Rebellion of the General

Rein's understanding of this world was still very shallow. After all, he had spent the past year since his transmigration mostly in training with the "Weasel Bandit Group," with no exposure to any outside information.

As it happened, even though Ymir had told him her real name, he had only thought she was the daughter of some great noble family, completely unaware that the person before him was the famous Eldest Princess of the Oma Empire, the "Frost Swordswoman," Ymir Spurglin!

It was because he had never heard of her.

After all, who would be bored enough to care about the names of the countless royal family members of the Emperor?

Even with information so readily available in his past life, he didn't remember the name of the US President's sister. For people at the bottom, the names of the President's distant relatives had absolutely nothing to do with them.

They were fundamentally from different worlds and would never have any interaction in their lives!

And because she had been wearing a mask before, Rein hadn't connected her to the mysterious woman from the "Hyacinth Tavern."

After all, even if that were the case, with the Oma Empire having the upper hand against the Bandit Alliance, even if she was ambushed by "White Wolf" Bazel, that woman shouldn't have appeared alone and heavily injured in the "Bakenya Highlands."

Rein naturally wouldn't have imagined that a dignified Eldest Princess would nearly lose her life due to internal political scheming within the Spurglin royal family.

Because they didn't have a detailed map, what Rein had estimated as a three-to-five-day journey on foot took them eight days.

On the eighth day, they didn't find "Snow Eagle Fortress" at their expected location. Instead, they encountered a long-distance migrating caravan.

It was a long, trackless steam train, about thirty carriages long. The carriages were covered in thick, almost completely sealed armor, looking like a black steel centipede crawling across the wasteland.

As Rein and Ymir emerged from the wasteland's mist, they happened upon the train stopping for a rest.

Just as he was about to find someone to ask why "Snow Eagle Fortress," which should have been nearby, had disappeared, he walked over.

Upon seeing this, Rein was greatly surprised.

There were simply too many people!

Even though all the train carriages were sealed, each carriage roof was occupied by at least a hundred people.

It was a bit like some Indian super-trains from Rein's past life, where every available space on the roof was filled with large and small packages and stowaway passengers.

Under normal circumstances, this shouldn't happen. Without the protection of armor, the people on the roof were essentially easy prey for magical beasts.

The number of people on this steam train was abnormally high.

The sudden appearance of two strange travelers in the mist also drew the attention of the people on the train.

"Hey, buddy, are you lost?"

"Yo, there's a little lady too. Take off that mask and let me have a look!"

"Haha, did these two get caught in the act while traveling and get left behind by the train they were on?"

"..."

It was indeed rare to see humans in the wasteland not traveling in groups.

After all, without the protection of steam machinery, most humans wouldn't survive a night in the perilous Ice Ridge Wasteland.

As Rein and Ymir approached, the stowaways on the train roofs greeted them with crude language and whistles.

Especially when they saw Ymir, whose figure was still graceful even in loose clothing, the single men whistled and made lewd remarks.

It wasn't out of great malice; it was simply the usual way the lower classes of this world greeted each other.

Having spent a long time with the Bandit Group, Rein was used to it.

But when he turned to look at Ymir beside him, he noticed her brows subtly furrowed, clearly not accustomed to such crude greetings.

Rein didn't intend to linger. He shouted up to the people on the train roofs, "Uh, excuse me, do you know where the nearby 'Snow Eagle Fortress' went?"

"Ah, you're looking for 'Snow Eagle Fortress'?"

Hearing this, the people on the train roofs were quite surprised and asked a series of questions: "You don't know yet? Where did you guys come from that you don't even know such big news?"

Hearing that tone, Rein wondered if something major had happened during their few days of traveling through the wasteland.

He explained, "I'm a doctor. My wilderness exploration companions and I were attacked by wasteland beasts a few days ago and got separated... so, we wanted to see if they were at 'Snow Eagle Fortress'."

As expected, the identity of a doctor was useful everywhere.

Upon hearing this, the people on the roofs stopped their commotion and showed respect.

The person replied, "Oh, then you'll be disappointed. Because they were conscripted by the Empire, 'Snow Eagle Fortress' departed five days ago to suppress the rebels..."

Another person chimed in, "Yeah! Many of us here were originally 'outsiders' from near Blazing Steel Fortress. Since we weren't qualified to go with Mechanical City, we could only migrate to other places with this train..."

The inner city of Mechanical City had limited space, and permanent residents usually had to pay a substantial fee to obtain residency, similar to buying property and settling down in his previous life.

"Outsiders" were generally the poor who couldn't afford the entry fees. They usually built their homes at the foot of the steel castle walls, receiving some protection.

During the wartime migration, they naturally weren't qualified to move with the city.

Therefore, the people on the roofs were all war refugees, which explained why so many were hitchhiking.

"'Snow Eagle Fortress' left?"

Rein felt his luck was rather bad and his mind was already racing to think of other possible destinations.

Ymir, however, focused on another piece of information in the conversation, letting out a soft "Hm?" as she asked, "Suppressing rebels?"

Besides bandits, where else would the Empire have rebels?

If they were two unknown individuals, the train wouldn't have opened its doors at all.

After all, if they encountered spies from the Weasel Bandit Group, it would bring utter disaster to the entire team.

But Rein, the doctor in the white coat, seemed to possess a "friendly aura." As they were being questioned, a thick carriage door opened, and out stepped a conductor with a red nose, wearing a train uniform.

The conductor, nicknamed "Red Nose" Paul, held a position similar to a ticket inspector on the train, responsible for managing the last seven carriages.

Paul sized up Rein, who was wearing a crow-shaped gas mask, and asked, "You just said... you're a doctor?"

Rein didn't dare to be presumptuous; his skills weren't quite those of a qualified doctor, so he corrected, "To be precise, I'm a surgical apprentice."

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

Paul didn't seem to mind, a hint of excitement appearing on his face. "We happen to need a doctor on our train. If you're willing to provide some medical assistance to our carriages, I can offer both of you seats in two carriages for free."

The implication was clear: if he were a fake doctor or unable to provide the corresponding medical help, they would likely have to endure the biting cold wind, just like those stowaways clinging to the roof.

After all, Rein and Ymir were just looking for a human settlement; they hadn't intended to travel far by train.

Rein didn't rush to agree and asked, "Mr. Paul, besides 'Snow Eagle Fortress,' where is the nearest Mechanical City in this area?"

"I'm afraid so, Doctor."

Paul spread his hands and said, "Due to wartime conscription, all the Mechanical Cities within a radius of several thousand kilometers have been requisitioned. If you miss this train from our 'Thornbird Merchant Guild,' you and your friend will likely be in great danger walking on the wasteland."

He paused, then continued, "As you can see, our train is actually sold out. If it weren't for you being a distinguished doctor, I wouldn't have said anything."

Rein's eyelids twitched, and he felt a sense of trouble.

If all the human cities within thousands of kilometers were off fighting, where would they go?

Perhaps, they could only get on this train and leave?

With that thought, Rein turned his head to look at Ymir beside him, wanting to ask for her opinion.

But at this moment, Ymir's expression seemed a bit off; clearly, her focus wasn't on this.

She, who had not spoken proactively throughout, surprisingly took the initiative and asked Paul, "May I ask, did they just say 'Snow Eagle Fortress' went to suppress rebels? Is that true?"

Her voice was surprisingly pleasant, and Paul was quite surprised.

Although Ymir was wearing a gas mask, revealing only her pair of clear blue eyes, it was enough to guess that she must have a stunningly beautiful face.

Paul glanced at her and replied, "Yes... the Imperial Capital has issued a notice to the entire empire. The Oma Empire's First Army Commander, the 'Storm General' Baron Askpa, has rebelled. The main combat Mechanical Cities of the southern three provinces have been ordered to gather and encircle him..."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Ymir's tone changed abruptly, and a sharp, cold glint suddenly flashed in her eyes.

The 'Storm General' Baron was her most loyal subordinate, the empire's most outstanding military commander, and he would absolutely not rebel!

Recalling her own inexplicable ambush by an enemy Vampire Prince earlier, and then hearing this news, she vaguely guessed what the Empress was planning!

The political situation in the Oma Empire was likely about to change drastically.

Thanks to 'Holy Blood Slaughter Emperor' and 'One Thought Tiger' for their 500-coin tips, thank you both~