Chapter 576
A New Force is Arriving on the "Battlefield"
Chapter 576 A New Force is Arriving on the "Battlefield"
The air in Thunder City was exceptionally fresh after the rain, like a shop window wiped with a damp cloth.
A black carriage without any family crest mingled with the busy traffic, slowly making its way along the newly paved asphalt road.
Inside the carriage, Dempsey, wearing an old bowler hat, looked around the familiar yet unfamiliar street with envy.
For him, both the cast iron lamps standing on both sides of the street and the "byproducts" laid on the ground were particularly fascinating.
The public steam locomotives emitting white smoke, and the two-wheeled bicycles, made him feel as if he had traveled to another world.
When he left the city, the city's "public transport" still referred to a public carriage pulled by three tall mules.
Two years ago, Archduke Edward's reforms entered a critical phase, and the increasingly radical land annexation made the atmosphere in the entire duchy somewhat delicate.
With his keen business sense, Dempsey predicted that the land was about to be engulfed in war and would eventually be dragged into poverty by the protracted conflict.
To preserve his accumulated wealth, he sold his shops in Thunder City and moved with his wife and children to the Kingdom of Rhodes in the north, seeking refuge with distant relatives.
At that moment, he felt he had made the wisest decision of his life.
It wasn't until the local baron eagerly reached out to him through connections, inquiring about ways to invest in Thunder City, that he suddenly realized he seemed to have missed something important.
As he had observed, the past two years had likely been the best two years for Thunder City, with Edward's new policies completely transforming the entire duchy. And the land, once discarded as worthless, now fetched more than ten times its original value, serving as the heart of that boundless prosperity.
Looking at the well-dressed people on the street, Dempsey felt a mix of emotions.
However, he was a man who could let go easily. He took a deep breath of the air after the rain and exhaled the regret from his chest.
It's all over now—
It's a new beginning, and it's never too late to start over.
With the connections and capital he accumulated in the north, he can always find a foothold again in this new era where opportunities abound.
Just as he was filled with ambition and preparing to make a name for himself in his former hometown, a childish voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Father."
The boy, who was leaning against the other side of the car window, suddenly turned around, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he pointed to the towering buildings outside and asked a question.
"what is that?"
Dempsey followed his son's gaze and looked up at the clock tower in the distance.
The tower, like the arm of a giant, stood firmly on the earth, proudly piercing the sky. The enormous clock face gleamed in the post-rain sunlight, and even from this distance, the hands moving across it were clearly visible.
“That’s the clock tower; our old home was there.”
As Dempsey said this, her chest tightened again.
However, the boy didn't seem to have that worry; he just opened his curious eyes wide and asked.
"A clock tower? Like your pocket watch?"
“It’s not quite the same. Your father’s pocket watch can only be read when the case is opened, but that clock tower can be seen as long as you look up.”
Dempsey’s voice carried a hint of pride.
That clock tower has practically become the symbol of Thunder City. Even in the distant Dragon Vision City, people talk about it and dream of going there to see it.
As for what this has to do with him?
That's a very important matter!
Previously, no one in Dragon City knew which country Campbell came from, but now, as soon as people hear his accent, they subconsciously think he is a punctual guy.
Dempsey was a businessman, and this filter brought him enormous benefits, even though he had no idea he was a punctual person.
However, seeing so many people looking at him with respect, he subconsciously protected the business card that also belonged to him.
"I know, but what about inside the clock tower?"
The boy blinked his eyes, which were full of curiosity, and his young face was brimming with wonder.
"Such a big house can't possibly be empty, right? Is it inhabited by giants? Or is it hiding countless meshing gears?"
in?
Dempsey paused for a moment.
This question really stumped him.
To most people, the Clock Tower was simply a massive, sophisticated instrument, a symbol of the Duchy's industrial prowess. What lay inside the tower remained a mystery, seemingly never mentioned.
He pondered for a long time, then smiled and reached out to ruffle his son's soft, fluffy hair.
"Dad doesn't know either. Maybe the god who controls time lives inside, or maybe... it's a place reserved for geniuses like you."
He gently left the mystery of this world to the little one.
"Maybe one day you'll be able to tell your dad the answer."
The boy nodded, seemingly understanding, and leaned back against the window. For the child, the clock tower had become the most mysterious place in his heart.
It's even more mysterious than the maze of Thunder County.
After all, his father knew a little about the maze, but the towering clock tower stumped even the omnipotent him.
The carriage drove through an intersection.
At this moment, the boy, who had been looking around curiously, seemed to have discovered some incredible new continent, and he almost leaned out of the car window.
He excitedly tugged at his father's sleeve, pointing his other hand high into the sky.
"Dad! Look! A boat! There's a big sailboat flying in the sky!"
Dempsey chuckled upon hearing this.
"Are you sure you saw it clearly? My little Dempsey, boats float on water, only birds can fly in the sky."
"It's real! It's a huge boat!" The boy exclaimed, his face turning red with excitement. "It's even smoking!"
“Okay, I guess it must have wings and breathe fire,” Dempsey said, looking up at the child’s confident expression and following the direction the child was pointing.
In that instant, the rest of his words were abruptly cut off in his throat, and his nonchalant smile turned into shock and stunned silence.
In the distance, beneath the clouds on the horizon, a colossal vessel was slowly emerging.
At first, Dempsey thought he had truly seen a legendary dragon. But soon, as the colossal object emerging from the clouds became clearer, he discovered that it was even more enormous than a dragon—
That really was a sailboat!
Unlike the sailboats docked in Thunder City's harbor, its sails hung on either side of the ship, like oars floating on a sea of clouds. Moreover, a much larger spindle-shaped air bladder hung overhead, resembling a dandelion from a distance.
The scene completely contradicted Dempsey's life experience, leaving him so astonished that his jaw nearly dropped to the ground.
On the contrary, his children readily accepted the incredible sight and cheered excitedly at the arrival of the enormous creature.
Perhaps hearing the children's shouts, the people who were rushing along the street stopped and looked towards the sky to the north.
The gentleman waiting for the bus put down his newspaper, and the deliveryman on his tricycle stopped pedaling. The newsboys who roamed the streets ceased their hawking, and the roadside vendors forgot all about calling out their wares.
The entire city seemed to be paused at that moment, with thousands of eyes looking in the same direction as the sky-covering airship slowly entered everyone's view.
Dempsey trembled as he removed the top hat from his head and pressed it to his chest, as if to calm his racing heart or to pay homage to some unknown power.
"By Saint Sith..."
Dempsey muttered to himself.
It seems he has indeed been away from home for too long.
Not just on the ground—
Even the sky had completely changed into a shape he no longer recognized.
……
At 10,000 meters altitude, a biting cold current swept through.
The "Truth" broke through the clouds like a whale venturing into unfamiliar waters, its massive bow struggling to push aside the still-lingering rain clouds.
The gale lashed against the airbag skin, producing a dull, thunderous drumbeat, and the entire cockpit vibrated violently with the airflow.
However, it did not fall apart on the spot like the Voyager.
After two and a half years of continuous improvements, the Aletheia now possesses the capability for ultra-long-distance voyages. Adaptable to polar climates, it will traverse the southern hemisphere with ease.
That's at least in theory.
The steam valves emitted a sharp hiss, and white mist filled the narrow space. Hundreds of magic apprentices trembled with fear, and very few remained calm.
This applies not only to magic apprentices, but also to professors who are relatively strong.
At this moment, he was completely devoid of his usual scholarly demeanor; his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and his glasses, held in place by glue, were almost slipping off his nose.
He gripped the main control stick, reinforced with adamantite, as if wrestling with an unseen behemoth. Although he could have used magic to do this, his expectation for the "Truth" was that even an ordinary person could easily pilot it, so he didn't use any magic throughout the entire process.
"Damn it! The air currents here are even more chaotic than in the far north!?"
"Could it be because of the strong winds in the coastal areas..." the first mate said nervously, standing next to him.
"I don't know! But if we don't do something soon, valve number three is about to burst!"
Professor WALL-E roared as he frantically fiddled with the dizzying array of levers, trying to calm the frenzied instruments.
The observation cabin, embedded in the deck, left Jamie with almost half his body suspended in the air.
The temporary navigator was pressing his face against the brass monocular telescope, frantically cranking the winch with his left hand to adjust the observation angle, and rapidly gesturing with his right hand on the map, which was already soaked with sweat.
He grabbed the brass microphone tube connecting to the cockpit and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Professor! Three degrees to the left! No! The airflow is too strong... It would be better to correct it three degrees to the right! I think the clouds are drifting in that direction!"
Professor WALL-E roared in frustration, "Where are we going?! Are you sure you're looking carefully? This is our maiden voyage, it's going to kill us!"
"Wait, the clouds seem to be drifting more than just to the right—"
Jamie's eyes widened suddenly, his gaze piercing through the gaps in the layers of clouds to catch a glimpse of the extremely conspicuous coordinates on the ground.
That towering black spire, like a lighthouse standing on the shore, guided the "small boat" through the storm.
The moment he confirmed the course, he exclaimed in delight.
"I see it! Professor! The clock tower that Prince Colin mentioned in his letter! That huge thing is right in front of us! Your adjustment was just right, don't touch that damn rudder again!"
Professor WALL-E: "I didn't move at all!!!"
In stark contrast to the chaotic scene inside the cockpit, the airship's passenger cabin presented a completely different picture. Some people were calmly reading magic books, while others were making the sign of the cross in prayer.
Although the air currents were turbulent, they did not seem to affect the cabin.
Bain and Harder, the two notorious "explosives geniuses" at the school, had their faces pressed tightly against the thick porthole glass.
Their eyes burned with fervent light as they watched the outlines of the forest, plains, and city gradually expand below.
The three-day, three-night voyage is nearing its end—
They're finally arriving!
“Hard, look at that wasteland over there!” Bain grinned from ear to ear as he pointed to a vast, empty desert outside Thunder City. “It’s flat, there’s nothing to hide from, you can’t even see a rabbit!”
Hader also looked excited, muttering to himself.
"The perfect firing range! Those old fogies were always worried we'd blow up the mage tower, but now that we're in this wild place, we can finally unleash our full potential, haha!"
"Let them witness the power of truth!" Bain rubbed his hands excitedly. "What knight's charge, what magic shield? They're all paper tigers in the face of pure heat and shockwaves!"
Ram looked at the two clowns with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"Calm down—"
Bain and Harder said almost in unison.
"I can't calm down at all!" Unlike the two lively characters' noisy chatter, Ilana stood quietly in the corner of the cabin, gazing at the unfamiliar plain, her slender hands gently pressed against the cold glass.
Hailing from the province of Pierce in the Empire, she had never been to such a remote place. She felt a mixture of excitement at the prospect of meeting her mentor and a touch of unease about this foreign land—
She had always heard her father say that the kingdoms were inhabited by lowly barbarians, and only the Rhodes, who made furniture and pianos for the empire, were slightly better, but only slightly.
She didn't agree with her father's views, but she couldn't help but wonder how these people far from the center of the world viewed the Imperials.
However, considering that His Highness Colin had been here for more than two years, her unease lessened somewhat.
The clouds receded rapidly below the airship, and the outline of Thunder City became clear.
It was a city completely different from Xuebang.
Towering chimneys have replaced the mage towers, rows of houses resemble neatly arranged matchboxes in a shop window, and steel-paved roads look like the spine of a giant.
The most eye-catching feature is the clock tower.
The meticulously detailed four-sided dial is like the pupil of a giant, gazing at the visitors from the sky.
Ilana's thoughts drifted back to two years ago, to that afternoon when Prince Colin aboard the "Voyager" and left without saying goodbye.
She stood by the window at that time, watching the black dot grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the untouchable horizon.
The feeling of being left behind and the helplessness of being unable to catch up made her depressed for several nights.
However now—
The “truth” beneath her feet was thundering, and just as His Highness Colin had wished upon her departure, the technology of the scientific school was now vastly different from what it had been before!
As the clock tower drew ever closer, a thin mist welled up in Ilana's eyes, but a genuine smile touched her lips.
"tutor--"
"This time, your student has finally caught up with you."
……
The whisper was more than ten kilometers away from Thunder City. However, her voice was still heard by an inconspicuous "blue butterfly".
Including the noise in the cockpit, and those two clowns who were about to shatter the glass window with their noses...
Outside Thunder City, at the garrison of the city's defense forces.
Archduke Edward, wearing a heavy cloak, was solemnly examining the latest batch of Roxay 1054 bolt-action rifles.
Although the border war had come to an end with the signing of the "Sacred Agreement," the ruler of the Principality of Campbell did not relax his vigilance in the slightest.
Today, Thunder City is like a giant magnet, attracting countless people along the Whirlpool Sea who yearn for wealth and opportunity.
This group includes not only aspiring entrepreneurs and hardworking laborers, but also swindlers from all over the world and pirates from turbulent seas.
With the curfew lifted, the security situation in Thunder City is even more strained than during the war.
It is precisely for this reason that the city defense army, which was at the very end of the equipment supply sequence, finally got to use the new toys that the regular army had almost grown tired of.
Following behind Edward, the city garrison commander spoke with a radiant smile.
"...Your Majesty, thanks to this batch of new equipment, even some seasoned adventurers dare not take advantage of our brothers."
Picking up a rifle, Edward asked casually.
"Are there many adventurers causing trouble lately?"
The city defense commander answered with a smile.
"Not many, Your Majesty. There are only one or two cases occasionally, and they didn't start recently."
At this point, a look of disgust crossed his face, and he said with a look of contempt.
"These despicable scum, unable to deal with the demons in the labyrinth, turn around and bully their own kind."
Edward smiled calmly upon hearing this and spoke.
"You can't entirely blame those guys; part of the reason is mine, after all, I'm the one who made them lose their jobs."
The Principality of Campbell has now shifted its focus from underground to above ground, actively participating in regional affairs outside the labyrinth, and naturally neglecting its investment in the labyrinth.
With only the financial support of St. Clement's Cathedral, the Adventurers' Guild could no longer offer high-value quests at any cost as it used to.
Many adventurers changed careers.
However, for seasoned adventurers who already possess bronze or even steel-level strength, adapting to a new life is not an easy task.
The city defense commander was slightly taken aback, looking at the Grand Duke in surprise, and was speechless for a moment.
He clearly hadn't expected that His Majesty the Grand Duke would take this as his own problem and seriously consider those guys who were about to be swept into the dustbin of history.
Edward put down his rifle and told the city defense officer behind him his thoughts.
“I’m thinking that our city defense forces could perhaps establish a security team composed of adventurers to specifically deal with crimes related to adventurers.”
He paused for a moment, then continued.
"They know their peers well enough, and keeping them in our ranks will prevent a situation where one day the maze monsters are rampant and we have no competent experts to rely on."
Moreover, providing these "freelancers" with a stable job in retirement can itself solve the security problems caused by the reduction of job opportunities.
They can handle not only crimes related to adventurers, but also their previous jobs, such as dealing with monster-related disasters and investigating demon infiltration.
Previously, the Campbell family always entrusted these tasks to the Adventurers' Guild, which was controlled by the Papacy. However, in reality, the Papacy's control over the northeast coast of the Whirlpool Sea had become very limited, and the Adventurers' Guild's funds mainly relied on appropriations from the royal family, local nobles, and the council.
Since the Papacy is no longer willing to pay, they can completely marginalize this middleman and let the principality do the job itself.
Upon hearing His Majesty the Grand Duke's order, the city defense commander immediately straightened his back and saluted.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Just as the two were about to move to the next barracks, footsteps suddenly came from outside the barracks.
A guard rushed into the tent in a panic, his face ashen, as if he had encountered a ghost.
"Your Majesty! Commander! Something terrible has happened! There's a ship flying in the sky outside!"
Edward was taken aback by what he heard, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
The city defense officer standing next to him immediately darkened his face and glared at the out-of-control soldier, reprimanding him.
"Calm down, Sergeant Hanks! Do you know what you're saying?"
"I...I'm telling the truth!" the soldier stammered, his words tumbling out in a panic. "A ship as big as a mountain is floating in the skies above the outskirts of Thunder City! You'll see for yourself when you go out and take a look!"
“Then let’s go take a look.” Interrupting the city defense commander who was about to say something, Edward lifted the curtain of the barracks and strode outside.
The moment he stepped out the door with his right foot, a look of astonishment flashed across his face as he gazed at the sky to the north.
That is……
What the hell?!
The "sailboat" breaking through the clouds was slowly approaching Thunder City. Its towering body blocked out the sunlight, casting a shadow of awe in everyone's eyes.
This moment—
The entire military camp was in an uproar!
Almost all the soldiers stared incredulously at the sky. Some of the more devout men even dropped their weapons, clasped their hands in prayer, and mistook the exaggerated wingspan for an angel sent by God.
Clearly, their eyesight was poor, and they missed the battle outside Twilight City, so they didn't see the real angels.
For those guys who had had enough of the smell of coal ash, they didn't even think about angels; their wide eyes were filled with excitement and curiosity.
"But what is that thing?"
"Is there even a question? It must be a new invention from Thunder City University! Who else but those guys could come up with something so outrageous?"
"By Saint Sith... I never imagined they would actually sail their ship into the sky!"
Is there anything they can't do?
"Praise be to science! Praise be to Campbell!"
Most of the city's garrison soldiers were very young.
Although they never attended university, Thunder City University and the Encyclopedia have unknowingly changed many things in the city.
Faced with the unknown, people no longer immediately vent their emotions on deities, but instinctively attribute it to the ivory tower that reveals the truth to the world—
However, in comparison, that ivory tower also lost some of its mystery for them.
Perhaps we should wait a while for the scholars inside to create more things that ordinary people can't understand.
Edward instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist, his hawk-like eyes narrowing slightly.
As a strategist, his first thought was that there might be weapons on that ship.
After all, it appeared suddenly over Thunder City and came from the north, so it was hard for him to assume it was well-intentioned.
"Notify the artillery..."
"Don't be nervous, Your Highness."
A gentle voice sounded beside Edward, like a calm and peaceful breeze, instantly soothing the tense atmosphere around them.
Edward turned around and found that Prince Colin was standing beside him at some point, wearing a gentle smile.
As always, he remained calm and composed, being the strongest mage in the duchy.
“Colin!” Edward’s brows relaxed slightly, a smile spreading across his face. He pressed the hilt of the sword he had just drawn back down. “You’ve come at the right time. Looks like you know something about that thing.”
“It’s not just something I know about; it’s my students’ graduation project,” Luo Yan said with a gentle smile and an appreciative tone. “I’m very pleased that they were able to complete this project before leaving Xuebang. For me, it’s a relief that I have no regrets.”
"Your...student?!"
Edward looked at his unfathomable ally in astonishment, then at the "spaceship" that was worthy of being recorded in history, and let out a heartfelt exclamation.
"You always surprise me. I thought that moving the steam engine to land was the limit, but I never expected that you would have conquered the sky with it without making a sound."
"To be precise, it was my students who conquered it, and this is just the beginning," Luo Yan turned his head, a confident smile on his face. "Believe me, my students will bring you even more surprises."
He originally planned to move the School of Science to the continent of Gana, but the Campbellians were too much to bear, exceeding his expectations time and time again.
As it turns out, those who work hard always receive divine favor.
If you rely on "the Demon Lord to take care of everything," the Demon Lord will probably just laugh and point that guy to Alacto's table.
"Hahaha! I'm really looking forward to it!"
Edward let out a hearty laugh, but soon the practical problems made him suppress his smile.
"By the way, Colin, Thunder City may have a port, but it doesn't have one for this thing. How are you planning to get your student down here?"
Luo Yan said with a smile.
"No need for such trouble, all we need is a flat and solid open space, which will also allow me to check how well their graduation projects are done."
The "Voyager" he was on crashed quite miserably; I wonder if they've resolved the problem.
Although Luo Yan planned to build an "airport" in Thunder City specifically for airship docking and logistics transfer, that was a matter for the future.
Edward's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately spoke.
"Then let's go with that wheat field in the north of the city that's just been harvested! It's open and flat enough. But it's so far away, how are we supposed to notify them to land? Do you have a pre-arranged code for communication?"
"It doesn't need to be that complicated."
Luo Yan smiled slightly, and his figure gradually became ethereal.
"Since they are students who have come from afar, I, as their mentor, will personally go and greet them."
(End of this chapter)