The Steam Age: Gears and Bones

Chapter 36

Perfitt was not surprised.

Before setting off, she loaded the Steam Knights with high-energy smokeless coal that had been compressed using alchemy. No matter how compressed it was, it was still coal. When Belfast's steam core advanced through the city, each strike of the chainsaw sword required high-pressure steam to drive it, and the rotary machine gun pushed the steam pressure directly upwards. This resulted in continuous high-intensity combat, and the escort team consumed a lot more fuel after leaving the city.

It's down now.

She turned her head back and tried to sit up, but as soon as she propped herself up on her elbows, someone in the carriage noticed her movement.

Allen had been huddled in the corner of the carriage, clutching the lead-lined sample box in his arms, his face still showing the weariness of not having slept for a day and a night. But when he saw Perfit open his eyes, those tired, somewhat dull eyes suddenly lit up.

"Miss Brandlis is awake!" His voice rose a beat with excitement, then he immediately stopped, as if unsure if he was disturbing her.

The footsteps around the carriage suddenly changed rhythm.

Cherzov was the first to come around from the front of the carriage. His tattered Russian uniform had black bloodstains on the cuffs that hadn't been wiped clean, and his stubble was thicker than it had been in the swamp.

Seeing that Perfit was trying to sit up with his eyes open, the old general quickened his pace by half a beat, walked to the carriage, reached out and held onto the edge of the carriage, but said nothing. He just gripped the edge of the wooden board tightly until his knuckles turned white, and then let go.

Ludwig walked over from behind the carriage, his gray armor bearing several new scratches, and a crack in his left shoulder armor running from the rivet to the edge, which had not yet been repaired.

He stopped beside the carriage, looked at Perfit, and after a few seconds of silence, spoke in a deliberately subdued tone, as if to conceal some uncomfortable emotion: "You were unconscious for a day and a night."

Perfitt settled himself against the side panel of the carriage, took the water bottle Allen offered, took a small sip, and then looked up at Ludwig: "Where are we now?"

Sabel walked over from the front of the carriage.

The judge's robes were stained with mud and blood, and the hem was torn. She still held the Book of Words in her hands, but her fingers were not on the pages; instead, they were loosely resting on the edge of the cover.

"On the way south. You've been unconscious for a day and a night." Her voice was hoarse, as if it had been smoked, but her tone still had the calmness characteristic of a judge. "We were caught up with by the infected not long after we left the city. Belfast led us through several towns inhabited by the infected, until the steam core ran out of fuel and we stopped."

We are now outside the city limits and in the open. There are no infected individuals in the vicinity for the time being.

Perfico nodded, quickly going over in his mind what had happened before he fainted.

Divine Abomination, Seal, Jade Record, the deductive ability granted by the second page, and the dialogue with the Jade Record itself deep within the Heart Lake.

These pieces of information were calmly arranged in my mind, undisturbed by my chaotic emotions.

Then she spoke: "In the cellar, I used my all-seeing eye to look directly at the sealed origin of the Divine Abomination. The Divine Abomination is not the source of this disaster. It is merely a fragment that was peeled off from the original body when the true sealed object escaped."

That deep well once sealed something else—perhaps the corpses of ancient gods, or perhaps the enemies they had slain.

Its true name and existence were completely erased in ancient times, but it has long since broken free of its seal and disappeared without a trace.

There was a moment of silence around the carriage.

Ludwig's face didn't show much expression, but Perficott noticed that the old bandage on his shoulder twitched slightly, as if he had unconsciously tightened and loosened his grip on the sword hilt.

Sabel switched the Bible to her left hand, drew a short symbol on her chest with her right hand, and moved her lips but did not utter any verses.

Allen hugged the lead-lined box in his arms tighter and remained silent.

Cherzov broke the silence first, his voice hoarse: "A single fragment almost destroyed the entire expedition, so what about its true form—"

Ludwig didn't let him finish his question: "How big was the thing you saw in the cellar?"

“I’m not sure,” Perfit said, “but the seal covers enough to encompass the ancient rock layers beneath the entire hospital. The seal has multiple layers, with interlocking mechanisms that have collapsed and disappeared at the deepest point. It escaped a long time ago.”

Ludwig withdrew his gaze and looked at the gray horizon ahead of the carriage.

His silence lasted longer than Perfitt had anticipated.

Then he turned back, his tone becoming calm again, and he didn't ask any more questions about the true form of the Divine Abomination.

"Lieutenant General Cherzov, from here south across the border we need to pass through the Russian army's defenses." He removed his hand from the hilt of his sword, looked at Cherzov, and naturally steered the conversation towards the march. "If the Russian army hasn't completely collapsed, we need someone they can get through. Lieutenant General, do you have enough seniority in the Russian army to allow us to pass through their lines?"

Cherzov clasped his hands in front of him and remained silent for a moment. "If the Russian army hasn't completely collapsed, the front lines should still be holding onto a few passes and old outposts along the border."

"My seniority in the military isn't low; as the commander of the Second Guards Corps, I'd normally be able to get any border outpost to open its gates. But—"

He paused for a moment. "That is, assuming those outposts are still operational. If they have already collapsed, then we can only rely on luck to get through the ruins."

"What if they're still holding the line?" Ludwig asked.

Chertzov looked up at him, his voice still steady: "If they're still holding the line, then my old face should still be of some use. Letting them let an expedition cross the border isn't an unreasonable request."

A defeated army that has already lost its capital wouldn't want to cause any more trouble in such a place.

Ludwig nodded, turned to Perfit, and continued, "Beyond the Ross Line lies the northern border of Holy Romulus. My father—Elector Oberstan—is besieged there with his Northern Legion."

The last news we received at the port of Stokana was that his legion had lost more than a third of its men and its supply lines had been cut off. But that was several weeks ago.

I'm not sure if he's still in the same place. If he is, I need to meet up with him.

He paused. "If he were still alive, he would be the Elector of Romulus. If you want to unite with Romulus to deal with this disaster, my father is the most suitable person. If the true form of that thing is truly missing, it could appear anywhere."

We cannot wait until it threatens all of humanity before we regret not uniting.

Perfit did not answer immediately after hearing this.

She leaned against the side panel of the carriage, pulled the blanket over her shoulder, thought for a moment, and then said, "Then let's get through the Ross Line first. If the Lieutenant General's influence allows us to pass through smoothly, we'll head directly to the northern border of Romulus."

If we can find your father, Romulus will be our first ally with whom we have formal communication.

She turned her gaze to Chernzov. "Lieutenant General, what is the fastest route from our current position to the Ross Line?"

Chertzov pulled out a folded map with frayed edges from the inside of his breastplate, laid it on the edge of the wagon, and drew a slightly westward arc between the southern boundary of the swamp and the northern hills with his finger.

His fingers moved steadily through the folds of the map, marking several old passes that could easily become strongholds for defense, long-dried-up riverbeds, and a section of old post road that remained along the way.

"Taking the old post road on the northwest side, passing through the hilly area ahead, will bypass the most densely infected areas. This route will pass through the defense zone of the 9th Frontier Division of Ross, if they are still there."

The 9th Border Division was my former subordinate unit; I served in that division.

Perfico nodded and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself.

The carriage continued on its way, the sound of its wheels rolling over the frozen ground slow and steady, and no one spoke again.