Autumn was chilly, and the short warm season in the northern part of the continent was over. As the Frostsky Constellation gradually approached the sky, the vast northern continent of Loren was gradually shrouded by the cold wind. From the Northern Wastelands next to the Endless Ocean, to the vast plains occupied by the northern cities, to the mossy forests where the gray elves lived for generations, everyone was preparing for the coming winter.
Storing fuel for the winter, seizing the last sunny day to dry fish and pickles, repairing the damaged houses in the autumn rain, and digging out winter clothes and blankets … Except for the Cecil Empire, where the magical technology had entered the civilian stage, most of the people in this world were still living the same life as before. Even though the magical technology from afar had begun to change the way some people lived and brought many new things to this ancient land, these changes still needed time.
Rupert, who had just moved into the city, pushed a cart full of charcoal on the street. The wind was much colder than yesterday, and some of it went into his collar. The short Gray Elf man couldn't help but shrink his neck a little. He looked up and around the place that was still very unfamiliar to him. He could not help but sniffle.
He was still trying to adapt to life in the city, but it was not easy.
Compared with the forest he was used to living in, this "big forest" built by people seemed too big, too cold, too hard, too crowded, and too chaotic. Every day, he had to deal with countless people he did not know, do strange jobs, hear a lot of new news that he did not understand, and finally return to a strange place. The only thing that could comfort him was his wife and children who moved here with him. They were the biggest motivation that allowed him to live in this strange city and finally decided to take root here.
After all, apart from the difficult to adapt to the unfamiliar environment, life in the city was much more comfortable and convenient than the forest. As a gray elf who was good at processing raw materials, his income from the distillation and curing plant was enough to provide a warm place for his family. His wife did not have to worry about the beasts and poisonous insects that would appear at any time in the forest. As for the children …
They were quite fond of this bustling big city.
Another cold wind blew, and Rupert could not help but sniffle again. He looked at the cart of charcoal in front of him. This cart of charcoal was bought from the charcoal burning field in the south. Together with the amount that he bought before, the family had enough fuel for winter in the city. Living in the city was not like living in the forest. There was no way to go out and pick up firewood, and fuel for heating could only be bought with money. The operator of the charcoal field looked like a very shrewd gray elf merchant. Rupert felt that the merchant was probably the richest person he had ever seen in his life, but for some reason, when he recalled the details of the transaction, he always felt that the shrewd charcoal merchant was frowning …
As Rupert pushed the cart through the center of the city, he suddenly heard a sweet, soft music. He looked up and saw a huge crystal device standing proudly in the square in front of the longhouse. The huge magic device was glowing with runes. A large crystal was floating on some kind of alloy base and rotating slowly. The soft music came from a certain structure of the device.
He recalled the name of the device. It should be called the Magic Obelisk. This was the thing that surprised him the most since he entered the city. Rupert did not know how the Cecil people living in the East built this incredible device, but he knew that the square and a large area outside the square relied on this device to provide energy. The unusually bright street lights and some 'machines' in some factories were powered by it.
And this device would play the traditional music of the gray elves when the sun rose every day until the sun went down.
It was said that the second function was personally approved by the chief and was created by the gray elves' own "magicite technicians". Rupert did not understand the concept of 'technology exchange' or 'foreign experts', but he knew that the residents of the city welcomed the music in the square. Some of the residents who were originally resistant to magic technology had let down their guard. Many residents who were more receptive to the music had organized and often danced or played instruments in the square when the music played, just like during a festival.
A slightly hoarse and neutral voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Rupert's thoughts about the Magic Obelisk. "Citizen, do you need help?"
Rupert was startled by the voice. He turned around in a panic and saw a very tall and strong woman standing next to him. It was an orc, almost as tall as three gray elves. Under her beautiful soft hair was strong and bulging muscles. She carried a frightening axe on her back. The lady who guarded the square was looking at him. Her gaze was not fierce, but it was enough to make the rural gray elves, who had not yet adapted to the city life, nervous.
"No … nothing. I was distracted, distracted …" Rupert said, waving his hand in a panic.
"Well, then don't be in a daze for too long," the orc lady said casually. Her eyes fell on Rupert's cart of charcoal and she frowned. "Sigh, I hope we don't need to burn charcoal in the future. It's not friendly to hair."
"Ah?" Rupert was a little surprised that the city guards were friendlier than he thought. He was even more curious about the lady's words. "Madam, what did you say? We don't need to burn charcoal in the future? "
"I mean, we don't need to burn charcoal in the future." The orc lady glanced at the confused gray elf. "Haven't you heard? Magic heat stations were being built in the north and south of the city. According to the 'Cecil Contractor', after the heat stations were built, the entire street would be warmed up with only a few heat pipes. There was no need to worry about fire, and there would be no choking smoke. Also, there would be no more unlucky orcs whose tails were burnt by charcoal. Of course, that will have to wait until next year … "
Rupert listened to the description of the square guard as if he was listening to a foreign book. Those terms and concepts were totally out of this world to him. He believed that even those who had lived in this city for a long time would not understand what the so-called 'magical heat stations' and 'heat pipes' were. After all, he had heard the locals in the tavern bragging about the principle of the 'magical engine' in eight different versions in the past few days. The things that the Cecil merchants brought … were really hard to understand.
Rupert could only be sure that the seemingly magical machines were all man-made. They were just a bunch of ordinary iron and crystals. There were no demons living in them, and they did not need to absorb any souls. This was what the Cecil people had emphasized over and over again. Even the patriarch had personally assured the citizens.
He shook his head and put aside the question of "how to warm the house without burning charcoal" for now. Anyway, it sounded like something that would happen next year. At the same time, he subconsciously glanced at the tail of the tall orc lady in front of him. This cautious glance obviously did not escape the eyes of a professional warrior. The latter immediately swung her tail behind her back and glared at him.
Rupert immediately shrunk his neck and hurriedly pushed the cart forward.
Although he could not be sure if the awe-inspiring soldier's tail had been burnt by charcoal before, he now understood why the shrewd and rich charcoal merchant looked so glum all the time.
… …
Morelina let out a cat-like purr as she watched the dull gray elf who seemed to have just come to the city from the countryside push the cart away. She then glanced at the mechanical clock hanging in front of the longhouse not far away. After confirming that it was time, she walked to the huge crystal device in the middle of the square.
Next to the magic obelisk, which was responsible for powering most of the city, there was a smaller device. It was a magic network terminal with a triangular base and crystal components.
This terminal had been installed here for three days. Countless citizens had speculated about its function, but it was not until today that it was put to use for the first time.
There were a few technicians who were adjusting the complicated magical device. Two of them were humans who obviously sounded foreign. They inspected the crystal while explaining some details to the people beside them. The other few were short, child-like gray elves in white robes. These gray elves held pen and paper in their hands and listened to the instructions of the two foreigners attentively as if they were apprentices.
They did not pay attention to the female guard captain who walked to the side. A female warrior who was full of curiosity but knew nothing about magic technology could not affect the work of these technicians.
Under these people's fiddling, the smaller magic device was finally activated. It was not much later than the scheduled time.
With a slight buzzing and interference sound, a bright light screen appeared out of thin air. A large magic projection instantly appeared in the middle of the square. Gorgeous colors and pleasant sounds burst out at the same time.
Morelina, with her axe on her back, almost jumped back like a sharp cat hunter. She almost took off the weapon on her back, but soon she realized that the device was just a harmless projection, and what appeared in the projection was a nervous gray elf.
She felt a little embarrassed. Even the fine white fluff could not hide her slightly red face. However, the citizens who were suddenly startled did not notice this little detail. They looked at the magic image that suddenly appeared in the square in surprise and curiosity. They heard a voice coming from it.
"This … this is the broadcast of the magic network in Moss Forest. This is the first broadcast. Today we are broadcasting the image from White Feather Port. Our matriarch, Ms. Wenna Baizhi, will … "
…
The autumn wind blew through the shrubbery along the coast, and the moist airflow swept through the residential area and the outpost near the port. The long trestle extended from the land all the way to the endless sea, and the blue ocean rose and fell slowly at the end of the trestle, full of texture under the sun.
Blue sea, blue sky, waves, wind, and seabirds — all these were rare sights in the depths of the Moss Forest.
Wenna Baizhi stood on the trestle of the small port. Beside her were her trusted guards and advisors.
Not far from her were the representatives of the Kingdom of Dwarves who came from afar.
"It's almost time …" Wenna muttered to herself.
"Yes, leader." A human in a brown robe and a silver circlet nodded. "The last signal said that they are only an hour away from the port. The northern outpost also reported that they saw the shadow of a ship on the sea. They should be arriving soon."
Wenna nodded and turned around to look at the empty space not far away. A group of technicians were gathered there. They were surrounding a brand new, expensive-looking arcanotech machine. The crystal device fixed on the top of the machine was shining brightly under the sun.
The machine made the leader of the gray elves a little nervous, but she easily dispelled the discomfort. She knew that her figure should have been recorded by the wonderful device and transmitted back to Windsong City in the depths of the Moss Forest and Sambitoke City in the east of the woodland. Those were the only two cities in the Moss Forest that had established the magic network and were connected by communication devices. It was also the 'magic network pilot' of the entire Augulay tribal kingdom. As the main promoter of the entire project, she knew that she had to perform perfectly and well today.
"I hope the citizens of Windsong City and Sambitoke City will not be too nervous when they see the magic network broadcast for the first time," she whispered in a voice that only the advisor beside her could hear. "This thing is different from the arcanotech machine that they have seen so far."
"New things always make people nervous. The people of Cecil will still be surprised when they see the magic network broadcast for the first time," the human advisor with the silver circlet whispered back. "But after the nervousness, brave and curious people will appear. As long as we encourage and guide them well, new things will grow quickly."
Wen Na nodded and looked at the sea in the distance again. However, her attention was on the bridge that was not very big in her line of sight.
It was just a small port, and if it were not for the recent emergency repairs and additions, it would be in a worse state now.
After all, its original purpose was to dock some small boats for the local fishermen, and the furthest sailing distance of those boats would not exceed the boundary of the coastal waters.
"White Feather Port is just a fishing village …" Wenna said softly. "But maybe from today onwards, it will no longer be just a fishing village …"
A loud and clear sound of a flute that seemed to have penetrated the sea suddenly came from the sea and entered everyone's ears.
"It's coming! It's coming! "
The onlookers on the pier shouted loudly. Even the representatives of the gray elves and the dwarves on the pier craned their necks and looked at the sparkling sea in unison. Between the rolling waves and the brilliant light cast by the sun, a ship made of steel, covered with a flashing magic shield, and with strange wings on both sides was sailing toward them.
A ship was coming from the north.
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