bookbashuk Chapter 142 Hogwarts Castle
Chapter 142 Hogwarts Castle
Chapter 142 Hogwarts Castle
Seeing the basilisk wrapped affectionately around Dui's hand, like an emerald bracelet, Dui couldn't help but smile.
What he just cast was a type of contract magic: a blood oath—a powerful magical contract used to guarantee that neither party will harm the other.
Of course, he was using his own modified version of the Blood Oath.
He only guaranteed that the basilisk would not harm him, but he himself was not bound by any restrictions.
He even used the basilisk as the vessel for his blood oath, which would only be broken if the basilisk was killed.
So now he can keep the snake monster without worry.
Bound by the blood oath, even if Dui didn't command the basilisk to close its eyes using the Parseltongue, the basilisk would instinctively close its eyes whenever Dui appeared, to prevent itself from being harmed.
Moreover, unintentional harm is unacceptable.
From now on, your name will be Helbo.
Dui was terrible at naming things, so he simply took the name of the first wizard in the magical world to breed a basilisk, "Helpo the Despicable," and used it on the creature.
Dui then placed the basilisk in a sealed room and used magic to reinforce and seal the door to prevent the basilisk from coming out or anyone from breaking in and causing harm.
After all, there are thousands of dwarves outside the tower, as well as villagers hired to prepare meals for the dwarves, and inside the tower are Edward, the steward, and Legolas, who has just returned from Mirkwood.
Dui thought that once the castle was nearly finished, he would build a secret chamber in the mountain below the castle and keep the basilisk there. Time passed slowly.
Soon the construction of the castle was nearing completion.
At this moment, a magnificent giant castle appeared atop Fengyun Peak.
The outermost part of the castle is a high and thick wall that runs along the edge of the cliff at the summit, forming a huge circle that surrounds the entire Fengyun Peak.
Above the wall is a wide road that allows people to walk around the city wall. The road is made of bricks and stones on both sides, and there are observation holes and arrow slits on the outer side. There is also a watchtower at regular intervals.
Above the city gate was a tall tower, used for observation and attacking the enemy.
The city gate consisted of two enormous bronze doors.
The bronze door embodies the wisdom of the dwarven craftsmen, not only being carved with exquisite and intricate patterns, but also incorporating complex mechanisms.
Once the gate is closed, no one can get in unless it is opened from the inside.
The raw material for the bronze door was brought from the far north by the dragon Smaug. It was extremely hard and could only be melted with dragonfire.
Once inside the city gate, there is a wide meadow, with a straight white cobblestone road running through it, leading to the fountain in front of the main city gate.
The water in the fountain pool comes from deep underground at the top of Fengyun Peak. The dwarves dug down nearly a thousand meters to bring the underground spring water to the surface.
Above the fountain stands a majestic dragon statue made of gold.
This was at the strong request of the dragon Smaug, who even voluntarily contributed a portion of the gold from his treasury.
As for the dwarves' original idea of carving Dui, it was rejected by Dui.
The thought of having his own statue placed in front of his door for every guest to admire was something he simply couldn't accept.
After the fountain water overflows, it flows towards the main tower, then into the garden, passing between the Maurice and Saint White trees, and finally gathers into a small lake in the depression.
Finally, it passes through the city wall and plunges down the cliff to the west, landing directly in the mosquito-slicked marshland below.
Returning to the main city tower, the dwarven craftsmen expanded upon the original Amonsur Tower, constructing a magnificent square main city tower using massive stones. This tower included an eight-story main building, as well as several towers and auxiliary structures.
Amonsur Tower remains the tallest building, with all other buildings standing at its foot.
From a distance, it looks like a giant rocket with many boosters attached.
In addition, inside the city walls there is a greenhouse behind the main gate tower, as well as houses for horses, servants and attendants located in a corner of the castle.
Amonsurta remains Dui's residential area, but after exiting the tower, he enters a very spacious hall.
The hall can easily accommodate thousands of guests and will be used for large-scale events such as banquets, balls, and celebrations. It will also be the place where Dui receives his subjects and handles government affairs.
Around the lobby are kitchens, warehouses, meeting rooms, guest rooms, and other rooms.
"Duir, what do you think? We can revise it if you have any suggestions."
As the person in charge of the castle's construction, Balin led Dui on a tour of the castle before asking him questions.
"The dwarves' construction skills are indeed superb, I have no objections!" Dui nodded with great satisfaction, looking pleased.
"The only problem is, how am I supposed to live in such a big castle all by myself?"
The original Amonsur Tower was already very tall and large, but the expanded castle is now even more magnificent.
After touring around Bahrain, Dui felt his legs were numb.
Upon hearing Dui's words, Balin immediately burst into laughter.
The castle is indeed empty now. Such a large castle could easily accommodate thousands of people, but the only permanent residents are Dui and Legolas, who is temporarily staying there.
Even Edward, who is increasingly resembling Butler Duy, still spends some time living in Hogsmeade Village at the foot of the mountain.
Especially recently, he has become very close to Anna, the daughter of village chief Luke, and they run back and forth between the mountains every day.
However, Balin still said, "What's the big deal? Now that you're a lord, you definitely need to have a grand presence. You can't be short of servants, attendants, and guards, not to mention that you'll have guests visiting. You'll definitely need them in the future."
Dui was somewhat tempted by what he heard.
It wasn't for show, but because the castle needed someone to clean it, the garden needed someone to take care of it, and the fledgling eagle Zorondo, the dragon Smaug, the basilisk Herpo, and even the giant spider needed someone to feed them.
Dui couldn't do these things alone, not even with magic. He would spend most of his time meditating, studying magic, and researching alchemy.
There simply isn't enough energy to deal with miscellaneous tasks.
"Oh, by the way, the underground passages to the castle are almost finished. Do you have time to go take a look?" Balin added.
Dui snapped out of his daze and his eyes lit up when he heard what he said.
"The underpass is finished? Let's go check it out now!"
Then Balin led the way, and the two of them arrived at the side of the castle hall. They went down a staircase to the basement.
There was a back door in the basement. When the back door was opened, a gust of cold wind blew in, and behind the door was a bottomless cave with a narrow and steep stone staircase extending down the cave wall.
Seeing Dui's surprised look, Bahrain proudly introduced:
"We have dug the passage to the very bottom of the mountain. It can be said that apart from the main castle building on the mountaintop, the entire Fengyun Peak can actually be considered part of the castle."
In case of any unforeseen circumstances at the castle above, this underground passage can be used to reach the foot of the mountain.
The two then walked down the steep stone steps.
Dui released a bright orb of light, preventing the two of them from falling directly down the stone steps.
As they walked further down, the two finally reached the bottom of the passage.
A hidden stone door suddenly appeared before them.
"This is the back exit. The stone door is controlled by a mechanism. Whether you're going out or coming in, you can't open it by brute force. You need a special key to open it."
Bahrain introduced the key to Dui and handed him a golden key.
Dui raised an eyebrow; the stone gate looked very similar to the back gate of Lonely Mountain.
Following Bahrain's instructions, he then inserted the key into a keyhole in the mountain wall that was not easily noticed.
As the key turned, a dull mechanical sound of gears came from inside, and the small stone door slowly opened inward, letting in the light from outside and revealing an exit leading to the outside.
Dui, head bowed and back bent, stepped out through the small door and into the outside.
Bahrain followed closely behind.
Outside the small stone gate, it is still inside the mountain, but it is a spacious natural cave with a river flowing out below it.
"This connects to the swamp outside. Later, we can dig out the swamp to create a large lake, and then place several small boats here for backup. In the future, it will not only be a natural barrier, but also a crucial escape route," Balin said.
Dui nodded. Although he didn't seem to need this passage, it was better to be prepared.
He then asked, "How long will it take to dig through the swamp?"
Upon hearing this, Bahrain immediately smiled.
"With the help of the dragon Smaug, I think we can completely dig out the swamp in less than half a month."
After so much time, the dwarves finally understood why Smaug had been so eager to help build the castle.
To prevent the treasure in the cellar from being lost again, Smaug contributed the most to the construction of the castle. Almost all the stone, wood, and metal needed for the castle were flown in from afar by him.
The dwarves only knew that dragons were greedy for treasure, but they never imagined they were so stingy.
Moreover, they are so stingy that they would rather work outside than spend an extra gold coin.
Bahrain jokingly told Dui that he now had a very dedicated accountant and didn't have to worry about running out of money.
Upon hearing Bahrain's words, Dui laughed, nodded, and said with a smile:
"That's really good news. I'll go tell Smaug later; I think he'll be willing to help."
After all, Smaug was eager to get rid of these dwarves as soon as possible, so that he wouldn't be heartbroken to see them drinking buckets of wine every day.
Because the money for the wine came from the gold coins that he guarded.
Half a month later,
A huge, crescent-shaped lake appears at the foot of Fengyunding Mountain.
The lake partially surrounds the mountain, forming a natural barrier with the cliffs to the east and north, preventing enemy troops from approaching from all sides.
Hogsmeade Village faces Cloudtop across the lake.
The only road leading to Fengyun Peak has been transformed into an arched stone bridge spanning the lake.
After crossing the stone bridge, a wide road leads straight up to the castle gate.
Thus, the castle that Dui named Hogwarts was finally completed.