CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 56: THE CURSED DWARF

Lurik harshly scolded the Dwarves at this outpost, especially the Dwarven Captain in charge of it.

Enduring the scolding, the two Dwarves did not dare to make a sound until Lurik said, "For now, I’m going to halve your beer rations."

"What! You can’t do that, Yata!"

The Dwarven Captain’s voice even carried a hint of fear, as if he couldn’t imagine life afterward.

"No negotiation. We’ll see about your performance later."

Alyris and George were somewhat puzzled, wondering if halving their beer rations was such a severe punishment.

Noticing Alyris’ confused look, Kana explained with a smile: "To Dwarves, beer is like the blood in their veins. In Dwarven territories, beer is considered a strategic resource."

Alyris nodded, somewhat understanding.

As it was too late, they were temporarily arranged to rest in a room for the night.

However, the Dwarven room did not offer a good rest, and they woke up early the next day.

Outside, Lurik and the others were already prepared.

When they arrived outside the watchtower, they found a group of goats with saddles had appeared at some point.

"You’re awake. We need to quickly head to the Flat-top Peak watchtower. We’ll ride these War Sheep."

As Kana and the others looked at the goats, only Kana himself showed a smile, even reaching out to touch the goats.

Everyone else, including Bobo, seemed bewildered.

George seemed to have realized something, his expression incredulous, pointing at the goats: "You’re not saying... we’re supposed to ride these things, right?"

"Hahaha, don’t worry, they’re quite sturdy fellows," Getai laughed from the side, mounting the goat next to him as a demonstration.

George looked at the Dwarves and then at himself, wanting to say that he was much taller than the Dwarves.

Nearby, Kana laughed and said, "Don’t worry, though Dwarves are smaller in stature compared to us, they’re actually heavier than most average humans."

"So these War Sheep can endure our weight, though the ride might be a bit bumpy."

The weight of Dwarves is roughly 1.5 times that of humans, and even when they’re fully armored, the War Sheep can carry them through the mountains.

After saying this, Kana mounted the War Sheep in front of him; though a bit awkward, it was manageable.

"Alright, friends, hop on quickly. Time waits for no one," Getai urged.

Everyone awkwardly mounted the goats, though most still appeared a bit clumsy.

Riding goats was, after all, a first for them.

"Onward!"

Lurik led the charge, riding the War Sheep out, followed closely by the other goats.

The humans on the goats immediately began to sway back and forth. Their uncoordinated height made the ride quite bumpy.

However, it was better than expected.

Leaning down and sticking close to the goat made it even better.

The goats ran and leapt tirelessly through the mountains, traversing the rugged mountain paths as if they were flat ground, even while carrying one or two hundred pounds.

By noon, they could already see a large watchtower perched on the mountaintop platform from afar.

It looked like a small fortress.

This wasn’t too different from what was seen in the game.

From afar, a Dwarf saw them and waved, raising the stone gate in the mountains to let them pass through.

As the War Sheep stopped, George immediately dismounted, kneeling on the ground with a pale face, nearly vomiting.

Even Alyris didn’t look well.

For both of them, the War Sheep riding experience was anything but pleasant.

"Yata? What brings you here?" A dwarf in Heavy Armor approached, interestingly, wielding a sword as his Weapon.

He then looked at Kana and the others, as well as Bobo. This team was indeed eye-catching.

Humans and Ratmen together.

"Take me to the quarantine ward first," Lurik said directly.

The brown-bearded, fully armored Dwarf nodded and led everyone into the watchtower, heading to a temporary quarantine section made of wooden panels.

His eyes turned to Kana and the others.

"Don’t worry; they’re my invited friends."

"If that’s the case, alright then."

He opened the wooden door, letting out a not too severe stench, identical to what they encountered in the mountain passageway.

Besides, there was even a mix of beer smell in the stench.

Lurik walked inside, and the others followed him.

Inside was relatively spacious, with ventilated windows and rows of beds stretching along the walls.

On them lay Dwarves, and some people moved about inside the ward.

These Dwarves, without exception, had pustules on their faces; some had even burst.

Many Dwarves still held bottles of beer, looking very disheartened.

There’s almost no such thing as Dwarves falling ill and being unable to drink; in fact, they rarely get sick.

"Yata?"

"Yata!"

As Lurik entered, the Dwarves became excited, standing up to greet him.

"Thank you for your hard work, my brothers."

Eric entered, heading directly toward a bed where another Dwarf lay. Upon close inspection, despite Dwarves looking similar, this Dwarf bore a striking resemblance to Eric.

"Eric? Don’t come any closer. You might get infected."

"It’s not contagious. Didn’t you hear earlier? You fool."

"Is it? Maybe I was drunk earlier."

Seeing the situation inside, Lurik turned to the Dwarf who brought them, "Rita Enke, has the situation here improved a bit?"

The Dwarf named Rita Enke shook his head with a sigh: "No, it’s still the same as before. In fact, some Dwarves’ conditions have worsened; they’ve started speaking nonsensically."

He then led them further inside, where several beds were positioned near a corner. Most of the Dwarves there lay unconscious in bed, and every exposed area of their arms and faces was covered with pustules.

Even their skin had begun to show a slight green tinge; one Dwarf muttered something unintelligible.

Kana watched this, his expression serious: "The extent of the cursed corruption is deepening; if delayed any longer, it may lead to forced corruption."

Dwarves usually have strong resistance, but things have reached such a state here; it’s unclear how long it’s been delayed.

"These few must have been among the first infected?"

Lurik nodded with a sigh, "Yes, they were discovered to have issues only two weeks ago. Even before then, they already had red spots and pustules."

It’s indeed outrageous, delaying further, could extend to almost a month.

Surviving a month under such cursed corruption is commendable.

Beside him, Rita Enke watched Kana, frowning.

"Who is this?"

"This is Kana, our friend. I invited him to help resolve the Plague curse," Lurik briefly introduced.

"A curse?" Rita Enke asked, frowning.

Until just moments ago, it was merely regarded as a disease.

"Yes, a curse from some powerful entity."

Lurik began to explain to the Dwarf what he knew, including everything they experienced and saw on their journey back from the foothills through the mountain passageway.

After listening, Rita Enke looked at Kana, his eyes filled with caution.

"Then, human, why do you know these things?"