Chapter 945
Words:1934Update:22/06/26 10:09:35
Master Orrow stood up shakily. The onlookers were worried that the old man would pass out in the middle of his speech. He took a few deep breaths before slowly explaining the situation inside and outside the castle. "The electric sprite has just returned and is very weak now. We have lost more than half of our lights, the heater and some of our water supply have also stopped. The apprentices have found some burnt circuits and are replacing them, but we do not have enough spare parts … "
"Fix the heater first. Water can be fetched from the nearby Trench Town. There is enough fresh water there for at least half a month." The viceroy interrupted the scholar. "Any news from Metaltown?"
"We can't see their lights from here. I'm afraid the electricity has not been restored, and the communicators are not working." A short and fat man beside the scholar stood up. "Looks like we need to send someone over."
"Then send someone. You will lead the team. Bring a few more men. Beware of the Eisenstadt barbarians taking advantage of this opportunity to rob us of our galvanized steel and wires."
"Winter is coming." Master Orrow still had something to say. "My lord, this darkness should be a warning. The firewood we have offered will not stop the winter, so we should think about what to do if winter does come. We need to take in the refugees, stock up on supplies, and send envoys to the Eisenstadt … "
"Scholar, you are only an expert in machines and lightbulbs. I call the shots when it comes to war." The viceroy knocked on the table. "I don't care if winter comes or not. There will never be true peace between us and the Eisenstadt. At least I will not initiate a truce with those treacherous barbarians."
The scholar mumbled, but the old man had no intention of challenging the viceroy's authority. After a heavy sigh, he sat back down.
The viceroy of the castle swiftly concluded the meeting and made the necessary arrangements before urging Master Orrow and the escorts to depart as soon as possible. He did ask for the opinion of Hao Ren and the other 'guest generals', but Hao Ren's opinion was that it was best to leave as soon as possible. So after the old scholar made some simple preparations, the group prepared to leave Hearthfire.
Hao Ren and the rest waited for Willy at the small road in front of Hearthfire. Lily crossed her legs and looked at the Furnace of the Ancestors at the end of the horizon. She was a little worried. "Are we really going to walk there? And we have to bring an eighty-year-old old man along. If we walk slowly for a few dozen kilometers, the reactor will probably explode again … "
Hao Ren was also mulling over the matter. The group of superhumans around him were fast, but bringing Willy and Oro along was a different story. Willy had seen 'witchcraft' before, so it was possible to use some advanced technology to bring him over, such as the high-tech North Stars in his Dimensional Pocket. The problem was Master Oro. The old man's eighty year old heart might not be able to handle the speed of the North Stars …
But the struggle in his heart did not last long before he was interrupted by a 'tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-t-'. He heard a tractor coming from afar. He turned his head and saw a magical vehicle coming out of Hearthfire with black smoke …
The rear half of the vehicle was a square carriage pieced together with iron sheets and wooden planks. The front part of the carriage was tied to the front. The engine in the front part was completely exposed. Two curved exhaust pipes extended from both sides of the engine, and black smoke was rising from both sides of the engine. The driver's seat was also quite amazing. There was a black wooden chair fixed to the back of the engine with iron wires and ropes. There was no cover around it. The steering wheel in front of the chair was a bent handle that came out of nowhere. It was not only bent, but also asymmetrical.
But the most amazing thing was the person sitting on the chair: Master Orrow. The wizened, frail and frail old scholar sat upright on the chair, gripping the steering wheel with a solemn expression. His hair fluttered in the wind, like an old knight patrolling the battlefield.
This scene stunned Lily. "Awoo?"
Accompanied by billowing black smoke and a deafening rumble, the patchwork tractor finally came to a screeching halt in front of Hao Ren. Willy poked his head out from the back of the carriage. The lad seemed to be in high spirits. "Sorry to keep you waiting. We're leaving now. Get in the car."
Pointing at the 'car', Hao Ren did not know where to start. He wondered if he should ridicule the fact that there were still people who could drive in this world that had degenerated into a feudal dynasty of cold weapons, or that there was a tractor made of planks and wires. This magical vehicle was like a performance art, standing majestically between the classic and the modern crotch. It made people's jaws drop.
"Surprised, right?" Master Orrow saw Hao Ren's expression through the rear-view mirror, and the old man smiled smugly. "Only scholars who have studied at the Tower of Lore for more than six years are qualified to learn how to drive this Steelbeast, and there are only three of them in the whole of Hearthfire. If not for the king's urgent summons, the viceroy would not have let it out. Enough talk, get in! "
Hao Ren swallowed his words and dragged Lily into the car. When he got in, he realized that there were no proper seats in the carriage. The entire carriage was just a wooden box tied together with iron wires. The locals did not know how to make the seats, nor did they know how to fix the seats to the chassis of the car. Willy pulled a few stools from the back of the carriage and pushed them before Hao Ren and the rest. "Please, take a seat."
After Master Orrow confirmed that everyone had boarded the car, he gestured for everyone to take their seats. He then shook his robe and straightened his posture on the wooden chair before stepping on the gas pedal to start the car.
Lily looked at the stools that Willy pushed over. "A few decades ago, when I took the train to the city, I also used a stool … Woof!"
The old scholar had stepped on the accelerator, and the combined tractor sped up the bumpy road. The violent jolt caused Lily to fall flat on her face in front of Hao Ren. Hao Ren hurriedly helped the maiden up, and the others in the carriage also started to shake along with the jolting. Reality had proven that any form of seat in the carriage was pointless. The entire carriage was in Brownian motion, and the passengers needed to use a lot of strength to hold themselves in place. On the surface, everyone looked like they were sitting on a chair, but in reality, everyone was squatting in a horse stance to keep in sync with the carriage's jolting …
Willy the cowardly soldier was actually very calm. As a local, he was used to the jolting …
"Can this really be driven?" Hao Ren squatted and asked Willy loudly. "Is there a road outside?"
He still remembered the horrifying condition of the road when he came from the Path of Fertility. The once smooth main road of the Sanctuary was now as broken as the Gobi Desert. He doubted how far this piecemeal work of art he was sitting on could go. Feeling the vibrations of the carriage, he even felt that the distance the vehicle traveled was the same …
Willy replied loudly. "It's fine! The main road is often repaired! "
Hao Ren peeked out and saw that the carriage was indeed driving on a wider and better road. While the cement surface of the road was cracked and broken, all the potholes had been filled, and that was a relief.
But when Master Orrow stepped on the accelerator and drove the carriage onto the main road, he realized that the condition of the road was of no use.
The condition of the carriage was the real problem. The carriage did not have any shock absorbers! Its four wheels were not even round. No wonder a highly-intelligent scholar had to study for six years in that whatever tower to learn how to drive a tractor. This was not a driving course, but an extreme sports course!
Hao Ren followed the vibrations of the carriage as he worried if the various parts of the carriage would fall off. At the same time, he looked out the window at Master Orrow who was sitting on the front of the carriage. The old man was sitting on a chair that was tied to the engine with wire and rope. His robe and hair were fluttering in the wind, and Hao Ren was worried that the old man would slip and fall off the chair …
"My impression of this scholar has been turned upside down." Nangong Sanba told his sister. "Even someone sixty years younger than him wouldn't dare to do this."
Hao Ren thought to himself as the car vibrated in sync with the car. "If this car was on Earth, no one would dare to drive it. Even you wouldn't be able to recognize it. If you don't drive it, no one would know what it's for …" Hao Ren thought.
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