Chapter 320: Chapter 287 Welcoming the Elf Great Army_1
"I too wish this were a joke..." Lady Karol said with a melancholic smile. "But the Great Army of the Elf Race is indeed waiting for us to rescue them. If Knight Yan Xing truly cannot make it, we shall depart now."
Arlanda wasted no time; she and Lady Karol boarded Yan Xing’s private carriage.
Once the team had assembled, the convoy set off from Blood Crown Mountain City, continuing northward along the Thunderous Swamp Avenue.
Lady Karol sat in the carriage, carefully observing everything she saw.
The civilization of Blood Crown Mountain City was extremely polarized. Most Werewolves and Lizardmen appeared to be uncivilized barbarians—rough, reckless, barely clothed, and still using bone and stone tools. A small portion of Werewolves and Lizardmen, however, wore clothes or armor characteristic of the Eternal Domain. They carried themselves with a proud air, walking as if they were heroes, their pride clearly on display.
Moreover, Lady Karol noticed that all the currency used for transactions here were Grain Tickets from the Eternal Grain Bank.
「Outside Blood Crown Mountain City」
One could see vast tracts of cultivated rice paddies and ponds. Snakehide Buffaloes and Swamp Lizards labored under the command of Beast Tamers, while golden carp the size of cartwheels occasionally leaped from the ponds.
These carp were a species Yan Xing had introduced from the real world. They were first bred in the ponds around Blood Crown Mountain City to observe how real-world carp would change in the Magic World.
Like chickens and horses, the carp from the real world quickly underwent widespread Demonization. The demonized carp grew in size and could even cast Water Magic. Fortunately, in the small ponds, these demonized carp couldn’t cause much trouble.
After the carp bred to their second generation, the chances of Demonization decreased significantly. Then, these modern-improved, fast-growing freshwater fish could be widely farmed in the swamps.
With the experience from the carp, Yan Xing also planned to gradually introduce fish and shrimp that inhabited different water layers, making full use of the aquatic space.
The area around Blood Crown Mountain City already showed the makings of a land of fish and rice.
Lady Karol felt as if she could see the future prosperity of this place. Yan Xing is already so powerful now. When he fully exploits the productive potential of the Thunderous Swamp, I wonder what kind of behemoth I’ll be facing then.
"Miss Arlanda, are those alchemical transport vehicles behind us the ’trucks’ you manufactured in collaboration with the Goblin Alchemy Factory?"
Lady Karol had developed a keen interest in the trucks. These vehicles, with their high load capacity and no need for animal power, held extraordinary strategic significance. If the Silvermane Principality possessed a large number of such trucks, they could transport a great number of troops to Storm City at maximum speed. Perhaps they could change the current situation in Storm City. If Marquis Anderson had trucks, his materials and personnel could move rapidly across the well-built road network, allowing him to seize more initiative. If the Orcs possessed trucks, the human northern borders would never know peace. What kind of monster has the Eternal Domain created!
Arlanda didn’t possess Lady Karol’s strategic foresight; to her, the trucks were simply a form of high-speed, low-cost, high-capacity transportation.
Because Yan Xing intended to promote the use of trucks, Arlanda told Lady Karol some details about them. First, she described how Yan Xing and the Goblin Gaga had collaborated to establish a truck modification research institute. Then, she explained some of the trucks’ technical parameters in detail.
The more Lady Karol heard, the more astonished she became. She had assumed that these alchemical vehicles would be like heavy alchemical golems—a type of high-energy-consuming alchemy equipment. But who would have thought that these trucks, powered by Rare Alchemical Resources, would have unimaginably low energy consumption? For long-distance transportation, the cost of using trucks was so low that it was even more economical than using animal power.
"How... how is this possible?" Lady Karol couldn’t understand. According to alchemical experience, the larger the scale of a mechanical alchemical device, the steeper the increase in energy loss during operation. One of the main reasons heavy alchemical golems weren’t widely used was their excessive energy consumption.
Arlanda didn’t know how to answer Lady Karol’s question.
"I don’t know how Lord Yan Xing did it either," Arlanda said. "The alchemy of the Eternal Domain has always been subverting my perception of alchemy. Perhaps only the Alchemists of Cloud Tower can understand such profound alchemy."
Lady Karol also sighed, "Yes, the alchemy mastered by the Eternal Domain is indeed comparable to that of Cloud Tower. But is it a good thing, or a bad one?"
"Why?"
Faced with Arlanda’s question, Lady Karol merely smiled and did not respond.
The Thunderous Swamp Avenue had only recently been completed and was very smooth. Members of the Swamp Tribe encountered along the route consciously stepped aside upon seeing the carriage convoy of Lord Yan Xing of the Eternal Domain.
The convoy of carriages and horses moved very quickly, and by evening, it had emerged from the northern end of the Thunderous Swamp.
「In the northern fringe of the Thunderous Swamp」
A road running east-west was under construction. This was the northern section of the Thunderous Swamp outer ring road, as planned by Yan Xing. Additionally, the eastern and western routes were also under construction. Another major road cut straight through the swamp from east to west. Together, these formed the main arterial framework of the Thunderous Swamp.
The convoy followed the road currently under construction, heading westward. Along the way, there were throngs of summoned Werewolf laborers. They gathered in temporary engineering camps along the road, lighting campfires to cook their meals. They sang traditional ballads with rhythmic howls. It was evident that the Werewolves were very content with their current lives.
The convoy quickly reached the end of the road and entered the grasslands, where their pace noticeably slowed. However, before night fell completely, they encountered the Elf Vanguard on the march.
The spirits of the Elf warriors were exceedingly low. Their escape route was cut off, and their future seemed bleak. Being forced to accept the Swamp Tribe’s protection was a bitter pill for the proud Elf Race to swallow.
Confronted by an unknown army suddenly encountered at night, the Elf Vanguard immediately assumed a combat stance. A troop of Elf heroes riding Unicorns took the lead, collectively forming a continuous defensive wall. Behind the Unicorns, Elf Hunters were arranged in three rows, their bows fully drawn, arrows pointing skyward. Further back, Elf Sword Dancers spread out to the flanks. Druids chanted spells, casting defensive and buffing magic on the entire army. Pegasus Knights ascended, circling and forming a defensive ring formation to provide aerial cover for their troops. At the very rear, Treants over ten meters tall advanced slowly. Perched on their branches were numerous lithe Flower Fairies.
Elf forces:
First Order Flower Fairy, Second Order Flower Fiend.
Third Order Elf Sword Dancer, Fourth Order War Dancer.
Fifth Order Elf Hunter, Sixth Order Secret Archer.
Seventh Order Druid, Eighth Order Senior Druid.
Seventh Order Pegasus Knight, Eighth Order Silver Pegasus Knight.
Ninth Order Unicorn, Tenth Order Silver Unicorn.
Eleventh Order Treant, Twelfth Order Ancient Treant.
Encountering a well-equipped army at night threw the Elves into some disarray. A fierce wind swept across the wilderness, its howls making it seem as if enemies were pressing in from all sides.