The market could not automatically regulate the distribution of resources; all lacking materials had to be supplemented through City Hall.
This was the reason why Dawn City still fell far short of being called prosperous.
Everything in Dawn City was built under Li De's control. Without his constant infusion of resources, the city's own vitality was not yet sufficient to sustain its development.
And Li De's goal was to develop Dawn City into a metropolis rivaling, or even surpassing, Green City.
A city ruled entirely by vampires, where he would be the sole sovereign.
Li De rose and walked to the open window. His pitch-black eyes gazed out over the city through the glass pane, unwavering determination and confidence burning within them.
His fighting spirit surged.
He looked forward to that day's arrival, and he would strive with all his might to bring it about.
---
When the dwarves received the order from Li De, to forge 800 sets of Rare ★ grade armor within three days, they were immediately mobilized.
Dwarves were different from goblins. These short-statured people who had lived in Dawn City for several months had already integrated into the city.
Their initial resistance had long faded.
Now, this city had truly become the home of the Brutehammer clan. Though many dwarves still missed the Dwarf King they had left behind, those sentiments were gradually fading under the influence of Dawn City.
Given time, the Brutehammer clan would become fully absorbed into the glory of Dawn City, and the dwarves would come to bear a new title, Dwarves of Dawn City.
As night began to fall, Li De arrived at the blacksmith district.
Feeling the scorching air filling the entire area around the smithy, Li De raised his brows slightly.
Though he liked fire-type spells, his vampire body still found such 'high-temperature' environments uncomfortable, even with winter approaching.
A love of cold and shadow was the natural instinct of vampires.
"Good day, City Lord Kachar."
The dwarf forging Grandmaster Valen, upon hearing of Li De's arrival, rushed over wearing only a thin short-sleeved shirt despite the intense heat, panting heavily.
The massive warhammer in his hand radiated waves of heat.
Li De looked at the dwarf who was barely 1.5 blades tall but had a body built like a brute beast, and gave a slight nod.
"Thank you for your hard work, Valen. Eight hundred pieces of rare grade equipment, can they be forged in three days?"
Common, Rare, Uncommon, Perfect, Transcendent, among these equipment grades, Rare grade was typically the ultimate gear for most people.
Adventurers and mercenaries among humans generally couldn't afford Perfect grade gear.
And yet Li De was handing out Rare grade gear from the start, no wonder the centaurs were so excited.
But higher grade also meant greater difficulty in production. Though Li De had confidence in these natural-born master smiths, the task was still tight on time and heavy on workload.
Valen pounded his chest, his twin-braided beard shaking as he responded heartily.
"No problem at all! We might not even need three days, two should be enough!"
Looking at the confident Valen, Li De grew curious. "Rare grade gear may not be extremely difficult, but crafting 800 pieces still isn't easy, is it?"
The higher the equipment's grade, the more difficult it was to craft, this was common knowledge.
Back when he had armor made for Kosso and Castro, the smithy had used all its strength and still needed several days.
Valen broke into a radiant smile. The old dwarf, over 300 years old, looked so pleased he could barely close his mouth.
He gestured at the long-handled black warhammer in his hand, slightly smaller than a human head and gleaming with metallic luster.
"City Lord Kachar, it's true it won't be easy. But now, we have this!!"
Li De blinked, instinctively checking the hammer's attributes.
Valen's Brutehammer
Grade: Perfect ★★★
Traits:
Collision: (Strength increased by 100%, enhances impact force by 100%, helps more quickly purge impurities from steel during forging)
Heavy Strike: (Strength increased by 100%, unleashes greater power when striking at full force, improves steel toughness during forging)
Master Craftsman: (Weapon forging success rate increased by 50%, forging speed increased by 30%, 20% chance to add an additional trait to the weapon, 10% chance to raise weapon grade)
Description: A warhammer forged by a dwarven forging grandmaster using mithril and a large quantity of rare materials. It possesses the power to turn the rotten into the miraculous.
Damn, this hammer's stats are insane!
This was practically the divine artifact every blacksmith dreamed of.
Even Li De couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Seeing the awe in Li De's eyes, Valen excitedly swung the long-handled warhammer, suitable for both battle and smithing.
"City Lord Kachar, I applied at City Hall for 10 pounds of mithril and used it to forge new tools for the smithy, mithril-infused hammers!
Praise the God of Forging, and praise you!
My warhammer was also reforged with mithril. Now, it's even more suited for weapon crafting."
Li De felt a flicker of satisfaction upon hearing that. He had gone to such lengths to seize the mithril vein precisely to reinvest it into Dawn City.
No matter how precious mithril was, it would be worthless if left unused. Now that Valen had amplified its value, Li De had to admit it aligned perfectly with his intentions.
"Very good. The centaur armor design has already been provided to you, just forge according to the standard.
Also, that set of Perfect grade armor is to be crafted by you personally. It's a gift for the Patriarch of the centaur tribe.
The centaur tribe is very important to Dawn City."
Hearing Li De give such instructions, Valen's expression turned solemn as he responded with rare seriousness.
"Yes, City Lord, I will forge the armor most suitable for the centaurs."
Li De nodded in satisfaction. He had always trusted in the craftsmanship of the dwarves.
The centaur tribe was his experiment, as well as a direct window through which Dawn City faced the outside world, there could be no room for failure.