113: Chapter 113 Pattern Stone?

Wan'er, who was standing to the side, took the stone, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as her fingertips traced the natural patterns inch by inch.

She examined it over and over for a full half-minute, but in the end, she could only sigh in frustration and shake her head.

For a moment, they all stared at each other, as if everyone had become illiterate.

"How about... we ask the Strategist to take a look?" Wan'er suggested softly.

No sooner had the words left her lips than the wooden door was pushed open with a creak.

Strategist Zhu Ge was pushing the hubs of his wheelchair, slowly entering the Council Hall.

He had just prepared to report on the defense line planning, but as his gaze swept across the long table, his entire body suddenly froze in place as if struck by lightning.

"Clatter."

The feather fan that he always held in his hand, which he would wave with indifferent ease even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him, slipped from his fingers without warning and landed on the bluestone floor.

His eyes, usually calm and unruffled, widened to their limit in an instant.

"Rune... Rune Stone?!"

His voice trembled uncontrollably, even cracking slightly.

He practically lunged at the table, trembling as he reached out with both hands to cradle the stone as if it were a peerless treasure.

"This is the core of a Formation! It is a natural foundation for a Formation, gestated by Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi over countless years!"

Strategist Zhu Ge's fingertips traced the patterns on the stone, his whole body trembling with excitement, his breathing becoming extremely heavy.

"This item is extremely rare, something to be encountered by chance but never sought! This one... although it is only Black Iron Rank, the natural Formation patterns on it are perfectly preserved!"

He suddenly looked up at Zhou Yun, his voice filled with undisguised pleading: "City Lord! This item... may it be bestowed upon your subordinate?"

Zhou Yun watched his rare display of loss of composure and smiled gently: "Since it is useful to you, take it."

Just as Strategist Zhu Ge clutched the Rune Stone tightly in his palm, that crisp notification tone sounded in Zhou Yun's mind right on cue.

[Ding! You have successfully bestowed Rune Stone (Black Iron Rank) *1, triggering a 10,000x critical reward. You have received the reward: Rune Stone (Black Iron Rank) *10,000!]

Zhou Yun's hand, which was holding the teacup, paused slightly. He lowered his eyelids, blew on the floating tea leaves, and a subtle, imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Thank you, City Lord!" Strategist Zhu Ge clutched the stone tightly and explained excitedly: "Although your subordinate is a Silver Rank Wolong Formation Master, limited by the fact that this Rune Stone is only Black Iron Rank, I can only inscribe Black Iron Rank Formations.

But it is enough! I can inscribe a 'Sweet Dew Array'. As long as it is buried underground, it can not only keep the soil moist but also significantly accelerate crop growth!"

"Accelerate growth?! Keep it moist?!" Tieshan's eyes widened, overjoyed, "Doesn't that mean the newly reclaimed fields will be saved?!"

"So magical?!"

A roar like a thunderclap suddenly erupted at the entrance of the Council Hall.

Lei Lie, who had been leaning against the door outside listening in, suddenly lifted the door curtain and strode in.

His rough shout came without warning, rattling the teacup lid on the long table with a loud "clatter."

Minister Wang Fugui, who was just walking in from the side door carrying an account book, was so startled by this sudden roar that he shuddered, his teeth slamming hard against his tongue.

Minister Wang Fugui's tears welled up instantly from the pain. He covered his mouth and cursed incoherently, hopping around, "Lei Lie, are you wailing at a funeral?! You almost made me bite my tongue off!"

Lei Lie completely ignored the hopping Minister Wang Fugui.

He rushed to Strategist Zhu Ge in a hurry, grabbed the back handles of the wheelchair, and pushed him out without a word, his tower-like frame radiating a fanatical impatience:

"Let's go, let's go! Stop talking on paper here; a batch of Spirit Rice seeds was just planted outside the city, let's hurry to the fields and test it!"

Half an hour later, by a newly turned field on the outskirts of the new city, crowds of curious citizens had gathered, layer upon layer.

Strategist Zhu Ge sat in his wheelchair, his expression becoming extremely solemn.

His fingertips gathered a faint white light as he rapidly inscribed complex Formation patterns onto the Black Iron Rank Rune Stone.

As the final stroke was completed, the entire stone suddenly lit up with a soft green hue.

"Drop!"

Strategist Zhu Ge gave a low shout and threw the Rune Stone precisely into a shallow pit in the center of the field.

A miracle arrived in the next second.

With the Rune Stone as the center, a circle of visible green ripples rippled out along the ground.

The originally dry, hard, grayish-white frozen soil turned into a deep, dark brown the moment it touched the ripples, and a rich, moist, earthy scent carrying water vapor wafted over.

Immediately afterward, amidst the stunned gazes of everyone, an extremely dense "rustling" sound emerged from the quiet field.

It was the sound of hundreds upon hundreds of Silver Rank Spirit Rice seeds breaking their shells simultaneously!

Countless tender green sprouts pierced through the moist soil like sharp swords, shooting upward at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few breaths, the originally barren field was covered in a layer of vibrant green.

The whole scene fell silent!

Then, a roar that seemed to overturn the sky erupted.

"A miracle! This is a miracle!" Tieshan was so excited his face turned beet red. He grabbed the armrests of Strategist Zhu Ge's wheelchair and shook it wildly,

"Strategist! This is too amazing! Hurry up and set up a few more! Put this Sweet Dew Array on all the fields in our Flower City!"

Strategist Zhu Ge, who was being shaken until he was dizzy, smiled bitterly and pressed down on Tieshan's hands, a deep sense of regret welling up in his eyes.

He shook his head and sighed as he explained: "Minister Tieshan, you think of Formations too simply.

One Rune Stone can only bear one Formation.

Such a wonder gestated by Heaven and Earth is something to be encountered by chance but never sought. To be able to dig up one in this barren wasteland is already the heavens opening their eyes."

He looked longingly at the spot in the center of the field that was faintly emitting green light, his tone full of contentment and loneliness:

"With this thing, to have one to satisfy my craving and witness the power of the Formation, I am already content.

One cannot be too greedy."

Tieshan heard this and felt deeply helpless, "That's true, we only dug up this one piece at the bottom of the pit; underneath it is all hard rock, so there really is no more."

Strategist Zhu Ge sighed regretfully and was just about to withdraw the hand that still held the lingering warmth of inscribing the Formation.

Just then, a slender, powerful hand reached out from the side and placed two pitch-black stones into his palm.

"If you need them, I do have some."

Zhou Yun's gentle voice sounded above Strategist Zhu Ge's head.

Strategist Zhu Ge lowered his head, looking at the two Black Iron Rank Rune Stones in his palm, which had a warm, smooth texture and flowing Formation patterns on their surfaces.

His expression froze instantly.

Zhou Yun watched Strategist Zhu Ge's dazed appearance and thought he felt it was too few.

"Is it not enough?"

He asked softly, his tone still calm without any fluctuations.

Then, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a large handful, just like grabbing candy.

Looking at Strategist Zhu Ge, whose lap was piled full of Rune Stones and who had completely petrified in his wheelchair, he smiled gently, "If it's not enough, there is more."