Witch Troupe and the Undead

Currently, half of the output of the annihilation reactor relies on the thermal energy generated by the phlogiston blocks. In addition, the kinetic element efficiency is low and the annihilation reactor structure is incomplete. The combination of these two inefficiencies means that the fuel consumption rate is very fast and large.

It is precisely because of the magic locomotive that this train has no coal carriages, relying solely on the few boxes of coal and broken magic crystals in the locomotive... It can only run for a few hours before having to stop to collect and process fuel. And that's only because there are enough broken magic crystals. After crossing the Graystone River Beach, the broken magic crystals will be almost all used up, and that will be a real headache.

How much distance is left?

“This…” Rhine didn’t know how to answer, but Black Crow answered the question, “At our current speed, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should be able to reach the old bridge in four days at most.”

Because the terrain at the junction of the two counties is fragmented, with the railway winding between valleys and hills, the empire clearly lacked the capacity to build large tunnels like those used in modern railways. Therefore, the straight-line distance was only two or three hundred kilometers, but in reality, it required a detour of four or five times that distance.

Of course, the empire wasn't entirely without tunnel projects; most existed in smaller, easier-to-penetrate hilly areas with stable strata. But those continuous mountain ranges were truly hopeless. In modern society, only the Chinese could build tunnels of that caliber.

"After crossing the old bridge, it's flat as a pancake, basically a straight line. But I have a question, Master Roach, how good is your car's hill-climbing ability?"

The walking-type magical locomotive is adept at climbing hills because it can use its feet and the auxiliary steps on both sides of the rails, which resemble dragon tooth stakes, to climb steep slopes. However, Roach's locomotive, being a wheeled vehicle, tends to slide downhill, making it less effective on the steep slopes of the Imperial Railway.

"We need two locomotives," Roach didn't hide it. On Earth, railways with such steep gradients can only be built with two locomotives, with the front locomotive pulling and the rear locomotive pushing. If the gradient is even steeper, like in a mine tunnel, a large, fixed traction machine is even needed to pull it with steel cables.

"That's terrible, almost a third of our journey is uphill."

“However, I could consider using a rocket booster to propel it up,” Roach said hesitantly. But he wasn’t sure if he could control the power source to prevent it from derailing. What if it turned into a rocket-assisted acceleration track, and the whole car not only veered off the tracks but also flew up into the air? That would be quite a sight.

"If we can't climb the hill, then we'll have to walk for the second half of the journey or find a way to get a second locomotive."

Black Crow himself chuckled. A second locomotive was out of the question. He knew a little about the astronomical cost of a magic train. It wasn't that the royal family couldn't afford it, but it was definitely not like there were just a few abandoned locomotives lying around in some godforsaken place that Roach could dismantle and modify.

“Then we’ll see how steep the slope is.” It was also Roach’s first time driving a train, so he wasn’t sure if they could make it up that slope, and… “Maybe we can consider magic?” He looked at the little witch sleeping on the seat. Livia was wrapped in a black cloak, and her little face was slightly flushed in the firelight of the heater.

"Reduce the weight of the vehicles or use a spell to pull the entire train up?" Black Crow thought. "Could she do that?"

"Probably...maybe?" After all, it's a magical power capable of raising the entire house along with a large section of the ground beneath it. "It just requires more preparation time."

“Then our journey will probably take longer.” Black Crow nodded. “If we’re lucky, we’ll be lucky to get to the bridge in a week.”

Everyone tacitly refrained from mentioning what happened after crossing the bridge, partly because it was uncertain whether the bridge would still be usable, and partly because the route after the bridge was a straight line with better road conditions and several stops available, even though the stations had been abandoned due to the rerouting, the town still existed.

After purchasing materials and parts, we might be able to reinforce these two accelerators further, so that the time wasted now can be made up for more quickly later.

What are your plans when you get to Black Pine Valley?

“Scarface and I will stay, and the rest of you will leave. I don’t trust you, and you don’t trust me. That makes sense, doesn’t it?” Black Raven answered without hesitation. If these nobles had prepared a trap for him, at least not everyone would fall into it. And if he, as the leader, stayed, they wouldn’t worry about him turning against them later.

"Hmph, I hope you can keep your promise," Scarface sneered. Rhine shook his head. "I can't give you any guarantees, but at least it'll be better than being silenced."

"Otherwise, what do you think?" Black Crow squinted. "Otherwise, why do you think they would turn against Roach and his group? A near-death experience is better than a certain death. The two sides were never friends or partners; they were just forced into the same trench."

“Alright, I’ll take care of the second half of the night, Lulua, you take care of the first half,” Alessina said, then pulled up a chair and sat by the car door, closing her eyes to rest. The short-haired girl nimbly jumped onto the roof, unafraid of the cold of the night, for the goddess’s protection shielded her from the night wind, dew, and frost.

"May I set up the goddess's sanctuary?" Suddenly, a small head drooped down from the car window, almost giving Leslie, who had prepared a cup of hot water, a heart attack.

"Sure, everyone's familiar with that lonely old god anyway." Roach shrugged, indicating that it was no problem. After all, that lonely old god was a stubborn tsundere. Even if you set up a sanctuary for him, he might say he wouldn't come to see it, but in reality, he would probably pay some attention to it.

"Oh~" Luluya ignored the very impolite title "the lonely old god". After all, Roche was a god-favored one. Since the god's favor and blessing on him had not disappeared, it meant that the goddess was not angry. Since the goddess was not angry, why should she, as the agent, be angry?

Lulua found some charcoal and wood and set up a simple altar for the Goddess of Night on the roof of the vehicle. Soon, the three runes symbolizing the night, stars and tranquility lit up with a faint starlight.

The stars in the sky became even clearer and more transparent in an instant, casting faint rays of starlight that enveloped the vehicle like a curtain. But this strange phenomenon quickly disappeared, and the stars silently watched everything on the ground from the dark blue sky.

Chapter 204 Simply Creating the Past

"Honestly, with this little strength, they dare to act wildly here~" Minotaur turned over the ground and covered the bloodstains and flesh fragments with soil. The plants growing around the hut also came to help, and soon the corpses were cleaned up. Even the splattered bloodstains left on the steps were washed away with water.

After a brief moment of amusement, Bullhead sighed, sat back down on the tree stump, and continued to stare blankly, tossing the scraps he had collected from the unfortunate men into the haystack deep inside the cowshed.

For Roach and his companions, nothing much happened that night. After all, not only were Lulua and Alessina on night watch, but Old Ma was also keeping an eye on things. Even if someone made a move, they would only end up crashing into the Great Demon.

The outside temperature began to drop, and snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Livia rubbed her red nose and stretched her little hand towards the sky. The snowflakes were disturbed by a mysterious force and gradually gathered at the position of her palm. Halfway down, they turned into drops of water and fell into the bucket below.

The cool snowmelt water, when heated, boiled, filtered, and cooled in the arcane furnace, is excellent for preparing potions and supplying water to the magical boiler. Moreover, this snowmelt water also has a certain symbolic meaning in the mystical and cannot be regarded as just water.

The repair work on the front of the vehicle is only half done. Yesterday, Roach only repaired the transmission system and the parts that transmit magic power. To be precise, he re-sheeted them. The core of the Annihilation Furnace has not yet been repaired.

The core of the Annihilation Furnace is a modified version of the original train boiler. It consists of two cylinders, one large and one small, connected by pipes. It is completely different in shape from the gourd inside the Mage Tower, but the principle is the same.

The large cylinder below is connected to a steam boiler, which burns fuel blocks or coal. Part of the energy is used to evaporate water into steam, which is then introduced into the small bucket. Part of the fire element energy is introduced into the small bucket through a crystal conduit.

Each of the small buckets has a Y-shaped fork at its connection point. If the internal water and fire elemental magic is fully filled, the overflowing magic will flow through the two forks into Roch's magic capacitor.

After passing through a winding condenser pipe, the steam is connected to the crystal-breaking reactor above the small bucket, where it is "magically transformed" from plain water vapor into "water-rich elemental steam." Only in this way can the magical annihilation effect be produced.

Now the small bucket is severely deformed. Roach obviously doesn't know how the Magic Annihilation Furnace smoothly completes this process. The replica he made is essentially a continuous explosion of opposing elements stuffed into this obviously substandard power furnace.

“There’s just enough time, let’s make some minor modifications.” Roach took the small cylinder off and placed it on the makeshift workbench, surrounded by a circle of giant gears and connecting rods.

He disassembled the small cylinder; its structure was completely deformed, and the inner wall bore traces of burning and freezing (both fire and ice are fire magic), as well as numerous honeycomb-like pores left by acid corrosion. (Acid belongs to water magic.)

"How do we do it?" Rhine rolled up her sleeves and looked at Roach. "Fill this inner wall first, and then we'll talk." Roach examined the acid corrosion marks and frost burn marks, preparing to have Livia apply an additional layer of targeted anti-magic coating to the inner wall.

As for the magic explosion, he still needs to conduct some small experiments, because the magic explosion is different from the fuel explosion on Earth. It does not produce shock waves, but is more similar to a kind of "shape influence field", which will have a magical effect on things within the range.

The most typical example is the "Nova Explosion" series of spells. Frost Nova and Frost Blast do not form intense shock waves and spreading fragments. Instead, they are more like a high-intensity magical field that unfolds instantly, covering enemies or objects within the range with a layer of frost or causing ice blocks within the range to explode and scatter.

There was no explosion or diffusion process in this process, which means that Roach's initial idea of ​​using a piston-like structure to release excess magical explosive power was completely unfeasible. The magical piston he made did not work at all, which is the main reason why the power unit collapsed so quickly.

Magic explosions have a distinct advantage over gunpowder explosions: the blast radius is controllable. If the blast radius is set at 20 meters, it will never hit an enemy or anything else more than 21 meters away. Of course, the spread of cold air caused by the extremely low temperature within the blast radius is another matter entirely.

"It's less of an explosion and more of a stamp..." Roach decided to recalibrate his explosion model, since he had previously described alchemy, arcane magic, and arcane spells all as "explosions."

So, he was using an Earth-based explosion model, but now it looks more like stamping. Imagine a high-dimensional stamp falling as a spell is activated, instantly leaving a vivid mark in three-dimensional space—that instantaneous mark is a magical explosion.

"So, it's not spreading from a point source, but a uniform spontaneous reaction..." Roach stroked his chin. This was a bit tricky. There was absolutely no way to release the pressure of an explosion on Earth here.

However, on the other hand, there are special methods to release this pressure, or rather, these pressures can be released or utilized by gradually absorbing the magic of the magic field through gradient absorption.

“Well, now we need to reconstruct the entire core chamber.” Roach decided to change his perspective and view this magical explosion as an electromagnetic field that vibrates at a high frequency. So now the question is, what are the characteristics of this kind of high-speed frequency-changing and shape-changing magnetic field on Earth?

"It's a pity that this magic field doesn't have an electromagnetic generation effect." Otherwise, he could have inserted a section of magic-conducting body into it to use as a generator.

"The blue crystal powder you requested is all here, as well as ruby ​​powder. Luckily, we managed to get a large quantity of it in Ruby County."

The most famous specialty of Rubyshire is the ruby, a gift from Earl Warren. However, these expensive and top-quality magical gems need to be ground down bit by bit, which made Black Raven's eyelids twitch. Each of these gems could supply the Shadow Raven Thieves' needs for a month.

“Drill holes~” Roach drew small black crosses on the furnace chamber. Since the magic explosion was not an expanding shock wave, the mechanical strength requirements of the furnace body itself were not so high. At the same time, the furnace body needed to withstand severe temperature changes, acid corrosion, and the deterioration of materials caused by the harsh magic effects.

"Hmm~" Livia placed a large bundle of freshly processed, silvery-white, 3-millimeter-thick threads next to Roach. Only she could make these threads, using the essence of soul amber, and only she could shape them into this form.

"Is drilling enough?" Rhine asked, holding a simple hole punch. The dwarf's hand was steady, and he drilled almost every hole in the spot marked by Roach. "Then reinforce it here with anti-magic metal." For this, Black Raven dismantled a set of anti-magic chainmail to make up the materials.

Roach created a porous furnace-within-a-furnace structure made entirely of anti-magic materials. Since the magic burst didn't involve exhaust issues, there was no need for such complicated procedures. He simply laid a honeycomb-like anti-magic metal plate inside the furnace, aligning the gaps in the honeycomb with the holes on the furnace body, and then used crystal chips forcibly processed by Livia with ruby ​​and sapphire powder to insert into these gaps.

In this way, during the magical explosion, water and fire magic can seep through these double-layered translucent plates and react further with the internal magic of the red and blue magic gem crystals. During testing, this would put a considerable load on the gems themselves, but it would still be within the control of the "I Think" power. After Livia wrapped the outer layer with another layer of Soul Amber, it would be basically usable.

The mithril-made connecting rings guided this magic into the silvery-white pipes, which were then bundled together and tied in rows with wire, connecting to three different devices.

Two devices are responsible for converting non-attribute magic into "dynamic elemental magic," while the rest are responsible for channeling excess water and fire elemental magic into the accelerator for storage. This time, the accelerator is much more robust than the previous fixed accelerator.

Because the little witch used high-temperature magical flames for welding and reinforced it with rivets, and the purity of the magic this time was much higher, "Is this enough?"

"It's ready, but the construction period will be slightly longer." Because inserting this modified new core will require adjusting the positions of other mechanical structures, which will take a considerable amount of time.

So Roach and his men had to stay there for another two days. Fortunately, the light cavalry did not catch up, but the bad news was that they did not catch up either. This meant that they had given up on pursuing Roach and his men in this complex terrain. They were either preparing to make their move at the tunnel or preparing to set up the final battle at the old bridge.

"Test~" Everyone kept their distance, except for Scarface, who was unlucky enough to be forced to partner with Roach at the front of the car. "Add fuel!" The inferior fuel block was thrown into the furnace, and the blazing fire element ball suddenly expanded. It was tightly bound to the core of the furnace by the rune array and sent into the reactor body through the pipe made by Livia's alchemy.

With a slight creaking sound as the furnace body deformed and expanded, each pipe lit up, and a portion of the silvery-white wires connected to a crystal ball in front of Roach. As the brightness of the ball changed, he could tell the output of this power structure.

The cross-shaped rune disk, which serves as the control module, is also connected to a large number of lines at both ends. The runes on the rune disk light up one after another, and the metal alchemy reaction cylinder, which is engraved with countless runes, slowly rotates downwards.

The silver magic wires turned into vibrant red and blue, eventually transforming into a bright milky white at the rune disk output.

"Whoosh~~~~" Excess steam gushed out from the brass pipe, emitting a long hiss. The giant gear, imbued with kinetic magic, slowly began to move, driving the connecting rods and shafts. The noise of mechanical metal friction and impact gradually became smooth.

"Success!" The train slowly started moving, and only then did the passengers start running along the tracks, grabbing the handrails and getting into the carriage as the train slowly accelerated.

The train gradually increased its speed, but could not increase it any further when it reached about 45 kilometers per hour. At this speed, the furnace body could withstand the load, and Roach had to leave some redundancy to deal with possible road conditions.

The train's power problem wasn't their only issue; there was also the condition of the tracks. The railway hadn't been maintained for a long time, and the tracks were severely corroded. If the train went too fast, it might really derail.

The steel dragon gradually sped along the tracks. Even at this speed, the trees and scenery on both sides moved backward rapidly. The withered trees and shrubs blocking the tracks were no match for the impact of this pure mechanical violence.

The obstacle clearer leveled everything in its path, and a piece of dry tree that had fallen onto the tracks was instantly crushed into flying wood chips by the locomotive's spiral horn.

"Damn..." The people hiding in the woods stared in disbelief at the train that recklessly drove straight through the roadblocks. "Who came up with this idea?" The villagers all lowered their heads. According to the experience of their ancestors, the train should have stopped or slowed down because of the trees or something along the way, and at that time, they could have taken the opportunity to jump on.

Of course, their goal was not to hijack the train, but to throw the cargo out of the freight cars before the train picked up speed again, and then jump off the train and run away before the train guards arrived. The train guards would not stop the train to chase them for a few pieces of luggage or cargo.

The train, now completely unrecognizable, sped through the dim woodland. Many small villages along the road had no time to react before they saw a long steel dragon rushing across their territory.

"There's a pothole ahead!" Lulua shouted, standing firmly on the front of the carriage. Livia covered her hat with one hand to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, and pointed forward with her staff in the other. The broken tracks floated up section by section, and countless pillars made of mud and rocks grew from the large potholes in the road.

"Boom!" The vehicle shook violently. "Whoosh~" The little witch's face turned slightly pale. Standing on the front of the speeding vehicle was very exciting, especially when it was heading straight for a crater at least seven or eight meters wide. However, she managed to stabilize her magic in time.

The railway tracks, forcibly bound by the witch's command, trembled violently under the impact of the wheels. Rocks and soil debris kept falling off the makeshift support structure at the bottom. Only after the train had completely passed did Livia release her magic.

"Boom!" The newly erected temporary railway bridge instantly broke into countless pieces that collapsed into the pit. Two of the thieves who rushed down the hillside had not even stopped in time and rolled directly into the pit.

"Hmm~" The witch turned her head to look behind her, her emerald green eyes narrowed slightly, and the soil of the pit wrecked and closed with a roar, sealing the broken railway wreckage and the thieves who hadn't had time to climb out into the earth.

"Well done!" Roach exclaimed. There were all sorts of traps along the way, so it seemed that most of the villages along the route had been informed. The locals, who had become impoverished due to the abandonment of the old route, were clearly preparing to make a living from the road again.

However, their capabilities were clearly very limited. They didn't dare to chase after the train directly, so they could only set up roadblocks or dig up the rails to stop it. These traps were scouted by Black Crows' crows in advance, and with Lulua keeping watch, they would be discovered in advance. Then it would be time for Livia to manually and temporarily repair the railway.

"Landslide in the tunnel ahead!" Lulua hooked onto the frame of the car's front and jumped inside like a monkey.

"Perfect timing!" Roach and the little witch exchanged a glance. The latter placed her small hand on a crystal sphere on the front of the train, and the pre-set ritual field was instantly activated. As the train sped along, the wind element magic quickly flowed into the horn on the front of the train.

"Buzz~" The unicorn itself didn't rotate much, but what enveloped it was a tangible vortex of emerald green wind element, which easily penetrated the collapsed rubble and mud, like a hot knife cutting through butter.

"Boom!!!" The carriage bounced up and down with a slight tremor, but with the help of the "I think" power, it did not derail and successfully entered the collapsed and blocked tunnel. After the train passed, Roach slowed down, and the little witch pointed behind her. "Boom!" The second half of the tunnel exploded and blocked the tunnel.

With a screeching sound of brakes, the train slowly came to a stop in the pitch-black tunnel. Operating the secret source device to control the train for a long time was a very mentally taxing task. Roach considered that if he were to make a similar vehicle in the future, it would be best to have the Little Witch automate it. However, the amount of soul essence required would be astronomical.

He felt that he might only be able to collect a sufficient quantity in his lifetime if he witnessed an imperial civil war or a bourgeois revolution.

"Hiss~~~~~" Scorching steam spread from the bottom of the vehicle, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of phlogiston residue, which was only dispersed by the gale summoned by the witch after a long while.

“I bet neither side expected that we’d be resting in this blocked tunnel,” Black Crow grumbled. “But I hope they don’t destroy every tunnel and bridge along the way.”

If it were pursuers, they certainly wouldn't have the time or manpower to do something like this, but it's hard to say about the residents along the old railway line. Even if they didn't intend to hijack the train, these abandoned tracks are a valuable asset in themselves, and it's hard for them not to have thoughts of destruction.

The reason why most of the railway tracks are still intact is not because these people are morally superior, but simply because they simply do not have the ability to dismantle these enchanted tracks. They can only damage some tracks that are severely damaged due to rust and the passage of time.

After all, these rails are not ordinary steel from Earth, but alchemical alloys. Whether used to forge equipment or secretly melted down and sold, they would be worth a lot of money.

Some important railway lines even have rune markings and inlaid gems on their tracks to ensure that trains are under magical protection when passing through these areas. Of course, no one would damage these lines, as these sections usually pass through areas inhabited by monsters or near the Black Forest. The purpose of this modification is to prevent the erosion and destruction by wild magic and monster attacks.

Conversely, this also shows that the cost of building railways in this world is much higher than on Earth. On Earth, you only need to consider rainwater erosion and plant growth, without having to consider wild animals damaging the tracks.

In this world, "wild animals" capable of destroying railway tracks make up at least an inch of the Little Witch's encyclopedia; not to mention, in addition to "wild animals," there is also the magic of rain, wind, and even soil, as well as the conceptual "wild magic."

This kind of magic, formed by the concept of "wild nature," will continuously corrode most of the creations of civilization.

Conversely, in areas where civilization and order exist, the magical concept of "orderly civilization" will also counteract it. Therefore, the cost of railways near towns and prosperous areas will drop significantly because this magical concept will reinforce the creations of civilization. This is also the fundamental reason why there are many ancient ruins and castles in the world that have not collapsed for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Even these ancient civilizations, such as castles, are similar to Hogwarts Castle in Harry Potter. Thousands of years of erosion by the magic of order have transformed these things into powerful magical creations, which is why adventurers can always find wonderful magical equipment in ruins.

Perhaps these weapons were just ordinary guard swords at first, but with the constant erosion and enchantment of magic, they eventually became powerful magical equipment. This is the basic principle of Alchemy - Enchanting.

Enchanting technology simulates this phenomenon, transforming the unconscious erosion and infusion of magic over thousands of years into a purposeful and controllable infusion, thereby generating enchanted and magical equipment.

Therefore, to combat the erosion and infusion of magic, rather than creating some strange things like railway demons or railway monsters, these rails cannot be ordinary steel. At the very least, they must undergo basic anti-magic treatment—otherwise, the empire would not have almost exhausted its national treasury for just two and a half railway lines, and after decades of construction, they are still not finished.

If you were to ask a 19th-century empire to build a railway, where every rail had to be chrome-plated and electroplated, and some sections couldn't be made of steel but had to use expensive materials like tungsten and titanium, then they would be considered to have been very good at making money and managing their finances if they could complete a railway that ran through the entire country within 100 years.

Chapter 205 Behind the Scenes

The Frost family's "Wisteria Castle" is an ancient castle located in the middle of County Catherfield, surrounded by rivers and woodlands. The castle, which is at least a thousand years old, is covered with vines as thick as an arm, and its almost fossilized surface has a dark gray color, as if it were carved from stone.

Occasionally, finger-sized cracks appear on the thick, hard bark, from which fragile and delicate seedlings emerge, growing on layers of vines and making the ancient castle even more bulky.

The pale purple flowers bloom along the emerald green vines, never fading throughout the year, like pale purple curtains draping over every corridor and gate of the castle.

For the Florosur family, this castle is like a sacred place. Most of the family members live in a newly built estate about 5 to 6 kilometers away from the castle. Of course, the castle is not open to tourists, and visitors can only look at this ancient city from afar.

The magic of order and civilization permeates every crevice of the stone, making the castle itself a powerful and immovable magical artifact. The seemingly fragile, sandy walls are difficult to destroy even when bombarded by magic cannons.

"Crack!" The ancient gate was forced open by an invisible force, revealing a narrow path that could only accommodate one person at a time. The middle-aged man standing at the door did not step in; the old fellows inside were not as cute as the reliefs on the gate.

A strange tree is carved on the wooden door. One half is lush with leaves and blooming flowers, while the other half is withered but laden with fruit. One side is entwined with vines, while the other is overgrown with thorns. Amidst the vines and thorns, there are the profiles of two girls. One girl clasps her hands together, raising a halo symbolizing the sun; the other girl hangs her wrist down, with a bottle containing the moon and starlight hanging down.

Ancient, lost texts spread out on both sides beneath the tree. It took the Florus family nearly ten generations to decipher just a few words. The text beneath the girl who holds up the sun, surrounded by vines and abundant fruit, means "creation"; while the text beneath the girl surrounded by flowers and thorns means "extinction".

The text was clearly very different from the imagery of the relief, so many in the family thought the deciphering result was probably problematic. After all, only two words were deciphered from that long string of badly worn text, and it was not surprising that misunderstandings would occur without understanding the context.

After admiring it for a moment, the middle-aged man walked through the gate. It was a hall of unknown significance located below the ancient castle, with the floor, walls, and ceiling covered with badly worn murals and reliefs.