Chapter 944 (1/2)
The world had always been full of fun. What was lacking was a pair of eyes to see the fun. Like this very decrepit evacuation ark. It was shrouded with the shadow of a slow and impending doom, yet when the old scholar hit the throttle, Hao Ren stopped caring about the fall of this place.
Well, it was because it was so shaky that Hao Ren could not even think…
He was worried earlier on how should he get Willy and the old scholar to the Furnace of the Ancestors before things takes a turn for the worse. But it seems like that worry was for nothing. Master Orrow could not only withstand the speed that a young showoff would go at, he could also withstand the accompanying jolts. Surely the people of the ark was somewhat unusual.
As an old man who had survived this god forsaken world for such a long time, the old scholar’s body was remarkably strong, and even at his age, he was still much stronger than usual. Hao Ren and the rest tumbled about in the carriage, as the ruined cities and ancient roads went by them. It did not take long for Hearthfire and its forboding presence to be totally out of sight.
The old man was happily speeding across the wasteland.
The vehicle had now left Hearthfire’s area of influence and the massive factory complex and a few other iconic buildings had now faded into little dots in the background. Before them was now a wide, empty wasteland. The dried and dirty roads were dusty, and clouds of dusts meters high were kicked up as the vehicle shot past As the dust settled behind the vehicle, shadows appeared amongst the ruined buildings on both sides of the road. These were the vagabonds living in the wasteland. They were not under any kingdom’s protection, nor did they swore fealty to any. These vagabonds wore clothings made out of torn leather and cloths as they snuck out of their lair before the chills set it. As they waved the spears and slings and screamed like barbarians at the Steelbeast, their hostility was apparent. Yet none of them actually dared to go face to face with the metallic ‘monster’.
Willy, the cowardly soldier was clearly worried, and yet he still loaded the crossbow carefully before opening the wooden panel on the side of the carriage. The young lad pointed the crossbow towards the vagabonds as he shouted a warning. The vagaonds with oiled faces and clothings no different than a barbarian shouted back, but they slowly retreated. Their simple spears and slings were no match for military crossbows, but they were probably more afraid of the metal beast that dashed past earlier.
Lily asked, almost shouting. “Why are these people so hostile?”
“They are vagabonds! There are not protected by the king!” Willy shouted back. “These people have no share of the factories or farms. Even the dogs in Hearthfire eats a better meal than them. We cityfolk are not welcomed in the wilds!”
Nangong Sanba gave a cynicle smile. “It almost like we’re given a parade welcome.”
At the same time Lily seemed to hear something. Turning towards the back of the carriage, she yelled. “There’s another vehicle chasing after us!”
Hao Ren turned back to have a look, but only saw a cloud of dust behind the carriage, and within the dust cloud was a silhouette that is closing in. While they could not tell who it was, they could hear the similarly deafening engine roar amongst the clouds. Willy immediately gripped his bow tightly, as he pulled out an explosive bag wrapped with bovine leather from a small box at the corner of the carriage.
A moment later, a vehicle was upon them. It was covered with leather and thick fabric, while the carriage was lined up with human femur that is tied to it with wire. Black smoke belched from the side of the engines as embers shot out from the motor, it almost looked like a hellish chariot that shot out straight fro mthe gates of hell. A middle aged man dressed similarly like Master Orrow sat before the engine as he used a weird looking control lever to control the engine and the direction of the vehicle. Dust and crushed pebbles kept falling out of his robes as his face was soot black. As he accelerated he yelled at Master Orrow. “You mongrels from Highspire! You and your contraption should have been swalloed by the monsters of Eordos ages ago! How dare you run ahead of me, you walking dead!”
“It’s the Eisenstadt!” Willy almost dropped the gunpowder satchel. “Their scholars have also come!”
Nagong Wuyue looked at the screaming scholar from Eisenstadt, before turning towards Master Orrow. “Their scholar seems much more energetic than ours.”
But she never thought that while Master Orrow was indeed old, his hearing is still perfect. After hearing what Wuyue had said, he angrily slapped the machine before him. A moment later Hao Ren feld something underneath him had made an audible ‘Click!’ from the engine.