Cement production quickly got on track. To ensure Anna had ample rest, the kilns were fired only every two to three days. When not firing, they prepared as many raw materials as possible, for which Roland issued another recruitment order, doubling the number of rubble workers.

However, he knew he couldn't rely on Anna for these tasks forever. Prolonged work in dusty environments could lead to silicosis, and with future production scaling up, one Anna wouldn't be nearly enough to meet the demand.

Witches shouldn't be treated as expendable resources, but as engines driving civilization forward. Although Roland understood this perfectly well, he currently had to focus all his energy on building the city walls. If they couldn't stop the demonic beasts, nothing else mattered.

The foundation for the city wall connecting North Slope Mountain and the Redwater River had already begun excavation. Following the practice from before his transmigration, he, as the project's chief supervisor, personally dug the first shovel of earth in front of a crowd of onlookers with astonished expressions.

He originally thought that after solving the cement problem, building a city wall would be a piece of cake, but he realized that he knew nothing about engineering. How deep and wide should the foundation be dug? How to deal with uneven terrain? How to ensure a straight line for over six hundred meters? He had seen young men using instruments and rulers to peer around when the municipality repaired roads, apparently called theodolites and levels, but there was nothing like that here!

As a mechanical drawing dog, Roland, although known as a engineering dog alongside the civil engineering brick-moving dogs, had learned vastly different things. And none of the hired mud artisans had ever participated in large-scale construction, making them even worse off than himself. As a result, the city wall construction progressed extremely slowly, with only half a shallow trench dug out in a week.

Once a project loses control, it's hard to say what the final product will look like. For example, this shallow trench that was dug with great difficulty was more like a drainage ditch than a city wall foundation. Although Roland had indicated a rough width during the excavation, the width gradually went out of shape and became narrower. Standing in the distance and looking at it, it looked like a twisting little snake.

Even so, Roland was unwilling to stop work. With the spirit of digging as much as possible, he would stay at the foot of North Slope Mountain all day, adjusting the extension direction of the foundation pit with his naked eyes and slowly advancing it, as long as the kilns were not firing. At the same time, he doubled the wages of stonemasons on the recruitment order.

Fortunately, this awkward situation didn't last long. When Roland was directing the preparation for firing the sixth batch of cement in the kilns, Minister Assistant Barov reported that a stonemason had responded to the recruitment, claiming to have been with the Graycastle Stonemasons' Association, and had been brought to the courtyard to await an audience.

He recalled it slightly and was overjoyed. The Graycastle Stonemasons' Association was a famous organization in his memory, and even the Fourth Prince had heard of their name. Although it seemed they were ordered to disband because of a construction accident, how could this industry be without accidents?

"Bring him in," Roland said with a calm expression, nodding. He originally wanted to ask Anna to avoid him, but then he thought better of it. There were over two thousand people in Border Town, and not many had seen a witch's true face. Moreover, Anna's appearance was now completely different from when she was seeking death, and with her strange clothing, it was estimated that even those who had seen her wouldn't recognize her.

Karl Vanbert was uneasy when he was brought into the courtyard by the knight. He planned to first tell His Highness that this season was not suitable for large-scale projects, and then slowly change his perception of witches after gaining His Highness's trust. But what if His Highness was known for acting recklessly, and dissuasion had the opposite effect?

He bowed in a mess, and when he looked up, he was stunned—the girl beside His Highness looked so familiar that he had the illusion that he was dreaming. Karl rubbed his eyes and looked again, involuntarily exclaiming, "...Anna!"

"Crap," Roland thought, "this is too coincidental. How could I recruit a witch's neighbor by randomly recruiting a craftsman?" It was obvious that the other party was familiar enough with Anna, otherwise, it would be impossible to recognize her at a glance. He turned to Carter Lannis, and the Chief Knight understood and immediately latched the door, blocking the only exit.

"Te...Teacher?"

Anna's reaction caught Roland off guard. What, teacher?

"It's really you, Anna, I...I..." Karl felt his eyes heat up, and then something flowed down. He collapsed to the ground weakly, repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry...It's great, it's...great..."

After a long while, Karl Vanbert calmed down. He slowly stood up and bowed to Roland again, "I'm very sorry, Your Highness, I lost my composure."

"What's going on? Aren't you a stonemason?"

"I used to be," Karl replied smoothly after letting go of his burden. His Highness did not kill Anna, the one who was hanged at the execution ground was a substitute—after realizing this, he already knew what to do. Although he didn't know why the other party would save a witch, in any case, even if His Highness wanted to take her into his palace, it was better than sending her to the gallows. This at least showed that Prince Roland was not afraid of the rumor that witches were incarnations of devils.

He recounted his experience from drifting from Graycastle to Border Town, including opening a school here and discovering that his student Nana Weaver Pine had also become a witch. Finally, he begged His Highness to hide Nana in the palace as well, to avoid being pohài after exposure.

Standing aside, Anna looked like she wanted to plead for Nana, but she didn't say a word.

Another new witch, this is really great news, but the surname Pine seems familiar. Roland summoned the Minister Assistant and asked in a low voice, only to learn that it was the surname of a small noble family in Border Town.

"You can bring her to see me. If she is really a witch, I guarantee she will not be harmed," Roland promised, "But I cannot take her away from the Pine family, especially before she has been subjected to substantial threats from her family. Besides, I didn't save Anna in the way you think..." He considered it and decided that it was better to explain it clearly, "I need her help. Rather than nonsense like demonic evil power, I believe more that the power of witches is neither good nor evil, and can be controlled. So whether it's Anna, Nana, or any witch, as long as they haven't committed any illegal acts, I won't consider them guilty."

"Next, let's talk about business. Have you participated in the construction of Graycastle's city walls?" The prince turned the topic back to construction matters.

"Yes!" Karl nodded, although the Fourth Prince didn't take Nana as he thought, and the saying that he needed a witch's help was puzzling, but after all, he was willing to protect Nana's safety, which was enough.

"Very good. I plan to build a city wall at the foot of the Redwater River and North Slope Mountain to resist the invasion of demonic beasts. Now this project will be your responsibility."