Chapter 511 — Into the City

Even the well-traveled citizens of Cecil could not help crying out, yet almost no one panicked. They merely watched with a touch of tension as the strange steel vehicle rolled slowly to the center of the plaza, as it came to a steady stop among the soldiers and technicians. They looked curiously at its shell, at its square, upright front end, the open-topped rear compartment, the magic-crystal lamps at the front, and its tall, massive wheels—given the actual state of construction in the Southern Frontier, so that the vehicle could handle rough roads, its wheel diameter, chassis height, and internal shock-absorbing and balancing structures had all been adjusted once more before the final model left the factory, which made its wheels look all the more imposing and impressive.

After the vehicle had stopped and settled for a moment, the shell of its front-middle section suddenly opened—there was a door there—and a spirited young woman leaped out.

The people burst into applause at once. Some smiled and doffed their hats, some bowed slightly in greeting, and an old woman standing at the edge of the plaza laughed happily: "Look—it's our Miss Rebecca after all."

Someone nearby laughed too: "Something like this has to have her hand in it."

"Hello, everyone! This thing is called an arcanomechanical vehicle—also known as a magic-powered vehicle," Rebecca greeted the familiar and unfamiliar faces in the plaza cheerfully. "As the first generation, its model is the 'Magic Power 475'..."

The Magic Power 475.

It was named in commemoration of the first stretch of road ever successfully driven by the first arcanomechanical vehicle after it rolled off the assembly line—475 meters.

A mechanical counter Rebecca had installed in the wheel for testing had accurately recorded the length of that run.

The people applauded again—though many still had not quite grasped what exactly this thing called an arcanomechanical vehicle was, that did not stop them from clapping. For one thing, the lively and warm-hearted Rebecca had always been well liked; for another, because...

This thing called an arcanomechanical vehicle really did look incredible.

In one corner of the plaza, a father and son stood gaping.

"Don't act like some bumpkin who's never set foot in a city," the great merchant Coder suddenly recalled the very words he had said to his son not long ago.

And yet... what could he do about it?

Situated on the northern frontier of the Duchy of Cecil, right next to Boulder Fortress, the city of Carroll... really was the countryside at this moment.

Though just two years ago, its proximity to the Holy Spirit Plain had made it seem the place in the southern realm with the most promise, the closest thing to "the beating heart of the kingdom's trends"...

"Father," young Parr finally snapped out of his dumbfounded state. He swallowed hard. "Is that carriage driven by a magical mechanism? Is it a golem?"

"It is indeed driven by a magical mechanism, but it's absolutely not a golem. Look at the inside of that carriage door—see those control levers? It's a magitech machine, just like those mining machines we've seen before."

"Mining machines..." Parr said thoughtfully. "You mean it's also made for ordinary people to use?"

"Yes, without a doubt—from my analysis, our lord has consistently devoted himself to crafting these magical creations that ordinary folk can use," Coder said, even as he pricked up his ears and listened closely to Rebecca on the plaza explaining the concept of the "magitech carriage" to the crowd. He murmured to himself, "Just as I thought... it's driven by a magical energy engine too... then its strength must far surpass that of oxen and horses, and it doesn't need to eat fodder..."

"Father?" Parr looked at his father curiously. "What did you say?"

"Parr, my son, take a good look at the city of Xuanque, and see how many opportunities you can find—" The great merchant Coder's eyes blazed with fiery passion. This man, already middle-aged and, in the eyes of others, near the age when he might retire with honor, was now stirred with fighting spirit. For a fleeting moment, he seemed to have returned to the days when he first set out to trade on his own, to the time when he first left his hometown to seek business in distant lands. He remembered the first time he saw the streets of a great city, the first time he saw so many people and so much goods—and a remark he had happened to overhear then.

"My son, this place... is paved with gold..."