Northwest of Neverwinter, in the hinterland of the Misty Forest.
Snaketooth felt that the past one and a half months since he joined the railway construction team had been the most incredible period of his life.
"No..." he thought, "most" was not the right word to describe it. Every once in a while, he would see something incredible. It was as if he had never really known Neverwinter. "
Snaketooth finally understood why all the workers here had to sign a confidentiality agreement.
The agreement required them not to tell anyone about what they saw. It was a crime against the law of the kingdom to report or record what they saw. The lightest punishment would be a fine, confiscation of income, or even forced labor in the North Slope Mine. The agreement also emphasized that those who were unwilling to abide by it could quit the construction team, but no one could escape the omnipresent law. The Kingdom Security Bureau was in charge of the inspection, and no one could escape the omnipresent law.
Snaketooth had once disapproved of the agreement. It was possible to be caught writing, but how could the oral report be flawless? If he could be arrested for every report, the project would not be able to proceed. But now, he had a completely different view. How many secrets were hidden in the City of Neverwinter under His Majesty's control? It might be far beyond his imagination. Perhaps, in a place that most people could not see, there was an astonishing power surging.
What impressed him the most was the witches.
Paper was also a witch, but in his eyes, she had always been someone who needed protection. He did not take it seriously when the church claimed that witches were evil people who had inherited the power of the demon. If they were really so powerful, why were they hunted by the church and did not even dare to show their faces?
But this idea was changed by a witch named Lady Leaf.
Snaketooth had never thought that someone could control the entire forest by herself.
The construction team did not seem to enter the Misty Forest, but the belly of a wild beast. This was especially obvious when they were laying the railway. The vines formed a continuous net above the roadbed, and the rails were wrapped and dragged forward. When they reached the designated place, they dropped to the ground like fruits on vines. Wherever the railway was built, the trees on both sides would automatically separate, saving the effort of cutting down trees. At the same time, the canopy of the surrounding trees would be particularly dense, blocking the entire sky to avoid attracting the attention of the demons.
Other than that, the forest could also actively attack the beasts that approached the construction team. If one day they could get a bowl of fresh meat soup, it must be some blind beast that trespassed into Lady Leaf's territory.
Snaketooth was fortunate enough to have seen her once, but he was not sure whether Lady Leaf was still a human. Her entire body was a strange green color, and from afar, she looked like a gem. Moreover, it seemed to have no physical body when it moved, and it could freely move through the branches.
In the past, he would have screamed in fright. With her ghostly movements and unimaginable appearance, it was not surprising that people would accuse her of being the devil's minions. At the time, the only thought in his mind was: Thank goodness Paper isn't like this.
However, Snaketooth didn't hate her at all. Instead, he admired her from the bottom of his heart. His Majesty had said at the Award and Honor Ceremony that it was thanks to the witch Leaf that he was able to feed everyone in Neverwinter. Every person who was freed from hunger and hardship was a beneficiary of her ability. Just based on this achievement, Leaf should be remembered forever.
Snaketooth was naturally one of the beneficiaries.
Apart from the witches, the other discovery was probably his personal secret.
It happened after the First Army entered the Misty Forest.
Ever since the demons attacked Neverwinter, the call for a counterattack had become louder and louder. Even in the Barbarian Land, the workers were also discussing this issue. He was not surprised by the arrival of this day.
Every day, a large number of soldiers went to the front. Obviously, His Majesty was going to take action. Unlike the cavaliers he had seen before, most of the soldiers on the expedition were acquaintances of the neighbourhood - acquaintances of this or that, so that whenever an army passed by, the workmen lined the streets to welcome it, and the scene was very lively. He had thought that building a railway far away from the border would be a cold and dangerous chore, but it was not the case at all.
Snaketooth, on the other hand, was much less experienced in this aspect. Therefore, he preferred to watch the train alone, and even climbed up to touch it when it stopped.
However, what happened to him two weeks ago was horrifying.
It was a locomotive with six carriages. It stopped at the section that he was responsible for building, which was the latest end of the railway. There were two huge objects piled on the roofless flatbed. One of them was more than 20 meters long and covered with a layer of canvas, so he could not tell what it was.
This was normal. If the goods had nothing to do with the construction team, then they must be military supplies. He did not intend to find out what they were. However, Snaketooth had a stomachache that day. When he ran out of the tent in the middle of the night to find a place to relieve himself, he was shocked to see the canvas wriggle!
Several warriors, who were obviously dressed differently from the soldiers of the First Army, untied the ropes that fastened the canvas, and a strong soft monster climbed out of it! However, what was even more shocking was that the monster actually spoke the human language, and its voice was actually quite pleasant to listen to! The first sentence was, "I'm hungry. Do you have food? "
At that moment, Snaketooth felt his hair stand on end. He could almost imagine the warrior's cold reply, "Ah, yes. All the workers in this camp are food. Eat as much as you want. "
But it did not happen. The warriors hugged it affectionately, and then carried out ham, vegetables and bread from the last carriage... all of them were packed in barrels as tall as a man. The two worms gobbled up the food and then disappeared into the depths of the forest with the warriors.
Snaketooth did not even dare to breathe. He hid behind a tree until the footsteps faded away. When he was sure that they had left, his pants were already soaked with sweat...
Two days later, a strange station was built beside the railway. It was an arched building made of cement and bricks, and inside it was a bottomless hole. Although the workers went in and out, no one knew where it led to. Several steam engines were set up on both sides of the hole, constantly blowing air into it. It looked strange no matter how he looked at it.
Snaketooth also kept this matter firmly in his heart.
Snaketooth had thought that he would be scared and want to quit the railway construction team, but he recovered faster than he had imagined. This was an exciting life! This was the true face of Neverwinter!
When he said goodbye to his companions and first came to the forest, he always felt like a bunch of rootless duckweeds, especially when his fellow workers received letters from their families and happily shared them with him. But gradually, he was attracted by all kinds of novel things, such as the perfectly connected smooth railway, the beautiful singing of the forest, the giant desert wolf that could appear and disappear mysteriously but would not be attacked by Lady Leaf, and the man who always came here to pray on certain days...
He could not help but feel that he was getting closer to the unknown side of Neverwinter, and that he was gradually becoming one with the city.
Snaketooth wanted to keep all these things in mind and wait to tell his friends one day. There was no better proof that he was an old citizen than knowing a city well. Even if he did not have many familiar neighbors, no one could deny it.
The term of the confidentiality agreement was only five years.
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