant Elf

Han Shuo didn't linger long after arriving at the cemetery of Death and headed straight for the dwarves' village. He finally reached their village when it was almost dusk.

Bennet and the dwarves were as friendly as ever. They took out their limited fine food for Han Shuo to taste as soon as he arrived, and filled Han Shuo's cup with their specially brewed fruit wine.

"You haven't been around for a few days Han, how have you been?" Bennett asked looking at Han Shuo.

"Thank you for your concern, I've been quite well. I've come to bring you the rations I promised you." Han Shuo took out bags of rations as he spoke. There was some wheat and plenty of milk and bread. There was also some salted meat.

"Oh, my magical friend. Everyone in our entire village will thank you for your mercy and bounty." Bennett cried out softly as he saw so much food appear on the ground when Han Shuo's space ring sparkled. It moved him beyond belief, as he'd already felt that the past few days had been quite a struggle to get through.

The female dwarves and children in the distance also dropped whatever they were working on and gathered around this area with shouts of joy. They hugged each other with warm tears in their eyes as they celebrated.

Seeing the dwarves so excited over the rations before them, Han Shuo understood that their lives must not have been easy. Every winter must be a kind of suffering for them, but because of Han Shuo's appearance, they would not have to worry about their daily lives this year.

Chief Calvin was bringing the other young and strong dwarves of the village over from the forges, and was a little surprised to see the excited cheering coming from that direction. As he approached and saw the piles of rations on the ground, he thanked Han Shuo most gravely.

"Elder, this is only the first batch. My space ring can only hold so much. I think with a few more trips, I'll be able to bring you all the food you need. Don't worry, Elder, I'll bring the next batch of food as soon as I can. I don't think any of you will have to worry about rations this winter. Han Shuo replied humbly, smiling as he explained to Calvin.

At that moment, some sounds came from outside the village as the dwarves standing guard outside the village brought some elves inside. These elves wore clothes with intricate details, and had flowers and grass woven into a circle around their heads. They held bows or magic staffs in their hands, and all the men and women were equally beautiful and handsome.

"Dear dwarf friends, we've brought beautiful jewels, enough to trade for the weapons you've forged. We'll use them to scare away all the man-eating monsters from here. Are you willing to sell us the weapons?" The leading young elf opened his mouth and spoke gracefully. He had a green bow on his back, and faint magical impulses came from the bow. It appeared that this bow was a magical weapon. This made Han Shuo quite curious.

"Sorry Benedict, I think I've been clear enough. The weapons we've forged will not be sold to you, no matter how much you offer. We're not interested." Calvin shook his head and firmly rebuffed the young elf Benedict.

Benedict was visibly upset by these words and said worriedly, "Why? I know there are only about a hundred dwarves in your village, but the weapons you've recently forged number more than a hundred. You won't be able to use them all. If the black iron ore weapons you've forged are imbued with our elven magic, they will become even more powerful magical weapons. Why don't you want to trade with us even though you have no use for them? Is it because our price isn't high enough?"

"Because these weapons were forged for our best friend Han. These fruit wines are also for Han. So I'm very sorry Benedict, I don't think we can trade these weapons to you just because of some jewels." Calvin firmly apologised to Benedict and then turned his head to call to Bennett. "Bennett, take the others and bring the weapons we've forged. We'll give them all to Han today."

"Understood, Chief!" Bennett replied brightly and clearly, and then took a few young dwarves on a cheerful trip to the forges. All the dwarves ignored the temptation of the jewels from these elves.

"Excuse me, is he the Han you speak of? Humans are the most despicable and evil of all the races in the Dark Forest. You actually chose to trust a human instead of the emissaries of nature? Elder Calvin, you can't do this!"

When the elves saw Calvin pointing at Han Shuo and instructing Bennett and the others to give the forged weapons to Han Shuo, they immediately began to complain with an infinite amount of suffering.

"Han is different from other people. We trust him and help each other. So I'm really sorry Benedict, I don't think we can trade these weapons to you." Calvin was unmoved by Benedict's complaints and said stubbornly.

The last time he had left the dwarf village, Han Shuo hadn't even thought of using rations to trade for the dwarves' weapons. Except that the dwarves would only accept Han Shuo's rations if he made such a deal. Who would have thought that the elves would soon be eyeing up this batch of dwarven forged weapons littered with black iron ore. What surprised Han Shuo was that the dwarves had already repeatedly refused Benedict's sincere request to trade, and had firmly held the weapons for Han Shuo.

"Elder, you can absolutely make your own decisions with these weapons. I didn't lust after your weapons when I gave you these rations." Han Shuo thought and sincerely explained to Calvin.

Nodding, Calvin smiled faintly, "You don't need to explain, Han. We know of your good intentions. However, we can't accept your items without cause or reason. The teachings of our ancestors have taught us that everything must be gained through one's own hard work. If we accept your gift directly, it will be a violation of our ancestors' teachings and will bring a bad atmosphere to the village, so I think you know what I mean."

As Han Shuo and Calvin spoke, Bennett and another group of dwarves had already brought over more than ten weapons. There were blades, swords, long spears, heavy hammers, double-edged axes and all manner of weapons. All of the weapons shone with a bright sheen. The heavy hammers and double-edged axes felt thick and solid, while the sharp edges of some of the blades, swords and long spears seemed quite cold.

When Benedict and his retinue saw these weapons, their eyes lit up with excitement. However, just as they were overwhelmed with emotion, Han Shuo sighed in resignation and said, "Since the elder has spoken, I must reluctantly accept these.

Under the greedy gaze of Benedict and the other elves, these ten or so black iron ore infused, dwarf forged weapons all made their way into Han Shuo's space ring after he'd spoken.

"This human friend, I wonder if you're willing to trade the dwarven forged weapons to us? We've been preparing for a big battle lately, and we're going to suppress the presence of the forest trolls. If we have these weapons and our elven elders imbue them with magic, they will become amazingly powerful magical weapons. The strength of experts like us will be greatly increased. We're willing to trade jewels with you, what do you think?" A flash of disappointment flashed through Benedict's eyes as he saw the weapons make their way into Han Shuo's hands. He thought for a moment and then seemed to suddenly think that it would be easier to trade with Han Shuo, so he immediately spoke to Han Shuo with some excitement.

"Humans are the most despicable and evil of all the races in the Dark Forest. How can you noble elves deign to trade with us base and lowly races?" Han Shuo smiled strangely as he looked at Benedict and threw his words back at him.

"In order to make the even more greedy and shameless forest trolls pay the price, we noble elves are willing to compromise and allow you, human, to trade with us." What shocked Han Shuo was that Benedict didn't seem to hear Han Shuo's strong sarcasm at all, and rather self-righteously displayed his magnanimity.

"Sorry, I have no interest in doing any kind of business with you noble elves!" Han Shuo was torn between tears and laughter, finally experiencing the arrogance of the elves. He couldn't help but shake his head as he rebuffed them.

After he'd spoken, Han Shuo suddenly heard all sorts of branches and twigs being broken off, as if many people were approaching this place. Before Benedict had a chance to answer, Han Shuo frowned and asked, "Is there another entourage of elves coming from your side?"

"No, just us. What's going on?" Benedict asked questioningly.

As if on cue, the three original demons suddenly swarmed out and disappeared in three different directions outside the village. After a short time, Han Shuo used the original demons' vision to see a dense crowd of five hundred to six hundred forest trolls making their way towards them in massive columns.

The head of the forest troll that Han Shuo had encountered the previous time was cozying up to another, more massive looking forest troll and describing something. It looked like this forest troll's status was even higher. This made Han Shuo understand that there would be big trouble this time.