nownovels Chapter 14 The Only Will in the Northern Snowfield
Chapter 14 The Only Will in the Northern Snowfield
A few minutes later.
The open space outside the wooden house.
As Olivia pressed her hands to the snow, a blinding golden light illuminated the night.
The eighty magic crystals disintegrated and vaporized at a speed visible to the naked eye, transforming into a torrent of the purest matter.
Steel is growing.
There was no hammering sound of forging, only the subtle hum of material recombining.
Black steel skeletons spread across the land, huge rubber tires appeared out of thin air, and thick connecting rods meshed together.
When the light fades.
A black steel behemoth, seven meters long and three meters high, lay quietly on the snow.
It is ugly, coarse, and lacks any of the elegance found in aristocratic aesthetics.
The welds looked like scars, and the huge rivets looked like scales on its body.
But the sense of weight and power it exudes gives people a strange sense of peace.
"It's really...it's really been built."
Olivia was pale; the alchemy that consumed eighty magic crystals at once had taken a toll on her mental strength.
She held onto the wheel and tapped the two-inch-thick armor plate. "This is practically an iron coffin. Lorraine, are you sure it can move?"
"Anna, get in the car."
Without explaining, Lorraine simply pulled open the heavy iron door to the driver's cab.
Anna obediently climbed in and sat in the passenger seat. There was a specially designed recess there, leading directly to the boiler core at the rear.
Lorraine sat in the driver's seat and gripped the cast iron steering wheel.
It's cold, rough, and hurts your hands.
But he felt an immense sense of familiarity with it.
"Anna, put your hand in. Use your 'Heart of Flame' to boil the water in the boiler! Maximum power!"
"Yes, young master!"
Anna placed her hands into the groove.
The terrifying heat of the second-tier Flame Witch erupted instantly.
It does not require lengthy preheating or the combustion process of coal.
In the boiler behind, hundreds of liters of water are gradually boiled and vaporized in just three seconds.
The terrifying steam pressure was building up wildly in the pipes.
Om-!
The car body shook violently.
That's not a malfunction; that's the roar of a beast before it awakens.
"Hold on tight!"
Lorraine abruptly pulled down the thick throttle valve lever.
laugh--! ! !
High-temperature white steam billowed from the chimney on the roof of the vehicle, shooting up more than ten meters high and leaving a straight white line in the cold wind.
The massive piston begins to move, and the connecting rod pushes the wheel axle.
The six enormous tires, each as tall as a person, spun wildly twice on the snow, kicking up clouds of snow dust, before firmly gripping the frozen ground.
boom!
This five-ton steel monster was launched out without warning, like a cannonball!
Olivia, who was standing still, felt a wave of heat hit her face. Before she could react, the car had already rushed dozens of meters away and smashed a huge rock blocking the road.
The stone, as brittle as a biscuit, crumbled into powder instantly when it hit the corner of the car's front.
"this……"
Olivia stared in disbelief at the black shadow speeding across the snowfield, her jaw nearly dropping to the snow.
That speed... is at least 100 kilometers per hour!
And this is in such deep snow terrain!
No need for expensive levitation stones, no need for complicated magical circuits, just a bunch of ordinary iron and boiling water?
"This isn't magic..."
This alchemist, a graduate of a traditional academy, held his head in his hands, looking utterly bewildered in the wind.
"This is definitely not magic! If those old men at the Alchemy Society saw this, they'd turn their coffins upside down!"
In the distance, the steam locomotive drew a huge arc across the snowfield before roaring back.
Lorraine leaned out of the car window, his face, reddened by the wind, bearing a wild, unrestrained laugh.
"Olivia! Get in the car!"
"I'll take you to collect rent!"
-
In order to quickly consolidate control over the surrounding baronies, Lorraine drove his wild steam-powered ramming van across the snowfield.
Under Anna's magical influence, the water in the boiler remained boiling, and with the support of its powerful engine, the steam wagons sped between the various baronies at an astonishing speed.
In the process of consolidating the various baronies, Lorraine did not engage in any sentimental diplomatic rhetoric.
Because he doesn't have much time left.
In the short four hours leading up to the moment of the cataclysmic change, every second was a race against death.
With a sickening roar of steel, the truck violently smashed through the ineffective wooden fences of several nearby baronies.
The refugees, who were trembling with fear at the approaching snow season, even forgot to run away when they saw the steel monster spewing steam and radiating heat rushing into the camp.
"Get on the train, or die in the moment of utter chaos."
Lorraine sat in the driver's seat, his cold, hard voice amplified through a makeshift brass speaker, "I'll only give you three minutes."
There was no unnecessary chatter, and no so-called screening.
Because there simply wasn't enough time.
This violent harvesting operation ended even faster than expected.
When the truck turned around and rushed back to White Wolf Territory, four people and supplies were already crammed into the back of the truck, almost crushing the suspension system.
From those territories that had lost their defensive capabilities due to the severe cold, Lorraine practically looted the cellars, emptying out all the supplies that originally belonged to the survivors.
Barrels of cured meat, mountains of vegetables, and seeds of various vegetables and grains stored in sealed earthenware jars, which he considered his lifeblood.
Especially the vegetables and seeds.
In this desolate place besieged by blizzards, that touch of green, representing vitamins, is the holy medicine against scurvy during this long snowy season.
……
When we returned to the camp, the sky was so dark it looked like it was about to collapse.
That was a harbinger of the blizzard fully erupting.
The car door opened, and the four survivors who had been "robbed" stumbled out of the car, only to be speechless at the sight before them.
Three.
Three complete second-tier lava watchtowers stood in a triangular formation amidst the wind and snow.
The "Eye of Lava" at the top of the tower burns with dark red demonic fire, and the heat it releases melts all the snow within a hundred meters, revealing the dark brown permafrost below.
The light and heat burning fiercely in the polar night are more awe-inspiring than any miracle for those who have just been struggling on the brink of death.
"Everyone, stand in line."
Lorraine jumped out of the driver's seat and slowly walked up to the group.
Anna followed closely behind Lorraine, her signature molten-fire pupils sweeping over the crowd as the temperature in the air seemed to rise a few degrees.
The four survivors—three men and one woman—instinctively huddled together.
"My name is Lorraine, and I am the owner of this place."
Lorraine's gaze swept across their faces like a knife. "I don't care who you were before, what your status was, or which quagmire you crawled out of. Once you're in my camp, there's only one rule."
He held up one finger and pointed to the snow falling all around him.
"I have flesh, I have fire, I have everything that will allow you to survive the moment of upheaval."
"And you, you sold your lives to me."
A commotion broke out in the crowd.
A tall man with a worn-out longsword hanging from his waist came out.
He looks terrible.
The leather armor looked like it had been pulled from a pile of corpses, with obvious signs of patchwork. He had a full beard, puffy eyes, and a lingering smell of cheap alcohol.
But his hand on the hilt of the sword remained as steady as iron.
"I am Victor."
The man's voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded down. "A second-tier knight. Although I look like a beggar now, I once received proper knightly training."
Victor raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the steam wagon behind Lorraine, the three watchtowers, and Anna.
"My lord, do you stand by what you said?"
"Enough meat?"
Lorraine smiled.
He liked this kind of direct greed.
"Enough, as long as your sword can still kill."
Victor took a deep breath and suddenly knelt down on one knee.
"Since the lord has provided protection, the knight should repay him with obedience. This is both a matter of course and a manifestation of chivalry."
Victor drew the steel sword, its scabbard tattered but its blade still gleaming, and handed it to Lorraine, holding it upside down by the hilt.
"If anyone dares to disobey your orders in this camp, they'd better ask my sword if it agrees."
While he spoke eloquently, Victor was secretly plotting wildly.
Even a blind man could see that something was wrong with the young baron.
Those steel monsters that can run without horses, those special witch towers that I've never seen before, and that second-tier witch who seems to obey him completely.
None of these are things that a pioneering baron could possibly possess.
Lorraine had casually mentioned in the car that these were legacies left by his "reclusive legendary mentor."
Victor had reservations about this.
He spent four years at the best knight academy in the capital, but in the end, due to his lack of money, power, and background, he failed to join any of the major knight orders. He could only watch helplessly as those incompetent nobles who couldn't even hold a sword properly managed to get into the knight orders of various noble families through connections.
He, a top student who graduated with straight A's, could only end up in this godforsaken place as cannon fodder like the pioneering baron.
But he was, after all, a man of the world.
The so-called "legendary mentors" are mostly a facade.
But it is not important.
The important thing is that the resources available are real and tangible.
The magical fluctuations emanating from those three towers were undeniable, the second-tier witch standing beside the lord was undeniable, and the iron carriage that nearly shook his guts out was undeniable.
Following a powerful lord is a promising path.
Currently, although this territory has strong defensive facilities, it actually has very few people.
Joining now, he becomes one of the initial core members of this powerful lord's staff.
If he performs well, he might be able to get the position of captain of the personal guard.
Bringing my wife and kids over then would be better than living in that dilapidated tent in the old baron's territory, where monsters could devour them at any moment.
Victor recalled the rumors he had heard in the tavern about "Baron Lorraine being a spoiled brat" and couldn't help but spit inwardly.
Screw the rumors.
What kind of incompetent person could pull off such a stunt?
In all the years he had spent wandering this wasteland, even the bodyguards and buildings brought by those nobles who came to gain prestige were not as luxurious as what Lorraine had now.
With Victor leading the way, the rest of the people also knelt down.
Except for that girl who always huddled in the corner, looking pale even in the warm firelight.
He was stunned for a while before kneeling down.
She kept her head down, trying her best to shrink herself into the shadows, as if she was trying to minimize her presence and afraid of being noticed by Lorraine.
Lorraine ignored her odd behavior.
He pulled the book "The Witch's Codex" directly from his pocket.
To outsiders, the lord simply took out an ordinary notebook.
But in Lorraine's view, lines of data analysis were appearing above these people's heads.
Their identity, profession, past deeds, and affiliation are all readily apparent.
That's the source of his confidence to bring these people back directly.
Those barons or their subordinates who had committed grave sins were not taken into his carriage; instead, they were left to fend for themselves during the moment of upheaval.
"Victor."
Lorraine closed the book and pointed precisely at the target, "You'll be in charge of the western defense line. I know you were wounded by an arrow in your left leg. That position has cover and doesn't require frequent movement, which is perfect for your defensive swordsmanship, 'Unbreakable Rock'."
Victor, who was about to stand up, suddenly froze, his eyes filled with horror.
The old injury on his left leg was from three years ago, and no one knew about it except himself.
Moreover, "Unbreakable Rock" is his family's swordsmanship style. How could anyone in this remote northern region possibly see through it at a glance?
Who exactly is this lord?
Before Victor could recover from his shock, Lorraine had already turned to the next person.
"You two over there, go help Olivia deal with the barricades she's using to defend against monsters. The calluses on your hands aren't in the right place; they're not from using farm tools, they're from long-term fine woodworking."
"Perfect timing, this technology is needed to build basic defensive fortifications."
The two men, who had only wanted to make a living, stared at Lorraine with their mouths agape, as if they had seen a ghost.
"As for you."
Lorraine's gaze finally settled on the girl who had been trying to hide herself in the shadows.
"Layla".
The girl shuddered violently, looked up, and her eyes were filled with terror and a resigned despair.
"Can you cook?"
Leila was stunned.
She thought Lorraine had seen through the curse on her and that she was going to be driven out again, back to that cold, snowy place to die.
"Yes...I know a little."
"Then go to the kitchen and help Anna. Remember, don't touch anything with magical properties; only handle regular meat and vegetables."
Lorraine's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority: "Anna's magic is being depleted, and she needs high-calorie food."
Leila nodded blankly.
She didn't know why the lord would specifically instruct her "not to touch anything with magical properties," but it did relieve her.
As long as she avoids magic, her misfortunes seem to lessen considerably.
After the tasks were assigned, the atmosphere in the entire camp changed instantly.
The initial sense of unease and disarray disappeared, replaced by a sense of order, like a sophisticated machine at work.
Everyone was placed in the most suitable position, neither wasting time nor forcing anyone.
This near-omniscient and all-powerful ability to coordinate completely changed the way Victor looked at Lorraine.
It was more than just awe.
It was a kind of fervor born from seeing hope.
"Ugh—!!!"
After a while, a piercing alarm ripped through the snow and wind.
That was the sound of the detection array brought back from Olivia's territory being triggered.
Lorraine raised her head and looked at the dark wasteland outside the camp.
In the wind and snow, countless pairs of eerie green eyes lit up, densely packed, like will-o'-the-wisps blooming in hell.
The first wave of monster attacks during the snowy season has arrived.
"Everyone, to your positions!"
Lorraine drew the short sword from his waist and gave a cold smile.
"Tonight, we're having wolf meat hot pot."