6 Minecarts

Before dawn, the Ranger said goodbye to everyone and set off north according to Martin's arrangement, disappearing from our story. Wind Chime and the other three also set off south for Anseison City.

Wind Chime agreed to Erin Akayi's invitation last night, and the four members of the church were very happy, especially Erin, who hit it off at first sight and had a great conversation. Along the way, Erin excitedly told Wind Chime about various things, including her own experience, knowledge, and so on.

"Originally, I wanted to join the Imperial Army, but they said that I could only join the Medic or the Demon Court, I didn't know magic, and the Medics couldn't directly participate in the battle, so I joined the Church's armed forces, and they didn't refuse women to join." Erin talked about her experience in the army, and said with a wry smile. She didn't take off the rattan scarf from her head even when she was resting at night, so the wind chimes didn't know what she looked like, but they could still sense her enthusiasm in her low, slightly echoing voice. Wind Chimes saw that Erin's rattan armor was painted a little red, which was the representative color of the Akayi family, and Wind Chimes knew this. From the conversation, it is also known that Erin is actually the adopted daughter of the Akayi family. Wind Chimes also told Erin a lot about what she saw and heard along the way, such as the customs of surrounding countries, places of interest, etc.

Martin and the sorceress also whispered, and Wind Chime vaguely heard them guessing about their age, and she was not surprised, just like in Windwalk, she gave the impression that her magical prowess did not match her age. So Wind Chimes decided to keep a low profile, and instead of using teleportation magic or transformation magic to get on the road, she walked with them, this is not a remote Fengxing town, and the slightest mistake will cause rumors, which is not what she wants to see.

Along the way, you can see many travelers, caravans and refugees rushing from south to north, and Captain Martin will come forward to remind them to avoid the road to the north and not to rush at night. However, he soon noticed that the men had sad faces on their faces, but Martin guessed that the sorrow was not due to trivial family matters or natural or man-made disasters, and he realized that something might be wrong in Anseison City, and motioned for the others to speed up.

Near noon, when Anseison appeared on the southern horizon, Martin knew that he was right in his fears - the United Kingdom army was already stationed on the outskirts of Anseison City, and the army had surrounded half of the city, seemingly deliberately leaving a gap so that the defenders and the people inside the city would retreat and give way to the city.

"It seems that the road into the city is not safe," the magician speculated, "and the British army is besieging but not attacking, and I am afraid that we are ready to encircle the point and send reinforcements, and if we pass like this, we may be intercepted by the patrolling enemy troops." Others agree that going into the city is mostly self-defeating.

"We're still going back, and the people in the city need our help." Erin said that even if her voice was dull, her tone was firm.

"Let's go...... That way? Martin asked the others, gesturing to the ground, exactly what he meant by "underground." Both Erin and the sorceress nodded, apparently knowing what Martin was referring to. Wind Chimes didn't understand what they were communicating with, and didn't say much, but understood that they had other ways to get into the city.

"Come, Wind Chimes, let's go into the city in another way." Erin beckoned the wind chimes, and the group began to turn westward, far away from the British army, and cautiously left the main road and headed for the hills to the west.

There are rolling hills to the north of Anseison City, and under some of the higher hills, there are some abandoned wooden houses scattered here, and judging from the missing daily necessities, many people used to be busy working here.

"Is this an abandoned mine?" On a hill, Wind Chimes make their guess.

"Yes," replied Erin, "the mines were all silver mines, and were originally owned by the Church, but the silver mines were abandoned when they were mined. ”

"It's bustling here, the workers are mining day and night, and even at night it's brightly lit, look at ...... now," the sorceress sighed, with a look of disdain on her face, pointing to the rusty digging tools scattered everywhere, "People have drained this place, and they have made a mess of this place, and the houses are not demolished, and the things are not taken away, they just leave it here to occupy the space...... The silver mines were also sold to Obey, where no minerals were allowed to be mined, and only imports could be made from Spalet and other countries, so the grasslands of Obey were very large......"

Wooden houses were lined up, most of them dilapidated, and the inside was a mess, some of which even showed signs of burning. The doors and windows swayed in the breeze, making a "creaking" sound, witnessing the desolation in front of them.

"This silver mine was once a symbol of the prosperity of Anseison City, and after the silver mine was depleted, all the workers felt very sorry that they lost their jobs and could not do anything else, and most of them did not end well." Martin added, "It's the well in front of you, so be on guard and don't let anyone see it...... Luckily, there are ladders here. He pointed to a mine shaft in front of him and said that the other three were also following his orders to keep an eye on the surrounding area. In fact, the group had already taken anti-tracking measures, and at this time, they were vigilant again, and it can be seen that there are important secrets hidden in this well.

The mouth of the well was not large, barely allowing Erin, who was wearing bloated rattan armor, to pass through, and when Martin was about to go down the well, he suddenly noticed something strange in the direction of Anseison City: "What is that?" Several people also looked at the city of Anseson, and saw a huge strange cloud in the sky above the city, forming the shape of a huge six-pointed star that lay flat above the city, and if they were in the city, they might not have noticed it, but because they were far away from the city, they could only see this strange phenomenon.

"That's the Detection Magic Array, it should have been arranged by the Imperial Army in the city itself." The sorceress explained, "With this magic array, you can sense the use of magic in the city, and if an enemy mage transforms into a small animal and sneaks into the city, you can find out." ”

"I see, it looks like the city is ready." Martin said, and he asked the female magician, "Don't you know this magic array?" If you deal with those dark shadows, you open a ......"

"This magic circle requires at least three mages to cast spells at the same time, and it takes a long time to recite spells, and I won't ...... Eh, don't ask a few questions, hurry up. ”

Martin didn't hesitate any longer, and went straight down the ladder down the well, then the sorceress and the wind chimes, and finally Erin—the next three people managed to help her in the thick rattan armor.

The sorceress picked up the torches on the ground, lit them with fire magic, and observed the conditions underground by the light of the fire. Surrounded by rock walls on all sides, the wetness and freshness of the earth have long been lost, and some improvised machinery and a few minecarts can be seen not far away.

"Great, minecart on this side, hey! It also tows the steam engine, no need to do it manually. Martin also raised his torch and looked at it, and said excitedly. It looks like the machinery is fine, the parts are well maintained, and there is water here...... Come and help me as we push this minecart onto the rails. ”

At this time, the wind chime realized that there was a railroad track not far away, and the location here was exactly one end of the railroad track, extending to the other side into the endless darkness.

"There is a tunnel in front of it that leads to the basement of the church in Anseison City, which was originally designed to allow important people to enter and exit the city, but only the people of the church know this secret." Erin and Wind Chime explained.

Wind Chimes has mixed feelings in her heart, and there are indeed many benefits to secretly entering and exiting the city through the tunnel, but the original intention of the construction is not for the ordinary people, and this act of the church has to make her wonder who the "important people" are.

Several men worked together to push the minecart onto the tracks. However, the minecart was not big enough to hold four people, so Martin, the Witch, and the Wind Chime all looked at Erin slightly embarrassed—her bloated rattan armor took the place of the two of them, but she didn't react. It wasn't until Erin climbed into the minecart alone that she realized that there was only half of the space left, and even if she was close to the edge, she didn't have much room left.

"Looks like I'm going to have to take off this outfit...... Erin said dejectedly, trying to get out of the minecart again.

"No, you sit down," Wind Chime hurriedly stopped, "I'll just use the transformation magic." With that, she recited the incantation, and her body gradually shrunk, turning into a canary, and flew to Irene's hand. Erin was amazed, and gently stroked the canary's feathers with her leather-gloved hand - a man in heavy rattan armor was caressing a small bird, and Martin and the sorceress felt an inexplicable incongruity when they saw this scene, but Martin immediately stared at the sorceress as if expecting something.

"Don't ...... Don't look at me, I won't transform into magic, go up there......" The sorceress explained in a panic, and then the two of them got into the minecart as well.

"Arrange all your weapons, you'll hit the stone wall." Martin curled up to warn the group, and Erin immediately placed the musket diagonally in the minecart.

"Let's light the fire." Martin said.

In front of the minecart is a small steam engine, the product of technological innovation in the Providet Empire. The sorceress ignites the charcoal fire in the steam engine, and the minecart begins to move slowly. The crowd extinguished the torches and their eyes became dark, so they sat down quietly in the minecart and listened to the sound of the minecart rubbing against the rails and the sound of the steam engine working.

An invisible pressure came at them - the minecart had entered the tunnel, and because it was pitch black all around, they could only feel the speed of the minecart through the whirring wind, which was not fast, much slower than the speed of the war horse, and they clung to the side of the minecart and began this uncomfortable journey. Martin and the others felt that the stone wall above had been pressed down, as if they would scratch their foreheads and hurt their noses if they moved. The canary shrank in Irene's hand, shaking the feathers on her body, and Erin gently wrapped her hand around the canary, for fear that she would be frightened and hurt.

The minecart continued to move forward, and after a while, as it passed through a place, the speed of the minecart slowed down significantly, even as the steam engine continued to pull hard.

"Extinguish it......" Martin said with difficulty, and the sorceress pulled a lever inside the minecart, and the flame in the steam engine went out. Suddenly, a bell rang, and it was the minecart that crashed into the bell hanging on the side of the road as it passed.

"It's almost there." The three members of the church understood the meaning of the bell.

The speed of the car had slowed very slowly, only a little faster than walking, and in an instant, the oppressive feeling disappeared - the minecart had exited the tunnel and entered a wider space.

"Look, Firelight!" Martin had already raised his head and pointed in the direction the minecart was heading.

The minecart came to a steady stop, the three of them got out of the car, and the wind chimes turned into human shapes.

"Martin! You're finally back!! A man dressed as a priest greeted them in the light of the fire, but his voice was hurried and alarmed.

"Hey, it's us, we're back alive. Is something happening in the city? Martin also hurriedly responded, asking about the city, the city was besieged by enemy troops, and it was inevitable that something would happen.

"yes, something is wrong!" Before Martin and the others could get near, the priest shouted:

"Duke Risson, he...... He, he's dead!! ”