I See Through You in a Glance

Arcane Missiles.

This is a channeled spell that shapes arcane energy into concentrated missiles, attacking the enemy continuously. As long as your intelligence is high enough and your spirit is sufficient, you can keep it going indefinitely.

Compared to Fireball, Arcane Missiles has slightly lower attack power, but it has the advantage of not requiring a long casting time, making it quite useful.

Of course, Arcane Missiles is much more difficult to master than Fireball. However, perhaps due to his decent intelligence and powerful spirit, Shawn found that he was learning Arcane Missiles much faster than expected.

He had the elven mage Celina Morningdew to thank for this.

At the very beginning, the female mage had taught Shawn and Merry the three spells: Fireball, Frostbolt, and Arcane Missiles. As for more advanced spells like Arcane Explosion, Flamestrike, and Blizzard, she hadn't taught them a single one.

Therefore, if Shawn wanted to learn more spells, he would have to find another way.

To get from Saldean Farm to Goldshire, one must first pass through the northernmost farm in Westfall—Jason Farm. Even by carriage, the journey from Saldean Farm to Jason Farm takes at least a day. This meant that Shawn, Old Saldean, and the others would have to spend the night outdoors.

Fortunately, they were able to take turns keeping watch, and the night passed peacefully. Early the next morning, Shawn and his party arrived at Jason Farm.

Old Saldean knew every farm owner in Westfall. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Shawn asked if there were any broken-down Harvest Golems available.

As luck would have it, Jason Farm happened to have three broken Harvest Golems.

After obtaining the three Golem Hearts, the quest was complete. And Shawn finally received the small building blueprint: "Golem Factory."

Golem Factory: Small building. Contains a complete golem production line capable of producing various small and medium-sized golems, including Harvest Golems. Aside from Harvest Golems, other golems require the consumption of specific garrison resources to research. Research time and cost depend on the complexity of the golem.

Construction materials required: 100 Wood, 100 Stone, 100 Iron.

Construction time: One day.

Just as he had imagined, it could produce Harvest Golems!

However, he couldn't build it yet. Otherwise, he could have produced a few Harvest Golems to keep by his side at all times, ensuring his safety.

Because Gryan Stoutmantle and his men hadn't arrived yet, Old Saldean and the others waited at Jason Farm. It wasn't until the afternoon that Gryan Stoutmantle finally made his late appearance.

"Haha, excellent, truly excellent!"

Gryan exclaimed "excellent" twice before greeting Old Saldean.

"What's so excellent?" Old Saldean asked with a smile, handing Gryan a bowl of water.

Gryan drank the water in one gulp, then said with a joyful expression: "The Kobolds and Murlocs have suffered heavy losses, and the Gold Coast is littered with their corpses! Hehe, this is a golden opportunity—a perfect chance to completely wipe out the Kobolds and Murlocs! But Old Saldean, I need the help of you farm owners. You know, my pockets are a bit tight, hehe."

Gryan rubbed his hands together.

Old Saldean and Jason exchanged a look, both seeing the other's intent, and nodded: "Rest assured, Commander Gryan. As long as we can completely wipe out the Kobolds and Murlocs, we will pay whatever amount is needed!"

The Kobolds frequently harassed the farms, and the Murlocs loved to block roads and rob travelers, causing massive headaches for the farm owners of Westfall. If they could remove these two great burdens, Old Saldean was willing to pay, provided the cost wasn't too exorbitant.

Hearing Old Saldean's agreement, Gryan held up five fingers and chuckled: "Five hundred gold coins! Five hundred gold coins from each of you! If all you farms pool your resources, that's five thousand gold coins. I'll go to Goldshire to buy armor and weapons, and when I return, I'll lead the troops to wipe out the Kobolds and Murlocs!"

Five thousand gold coins was definitely not a small sum. Even split among the various farm owners, it was enough to make their hearts ache.

Both Old Saldean and Jason hesitated.

At this moment, Gryan lowered his voice mysteriously: "Old Saldean, Jason, let me tell you something. Stormwind City is currently unable to control Westfall. Once we get rid of the Kobolds and Murlocs, the entire northern part of Westfall will be ours. By then, the gold in the Jangolode Mine will be ours! The treasures the Murlocs scavenged from shipwrecks on the Gold Coast will also be ours! I'm telling you, we'll split it 30/70—you get thirty, I get seventy..."

Old Saldean stared blankly for a full five seconds before he reacted, shouting angrily: "No way! At the very least... we get seventy, you get thirty!"

Gryan: "..."

Jason: "..."

Shawn: "..."

The others: "..."

After a marathon negotiation lasting two hours, Old Saldean and Jason were ultimately no match for the cunning Gryan, and the split was finalized: sixty percent for Gryan, and forty percent for Old Saldean and the other farm owners.

Shawn had once quietly asked Old Saldean why he agreed to such an unequal treaty, not only paying the money but also settling for such a small share.

Old Saldean then told him that if it weren't for Gryan and the People's Militia he had single-handedly built, all the farms would have been finished long ago. Moreover, Gryan wasn't keeping all that money for himself. The soldiers under his command lived in dire poverty, often going hungry, their armor and swords tattered and broken, some even fighting with their bare hands...

Because they needed to raise the funds, everyone was delayed at Jason Farm for another two days. Two days later, when the other farm owners arrived at Jason Farm and handed all the gold coins to Old Saldean, who was acting as their sole representative, the party finally set off.

In addition to Shawn and the five from Saldean Farm, there was a small squad of soldiers brought by Gryan, totaling about a dozen people. The journey was uneventful, and they soon arrived at Goldshire.

As soon as Gryan Stoutmantle arrived in Goldshire, he took his squad of soldiers to find Dughan, the town's magistrate; clearly, there was an urgent matter to discuss.

Old Saldean also began running around, seeking out familiar merchants to negotiate prices for the supplies.

Shawn rolled his eyes, then grabbed Rick, the level 4 Rogue.

"Hey, Shawn! What do you need from me?"

With his messy golden hair, tattered and dirty linen clothes, a mischievous grin, and sharp little eyes full of mercantile cunning, this man in his early thirties was the very same Rick who claimed to be "on good terms with a certain mage in Elwynn Forest."

This wanderer from Stormwind City had seen all kinds of people and possessed much more worldly wisdom than the average person. He hadn't been at Saldean Farm for more than a few days before he knew everyone there, and he seemed to have good relationships with them all. He was particularly impressed by Shawn, a boy who seemed quite different from the rest.

"Brother Rick, remember you said last time that you knew a great mage and even became a good friend of that mage?" Shawn leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and asked with a smile.

Rick's eyes brightened, and he gave Shawn a meaningful look before answering as if it were a casual remark: "That's right, I followed that mage for a full half-year! If I hadn't been unable to grasp the profound nature of magic, I might have become a mage myself! Why, Shawn, is there something you need?"

"So, you're saying you were a follower of a mage?"

Shawn sneered inwardly, thinking that with his Eye of Insight, he could see right through the man—did he really dare to put on an act in front of him?

Thinking this, Shawn chuckled: "Well, Brother Rick, you know, a kid my age always has some unrealistic dreams. I just want to meet a noble and great mage. I was wondering if Brother Rick could help introduce me?"