Under the cover of night, Lin Gui set the train in motion once again.
This time, his movements were much more composed and skillful.
By around five in the morning, the faint sound of waves crashing against the shore could be heard in the air.
As the horizon began to turn the color of a fish's belly, the Wheelless Train cleared the final stretch of forest.
The view suddenly opened up, revealing a vast coastline stretched out before them.
Along this coastline, known as the Reef Sea, a unique demonic ecosystem was on display.
In the shallow waters, swarms of crab demons could be seen.
Their shells were an ominous dark red, and their massive pincers gleamed coldly in the morning light.
These crab demons were foraging on the shallows, occasionally tearing into each other over a piece of carrion.
Various bizarre shellfish demons clung to the rocks along the shore.
Their shells bore eerie patterns, occasionally parting slightly to reveal rows of sharp teeth inside.
Theia was the first to hop off the train, eagerly kicking off her boots.
She stepped barefoot onto the soft sand, her silver hair fluttering in the morning breeze.
“So this is the sea...”
Squatting down in curiosity, she dipped a finger into the seawater and gave it a cautious lick.
“Bah! It's so salty!”
She immediately spat it out with a grimace.
Eve followed suit, removing her shoes and socks to stand barefoot on the sand.
Watching Theia's miserable reaction, she couldn't help but giggle, covering her mouth.
Her short, ginkgo-yellow hair swayed gently with her movements.
Lin Gui stood behind them, lost in thought.
He wasn't sure when it had started, but the relationship between Eve and Theia seemed to have become much closer than their bond with Elvia had ever been.
The North Wind caravan decided to take a short break here.
Yet for some reason, Betty looked incredibly dejected.
She sat slumped on a reef, looking thoroughly depressed.
Her eyes stared gloomily out at the calm surface of the sea.
Lin Gui couldn't help but frown.
He scanned the sky above the sea.
There were only a few scattered flying demons in the air.
As for the demons beneath the waves, they had never shown any interest in things flying above them.
Much less a train flying over the sea.
Within his line of sight, other than a few towering reefs, there were virtually no obstacles.
According to the golden route map provided by the Scholar, this flight path was also remarkably straight.
Lin Gui truly couldn't fathom why Betty was so resistant to this.
Just as he was pondering this, the members of the North Wind caravan gathered at the bottom of the train.
They skillfully operated some sort of mechanism.
Soon, broad iron bars and wings extended from both sides of the train.
These wings were engraved with intricate magical patterns.
Lin Gui: “???”
He leaned in closer out of curiosity.
The train had now completely transformed.
The wings spreading from its sides made the entire train look like a giant iron bird.
The surfaces of the wings were coated with a special magical laminate, shimmering with a faint blue light in the morning sun.
“What is this...?”
Lin Gui couldn't help but ask.
Hearing his question, the Scholar, who was nearby recording data, looked up and pushed up his glasses.
“These are wings we specifically commissioned the dwarves to modify,” the Scholar explained. “They can greatly stabilize the train.”
Lin Gui was still puzzled.
“Betty's instability in controlling the train is mostly due to the complex mountain terrain, requiring her to constantly dodge obstacles,” Lin Gui noted. “On a flat sea like this, there shouldn't be any need for such an auxiliary device, right?”
The Scholar gave a mysterious smile, a meaningful glint flashing in his eyes.
“You'll find out why in a bit.”
Keeping his secret, he lowered his head to continue recording data.
Betty stared at the unfolding wings.
The expression on her face grew even more bitter.
An hour later.
Once their break was over, everyone returned to their respective carriages under Freya's command.
Betty, however, looked as though she were heading to a funeral, slumping dejectedly toward the front carriage alongside the Scholar.
Seeing this, Lin Gui became even more confused.
The reason he had previously chosen to control the train from the roof instead of the front carriage was precisely because the window design there severely obstructed the line of sight.
Filled with questions, Lin Gui returned to his own carriage.
Inside, the two girls who had just been playing on the beach were sitting by a wooden crate.
They had rolled up their trousers, revealing fair, slender feet as they splashed seawater over each other to wash off the sand.
Theia's ankles were delicate and neat, her instep arching into a beautiful curve.
Eve's feet were so pale they were almost translucent, with faint blue veins showing through her thin skin.
Water droplets slid down their smooth ankles, leaving dark, spreading wet patches on the wooden floor.
“The seawater is so cool and refreshing!”
Theia giggled, playfully dipping her toes into the water.
The resulting splash dampened the hem of Eve's skirt.
Eve didn't mind, merely offering a gentle smile.
She reached down to lightly brush the water droplets off her skirt.
Just as Lin Gui closed the back door, a creaking mechanical noise echoed through the train.
Looking forward, he saw that the coupled carriages, which had previously had gaps between them to allow for flexible turning, were now locking tightly together under magical propulsion.
All the carriages were securely locked in place, merging into a single, rigid unit.
Even more astonishingly, the broad wings on the sides of the train were slowly unfolding.
The magical runes engraved on the metal surfaces lit up one by one, glowing with a faint blue light in the morning sun.
Once fully extended, these wings made the entire train look like a steel behemoth of a bird, poised to take flight.
Watching all of this, Lin Gui's confusion only deepened.
As Lin Gui was pondering this, an elegant figure suddenly appeared outside the window of the back door.
It was Freya.
Thinking she needed something, Lin Gui reached out to open the door.
But Freya smiled and shook her head.
“No need to open it.”
She looked at the three of them through the window, her tone gentle yet carrying a hint of gravity.
“The train's speed is about to get incredibly fast,” she warned. “Make sure you secure yourselves tightly.”
With that, she pressed one hand lightly against the train's outer wall while flipping open her grimoire with the other.
She began to chant an ancient incantation under her breath.
The moment Lin Gui heard the very first syllable of Freya's chant, all of his questions were instantly answered.
That was a Legendary-rank Wind spell.
The opening incantation for 【Hurricane Propulsion】!
Freya was planning to use a Legendary Wind spell to accelerate the train?!
Those wings hadn't been modified for Betty at all—they were meant for Freya!
Lin Gui lunged toward a wooden crate, pulling out a length of rope he had prepared.
“Quick! Sit down!” he barked at the two girls.
Instantly realizing the severity of the situation, Theia and Eve quickly sat down with their backs pressed against the carriage wall.
Lin Gui's movements were astonishingly fast.
He quickly wrapped the rope twice around Theia's waist, tying a secure sailor's knot.
Then, he looped the other end of the rope around the support pillar in the center of the carriage.
Next, he tied the same knot for Eve.
Finally, he wrapped the rope tightly around his own waist, gripping both ends with a death grip.
The entire process took less than ten seconds.
The moment Lin Gui finished, Freya's chanting reached its crescendo.
An intricate magic circle, about a meter in diameter, appeared on the train's back door, locking it completely shut.
Meanwhile, another massive magic circle, nearly four times the size of the train, slowly unfolded behind them, blanketing a vast stretch of the sky.
As Freya uttered the final syllable...
“BOOM!!!”
What erupted from the massive magic circle wasn't a mere gust of wind.
It was a cataclysmic tempest!
The violent air currents instantly swept up all the sand and stones on the beach.
The seawater was violently parted, carving out a deep trench.
In the distance, the crab demons scattered in sheer panic.
The entire train felt as if it were being propelled forward by an invisible, titanic hand.
“Ah!”
Theia shrieked, her body pinned flat against the carriage wall by the sheer force of inertia.
Eve squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers clutching the rope around her waist with all her might.
Lin Gui gritted his teeth, experiencing a level of acceleration he had never felt before.
The Legendary spell blasted a massive crater into the sandy beach.
Driven by the immense thrust, the train shot forward like a rocket with a sharp whoosh.
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Lin Gui thought he could hear Betty's agonized screams echoing faintly through the howling wind.
Rate on N.U.
