Chapter 015: Two Treasures

Lonely Mountain was neither too big nor too small. In just one morning, the news of Wang Bo's return had spread throughout the entire mountain, even to Dale at its foot.

Everyone knew the King under the Mountain had returned.

Thorin, the Dwarf prince, hurried over upon hearing the news.

"My respects to you, King under the Mountain."

"No need for formalities, Prince Thorin." Wang Bo waved his hand and said, "I came back this time just to relax and see if the dwarves might surprise me."

Thorin said confidently, "Dwarves never disappoint, King under the Mountain."

When Wang Bo left, he had left behind many materials. Using these materials, Thorin, joined by more and more dwarves, forged two unparalleled treasures for Wang Bo.

The Ring of Power and the Sun Ship.

Both weapons had cost the dwarves immense effort. In Thorin's eyes, they were treasures no less than the Armor of the Balrog, exceedingly powerful.

First was the Ring of Power. This ring was modeled after the One Ring, but it could not tempt or turn its wearer invisible like the One Ring.

Instead, it granted the wearer supreme divine power.

Whoever wore this ring could not only control the elements of earth, wind, fire, and water but also possessed immense strength and recovery, enabling them to fight without tiring.

Though it could not yet split the earth or shatter the sky with a wave, it was terrifying enough for ordinary humans.

Even Gandalf had given the Ring of Power very high praise. He considered it the pinnacle of dwarven craftsmanship, in no way inferior to Sauron's One Ring.

When Wang Bo received the ring, he indeed felt the immense power contained within it.

He even detected the aura of the Horse Talisman inside the ring.

The Horse Talisman was something Wang Bo had given the dwarves, hoping they could use it to create fine ornaments. But he never expected them to fuse the Horse Talisman into the Ring of Power.

This forging technique was truly remarkable.

Wang Bo could not help but admire it.

Having traveled through many worlds, Wang Bo had drawn many prizes and obtained many good things, but the Ring of Power ranked among the top in his collection.

"Excellent." Wang Bo nodded in satisfaction. "Prince Thorin, your industrious dwarves have not disappointed me. I can grant you one-fifth of the treasure."

Thorin bowed slightly. "Thank you for your generosity, King under the Mountain. Now, allow me to introduce the third unparalleled treasure... the Sun Ship!"

Wang Bo smiled. "I look forward to it, Prince Thorin."

"Please follow me, King under the Mountain."

The Sun Ship was quite different from the Ring of Power. It was a massive object, placed by Thorin outside Lonely Mountain. Wang Bo followed Thorin to a huge square platform outside the mountain.

On this platform rested a golden ship tens of meters long.

This golden ship felt similar to the ship used by Gilgamesh in the Fate world.

Incidentally, the ship used by Gilgamesh was not his own Noble Phantasm but a treasure recorded in Indian epics... Vimana!

It was a radiant 'vessel' of gold and emerald that could soar through the sky, driven by solar energy from a sun crystal fueled by mercury—a high-tech Indian artifact that would make even Area 51 pale.

It could fly at high speeds ignoring physical laws; even when Gilgamesh was just playing, it could easily surpass modern jets.

Wang Bo never expected the dwarves to use the materials he left behind to create a ship similar to Vimana.

This golden ship looked extremely cool, also using gold and gems, while incorporating mithril and vibranium, making it both sturdy and very light.

More importantly, the gems it contained could absorb sunlight as a driving force to make the ship fly.

That was the origin of the name Sun Ship.

And its speed was not slow; its top speed was close to the speed of sound.

Across all of Middle-earth, this was undoubtedly an unparalleled treasure, for few in Middle-earth could fly—not even Gandalf.

Thus, a flying Sun Ship would drive countless people to fight over it.

But the problem was, Wang Bo did not need it.

This thing's value was far below that of the Ring of Power. Wang Bo already had a spaceship, which could be built as luxuriously as he wanted and was extremely fast.

Even space jumps were no problem.

So in Wang Bo's eyes, this ship was just an ornament, inferior even to an airplane in the modern world. Still, he accepted it. Though it seemed mediocre to him, in most ancient worlds, it would be a treasure.

At least it fit the definition of 'unparalleled,' even if only in this world.

Even so, Wang Bo did not intend to break his promise.

"Excellent, Prince Thorin. You have not disappointed me. Now you may take another fifth of the treasure. When you deliver the other two unparalleled treasures, you may empty the vault."

Prince Thorin said, "Thank you for your generosity, King under the Mountain."

"No, you deserve it," Wang Bo said slowly.

After inspecting the two unparalleled treasures, Wang Bo went back to Dale. After more than two months of development, Dale, like Lonely Mountain, had attracted more people.

The human population had multiplied several times.

Originally, only a third of Dale had been cleared, but with the population boom, Mayor Bard had to lead others to gradually clear the rest of the ruins.

Now, Dale was gradually prospering; it was only a matter of time before it returned to its former glory.

And with Bard's governance, Wang Bo believed Dale would become more and more prosperous.

Perhaps in the future, Dale would become the Kingdom of Dale.

Of course, that would likely be a matter of decades or even longer.

Bard was very excited about Wang Bo's arrival, for everything he had was granted by Wang Bo. Wang Bo was his superior, so Bard naturally entertained him with care.

He not only showed Wang Bo around present-day Dale but also treated him to Dale's fine food and wine, elaborating on his plans and ideas for Dale's construction.

Wang Bo listened silently, then patted Bard on the shoulder and said, "Do whatever you think is right. Don't worry about anything else. With me here, everything will be fine."