Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 581 A long-awaited meeting

Salas and Dawson slowly paced back and forth on the deck of the ironclad warship, occasionally chatting with the workers in charge of outfitting in a friendly tone, and sometimes asking questions to Harvey who accompanied them throughout the whole process.

The two legendary wizards were feeling quite complicated at the moment… Ironclad ships had been invented more than a year ago, and they had been seen all over the major inland shipping routes in the southern region recently. Most people knew that this was a magical sailing ship whose entire hull was made of steel and was driven by magic energy.

When everyone believed that the core technology and greatest advantage of the ironclad ship was its epoch-making magic power application technology, the real facts before them told them that this was not the case.

Spark City does not rely solely on its monopoly on magical energy... Even without a magic power core, the amount of materials required just to splice and weld together a large number of standardized steel plates would be astronomical.

There are countless kingdoms in the southern border that are rich in steel, and the pig iron produced by the mines is not a scarce commodity. A cart of pig iron ingots brought to a blacksmith's shop can only be sold for one gold pound at most. If a skilled blacksmith forges it into steel, the price can be increased by five to ten times... Only by entrusting an alchemist to mix in magic minerals and refine it repeatedly can it be sold at a high price.

However, this process is complicated and extremely time-consuming. A workshop that employs an alchemist and operates year-round can only forge a dozen sets of fine steel armor and the same number of refined weapons. But even if all these people gathered together and spent several years working, they would not be able to build the giant steel ship in front of them.

Looking at the ordinary workers on the deck holding the mechanical box loaded with the soul core tuner and skillfully controlling the alchemy beast to climb up and down, the spellcasters of the Federation felt ironic and bitter... The identity of the extraordinary people seemed to have lost its noble background at this moment, and they seemed to be indistinguishable from the crowd in this huge dock.

……

After leaving the warship port, everyone sat in the alchemy carriage in silence. Halfway back, Harvey suddenly received a report from his personal guards.

"Your Majesty, news has come from Grizzly Castle that the mages from Blackrock City will arrive in the North in two hours. The leader of the mages...Mr. Fer Holden, who claims to be your close friend, has asked if you will personally go to Central Station to greet them."

Harvey coughed awkwardly upon hearing this, and glanced sideways at Chief Dawson beside him… When the Federation Chief arrived in Spark City, he hadn't taken the time to go and greet him. If he nodded in agreement now, wouldn't it seem a bit disrespectful to the legendary wizard?

Dawson didn't care. He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please go. I haven't seen that guy Fair for over a year. It's a good opportunity for me to accompany you..."

Sarath, who had been sitting next to him with a stern face, suddenly snorted and asked Harvey, "Your Majesty, there shouldn't be a ban on spellcasters flying in Spark City, right?"

"If it's just in the inner city...not close to my castle and the city wall air defense deployment area, then theoretically it's not prohibited..." Harvey was stunned for a moment and answered with a strange expression.

Before he finished speaking, Salas took off into the air and flew straight towards the Federation Building without looking back, leaving everyone present stunned.

"Ahem... This old guy is a little embarrassed. Your Majesty, please don't mind." Dawson touched his nose and explained patiently, "He and Fair have been on bad terms for nearly ten years. They've always tried to avoid seeing each other."

Harvey nodded in understanding. He had heard about this when he'd first visited the Magic City, but he'd never known the details. Naturally, his curiosity was burning. He asked with a smile, "Why is this happening? Mr. Fell himself is spotless and warm and forthright. I heard he was a renowned wizard leader during his time at the Evil Moon Mountains. He shouldn't be bringing shame upon Lord Sarath, right?"

"This involves factional struggles among orthodox wizards in the southern region, as well as the bloodline scandals of several ancient wizard families... Your Majesty, please don't ask about it. I cannot casually disclose the personal privacy of a legendary spellcaster."

Harvey shrugged and wisely chose to keep his mouth shut. …

By the time everyone arrived at the central station outside the south gate, a group of battle mages led by "Stormwalker" Matthews Willy had already gotten off the train one after another, and were standing on the platform with their luggage and suitcases, greeting the station officials.

"Mr. Willy!" Harvey called out loudly, then slowly approached and smiled, "On behalf of Spark City, I welcome you all to the North!"

Stormwalker turned and immediately spotted the short, slightly balding Chief Dawson standing next to the strange young man in elegant attire who greeted him. He quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty Harvey... and Your Excellency Dawson, please forgive me... I couldn't stop Fair from making the rude request that His Majesty come to greet him personally."

Dawson rolled his eyes and muttered, "Who can stop him?! He said he wouldn't arrive for three days at the earliest. How did you get here so quickly?"

Matthews' mouth twitched, and he forced a wry smile. "We had just arrived in Fengyuan City yesterday, planning to rest for a day before heading north...Fell was incredibly impatient, demanding in a strong tone that the officials at Fengyuan City Hall urgently dispatch a ship for us, insisting we reach Grizzly Castle overnight..."

But the journey north was against the current, and even if the ironclad ship was running at full speed, it was still necessary to consider the safety of sailing at night. The officials of the Ministry of Transportation, who were overwhelmed by the pressure, had no choice but to mobilize all five of Fengyuan City's only five airships. Only then did they barely arrive at their destination with nearly a hundred battle mages on board at night.

Harvey looked around and asked in confusion, "But why don't I see Mr. Fair?"

Matthews took off his gentleman's hat and said awkwardly, "After arriving at Grizzly Castle, he learned that we needed to take your magic-powered train through the underground tunnels of the Divine Spine Mountains to enter the North... and suddenly... ahem, he got interested and insisted on using his flying magic to cross the Divine Spine Mountains and compete with the train in speed."

It would have been fine if he hadn't explained, but as soon as Stormwalker opened his mouth, the battle mages surrounding him all turned their heads in embarrassment, probably speechless at their leader's out-of-line behavior.

Matthews quickly added, "Please don't mind. Fair is also testing his newly modified high-ring flying technique. If nothing goes wrong, it should arrive soon..."

Before he could finish his words, the guards who were scattered around the platform and responsible for clearing the area and providing security suddenly pulled out their weapons from their waists and pointed them at the sky with nervous expressions.

A figure wrapped in blazing flames descended from the sky with a thunderous roar and slammed heavily on an open space at the station dozens of meters away from Harvey, causing the surrounding people to scream and dodge.

"Hahaha! Damn it! Why can't I outrun this heavy lump of iron that can only run on the ground? Mr. Kel'Thuzad! My old friend! How long has it been since we last met?"

Harvey looked closely and saw a familiar face with torn clothes and a disheveled figure standing in a large pit not far away.

He had short, dark red hair that stood on end, and a strong, sturdy figure... but his face was a little pale, and there was a hint of sweat on his forehead, as if the high-speed flight just now had almost burned out all the magic power in his body.

Isn’t this the “Son of Fire” Mr. Phil Holden who we haven’t seen for a long time?

(End of this chapter)