Autumn is cold, the short warm season in the northern part of the continent has long ended, as the frost constellation gradually approaches the height of the sky, the vast northern continent of Loren begins to gradually be enveloped by cold winds, from the northern wasteland next to the endless ocean, to the vast plains occupied by the northern city-states, to the moss forest where the gray elves have lived for generations, everyone is preparing for the winter that will come soon.

Stock up on fuel for the winter, seize the last sunny days to dry dried fish and make pickles, mend houses damaged in the autumn rains, and dig out cotton clothes and bedding for the winter...... With the exception of the Cecil Empire, where magic technology has entered the civilian stage, people in most parts of the world are still living a life that is not much different from what they used to be - even if magic technology from afar has begun to change the way some people live, bringing many new things to these ancient lands, but these changes will take time.

Rupert, who had just moved to the city, was walking down the street pushing a cart of charcoal, and the wind was much colder than yesterday blowing on his face, and some of the cold wind got into his collar, so that the diminutive gray elf man couldn't help but shrink his neck. He looked up at the place, which was still very foreign to him, and couldn't help but sniffle.

He's still trying to adjust to life in the city, which isn't easy.

Compared with the forest he was used to, this "big forest" built by people seemed too large, too cold, too crowded, and too chaotic, and every day he had to deal with countless people he didn't know, do strange jobs, hear a lot of new information that he didn't understand, and finally return to a strange place - the only thing that could comfort him was his wife and a pair of children who moved with him, and they were the biggest motivation for him to live in this strange city, and finally make up his mind to put down roots here.

After all, apart from the unfamiliar environment that is difficult to adapt to, life in the city is still far more comfortable and convenient than in the forest, as a gray elf who is good at handling herbal ingredients, his income in the distillation and maturation factory is enough to provide a warm place for the family to live, and his wife no longer has to worry about the beasts and poisonous insects that infest the forest at any time, as for the children......

They really like this big city.

Another cold wind blew, Rupert couldn't help but sniffle again, and he looked at the cart of charcoal in front of him: this cart of charcoal was bought from the charcoal field in the south, and with the amount of money he had purchased, the fuel needed for the family to survive the winter in the city was ready. Life in the city is not like in the forest, where there is no way to go out and collect firewood, and the fuel for heating can only be bought. The operator of the charcoal burner was a shrewd-looking grey elf merchant, and Rupert felt that he was probably the richest man he had ever seen in his life, but for some reason, he always felt that the shrewd charcoal merchant was sad when he recalled the details of the previous transaction......

Rupert pushed the cart through the center of the city, a pleasant, soft music suddenly came to his ears, he subconsciously looked up, and saw a huge crystal device standing proudly in the square in front of the leader's longhouse, the surface of the huge magic device runes flickering, a large crystal was floating on some kind of alloy base slowly rotating, and the sound of soft music came from a certain structure of the device.

He remembered the device's name, presumably the Magical Obelisk—the thing that surprised him the most since entering the city. Rupert didn't know how the Cecil people living in the East had created this incredible device, but he knew that the square, and the large area outside it, relied on it for its energy, and that the unusually bright street lamps and the "machines" in some of the factories were powered by it.

The installation also starts playing the traditional music of the Grey Elves every day when the sun rises, and continues to play until the sun goes down.

This second function is said to have been commissioned by the patriarch himself, and was devised by the Grey Elves' own "magic guide technicians". Rupert didn't know anything about "technical exchange" or "foreign expert guidance", but he knew that the city's residents welcomed the music in the square, which made some citizens who were otherwise resistant to magic technology let their guard down, and many of the more receptive residents had organized themselves to dance or play musical instruments in the square when the music was playing—just like at festivals.

A slightly hoarse and neutral voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Rupert's association about the "Magic Obelisk": "Citizen, do you need help?" ”

Rupert was startled by the voice, and turned his head in some panic, only to see a very tall and muscular woman standing beside him—an orc, almost as tall as three gray elves, covered with strong, bulging muscles under her beautiful soft hair, and carrying a terrifying chopping axe behind her back. The lady guarding the square was looking at her, not a vicious gaze - but enough to make the country grey elves who weren't yet accustomed to city life nervous.

"No...... It's nothing, I'm distracted, distracted......" Rupert said with a flustered wave of his hand.

"Well, then don't be in a daze for too long," said the orc lady casually, her gaze casually falling on Rupert's cart of charcoal, and she frowned, "Well, I hope there really won't be a need for charcoal in the future, this thing is not hair-friendly." ”

"Huh?" Rupert was a little surprised that the guards in the city were more friendly than he expected, and he was a little curious about the other party's words, "Ma'am, what did you say?" Isn't it allowed to burn charcoal in the future? ”

"I mean, there's no need to burn charcoal anymore," the orc lady glanced at the gray elf, who looked a little confused, "haven't you heard?" Magical heat stations are being built to the north and south of the city, and according to the 'Cecil contractors', the whole street will only need a few thermal pipes to warm up, and there will be no fires, no choking smoke, and no more unlucky orcs with bald tails burned by charcoal fires. Of course, at least next year's ......."

Rupert listened to the Square Guard's descriptions as if they were from heaven, the terms and concepts were something of another world entirely to him - and he believed that even those who had lived in the city for a long time might not be able to understand what the so-called "magic heat station" or "heat pipe" was, after all he had heard in the tavern in the past few days that the locals had used eight different versions to boast about the principle of the "magic engine", what the Cecil merchants had brought...... It's really hard to figure out.

Rupert could only be sure that the magical-looking machines were all man-made, and that when they were taken apart, they were a pile of iron and crystals with nothing special, and that there were no little devils living in them, and that there was no need to suck any souls—something that the Cecil had emphasized over and over again, and that even the patriarch had assured the townspeople himself.

He shook his head, putting aside the confusion about "how to keep warm without charcoal" for a moment, which sounded like it was going to happen next year, and at the same time he subconsciously glanced at the tail of the tall orc lady in front of him—a cautious glance that apparently failed to hide the eyes of a professional warrior, who immediately flicked his tail behind him and glared at the same time.

Rupert immediately shrunk his neck and hurriedly pushed the cart forward.

Although he was not sure if the majestic soldier had had his tail burned by the charcoal fire, he could now understand why the shrewd-looking and wealthy charcoal merchant had always been grimacing......

……

Maurelina watched as the gray elf, who had not been very bright, as if he had just entered the city from the countryside, pushed the cart away, and let out a feline whirring sound in her throat, and then she glanced at the mechanical clock hanging in front of the chieftain's longhouse not far away, and after confirming that the time was near, she strode to the large crystal device in the center of the square.

Next to the Obelisk, which powers most of the city, there is a smaller device - a Magic Web terminal with a triangular base and crystal components.

It has been three days since this terminal was installed here, and countless citizens have speculated about its purpose, but it will not come in handy for the first time until today.

Several technicians were working here to tune up the complex magic device, two of them humans with distinct foreign accents, who were examining the crystals and explaining the details to the people next to them, and the other were short white robes, short as children, who were pen and paper in their hands, listening nervously and intently to the instructions of the two strangers like apprentices.

None of them cared about the female guard captain who walked up to them - a female warrior who was full of curiosity but knew nothing about magic techniques did not affect the working status of these technicians.

With the help of these men, the smaller magic device was finally activated—not far from the time it had been booked.

With a slight buzz and interference, a bright light curtain appeared out of thin air, and a large magical projection instantly appeared in the center of the square, and brilliant colors and beautiful sounds burst out at the same time-

Carrying the axe, Maurelina almost immediately exploded in fluff and leaped out like a keen feline hunter, nearly removing the weapon from her back, but soon realized that the device was just a harmless projection of a nervous-looking gray elf.

She felt a little embarrassed, and even the fine white fluff could not hide her slightly flushed face, but the citizens around her who were suddenly alarmed apparently did not notice this small detail, and they looked at the magical image that suddenly appeared in the square in surprise and curiosity, and heard a voice coming from inside:

"This ...... This is the Mossy Forest Magic Network Broadcast, which is broadcast for the first time. We are showing a picture from 'White Feather Harbor' today, and our patriarch, Lady Wenna Bai Zhi, will ......"

……

The autumn wind blows through the low forests along the coast, the damp air currents sweep all the way between the houses by the harbor and the outposts near the harbor, the long trestle extends from the land to the endless sea, and the blue ocean rises and falls slowly at the end of the trestle, full of texture in the sun.

The blue sea, the blue sky, the rolling waves, the incessant sound of the wind, and the chirping of seabirds – all these are rare sights to see in the depths of the mossy forest.

Wenna Bai Zhi stood on the pier of this small port, beside her trusted guards and advisors.

Not far from her, there were representatives of the Dwarven Kingdom who had come from afar.

"It's almost time...... Wenna muttered to herself.

"Yes, Chief," nodded a human in brown robes with a silver headband on his head, "the last signal indicates that they are only an hour away from the harbor, and the watchtower to the north reports seeing a ship on the sea—it should be almost there." ”

Wenna snorted, and looked back at the clearing not far away—a group of technicians were gathered, huddled around a new, valuable-looking magic machine, with a crystal device fixed above it gleaming in the sunlight.

The machine made the Grey Elf leader a little nervous, but she easily resolved the discomfort, knowing that her figure had been recorded by the marvelous device, and transmitted back to the city of Wind Song in the depths of the mossy woods and the city of Sambitok in the eastern part of the woodlands, which were the only two cities in the moss forest that had built a magic net and connected it by a communication device, and were also the "magic net pilot" for the entire Oguray tribal state. As the main promoter of the whole project, she knew that she had to be perfect and good enough today.

"I hope the citizens of Fengge and Zabitok don't get too nervous when they first see the Magic Net broadcast," she whispered in a voice that only the advisors around her could hear, "this thing is not the magic machine they've been exposed to so far." ”

"There's always something nerve-wracking, and the Cecil exclaimed when they first saw the Magic Web's broadcast," replied the human advisor with the silver headband on his head, "but after the nervousness, brave and curious people will appear, and as long as we encourage and guide them, new things will grow rapidly." ”

Wenna hummed and looked up again at the distant sea, but her attention was focused on the not-so-large trestle in her sight.

It's just a small port, and it would have been in a worse place at the moment had it not been for the recent emergency repairs and additions.

After all, it was meant to be a place for local fishermen to dock small boats that could not sail farther than the demarcation line offshore.

"Hakuba Harbor is just a fishing village...... Wenna said softly, "but maybe from today onwards, this will no longer be just a fishing village......

A loud flute that seemed to penetrate the sea suddenly came from the sea and reached everyone's ears.

"It's coming! Here it comes! ”

The onlookers in the harbor shouted loudly, and even the representatives of the gray elves on the trestle and the representatives of the dwarves from afar craned their necks for a moment, and they all looked at the sparkling sea, and between the undulating waves and the brilliant rays cast by the sun, a ship made of steel, covered with shimmering magical shields, and with strange wings spread on both sides, was sailing this way through the wind and waves.

Ships came from the north.