A bright electric light sprang up from the outer shell of the central control station and quickly spread out along the huge pipeline that was like a mountain range. It looked like a crack of light suddenly torn in the night sky. The flash was far away, and only Hao Ren and a few others with excellent eyesight noticed it. But soon, the commotion spread. After the lightning subsided, smoke billowed out from the central control station, and more flashes lit up the buildings around the station. Even the commoners could see what was happening in the distance.
To the citizens of the city, it was like the end of the world was ablaze.
Screams and shouts came from one of the towers on the wall, and it spread like contagious throughout Hearthfire. The citizens inside and outside the castle ran outside and panicked as they saw the flashes and smoke in the distance. The children were crying, and the adults knelt down and prayed for the world's peace. Following the commotion was a blackout.
The city that was originally illuminated by the lights on the spaceship seemed to have been splashed with ink. From the central control station to the outside, the area plunged into darkness. Bright electric snakes constantly jumped on the dark land, and each jump brought about a larger power failure. Dull thuds came from the ancient equipment hidden deep within the city. The old relays and safety devices started to burn in the face of the surge of electricity. Soon, the blackout spread to Hearthfire, and Hao Ren saw the plaza outside plunged into darkness. The citizens in the city were shrouded in fear.
A horrified voice screamed in the darkness. "The world's out! The world's out! The world's out! "
Lily's eyes glowed faintly in the darkness. She too was shocked at first, but she quickly reacted. "The reactor is down!"
Without a word, Hao Ren grabbed Vivian and Lily and ran out. The Nangong siblings followed closely behind, and soon, they reached the plaza outside. At this time, the blackout had almost spread to the entire city. This old refuge had been in operation for ten thousand years, and this was the first time it had fallen into such a terrible night. The closed space of more than a hundred kilometers was filled with cold darkness, and the panicked voices of the people made people dizzy. There was only a little light left in this space. The light came from the sky. It was the emergency lights on the ancient traffic pipes that ran through the sky. They were like stars that barely outlined the outline of this space. In the darkness, some people could not help but kneel on the ground and worship the remaining 'starlight'. They wept and prayed to a god to light up the world again. Then, these kneeling people were trampled to the ground by the chaotic crowd. They screamed at the top of their lungs.
At this time, a few lights suddenly appeared on the upper floors of Hearth Castle (the old factory). These lights finally calmed the crowd down a little. A few armoured noble knights appeared at the top of the castle, bright miner's lanterns hung on their chests, and the beams of light swept across the crowd below. Willy's father, the stern governor of the castle, stood at the highest point, and shouted in a loud voice, "Silence! No running around! Wait for the lights to come back on! Anyone who starts a riot will be killed without mercy! "
No one knew if it was the light on the knights' chests that gave them courage, or if the people were afraid of the viceroy's might, but order in Hearthfire was finally maintained. But there were still soft cries and prayers coming from the crowd, and outside of Hearthfire, there were faint sounds of chaos from afar. It seemed like the viceroys of other cities were not able to control the situation as quickly as they did here. In the darkness, Lily and Vivian's eyes were especially sharp. They quickly found Willy who was running around in the crowd like a headless fly, and quickly called the young man over.
Willy stumbled to Hao Ren, and the first thing he saw was Lily's glowing eyes. He almost screamed, but luckily he remembered that these people before him were scary people who 'knew witchcraft', and so he swallowed his cry and asked softly, "What happened? Is it really your witchcraft? "
"We didn't do anything." Hao Ren waved his hand. "Looks like the 'heart' of this world can't take it anymore. Tsk, and here I was thinking of figuring out your social relations, but it seems like it's better to fix the machine first … "
Willy: "?"
At that moment, a low hum suddenly came from afar, and something seemed to have been activated deep underground. Then light returned to the city in the darkness, and electric lights lit up like stars, dispelling the darkness.
But Hao Ren noticed that not all lights had been restored. Compared to before, only half of the lights on the streets were lit, and even those that were were not as bright as before. Some of the lighting facilities that were not lit might have been burnt during the power outage, and the rest … was most likely because the spaceship had switched to backup power.
The average person would not have thought of this, and they were just rejoicing at the restored light. The people cheered loudly, praising the miracle of the world being lit up again. Hao Ren and his group were the most special ones among the cheering crowd, and they seemed calmer than anyone else.
"It's over?" Willy looked around in confusion, and he still could not react.
"No, I'm afraid it's just the beginning." Hao Ren shook his head, and looked at the central control station in the distance. He decided to put aside all other questions, and go there to check out the situation.
But at that moment, a young soldier ran over from the direction of the castle, and ran straight to Willy. "Willy, the governor is looking for you."
The soldier then turned to Hao Ren. "You guys are the wandering knights, right? The governor has invited you too. "
"We?" Hao Ren was stunned. "Why?"
The young soldier shook his head. "I'm just following orders. The governor will tell you the details."
Hao Ren looked at the dimmed Furnace of the Ancestors, and considering that this was a massive refugee ark, the backup power should still be able to last for a long time, so he nodded and accepted the governor's invitation.
The group and Willy were brought into the castle, and into a large meeting room on the third floor. The stern governor was already waiting there, and beside him were a few others, one of whom Hao Ren recognized, Master Orrow.
The blackout seemed to have affected the castle as well, and the meeting room was dimmed, and only two chandeliers were illuminating the place. The governor nodded coldly when he saw Willy and his group enter, and knocked on the table. "Then I'll get straight to the point. The royal city has sent a message that the Furnace of the Ancestors has undergone an inexplicable change. Fire and light are bursting out of the furnace, and the king has summoned all high-ranked scholars to the royal city for a meeting. Also, due to the anomaly, the four kingdoms have come to a temporary truce, and the scholars from the other three kingdoms will also be heading to the royal city for a meeting. Master Orrow is the representative of Hearthfire, and I've decided to send my son to lead a small group of warriors to escort him. "
Hearing the governor's words, the crowd broke into a flurry of discussion. Everyone knew that the governor's son, Willy, was a weak soldier. He was afraid of battle, his swordsmanship was a mess, and he would run at the sight of blood. Compared to wielding swords and spears, the young man preferred to stay in his room, reading and drawing. So when they heard that Willy would be tasked with escorting the scholar to the royal city, they immediately felt that it was strange. Willy himself was surprised, and he stammered, "But … But father …"
"Willy," The governor stood up and pressed his hand on the table. "If you still have the slightest bit of nobility left in you, say 'Yes, sir'!"
Willy shrunk his neck, and mustered up some courage. "Yes, sir."
The governor nodded. "Very well, this is your last chance to redeem your name."
The others seemed to have some objections, but with a glance from the governor, all doubts vanished. Hao Ren finally seized the chance to ask. "So, why have you called us here?"
"Dear guests," The governor's expression softened a little, and he spoke with the appropriate etiquette. "I'm sorry to ask of you, but I hope that you will join Willy's escort team, and help us escort the scholar to the royal city safely."
Hao Ren was still thinking about exploring the Furnace of the Ancestors, and was struggling to find a way to communicate with the guards who had lost their ancient knowledge, and were now clueless. He was overjoyed, and quickly nodded. "Of course, we were just about to go there … Err, should I ask why you chose us?"
"You have already helped my son once, and I believe that you are trustworthy." The governor looked sincere. "And the knights of Hearthfire have to guard against the barbarians of the Eisenstadt who would ignore the truce and attack. Our manpower is limited, and we can't organize enough people to escort the scholar."
Hao Ren nodded. He did not mind what the viceroy of the castle actually had in mind. "Oh, alright then. We'll make this trip."
"Thank you, you will be rewarded appropriately when you return." The governor seemed to smile as he turned to Master Orrow. "Master, before you leave, please explain the current situation to everyone."
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