Chapter 61: Magic Bullet Cannon

The Grandis Mountains in winter are entirely unsuited for human survival in the wild, especially without a sufficient supply of provisions.

The geothermal heat within the abandoned mine reduced some of the survival hazards. After much twisting and turning, Mahait and Beaumarchais finally followed the underground tracks and exited through another opening.

Having stayed in the gloomy mine for too long, the glare from the snow made the two of them squint.

Everything went fairly smoothly.

A fallen rock blocked their path inside the mine. Beaumarchais used magic to clear the way, and when he moved a giant boulder, he smashed a nest of spiders, killing most of them.

The few remaining spiders launched a fearless attack against the two men, but they were also eliminated.

These spiders had white bodies with red spots, each about the size of a palm, with exceptionally large eyes that occupied a fifth of their bodies. After Beaumarchais appraised them, it turned out they were an unknown species of magical beast.

Spider-type magical beasts are none to be trifled with.

Even the lowest-tier ones, when gathered in large numbers, will set traps with webs.

They also spit venom and mucus, frequently making life miserable for higher-tier magical beasts and humans alike.

Suspecting that there were larger monster spiders nearby, the two men collapsed the exit and hurried away.

After a long and arduous trek, they finally arrived at Monroe Town.

Compared to the more remote and enclosed Red Hazel Town, Monroe Town possessed a more open and prosperous commercial atmosphere.

There was even a railway station here.

Yet, a small town close to the Grandis Mountains could only be prosperous to a limited extent.

Compared to Red Hazel Town, it merely boasted a larger brothel, a few more taverns, and a greater number of people wandering the streets in winter, drunkards frozen to death at street corners, and vagrants begging along the avenues.

Mahait and Beaumarchais cautiously slipped into the town, only to find everything as usual. The powerful mage from Red Hazel Town had not deployed the Ordos family to set up an inescapable net.

They finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems he didn't even deign to notice us. We treated it like an impending doomsday, while he merely considered us a couple of mice scurrying past under his nose," Beaumarchais said despondently.

Mahait frowned slightly. "Beaumarchais, why must you be so disheartened? Did you previously think you were the most powerful mage in the world? Meeting someone stronger than yourself has completely stripped you of your confidence and ambition."

"He is too young. A mage so young and powerful casts a brilliance far too blinding when displaying his talent. For the next several decades—no, perhaps centuries—it will be his era. People like us, once pursued and praised by countless others, will all become nothing more than his background scenery." Beaumarchais's tone grew increasingly dejected.

Mahait found it somewhat difficult to understand Beaumarchais. Perhaps his past life had been too smooth, constantly adored and overly inflated; once he fell and had to face reality, he simply could not accept it.

More likely, Beaumarchais indulged excessively in women. Such a person suffered from sapped vitality, a degraded soul, and a hollowed-out physique, making him all the more prone to collapse.

Mahait would never care if someone was younger and more accomplished than himself—the world was full of them.

"I am going to the station to find the contact."

Too lazy to continue admonishing Beaumarchais, Mahait simply walked away.

The Monroe Town railway station was a dual-use facility for both military and civilians.

During the late Orchid Empire era, both the central government and local regions launched a railway construction movement for a period. Because rich mineral deposits were discovered in Monroe Town, the locals raised funds to build a railway leading to Yubeng City.

Yet no one expected that the minerals in Monroe Town were merely a shallow surface layer, which was quickly exhausted. Soon after, they discovered that nearby Red Hazel Town possessed truly abundant mineral resources.

For the most part, the Monroe Town railway station was used to transport the minerals of the Ordos family.

While the Ordos family behaved tyrannically in Red Hazel Town, they did not act that way when dealing with outsiders—clever local tyrants always knew their own weight once they left their home turf.

For a long time, the gentry and prominent families of Monroe Town had gotten along quite reasonably with the Ordos family, which was why the operation planned by the Clement family this time had been executed with such meticulous care, preventing any leaks.

Pulling his hat down low and treading the slippery, filthy streets, while local residents occasionally emptied slop buckets from their windows—with urine and feces even descending from the sky—Mahait was forced to carefully quicken his pace.

Arriving at the railway station, the large wall clock above the waiting hall seemed to have frozen its time in the bitter winter. The hands twitched tremblingly a few times before returning to their places, refusing to tell the time all day long.

Mahait passed through the waiting hall and the station administration building, and then spotted two trains parked on the platform.

During this season, Red Hazel Town had no demand for mineral transport, and the railway station only dispatched a train outward once a week.

Of these two trains, one was the train Mahait and Beaumarchais had used to transport the Magic Wolf Berserker unit. At this moment, the curtains on the windows were all drawn back, leaving the interiors completely empty.

Reflecting on how he had striven for half his lifetime to finally earn the trust of the Clement family and command the Magic Wolf Berserker unit, he had once had a chance to advance further and make something of himself. Who could have imagined that an entire, powerful wolf unit would be buried in Red Hazel Town?

At this moment, Mahait could finally understand a fraction of Beaumarchais's despondent mood. Pondering his own future prospects, a trace of sorrow also crept over him.

Soon, however, he pulled himself together. Even if he had to start all over again, could his starting point possibly be lower than when he first left Red Hazel Town?

His attention shifted to the other train, which also bore the crest of the Clement family.

This train consisted of freight cars.

Every single carriage was draped with heavy, durable oilcloth, tightly bound at the corners. Yet, drawing upon his rich experience, Mahait still guessed what might be transported here—

Magic-bullet artillery.

The manufacturing principle of magic-bullet artillery was similar to that of magic-bullet rifles, both utilizing magic crystals to provide energy.

The barrels were engraved with more complex, finer, and more destructive magic arrays, consuming a greater quantity of magic crystals as well.

Speaking of which, they had the great Lady Edestrien to thank.

With her help, after the establishment of the Blood Orchid Republic, they spared no effort in conquering numerous black holes, acquiring vast quantities of magic crystals, and developing modern magitech industries.

Today, the magic-bullet artillery manufactured by the Republic had surpassed the Crimson Dawn Empire of the south, leading the entire world.

Gone were the days when the overseas nations could ship a few pieces of magic-bullet artillery and shatter the decadent empire alongside the backbone of its citizens.

Yet, why on earth was the Clement family transporting so much magic-bullet artillery to Monroe Town?

"Hey, Mahait!"

As Mahait stood dazed amidst the bone-chilling winds on the tracks, someone quickly spotted him.

"Someone just reported that you were back, and I wouldn't believe it—how come you look so haggard? Don't tell me you were sucked dry by your old flame in Red Hazel Town?"

The speaker's tone was extremely frivolous as he laughed heartily and walked up to Mahait.

Mahait removed his hat and bowed in greeting. This man was the fiancé of Lady Talissa—he had originally been dissatisfied with this match, but after Talissa insisted on undergoing magical modification to become a female magic wolf, he instead repeatedly demanded that the Clement family fulfill the engagement.