Chapter 342: Collecting Fragments

The next day, Suojiade and his party began their tour of Gaoyuanbao. Sinuoli did not accompany them personally; after what happened yesterday, he figured they would not have a good time if he were around.

"Damn it! My losses for the sake of showing off were truly not small!"

Sitting in his office, Sinuoli wiped his Warhammer with a depressed look on his face. After that supreme strike, he had not intended to leave the Warhammer buried beneath the mountain. On the contrary, he had failed when he tried to trigger the Master-class Flight Rune to retrieve it.

At the time, Sinuoli thought the burial of mud, sand, and stone had interfered with the rune's effect, and he did not want to stick his rear end up and rummage through the ruins, which would have ruined his tall, imposing image, so he left directly. But facts proved he had oversimplified things.

Now, there were some scratches on the hammerhead of this Warhammer, likely caused by an overly violent collision. But external problems were not worth mentioning compared to internal ones; the infusion of leylines energy had destroyed the structure of that rune.

"A bit troublesome. It wouldn't be hard to make another one with the help of a ritual, but once a Rune Weapon is engraved, it is fine if it remains undamaged, but it is hard to repair once damaged!"

Sinuoli muttered to himself. When the Dwarfs were created by the Old Ones, they were given no spellcasting ability to reduce the possibility of being corrupted by Chaos, so their weapons and equipment usually did not function as vessels for energy.

Through this, he also realized that as his own strength increased, this weapon he had acquired at the beginning was starting to fall behind. Having witnessed the power of those two items of Belegar in actual combat, Sinuoli felt a restless itch in his heart.

"What should I do?"

Sinuoli leaned back in his chair and pondered. Compared to other races, as a normal Dwarf, seeking better equipment to improve one's strength was the proper path.

"Going back to rely on the elders is certainly a good idea. There are always plenty of good things in the treasury of Everpeak and the collection of Krag Master!"

Dwarfs were often unwilling to pass down certain things due to a "lack of qualifications," such as the equipment of the Ironbreakers and Hammer Guards. Even though handing them out would directly increase the strength of the troops, there were always old veterans who believed the current Little Beards were unworthy of the treasures passed down by the ancestors in every respect.

"Then there is my Artifact Treasury System. I was too busy running around before to look for them specifically. Now that I have a territory, manpower, and temporary peace, I can set my mind to organizing it!"

As Sinuoli thought this, he opened his system. The three pieces he had already collected were Thurni's Rune Tongs—previously borrowed by Krag Master; the Gift of Gazul; and Latong's Beast-Taming Collar.

Sinuoli did not yet have suitable targets for the latter two. Regarding giant beasts, he had previously made indirect inquiries to the two Slann he knew in the Southlands, but let alone the Stegadon, the true overlord of the rainforest, the Southlands did not even have an Ancient Triangle Dragon capable of carrying a saddle-palanquin.

Lord Outekelasi of the Bone Temple had not been able to find a suitable bearer for his palanquin, and naturally, Sinuoli did not want to wander around riding an Ankylosaurus; this thick-skinned, clumsy thing was not even as good as those giant spiders from Zhuwangshan before.

The single components in his hand also included the pickhead of the God-Pick of Grungni and the Spur Gear obtained from Fearless Fort. Counting them up, he had already collected half of the sixteen fragments of the eight Artifacts, which was quite efficient.

Sinuoli had no clue where the remaining fragments were. Some were lost outside the Qunshan, and some might be in the fallen Karaks. However, Sinuoli still believed that a portion remained in the hands of the Dwarfs, just that they were like the Spur Gear of Fearless Fort—their luster hidden and the treasures covered in dust.

"Perhaps I can collect them throughout the entire Mountain Kingdom. With my current influence and reputation, any excuse will do!"

No sooner said than done, Sinuoli quickly drafted a statement and sent it throughout the Qunshan via Runic Telegraph. In the name of the Ancestor Chosen and the King of the Southlands, he called upon all his kin to collect artifacts inherited from the era of the Ancestor Gods—the kind where no one knew what they were used for.

Every clansman who was confident in the treasures in their hands could bring them to Kalake-Zuen, and Sinuoli would personally appraise these items. Once confirmed to be useful, the generous donor would not only be rewarded with heavy gold but would also have prayers offered for them before the Ancestor Gods.

As for those clansmen whose treasures were not selected, Sinuoli would also reimburse their travel and lodging expenses. They could just treat it as a root-seeking journey to the Ancestral Lands, and it would be nice to experience the steamships and railways along the way.

In fact, with the system in hand, he could have described the things he needed in more detail, such as a pick handle or a gear. But Sinuoli had his own considerations for not doing so.

For one, hostile forces could also receive the news. Once they fell into enemy hands, those guys might not have the ability to destroy the Artifact fragments, but throwing them directly into the sea would be enough to ensure Sinuoli never got them.

For another, who knew if the clansmen had other good things in their hands? With his own family learning and mentorship, he really might be able to identify some treasures, and compared to them, the extra gold expenditure was not worth mentioning.

This news undoubtedly caused a sensation in the Qunshan and even the entire Old World. Many Dwarf lords, after discovering they had no relevant treasures, gradually turned their attention to the Human forces at the foot of the mountains.

After inspecting various places, Suojiade embarked on his return journey. Sinuoli did not go with him; the wedding date was set for later, and travel time would be greatly shortened after the railway opened, so he could study in Gaoyuanbao while waiting for people to deliver treasures to his door.

After identifying several in a row that were all ordinary goods, Sinuoli was disappointed with the collections of the clansmen in the Southlands. Come to think of it, most of those who migrated here were not doing so well in the Old World, and such families were often slightly inferior in history and lineage.

"Why is it so noisy outside?" Sinuoli's train of thought was interrupted once again.

"Bulai'en-Tongxu is here. He seems to have tamed a Griffin!" Rogov was on duty today, and he recognized the adventurer's distinctive big beard at a glance.

"A Griffin?" The transmigrator remembered that in the world of the Mountain Kings, some Dwarfs did indeed ride Griffins. He had considered this idea when he first arrived, but gave up because Griffins were too hard to get.

"Greetings to you, respected King of the Southlands! As soon as I received your notice, I rushed south from the Giant Country Mountains. I thought you might be interested in seeing the harvest of my years of adventure!"

The adventurer walked in laughing, a small box tucked under his arm, his attire looking like that of a Norscan Dwarf.

"Hahaha, bring a barrel of beer for my guest! After I finish looking at the items, I want to hear about your adventures over these years." Sinuoli greeted him while opening the system; the dust-covered treasury indeed reacted.

"Let me see what this is? A Beard Ring? That's it!" Sinuoli picked out a little cutie and spun it on his fingertip.