"You dare!" The dwarf looked a little panicked, struggling to stand up and scanning around for a way to run.
But he quickly got hopeless, the small boat had already left Sal Island, and all around was a vast sea, there was no way to escape.
Leo looked at him, and said calmly, "I'm different from those slave traders and nobles. I won't abuse you. I just need you to make weapons for me. By the way, a weapon that can fight dragons."
"Impossible. There's no weapon in the world that can fight dragons, except for powerful mages." The dwarf snorted, clearly not believing it.
The old dwarf who was unconscious had his eyes closed, but his eyelid twitched slightly.
"Well." Leo smiled calmly, taking out a bamboo tube bomb, "Have you seen this before? This is what I made. If I improve it, it would be 100 times, even 1000 times more powerful. Do you think it could kill a dragon?"
"What." The dwarf was silent, looking at the bamboo tube bomb in Leo's hand. He had already seen its power, it made a thunderous explosion, and there was fire, killing and injuring many soldiers on the boat.
If it was 100 times stronger, it might really threaten a dragon.
The bamboo tube bomb in Leo's hand was stolen by Anna, but he didn't care, and continued, "Also, I really doubt your dwarf skills. You might not be able to make the weapon I asked for."
"Ridiculous!" The dwarf got angry. He could accept people calling dwarves dirty or greedy, but he would not allow anyone to question their skills.
He said proudly, "There's nothing we dwarves can't make, except for magic equipment. Have you heard of the Glan Empire's iron warship? That was made by us dwarves."
"Is that true?" Leo didn't care.
An iron ship? He could also draw simple blueprints. As long as he had enough steel, he could build one too.
"Damn it!" The dwarf was a little angry, biting his teeth and saying, "I can sign a contract with you, but you must promise not to force me. I can work at most twelve hours a day, and I need good food and wine!"
The dwarf wanted to prove himself, and he asked for his biggest wish, waiting for the other side to bargain.
Twelve hours a day?
Leo was a little surprised. This was like a natural born worker to be exploited. If someone from his old life knew, they would be very happy.
As for food and wine, it was a bit difficult.
Food was no problem. His cooking skills would make the locals in this world unable to refuse. He also knew some simple brewing techniques, but he couldn't make it in a short time, and he didn't have the materials.
Maybe he could buy it from somewhere else.
Leo said, "Food is no problem, but the wine will take some time."
"Really?" The dwarf was a little doubtful. He didn't expect this human to actually agree.
He quickly said, "Then let's sign the contract. It has to be official, with magical power control."
"Sure thing." Leo was happy to do it. He looked at Anna.
Magical contracts can only be made by a mage.
Anna understood. She made the magical contract according to the deal Leo and the dwarf had made.
"Three hundred years of slavery?"
Leo looked at the parchment and his mouth twitched. He asked, "Anna, isn't that time too long?"
"That's normal," Anna said calmly. "Dwarves live about three hundred years. It's not that long."
Leo had nothing to say.
Anna wanted this guy to work for him for his whole life.
Three hundred years wasn't much for elves, but Leo was just a human. A hundred years was already a long life.
Leo thought about the legend of The Fountain of Immortality. He actually hoped it was real now.
"Let's sign the contract," he said, bringing himself back to reality. He忍着 pain and cut his finger with a short knife, wrote his name, and let Ava untie the dwarf's ropes.
He moved his stiff arm and checked the contract. It looked okay, so he quickly cut his finger and signed his name, like he was afraid Leo would change his mind.
Magical contracts have magical power control. They have to be followed exactly, or the person will get a soul punishment.
Solomon was his name.
Leo nodded in satisfaction. He looked at the old dwarf who had been unconscious the whole time and frowned.
"Lilia, did you kill this guy when you threw him off the ship?"
The old dwarf had been knocked out when Lilia threw him off the big ship. Leo was worried.
"No, he was already awake. He was faking it."
Lilia looked at him and said calmly.
The old dwarf realized he was caught and stopped pretending. He opened his eyes and moved his body.
Solomon quickly went over and untied the ropes on him.
The old dwarf moved his body and looked at Leo with his brown eyes. He said softly, "Human, is it true that you can make a weapon that can kill a dragon?"
"As long as you make the weapon I want according to my instructions, killing a dragon will be no problem." Leo said confidently. He wasn't just thinking about the Smoothbore cannon. He also had the plan for Rifled cannon in his head.
If he could improve the gunpowder, it would be no problem to blast a dragon.
The old dwarf stayed silent. He had seen the power of dragons and didn't believe Leo could have a weapon that could kill one.
But he had no other choice. After thinking for a while, he said, "Human, I can sign the contract with you, but there's one condition. You have to help me kill a dragon."
"Sure thing," Leo said without hesitation. He also wanted to kill a dragon and have some fun.
Lilia frowned slightly. She didn't think Leo's weapon could kill a dragon, but she didn't say much.
Anna added a clause to the contract at Leo's signal: "Making weapons, killing dragons. Otherwise, the old dwarf can leave anytime."
The dwarf checked it and signed his name quickly.
"Barnett?" Lilia looked at the name the dwarf had written and gasped, "You're the famous dwarf craftsman, Barnett?"
"That's me," Barnett straightened his beard and said proudly.
Lilia frowned. "You want to kill the black dragon Patrick from the Black Dragon Kingdom!"
Barnett's dwarf tribe had been destroyed by Patrick and was now the symbol of the Black Dragon Kingdom's faith.
"Is he famous?" Leo asked curiously.
Lilia nodded and looked at Barnett. "Very famous. His weapons are no less powerful than enchanted ones made by mages. The Glan Empire offered ten thousand gold coins for his whereabouts. We never expected he'd be captured by the Black Dragon Kingdom."
"Wait," Leo didn't care about his background, but he frowned. "Hey, you want me to kill the black dragon of the Black Dragon Kingdom? That's going against an entire kingdom!"
He was confident in the weapon he had designed, but going up against an entire kingdom was beyond the power of just the two of them. Plus, he didn't want to cause too much bloodshed.
Barnett said, "Sir, don't worry. I've done some research. Patrick leaves the Black Dragon Kingdom every four years to find a mate. We can strike when it's away."
"That's good," Leo sighed in relief. As long as they didn't fight the kingdom directly, he had confidence to kill the dragon.
"This is a weapon design I made. You can take a look first," he took out a scroll of parchment from his pocket -the design for the Smoothbore cannon he had already drawn up.
"Well, this is a strange thing," Barnett took the scroll and immediately saw that the craftsmanship required was extraordinary, even inspiring for him.
Solomon also came closer, looking at the design in confusion. "Sir, are you sure this is a weapon?"
A thick steel barrel and some precise parts. It looked beautiful, but had no obvious killing power.
Was he supposed to attack with this steel pipe? But with such weight, only a legend of a giant could possibly use it.
Leo didn't explain. He just said, "Can you make it?"
Solomon didn't answer. He looked at Barnett, who was deep in thought.
Barnett stared at the scroll, his brows furrowed, then relaxed. After a long while, he finally sighed and looked at Leo with admiration.
"Sir, may I ask… are you also a dwarf?"
"A dwarf?" Leo was speechless. Where did he look like a dwarf?
"I'm a human," he said calmly.
"Still amazing," Barnett looked a little disappointed, but then looked at the scroll in his hand with admiration.
Such skills, in his eyes, could only come from a dwarf.