The Magic Powered Train’s front looked quite massive in everyone’s eyes.
After all, most people thought it was just a mining cart or some kind of rail-drawn carriage.
It’s not that nobles hadn’t tried similar things before; they eventually abandoned them due to the hassle of maintenance, leaving them as mere entertainment for the nobles during their leisure time.
However, when the curtain was truly lifted, everyone realized the front looked heavy and giant, not at all like something meant to be pulled by horses. For some reason, as Kiss looked at the Magic Powered Train, he suddenly felt a bit anxious.
Lind boarded the front of the train and, just as he was about to elegantly invite Lena up, he saw her bounce right to his side.
With no other choice, Lind said to the conductor who boarded with him, “Let’s depart.”
Although this train powered by magic didn’t have a whistle, Lind still added a signaling device to directly replicate the whistle signal from the engine.
As the guards dispersed the crowd on the tracks, the Magic Powered Train let out a crisp, melodious whistle and began to slowly move forward without any external assistance.
Lind leisurely leaned back in his seat, admiring the scenery of Graywhite Territory outside the window.
Due to the leap in steelmaking technology and the efforts of the alchemists, Lind regrettably noticed he couldn’t hear the usual sounds anymore.
This stretch of track was entirely constructed with seamless steel rails, and it was anticipated that all subsequent connections would also use seamless steel rails. Although the initial expenditure is higher, the maintenance costs of seamless steel rails are lower.
As he watched this train, which resembled a large carriage yet sported a more streamlined design, move on its own along the tracks, Kiss’s eyes were nearly wide with astonishment.
Coming to his senses, Kiss began to run alongside the residents of Graywhite Territory chasing the moving Magic Powered Train.
Kiss almost instantly thought of the applications for this train; after all, now that they had a train, they could add many carriages in the future.
As long as the tracks were laid down, they could transport troops, supplies, and all manner of goods, instantly connecting the entire territory.
From now on, the distant daydream of the king would be greatly eased—especially if this Magic Powered Train supports long-distance travel.
This was a monster, Kiss realized immediately; it would change the nature of warfare, no, it could even be said to change the landscape of the world.
Even if the residents of Graywhite Territory had grown accustomed to the routine wonders they experienced almost daily, this self-operating Magic Powered Train still thrilled them immensely.
Watching the residents outside the window running and shouting, Lind instructed the conductor to slow the train down even further so the residents could catch up.
At the same time, Lind and Lena reached out their hands to wave at the residents.
A Professional captured this moment with a magic recording tool, officially marking the inauguration of the Magic Powered Train in Graywhite Territory.
However, at present, the symbolic meaning was greater than its practical significance, as the railway was not yet fully completed, and other Obelisks were still under construction; they could only loop around Graywhite Territory for now.
Although there were backup energy sources with the highest density of silvery sand containers, the primary power source for the Magic Powered Train still came from the charging of the Obelisk. Once the railways and Obelisks were completed nationwide, the Magic Powered Train would be able to run throughout the land.
After the Magic Powered Train made a round, Kiss looked in shock at this giant beast that had come to a stop.
Initially, Kiss believed the war was just beginning; even if Graywhite Territory’s weapons and equipment were advanced, Governor Fang Ge still controlled the majority of the Northern Border lands. Even based on land size, they could consistently stall Graywhite Territory for quite some time.
However, now it seemed the war had already concluded.
The supply lines of the Beitang Defensive Line had almost been completely cut off, and based on Kiss’s understanding of the Doug Army, it was likely the Beitang Defensive Line would surrender without a fight.
At that point, Graythorn Territory could lay down the tracks along with this colossal beast.
Even someone with no battle experience like Kiss could understand that from now on, wherever the railway extended, Governor Lind’s territory would expand as well.
Awaiting Doug was nothing but a slow death.
The time of Prayer Day always passed particularly quickly, and after waiting in line all day, Kiss ultimately could not board the Magic Powered Train for a ride.
Even though the ticket price to experience the train was not low for an ordinary person, even somewhat expensive, the wealth of ordinary people in Graywhite Territory far exceeded what Kiss had imagined. Despite only being able to experience a short trip, there were still plenty of people willing to pay for tickets.
Especially after the Lord Governor mentioned that the railway would likely first cater to the military and that civilians would have to wait until later, ticket prices skyrocketed. Many merchants eagerly sought to buy scalped tickets just to experience the train before others, causing the authorities to eventually announce that tickets would need to be purchased on-site to eliminate scalpers.
Even so, many people remained in line, particularly those merchants who valued their time more than money, honestly lining up with the residents; these merchants keenly perceived the enormous value behind the Magic Powered Train.
By the time Kiss returned to the small house prepared for him by Governor Lind, the sky was already dark. Although Graywhite Territory was brightly lit, it was completely unnoticeable that night had fallen.
“Lord Kiss, you have a letter today.”
Lind still gave some face to the loyal nobles, especially those willing to come to Graywhite Territory. Not only did Lind retain their noble titles, but he also arranged for them to have housing in the valuable Graywhite Territory.
However, most nobles felt this was an insult, shrinking back to their original territories with their wealth; only Kiss was remarkably astute, not only coming to Graywhite Territory but even dismissing his servants, keeping only one soldier to serve him, and signing contracts anew as required.
Kiss took the letter, most of which were invitations from nobles in Black Iron City and other recently occupied territories to join in a gathering.
After all, the policies Lind was implementing felt more challenging for those nobles than being killed, especially the confiscation of their lands.
The earliest batch of nobles had no choice; they either had to abandon their lands and flee or work obediently for Lind.
But the current nobles were different; they still had the support of Doug’s forces. Their past experiences told them it was worth trying; the previous frivolous noble wars combined with Lind’s relatively lenient attitude gave these nobles a false sense of security: trying wouldn’t cost them their lives.
It seemed that the nobles of the Cape Kingdom liked to think this way.
However, Kiss didn’t even bother to glance at them; gathering for what? What a load of nonsense!
Kiss collected all the letters without leaving a single one behind, preparing to deliver them directly to the Lord Governor tonight.
Those ignorant fools could hardly imagine how quickly Graywhite Territory was progressing; it was already a different world.
Kiss admitted he was cowardly, not good at warfare, a typical noble who was merely shrewd in calculations without the ability to create productive value as described by Governor Lind, but he was not foolish!
Especially after seeing the Magic Powered Train today, from this day forth, the sky had only one sun in Kiss’s heart.
Kiss’s current thought was singular: loyalty!
“By the way.”
Having gathered all the letters, Kiss said to the soldier attending to him, “I’ll head to the governor’s office. You help me buy the latest two issues of newspapers, and inquire with the newsstand owner if there’s any information regarding the “Noble Reform Regulations” and the “Land Distribution Act” being implemented by the Lord Governor.”
