Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 304: Migrants from the Southern Territory

After a long and bumpy night, the alchemical vehicle departed from Jackdaw Town and finally arrived at the city gate of the Northern Frontier Territory in the early morning.

After the vehicle's hatch opened, the passengers huddled inside walked out with all sorts of packages and bags on their backs, looking confused.

It was the first time for them to set foot on the wasteland north of Jackdaw Ridge. They subconsciously huddled together in the cold wind blowing snowflakes, and moved slowly and nervously towards the city gate under the loud urging of the defense army.

"An alchemical vehicle can only carry a maximum of fifty civilians at a time. It can only carry less than five hundred people in one round trip. We have to make several trips to complete the mission..." The defense driver who was responsible for guiding and operating the alchemical beast vehicle jumped out of the cockpit in front of the vehicle, wiped the snowflakes stuck on his face, and complained to the defense soldier in charge of registration at the city gate.

According to the previous agreement, the southern civilians who migrated from all over the Grizzly Territory have arrived in Jackdaw Town one after another in recent days. The temporary shelters previously built in the town are obviously useless in the dead of winter. The Pioneer Territory City Hall can only start the relocation work immediately and send them to the wilderness as soon as possible.

The City Hall had set up a temporary office at the city gate early on. Each group of arriving civilians, under the guidance of the defense forces, lined up in an orderly manner and began routine identity registration.

"Shepherd Knight" Ambichi Kenny stood at the city gate, rubbing his hands. From time to time, he looked up and carefully examined the crowd gathered outside the city. Finally, he saw the familiar figure - his fiancée Sophia, who was wearing a thick beige cotton dress, a cashmere shawl on her shoulders to keep warm, and a thin little bag, standing at the end of the team.

Ambichi suppressed his excitement and quickly stepped forward, hugging the other person tightly, causing the people around him to turn their eyes and talk in low voices.

"How daring! Sophia, you actually dared to come to the wasteland to find me all alone... God, you don't know how worried I have been these past few days since I received your reply."

Sophia's pale face flushed red from the cold, yet a brilliant smile still clung to her face. "When the news of Earl Fagan's defeat reached Mill Town, I also learned that your father was unwilling to pay the ransom. People in town were talking about how you would be hanged by the Lord of the Wasteland. At that time, I had only one thought in mind: to come and see you one last time, no matter what..."

She slowed down, tears welling in her eyes as she whispered, "Thank goodness you were pardoned and reunited with me safely."

Upon hearing this, Ambichi's eyes were slightly red. On the second day after settling down in the wilderness, he begged his new boss to give him a guarantee note and sent a letter to his fiancée to report his safety. However, he did not dare to mention in the letter that he wanted her to wait for his return. After all, the prerequisite for pardoning the crime was that he needed to work for the lord in the wilderness for several years. He could not be so shameless as to let a girl wait in her hometown.

Who would have thought that this stubborn girl would actually decide to come to the wilderness to meet him in her reply letter. Ambichi had just received the reply letter the day before yesterday, and now Sophia was standing in front of him.

"How have you been doing over the past month?" Ambichi only then noticed the teasing looks from the people around him. He awkwardly let go of his fiancée's arms and changed the subject awkwardly.

Sophia was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "I quit my job as a tutor..."

This is beyond doubt. Since they have voluntarily joined the list of candidates for migration to the southern border, no matter what occupation they have been engaged in in the past, they need to obey the orders of the fiefdom lord and move their families to the wilderness to serve the new lord.

"Alright, alright, it's okay..." Ambichi quickly consoled him. "Although I was just pardoned, I was immediately assigned a job with a decent salary. Supporting you won't be a problem at all."

"Work? Don't you have to..." Sophia was a little surprised. She looked down at Ambiqi and realized that her fiancé didn't seem to be in the poor condition of a defeated prisoner. Not only were his hands and feet not shackled, but there were no soldiers or guards following him closely to monitor his freedom. Generally speaking, if defeated prisoners were not redeemed and freed, they were often sentenced to hard labor in mines or forests. To prevent them from escaping, they were often shackled and shackled at all times. The families of prisoners of war were treated the same way, the only difference being that they were not subject to the same heavy labor.

Ambich understood what she meant and explained with a slight smile, "I'm not currently a prisoner of war or a slave of the lord. The territory's city hall has arranged a job for me as a livestock herder... Aside from not being able to leave the northern border at will, I'm completely free the rest of the time. Come on, come home with me... After I settle you down, I need to return to the farm to work this afternoon."

He led Sophia to a separate registration shed at the city gate, took out a stamped note from his pocket and handed it over, whispering cautiously, "Sir, this is the identity registration guarantee for the family of a resident. Please take a look..."

The city hall official in charge of registering migrants took the slip, briefly compared it, and said with a teasing look, "Hmm... Strictly speaking, a fiancée doesn't count as a resident's family member. But... hey, if you go to the city hall to register as a formal, legal couple within the next month, it's possible that we can find a loophole and add this woman's identity information to your household registration."

As he spoke, he pulled out a blank ID card, quickly filled out the information, and skillfully pierced Sophia's index finger with a sterilized metal probe, completing the registration procedure.

"Mr. Kenny, you must register your marriage within a month... Don't forget!"

Ambichi blushed and quickly fled with his fiancée, quietly keeping the city hall official's kind reminder in mind.

"Where do you live?" Sophia was also very embarrassed, but she still took the initiative to change the subject and inquire about Ambichi's current living situation.

Ambichi finally came to his senses, rubbed his burning cheeks, and whispered, "The house assigned to me is in Fengshou Community... Most people working at the Ministry of Agriculture live in that area, so it's not too far away."

"Community?" Sophia was confused again.

To be honest, when Ambichi was first assigned the job, he didn't expect too much. As a defeated prisoner, he was lucky to have a shack to live in. Just like the serfs in Grizzly Castle who had no personal freedom, more than a dozen people were crowded in one shed.

But when he was finally led by the city hall officials to the allocated housing complex, he was really surprised - the housing allocated by this wasteland lord to ordinary farm workers was really too... good.

The residential area in the Pioneer Territory was not a closed one. The two walked along the spacious main street to an intersection, and then walked a distance to the branch road in the direction indicated by the metal sign. Both the main street and the branch road were paved with neatly arranged and flat cobblestones. There were also two drainage ditches dug and covered with stone slabs on both sides of the road. There was no dirt or melted snow water on the entire street.

Sophia looked around cautiously and said uncertainly, "These houses look like they belong to nobles and officials. Are you sure you remember the location correctly?"

Ambichi gave a helpless smile and was about to point out the location of his residence in front of him, but a municipal cleaner who was sweeping snow at the street corner not far away saw him and greeted him first.

"Mr. Kenny! You didn't go to work on the farm today?" The old man tilted his head slightly and saw Sophia standing behind Ambichi. He quickly took off his felt hat and held it in his hands, smiling and greeting her, "Oh! You brought your wife to the pioneer territory so soon? Good morning, Mrs. Kenny!"

(End of this chapter)