Chapter 543: No Matter Who Is the Loser, the Demon King Definitely Isn't

"Clang—clang—"

The "Prince" train sped across the boundless fields, the vibration of the wheels rolling over the gaps in the tracks interrupting Luo Yan's thoughts.

Inside that luxuriously decorated royal carriage, the air wrapped in a magical barrier was filled with a sweet and sticky scent.

Due to Edward's last-minute cancellation changing the itinerary, the three passengers this carriage was supposed to carry had become two.

And those waiters who should have taken the initiative to come in and serve tea and water had all turned into air, only entering to disturb when the bell rang.

Ailin sat opposite Luo Yan.

She wore a dark travel cloak, with a light-colored dress underneath that was clean and tidy, the pearl-white stand-up collar setting off her long silver hair and the crimson on her cheeks that wouldn't fade.

Because this world had convenient things like magic, coal ash and white smoke couldn't drift into the carriage, only inevitably getting a little on them when getting off.

At this moment, she was staring intently out the window, seemingly attracted by the scenery outside, leaving only a burning red ear to the person sitting opposite.

Honestly, Luo Yan was truly worried that if she maintained this posture, she would get a stiff neck after getting off the train.

However, at this moment, he didn't seem to have the leisure to tease Ailin either, after all, his heart was also enduring torment in another sense—

For every kilometer this train advanced toward Thunder City, "Prince Prince Prince Kelin" got one kilometer closer to "dropping his mask."

Watching the scenery rapidly receding outside the carriage window, Luo Yan had never thought he would actually hope this journey could be a bit longer.

Did this count as lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet?

It was said that before the train connecting the north and south of the Campbell Principality was opened, Thunder City was a famous "elopement spot" for the nobles of the Creek Valley Plains.

Some nobles would keep a properly wedded wife in the castle, and then go to Thunder City to give their mistress a proper status.

It had to be said that the nobles of the Os Continent in reality were still quite human, not as blasphemous as performed in "Bell Toll."

And relatively speaking, the priests in Thunder City weren't as conservative as those in remote areas; they were like the Prince Prince Kelin Grand Theater, where one could pay to take the "VIP channel."

Nobles and squires of Gladstone Castle often only needed to spend a not-too-expensive amount of money to have the three holy public readings and the final oath registration all finished secretly while "closing the doors."

As long as no one knew, no one would raise an objection, and nobles could get married n times.

After all, the priests of Thunder City wouldn't be so bored as to run to the distant Gladstone Castle to investigate and collect evidence for every pair of newlyweds.

Not to mention it would harm the interests of the clients, what if they investigated themselves out of a job?

In this way, not only did the mistress have a status that could convince the family, but the illegitimate children didn't have to stay in the orphanage.

However, now that the principality had trains, operating like this was probably a bit difficult.

After all, the main wife could buy a train ticket and kill her way to Thunder City that very day, without having to hesitate because of having to sit in a carriage for three days and three nights or vomiting all the way on a boat, finally deciding to just turn a blind eye and avoid trouble.

This could also be considered one of the impacts of the train on the old era.

Although it wouldn't be long before the nobles caught up with the "fashion" of Thunder City—as long as there is love, whether there is a status or not doesn't matter.

However, the sliding of thoughts requires time, at least for now, these "sea kings" were still enduring the pain of capsizing.

And I don't know if it was the resentment of those mistresses and illegitimate children whose umbrellas were snatched away, which condensed into the gale of karma, which in turn blew away Prince Prince Prince Kelin's umbrella.

If it was, he had to say sorry to the other orphans, if you want to blame someone, blame him, this orphan who came from Hell.

If it really doesn't work, you can hate Luo Ke Sai.

Or hating Hell is also fine.

To alleviate this sweet and sour embarrassment, Luo Yan picked up a plump tangerine from the fruit plate, his slender fingers skillfully peeling the skin, removing the white meridians on the orange segments, and handed a segment of crystal-clear orange meat over.

"Ailin, eat some fruit."

Ailin didn't turn her head, and there was no sound.

Luo Yan thought she was too shy to speak, and was just about to withdraw his hand, when he found her posture was somewhat stiff, her nose tip almost stuck to the glass window.

And that gaze originally used to cover up shyness was now truly solidified on the outside of the window, as if she had seen some incredible miracle.

Luo Yan looked in the direction of her gaze.

At this time, the train had already entered the hinterland of Thunder County, less than twenty kilometers away from that city known as the "City of Miracles."

A year before Ailin left, this place was still a muddy and barren land, and every rainy season, the dirt road in the countryside would turn into a swamp that swallowed carriages.

And the thatched cottages on both sides of the dirt road were even more dilapidated, except for the towering windmills that could still be called decent, the rest of the buildings were as sloppy as the patches on a serf's clothes.

But now, everything had been changed by an incredible force.

A straight gravel road crossed the railway, like a gray ribbon cutting through the green fields.

And those thatched cottages scattered in the fields had also disappeared, replaced by rows of red and white brick houses, looking sturdy and tidy.

And in the distance, several huge red brick factory buildings rose from the ground, like castles of a new era. The chimneys towering into the clouds were tirelessly puffing thick white smoke into the sky.

In this era, no one would be hypocritical enough to think that was pollution.

After all, the Campbell people had just experienced the first stage of industrialization—that was the happiest growth stage of all industrial civilizations in their own life cycle.

The cake grown from the land was enough for everyone to share.

"Saint Xisi above..."

Ailin couldn't help but let out an exclamation, because she saw a scene that puzzled her even more, and that was something she hadn't seen in her previous travels.

I saw that on the wasteland next to the railway, several strangely shaped machines were moving slowly.

Their fronts were puffing steam, like monsters holding cigars. However, their size was much smaller than a locomotive, and what they were dragging wasn't a carriage, but a row of metal plowshares.

In the deafening roar, they easily turned over the hard soil that originally required several cows to pull.

Usually, the farmers of Thunder County wouldn't choose to reclaim wasteland in the summer; the time from late autumn to winter was the best window period.

However, now, they could even do this in the summer!

Several old yellow cows stood on the edge of the field ridge, eyes wide as copper bells, even forgetting to chew the forage in their mouths.

Perhaps they were also thinking about their own cow lives, and where their future lay.

And next to those machines puffing black smoke, several farmers wearing coarse cloth work clothes were clumsily operating the levers, their faces full of tension and excitement.

Beside them stood several "city people" who looked decent, gesturing with their hands and feet, seemingly teaching the farmers how to drive these stubborn steel monsters.

Everything that entered Ailin's eyes was full of dissonance, yet carried a strange harmony, making her unable to help but stare in a daze.

"This is a tractor, the latest product of the Thunder City industrial zone."

Actually, strictly speaking, this was a product of Beifeng City.

A long time ago, the players of the Great Graveyard had installed steam engines on tracks, and after improvements, placed them on wheels and tracks.

These advanced technologies had been exported to Thunder City through player channels over the past half year. Some life-profession players and guilds with a keen sense of smell had even started investing in building factories here, turning this place into their "branch base."

Although these guys weren't the protagonists of this wave of industrialization, and didn't have too deep feelings for this land, their figures running around for Nether Coins and contribution points still became the crucial lubricant for this wave of industrialization.

Prince Prince Kelin's voice rang in her ears, pulling Ailin back from her shock. She only then realized that she had actually been fascinated, forgetting there was another person in the carriage.

"Thank you."

Ailin thanked him with a red face, took the orange segment, and gently sent it into her mouth.

That soft touch made her couldn't help but think of the romance of last night again; speaking of which, that was her first kiss, I wonder if it was Luo Yan's...

The more she thought, the hotter her head got.

Ailin, who had buried her head, wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, until the juice of the tangerine burst between her lips and teeth, so sour she covered her mouth.

Luo Yan hurriedly handed over a tissue.

"Sorry, I haven't tasted it, I didn't know it was so sour."

"Cough... it's okay, it was me... who accidentally choked." Ailin forced it down, and only after seeing the tissue in her hand did she realize she could actually spit it out, finally wiping her mouth with a red face.

"Drink some water." Watching the flustered Ailin, Luo Yan handed her a cup of hot water, which had been prepared just now.

Ailin took it again with a red face.

"Tha... thank you."

Luo Yan smiled slightly.

"You're welcome."

Thanks to that orange, Ailin felt the stiffness in the carriage was diluted a lot, and the awkwardness when she first got on the train also vanished.

Holding the water cup handed to her by Prince Prince Prince Kelin in her palms, she looked down at the misty vapor, her index finger resting on the rim of the cup gently circling each other.

After being silent for a while, she looked up at the window again, telling the feelings in her heart with blurred eyes.

"... It's only been a year, but I feel like a hundred years have passed here. My brother told me that you brought miracles to Campbell, and at that time I thought it was just polite words. Until now, looking at everything outside the window, I truly understood the weight of that sentence."

Just now when passing by a small town, she saw a cake smeared with cream in the window of a newly renovated bakery.

Although she didn't know the price of that cake, since the pastry chef made it and put it there, it meant that the people here could afford it.

And a long time ago, that delicious dessert could only be seen in the windows in the Thunder City urban area, and would never come to such a remote place.

Having it is better than not having it.

Luo Yan smiled, threw the orange peel in his hand into the trash can, then took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands, and said in a chatty tone.

"This is not a miracle, and it's not my credit alone... I prefer to call it, the power of the crowd."

"The power of the crowd..."

"Yes."

Looking at Ailin who was talking to herself, Luo Yan nodded with a smile.

"That is a power sufficient to change the world; when they work together and move downward, it is the Twilight Province you have already seen. And when they work together and move upward, they can support a sky that even the gods have never seen."

After a pause, his gaze also cast outside the carriage window, saying in a chatty tone.

"... As for me, like you, I am just a passenger on this train, and at most I have polished the rusty wheels and tracks."

At this time, the train let out a loud whistle.

White steam swept past the window, blurring the fields in her sight, and the station of Thunder City also entered everyone's field of vision at the same time.

In the carriage at the back of the train, Councilor Dibike, standing in the smoking area, had a look of astonishment on his face, the cigar held between his fingers almost falling to the ground.

He hadn't expected that in just half a month, there would be such a large construction site near that empty train station!

"Saint Xisi above..." Mr. Dibike, who had only set off from here half a month ago, actually let out the same exclamation as a certain princess who had just returned to the country.

And in that exclamation, there was also a hint of regret similar to his old rival, Councilor Hules—

The actions of these guys were too fast!

Following a long whistle tearing through the sky, the "Prince" train, like a steel dragon returning to its nest, slowly slid into the train station in the suburbs of Thunder City.

Under the newly paved glass dome, the sunlight was cut into brick-like light and shadow by the steel frame supports, spilling onto the crowded platform.

The busy platform wasn't completely cleared because of the return of Princess Ailin; on the contrary, the platform was filled with dizzying noise and busyness.

Porters carrying heavy boxes shuttled along the edge of the platform, conductors blew whistles to coordinate order, and newsboys waved the "Thunder City Daily" smelling of printer's ink in their hands, colliding head-on with Hules who had just walked off the train.

"Sir! Sorry, I blocked your path. It looks like you're in a hurry, you must be a person doing big business! And I happen to have the latest issue of the Thunder City Daily, you can sit in the carriage and read it, it can save you a lot of time looking around!"

Hules didn't buy the newspaper, but he also dropped two pieces of paper into the newsboy's hands, saying in a rush.

"Where is the land in this area being auctioned? Take me there quickly!"

According to Hules's experience, no one was more familiar with the rumors in these streets and alleys than newsboys, after all, they soaked in this every day.

As for why it was two silver pounds, of course, it was because he was too anxious and his hand slipped.

That young man was stunned for a moment, and seeing the two silver pounds in his hand, he immediately beamed with joy, stuffed the banknotes into his pocket, and buckled his bag.

"Saint Xisi above... May He bless you, sir! This way please!"

Too late to feel the pain of the extra piece of paper he gave, Hules followed behind the young man, enduring the pain in his flesh.

While trying to keep up with the fast-paced steps, he squeezed a decent smile from his face and said to the young man rushing in front.

"What is your name?"

"Ruer! Sir!"

"You look quite clever, do you live nearby?"

"Of course! I've been here since I was a child! I'm familiar with every brick here! I know both the new ones and the old ones!"

"Very good! Then do you know which direction people walk after getting off the train? I want to know which side is more crowded..."

"It's this road in front of you! Sir!"

In order to earn back the extra silver pound he gave, the panting Hules asked a bunch of questions, but gradually found that he and this young man named Ruer were unexpectedly compatible.

This guy was a born salesman.

Just as he talked about his plan to invest in a Hules, the young man, while flattering his brilliant idea, said it would be better to let Miss Qiqi wear the clothes of the Hules Textile Factory.

This genius idea shocked Hules; how had he not thought of advertising on Miss Eloise?!

Although the actors of the Iris Troupe all wore high-end custom-made clothing cut by hand, this didn't mean that the Hules Textile Factory couldn't contract their clothing!

He could completely spend a sponsorship fee, then invite two tailors to help them alter the clothes, and then publish this news openly in the newspaper—

Miss Eloise's dress was produced by the Hules Textile Factory!

He could almost foresee that all the women in Thunder City would go crazy for the name Hules!

Looking at this clever young man, Hules liked him more and more.

Thinking that instead of spending another silver pound to go far, it was better to believe in the arrangement in the dark, so he gave this clever young man a business card.

"I plan to open a... maybe many shops, facing the train station passengers, it just so happens you have experience in this area, I wonder if you are interested in cooperating with the great Councilor Hules?"

"Councilor? You... are a councilor?" Ruer widened his eyes in surprise, not expecting this noble gentleman to actually pay attention to him.

Although Councilor Hules was just a small character in front of Baron Gess, for Ruer living in the suburbs, this gentleman was already the biggest big shot he could imagine.

"That's right, you can find me at the address on the business card."

"So we are going to look for the address of the shop? How many shops do you plan to open?! You really found the right person, I am the best newspaper seller on this street, you can ask anyone and they will know!"

Holding the business card in his hand, Ruer was so excited his palms were sweating, but Mr. Hules following behind him was already about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Wherever the Grand Duke's railway is built, my shop... will be opened... ha, Saint Xisi above, how much longer do we have to walk? If it's over a kilometer, I think we should call a carriage! Don't save this money!"

Just as Hules was panting like a cow on the side of the road with his knees supported, Princess Ailin and Prince Prince Prince Kelin also finally walked out of the station through the restless crowd.

Thanks to the Iris Troupe sharing the firepower for the two, Ailin and Luo Yan, who got off the train in a low-key manner, didn't cause a commotion on the platform, and soon entered the VIP channel under the guidance of the staff.

The victory ceremony of the Northern Rescue Army would be in three days, and at this very moment, those fifty thousand young men were still resting in the military camp in Gladstone Castle.

For the principality's railway that had been open for less than two weeks, wanting to transport these fifty thousand people back to Thunder City in a short time was undoubtedly a matter that extremely tested the railway's transportation and scheduling capabilities.

Ailin, standing at the entrance of the train station, opened her mouth slightly, looking at the scene that entered her eyes, her face full of unbelievable shock.

The originally narrow and muddy street mixed with the smell of horse manure was gone, replaced by a wide and flat black road.

On both sides of the road, the once chaotic wooden sheds also disappeared, replaced by rows of uniform red brick western-style buildings.

And what made Ailin feel most incredible was those cast-iron lamp posts standing on both sides of the road!

"That is... a street lamp?"

In the year 1054 of the Os Continent, street lamps were not tools that existed for lighting, but to show the majesty of the kingdom.

Even in a place like Thunder City, street lamps were luxuries that belonged exclusively to Queen Street.

In Ailin's impression, the Thunder City Council used to argue for a long time about which street deserved lighting.

However, now, those lamp posts symbolizing order had actually spread to the suburbs!

This was too luxurious!

Standing beside Ailin, Luo Yan thought she was surprised by the straight black road under her feet, so he smiled and acted as a commentator.

"Our engineers accidentally discovered a byproduct called coal tar in the process of refining coal gas."

Actually, it wasn't an accident.

The players had known about this stuff a long time ago, and the roads in Beifeng City had been using coal tar to save costs for a long time.

"Coal gas?" Ailin repeated this unfamiliar term in confusion, and Luo Yan also immediately understood that she was surprised by those street lamps.

His gaze cast forward, and he said with a smile. ===== CHAPTER 544 =====