Magic Rune Stone Bricks

"Shield Bash!" Facing the charging Orcs, even though the Lagrange City guards looked down on them, they still gave them the highest level of "treatment."

"Buzz~" Battle Qi quickly spread across the broad shield, forming a Battle Qi shield several times larger than the shield itself within the halo.

"Bang~ Bang~" A series of thuds echoed as the city guards raised their large shields, took half a step back, and then slammed them forward again.

After a series of ear-grinding bone-cracking sounds, any Orc struck by the glowing shield collapsed twitching on the ground. Those who were not killed were pinned to the ground by the steel spears of the guards who rushed to catch up. After the blow, the Battle Qi on the shields dissipated, and they returned to being ordinary shields.

"Why are there more and more Orcs the more we fight..." The Lagrange City guards were dumbfounded. It felt like they had stirred up a hornet's nest. They were helpless against the Orcs who kept employing a tactic of gradually reinforcing their numbers.

"The civilians should be safe now, it's time for us to retreat."

"We need to find a way to shake them off. Flowing City is just ahead, we can't lead the Orcs there."

"Our Battle Qi is being depleted rapidly, we need to disengage and rest soon."

The group spoke their minds during a lull in the Orc attack.

"Awooo..." A wolf howl made everyone's expressions turn grim instantly.

"Warg Riders!" Everyone's pupils constricted.

"Scrape~" Accompanied by the sound of clanking armor, the Lagrange City guards quickly formed a three-layered circular formation. The outermost soldiers held steel spears and shields, the middle layer held javelins, and the innermost layer raised their hand crossbows.

"Awooo~" Dozens of Wargs, along with their riders, charged forward. The surrounding Lagrange City guards breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they weren't Wolf Knights. The difference between a Wolf Knight and a Warg Rider, though just one word, was immense in terms of strength. A single Wolf Knight could easily kill more than ten ordinary Warg Riders.

"Don't worry, hold the formation steady, they won't charge!" The Lagrange City guards reminded each other. Warg Riders without a charge skill were helpless against the Lagrange City guards who had already formed a defensive circle. Facing the bristling guards, they could only roar from a distance. Having already achieved a higher status among the Orcs, they were nothing like the mindless common Orcs. Seeing no advantage to be gained, they let out a burst of impotent rage before disappearing into the wilderness with the other Orcs...

"Hi! Lord Ladyl." Roland actively approached Ladyl. He had come to request Ladyl to reinforce the defenses of Flowing City.

"Your Highness, what is it?" Ladyl lay on an old wooden chair, basking in the winter sun with a cheerful smile.

"I need you to manufacture Magic Rune Stone Bricks to strengthen the city defenses!" Roland stated his purpose.

"Hmm... I see. But what are the specifications for the city walls you need?" Ladyl sat up and became serious, needing to know the exact requirements of the task.

"Based on the current city walls, build a wall that is 5 meters high and 5 meters wide." Roland pondered for a moment and decided to lay the foundation for a future 10-meter-high wall.

"Then how long will it take to complete?"

"This winter." Roland thought for a moment.

"Dragon God above! Are you trying to work this old man to death?" Ladyl's eyes widened. He hadn't expected his king, with his honest face, to be such a ruthless capitalist.

"Your Highness, have you considered how much magic power it would take for me to condense the Magic Rune Stone Bricks, then stack them, and then cast the reinforcement spell again? Moreover, I am just a humble War Mage, and my total magic power is not that vast! There is no Holy Spring, no Moon Well, or Sun Well here. I can only recover my magic power through meditation..." Ladyl rambled on, summarizing it in two words: "Dream on!"

"Uh..." Roland awkwardly touched his nose.

"Lord Ladyl, here's my idea: you just need to manufacture the Magic Rune Stone Bricks. I won't trouble you with the heavy labor of stacking the walls with magic. I'll have the Knights do that. You just need to reinforce it in the end." Roland quickly offered a compromise.

"Calculating it this way, I would need to manufacture Magic Rune Stone Bricks for 45 meters of wall per day... Alright, this old man will give it his all." Ladyl pondered for a moment before finally agreeing to Roland's plan.

"Oh! Right! A small group of stray Lagrange City guards has come to defect to you, Your Highness. They should be arriving soon." As Roland received a satisfactory answer and was about to leave, Ladyl quickly informed him of the news. In his view, the glory of Lagrange shone upon this last lord, and countless people were guided by the Dragon God to his side.

"Hmm, I understand. I'll send someone to meet them." Roland immediately understood that old Master Ladyl must have sensed the approaching Lagrange City guards.

"Your Highness!" The Lagrange City guards who had just arrived at the city saw Roland standing on the dilapidated city wall, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, posing ostentatiously.

"Rise! Welcome back to the embrace of Lagrange's glory..." Roland extended his hand, signaling them to dispense with formalities, and began his smooth-talking persuasion. As expected, under Roland's inspiration, the group of Lagrange City guards, who had not yet experienced the wickedness of human hearts, were almost ready to swear an oath to die for King Roland.

This scene was witnessed by Ivy, who happened to be passing by. The little girl's eyes twitched, and she suddenly felt that her lord definitely had the potential to become a High Priest (a great con artist).

"Look, here come the ready-made bricklayers?" Roland's inner voice, like that of a foreman, echoed in his mind.

"What?" Hearing Roland's arrangements, the Lagrange City guards' minds went blank... What kind of lord was this? To actually order them, the Imperial City Guards, to do such menial labor... Then they saw the Knights, clad in standard Imperial Knight armor, dismounting one after another...

"..." The Lagrange City guards looked at each other speechlessly, silently removed their infantry armor, and joined the brick-moving family.

"Huff, huff, huff~" Old Master Ladyl sat down, leaning against the wall, panting. His magic power was clearly depleted. A small mountain of Magic Rune Stone Bricks had already piled up in front of him.

"That's all of it, load them up." Ladyl pointed to the pile of inscribed bricks. These bricks were engraved with the magic of "fortification." Compared to bricks made of ordinary stone, buildings constructed with these bricks would be more robust. Roland had seen the city walls of Lagrange, which were engraved with at least 10 types of magic and could even reflect magical attacks. The Magic Rune Stone Bricks that Ladyl was currently manufacturing were only the most basic ones. However, considering that this was the era of the Lonely Mountain War, the demand for advanced city walls was not particularly high. If placed during the Ring System War, such city walls would be somewhat unimpressive.

Since there were no large carts for transportation, the Knights were fortunate enough to tie the bricks with ropes and hang them on their horses. The Lagrange City guards, lacking warhorses, had to carry the bricks themselves with great difficulty. In an instant, nearly two hundred people were constantly moving up and down a less than 50-meter-long wall, building it with great fervor. Ladyl, meanwhile, closed his eyes and began to meditate, arcane magic slowly emerging from him...

"Life is finally getting on track..." Roland smiled with relief, watching everyone busy at work.

Second update, requesting recommendation votes and investment from all book friends.