Theia extended her pinky, her finger tensing slightly.
The pads of her fingers, calloused from years of drawing her bow, contrasted with the fair, delicate skin of her knuckles.
“You must come back to see me once every four months!”
Lin Gui let out a helpless sigh.
His pace of increasing his strength could not stop; he was destined to travel to even more distant lands in the future.
The scope of his mail delivery would only grow wider, making his return date naturally difficult to determine.
But looking at Theia's emerald eyes, which were filled with anticipation, he ultimately could not bring himself to say no.
“...Alright.”
He silently apologized to Theia in his heart.
Then, with a slight curl of his lips, he hooked his pinky around her slightly cool finger.
“Pinky swear.”
A smile instantly bloomed on Theia's face, her eyes curving into crescent moons, as if the heaviest weight on her chest had finally been lifted.
She cheered and threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Lin Gui.
“It's a promise!”
Before Lin Gui could react, she nimbly leaped onto the wooden crates stacked nearby.
Standing on the high vantage point, she waved her hand forward high-spiritedly.
“Let's go! Next stop, Shield City!”
Eve pursed her lips with a soft chuckle and walked up behind Lin Gui.
Her warm palm pressed against his back, and pure mana slowly flowed into him.
Lin Gui gave a wry smile and shook his head.
He gripped his staff tightly and cast Levitation.
The raft carrying the three of them rose steadily once more and swept toward the north.
Theia stood back at the highest point of the raft's front.
Having resolved her worries, she was exceptionally cheerful, her silver hair fluttering in the wind.
With one hand on her hip and the other pointing forward, she looked like an imposing captain.
She had intended to use her Transcendent-level vision to demonstrate her value as a navigator once again.
But after squinting and searching carefully for a long time, she couldn't see even a decent shadow of a demon in the sparse woods below.
Only a few giant rat demons occasionally scurried out of the bushes.
They were only about the size of wild rabbits, with grayish-black fur and long, thin tails.
These little creatures squeaked, darted quickly across the piles of dead leaves, and vanished into their burrows in the blink of an eye.
It seemed that the path 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 shot from a bow.
The wind howled in their ears as the scenery below receded at high speed.
The dark green tree canopies merged into one, resembling a flowing green carpet.
Rolling mountains swept past them, and they could occasionally catch a glimpse of shimmering streams in the mountain valleys.
They flew low over narrow canyons, startling a flock of birds.
The raft glided across the calm lake surface, leaving behind a fleeting ripple.
This feeling of lightning-fast speed made Theia open her arms and cheer in excitement.
Even Eve couldn't help but grip the edge of the raft, her eyes sparkling.
Until the setting sun dyed the sky a brilliant orange-red.
The view in the distance finally made Lin Gui slow down.
A massive city-state loomed at the end of their line of sight.
It was not built on a plain, but was entirely embedded within the steep coastal mountains.
The dark rocks and the fortress walls were almost completely integrated, looking perfectly natural.
The towering turrets looked like extensions of the mountain ridge, overlooking Blackwater Port below.
That was the Fortress City—Shield City.
Its rear gate facing inland was carved directly into a nearly vertical cliffside.
A heavy, massive metal gate was tightly shut, its surface engraved with crude runes.
The majestic sight of Shield City deeply shocked the three on the raft.
The entire city-state was literally carved into the steep, ocean-facing mountains.
The heavy fortresses and the mountain rocks merged into one, looking as though they had existed since ancient times.
“Oh my god...” Theia couldn't help but exclaim. “Those shorties really have an incredible talent for building houses!”
Eve stood beside her, her light golden short hair shimmering under the setting sun.
Her eyes shone with admiration as she said softly, “It really is... a magnificent miracle.”
To defend against the threat from the Silent Sea, the dwarves had nearly hollowed out this majestic mountain range, perfectly fusing their homes and defensive fortifications inside the mountain itself.
Lin Gui silently gazed at the massive city-state built in the heart of the mountain.
A barely perceptible trace of shock was reflected in his cold, black eyes.
“Impressive.”
Offering a brief word of praise, he controlled the raft to fly toward the giant iron gate in the distance, which was clearly visible even from here.
As the distance closed, the details of Shield City became increasingly clear.
The dark metal walls wound along the mountain terrain, studded with massive rivets.
Towering turrets looked as if they had grown straight out of the mountain rocks, overlooking the surrounding lands.
The city walls were densely dotted with arrow slits, and the cold gleam of ballistas could be faintly seen.
Some areas even used natural cliffs directly as walls, marked by sharp and rugged chisel scars.
The entire city-state exuded an impenetrable, uninviting, and heavy aura.
Carrying the three of them, the raft sailed silently toward the giant gate on the cliffside amid the increasingly freezing sea breeze.
Before the raft could even get close to the giant gate on the cliffside, a cannonball came howling through the air and slammed heavily onto the ground in front of them.
“Boom!”
Dirt and gravel exploded violently, leaving a scorched, shallow crater.
Lin Gui's eyes narrowed, and he immediately stabilized the raft, bringing it to a halt in mid-air.
With a loud clang, a small window opened on the heavy iron gate ahead.
A dwarf with a tangled beard and an unfriendly expression poked out half of his rugged face.
He roared in a gruff voice:
“Get lost! Shield City does not welcome humans!”
Before his voice could fade, the arrow slits scattered across the iron gate opened one after another.
Behind each small window, more angry or vigilant dwarven faces appeared.
They stared intently at the three uninvited guests on the raft.
“What are humans doing here?!”
“This is no place for you!”
Amid the noisy shouting, an iron window at the very top was suddenly pushed open.
A stern-faced dwarf with his beard braided appeared.
He first shouted sternly at those below:
“Shut up, all of you! Act with some dignity!”
Then, his sharp, hawk-like gaze landed on Lin Gui, filled with scrutiny.
“Human! You are not from Blackwater Port!”
“State your identity and purpose!”
Lin Gui stopped the raft and looked up, responding in a loud voice:
“I am here to deliver letters!”
“Rest assured, I will not enter Shield City.”
He reached back to take off his satchel and held it high.
“These are letters brought from the Carter Royal Capital, Caran City, and New Covenant City!”
“Please pass them to the recipients—”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by an outburst of clamor and curses from behind the iron gate.
“Delivering letters? Who are you trying to fool?!”
“The Carter Royal Capital is one thing... but where on earth are Caran and New Covenant?”
“There are absolutely no city-states by those names in the dwarven records! You're lying, kid!”
“How could letters be sent here from some backwater places we've never even heard of!”
“This kid is definitely up to no good!”
“He's probably a spy sent by some faction!”
Doubts and curses rained down like hailstones.
The stern dwarven leader did not stop them, merely watching Lin Gui coldly.
His expression clearly conveyed that he thought Lin Gui's excuse was utterly pathetic.
Faced with the barrage of skepticism, Lin Gui said no more.
He reached directly into his satchel, pulled out a letter, and held it high.
Taking a deep breath, he called out the first name toward the giant gate on the cliffside:
“Carter Royal Capital! Copperhammer Stoneheart!”
His resonant voice echoed between the cliffs.
In an instant, all the clamor, curses, and doubts came to an abrupt halt.
It was as if an invisible hand had suddenly choked the throats of all the dwarves.
The indignant and disdainful faces behind the iron windows instantly froze.
They widened their eyes.
The expressions on their faces shifted from anger to shock, and then to a dead, blank silence.
The sound of the wind blowing through the canyon became exceptionally clear.
After a brief, suffocating silence,
the stern dwarven leader behind the highest window suddenly leaned forward.
He gripped the windowsill tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the strain.
His sharp eyes locked onto the letter in Lin Gui's hand, as if trying to burn a hole through it.
He breathed heavily, his voice trembling with utter disbelief as he growled:
“...Who did you say?!”
“Say that name again! That name!!”
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