Lutherch immediately stood up and walked toward the entrance of the conference hall.
As Muxuan approached, Lutherch bowed respectfully.
“Your Holiness.”
When Lutherch’s voice rang out, Fagreim’s heart suddenly hammered against his ribs, and his entire body tensed up.
Barak and Marcus quickly finished their goat milk and sat in their seats, not daring to move an inch.
Silence… that was the current state of the meeting room.
Except for Theodore, the eyes of the other three dwarves were fixed intently on the figure at the doorway.
Muxuan’s figure soon appeared at the entrance.
He was still wearing his white robe adorned with simple gold embroidery, holding a crosier that emitted a soft glow.
The light from outside filtered through the high windows of the conference hall and fell upon him, as if plating him in a faint gold border, making him look serene and divine.
Qiansitelin followed closely behind him with a playful smile on her face.
Her gaze swept across the room, lingering for a moment on the three dwarves who were so nervous they were almost stiff.
“Sage Lutherch.”
Muxuan nodded slightly to Lutherch, his voice soft as he broke the silence of the room.
He then turned his gaze toward the other side of the conference table and smiled slightly at Theodore.
“Theodore, welcome back. Are these the envoys from the Wattkan Tribe?”
Muxuan used very formal language, as this was essentially a formal meeting between the Church and the Dwarf Tribe.
“Your Holiness!”
Theodore immediately hopped down from her chair, her face filled with unhidden excitement and a hint of smugness.
“Yes! They are Fagreim, Marcus, and Barak!”
She completely ignored the fact that her companions looked like they were sitting on needles.
Fagreim took a deep breath and forced himself to stand.
His movements carried a sense of steadiness, but his slightly trembling fingertips betrayed his nervousness.
He placed his right hand over his chest and performed the Wattkan Tribe’s most solemn greeting toward Muxuan.
He tried his best to keep his voice steady, yet it still held an undetectable trace of tension.
“Distinguished Your Holiness, Fagreim of the Wattkan Tribe, by order of the Great Artisan God, offers the highest respect to you on behalf of our tribe. We thank you for allowing us to enter this holy land of light.”
Marcus and Barak hurriedly stood up to salute as well, their movements appearing somewhat clumsy.
Seeing that Theodore still had not reacted, Marcus immediately pulled her up and flashed a slightly apologetic smile.
Muxuan’s gaze lingered on Fagreim for a moment.
Noticing his nervousness, a faint smile played at the corners of Muxuan’s lips.
“No need for such formalities. Please, sit.”
“The fame of the Great Artisan God is well-known, and the Light Church has only just been rebuilt.”
His voice was peaceful, carrying a warm, comforting power that eased the tense atmosphere slightly.
Afterward, Muxuan walked gracefully to the head of the table where Lutherch had made room for him and sat down, leaning his crosier against the edge of the table.
Qiansitelin naturally stood behind and to his side, her eyes moving between the dwarves before finally landing on the corner of Theodore’s dissatisfied mouth, which was still stained with a bit of milk.
The smile on Qiansitelin’s face deepened instantly.
“Your Holiness, the Wattkan Tribe has come this time wishing to engage in a cooperative trade with the Church,” Lutherch said beside Muxuan once everyone was seated.
Muxuan looked at Theodore with interest before turning his gaze to Fagreim.
Originally, he had thought Theodore’s status was higher and that she would be the one leading the discussion.
He hadn’t expected her to just be a tag-along.
But thinking about Theodore’s dim-witted appearance, Muxuan felt it was only logical to let the more stable-looking Fagreim handle the talk.
Seeing Muxuan’s gaze fall upon him, Fagreim involuntarily grew nervous again.
The Pope before him was very young… but Fagreim did not dare to hold even a shred of contempt.
“Your Holiness, we can provide the Church with standard equipment, forge magic artifacts, analyze ore veins, and draw blueprints… We hope to exchange these technologies and resources for a supply of goat milk, some grain raw materials needed for brewing, and… under safe conditions, permission for our artisans to assist the Church in the mining of specific ore veins.”
Fagreim specifically emphasized “under safe conditions,” clearly remembering the terror of the sleeping existence in the southern ore vein and the great power Muxuan used to reseal it.
The cooperation in mining was what Fagreim considered the key to deepening their relationship with the Church.
The Church had methods to resist Corruption, while they did not.
After finishing, Fagreim nervously observed Muxuan’s reaction, his hands unconsciously tightening around the handle of the giant hammer resting on his legs.
Barak and Marcus held their breath, while Theodore quietly licked the milk stain from the corner of her mouth, her eyes full of expectation.
Muxuan did not answer immediately.
His slender fingers tapped gently on the smooth handle of the crosier, making a nearly inaudible *thump-thump* sound.
The conference hall fell silent for a time.
Qiansitelin’s gaze also swept across Fagreim and the others with a hint of scrutiny.
Truthfully, Fagreim’s opening request for goat milk almost made Muxuan lose his composure.
“Do you think what you’ve offered is enough?”
Muxuan looked at Fagreim with a smile, his tapping fingers moving slowly to the tabletop.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it put immense pressure on Fagreim.
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Fagreim’s face and into his collar, and his throat bobbed twice.
“Your Holiness, we can also provide forging techniques… but we require a place of residence within the outpost…”
After saying this, Fagreim looked at Muxuan nervously, his palms sweating slightly from the tension.
Muxuan did not speak immediately, his fingers still tapping the table with a slow and rhythmic pace.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely.
For every second that passed, Fagreim felt an agonizing ordeal.
Finally, just as Fagreim was about to lose his cool, Muxuan spoke.
“Very well… happy cooperating.”
Hearing Muxuan’s words, Fagreim breathed a sigh of relief.
His entire body relaxed, and he felt as though he might collapse from the sudden release of tension.
Forging techniques were the most valuable thing he could offer.
If the Pope was still unwilling, Fagreim would have been out of options.
Whether it was the goat milk, the mined ore, or that yearning light, they were all things the dwarves currently needed.
However, before Fagreim could fully recover, Muxuan’s voice rang out again, causing his heart to leap back into his throat.
“Do you know how to build Wonder buildings?”
“Wonder… buildings?”
Fagreim was stunned.
He hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to answer, eventually casting a look of help toward Theodore.
Theodore rolled her eyes and said directly, “We can’t build Wonder buildings. Not only does every Wonder building require different and extremely rare materials, but it also consumes a massive amount of the architect’s energy.”
The reason Fagreim found it difficult to speak was that he understood Muxuan wanted the dwarf tribe to help build Wonders, and their difficulty was second only to forging a Divine Artifact.
“Is there really no way?”
Muxuan’s tone grew slightly heavier, as if he were certain they could build them.
This caused the pressure on Fagreim to double, and he subconsciously tugged at Theodore’s sleeve.
Theodore ignored his action and spoke straight out, “Currently, only the Great Artisan God can build Wonder buildings, but I will be able to build them one day too!”
As she spoke, she raised her fist as if to encourage herself.
Seeing this, Fagreim felt helpless.
He held his forehead, his expression looking quite pained.
“I understand. In that case, there is no rush.”
Muxuan smiled and slowly stood up.
Golden light swirled around him, making him appear extremely holy and magnificent.
“I, as the Forty-second Pope of the Light Church, welcome your arrival on behalf of the entire Light Church.”
He opened his arms, welcoming the four dwarves.
“As for the follow-up matters, Sage Lutherch will arrange them for you.”
Having said that, Muxuan picked up his crosier and walked unhurriedly out of the conference hall.
This meeting wasn’t exactly formal; a verbal agreement was sufficient, and there was no need to sign paper documents.
Perhaps in the past, one could have used a god’s name to bind an agreement, but now…
Muxuan looked up at the sky and shook his head helplessly.
Qiansitelin had barely said a word throughout the entire process.
Aside from occasionally looking at Lutherch and Theodore, her gaze mostly stayed on Muxuan.
After Muxuan left, she followed him out, not forgetting to shoot Lutherch a meaningful look before departing.
Lutherch clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, nearly unable to stop himself from throwing a punch at her.
‘I’m the one arranging things again…’
He sighed inwardly, but quickly adjusted.
‘The dwarves’ construction skills are extremely strong; it’s the perfect time to have them help reinforce the Mage Tower.’
Seeing Muxuan leave, Fagreim let out a long sigh and looked at Theodore with a bit of helplessness.
“Forget it. What’s said is said; there’s no use dwelling on it.”
At this moment, the states of mind of Fagreim and Lutherch overlapped subtly, both feeling a sense of melancholy.
“Mosen, go find Valentin and tally our current ore resources. Additionally, we need to redraft a layout for the Mage Tower… also, take…”
Watching his master suddenly dump a pile of tasks on him, Mosen, who had been feeling a bit gloating, instantly pulled a long face.
‘This is way too much…’
He groaned inwardly, feeling as though all the dirty and exhausting work had fallen onto his shoulders.
‘No, I must quickly recruit a few mage apprentices. It would be even better if I could find a few more mages!’
On the other side, Fagreim began to incessantly scold Theodore, Marcus, and Barak.