Establishing a Rune Workshop

While he was still in the groove, Lincon simply put all the ideas he had been mulling over into action.

Although there were only three types of Runes, they could be applied in countless ways.

Of the three categories—purification, enhancement, and infusion—the first two saw the most use.

For special reasons, Infusion Runes required certain special energy crystals, and Lincon currently only had one kind: Dark Crystal.

So ever since he had made the Dark Shrine, Lincon had rarely used Infusion Runes.

But now, he decided to take this opportunity to put some of his earlier ideas into practice.

First, Lincon began trying to make Purifying Candles.

Since he had already successfully created Purifying Fire, he made the Purifying Candles very quickly.

The instant a Purifying Candle was lit, what appeared before Lincon was not a golden-yellow flame, but a wisp of pure white.

The white flame felt peaceful and gentle, as though merely lighting it nearby could inexplicably calm a person down.

Purifying Candles could effectively dispel darkness and keep dark creatures from approaching. The Purifying Fire produced after lighting them could even harm dark creatures to a certain extent.

Moreover, making Purifying Candles consumed very little mental energy, barely one-tenth of what a Purification Shrine required.

But this also exposed one flaw of the Purifying Candle: it was less stable than the Purification Shrine and could not last for long.

If it encountered a relatively powerful dark creature, the candle's flame would burn faster.

Using the Pale Wraith in the dense forest as a reference, if someone waved a Purifying Candle around in front of it, the candle would probably burn out within seconds.

This was something Lincon had planned to make long ago, so it did not take much effort.

Afterward, his gaze fell upon the Dark Crystal at his side.

The Dark Shrine had left an extraordinarily deep impression on him back then, having directly attracted a D-rank Weird Calamity.

So Lincon named the second kind of candle he intended to make a Weird Candle.

The effect of a lit Weird Candle was the exact opposite of a Purifying Candle. Rather than dispersing darkness, it attracted it.

When Lincon used an Infusion Rune to attach crystal powder containing a small portion of the Dark Crystal's power to the candle, the originally snow-white candle visibly darkened at a rapid pace. The flame it produced after being lit was an eerie green.

The originally snow-white candle visibly darkened at a rapid pace. The flame it produced after being lit was an eerie green.

Weird Candles drew dark creatures over, making them a controllable means of escape.

One candle was white and the other black, like opposite sides of the same coin. They were easy to distinguish.

After making a batch of candles, Lincon called Zhang Rui over and handed him the Purifying Candles, Weird Candles, and several Rune Stones.

"My lord, these are...?"

Zhang Rui took the items before him, somewhat baffled.

Lincon looked into Zhang Rui's eyes and clearly explained the rough uses and effects of the items before reminding him,

"Do not use the Weird Candles lightly unless you have no other choice. They are like a double-edged sword. They can attract dark creatures, but they will also put you in greater danger."

Holding the items in both hands, Zhang Rui felt his heart pounding wildly. It had not beaten this fast even when the people of Black Iron City had nearly killed him.

What Lincon had given him now was nothing less than extraordinary power that allowed an ordinary person to survive in the darkness.

If he had possessed these things when he had been a messenger, he would never have had to worry about making it through the darkness.

Lincon said flatly, "The number of these items we can currently produce is limited, so I am leaving their distribution to you. Give them to those who need to go out on missions, or issue them as rewards."

Zhang Rui took a deep breath, his eyes widening unconsciously. From what the city lord said, could these things actually continue to be produced?

No, City Lord, aren't you a plant-type ability user? How can you make things like these too?!

In his eyes, Lincon, as an ability user, might not fully understand what these things meant to ordinary people.

It was like giving an ordinary person a gun for self-defense in an apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Its significance was no less than gaining another life.

"My lord, I will handle these things properly. I will never disappoint you!" Zhang Rui promised.

"Mm, I have always trusted you." Lincon patted his shoulder, his tone softening.

The panel could monitor changes in his subjects' loyalty in real time, so Lincon was not worried that anyone would dare rebel under his watch.

In fact, after he had saved Zhang Rui today, Zhang Rui's loyalty had already broken through 90, reaching the level of absolute loyalty.

"Oh, right. I have a plan to establish a Rune Workshop inside the fortress. I want you to select some clever people and have them help me experiment with ways to use Runes."

Lincon had thought it over. Rather than racking his own brain over the expansion and application of the three Basic Runes, he might as well find more people to help him.

He was not some expert who specialized in mathematics. Although solving difficult problems felt great, if someone could share the burden for him, why make things hard on himself?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rui instinctively lowered his head to glance at the Rune Stones in his arms and quickly connected the two.

He did not ask further questions. Instead, he focused on his duties and promised Lincon that he would select some suitable people from among the fortress's subjects.

After thinking for a moment, Lincon continued, "Besides that, select some talented people in production, intelligence, and other fields as well. Bring them over for me to take a look when the time comes."

Zhang Rui's eyes lit up. In truth, he had already considered this before coming here, but he had not expected Lincon to bring it up first.

Now that the problems of food and water had been resolved, maintaining the operation of such a massive fortress still required many more things.

The two threats of Black Iron City and Flint City were close at hand. If they did not want to be swallowed up by them, they needed to prepare as soon as possible.

Thus, Zhang Rui suggested, "My lord, Li Zhouhai mentioned to me before that, aside from their group of people who narrowly escaped death, many people from Shangmai City are still living in exile. Among them are several surviving D-rank ability users.

"Back then, they each fled with some people. I think we can have Li Zhouhai bring them back and absorb them into the fortress.

"At the same time, we can spread word of Longwind Fortress and let those stranded in the darkness with nowhere to go join us."

Lincon raised a brow. "Besides the cities controlled by ability users, are there still people surviving in the darkness?"

The moment he said it, Lincon found it inexplicably laughable.

That was right. Even he had been able to guard the fortress alone for three years. It was hardly strange that others still remained in the darkness.

Yet Zhang Rui did not find anything odd about it and said solemnly, "During my time as a messenger, I actually encountered quite a few people living in the darkness.

"Some were ability users forced into exile after offending those in power within the cities. Others were old residents who would rather survive in the wilderness than pay exorbitant protection taxes.

"On the surface, the Jiangzhou region is centered around the three major cities of Black Iron, Flint, and Xinhe. But in reality, some villages still remain amid the surrounding city ruins, along with people barely clinging to life among those ruins..."

As he listened to Zhang Rui describe the current state of the Jiangzhou region, Lincon frowned slightly.

Having not left the fortress for three years, he was severely cut off from information. Only now did he realize that reality might be far more complicated than he had imagined.