Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 59 Transportation Plan
Five tractors set off from various locations in the city, their roar shattering the cold morning air. Icicles and snowflakes fell from the eaves, and a few wary eyes peered out from the Watcher's Tower.

In the past, the church would either be unable to leave smoothly, or they would return to find their home gone.

But Renn was still unconscious, so the knights turned their attention away and let them do as they pleased—as long as they didn't seize power in the city.

The steel gates of Speyer were lifted by an internal counterweight. The huge cast iron counterweight was connected to the gates via a pulley system, and the huge steel teeth on the guide rails meshed in sequence, producing a heavy impact sound.

Beams of searchlight pierced the darkness of dawn, and the black behemoth stood silently outside the granite city walls.

The last two vehicles, towing huge wheeled steel plates, slowly laid them flat on the snow.

Xilun opened the tractor's heavy side door and jumped out of the one-meter-high cab.

This operation involved almost the entire force, except for Sam and a few knights who stayed behind. Even the church was decorated with a sign that read "Mass is temporarily canceled," and only a few cleaners came occasionally to clean.

The wind and snow howled past, crashing against the thick walls of Speyside, stirring up a cloud of dry snow powder. Siron was wrapped in a thick black coat, with a scarf and hood covering himself completely.

“I’ll say something!” Aldridge roared, the wind and snow hitting his chapped lips.

"There are ten people in total. They will be divided into pairs inside the vehicles, with the bishop, the dean, Joseph, and Kyle, the four people with divine sense, acting as the vehicle commanders and driving the runes inside the vehicles! The fifth vehicle will be driven by Fafnir and me!"

His voice sounded faint in the wind and snow, and people huddled together, trying to listen.

"Communication between vehicles will be done using signal lights! I've added three simple three-color roof lights! The signal manual and driver's manual are here; the vehicle commander, please come and get them!"

After saying that, he handed out four booklets to the people.

“I already explained the plan last night, and I’ll reiterate it—the bishop’s vehicle will be at the forefront, breaking through the snow; this is the most demanding task, requiring continuous energy replenishment to the runes. The dean’s vehicle will follow behind, using a snowplow for secondary clearing. Kyle’s team will be responsible for road maintenance, ensuring the rails are undamaged. Fafnir and I will be responsible for towing the train. Joseph’s team will bring up the rear—any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads.

"set off!"

With a loud shout, each group quickly moved to their respective vehicles, and the sky seemed to brighten a bit.

—The sun rose, piercing through the thick clouds and casting its light, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.

"Your Excellency!" The young, blond knight was the first to leap onto the tractor equipped with a heavy V-shaped snowplow. "It's going to be a fine day!"

Xilun smiled, reached out his hand, and was pulled onto the tractor by the knight: "Yes, Arthur."

Arthur's eyes lit up: "You know me?"

“I know the name of every single one of you,” Celen said with a smile—Eldridge had given him the list last night.

"At your service!" the knight exclaimed excitedly, his blue eyes as vast as the ocean, his golden hair flying in the wind, and a big boy's smile on his face.

Xilun was momentarily dazed; he hadn't seen such a clear and sunny smile since the apocalypse.

So he smiled and patted the knight on the shoulder—even though the knight wasn't even a novice knight yet. "Let's go," he said.

Arthur gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his muscles tense, and forcefully pressed the clutch, pulling the gear lever into start. Then, as if awakening, the steel behemoth slowly plowed two tracks into the deep snow.

Xilun sat in the seat behind the cockpit, flipping through the operating manual.

The driver at the front is responsible for controlling the movement of the vehicle, as is the heavy snowplow at the very front, who is in charge of the signal lights, weapons systems, and boiler.

The tractor is fed coal via a manual conveyor belt. Xilun needs to use a hand crank to pull the conveyor belt and control the amount of coal himself. There is a glass viewing hole next to the back seat to see the situation inside the boiler.

This was all very new to him; intricate mechanical parts made up steam-powered steel structures. He stared at the red-hot boiler as if looking at the heart of a giant beast.

"This is my first time driving a steam tractor!" Arthur shouted. In the cockpit filled with mechanical noise, the two of them had to shout to speak.

"Not bad!" Siren encouraged him with a smile. Their car was second in the convoy, closely following Aldridge. The wind and snow obscured their vision, and they could only rely on the faint flashing lights to identify the direction of the car in front.

“My dad used to do this!” he exclaimed excitedly. “He used to drive it when he was transporting steel in the factory!”

"Is he a steelworker?" Siren leaned closer and asked.

“It’s the foreman! He’s been working here for twenty-three years, and the factory owner promoted him. He came back that day wearing a brand-new uniform, pouting and walking around the house five times, just waiting for us to ask him!” Arthur said with a smile, pulling the steering wheel slightly to the left.

"How is he now?" Xiren asked.

“He died of old age!” Arthur said proudly. “He worked for over twenty years and died at the ripe old age of fifty-seven. I heard that the factory owner was quite regretful when he died, saying, ‘If only old Hess had worked a few more years.’”

Xilun paused for a moment, savoring the undisguised pride and glory in those words, and nodded: "I see."

Arthur seemed to have opened up, excitedly saying, "My brother also works in that factory. His salary is pretty good. He's been making money since my dad died. He told me that the factory manager thinks highly of him, the foreman takes good care of him, and the other workers are all very friendly. If he works for a few more years, he can become a foreman again, more than ten years faster than Dad!"

"It's a pity he died in the river! The superintendent said it was suicide, and all the evidence is very clear, but how could he have committed suicide after saying those things just last week? My mom went to make a fuss for a long time but to no avail. When she came back, she told me not to be as gloomy as my brother, and to be more cheerful so I could make friends!"

Arthur laughed loudly, his blond hair dancing like golden, molten sunlight in the wind from the vents, as he piloted the wildly vibrating machine as if feeling the rhythm of a drumbeat.

"Later, my mother wouldn't let me continue attending church school, so I went to work in a factory. Those were great times! Building Speyside required a lot of steel, so I was always fully booked. The factory owner even treated us to meat—and I also found a fiancée!"

"My coworkers didn't really like me at first, but my mom was right. If I'm more outgoing, I can make friends. If I smile more, I'll get along with them. Unfortunately, every time I ask my dad about my brother, they're reluctant to talk about it. It seems like they're more concerned about talking about dead people at work, because it's easy for something to go wrong!"

"But it didn't really matter. I had a lot of work that year, but I also made a lot of money. I even got engaged to Clara—I could even afford a silver ring!"

Arthur's cheerful and sunny smile outshone the shimmering clouds in the sky. A slight ripple appeared on Xilun's calm expression as he looked at the young man and nodded with a smile.

“That sounds really good, Arthur.”

(End of this chapter)