Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 729 Long-Distance Transfer

Although the layout of the refugee camp was somewhat chaotic, it was relatively orderly. With only a few soldiers maintaining order, most people obediently carried their containers and buckets, queuing up to receive boiled drinking water and cooked wheat porridge.

Before receiving their assignments, members of the transport team are allowed to move freely within the station.

Wood stood aside and observed for a moment, and found that the people of St. Valentine were providing food to these refugees free of charge. A large tent with a white flag and a red cross was hanging in the center of the camp. There were even doctors dressed in white robes, busy going in and out, carefully treating those who had fallen ill or been injured on their way south.

They genuinely intended to rescue these Eisengardians... and not merely to use them as a resource of slaves to be brutally plundered and sold at will.

After wandering around for only a short while, Wood received orders to return to the transport team's base.

Seeing Holmes sweating profusely as he carried heavy tanks of magical fuel, he quickly blushed and went to help.

"We'll hurry up and get our dinner, and then the station will arrange for the refugees to board the train one by one... We'll just have to make do with our food on the way."

"Returning immediately tonight?" Wood opened his mouth slightly in surprise; this was too hasty.

Holmes wiped his face and let out a long sigh. “Otherwise, even if it’s just one night, more refugees will be sent over from the front. We can’t let them stay here for too long. If nothing unexpected happens… we’ll run into the second transport team on our way back.”

Wood narrowed his eyes, and without even having to count on his fingers, he roughly figured out the number of people they needed to transport on this trip.

If the open cargo bed of the wheeled vehicle they drive is packed full like a cargo truck, it can carry at least thirty people. Their convoy consists of a total of one hundred vehicles, and this trip alone will transport more than three thousand people south.

If a second or third convoy from the border region is about to arrive, it will only take two or three convoys to transfer all the refugees currently stranded at the station.

This efficiency is simply unheard of; compared to the traditional camel, ox, and horse pulling carts, its carrying capacity is many times greater.

Thinking about the days after completing this mission, when he could finally settle down and live in Saint Valentine, a slightly outlandish fantasy couldn't help but surface in Wood's mind...

If only he could serve the Kingdom of Saint Valen and own his own alchemical chariot!
……

As night fell, a long convoy sped across the boundless grassland.

Each alchemical wheelchair had two huge magic stone lamps on its front, allowing them to clearly see the illuminated road ahead even when traveling at night, enabling them to form a column and closely follow the vehicle in front.

The continuous low hum overhead indicated that several airships were flying at low altitude, partly to help the convoy correct its direction and confirm its destination, and partly to ensure their safety along the way.

With the support of these air forces, both the drivers of the wheeled vehicles and the refugees traveling by felt much more at ease traveling at night.

The journey from Transport Station 4 back to the nearest supply point, Highland City, required a full day and night of non-stop driving. According to regulations, the shift was naturally handed over to Holmes, who had more experience driving at night, while Wood took a nap in the passenger seat, waiting to be woken up for his shift at dawn.

Wood, a novice driver, was too excited to sleep. He kept staring at Holmes with wide eyes, repeatedly asking him about every detail of the alchemical wheel, which saved his companion from the danger of driving while fatigued.

“I know a lot about driving, but if you ask me how wheeled vehicles are made, I’m completely clueless…” Holmes said, a cigarette dangling from his lips, as he chatted with Wood while gripping the steering wheel tightly and staring intently at the road ahead. “All wheeled vehicles are made in Starfire City. You must have heard your instructors mention it quite a bit at the temporary driving school on the border.”

“Yes, it’s said to be a magical creation made by sorcerers…and this lump of iron contains an extracted core of a camel’s soul. But what is that? And what if they…they get sick?” Holmes chuckled. “Sick? How can an alchemical lump of iron get sick? Oh! I know…you mean how to repair it if it breaks, right?”

He pursed his lips and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, chuckling as he said, "You guys received a crash course, so you probably didn't learn emergency repairs. The part of this thing that's most prone to problems... is actually these two pairs of wheels under the butt. Flat tires and blowouts are common occurrences, and we have to replace the spare tire on the spot if necessary."

"Of course, if the problem is with the power core... then we can only have the other wheeled vehicles in the team towed back and sent to the repair center to be disassembled and repaired, which is beyond our technical capabilities."

The core component is faulty... Repair center...

Wood muttered the same thing to himself a few times, then cautiously asked, "Do the people at the machine repair center have the skills to repair these magical artifacts?"

"Hmm... What? You want to work at the machine repair center? Haha, that's not just about being able to read a few words. You have to be a graduate of the intermediate teaching department of the Royal Capital Public Academy to be qualified to work in such a core department of the kingdom."

Wood's heart skipped a beat, and he pressed on, "So you have to be born into a noble family? Or do you need to pay a lot of tuition fees?"

Holmes shook his head. "No, not really... I know a mechanic who is a cave dwarf from the Breath of the Hills. He can attend public colleges for free; all he needs to do is obtain official residency status in Saint Valen."

Jacob… if he serves the kingdom wholeheartedly, perhaps he can obtain a legitimate status, securing him a place in a public college! Then, in the future, he might be able to enter the core department called the Machine Repair Center…

The uncle and nephew, one driving and the other repairing cars, seem to have a bright future ahead of them!
……

The convoy sped along and arrived at Highland City on the afternoon of the second day.

While distributing water and food to the refugees on the vehicle and refueling the vehicle with magical energy, a Northern Army soldier led a man dressed as an officer in black forward.

"Are you recruited drivers for the first vehicle crew of the transport team?"

"Yes, sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Holmes quickly removed his hat and saluted.

The officer nodded in return and continued, "The front-line troops have engaged in combat with the enemy in Chensang County in the northwest... We rescued a group of civilians who were fleeing south there. Colonel Horden, the commander of the Independent Airship Regiment, has sent instructions to the reinforcements to form a temporary transport team nearby to receive and transport the refugees!"

Chensang County... The nearest town is Twin Cities, but there are currently no transport stations set up by the Saint Valens in the city. Therefore, to form a transport team nearby, they can only temporarily transfer from Highland City. No wonder these soldiers would target the drivers of these convoys who have just returned from Station Four.

Even during their crash course training, Wood and his team were told that all transport missions undertaken by the convoy must prioritize supporting military operations. In the event of a conflict in the surrounding area, they would have to transport refugees while also managing the transport of artillery ammunition and other supplies.

Of course, judging from the officer's words... he still intended to select some drivers who volunteered to participate.

Wood and Holmes exchanged a glance, both seeing eagerness in each other's eyes; this was clearly a good opportunity to make a name for themselves.

"Sir, we are willing to participate!"

(End of this chapter)