Chapter 428: Examining to Seek Talent

"These Undead, I must preside over a purification ritual to let them rest in peace, otherwise the future troubles will be endless."

After ending the Avatar of the Gods, Sinuoli let the Kislevites and the troops he brought pursue and mop up the scattered remnants within the Winter Palace, while he himself immediately secured the right to dispose of the Grave Guard.

The experience required for each level-up increases exponentially; his bar for leveling from eight to nine was only a little over half full, and these elite infantry would be a very good supplement. There were no objections from those present; this army, which even Arkhan would covet, returned to dust under Gazul's rites.

When the pursuit force returned, Sinuoli learned that Katarin had not been killed by the fall with the Zombie Dragon and had escaped with the cover of a handmaiden; Vladimir had chosen a low-ranking handmaiden to impersonate her—neither of these points was surprising.

Vladimir and his Bokha clan needed time to handle the aftermath and consolidate their position; he promised that once he sat firmly on the Tsar's throne, the first thing he would do was to clarify that Krag and the original Four Gods of Kislev held the same status.

"Master, what do you plan to do next?"

"Let's wait and see. Didn't you bring back good treasures from Zhendan? I'm going to Zhufuba to take a look; don't let those Little Beards ruin them."

After the victory banquet, the master and apprentice chatted about the future in a secret room in the residential area. The Ascension Staircase had reached its end, the gates to the divine realm were pushed half-open, and Krag the Grim's face was full of rare smiles.

"Good, as long as the core technical problems are overcome, the subsequent repair work will be easy to solve."

Sinuoli clapped his hands and laughed. As his status rose to the zenith, all the secrets of the Mountain Kingdom were opened to him. In every small fortress, there were more or less surviving Rune Colossi; if they could all be activated, it would be a terrifying Strength Rune.

In the days waiting for the examinees to arrive, Sinuoli sat in the clan's office receiving envoys who came to congratulate him. The more one possessed a Demigod, the more one knew how terrifying those who mastered such transcendent power were.

As long as one could read and write or had a specialized talent, after obtaining an introduction letter from any Dwarf lord or residential area elder, one could receive full travel expenses and enjoy various conveniences along the way. Once selected, the minimum treatment is that of a Knight, and there is no cap on the maximum.

A month later, the examinees had all arrived. The Old World provided Sinuoli with nearly seven hundred candidates. From the cursed city of Praag to the coast of Araby, aspiring individuals held their introduction letters and traveled through various taverns to reach Karaz-a-Karak.

The lamps were lit again, and Sinuoli looked at the people below with their varied expressions. Their age range was extremely wide, from those with white hair and beards to those in the prime of their youth. He did not know how many of them could guess his thoughts that could not be spoken to outsiders.

"Drink and be merry, there is no need to be restrained. The exam starts tomorrow, lasting one day; you may hand in your papers early. Those not taking the written exam will be interviewed according to the schedule, and those taking both subjects will have their interviews arranged for the day after."

Before parting, Krag spoke earnestly. The only disadvantage of becoming a god is that as long as faith does not cease, one is eternally immortal, but compared to a Demigod, there are too many restrictions on interfering in mortal affairs.

Stepping onto the Helicopter back to the Everpeak, Sinuoli began to plan his next step. The Southlands need to develop, his own faith needs to spread, and the power of the Chaos side must be weakened. None of these are easy to handle if taken individually, and relying solely on himself is definitely not enough.

"I have written a long poem—'The Restoration Record', and wish to present it to Your Majesty!"

"I have been favored by Myrmidia since childhood, and the way of using troops is all in my chest!"

"Out of tune and off-key; allocating electoral votes and taking in concubines to have many heirs—that is just mechanically copying without considering reality at all!"

Strictly speaking, there is no standard answer to this test paper beyond the multiple-choice section. The Dwarf King hoped to use this to find people who were in sync with him; of course, it would be even better if they could provide unconventional ideas that made his eyes light up.

In his spare time, Sinuoli borrowed a form he was incomparably familiar with from his past life—a closed-book exam—and condensed his understanding of military, internal affairs, and religion into a set of questions consisting of multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions.

"Farewell, take care. I have already poured out my experience in condensing Authority; may the mountains add another Demigod before long!"

"Everyone has had a hard journey here; I apologize for not welcoming you sooner, I hope you will be magnanimous."

The improvement in fertility is not that fast to take effect. The best seedlings of the Dwarf Realms will still remain in their own clans and toss about in the guilds. Unless forced, the calling of the Ancestor Chosen is not enough to break the ties of blood and apprenticeship.

The vigor with which they bragged could make the Longbeard Venerables blush, but their creativity and imagination were still worth affirming. Some guys successfully linked Krag's recent actions in the Old World with Sinuoli, partially matching the transmigrator's thoughts.

After collecting the test papers, Sinuoli flipped through a few and revealed a helpless smile. The answers he wanted were a set of almost brand-new things; those who took existing ones and forced them to fit or made minor changes would all be eliminated. Very soon, a message spread through Dwarf taverns and blacksmith shops to every place with human habitation: The King of the Southlands, the generous Sinuoli, who is rumored to have broken through the boundaries of mortals, is recruiting talent from all order races, and the location is the Everpeak.

As soon as he landed, Sinuoli told Thorgrim his thoughts. Having been the High King for so long, he naturally knew the situation of the mountains. His son's ideas were indeed rebellious, but they seemed to be the best countermeasure.

"I need talent, but the mountains simply cannot provide it. I can only find a way through Humans. I am not lacking in salary and treatment, but how can I screen out the talent I need?"

Greenskins, Skaven, Beastmen, Chaos cults, and various raiders along the coast have a unique insight into which lords are incompetent; figures who "don't record horses in the cavalry office" cannot survive two winters.

Those who came to participate in the interview were relatively impractical; among the professions, bards and swindling half-charlatans made up the majority. There was no way around it; most of those whose abilities were obvious and easy to test did not need to run to the Everpeak to find a job.

"Hmm, interesting. Perhaps I can organize a selection exam. If I reimburse travel expenses, I don't have to worry about no one coming. If I find talent, that's naturally good; if I can't recruit any, showing off a few tricks to let them go back and spread the word for me is not a loss."

This news received a strong response, but there were not many who were both qualified and willing. The world today is not peaceful; any lord whose brain is not disconnected will find ways to gather talent for their own use. It is not much different from saying there are no worthy people left in the wilderness.

"The path to godhood must not be rushed; laying a solid foundation is the key. Keep in touch, and let each other know when there is progress."

In the clan's hall, Sinuoli welcomed them. After a brief speech, the Dwarf King pushed his hands horizontally, and a gust of wind extinguished the candles on the walls on both sides. Then, with a light tap, the wooden long table filled with food burst into dazzling golden light in the darkness.