"Cuckoo~Cuckoo~"
The brass wind-up bird emitted a crisp chirp, and after receiving no response, began pecking at everything around it with its sharp beak.
Gray awoke from his sleep to the clanging of metal.
Feeling the familiar roar and jolt, he confirmed his current condition and that of the fortress beneath him.
After putting the brass bird back into his arm armor, Gray began to wind up his mechanical heart by turning the metal key on his chest.
The current time is August 20th, 908 in the Royal Calendar. Gray looked out the window of the mobile fortress, but all he could see was a thick fog and a dark ground that looked like it was covered with volcanic ash.
How boring...
He thought to himself that although he had already entered the controlled area of Graycast Corridor, he still didn't know how long it would take to return to the [ Great Labyrinth City ] (the main city).
According to Gray's itinerary, he should have arrived in the main city yesterday, but the power components of his mobile fortress were too worn out, and the constant repairs along the way made it difficult for him to accurately calculate the arrival time.
As a traveling merchant, Gray's job was simple.
They set off from the Graycast Corridor laden with goods, traded with about twenty settlements along the way, and then returned to the Graycast Corridor with their spoils to report their findings, repeating this cycle continuously.
This wasn't because the corridor needed the small sums of money they earned through trade. Compared to these precious metals, the [ Grand Foundry Master ] were more concerned about whether there had been any new changes in the landscape of this continent.
The Graycast Corridor is located in a somewhat remote area of this continent. If it weren't for merchants like them, news of it might take a year or two to reach the Great Labyrinth City.
With that in mind, Gray once again unfolded his mission report, carefully examining every paragraph and every word, trying to polish it further to gain appreciation or promotion.
Just then, he heard another low rumble enter his ears.
If the roar of Gray's fortress was the panting of a beast before launching an attack, then this new roar was the growl of an entire pack before charging.
The difference between the two is like that between a tiger and a lynx. It's not that the lynx isn't powerful enough, but it depends on what you're comparing it to.
Upon hearing this voice, Gray was not alarmed at all; instead, his face instantly lit up with joy.
He placed the report on the table and jogged to the rooftop of the fortress to survey his surroundings.
The silhouette of a massive mobile fortress appeared in the mist to the left of Gray Fortress.
Just by looking at the outline, Gray knew that it was a mass-produced high-level fortress with a Graycast Corridor. Not only did it have a full ten floors, but it also had four power cores, making it completely different from his beggar version.
The presence of such a large fortress in this gray wilderness indicates that the Great Labyrinth City is no longer far away.
But... Gray stared intently at the outline of the fortress in the thick fog—
Why is this thing getting bigger and bigger?
Oh no, it's going to crash into us!
Realizing the impending tragedy, Gray's bearded face turned deathly pale.
He strode to the control panel and began pressing each lever to its lowest position, while simultaneously sounding the horn of his fortress.
Although he knew it was useless—the other car couldn't stop in time, so what was the point of honking?
In short, after Gray squeezed out the last bit of power from the fortress, the two finally narrowly missed each other.
In the dust-filled chaos of the passage, Gray could even hear a curse coming from the giant fortress—
"Didn't you see the large fortress coming? Are you blind?"
He naturally retaliated with equally sharp insults:
"Didn't you hear the horn? Are you deaf?"
As the two fortresses receded into the distance, Gray let out a long sigh of relief, feeling much better.
Dust storms, dense fog, road rage... that's the feeling! This is the Graycast Corridor!
"Haha, I'm home!"
Muttering a happy murmur to himself, Gray lay back down on the bed, letting the fortress move automatically, still fiddling with the "friendship sculpture" from the Tree Worship Church that Ed had given him.
In the afternoon, Gray finally saw the towering, greyish-white city walls.
The towering walls made even the sunlight seem incredibly dim. Gray didn't know if the walls were naturally like that or if they had been gradually stained this color by hundreds or thousands of fortresses of all sizes over the past hundred years.
All he knew was that as long as this high wall stood, the Graycast Corridor would remain one of the top powers on this continent, and this sense of security always filled the merchants returning from afar with pride.
Once the mobile fortress entered this area, it could no longer drive recklessly. Gray quickly found a paved road, turned, and drove onto it, ignoring the owner of another small fortress behind him honking his horn like crazy.
The fortress arrived at the city gate, and the city guards used the elevator to reach the windows on the second floor of the fortress.
Gray handed over his identification and some proof of his previous departure. The guards checked them and then let him into the [ Great Labyrinth City ].
The merchant had absolutely no idea how large the main city of this Graycast Corridor actually was or how many people lived there.
Even after living here for decades, he couldn't claim to be familiar with the city, only knowing a little more about the area where his hometown was located.
Guided by the road signs, Gray quickly arrived at his assigned area.
Unable to enter the inner city from the fortress, he arrived at a cargo depot in the outer city to begin the handover of this trade activity.
Boxes of local specialties from various settlements were being moved out of the fortress's warehouse area via conveyor belt, while Gray filled out forms with staff on the side.
After a quick inventory check, the serious-looking middle-aged man in front of me picked up the dusty receipt and began to read aloud:
"Trading merchant Gray Gris completed his fourth voyage of the year on August 20th, which lasted 65 days. He brought back 53 standard boxes of special goods and 128 gold, 65 silver, and 7 copper coins... Is this confirmed?"
"Confirm."
"Very good, we have received your accounts and task summary. After verification, we will return your due amount..."
At this point, a barely perceptible smile appeared on the serious-looking middle-aged man's face. He reached out and patted Gray's shoulder twice, raising another cloud of dust.
Enjoy your well-deserved vacation, young man.
Hearing the other person's blessing, Gray couldn't help but give a wry smile:
"Haha, I would if I had the chance."
After the handover was complete, Gray turned to look at his old buddy behind him.
The surface of this small fortress looked as if it had just been the site of World War II.
The mud and dust along the way left a grayish shell on it, while some parts were covered with holes and scratches from the occasional Xilǐ'er.
If it weren't for the fact that the unloading point wasn't far from the city gate, his fortress would probably have been shut down halfway there.