Chapter 703 — The Wolf Returns Home

Duke Peiyi gave an "mm" of assent, but as he was about to enter the corridor, he suddenly stopped. Looking at Anluo, who had also halted and now wore a puzzled expression, the old man nodded lightly: "I forgot to say it earlier—welcome home."

After a moment of blank surprise, Anluo came to herself, and at last a faint smile spread across her face.

At the portico of the duke's mansion, Anluo did not see the carriage she knew, but instead a strange-looking vehicle with four wheels and a shell of iron, parked below the steps.

"This is the arcane vehicle I mentioned to you in my last letter," Duke Peiyi explained of his own accord before Anluo could ask. "It is the third one—more than half its parts were made by hand by the craftsmen. Your uncle has built a factory on Golden Shell Street and is attempting to use machines to manufacture the frame and shell of arcane vehicles. If you have time on this visit, you can go and have a look.

"You have been away from the capital too long. Many changes have come here, and some new things cannot be clearly described in letters. You should look around more; such experience will be useful to you."

"The Cecil folk have something much the same," Anluo said. "It appeared near Fort Changfeng recently. They use larger arcane vehicles to transport supplies."

"The arcane vehicle was first born among the Cecils; our craftsmen and scholars copied it. Just as you have seen, the Cecil folk first created arcana and have already gone far in this technology. We are now catching up, and this sits poorly with many imperial nobles accustomed to an attitude of pride—but that is the fact of it," Peiyi said as he walked toward the arcane vehicle. "That 'war machine' you mentioned is clearly also a creation of arcane technology. We have forged powerful legions of the extraordinary, but the Cecil folk are using arcane technology to erase that gap. If we do not wish to fall behind, we must cast off meaningless pride and begin now to close the distance."

Anluo sat down inside the vehicle, observing everything in view with irrepressible curiosity and delight. Her fingers brushed along the inner wall of the door. Having seen the Cecil war machine with her own eyes, this thing could not help but seem crude—yet when the tremor of machinery came up through her body from below, she could not resist murmuring softly: "...We made this..."

"Yes, we made this. Thanks are due to every scholar, mage, and craftsman of the Imperial Artificers' Association, and especially to Master Daniel, who leads this project. Though I do not care for that grand mage's overly gloomy temperament, his wisdom and talent command admiration," Duke Peiyi said. "Do not envy the tools the Cecil folk use to transport supplies. Winter Wolf Keep will soon have them too. Your uncle has already received Master Daniel's guidance, and once his factory is running in earnest, we shall no longer need to rely on craftsmen's hammers to make the shells of arcane vehicles."

With the tremor of the mechanical apparatus, the arcane vehicle started up. This incredible machine drove out of the duke's mansion and headed toward the Obsidian Palace. Along the way it met a few passersby, who stopped to watch, but Anluo's attention was now wholly absent from the streets outside: "If we can build this thing, then the train..."

"The train... the train is another concept altogether," Duke Peiyi shook his head with a bitter smile. "I know what you are thinking. I am thinking it too, His Majesty is thinking it, and our scholars, craftsmen, and mages are all thinking it—but we must admit we cannot build it yet... at least not now, nothing on the level of the Cecil arcane train. From what I know, a group of craftsmen are attempting to build simple, small rail vehicles. Let us hope they succeed."

Listening to her grandfather's words, Anluo slowly reined in her feelings. She raised her head and looked at the road receding past the carriage window, at the noon sunlight driving the thin mist from the streets of Aldernan, at the pedestrians hurrying along the streets—far fewer than she remembered—and that heart of hers, tethered to Winter Wolf Keep, tethered to the front line, at last slowly returned to this place.

The car rolled through the intersection, passing a mother and daughter out for a walk. Through the open window, An Luo heard a blurry voice drifting on the wind:

"Mom, there are so few people on the road... Where has everyone gone?"

"They're in the factories..."

The times were changing, and Xuanque City had truly grown somewhat unfamiliar.

But this was still her home, after all.

...

In the Obsidian Palace, an attendant entered Luo Yan Augustus's chamber and bowed. "Your Majesty, Duke Pei Yi Wendel and General An Luo Wendel have arrived."

Luo Yan, who had been reviewing a document, looked up from his work. "Let them in."

The patriarch and heir of the Wendel family entered the room and bowed in turn according to protocol. After Luo Yan returned the courtesy, his gaze settled on An Luo.

The young wolf general stood straight and met the emperor's gaze without flinching. Only when that deep stare finally withdrew a little did she hear the question:

"An Luo, what does our army lack right now?"