Chapter 671 — At the Edge of the Vortex

The Eastern Reach, White Sand Hills, the mine station.

A hastily erected watchtower stood on the high ground near the platform, vigilant sentries and armored vehicles guarding the station together, while a peculiar freight train sat alongside Platform One. The rear half of the train consisted of several open cargo flatbeds, some already loaded with goods, and the single empty flatbed in the middle of the train was waiting to be filled.

With a low mechanical hum, a large tractor drove up onto the elevated loading platform under a guide's direction, dragging a heavy pallet covered by a huge tarpaulin. The tarp hid its contents, but from the sheer bulk and the vague outlines beneath it, one could tell this was likely no ordinary ore or piece of machinery.

On the platform, Pi Yun was watching the final stage of the cargo transfer. The hook of the lifting device had already been attached to the pallet at the rear of the tractor, engineers were replenishing the energy in the pallet's weight-reduction runes, half the escorting soldiers had already boarded the train, and two officers were leading the rest in inspecting every part of the train to ensure nothing could go wrong.

Beside Pi Yun, Holm, the head of White Sand Mining, could not resist smacking his lips. "Honestly, this has to be the cargo no one in the world would dare rob..."

"But we still need to guard it closely. Madmen like the All-Ending Society will always exist," said a young woman knight with a ponytail, a fine figure, and a dashing air—Yan Qi. "Especially since it has to change transport midway. There is no such thing as being too careful."

Pi Yun glanced at the woman knight with a smile. "Miss Margarita, don't be so tense all the time. Men don't care for women who are like stone."

Margarita's face was utterly serious. "I am a knight first, and a woman second."

"...Same type as Philip," Pi Yun's mouth twitched as he muttered. "Talking to you is really no fun."

This woman knight had only arrived in the White Sand region today. She had been ordered to escort the vital cargo all the way to Saint Sunil—a rather long journey. Although advanced transport had greatly shortened travel time, the coverage of the magic-energy railway was still limited, so she first had to take her team by train to the Golan region, then transfer with both people and cargo onto a freighter, following the waterways through Cecil, Kant, and the Bedrock region, crossing the entire Holy Spirit Plain, and finally reaching Saint Sunil. The total distance was hardly short.

Her mission would be a key link in His Majesty's coronation.

The pressure of the mission, combined with her own nature, kept this Miss Margarita perpetually a little taut. To Pi Yun, conversing with such a person was quite dull.

His muttering fell completely on Margarita's ears. The earnest woman knight turned her head and said very properly, "Master, if my manner of speaking displeases you, I am sorry. I truly am not an interesting person. We will be working together for a long time to come, and I will do my best not to affect your mood."

"No, no, no, talking like that only makes it worse for me... How is this even more serious than Philip's case?" Pi Yun waved his hands vigorously, then sighed a little. "But then again, there really aren't many 'standard' knights like you in the Cecil Legion these days. Most knights promoted on the battlefield never had time to learn that whole set of yours..."

"Those knights promoted on the battlefield deserve more respect. Their loyalty and courage are worthy of their titles," Margarita said earnestly. "I once heard General Philip say that this is an age already turned upside down—the old will be cast aside, the new will replace them, and that is inevitable. As for that 'whole set' you mention... perhaps some of it is outdated, but loyalty and diligence are always necessary, and they will carry on in the new knights as well."

Pi Yun could not help looking Margarita up and down, and suddenly a trace of feeling crept into his voice. "Girl, you must be very proud of what you are, aren't you?"

Margarita straightened slightly and revealed a reserved smile. "Perhaps many people think being a knight means nothing more than good birth, but I believe it is more worthy of pride to prove through effort that one deserves the title."

She did not overly conceal her pride and self-respect, but chose to express them in a reserved manner—this was in keeping with the codes of knightly ceremony, for a proper knight must not evade or hide her fine qualities; even to show humility, she must display those points of pride appropriately.

Hearing her words, Pi Yun stared at Margarita for a while. The habitual grin on his face had at some point faded, and he wore a distant look, as if suddenly caught in some memory.

Margarita blinked in confusion, looked down at herself, and only after confirming her bearing was in order did she speak. "Master? Was there something wrong with what I said?"

"No... I just suddenly thought of an old friend..." Pi Yun sighed softly and said slowly, "Years ago, when I first met him, he said something similar."

"You knew a knight in your younger days too?" Margarita felt a flicker of curiosity, then of anticipation. "Said something similar... Then I would like to meet that gentleman. He must be someone worthy of respect."

"A pity—that fellow never had the chance to meet a beautiful lady like you. He died many years ago," Pi Yun shook his head. "And he only said something similar, that's all. His character was hardly proper. Even if he had lived to this day, don't expect him to be some elderly version of Philip—he was closer to Byron."

Margarita paid no mind to Pi Yun's later teasing, only pursing her lips a little ruefully. "He has passed away...? I am sorry. I should not have brought it up."

"It's fine... It was all many years ago. An old man like me won't hold it against you," Pi Yun's mouth pulled into a smile, then he turned his face away, looking at the cargo being loaded, and sighed deeply. "And compared with those already dead... it's the living who are more troubling."

The clatter of moving hinges came from not far off. With the aid of mechanical devices, the weight-reduced cargo was set onto the middle of the train's cargo flatbed. Soldiers stepped forward and worked the locks on the flatbed with crowbars, clamping the cargo pallet and the train bed together with a series of clicks.

A gust of wind blew in from the direction of the plains and lifted a corner of the tarpaulin. In that instant, part of the structure of an enormous skull flashed through the gap in the cloth.

A whistle sounded on the platform. The commander began assembling the soldiers and arranging for the remaining personnel to board the train.

"The Imperial era, was it... The thing that terrified that fellow for half his life is gone in the end."

Pi Yun murmured softly and set off toward the carriage that belonged to him.

Several apprentices waiting nearby immediately stepped forward, took the old druid's staff, and supported his aged, stooped body.

Margarita stood where she was, watching the old druid's departing back with a hint of confusion, but soon she set aside these matters unrelated to the mission. The woman knight from Kant adjusted her attire, turned, and nodded to Holm. "Mr. Holm, we depart now. Thank you for your assistance, and I wish you success in your tasks ahead."

Holm smiled faintly and doffed his hat. "Safe journey, Knightess."

With a loud whistle and a chorus of low, pulsing runes, the massive freight train slowly started, gathering speed along the platform as it headed west.

Holm watched this special "freight train" depart, then turned and walked out of the station.

There was still much for him to do.