Chapter 259: Internal Checks and Balances

"As expected, with Krag Master's temper and face, he wouldn't take his disciple's things for nothing!" Sinuoli was overjoyed. "Don't be in a hurry, just say I'm considering it."

"Send over our population relocation plan, and then contact Jiliuguan. Hmm, the one in charge of the Rune Anvil there is Yinzhi Dashi; some things are not easy to say directly. Just say to invite Guildmaster Buluoke to come to Gaoyuanbao; there is a good thing waiting for him!"

Sinuoli suddenly had a change of thought; he realized that such a large order as building a long-distance railway might be paired with some additional conditions.

Purchasing more of the latest, secret weapons was the bottom line; if possible, requesting Jiliuguan to help unlock the Engineer sequence of buildings might even be possible.

After all, Sinuoli had to find a way to be self-sufficient for technical personnel like artillery crews and pilots; once the railway was built, it would also need people to operate and maintain it. If he relied entirely on the Engineer Guild of Jiliuguan, wouldn't he be effectively kidnapped?

Sinuoli suddenly realized that among the engineering forces he relied on, there wasn't a single Dwarf who was his own in the traditional sense—a blood relative of the same Clan. Buluokesen was from Jiliuguan, and Altman was from Haimenguan.

What checks and balances the royal power are the guilds, and the guilds should check and balance each other and internally. If no adjustments are made and he lets the structure of his subordinates continue to develop like this, the emergence of certain problems in a few years is foreseeable.

"Then who will check and balance the Engineer Guild?" Sinuoli thought. "The Rune Smith Guild? The ones directly clashing with the engineers representing new technology are the Rune Smiths representing tradition!" He thought of what he had seen and heard at Jiliuguan at that time.

"I am a Rune Master, and Senior Brother Nathan is one too; we can be called disciples of a famous school! Now, in theory, I can organize the Gaoyuanbao Rune Smith Guild on the spot. As the Vice President of the General Guild concurrently serving as the local President, it is reasonable and compliant!"

Sinuoli thought of a way to break the deadlock, but he immediately discovered that this "Gaoyuanbao Branch" had only one member, and even if it were expanded to the "Nan Shijie Bianyuan Shanmai Branch," it would only be a few people.

Master Nathan's personality was also similar to Master Krag's; he was busy with research, and the Anvil Guard had only formed half a squad. The disciples he took in were carefully selected, few in number, and not all of them were brought to the Southlands.

"How can I expand my influence? Recruiting Rune Smiths over has already proven to be not very effective. That's right, I can cultivate them myself!" Sinuoli patted his head. Ever since the day he became an official Rune Smith, he had been qualified to take on apprentices, not to mention that he was now a God-chosen Rune Master.

"Although Rune Smiths grow slowly, if I need them urgently, I can use the Thurni ritual to force them to grow! But the Revival Points are another big expense; I have to exploit them well to break even!"

"It's been sent, is there anything else?" Sinuoli's reverie was interrupted by Noli, and he finally came back to his senses.

"Please ask Father to keep an eye on the Nine Scrolls of Nagash for me; the Ancestor Goddess has a way to suppress them!" Cousin Tomi was, after all, just a merchant with limited power. The news he had secretly gathered during this time was all hearsay; to obtain the treasures in Settra's hands, he would have to rely on the power of the entire Dwarf Realms.

"The private matter conveyed by His Majesty the High King: he says he is about to become a grandfather. And he told you to hurry up on your end; if you have any ideas, arrange it yourself, otherwise just wait for news, hahaha!"

Noli laughed as he spoke, and the smile on Sinuoli's face froze. He suddenly understood why, even though sending and receiving telegrams was not easy, many leaders still insisted on doing it themselves.

With the Dwarf temper, sigh, he was afraid that the news of him being urged to marry would spread throughout Gaoyuanbao by tonight! After transporting sufficient liquor, Brian opened a tavern on the edge of the square. Relying on his experience from traveling north and south, he also served as a bard. Now that there was no war, his business was very prosperous.

"You go, I'll handle the rest myself!"

Sinuoli let the telegraph operator out with a livid face, and he spread out the codebook to communicate with Eternal Peak. In his opinion, it was only natural to deal with this kind of thing when he was free, but it was still difficult for Dwarf women to accept.

The transmigrator rubbed his hands and thought of an excuse. Pushing this matter onto the Ancestor Goddess wouldn't work; after all, procreation was also within the Authority of the Mother Goddess. It would be hard for people to believe that She did not allow him to marry.

But a large part of the reason why Dwarfs were eager to marry was that their fertility was too low; every minute earlier was a chance to increase the odds of winning the lottery. And now, he had improved this problem to a certain extent through the system.

After temporarily stabilizing the family issue, Sinuoli fell into waiting again. However, during this time, he did not wait idly as before, but activated the Avatar of the Gods to familiarize himself with combat methods in Stone Form.

The Rune Guards were natural sparring partners. In his practice with these larger stone statues, Sinuoli mastered the technique of utilizing immense weight and also figured out the limits of the damage he could withstand.

"Master's promise is basically a piece of Legendary Quality equipment; what should I ask for?" Sinuoli was not in a hurry to redeem Master Krag's promise. There were no new war plans for the time being, so he could ponder it slowly.

Equipment that could be called Legendary Quality all had their own unique uses, but in Sinuoli's current state, he was definitely inclined to ask for weapons or armor rather than accessories or parts like rings, crowns, or belts.

According to his initial thoughts, he was still inclined toward life-saving armor. The one that Iron Chisel Master had temporarily made before setting out had been completely destroyed in the two great battles against the Spider Demigod and Nurgle's demon army.

But the problem was, as far as he knew, there was no ready-made Legendary armor equipped with an Expansion Rune, and the number of Legendary Quality pieces of equipment Master Krag had completed in his thousand-year lifespan could be counted on one hand.

Even if this powerhouse, who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Ancestor Gods, could eventually forge it, he was afraid it would require a long process of design, experimentation, and trial and error. This would likely be a wait measured in decades or even centuries.

Could Sinuoli afford to wait? The answer was, of course, no. Therefore, he turned to hoping to obtain a finished product. In that case, it would be limited to equipment like weapons that were not interfered with by the Avatar of the Gods effect.

Just as he was preparing to send a telegram to his master, the civil officials reported that a new batch of personnel and supplies from the Old World would arrive soon. They arrived two days earlier than expected; perhaps after becoming familiar with the shipping lanes and land routes, the time spent on this journey had been slightly reduced.

Sinuoli personally came to the fortress gate to wait. He was afraid that among this batch, there were many people in power who wanted to visit the Ancestral Lands, and Guildmaster Buluoke was also among the travelers. He saw that this group of visitors looked exhausted and covered in dust.

"What is going on? Did they force-march all the way here?"