Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 775 Returning to My Hometown
As dawn broke, Jacob sprang up from his comfortable bed.

I habitually reached out and pulled back the curtains of the small room, and immediately I could see that there were already a few people walking or riding bicycles on the street outside, going to work in groups.

Jacob has been living in the capital city of Xinghuo City for nearly two months, but he still finds there are always new and exciting things to explore in the city. Even just the daily routine of going back and forth between home and school, along with the familiar scenery along the way, makes him linger.

Uncle is right, this is the new life they've been dreaming of!

Pushing open the door to the small bedroom, the outer living room was already filled with a faint aroma of pancakes... This housing unit assigned by the transport team was only a one-bedroom apartment of less than 20 square meters, with a cramped bedroom, a living room, and a washroom, making the layout very compact.

Since there was no dedicated kitchen, eating out every day was quite expensive. On the enthusiastic suggestion of his colleagues, Wood used his advance salary to buy a simple smokeless magic stove at the convenience market and placed it on the dining table by the window in the living room, so that the uncle and nephew could cook all kinds of delicious food every morning and evening.

"You're up? Breakfast will be ready soon. Today it's corn pancakes with cheese..." Wood skillfully tossed the pan, thought for a moment, then took an egg from the cupboard and said with a smile, "Little Jacob has a lot of schoolwork, so I'm adding an extra egg."

Looking at his uncle's wrinkled smiling face, Jacob felt a warmth in his heart and couldn't help but complain, "Uncle, breakfast doesn't need to be so lavish. The school provides a free lunch at noon... If you make me eat too much, I won't have an appetite at noon."

Wood chuckled, picked up his tray, and returned to the table, gesturing for his nephew to sit down.

Jacob had just picked up his knife and fork when he turned around and saw a thick stack of newspapers on the table, with an opened letter tucked inside.

“Someone wrote to you, Uncle?” Jacob was somewhat surprised. He and Wood had migrated from Eisengard, and all their close relatives by blood had perished in the disaster of the alien invasion. They were practically all alone.

“Mr. Holmes of Grizzly Bear Fortress, you’ve met him…” Wood paused in his eating, then muttered, trying to sound calm, “We worked together for a while at the Wolf Fang Ridge border. He just sent a letter to inquire about our situation.”

Jacob nodded blankly, glancing subconsciously at the stack of newspapers tucked under the envelope. He saw a news notice on it advertising the military's recruitment of full-time wheeled vehicle drivers to return to Eisengard and reinforce the eastern front.

"Uncle! Mr. Holmes wrote... He's not asking you to go with him to apply for the military truck driver position again, is he?" The boy almost jumped up from his chair immediately. "We've only just settled down in the capital, and you said life would get better and better..."

Wood, whose secret had been exposed, gave a wry smile. "I haven't agreed yet... I'm still considering it!"

He paused, picked up his fork and poked at the soft tortillas on his plate, and said hesitantly, "Mr. Holmes' only son is also studying at the Royal Capital Public Academy. He seems to be a year ahead of you. He... he has been trying to find a way to get that boy into the Royal Capital Spellcaster Academy for further studies."

Holmes is a native of Grizzly Bear Hold and does not have the status of a formal resident of the capital. If he wants his child to stand out from the public academy and be selected as a magic apprentice with spellcasting talent, not only does he need to be outstanding in his own ability... but also a good shortcut is to get a special recommendation from the government or military. Moreover, exchanging merits for the future of his offspring has always been encouraged within the kingdom and there is no unfairness in it.

Jacob said urgently, "Uncle, but I don't need this spot. Whether I choose to become a spellcaster in the future or not, I don't want this opportunity to be something you risked your life to secure for me."

As he spoke, the boy's eyes reddened, and his voice gradually became choked with emotion.

Wood put down his knife and fork, turned his head to look out the window, and sighed deeply. "Little Jacob, when we fled all the way from our hometown to the border, I initially thought that as long as I got you into Saint Valen, we would be completely safe... Then a tremendous opportunity fell into our laps. As long as we served in the army, we could both move to the capital. Now, the capital of Saint Valen is arguably the safest place in the South." He paused, then turned back to look intently at the boy. "I have no more worries about settling you here. Next... next, I should do what my heart desires most, but which I could never do in the past."

Jacob paused for a moment, then whispered, "Uncle, what do you long to do?"

“Revenge…doesn’t that sound ridiculous?” Wood twitched his lips and wiped away the tears streaming from the corner of his eye. “I used to be called a coward. Let alone facing those terrifying alien monsters, even a scolding from a nobleman would scare me so much that I would wet myself.”

"But your grandparents, your father and mother, my wife... and our unborn child, they... they all died at the hands of those monsters. Luckily, I saved you!"

Wood became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his arms and body trembling slightly. "I know I'm not capable of taking up arms and fighting them... but aren't there people on the front lines fighting the enemy for us? If I can drive a wheelbarrow to transport supplies and ammunition for them, wouldn't that be a contribution to eliminating those monsters?"

“In this way, it’s like avenging our family…” Wood’s tone became increasingly certain.

"That's how it is, so I decided to enlist again as a wheelbarrow driver in the army and return to the grasslands to contribute to the war against the foreign invaders!"

……

Royal Capital Military Camp, Spark Special Forces Training Base.

"What? We've been ordered to rush to the eastern front to reinforce the fight against the Lizardmen in central Eisengard?"

Upon hearing the news, Sek practically jumped off his cot, grabbing Gregor's shoulders and shaking him repeatedly, asking questions to confirm the veracity of the information.

"Stop shaking! Stop shaking! It's real. The military's orders have reached the instructors. We're just waiting to assemble and be ready to depart at any time!"

Santas sat shirtless on the edge of the bed, scratching the snake scales on his arm with some discomfort, muttering, "So fast? I thought I could rest longer and go to the medical center for two more check-ups..."

Barr stretched his muscular arms, patted Santas heavily on the shoulder, and chuckled, "Stop struggling. So what if you have some scales on your arms? After I had two courses of the regeneration potion, I sneezed so hard this morning that I almost set the bed on fire!"

Compared to the enhancement of their physical and spiritual strength by the regeneration potion, this side effect is completely negligible.

After calming himself down, Saik looked at Baler and murmured, "Finally, I can return to the grasslands, back to the oasis... to truly avenge my fallen people on my homeland!"

(End of this chapter)