Hunter felt as though he were dreaming.
That morning, he had still been in the military camp besieging Slading Fortress, listening to Viscount Frey speak of the opponent he so desperately wished to face. By evening, he had arrived at Blood Port and met the prince.
Everything in between had felt like a nightmare—or perhaps he had never truly woken up.
Damn it, this was Blood Port, the easternmost city of Tis? Blood Port, half a month's journey from the Northern Territory? That morning, he had been complaining that the Northern Territory was too cold, and now the warm sea breeze of the port was washing over him.
Because they prisoners had brought extremely valuable intelligence, they were immediately sent to the rear, riding a spare locomotive straight to Blood Port. The sky had not even darkened by the time Hunter stepped off the train.
Hunter prided himself on being a learned scholar, yet everything that had happened today had shattered the understanding he had built over the years.
Terrifying weapons that rained death from the sky, armored trains as large as buildings, and transport capabilities so dreadful that they could travel from the Northern Territory to Blood Port in a single afternoon.
He had never heard of any of it. Even in his wildest dreams, he had never imagined such things.
Yet now, they had appeared before his eyes so abruptly.
Before stepping off the train, Hunter had thought nothing could surprise him anymore. He had seen too many bizarre creations already.
But upon exiting the carriage, he still stood there dumbfounded.
He had disembarked at the station by Blood Port's docks, in the district where industrialization was most complete.
A forest of steel and concrete burst into Hunter's sight in an instant.
Roaring Steam Engines droned. If he