Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 201: Reliability is Zero

October 1, Wednesday.

When Ember arrived at the Constance station platform, he found the tracks in front of the platform empty, and the special train that should have been waiting there was nowhere to be seen.

Ikonser, who was also waiting on the platform, stepped forward and greeted him with a smile:

"Good morning. The special train is still being prepared and will probably take a while longer."

Ember nodded slightly in understanding, then glanced at the 'main force' behind Ikonser, and said meaningfully:

"I remember there weren't this many people when you arrived?"

When they departed from Backlund, there were only two Mechanical Heart squads, including Ikonser, totaling eight people. Now, the entire platform is almost full, with at least a hundred people in sight. Their uniform attire clearly identifies them as members of Mechanical Heart, and the leader is none other than Bruce, who came to greet Ikonser yesterday.

Iconsel was not surprised by his question and simply explained:

"They are all members of the Mechanical Heart from churches across the country. They gathered in Constance in advance to ride this special train to Trier. After all, it's a rare opportunity, and we can't just send a few of us."

After a pause of one second, Icons added, half-jokingly:

"You might not believe it, but although I'm a follower of the Steam Church, I've never been to Trier, or even the Republic of Intis. I've heard it's quite open-minded there, and it seems like it would suit me well."

Audrey looked at Ikonser with some surprise. Although Trier's scandalous affairs far outnumbered those of Backlund, and the Intis people's "enthusiasm" and "openness" were well-known throughout the Northern Continent, in Audrey's impression, Ikonser didn't seem like that kind of person. This wasn't because Audrey had a deep understanding of Ikonser, but simply a conclusion drawn from a simple comparison.

For example, it wasn't unusual for the members of the Mechanical Hearts behind Ikonser to occasionally steal glances at Audrey out of the corner of their eye. Audrey was already used to this; she encountered many such people whenever she appeared in public.

But Iconsel was quite the opposite; his gaze almost never fell on Audrey. Even when it occasionally swept over her, his eyes remained calm and indifferent, neither warm nor eager. Audrey even felt that Iconsel looked at Ember more often than she did…

The way he looked at Ember always gave Audrey an indescribable sense of unease.

Audrey was a little suspicious and was about to secretly ask Ember a question when he suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the crowd. Audrey was a little confused, but she didn't resist and obediently let him lead her away.

Anne, the personal maid, seemed hesitant to speak when she saw this, but ultimately chose to ignore it and pretended not to have seen anything.

At the same time, Audrey also noticed the various gazes directed at her from behind—

Most of it was envy and jealousy, stemming from the ordinary young members of the Mechanical Heart. But besides that, there was also a slightly bitter and helpless gaze, from the leader of the Mechanical Heart, Ikonser Bernard.

Once they were far away from Ikonser and the others, Ember released the girl's soft hand and suddenly said:

"He's Nantong, be careful."

"Huh?"

Audrey blinked. This wasn't the first time Ember had emphasized this point, proving that he genuinely felt that Deacon Ikonser deserved caution and vigilance.

Audrey also knew that the word "Nanketone" was invented by Emperor Roselle.

But the problem is, if Butler Ikonser is Nantong, then you should be the one being careful!

Audrey muttered a complaint to herself.

"Ugh!"

Just then, the melodious sound of a train whistle came from afar, echoing in every corner of the platform.

At the edge of the horizon, a gigantic, monstrous steam train locomotive, pulling more than twenty carriages, slowly came to a stop at the platform.

This was supposed to be a perfectly normal scene, but Audrey noticed something was wrong almost instantly—

Their position was directly opposite the direction the special train was coming from, allowing them a panoramic view of the entire train, from the front to the back.

At the rear of the train, there were three carriages that were completely different from the twenty or so carriages in front. The other carriages had many windows on their side walls, but these three carriages had no windows at all. The entire carriage seemed to be a single piece, completely encased in thick metal armor, airtight. Audrey couldn't even see any trace of a 'door' on the carriage.

Audrey was certain that these three carriages didn't exist when the train departed from Backlund, because the special train at that time only had 24 carriages in total, but now there were 27. And since there were no stops along the way, these three carriages could only have been added during 'maintenance' after arriving in Constance.

The special features of these three carriages are immediately apparent; they must contain something very important...

"Sealed artifact!"

Audrey immediately guessed the answer: only sealed artifacts were worthy of such attention from the Steam Church. Moreover, this was at least a Level 1 or higher sealed artifact; it was extremely powerful, but also very dangerous, which was why a special carriage was needed.

"They're here!"

Iconsel's expression turned serious. He whispered, "Bruce, take..."

He had just opened his mouth when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

She instinctively turned around, only to find that Bruce, who had been standing next to her, had vanished!

Iconsel suddenly turned around and looked to his left, only to find that Bruce had appeared a dozen meters away at some point, waving at him somewhat awkwardly.

Ikonser was speechless; he knew perfectly well what the other person was worried about!

He may be a South Korean, but he's not blind. How could he possibly fall for a loser like Bruce?!

Meanwhile, Ember and Audrey had already boarded the special train and returned to their compartment.

Audrey lowered her voice and asked:

"Ember, did you notice?"

"Um."

Yu Jin nodded slightly and said slowly, "Don't worry about what's inside, it's none of our business."

Audrey nodded silently. Since the Steam Church dared to transport those 'sealed artifacts' by special train, they must have taken proper measures. As long as nothing unexpected happened along the way, these sealed artifacts shouldn't affect them.

As for why the Steam Church transported the sealed artifacts of Conston to the Republic of Intis, that was an internal matter of the Steam Church and had nothing to do with them.

Woohoo!

As the whistle sounded again, the train slowly started moving, pulling carriage after carriage into the distance.

Next stop: Dilis, a city in the Republic of Intis!

Like Constance, Tillis is also located on the coast of the Intersea.

This is because the Intersea, as the sea where the Republic of Intis, the Fusak Empire, and the Kingdom of Rune meet, has always held a very important geographical position. Whether it is for commercial trade among the three countries or for the need to defend against enemy attacks from the Intersea, the three countries have either actively or passively built large cities along the Intersea coast.

For example, Constance is the second largest city in the Kingdom of Loen after the capital, Backlund, and also the largest industrial city. Delis holds a similar position in the Republic of Intis, being the second largest city after Trier. And the capital of the Fussac Empire, Saint Milon, is simply built directly on the coast of the Intersea.

These three major cities are already enormous, and coupled with the numerous medium-sized cities surrounding them, the Intersea Coast has become the most economically developed and populous region in the Northern Continent. This situation is due, in part, to the Intersea Coast's uniquely advantageous geographical location. However, it is also largely due to the contrast created by its competitors.

The border between the Republic of Intis, the Kingdom of Feneport, and the Kingdom of Rune lies precisely in the center of the Northern Continent. This area is a vast central plateau, mostly belonging to the Kingdom of Feneport, with the western part belonging to the Republic of Intis, and the eastern part occupied by the Kingdom of Rune.

North of the Central Plateau, the Hornachis Mountains extend, completely separating the Republic of Intis from the Kingdom of Rune, stretching from the Central Plateau to the coast of the Intersea. The Hornachis Mountains are not only the dividing line between the two countries, but also a mountainous area stretching for thousands of miles, difficult for ordinary people to traverse.

Therefore, if you want to travel from the Kingdom of Rune to the Republic of Intis, there is only one route: start from Conston City, follow the coastal plains of the Intersea, and arrive at Dilis City.

Of course, you can also choose to head south, bypass the central plateau, and then head north to the Republic of Intis.

However, this would require passing through the Kingdom of Feneport and then via Segal or Lenburg to enter the Republic of Intis. Not only was the journey long, but the multiple countries involved could also present various problems. For example, in the case of commercial transactions, passing through the Kingdom of Feneport would mean being charged an extra layer of customs duties without any apparent reason.

This was unacceptable to both the Republic of Intis and the Kingdom of Rune. Compared to being exploited by the Kingdom of Feneport, traveling along the sea and the coastal plains was undoubtedly faster and more cost-effective.

Now, they have chosen the former path, which is to travel along the coast.

-

Inside the 24th carriage of the special train, Ikonser looked at the closed door behind him and the fully enclosed carriages connected to it, and asked with some concern:

"Will it really not cause any problems?"

Bruce glanced at Iconsel and said calmly:

"You've asked this question many times, but I've already told you the answer: it won't have any problems!"

Iconsel remained noncommittal, still looking somewhat troubled, and said:

"Honestly, I really don't know why you insist on capturing it? And why you insist on transporting it to Trier by these two special trains? Aren't you afraid it might suddenly go out of control? If this thing goes out of control in the city, who knows how many people will die?"

"You don't need to worry about that at all."

Bruce pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and said confidently:

"Our plan worked perfectly. It's been remarkably quiet for the past ten days or so, without any unusual behavior. I'd even say it's more docile than your pet or cat!"

"I don't keep pets!"

Iconsel vehemently denied it, then countered with a question:

"And I'm talking about 'what if'. What if something happens? Even a pet cat can scratch its owner."

Bruce shrugged, nonchalantly saying:

"Even if something unexpected happens, or if an accident does occur by accident, that person will handle it. You and I don't need to worry about it."

After a pause of one second, Bruce slowly spoke again:

"Ultimately, we just happened to be going that way; nothing about it was really on our agenda. Besides, don't you have that mirror? If you're really worried about something going wrong, why don't you just ask?"

"That mirror can't predict the future. You're just trying to make me look bad, aren't you!"

Ikonser retorted irritably, rejecting without hesitation the other party's idea of ​​getting him to use Arodes.

Bruce chuckled unkindly at this.

This made Ikonser's face darken, and he made up his mind that he would never use this mirror again, not even once, unless absolutely necessary!

If anyone's going to use it, it should be someone else!

-

At 6:15 p.m., the sky was dark, with swirling clouds and deep blue waves rising and falling.

The White Agate bobbed up and down in the approaching storm, like a toy in the palm of a giant's hand. Fortunately, it eventually made it into port and arrived at Bayam, the capital of the Rothschild Islands, known as the "City of Generosity."

With the help of the wind, their speed remained stable at 15 knots, allowing them to complete the journey even half a day earlier than originally planned. But this also meant that the White Agate would not continue; this was the end of their journey.

Because from Bayam eastward, all voyages will no longer be safe!

If the Sunia Sea is divided into three parts, then the West Sunia Sea is the area actually controlled by the kingdom. Very few pirates roam around here, making it a fairly safe route. Passenger ships like the White Agate only operate in this area.

The region centered around the Rosedes Islands lies the Middle Sonia Sea. The Rosedes Islands and Bayam are the cornerstones of the Kingdom of Rune's colonial rule in the Middle Sonia Sea, home to a large naval base. This area is also a key diocese of the Church of Storms, where a high-ranking deacon capable of participating in cardinal councils is permanently stationed.

Even so, the kingdom's influence could not cover the entire Sunia Sea, and pirates would occasionally raid the area.

If you sail further east from the Roside Islands, more than three days' voyage away, lies the vast Eastern Sunia Sea, a pirate paradise and a completely lawless place!

But Klein's destination was in the depths of the East Sunia Sea, which meant he had to keep moving forward and find a suitable means of transportation in the Rothschild Islands.

Of course, Klein could contact the "Hanged Man," but for now, he would only consider it a backup option.

Because he had another option: Danitz, and the Iceberg General behind him.

Although Danitz was reluctant, he had no choice but to lead Klein to the contact point set up by the "Golden Dream" in the Rothschild Islands, since Klein also needed to deliver a message to the captain.

Danitz arrived at a row of houses near the dock warehouses and knocked on the doors, three long knocks followed by three short knocks in a rhythmic pattern.

Soon, the door creaked open, and Danitz immediately greeted him with a smile:

"Old Lynn, not drinking today?"

Old Lynn, standing in the shadows, coughed twice but did not answer; he simply stepped aside.

Danitz didn't care and strode towards the room.

But the next second, a large hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

Before Danitz could react, he was thrown out of the room by a tremendous force and crashed heavily to the ground!

boom!

"What did you do...?"

Danitz asked a question instinctively, somewhat angrily, and then he saw a beam of holy light descend from the sky and land inside the room.

By the light of the holy light, he could see the appearance of old Lynn in the shadows; his face was deathly pale and his eyes were utterly empty.

A zombie! Danitz's expression changed slightly, but then he saw another figure in the room—tall, with dark skin, muscular build, and hair curled like marbles.

"Steel" McVitie's?!

Danitz's pupils contracted sharply.

He immediately realized that the contact point had been exposed and instinctively wanted to warn Gehrman Sparrow, but the mad adventurer had already rushed into the house!

(End of this chapter)