Chapter 695: Toward Castel
The Five Great Churches of the Orthodox Gods—though now only four remained—did they possess anything truly unique?
Hughes had always believed that they bore that title merely because they had enough believers and sufficient strength. Now it seemed there might be deeper secrets hidden beneath the surface.
Perhaps he could probe indirectly through that group of 【Burial Ones】. Judging from the current situation, their attitude toward Castel was quite favorable. And after obtaining the Storm-Response Generator, they had become even more inseparable from Castel.
After all, Nora’s combat strength was obvious to all. Leading mortals into battle in the Northlands was manageable enough. But when facing other Transcendents—such as the Banshees—she truly held no advantage.
Even in her complete state, her combat ability during the Monica mutation incident had been merely passable.
She only knew how to swing a chain flail.
Hughes had originally thought Nora herself was lacking. But after these 【Burial Ones】 arrived, he discovered that perhaps it was the Transcendence Path itself that was lacking.
The Storm-Response Generator had completely altered the ecological niche of the 【Burial Ones】. It had pushed their immortality to its absolute limits. The ability to break through something as powerful as a storm—no one could refuse such power.
Hughes turned to look at Little Gwen. She was still gazing at him with anticipation written all over her face.
“I will establish a testing ground for the Storm-Response Generator in the Northlands, specifically for experimentation. Mm… we’ll set the location near the Prison of Calamity.”
Little Gwen’s face lit up with joy. She nodded vigorously. She knew that enormous fortress well.
“Then it’s settled!”
“Alright. But you’ll need to wait a while. It looks like a long section of the railway has been damaged. Repairs will take some time. And Beatrice—we need to transport this ‘Miss Fountain’ to Castel for treatment.”
Although Beatrice could barely move with the help of the Whispering Voice, her body was still extremely weak. The pollution-ravaged shell had not recovered; it had only suppressed the pollution, preventing further destruction.
As for how to treat her, Hughes had no immediate plan. After all, this situation was rare—few people could open their mouths and spray fuel.
However, while Castel’s medical techniques were average, it possessed extremely rich experience in handling pollution.
The pollution within the Stellar Furnace was not only distributed throughout the island for various uses; it was also exported to Blood Harbor and Gem Bay to sustain industrial operations. There were even deep-processing projects like agriculture. Beatrice would surely shine and contribute—she would definitely recover!
“I’ll send a few airships to receive her. But for now, let’s go give the lecture.”
Beatrice shifted into a more comfortable position inside the Steam Engine.
At first, remaining within the Combustion Chamber had been agony. Every day she had suffered torment, unable to live yet unable to die.
But after that strange Whispering Voice appeared, the pollution inside her body gradually came under control. It no longer spewed out endlessly.
She could even control it to some extent. At her request, an iron ball had been hung on the pollution barrel to help her aim.
Beatrice glanced at the iron barrel in the distance, adjusted her posture, puffed out her cheeks—and a jet of pitch-black pollution breath burst forth.
Bang!
The iron ball spun several times from the impact. Beatrice nodded in satisfaction.
Hitting the iron ball brought no practical value, yet it improved her mood.
Her spirits were much better now. Patriarch Ignati had shattered the storm with her assistance. Even the airship he rode had been fueled by her. That made her feel proud.
This pollution breath was not entirely meaningless after all.
Beatrice felt secretly pleased. Even living inside the Steam Engine now seemed far more comfortable.
She curled her body slightly. Though she was not short, compared to the massive steel construct of the Steam Engine, she appeared quite petite.
The steam whistle let out a lazy “woo.”
The Machine Spirit had grown accustomed to this tenant. It was even considerate enough to warm the Combustion Chamber after she fell asleep, preventing her from catching cold.
One had to know—this was the most hot-tempered Machine Spirit aboard the airship. Even a passing dog would get scolded twice.
The Stokers analyzed that this was probably because Beatrice could expel pollution. To a Steam Engine, pollution was essentially food. In the eyes of the Machine Spirit, Beatrice might be some kind of… chef?
In any case, Beatrice had gained the Machine Spirit’s approval. She was not scolded. She could lie inside the Combustion Chamber to sleep, and she was even allowed to bring a pillow.
Ordinarily, placing anything inside the Combustion Chamber was forbidden—even a good-tempered Machine Spirit would not allow it.
“Airship sighted ahead!” the observer suddenly shouted excitedly from inside the cabin.
Hatches opened throughout the vessel. People gathered quickly, most wearing smiles.
They had traveled all the way back from Rhine. At last, they were about to return to Castel. It had been a long journey.
After using the Storm-Response Generator, the train had stopped in place to wait. Supplies aboard were plentiful. With the armored locomotive at the front, there was no worry of accidents. Once Castel’s reinforcements arrived, railway repairs could begin.
Meanwhile, the Delegation’s airship had flown directly along the railway toward Castel. The rapid journey had overloaded most of the machinery. With cooperation between the engineers and the Machine Spirits, they performed basic adjustments. The remaining repairs would have to wait until they returned to Castel’s Air Harbor.
At present, only Castel possessed the technology to repair airships. Necessary inspections and maintenance could only be performed there.
Instead of the train arriving first, the airship had come.
That was normal. No information had come from the train. The station at Blood Harbor usually dispatched airships first to investigate. After all, this railway carried armored trains. If one train could not handle a problem, sending more might not help.
Airships not only had a wider detection range, but they could also provide more assistance. If something went wrong, they were easier to escape with.
The airships sounded their steam whistles. Both sides slowed down and began exchanging information.
After a while, the Delegation’s airship accelerated once more.
Beatrice pushed open the furnace cover and poked her head out from the Steam Engine. “What’s happening?”
“Reinforcements have arrived. The airship that just passed was a reconnaissance vessel, here to check what happened. The Northlands will probably send people to investigate as well. A large section of the railway is damaged—it will likely take some time to repair,” Gaia explained beside her.
Beatrice nodded somewhat blankly.
She had clearly visited Castel before—so why did she not quite understand these words now?
“Then we—”
“We’re not too far from Blood Harbor. But we won’t dock there. We’ll head directly to Castel to treat your injuries.”
Gaia looked at Beatrice’s head sticking out from the Steam Engine, and felt a faint sense of reflection.
The last time Beatrice came to Castel, she had only been a farmer’s daughter. Her greatest dream had been to eat her fill every day.
She had once seen the fireworks above the Lord’s Manor from afar. Those beautiful bursts of light had left a deep impression on her.
And now, the very protagonist of that day’s fireworks was standing before her.