Chapter 362 - 304: Rune Language: Temperature (2)

Chapter 362: Chapter 304: Rune Language: Temperature (2)

"I’m going to try it now and see if the new Rune Speech can be used this way." Whenever a new project came up, Agatha would immediately spring into action—a habit consistent with her scholarly nature.

Shire watched his old classmate leave excitedly, then frowned and walked out of the Fortress. In the distance, several elephants were using their trunks and tusks to lift logs, helping the centaurs build wooden houses.

"Are they coming again?" he said softly.

Just as Agatha excitedly decided to run her experiment, Shire suddenly heard an ethereal whisper, "They’re coming again."

This was the third time he had heard the Forest Whisper. The previous two times had given him a deeper understanding: "they" might not be just humans, and it might not be just one faction. It was possible that several different forces were returning to make contact with his tribe.

The Feathered Serpent Evil God’s goblins, the strange Mages "hired" by Valentine, the forces of the Four Great Churches—any of these could appear, and they might even appear all at once.

Among them would be enemies, but there might also be individuals who could become friends, like Sofia or the Elephant Lord.

"Who could it be this time?" Shire walked to the side, plucked a handful of grass from the ground, and offered it to a baby elephant that had run over. However, the winter grass was no longer fresh and tender; it looked a bit yellow. After the calf curled it up with its trunk, it simply tossed the grass everywhere.

’The goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom must be among them,’ he thought, sidestepping to dodge the baby elephant’s attempt to nuzzle him. ’After all, I’m only a 1.3-meter-tall goblin. If that little elephant leaned over and fell on me, I’d be in serious trouble. Who else could be coming besides them?’

Shire used his hands to push away the persistently nudging baby elephant. These little ones seemed to have a natural sense for which creatures posed no threat and would always play with the goblins and centaurs.

"Settle down," he said, stroking the fine fuzz on the baby elephant’s head as he continued to dodge its advances. ’I should send my men out first and see if I can get some intel on the Feathered Serpent Kingdom’s goblins.’

A few elephant trumpets sounded in the distance, seemingly calling for the little calf. Finally, the calf stopped bothering Shire and ran toward its "mother."

’This place will probably become one of the herd’s regular stomping grounds in the future.’ Shire thought as he dusted himself off. Elephants have excellent memories. When these calves grow up, they will remember this forest clearing and that warm underground space.

Compared to the impending "visitors," he was more interested in the mine to the northeast. Shire had originally planned to rest up a bit before leading his men to investigate it, but the Forest Whisper’s warning forced him to postpone the exploration. ’At the very least, I need to wait for more definite news before I make a decision.’

Thinking back on the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, their flying Snake Shedding Garments, and the Petrifying Lizards, he considered making more Rune Language: Frosty Winter. That way, he could unleash an Ice Attack the moment the enemy charged.

’But that thing seems to be activated by Water Magic, and my tribe doesn’t have any members who can use it yet.’

This gave Shire a headache. If only it were powered by Fire Magic, he could just have Nine-finger activate the Rune Speech. As it stood, the Naga Prince was the only one who could use Water Magic. He couldn’t very well lure the prince over, kill him to see if he could somehow acquire his Water Magic Ability, and then bestow it on one of his men.

Leaving aside the fact that his tribe was still cooperating with the Naga—needing them to provide Shui Yumo and Magic Potions—Shire knew that, deep down, he couldn’t bring himself to kill Pazani anyway.

’That guy might seem unreliable, but he’s not a bad person,’ Shire thought, kicking a small branch out of his path. ’Being unable to contact the Naga Race is a problem. Next time Pazani visits, I have to make him take a Stone Ring for a Teleportation Gate back with him, no matter what.’

’No, wait. I should figure out a way to help him get it there.’ He rubbed his temples. ’The Naga Prince can’t carry the Stone Ring back by himself. But if I send my men to transport it, we might run into those invading goblins along the way. And we don’t have any boats to transport goods to Darren Lake. That’s a problem.’

’Without the help of Rune Language: Frosty Winter, we’ll have to rely on our tribe’s own strength to fight those Petrifying Lizards. And Sofia was a huge help when we defeated the Flying Goblins last time. Now, we’re on our own.’

Shire took a deep breath. ’I need to find Mary and have her push those craftsmen.’

The blueprints for the new Rune Mortar had been broken down into several component parts and sent to Mary in Yangjiao Town. This weapon was a high priority for Shire. He had told Mary explicitly that if any other commissions conflicted with the mortar, she was to put them on hold and complete the Rune Cannon order first.

Moreover, the parts had to be manufactured strictly according to the standards on the blueprints. This time, payment was by the piece; he would only pay the craftsmen for products that met the quality standards.

And thanks to Red Eyes’s previous fooling around, Shire had even discovered a new use for the Rune Cannon: a shoulder-fired, recoilless "rocket launcher."

All they had to do was slightly modify the Rune Mortar, making the barrel lighter while adding some simple firing mechanisms.

This "Rune Ah Pi Chicken" could not only fire straight ahead at ground targets but also engage aerial ones. Its operation was simple; if child soldiers could master it, there was no way his goblins couldn’t learn.

’With these, I won’t be afraid of the Flying Goblins and Petrifying Lizards,’ Shire muttered to himself. ’No, I don’t know how many they’ll send this time. They sent 800 last time and failed, so they’ll send at least 1,500 goblins this time.’

At that thought, he immediately quickened his pace and headed deeper into the Fortress. ’I have to notify Mary at once and get those craftsmen to speed up production.’

He quickly wrote the message and sent it through the Teleportation Gate. Before long, a reply came back from Mary.

"Hmm, complete the commission ahead of schedule even if it costs more, and ensure the quality is guaranteed," Shire mumbled, scrutinizing Mary’s reply. But it was the end of the letter that made him pause.

"A low-interest loan?"

He frowned as he read on. The Commerce Alliance of Yangjiao Town had proactively contacted the White Shell guild to pitch a low-interest loan. Mary wasn’t very familiar with these things, so she was asking for her boss’s opinion.

’What is the Commerce Alliance up to?’ Shire thought, flicking the letter with his finger. He found it hard to believe they would be so kind as to proactively "support" a small guild. He was more inclined to believe that certain parties had taken notice of White Shell. After all, Mary had now mobilized all the craftsmen in Yangjiao Town, and even the number of boats on the Darren River had begun to increase.

’Are you bastards trying to plot against me again?’ Thinking of his previous deductions, he had no love for these greedy merchants. Although there was no direct evidence, Shire’s intuition told him that the Commerce Alliance must have had a hand in what happened to the Merlot Clan.

’Low-interest loan, low-interest loan...’

Shire muttered to himself. He wasn’t exactly short on cash at the moment, but they had made the first move. If he refused outright, he might attract unwanted attention.

’But I’m not the same Shire Merlot I used to be.’ He smiled, returned to his stone house, and pulled out a notebook. ’Let’s see... Count Herbert’s contact information.’

’Found it.’ The corner of Shire’s mouth twitched into a smile. ’First, I’ll write a letter to the Vampire Count and invite him to Yangjiao Town for a chat.’

’Before that, though, I might as well see what kind of loan contract the Commerce Alliance’s bank is offering.’

With that, Shire began to write his message to Mary.

"Have them provide a detailed contract, and also the maximum number of Gold Coins they can provide."