Stimulated by the fresh meat, the dwarf workers erupted with unprecedented enthusiasm.
They dashed back and forth carrying stone materials as if they were flying, and their movements in laying the brick walls were so fast they left behind afterimages.
Even Grom, who was familiar with them, couldn't help but sigh in admiration, "These guys have more energy now than they do during drinking contests."
The post office rose from the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye; the walls quickly took shape, and the roof began to be laid.
Grom knew that relying on this to delay them would no longer work.
He stroked his beard, agonizing over how to keep Lin Gui here, when Lin Gui proactively approached him.
"Leader, I heard from Captain Freya—"
"Was their Wheelless Train modified here?"
Grom snapped out of it and nodded.
"Freya? Oh, you mean that little girl whose alcohol tolerance is terrifying."
"Her Wheelless Train was indeed modified here."
"We enchanted it with wings and concealment runes."
He looked at Lin Gui and asked, "Why? Do you have a vehicle to modify too?"
Lin Gui nodded.
"As you know, I am a Messenger."
"My job involves crossing the wilderness and traveling between city-states to deliver letters."
"My raft can no longer keep up with me."
"I need a vehicle that truly fits my requirements."
Upon hearing this request, Grom's eyes suddenly lit up.
With a chuckle, he slapped his thigh.
"Hey! I know a master!"
"In this regard, he's considered top-tier!"
Without allowing any argument, he grabbed Lin Gui's shoulder and led him inside.
"Come, I'll take you to see him!"
"His workshop is on the upper level, near the City Lord's manor."
Grom explained as they walked, his tone warm and enthusiastic, as if he were merely recommending an ordinary artisan.
The group traversed winding passages, going deeper and deeper.
The guards they met along the way saluted and made way for Grom.
Eventually, they stopped before a heavy forged-iron door.
From inside the door came a faint sound of hammering, rhythmic and heavy.
Grom pushed open the iron door.
A wave of heat mixed with the smell of metal rushed out at them.
In the center of the workshop, a dwarf stood with his back to the door.
He was wearing blacksmith's clothes covered in coal dust, his muscles were solid, and he held a heavy hammer, striking a glowing iron block strike by strike.
Sparks flew in all directions.
Hearing the movement, he stopped, slowly turned around, and revealed a face with sharp, distinct features.
His beard was short and neat, and his eyes were calm.
The moment Theia saw him, her hand instinctively reached for her lower back, only to stop abruptly halfway.
She leaned in close to Lin Gui's ear and whispered in an extremely low voice, "Lin Gui... this guy's strength is terrifying."
Grom gave Theia a surprised look.
An Epic Rank expert's control over their own energy has reached the state of perfection; an ordinary person wouldn't be able to sense even a hint of it.
This long-eared girl could actually sense the danger through intuition?
What Grom didn't know was that Lin Gui had noticed even faster than Theia.
As he walked through the door, his feet had already reflexively taken half a step back.
Around the dwarf in front of them, there was a formless pressure as thick and heavy as a mountain.
Though it did not leak out, it truly existed.
It gave Lin Gui a feeling no less intense than the Epic Banshee Queen he had seen at Eagle Fortress.
Quiet, heavy, and as imposing as a mountain.
In Shield City, there was only one person who could reach this level...
Lin Gui bowed slightly, performing a standard mage's salute, his voice respectful but not subservient, "Lord of Shield City, Guardian of the Fortress."
"I, Lin Gui, am honored to have this audience."
Fortress Lord Balin's eyebrows twitched slightly.
He glanced at Grom with an inquiring look in his eyes.
Grom was also bewildered; he asked Lin Gui in a low voice, "How did you know this was the Fortress Lord?"
Lin Gui's expression remained calm.
He didn't say it was due to intuition tempered in countless life-or-death situations, only replying faintly, "The fact that you can prevent my Transcendent Rank companion from sensing your specific rank means that you are either a powerless commoner or an Epic Rank powerhouse."
"And in Shield City, who else could an Epic Rank powerhouse be?"
Balin took a deep look at Lin Gui and suddenly laughed.
"Not bad. Very sharp."
"Truly someone worthy of being praised by that girl Freya."
He put down the iron hammer and wiped his hands.
"Alright then, friend who has brought news of our far-off relative."
"What business do you have with me?"
Grom quickly hurried forward.
He stood on his tiptoes and whispered into Balin's ear.
While speaking, he deliberately used a dwarven secret technique; a layer of imperceptible energy fluctuation enveloped the two of them, isolating their voices.
During this, he even stole a few glances at Lin Gui.
That clumsy attempt at secrecy made Lin Gui smile helplessly.
He didn't need to listen to guess the content.
It was undoubtedly an attempt to meddle in the vehicle modification process to delay time and trap him in Shield City.
However, Grom was likely going to be disappointed.
Once Lin Gui finished specifying his vehicle requirements, he intended to take his leave.
He wasn't in a desperate hurry to modify the vehicle.
As for the construction of the post office and accepting Weekly Commissions...
Last night during the drinking contest, he had already fished for information from Grom.
Regarding Avalon, this dwarf leader knew absolutely nothing—even less than Elvia did.
Elvia had at least heard nursery rhymes, but Grom hadn't even heard of those.
If even a high-ranking official managing Shield City's affairs didn't know, it was even less likely that other dwarves would.
Naturally, there wouldn't be any letters bound for Avalon here.
He had asked the system before.
Currently, to trigger a Weekly Commission, he needed at least one hundred letters.
This meant that for his next stop, going toward Avalon, Lin Gui could only obtain the rewards from the long-term commission of escorting Theia.
As for intelligence on the Wall of Sighs...
If the dwarves truly possessed a safe route, why would they commission the North Wind caravan to travel ten thousand li out of their way?
Wouldn't it be much closer to cross the Wall of Sighs directly from the Dwarven Royal City?
One had to know that directly north of Shield City was the Dwarven Royal City.
They were only separated by the Wall of Sighs.
And it was precisely because the dwarves could not cross the Wall of Sighs that they were forced to use the city-state network to transport supplies.
Therefore, Lin Gui held no hope for that.
Rather than asking around in Shield City, it was better to head straight for the outskirts of the Wall of Sighs.
To break through the Wall of Sighs, the dwarves had issued bounties that were unimaginably high.
As a result, many bounty hunters were active at the peripheral nodes of the Wall of Sighs.
This information had been told to him by the scholar Eli.
Compared to the Shield City in the rear, the intelligence provided by the bounty hunters on the front lines was clearly of greater reference value.
So for Lin Gui, there were only two reasons left to stay in Shield City: building the post office and modifying his vehicle.
And neither of these tasks was strictly mandatory to complete here.
After accepting Grom's whispered words, Fortress Lord Balin turned to Lin Gui and asked, "Do you also want to build a Wheelless Train?"
Lin Gui shook his head and waved his hand.
The oak staff behind him floated into his hand. He held up three fingers and spoke calmly, "The vehicle I want to modify only has three requirements."
"Small, fast, and agile."
"If possible, it needs to be equipped with—"
"A device that converts mana into a stable wind force."
"A wind pressure cannon."
Hearing those last three words, Balin and Grom were both stunned simultaneously.
Balin hissed, putting down the iron hammer in his hand.
"Little guy, that is a wind pressure cannon."
"There are only three of them in all of Shield City."
"Its value... is inestimable."
Lin Gui naturally knew how precious a wind pressure cannon was.
If not for the extreme rarity of the forging materials, wind pressure cannons would have been enough to trigger an industrial revolution in this apocalyptic world.
That was an existence capable of replacing a mage by converting ambient mana into wind force.
He looked up at Balin.
"A wind pressure cannon is indeed precious."
"But for Shield City, its utility—"
"Should not be greater than that of a demi-artifact."
As soon as Lin Gui finished speaking, a staff floated out of a wooden crate.
It was streamlined throughout, with its body embedded with azure runes.
It was exactly the demi-artifact—the Staff of the Windwhisperer.
Lin Gui gripped the staff and handed it toward Balin.
"I am willing to exchange this for it."
"A demi-artifact?!" Grom cried out in shock.
He snatched the staff and held it up before his eyes.
Balin also leaned forward, his eyes wide.
The two of them scrutinized every inch of the patterns on the staff, their breathing gradually growing heavy.
A demi-artifact.
That was the supreme glory pursued by all master artisans for their entire lives.
It was the ultimate peak of all creations in the Akara Continent, a creation that was a perfect fusion of craftsmanship and magic.
In the entire dwarf race, one might not be produced even once every fifty years.
It wasn't that Shield City lacked masters capable of forging a demi-artifact.
But those people had all gone out to earn money for Shield City.
He seemed to recall that one of them had gone to the Carter Royal Capital to craft a bow.
Their gaze on the staff was like a pilgrimage.
Their fingertips brushed over the runes, trembling slightly.
A warm and powerful pulse of energy came from the staff; it was real and undeniable.
Theia couldn't help but speak up from the side.
"Hey, Lin Gui, do you really want to trade it?"
"That's a demi-artifact!"
There was heartache in her voice.
Lin Gui turned his head, his expression calm.
"In my hands, this staff—"
"Has not fulfilled the role it should have."
"To drive it..."
He paused for a moment.
"One must at least reach the rank of someone like Freya."
"I can't wait that long."
For Lin Gui, trading a demi-artifact that might only shine in the future for a vehicle that could provide immediate acceleration for his deliveries was not a losing deal.
Although a demi-artifact was precious, if Lin Gui truly lived to ascend to the Legendary Rank, getting one would not be difficult.
If all else failed, he could just go to the City of a Thousand Towers and steal one.
Rate on N.U.
