Arrival at Watch City
"I didn't expect that in our time, firearms weren't nearly as powerful. At most, they could injure someone just entering the Transcendence. Perhaps in the future, even more powerful firearms might actually appear."
Oden couldn't help but sigh.
The servants outside had already cracked their whips to the limit, and the thick-haired warhorses of the Northern Territory galloped forward at full speed. The entire convoy followed the clear trails formed by the small lights on the left front of each carriage, braving the smoke and snow falling from above, and rumbled out of the narrow and treacherous side mountain road at top speed!
Almost the instant the last carriage burst out of the mountain pass and entered the open snowfield fork in the road outside the mountains.
The massive snow piled up above the side valley behind them collapsed with a deafening roar, instantly burying the entire mountain road, along with the remaining traces of gunpowder, deep into the ice and snow.
After rushing out of the mountain path, the leading Lantern Knight and Morning Bell Knight did not even pause to rest. They immediately issued orders at the fork in the snowfield outside the mountain, instructing the middle and rear teams to split up and proceed at full speed in two completely different directions.
The reason is actually quite simple.
Firstly, both teams were already tasked with providing emergency support to different Northern Territory cities. Secondly, the commotion caused by using the city's cannons in the mountain pass might alert the enemy to gather more troops to surround them. The safest course of action was to break out of the encirclement and immediately split up and move quickly.
In the brief few dozen breaths that the two convoys quickly split up and adjusted, Blanca, Harvey, Leon, and Karin's team remained with the group heading towards the other side of the snowfield, according to their previous mission assignments.
Lu Yuan, carrying his baggage and supplies, boarded the convoy heading straight for Watch City.
As they parted, through the howling snow and the passing carriage windows, Blanca and Harvey both leaned out and waved vigorously to Lu Yuan. Harvey even cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted a few words of advice:
"Lu Yuan, once you get to Watch City, be extra careful. If you need to ask for information or find a place to stay, remember to use the Night Owl Wooden Token I gave you to find a shop in the city!"
Take care on your journey, all four of you!
Lu Yuan stood on the platform of the carriage and nodded in response to them.
They then climbed into the carriages and closed the wooden doors. Accompanied by the crisp sound of whips cracking, the two convoys completely separated in the vast night, transforming into two straight, long lines of lights, speeding towards their respective destinations against the swirling snow.
After parting ways with the other detachment, the caravan, personally led by the Lantern Knight, sped along the main road leading to Watch City without encountering any large-scale roadblocks or ambushes.
As the long, dark night, filled with wind and snow, finally passed and a layer of gray, leaden clouds began to glimmer on the horizon, the outline of a towering, majestic city, entirely constructed of massive obsidian blocks, slowly emerged before everyone's eyes at the end of the blizzard.
That is Watch City that stands majestically in the heart of the Northern Territory and is known as the most important town in the Northern Territory.
However, before the Academy's heavy convoy could even get close to the towering walls of Watch City, a shocking scene of chaos on the snowy plains outside the city came into view of the entourage.
On the vast snowfields surrounding the Blackstone walls of Watch City and the Wasteland to the north, an endless array of tattered leather tents and low shacks could be seen.
Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing from villages and towns around the Northern Territory and disaster-stricken areas huddled together, shivering in the freezing snow and wind, where temperatures were tens of degrees below zero.
Between the refugee shacks and the moat of Watch City, the fully armed Watch City defense forces had already erected three layers of spiked ironwood chevaux-de-frise and a blockade.
Rows of soldiers, armed with halberds and crossbows, stood guard behind the barricades with grim expressions, keeping the refugees who tried to approach the city walls to beg for food and charcoal a hundred paces away.
A biting wind, carrying snowflakes, swept across the shantytown, echoing everywhere the cries of children suffering from cold and hunger, the shouts and beatings of refugees fighting over half a piece of frozen black bread, and the stern rebukes of the city's garrison soldiers.
The air was filled with an unpleasant odor, a mixture of pungent quicklime, excrement, and the stench of burning firewood.
Looking out through the slightly ajar car window, Lu Yuan could even see more than a dozen epidemic prevention personnel wrapped in heavy oilcloth Protective Barrier suits and wearing bird-beak filter masks on their faces.
They were pushing creaking wooden carts out from the depths of the refugee Isolation area, with piles of refugee corpses stacked high on them, some completely frozen, others with contorted features and violent deaths, dragging them toward the distant cremation pit.
This left Lu Yuan momentarily dazed. He had almost forgotten that this era was only around the 19th century, and the technology available to ordinary people was currently limited to modified steam engines and rudimentary electricity.
Seeing the desolate and chaotic scene outside the city, resembling a living hell, the faces of the accompanying trainees in the same carriage turned pale, and the atmosphere in the entire carriage became increasingly heavy.
The convoy slowly drove along the cleared official road, past the outer barricades, and arrived at the tall and imposing city gate of Watch City.
Now, three of the four main gates of the entire Watch City have been completely closed and sealed off, leaving only the Side Gate with double iron gates for people to enter and exit. Inside and outside the gate passage, three extremely strict checkpoints have been set up.
All personnel, vehicles, and supplies authorized to enter or exit must undergo inspection by the Holy Light Stone and thorough checks of their personal belongings.
Even though the convoy was officially registered under the banner of the North Campus of the Knight Academy, and Fourth Order Lantern Knight personally handed over the travel documents, the inspectors guarding the city gate showed no intention of making an exception and letting them pass.
Strictly adhering to the rigid martial law regulations, he led a large group of people to check every carriage, cargo box, and even the identity tags of the accompanying personnel of every heavy carriage.
Lu Yuan had already followed the instructions of the Rock Grand Knight Commander, blending into the logistics roster as an ordinary Third Order accompanying freshman, and stood calmly beside the carriage shaft to cooperate with the inspection.
While waiting for inspection and clearance, Lu Yuan's gaze swept over the guards stationed inside and outside the barbican without making a sound, but a subtle sense of vigilance gradually arose in his heart.
Whether it was the Watch City Hall checking the register and seals, the armored city guards, or the few Night Watchers standing in the corner of the high platform responsible for monitoring for Watch City with Holy Light Stones, everyone wore the same tense and gloomy expression.
The way they looked at the Academy's entourage, and even at their colleagues, revealed an undisguised scrutiny, suspicion, and indifference.
This eerie atmosphere, where even close friends and family maintain a constant state of vigilance and distance, perfectly confirms the warning that Blanca and Harvey had specifically given them in the train carriage.