Lord: I have built a witch's sanctuary.

Chapter 150 High-speed rail

In the lord's hall, Pym spread a thick stack of ledgers on the long table, pointing to the last line of numbers with his fingertips.

"—In Black Iron City, last week's three batches of goods totaled 1,200 magic crystals, with a profit of just over 400. The order volume from Anvil Fortress is larger, but the payment is slower; so far, only 800 magic crystals have been received."

Olivia, standing beside her, added, "Including a few small, scattered transactions, the net profit for the past two weeks is approximately 1,600 magic crystals."

Lorraine leaned back in her chair, her fingers slowly tapping the armrest.

Net profit of 1,600 Magic Crystals.

There were more Frostwolf than during the Countess's time, but far too few for the current Frostwolf.

It's not even enough to cover the loot drops from defeating several waves of monsters.

"I remember you estimated it before, Pym." Lorraine's gaze fell on Pym's round face. "Based on the demand in Black Iron City, the export of grain from the Magic Energy Farm alone can generate a net profit of at least five thousand magic crystals every half month."

Pym rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Theoretically, that's the number, but in reality—"

"It's actually three times worse," Lorraine said calmly. "And the reason?"

Pym and Olivia exchanged a glance.

Olivia sighed, "The caravan is too slow."

"It's not that the caravans are slow, it's that the roads are bad." Pym chimed in, gesturing with his chubby hand on the table. "My lord, the straight-line distance from Frostwolf City to Dark Iron City isn't actually that far; a fast horse could get there in two or three days. But caravans aren't fast horses. They're carrying carts full of goods, and they're traveling through the wasteland, so they have to pass through at least six baron outposts along the way."

Lorraine narrowed her eyes slightly.

Pym continued, "The key is that the moment of upheaval could arrive at any time. The caravan must calculate the time carefully before setting off to ensure that it reaches the nearest baron's outpost before the moment of upheaval arrives and takes refuge within the protection range of the demonic fire. If the calculation is wrong, or if there are delays along the way..."

"Die," Lorraine finished for him.

Pym nodded: "So caravans would rather wait an extra day than risk traveling. Sometimes, when they arrived at an outpost and found that a strange event was about to happen, they would simply rest there for a day before continuing their journey."

So, this whole trip takes five to eight days one way, and half a month round trip.

There was silence for a few seconds.

Lorraine's fingers stopped on the armrest and she didn't tap anymore.

1,600 magic crystals, half a month.

At this rate, let alone integrating the North, they'd struggle to even sustain the expansion plans for Frostwolf City.

He quickly went through the map in his mind.

To the north of Frostwolf City lies the Abyss Rift, where the Khorne army could march south at any moment.

To the south lies the prince's political trap and the Desa family.

To withstand the pressure from the north, the entire North must be united as one. The ore of Black Iron City, the forging capacity of Anvil Keep, and the magical agriculture and industry of Frostwolf City are all indispensable.

What connects them is trade.

The bottleneck to trade is the road.

"Pym," Lorraine suddenly spoke, "what if the caravan no longer had to worry about the Moment of Sudden Change?"

Pym paused for a moment, "Does Your Excellency mean—"

Lorraine didn't answer, turning to Olivia, "Has Ohm reported to you on the current production capacity of the repair shop?"

Olivia nodded. "With the addition of Messiah, the daily output of the Tier 5 construction plant has nearly quadrupled. Ohm said that five more branch plants can be built."

That's enough.

Lorraine stood up, walked to the huge map of the North on the wall, and drew a line from Frostwolf City to Black Iron City in the southeast, almost straight.

"I want to build a railway between these two cities."

Pym blinked. "The railroad?"

"High-speed rail." Lorraine's fingertip paused on the map. "Fixed tracks are laid with steel rails, and trains run on these tracks, powered by magic. The speed—at least ten times that of a horse-drawn carriage."

1

The entire hall was silent for two seconds.

Pym's mouth was agape, his expression suggesting he was processing a concept completely beyond his comprehension.

Olivia was the first to react, but her brows furrowed even more deeply. "Ten times? That speed is indeed fast, but my lord—this train you're talking about is running outside the city, without the protection of magical fire. When the moment of change arrives, the people and goods on board—"

"You'll die," Pym added. "Monsters don't care how fast you run. Without demonic fire, you're a sitting duck during the Hour of Twisters."

Lorraine picked up a small piece of vine from the drawer under the table.

Beneath its dark red surface, faint flames flickered, like some kind of living embers.

Flaming vines.

"Place this under the tracks."

Lorraine placed the vines on the table, the red light reflecting off Pym and Olivia's faces. "The Flame Vines themselves carry the properties of magical fire. As long as they are laid densely enough, the entire railway line will be covered in magical fire."

The train travels on it, meaning it is always within the protective range of the demonic fire.

Olivia stared down at the vine, her eyes gradually brightening.

Pym leaned over for a couple of glances, then looked up at Lorraine: "What about the direct attacks from those monsters? Some third-tier monsters can't be blocked by magic fire alone."

"The train will be equipped with Tier 3 mechs as an escort squadron." Lorraine spoke as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "Twelve in a group, providing crossfire coverage. Combined with the repelling effect of the Flame Vines, it's much safer than a caravan passing through outposts."

Pym gasped.

Twelve Tier 3 mechs escorted a train.

Such a feat was something no one else in the entire North, except for this young count, would dare to imagine.

“If this route is built,” Lorraine turned around, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, “the journey from Frostwolf City to Dark Iron City will take no more than five hours one way.”

"Five hours?!" Pym nearly jumped out of his chair.

Olivia was also stunned.

From five to seven days, to five hours.

Lorraine didn't give them much time to be stunned; a phantom book appeared before their eyes.

The panel of the Witch's Codex lit up.

He quickly entered parameters into his mind: track specifications, density of the fiery vines, train carriage structure, configuration of the machine gun escort formation, and location of relay stations along the route —

A few seconds later, a complete plan was generated.

"Olivia, give this plan to Ohm and Messiah," Lorraine said, withdrawing his hand. "Inform them that all five branch factories of the repair shop will begin construction today, focusing on building rails and trains."

Olivia nodded immediately, "I'll go right now."

"Tell them that the supervision of the high-speed rail project is entirely entrusted to the two of them." Lorraine paused for a moment, "If there are not enough materials, they can be directly transferred from the ore refining center, with the highest priority."

Olivia walked quickly out of the hall.

Pym remained seated, watching Lorraine's retreating figure. He opened and closed his mouth twice before finally uttering, "My lord—are you going to redraw the map of the North?"

Lorraine stood in front of the map, his gaze fixed on the straight line he had just drawn with his fingertip between Frostwolf City and Black Iron City.

"Not just the North."