Chapter 526: The Factory
Fisher couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow upon hearing this, seeming somewhat skeptical. Ingrid keenly noticed the change in Fisher’s expression and then spread her hands, saying,
“This isn’t just a rumor; I’ve been in the Southern Continent for a while now and many people here say the same thing. It’s not only the New Dragon Court and the human merchants investing and building factories here, but even the subhumans living here are very afraid of that bloodthirsty Blood Dragon. There are rumors that she eats human flesh and drinks human blood, and in fact, her scales weren’t originally red, but turned that color after killing so many.”
Fisher found Ingrid’s claims increasingly absurd. He felt that Raphael had become demonized in her, or in the human, eyes in relation to this nonsense New Dragon Court.
Of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that the Dragon Race would have changed after he had been away for a while. So when he first heard about her slaughtering, he still wanted to investigate, but after hearing more, he felt the earlier statements were somewhat slanderous.
Fisher had initially wanted to ask for more information, but as they walked and talked, the place where they had seen the curling white smoke earlier came into view.
It was a large factory surrounded by walls dozens of meters high. Compared to the completely open town they had just seen, this factory looked more like a fortress erected in the wilderness. Unlike the green banners of the Dragon Court hanging outside, there was a golden Godlin crest flag flying above, indicating its ownership.
The tall walls had entrances, and Fisher sensed some magical fluctuations from afar. Those spells were costly, and there seemed to be many guards at the entrance; clearly, there were strict regulations on entry and exit.
From the outside, several chimneys taller than the walls were emitting white smoke.
“Look, uncle, that’s the place! Do you have a way to get me inside?”
Seeing the tall walls, Ingrid quickly raised her camera and took several photos of the walls and guards from a distance.
Emhart in her arms seemed a bit frightened by the blinding light of the camera, thinking it was some kind of sorcery. Even though it wasn’t aimed at him, he hurriedly shrank back into Fisher’s already tattered white shirt, exposing only one eye to look outside.
Fisher estimated the height and nodded, saying,
“I have a way.”
“What kind of way?”
Ingrid curiously turned her head back, only to see Fisher walking directly toward her. She instinctively took a step back; in Fisher’s eyes, the magical fluctuations she concealed were becoming more intense. However, before that, Fisher had already spoken expressionlessly,
“Hide your magic; the highest enchantment in your nested structure is only ten rings and is of no use to me.”
“Huh? Uncle, you—”
Ingrid’s expression changed. She hadn’t even figured out how the other party saw through the nested structure set by her teacher before the next second, Fisher’s hand gently rested on her waist.
But that large hand did not embrace her in a vague manner, or rather, at that moment, Ingrid even wished he was holding her.
Because, for some reason, as that large hand touched her, she felt a tremendous force. Instantly, she was flung high into the air.
Yes, that uncle casually tossed her into the sky like throwing a piece of paper.
“Whoosh!”
The wind rushed past her ears as Ingrid’s face turned pale from the intense sensation of weightlessness. Just as she opened her mouth to scream, Fisher had lightly tapped the ground and instantly leaped dozens of meters high, catching Ingrid in mid-air before vaulting over the wall.
“Don’t make a sound; you’ll attract others over here.”
After catching Ingrid, Fisher spoke in mid-air, but he was completely unaware that the young Shivali girl had been completely stunned with fear.
It wasn’t until they landed steadily that Ingrid didn’t even have time to realize that she had entered the walls. She stood there dazed, gripping her camera tightly, like a statue frozen in place.
Fisher glanced at her and then gently let go of his hand, saying to her,
“We’ve arrived.”
As soon as he released her, Ingrid’s legs weakened and she fell to the ground as if her bones had been removed.
After a few seconds, she turned to look at Fisher in disbelief, saying to him blankly,
“Uncle, you… are you not human? Are you some kind of monster from the Southern Continent in human skin?”
“No, I’m human.”
“…”
Ingrid swallowed hard, then quickly raised her camera again, aiming it at Fisher with a click.
“Ah, ah, ah, don’t flash me, my eyes!”
“What are you doing?”
Fisher covered Emhart’s eyes, who was crying and howling, as this kid seemed sensitive to bright light. Thus, Ingrid’s new camera became a “targeted weapon” against Emhart.
“I want to write down this experience with the title ‘The Unsolved Mystery — A Monster in Human Skin.’”
The girl seemed to be engaged in journalism in Shivali. Earlier, seeing her new camera, Fisher had not reacted, as the last time he left, cameras were quite heavy; he didn’t know what new technology had emerged over the past few years.
He covered Emhart’s eyes and turned his head, stepping first into the factory’s interior while saying to her,
“Do you want to see what the factory is producing?”
“Coming, coming, wait for me.”
Though it was large and appeared quite mysterious, just like the towns where humans had colonized the Southern Continent in the past, there was a serious shortage of manpower here.
The factory was bustling with production, but aside from the guards at the walls, there didn’t seem to be much life inside.
Ingrid walked slowly, taking photos as if eager to record a colorful video of everything she saw.
She walked too slowly for Fisher’s liking, and he didn’t want to rush her, so he looked at her camera and asked,
“You came to the Southern Continent for this? To take pictures?”
“It’s not just taking pictures; this is all valuable information, okay?”
Ingrid put down her camera, having finally recorded all the information about the path they had taken, then walked next to Fisher and explained to him,
“Several years ago, the lords in this area were pushed back step by step by the terrifying Blood Dragon King, leading to an unprecedented ‘retreat tide.’ At that time, the lords in the Southern Continent were in a desperate escape, all fleeing back to the Western Continent to complain to their bosses, monarchs, and families. The atmosphere between the Western Continent and the Southern Continent was nearly at a breaking point, and even Shivali and Cardu were preparing a cross-sea allied force to come over and teach that cruel and arrogant Blood Dragon King a lesson.
“Just when the two continents were about to go to war, another dragon king brought news to the Western Continent. The Green King Isel from the Northern Branch sent envoys to Queen Elizabeth to express his desire for peace. He told Queen Elizabeth that the cruel Red King was not the legitimate heir of the Dragon Court; she was the daughter of the exterminated Southern Branch Tribe, thus holding a deep grudge against humanity and wanting to eradicate all humans. The Green King Isel did not wish for the hatred between the two sides to continue spreading, so he requested Queen Elizabeth’s help to quell the war in the Southern Continent, hoping for prosperity with the Western Continent.”
Ingrid looked at the factory before her and smirked at Fisher, saying,
“Queen Elizabeth deeply regretted the past wrongs of humanity, so she abolished the slavery of subhumans and returned freedom to Isel, declaring that Nali was a friend of the New Dragon Court. She would help Isel reclaim his homeland. Hence, the Blood Dragon King waged war against the New Dragon Court and the Human Allied Forces led by Nali. It’s been fighting for several years, and until last year, the advance of the Blood King’s army was slowly repelled, retreating back to the southern mountain range.”
“Before I came to the Southern Continent, many people were saying this. But the truth, hehe, can probably be seen from this factory.”
Fisher nodded but made no further comments.
He already had a good idea of what the real situation was.
If Green King Isel were indeed the legitimate heir of the Dragon Court, bringing peace and friendly relations between the Southern Continent and the Western Continent, then why did he not step forward when humanity occupied almost all the lands of the Southern Continent? Why did he not step forward when so many subhumans were being taken away as slaves? Why did he only step up when Raphael’s army drove humans out, and coincidentally contacted Elizabeth?
The fact is that the New Dragon Court created by Green King Isel was a puppet regime supported by Nali.
Since returning to this era and to this town, the reverence of these subhumans for the Nali language and their pursuit of Nali currency had made Fisher acutely aware of this.
Moreover, he knew where Raphael was now.
She had suffered military setbacks but had not yet completely failed. Presently, she was confronting the puppet regime supported by Nali in the deep mountains and jungles of the Southern Continent, and the situation was likely grim.
But at the very least, Fisher knew where to go next.
As they walked, they had been quietly conversing without running into anyone, and soon, they successfully found the main workshop where products were being made.
“Uncle, isn’t that the production workshop of the factory over there? Let me go take a few pictures to see what kind of things are being produced here that the officials of the Dragon Court and people from the Western Continent keep so secret.”
Fisher pulled his attention back from his thoughts, glancing at the particularly excited Ingrid, and couldn’t help but ask,
“You came to the Southern Continent just to take these things.”
Ingrid raised her camera at his words, but this time not to take a picture; she simply turned it around to reveal an ID card attached to the camera.
On it was her information written in Shivali, along with a photo of her,
“Shivali and Nu’s Giant Snake Newspaper, Intern Reporter, Ingrid Tomic.”
“Alma Mater: Shivali Empress’s Journalistic Academy.”
It had been mentioned before that the Giant Snake had special significance in the country of Shivali, generally associated with the royal family. Therefore, the Giant Snake Newspaper likely had such a background as a media entity.
The Empress’s Academy was the most famous women’s college in Shivali, comparable to the Royal Academy of Saint Nali in certain subjects.
After presenting her ID, Ingrid adjusted her sunglasses and said to Fisher,
“I’m a reporter, so of course, I came here to take pictures. Please open the door, uncle, and let me see what the Nali people are up to inside. Oh, I forgot, you’re also Nali, excuse me.”
“I’m a fugitive; I don’t know if I can still be counted as Nali.”
“You’re serious, uncle; I actually guessed right! What about that ugly book in your arms? Is it also a fugitive?”
“You—”
Emhart could no longer stand this girl who could “cast spells.” He wanted to pull back but was afraid she would shine that light on him, so he could only press his head into the tattered clothes of Fisher.
Fisher reached out to push open a side door of the factory, feeling no sign of any living activity inside, and gently turned the doorknob.
The door was actually locked, but when Fisher turned it, he easily broke the lock; in the end, the door opened.
In the next moment, the enormous structure of the factory came into view for Fisher and Ingrid, who was hiding behind him.
It turned out that this was not the main production workshop but a storage room for products, which explained the lack of sound from the outside.
Inside, many external shells made of some alloy and various components were neatly categorized and stored. The aesthetically pleasing and mechanical products quickly attracted Ingrid’s attention, making her curious enough to not even take pictures first.
She squatted in the aisle of the storage room, reached out to touch the texture of those mechanical parts and shells, and puzzledly asked,
“Eh, what is this? Some kind of steam engine components? But I’ve never seen this before, uncle, do you know what it is?”
“Let Sir Book take a look; what is this?”
Feeling the question, Sir Book quickly poked his head out from Fisher’s chest, but before he could answer, Fisher already knew what it was.
He and Emhart had seen this before, and not long ago.
“Mechanism. These are parts for producing mechanisms.”
Fisher murmured, looking at the piles of components in the storage room, momentarily stunned.
Ingrid’s motion of raising her camera slightly paused, then she turned her head in confusion and asked,
“Mechanism? What’s that?”
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(End of this chapter)
