Theia extended her pinky, her fingertip tensing slightly.
The pads of her fingers, used to drawing a bow year-round, were covered in thin calluses, yet her joints remained delicate and fair.
"You must come back to see me once every four months!"
Lin Gui let out a helpless sigh.
His pace in improving his strength could not stop; he was destined to travel to even more distant regions in the future.
The scope of his letter delivery would only continue to expand, making his return dates naturally difficult to determine.
But looking into Theia's emerald eyes, which were brimming with anticipation,
In the end, he couldn't bring himself to say no.
"...Alright."
He silently offered an apology to Theia in his heart.
Then, he curled the corners of his mouth and hooked that slightly cool pinky.
"Pinky swear."
A smile instantly bloomed on Theia's face, her eyes curving into crescents as if the heaviest stone on her heart had finally dropped.
She let out a cheer and lunged forward, giving Lin Gui a tight hug.
"It's a deal!"
Without waiting for Lin Gui to react, she nimbly leaped onto the stacked wooden crates nearby.
Standing at the high point, she waved forward with high spirits.
"Set off! Destination: Shield City!"
Eve pursed her lips and gave a light laugh, walking up behind Lin Gui.
Her warm palms pressed against his back, and pure mana slowly flowed in.
Lin Gui gave a wry smile and shook his head.
He gripped his staff and activated Levitation.
The wooden raft carrying the three of them rose steadily once more, gliding toward the north.
Theia took her position again at the very front and highest point of the raft.
Having resolved her inner conflict, she was exceptionally cheerful, her silver hair flying in the wind.
With one hand on her hip and the other pointing forward, she looked like a majestic captain.
She originally wanted to rely on her Transcendent vision to once again prove her value as a navigator.
But after squinting and searching carefully for a long time,
In the sparse forest below, she couldn't even see the shadow of a decent demon.
Only a few giant rat demons occasionally scurried out from the bushes.
They were no larger than wild rabbits, with grayish-black fur and long, thin tails.
These little things squeaked, darting quickly through the piles of withered leaves and vanishing into burrows in the blink of an eye.
It seemed that the road from Shield City to Blackwater Port was regularly cleared by someone.
Lin Gui no longer restricted his mana output.
The raft suddenly accelerated, rushing forward like an arrow released from a bow.
The sound of the wind whistled in their ears as the scenery below receded at high speed.
The dark green canopies merged into a continuous layer, like a flowing green carpet.
Rolling mountains swept past them, and they could occasionally catch glimpses of streams shimmering in the mountain gullies.
They flew low over narrow canyons, startling a flock of birds.
The raft glided across the surface of a calm lake, leaving behind a fleeting ripple.
This feeling of lightning-fast travel made Theia spread her arms and cheer with excitement.
Even Eve couldn't help but grip the edge of the raft, her eyes sparkling.
It wasn't until the sunset dyed the horizon a shade of orange-red
That the sight in the distance finally caused Lin Gui to slow his speed.
A massive city-state appeared abruptly at the end of their vision.
It was not built on a plain, but was instead entirely embedded within the steep coastal mountains.
The dark rock and the walls of the fortress were almost integrated into one, appearing naturally formed.
The towering spires were like extensions of the mountain ridges, overlooking Blackwater Port below.
That was the Fortress City—
Shield City.
Its back gate, which faced inland, was carved directly into a nearly vertical mountain wall.
A thick metal gate remained tightly shut, its surface covered in crude runes.
The majestic sight of Shield City deeply shook the three people on the raft.
The entire city-state was forcefully embedded into the steep mountain range facing the sea.
The heavy fortress and the mountain rock were seamless, as if they had existed since ancient times.
"My God..." Theia couldn't help but marvel. "Those shorties' talent for building houses is truly incredible!"
Eve stood beside her, her ginkgo-golden short hair shimmering in the sunset.
Admiration flickered in her eyes as she whispered, "What an... amazing miracle."
To defend against the threats coming from the Silent Sea, the dwarves had almost hollowed out this majestic mountain,
Perfectly forging their home and defensive fortifications into the mountain itself.
Lin Gui gazed silently at the massive city-state constructed within the heart of the mountain.
Within his cold black pupils, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of shock was reflected.
"Impressive."
He offered a brief word of praise and then controlled the raft, flying toward the giant iron gate in the distance that was clearly visible even from there.
As the distance closed, the details of Shield City became even clearer.
The dark metal city walls wound along the mountain terrain, covered in massive rivets.
Towering spires looked as if they had grown out of the mountain rock, overlooking the surrounding lands.
The city walls were densely packed with embrasures, with cold-glinting ballistae faintly visible behind them.
Some areas even used the natural cliffs themselves as walls, the marks left by axes and chisels being jagged and sharp.
The entire city-state emitted an indestructible, cold atmosphere that kept people at a distance.
The wooden raft carried the three of them through the increasingly biting sea breeze, moving silently toward the giant gate on the mountain wall.
Before the raft could even approach the giant gate on the mountain wall,
A projectile came whistling toward them, crashing heavily onto the ground in front of them.
Boom!
Soil and debris blasted upward, leaving a scorched shallow crater.
Lin Gui's gaze sharpened, and he immediately stabilized the raft, hovering in mid-air.
A small window on the thick iron gate ahead opened with a clang.
A dwarf with a knotted beard and an unfriendly expression peeked out with half of his coarse face.
He roared in a rough voice:
"Get lost! Shield City doesn't welcome humans!"
Before his voice could fade, the various embrasures scattered across the iron gate opened one after another.
Behind each small window, the angry or alert faces of more dwarves were revealed.
Their eyes glared intensely at the three uninvited guests on the raft.
"What are humans doing here!"
"This isn't a place for the likes of you!"
Among the chaotic shouting, an iron window at the highest point was pushed open abruptly.
A dwarf with a serious face and a beard braided into plaits appeared.
He first barked a sharp reprimand toward those below:
"Everyone, shut up! Act with some dignity!"
Immediately after, his gaze—as sharp as a hawk's—turned toward Lin Gui, filled with scrutiny.
"Human! You are not from Blackwater Port!"
"State your identity and your business here!"
Lin Gui stopped the raft and looked up, responding loudly to the ones above:
"I am here to deliver letters!"
"Don't worry, I have no intention of entering Shield City."
He reached back and pulled the satchel off his back, holding it high.
"Here are letters brought from the Carter Royal Capital, Caran City, and New Covenant City!"
"Please deliver them to their recipients—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by an explosion of uproar and curses from behind the iron gate.
"Deliver letters? Like hell you are!"
"The Carter Royal Capital is one thing... but where are Caran and New Covenant?"
"There are no such names among the dwarven city-states!! Kid, you're lying!"
"Tiny places no one has ever heard of, how could letters be sent here from there!"
"This kid definitely has an ulterior motive!"
"I wonder which side sent this spy!"
Doubts and insults rained down like hail.
The serious dwarf leader did not stop them; he only looked down at Lin Gui coldly.
His expression clearly said: Your excuse is pathetic.
Facing the deluge of skepticism, Lin Gui said no more.
He directly took a letter from his satchel and held it high.
Taking a deep breath, he called out the first name toward the giant gate on the mountain wall:
"Carter Royal Capital!! Copperhammer Stoneheart!!"
His resonant voice echoed among the mountain walls.
In an instant, all the clamor, shouting, and doubt came to a screeching halt.
It was as if an invisible hand had suddenly seized every dwarf by the throat.
The indignant or contemptuous faces behind the iron windows froze instantly.
Their eyes went wide.
The expressions on their faces shifted from anger to shock, and then into a deathly silent daze.
The sound of the wind blowing through the canyon became exceptionally clear.
After a brief, suffocating silence...
Behind the window at the highest point, the serious dwarf leader lunged forward.
His hands gripped the window ledge with such force that his knuckles turned white.
His sharp eyes stared fixedly at the letter in Lin Gui's hand, as if he wanted to burn a hole through it.
He let out a heavy gasp, his voice trembling with disbelief as he growled:
"...Who did you say?!"
"Say it again! That name!!"
Rate on N.U.
