Lord: I have built a witch's sanctuary.

Chapter 151 Opening of the Railway

The wind on the wasteland carried coarse sand and grit, swirling past Os's iron-gray cloak.

The lord of Black Iron City pulled on the reins, and the horse snorted restlessly, exhaling a puff of white vapor.

Os squinted, his gaze piercing through the sandstorm ahead, trying to make out the horizon that should have been barren frozen wasteland.

A few days ago, an envoy from Frostwolf City brought a document.

The document bears the seal of the Lord of Lorraine and proposes the establishment of a new trade route called "High-Speed ​​Rail" between Black Iron City and Frostwolf City.

Os would naturally be more than happy to agree that it would speed up trade.

Black Iron City is rich in minerals, but food is scarce. Each time a caravan travels back and forth, it has to stop and go between the Baron's outposts, taking half a month.

If the time could be halved, the Black Iron City's treasury could double in size.

But he couldn't understand what was described in the document.

Paving roads with steel? Building iron lumps that don't need horses to run on? And then traversing wastelands without the protection of magical fire?

Oss read the document over and over again three times, and finally decided to personally lead a squad of guards to see it.

He didn't believe in empty boasts. In the North, where such a volatile moment could strike at any time, any transport plan that broke free from the protection of the demonic fire was simply sending his men to their deaths.

At the edge of the horizon, hundreds of workers and clicking engineering puppets were mingled together.

They were carrying thick steel rails, huffing and puffing as they hammered them onto the leveled roadbed.

The ear-piercing noise of metal cutting mixed with the acrid smell of welding sparks, which blew into Os's nostrils on the wind.

Os stepped over the pile of rubble and walked up to a worker who was looking down at the blueprints.

He reached out his hand to block the other person's path, pointed to the two railway tracks on the ground that stretched into the depths of the wasteland, and then withdrew his hand.

"What are you doing?" Os asked in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the tracks that gleamed with a cold metallic sheen. "Laying out the finest steel in the wilderness? Do you have so many magic crystals in Frostwolf City that you don't have anywhere to burn them?"

The worker stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

A strong, sour smell of sweat wafted over.

He looked Os up and down, recognizing his wealthy and noble attire, but his back remained ramrod straight, and he even puffed out his chest.

"This is our lord's project!" The worker slapped the rolled-up blueprints against his thigh with a loud crack. "We're building a high-speed railway connecting Frostwolf City and Dark Iron City!"

"High-speed rail?" Os frowned, repeating the unfamiliar word.

The worker spread out the blueprints, traced a long line on them with his finger, and finally pointed towards Black Iron City: "It's the kind of iron wagon that can run on these tracks. The lord said that this thing is ten times faster than the fastest horse-drawn carriage! With it, goods can make a round trip between the two sides in a single day!"

Upon hearing this, Os shook his head repeatedly: "A lump of iron can be faster than a horse-drawn carriage? That's utter nonsense. If you want to speed up trade between the two places, wouldn't the most suitable method be to send out more caravans?"

A cold wind blew in through his collar, and Os tugged at it, continuing, "A caravan carries ten carts, so ten caravans would be a hundred carts. Hiring more men and buying more packhorses won't cost much. But you've spent a fortune laying these iron bars—when will you ever break even?"

The worker pursed his lips, didn't reply, and bent down to pick up the bolts next to him.

Seeing that he didn't believe him, Os stepped forward, pointed to the wasteland in the distance, kicked the newly laid rails with his toe, and spread his hands.

"Even if we assume, hypothetically, that iron lump can really move, what will happen to the goods and people on the cart in this desolate wilderness, without the protection of demonic fire, should something unexpected happen?"

The adjutant nodded in agreement, "That's right. The monsters in the wasteland don't recognize high-speed rail. If they encounter a Tier 3 monster, these metal carriages will be torn to shreds!"

The worker threw the bolt into the basket with a crisp clang.

"My lord has his own way." The worker turned around and gestured to the engineering golem next to him to lift the rail. "What do you know, you outsider? Just wait and see."

After saying that, the worker picked up another bag of materials and walked back to the construction site without looking back.

More than ten days later.

With the help of the all-powerful mechanical repair shop and a large number of engineering puppets, the project progressed extremely quickly.

On the newly built platform on the south side of Frostwolf City, the huge roar of steam mixed with the high-pitched whistle made people's eardrums tingle.

Lorraine stood at the edge of the platform, glanced at his watch, and then snapped his fingers.

A massive steel behemoth, its entire body covered in heavy armor, slowly slid into the platform along the tracks.

Pym stood to the side and slightly behind Lorraine, his chubby hands rubbing together incessantly, his eyes fixed intently on the train.

Lord Os of Black Iron City was also notified to come and visit. He wore a heavy leather armor and stepped onto the carriage using a footboard.

-

He first stomped hard on the metal floor, then reached out and touched the cold, hard bulkhead, before finally walking to the window seat and sitting down in the leather upholstery.

The carriage was filled with the smell of new leather and a faint smell of engine oil.

Lorraine pulled out the chair opposite him, sat down, leaned back, and took a sip of the hot tea on the table.

"Lord Frostwolf," Os said, his hands resting on his knees, his fingertips digging into his palms, "this thing certainly looks sturdy, but can it really get to Black Iron City in five hours, as you say?"

"Sit tight." Lorraine put down her teacup.

A slight vibration came from the car body.

Immediately afterwards, the station buildings outside the window began to recede into the distance.

At first, it moved slowly, but after only a dozen seconds, its speed suddenly increased.

Os, who had been leaning back in his chair, involuntarily leaned forward.

He pressed his face against the car window, watching the desolate landscape rush past.

Os's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and he gripped the armrests of the seat tightly with both hands.

too fast.

This speed is far beyond what a carriage can achieve; even a high-ranking knight at full speed would fall far short.

The adjutant sat diagonally opposite him, his legs already trembling, his hands gripping the edge of the table, barely daring to breathe.

"This—this is simply a miracle," Os murmured to himself, his gaze unable to leave the window.

The carriage was very smooth; the tea on the table didn't even ripple.

Two hours after the train entered the depths of the wilderness.

A piercing alarm suddenly blared inside the carriage. Red warning lights flashed alternately, casting flickering light throughout the carriage.

The sky outside the window darkened at a visible speed.

Dark gray fog rose from all directions, obscuring the sunlight.

"A moment of calamity!" the adjutant screamed, sliding off his seat and onto the floor, clutching his head with both hands.

Os immediately stood up, drew his longsword from his waist, and aimed it at the window.

In the thick fog, dozens of enormous two-headed wolves were charging madly toward the train, their limbs outstretched.

They opened their gaping maws, and thick saliva dripped from their fangs onto the ground.

In mid-air, a group of black-winged bat demons emitted piercing shrieks as they folded their wings and swooped down toward the roof of the car.

The roar of the monster penetrated the carriage, making the windows vibrate.

"Enemy attack! Stop and form ranks!" Os shouted, turning to Lorraine, "Count Lorraine, this speed is too fast! If we hit a monster, we'll overturn! Even the monsters in the sky will smash through the roof!"

Lorraine didn't even lift her eyelids; she simply raised her right hand and pressed it down.

"Sit down and watch the show."

As soon as he finished speaking, a blinding red light suddenly lit up below the track.

The fiery vines laid in the roadbed sensed the aura of the impending change and immediately activated their demonic fire properties.

The low-level monsters were so frightened by the demonic fire that they retreated repeatedly and were driven away.

On the top of the train, twelve Tier 3 mechs simultaneously released their locking mechanisms.

Heavy metallic footsteps echoed from the roof of the car.

The mechs raised the magic-powered heavy machine guns on their arms, and the barrels began to spin rapidly.

Six of them were responsible for firing horizontally at the ground, while the other six raised their muzzles and aimed at the Blackwing Bat Demon in mid-air.

"Fire," Lorraine whispered.

The dense gunfire poured down like a torrential rain.

The brass cartridge cases slammed onto the roof of the car like a waterfall, making a crisp clanging sound.

The azure magic energy barrage tore through the gray fog, weaving a seamless firepower network across the wasteland.

The smell of gunpowder smoke drifted into the carriage through the ventilation openings.

Os pressed himself against the windowpane, watching helplessly as the two-headed wolves, which normally required the Witch's Tower to deal with, were reduced to pieces under the machine gun fire, not even lasting a second.

The Blackwing Bats in mid-air fell like dumplings being dropped into water, and before they even hit the ground, they were torn to pieces by the intense firepower.

Blood and severed limbs spread out on the wasteland in a shocking red carpet.

Without even slowing down, the train ran over several monster corpses lying across the tracks. The train only lurched slightly before continuing its frenzied speed forward.

The alarm has been deactivated and the red light has been turned off.

The view outside the window returned to the desolate landscape, with only the lingering smoke of gunpowder gradually dissipating in the distance.

The longsword in Os's hand fell to the metal floor with a clatter.

He slumped back into the leather seat, his palms covered in slippery sweat.

Lorraine picked up the tea, which had cooled slightly, took a sip, and placed the teacup back on the table.

"Lord Os, you said before that you wanted to send more caravans?" Lorraine looked at him.

Os opened his mouth, and two dry swallowing sounds came from his throat.

He rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, looked up, and his eyes were full of shock.

"No—no more caravans."

Os waved his hands incoherently, pointing to the scenery rushing past the window, "That iron lump—that high-speed rail, from now on, all the ore for Black Iron City will depend on it! It will depend on it!"