There was never a lack of fun in life, the only thing that was lacking was the eyes to discover it. Just like this run-down sanctuary airship, it was filled with depression and the shadow of decay. But when the old scholar stepped on the accelerator and sent them on the road, Hao Ren could not care less about the decline of this place.
Because he could not think at all …
He was still worrying about how to get the old scholar and Willy to the Furnace of the Ancestors before the situation worsened, but it seemed like his worries were for naught. Not only could Master Orrow withstand the young man's lightning-fast speed, he could also withstand the tremors that came with the speed. The people of the sanctuary were indeed extraordinary. As an old native who had spent his entire life in this harsh world, Master Orrow's physique was extraordinary. Even though he looked like he had one foot in the grave, the old man could not be judged by common sense. Hao Ren and his companions swayed around in the carriage as they watched the broken thousand-year-old cities and ancient roads pass by. The gloomy feeling that he had accumulated in Hearthfire slowly faded away.
He felt a sense of heroism as if he was driving through the apocalyptic wastelands.
The carriage gradually left Hearthfire's sphere of influence. The factory buildings and a few other landmarks slowly faded into little dots in their sight, and before them was a deserted wasteland. Dust was flying on the dry and dirty road, and when the car drove past, it kicked up a dust cloud several meters high. The dust swirled and was thrown behind it. Occasionally, a few figures would appear from the dilapidated buildings on both sides of the road. They were the refugees of the wastelands. These were not under the protection of any kingdom, nor did they swear allegiance to any king. They wore clothes made from rags and leather, and came out of their nests amidst the chilly winds of winter. As they waved their spears and catapults, they roared savagely at the Steelbeast chariot that was speeding down the road. They looked hostile, but no one dared to actually charge into battle with the steel monster.
Willy, the timid young soldier, looked a little nervous, but he still carefully loaded the crossbow in his hand. Then, he opened the wooden board on the side of the carriage and pointed the crossbow at the refugees who came out of the shacks by the roadside, his mouth making a "heh heh heh" sound. The refugees, whose faces were painted and dressed like savages, shouted even louder, but they really started to back off. Their crude spears and catapults were no match for the military crossbows, and they were more afraid of the steel monster that roared past them.
Lily asked loudly, "Why are these people so hostile?"
"They are refugees without the protection of the kingdom!" Willy shouted back. "These people can't take the factories and farms. Even the dogs in Hearthfire eat better than them. We who come from the city are not welcome in the wild!"
Nangong Sanba chuckled coldly and said, "They're really lining the streets to send me off."
At this time, Lily suddenly heard something. She looked at the back of the carriage and said, "Another car is coming!"
Hao Ren looked back and saw that there was only a cloud of dust on the road behind the carriage, and in that cloud of dust, there was a faint black silhouette gradually catching up. While he could not see the silhouette clearly, he could hear the same deafening roar of an engine in the dust. Willy immediately gripped the crossbow in his hand nervously, and took out a gunpowder bag wrapped in brown paper from a small box in the corner of the carriage.
A moment later, another vehicle broke through the sandstorm and chased after them. This vehicle was completely covered in leather and thick cloth, and on both sides of the carriage were strings of white human leg bones tied with iron wire. Thick smoke billowed from both sides of the front of the vehicle, and sparks flew from the engine. It looked like a terrifying chariot that had rushed out of hell. A middle-aged man dressed like Master Orrow stood at the front of the chariot, using a set of strange connecting rods to control the engine and direction. Sand and pebbles fell from his body, and his face was black from the smoke. As he sped up, he shouted at Master Orrow. "Bastard of the Hightower! You and your chariot should be eaten by the monsters of Erdos! You old fart, how dare you run in front of me! "
"It's the people from the Eisenstadt!" Willy's hand trembled and almost dropped the gunpowder bag. "Their scholar has set off too!"
Wuyue glanced at the cursing scholar from the Eisenstadt before looking at Master Orrow who was sitting at the front of the carriage. "Their scholar looks much more spirited than ours."
She did not expect that despite his age, Master Orrow's hearing was still very sharp. When he heard Wuyue's comment, he angrily slapped the machine in front of him. After that, Hao Ren felt a heartfelt sound coming from the engine of the chariot. Boom!
Lily's face immediately turned green. "What is he doing?"
Hao Ren glanced at Master Orrow busily working on a bunch of connecting rods and shafts, and gritted his teeth. "… Drag racing!"
On the vast wasteland, two broken chariots that looked like they came out of an art museum dragged a long sandstorm behind them. The deafening roar of their engines resounded across the deserted wasteland. The two scholars either stood or sat at the front of the chariot, cursing at each other as they sped up. Master Orrow was old after all, and he could not get the upper hand in a verbal battle. So he used his well-practiced skills to keep on the accelerator, and the old chariot managed to leave the Eisenstadt's skeletal chariot in the dust six times in a row, and the Eisenstadt's scholar was madly honking at the back, like an enraged bull in hot pursuit.
Master Orrow yelled at Willy. "That bastard! He has a horn on his chariot! If your governor-general father could give me a little more power, I would've given the Steelbeast a new horn! "
Hao Ren's head was spinning from the roar of the chariot's engine. He wanted to shout at the old scholar, "Just listen to the sound of this chariot! Just the engine alone is loud enough to fill up the entire street. Installing a horn might not even be as loud as the wheels of the chariot. Did you install that thing just to play along with the wheels?! "
No one knew how long the crazy, bizarre, and bizarre car race lasted. Hao Ren only remembered that in the second half of the journey, he felt as if the whole world was filled with flying dust and the ear-piercing roar of the engine. But the armistice agreement between the four kingdoms seemed to be real. Although the soldiers on the chariots of the Eisenstadt and their scholars kept roaring at them, there was no conflict in the end. At the end of this mad dash across the wasteland, both chariots safely arrived at the end. They had reached the end of the sealed space, and the Furnace of the Ancestors stood proudly before them.
With a creaking sound, the Steel Beast chariot stopped amidst the black smoke and dust. The rivets and iron wire hinges all over its body rattled. The old chariot proudly stopped at the intersection, proudly showing off how impressive it had been along the way. Not only were all the wheels still intact, even the carriage was still tied to the chassis.
The Eisenstadt's Skeleton Chariot also stopped at the side, a few of the bones hanging on the chariot had fallen off from the impact. A few of the Eisenstadt soldiers disembarked from the chariot and looked at the situation in annoyance, wondering how they could replace the few missing bones.
Master Orrow lifted his robes and jumped down from the chair. The moment he left the front of the chariot, the old scholar's back visibly bent forward. He then slowly walked up to Willy and coughed twice before speaking slowly. "Child, we're here."
The crowd was speechless.
Looks like the old man's buff had worn off, and it lost its effect after leaving the front of the chariot!
The soldiers of the Eisenstadt glared angrily at Willy and Master Orrow, but as the four-nation armistice had just been signed and this place was the closest to the Furnace of the Ancestors, even the 'barbarians' of the Eisenstadt would not provoke them at such a critical juncture. So the viking-like soldiers who wore leather armor and carried axes and javelins only glared angrily at Willy and Master Orrow. And their attention was quickly placed on Hao Ren and his party. Hao Ren and his party's bizarre attire was the focus of attention no matter where they went.
But in this sanctuary where social order was in a mess, bizarre attire was not a big deal. At most, someone would be a little greedy for your fancy attire, and if you had the ability to protect yourself, you could ignore that little bit of trouble.
"The last time I was here was after the new year's ceremony." Willy avoided the eyes of the Eisenstadt soldiers as he spoke to Hao Ren. "The royal city of the Kingdom of Highspire is right beside the Furnace of the Ancestors. It's a great fortress, and this is the kingdom's territory. Foreigners wouldn't dare to cause trouble here."
Hao Ren did not say anything, his attention was completely on the Furnace of the Ancestors.
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