"Contract?" Sigmonds asked. For some reason, he felt his voice tremble.
"I want to rebuild the Doomsday Watchers, so the Mason Order as the logistics department naturally has to be rebuilt. I'll give you a month. If you can lead these people to completely excavate the Twilight Fortress in a month, it will prove your value. When the time comes, I'll personally confer you the title of mason-in-waiting."
Rebuilding the Doomsday Watchers?
Who in the entire Vic Continent had the right to say this?
Sigmonds didn't dare think too deeply, but a certain possibility made him tremble.
Although he didn't know what kind of organization the Mason Order was, nor did he know what title 'mason-in-waiting' was, he knew that crossing this portal today was probably the greatest choice in his life.
But was there a need to choose?
He strode through the portal.
The moment he crossed over, Sigmonds felt a slight prickling sensation that made his hair stand on end, but it was fleeting. Then, unlike the turbid and dull environment under the mine, a gust of fresh air assaulted his face.
He found himself at a mountain pass. The dilapidated and majestic fortress stood not far away.
He turned around and waved at the crowd on the other side of the portal, indicating that he was fine. When the other miners saw this, they also walked through.
However, the Presiding Judge stood on the other end and didn't budge. After a while, when everyone walked over, he raised the magic medium in his hand, and deep darkness passed through the portal and landed in the empty space in front of the crowd.
Three pitch-black nexuses appeared in the open space, and three tall knights rose from the nexuses. They were wrapped in heavy armor. One held a huge sword, one held a halberd, and the other held a huge ax. They stood still like statues and emitted a faint red light under their visors.
Terror erupted from the crowd when they saw the three knights who suddenly appeared.
Legendary summoning spell, Netherworld Knight.
"There's no need to be afraid!" the Presiding Judge said.
"They are my servants. They will be your guards for the foreseeable future. If you encounter enemies, they will risk their lives to protect you."
The Presiding Judge's voice sounded through the portal. Then, he threw something at Sigmonds.
Sigmonds caught it. It was a bundle packed to the brim.
"Paranor—Elven compressed food; one slice can last you three days. This is probably enough for all of you to eat for a week. I will subsequently open a special portal to transport supplies to you."
Sigmonds opened the package, revealing several exquisite boxes of food.
He had heard of Paranor. It was a high-end luxury item for the Forest Elves of Emerald Province. It was even included in the tributes to the royal family every year. It was said that its flavor and taste would change according to the consumer's mood on the day.
This was truly noble food. Even a small piece of Paranor could be sold for dozens of gold riel in the Thorn City black market.
If these boxes of Paranor were real, the value of these things was enough to hire them for ten years.
Sigmonds weighed the box in his hand and only had one thought.
He had made the right choice.
"If there's anything else you need, bring it up now."
The Presiding Judge on the other end of the portal said.
…
After William closed the Teleportation door, he turned around and looked at the remaining miners.
"It's not too late if you want to join."
In fact, if he only wanted to excavate ruins, there was no need for him to hire these miners.
He only needed to spend more effort and time summoning various Elemental Souls to complete all of this.
More efficient, fewer resources invested, and safer.
However, he couldn't always do everything alone.
Before coming to the Silverstream Mine, he had experienced three days of life in Thorn City.
What he had seen in Thorn City over the past three days forced him to admit that he wouldn't be able to use his William Kane identity for a long time.
He had actually vaguely sensed this after learning that he had transmigrated a thousand years to the future, but he subconsciously refused to admit it.
As the Doomsday Watchers' leader, the Presiding Judge of the 13 Judges, the commander-in-chief of the Salvation Coalition, the Moon Realm's Calamity, the Sealer of the Seven Calamities, the Magic Revolutionary, the Holy Spirit Guardian, the honorary lord of the seven secular kingdoms… I actually have to carry things out while concealing my identity?
It had to be known that back then, the emperor of the Kos Empire had to lower his head and bow in respect when he saw him. Even the Void Sovereign's incarnation called him the greatest obstacle to conquering the Vic Continent.
It was precisely because of this mentality that he didn't think for long before announcing his name when Liliana asked for his name.
Now that he thought about it, he had indeed been too hasty back then.
He had only received a one-sided story from Liliana. It wasn't until he strolled around Thorn City for three days that he truly felt the weight of the name 'William Kane.'
From the scriptures preached by the Priests in the Holy Spirits Church and the religious paintings on the stained glass of the churches to the witnesses to the blessings on the doors, and the words the commoners used when they swore, he would hear or see his name almost every few steps he took in Thorn City.
It was also because of this that when this name became a symbol, a custom, or even a belief, it had nothing to do with William Kane himself.
As long as someone acted under his name, they would reinterpret the meaning of his name again according to their understanding.
In the past thousand years, there had never been a lack of people committing deeds under his name: the founding emperor who claimed to be his reincarnation; countless failed rebels who claimed to be his reincarnation; the various sects of the Holy Spirits Church who had never stopped arguing after his name was promoted to Holy Spirit; the bards who continued to embellish they multi-hand legends; and the countless living beings who grew up listening to those legends and treated him as a form of sustenance.
The name William Kane could represent everything now, but it couldn't represent him.
Similarly, he couldn't regain his former identity and authority through this name.
Even though the Church was promoting its teachings in his name, and even the Empire's royal family had to claim that they had his bloodline to reflect the legitimacy of their rule,
But that had nothing to do with him.
If the royal family and the Church really knew that he had returned, the first thing they would do wouldn't be to offer him the crown and scepter, but to kill him at all costs.
What they wanted was the name itself, not a living person.
William believed that he was very strong, but it wasn't enough to rely on pure strength to regain his original identity.
There were ultimately limits to one's strength.
He needed new followers. He needed a faction to support him. He needed to rebuild the Doomsday Watchers from scratch.
Taking in the dozens of miners and taking over the entire Silverstream Mine, controlling the entire Elementium Silver industry, and even the entire Thorn City was only the first step in his plan.