Chapter 37

The兽人 warlord Ugru Ironclaw...

In Gao Dun's mind, a bloody scene emerged: a towering orc over three meters tall, with a terrifying iron claw on his left hand, capable of crushing a human warrior's chest along with his armor as easily as an egg, standing atop a hill. The crimson orc war flag fluttered in the wind, and at Ugru Ironclaw's feet lay countless human corpses—among them, Gao Dun's father. And he could do nothing, absolutely nothing, but flee the battlefield from a distance...

The previous owner of the body seemed to have deeply buried this memory, unwilling to recall it. Even with a different soul, when Gao Dun dug up this blood-red memory, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Little sister, Ugru Ironclaw's strength is not something we can currently contend with. We need to be patient."

"Autumn is ending, and winter is coming. Brother, we can wait, but those barbaric green-skinned creatures might not."

Gao Dun carefully examined Xie Ouna's delicate face; he had never seen her so serious before. Gao Dun had a new understanding of his sister.

Xie Ouna reached for the necklace around her neck, her fair hands playing with a gear-shaped pendant, her eyes filled with a nostalgic gaze that seemed to pierce through the pure white moon and return to the past: "This was a gift from Mom on my fifteenth birthday. It's called the Oryana Necklace, and it's said to have the ability to predict danger. Two years ago, if it weren't for the intuition it gave me, we might not have escaped the orc army's pursuit and would have died on the cold black soil with countless refugees. Recently, the once-dormant Oryana Necklace has become active again. I have a premonition that this winter will not be peaceful."

Gao Dun cast a detection spell on himself and then carefully examined the Oryana Necklace. However, he didn't detect any magical aura on it.

Many items enchanted with high-level divination spells indeed have some predictive abilities. However, it was clear that the Oryana Necklace did not fall into this category.

Perhaps Gao Dun's arcane knowledge and spell identification skills were insufficient to discern the necklace's secrets. Or perhaps the necklace was nothing special, and Xie Ouna's sense of impending danger was just her intuition.

Regardless, Xie Ouna had indeed pointed out a fact. Every winter, the orc tribes on the Barren Tundra would gather, forming a destructive flood that surged southward. They raided populations and resources, bringing destruction and slaughter, posing another major threat to Ferelden besides the Norsund Empire of the Black Dragon.

Decades ago, due to a long and bloody civil war, the pressure from the tundra orcs on the empire gradually diminished. This is why the Ferelden emperor decided to expand northward, granting the fertile black soil north of the Anduin Wall to the nobles, hoping that this fertile land would become an imperial granary like the Long Summer Plains.

The thriving northern development continued for many years. Many Ferelden people, like the Freeman family, regarded the land north of the Anduin Wall and south of the Iceflow River as newly opened imperial territory and their homeland.

However, good times didn't last long. The orc civil war ended. The Barren Tundra could no longer support the rapidly increasing orc population. Thus, several orc warlords united and, in the fourth month of the 935th year of the Fourth Era, launched an attack on the unprepared Ferelden during a howling north wind and heavy snow.

That winter's war was brutal and bloody. The news from the front lines for the Ferelden people was nothing but defeat. If it weren't for the Anduin Wall, even the Far Frost Province might have fallen.

There were many reasons for the Ferelden Empire's defeat that time. However, one widely acknowledged fact was that the technologically backward orcs could not breach the Anduin Wall. Thus, the Far Frost Province remained safe under the protection of the Wall, untouched by the ravages of war.

Could something different happen this winter?

The next morning, Gao Dun woke up to the sound of clear shouts outside the window. He walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and saw Xie Ouna practicing swordsmanship in the small garden, fully dressed in leather armor.

The two little girls, Irel and Yilian, stared at the ponytailed girl with eyes full of admiration. It was inevitable; a girl like Xie Ouna, beautiful and spirited, with an icy demeanor, was very popular among her peers.

"These two little girls are getting more and more out of hand. They even forgot to serve me breakfast just to watch Xie Ouna practice. I should punish them to show my authority."

At the thought of punishment, Gao Dun couldn't help but imagine pressing the two little girls onto his lap and administering "Gao Dun's Punishing Slaps" to their tender, white, yet elastic little bottoms. The little girls would struggle with blushing faces, moaning from the strange sensation...

Well, that's too much imagination.

Warmth leads to lust. After overcoming the initial difficulties and living a rich and comfortable life, as a normal man, Gao Dun's needs in a certain area began to grow.

Before his transmigration, he had just hooked up with a beautiful female ranger in "The Elder Era" who he often gamed with. After meeting in real life, they quickly fell into a life of frequent intimacy.

It had been nearly a month since he arrived in the Telos world. For a man who had tasted the pleasures of the flesh, he was approaching his limit.

"Irel and Yilian are still too young. Consuming them now would cause too much damage to their bodies and could lead to gynecological problems. Should I follow Dorn's example and go to the Amber Mask?"

Gao Dun thought about it but decided not to consider this issue. He noticed that while Xie Ouna was practicing swordsmanship, she held the family heirloom sword "Dragon's Voice" in one hand and a wooden practice sword in the other.

"Did she lose or damage her other sword during an adventure? It's a good idea to visit Dwarven Ironriver's workshop today and take Xie Ouna along."

Gao Dun gained a lot from the duel. Besides the fifteen white gold coins paid by Ogru, the dimensional bag given by Hao Lin contained many items, including four spellbooks, one of which recorded four fifth-level spells!

Spells from zero to fourth level were like basic martial arts in the wuxia world, available for purchase with money. However, fifth-level and higher spells were like the Seven Injuries Fist or the Beggar's Staff, core martial arts that each sect and master must keep secret and not easily teach.

Learning fifth-level and higher spells was extremely difficult. Either you were a second-generation mage like Dorn, with a family rich in magical resources, or you joined an arcane organization like Candlekeep or the Nine Towers, contributing to the organization to earn the opportunity to learn advanced spells, or you had exceptional talent and were chosen by a powerful mage as a student.

Many mages who abandoned comfortable and safe lives to join adventuring parties often did so with the hope of finding ancient magical knowledge in ruins, willing to endure the dangers and hardships of the adventurer's life.

Of course, if you had a protagonist's aura, you might find a ring on the road, inside which lived a great archmage from the Netherese era, who wouldn't take over your body with magic but would cry and beg to teach you spells.

The four spellbooks obtained from Hao Lin were very helpful to Gao Dun, a self-taught mage without a teacher or organization.

In addition, Hao Lin's dimensional bag contained many magic scrolls and alchemical materials, including a fist-sized piece of mithril and four ingots of adamantium.

With such rich materials, Gao Dun decided to make a magical item for himself. For offensive purposes, he had a strong acid magic wand, which was sufficient for now. What he needed was something to protect his life.

Drawing on the rich magical knowledge from "The Elder Era" and his own conditions, Gao Dun decided to make an animated shield.

An animated shield has a certain level of intelligence and, once released, circles around the user, helping to block various attacks. For a mage who needs precise and complex gestures during casting and cannot hold a shield, an animated shield is a very practical defensive item.

Legendary mages could use dragon scales to make animated shields, but Gao Dun didn't have that luxury. However, using mithril and adamantium was still a good choice.

The processing difficulty of mithril and adamantium was extremely high, and in the entire Azurewater City, only Dwarven Ironriver's workshop had the capability.

Dwarven Ironriver's blacksmith shop did not serve any particular noble or mass-produce military equipment. It was not large in scale, but in terms of reputation, there was no other blacksmith in the entire Far Frost Province or even the entire north that could match Dwarven Ironriver.

After breakfast, Gao Dun told Xie Ouna his plan. The girl was so excited that she almost stabbed herself with her fork.

"Hey?! Master Ironriver? The Dwarven Ironriver whose ancestors were chosen by Moradin and who has crafted countless fine weapons and armor?"

"Is that strange?"

"Of course. I admit we have money now, but Master Ironriver is not an ordinary blacksmith who will easily start the furnace for money. He has a peculiar temper and does not accept cash payments. Many nobles, including the mayor of Azurewater City, have been turned away by Master Ironriver. What makes you think he will forge equipment for you?"

"That, you don't need to worry about." Gao Dun kept it a secret, "After Dwarven Ironriver forges the sword, I will personally enchant it, making it a treasure sword no less than Dragon's Voice. This Harvest Festival gift will definitely satisfy you."

Since her brother was so confident, what could Xie Ouna say?

"Sir and Miss, please stop. Do you have an invitation plate?" At the entrance of Dwarven Ironriver's blacksmith shop, Gao Dun was stopped by a dwarf guard.

A blacksmith shop that should welcome all guests had a dedicated guard at the entrance, which was quite unusual. If other blacksmiths did business like this, they would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Fortunately, Gao Dun was prepared and took out an invitation plate. The guard glanced at it and let the siblings in.

Thank the wealthy young master and second-generation mage Dorn Lannister. Without his help, Gao Dun wouldn't have obtained this invitation plate.

The Far Frost Province produced wood, and most buildings in Azurewater City were wooden. However, Dwarven Ironriver's blacksmith shop was entirely built of massive stones, with a rugged and majestic appearance typical of dwarven style.

When they entered the main hall, Gao Dun saw a beautiful girl with green short hair waving and smiling at him—well, almost self-indulgent, but she was probably waving at Xie Ouna.

"Shelley, what are you doing here?" Xie Ouna asked happily.