Chapter 210: Return

Snorri cleaned up the battlefield simply, then continued to direct the caravan to rest in the valley for half a day; it was not until noon the next day that they walked out of the valley and set about returning to their original path.

Along the way, the Rangers discovered traces of the Wood Elves, but after Snorri requested they make no contact and merely shout out the caravan's purpose—leaving the forest—the Wood Elves did not appear; they hid in the shadows of the woods, supervising the caravan's movements.

Just as Snorri had thought, the Asrai had an irreconcilable enemy—the Beastmen—to deal with. This pursuing force did not have a numerical advantage, nor did they have any heavy weapons suitable for armor-piercing, so the Dwarf caravan successfully left Athel Loren and returned to the original mountain road.

The subsequent journey was smooth sailing, and Snorri arrived at Karak-Norn at Twilight. After stopping to complete the established trade mission, the caravan proceeded to the next stop.

Lord Borok was indeed very farsighted; he realized the huge potential contained within that Rune telegraph machine and even came up with some simple long-short combinations suitable for use. He kept nagging Snorri, but Snorri told him to be patient, saying there would be an explanation once they returned to Everpeak.

The caravan then passed through Winter-Tooth Pass and entered the Black Mountains. The prosperity of Haojiaobao had not faded due to the winter battles, and the young Lord Alike was full of ambition, preparing to continue settling grudges.

At this time, the brave Rogov's injuries had finally recovered for the most part. This warrior, who had received personal forgiveness from the White Dwarf, had momentarily lost his goal in life. In the end, he made a decision that was not difficult—to stay and follow Snorri, continuing to dedicate his strength to the revitalization of the Mountain Kingdom.

Passing through Duantiebao and Kalake-Duomaer in succession, Snorri finally arrived at Mountain Lake Fortress. After half a year of coming and going, thanks to the diligence and craftsmanship of the clansmen, this place had taken on a brand-new look.

Brother Grom had received the news early; after meeting with Snorri, he hurried back to Everpeak first to prepare for his own wedding.

In fact, this was already the true heartland of the Mountain Kingdom, only a day's journey from the capital. Snorri could have completely entrusted the caravan to others and gone home himself, but he still decided to see things through to the end.

When Snorri entered the gates of Karaz-a-Karak riding on the Doom Anvil, he received a welcome from his clansmen lining the way; there were many times more people coming to greet him than there had been to see him off.

While waving in greeting, Snorri reminisced about his journey. In just half a year, he had experienced many major battles and clashed with all sorts of opponents. Beyond improving his combat power and command experience, he had also thoroughly made the name Snorri Thorsson famous.

Brother Grom's wedding was very grand. As his only biological brother, Snorri did not rest and became busy again. As the Chosen of the Goddess, he was also asked to preside over the wedding and pray for the newlyweds.

Snorri vaguely realized that some extra meaning attached to this wedding had been swapped out. He tried to make some adjustments, but for a moment he did not know what to do, and in the end, he could only go with the flow.

On the big day, when Snorri finished reciting the vows of marriage under the statues of the Ancestor Gods, Grom and Pamila confirmed them loudly. Subsequently, in the expectant gaze of the crowd, the Ancestor Goddess "responded," and the young newlyweds embraced passionately.

Snorri, the master of ceremonies, could not find rest even at this stage; he had to fulfill his duties as a younger brother. Together with his elder sister who had rushed back from the Empire of Man, he blocked drinks for his elder brother. Snorri's memory of everything after that was dissolved in alcohol.

After the wedding, the elder brother and sister-in-law returned to Mountain Lake Fortress, and Snorri also threw himself into new struggles. The first thing he did was to send the Rune telegraph machine and the accompanying codebook to Thorgrim.

This wise king realized the huge military and civilian value of this thing extremely quickly. What made him even happier was that beyond recognizing its huge value, Snorri was also proactively willing to let this set of things be sold at a relatively low price.

After reporting to Krag Master and obtaining permission to mobilize a portion of guild members to carry out experiments, Snorri made some adjustments to this temporary invention from the wilderness.

The Rune Smiths split this type of Rune into two levels. The Master-class could solve stable communication between large fortresses over hundreds of kilometers. Undoubtedly, this required more energy to maintain; at the very least, it had to be a formal Rune Smith charging it at full power.

In the vision of Snorri and the others, the Master-class Communication Rune should be carved more on the Doom Anvil, relying on that treasure's characteristic of automatically gathering the Winds of Magic to keep it working constantly.

As for the ordinary-level Communication Rune, the threshold for use was lowered, and any Apprentice who had mastered a little bit of Rune Power could drive it. Of course, the effective range was lowered accordingly, but it could still satisfy effectiveness within tens of kilometers between settlements or between two armies on the battlefield.

Under Thorgrim's strong support, the Master-class Rune communicators were purchased in the form of official funding from the High King's Court and distributed to permanent residents, or large fortresses and settlements with tens of thousands of people within their sphere of influence. The ordinary ones were sold at a price of five Oath Gold each, which any halfway decent Clan could afford.

The Master-class Runes that Thorgrim sent to the lords served as excellent advertisements. Coupled with the huge utility of the Rune telegraph machine, for a time, all Dwarfs took pride in being able to own one.

Beyond completing their own mission—strengthening the internal communication and connection of the Mountain Kingdom—the promotion of the telegraph machine also pushed the authority of the High King's Court and Snorri's own prestige to new heights.

What Snorri did not expect was that the clansmen, having money but nowhere to spend it, also developed all kinds of shells inlaid with gems or with hollow gold carvings to decorate their telegraphs; such demand injected new momentum into the handicraft industry.

After settling Henlide-Tulongzhe, the former Gatekeeper of Jiliuguan who had come to seek refuge months ago, and fulfilling his promise to apply the Vigorous Effect to his old mother, Snorri threw himself into the process of cramming Rune knowledge.

This trip made him realize that there was still a gap between his strength and true legendary powerhouses; he needed to seize the time to improve himself. After becoming a Rune Master, much relatively basic knowledge was opened directly to him.

Snorri consumed Revival Points to maintain the Thurni Ritual for himself, which could improve his Rune comprehension, absorbing relevant Rune knowledge frantically like a sponge, solidifying the weak foundation he had after being forced to grow by the system.

The effect after the popularization of the Rune telegraph machine replaced the spread of divine grace—now almost all clansmen were convinced that the Ancestor Gods were about to return, becoming a new growth point for Snorri's Revival Points. Even though he had been maintaining the Thurni Ritual, the points were still growing.