Chapter 462 – The Magic Carriage

Chapter 462 – The Magic Carriage

“We’re really leaving!”

Lilith, Sylph, and Vasida gazed down at Greta manning her stall below, their feelings complicated.

Having secretly watched Greta make her way from the Black Forest all the way to where she was now, they had developed a special attachment to this human girl they only knew from a distance.

“It suddenly feels like a sapling that hasn’t fully grown yet is about to face the storms all on its own,” Sylph said.

“It’s like the feeling we had at graduation, when we parted ways with the other young witches and the Headmistress,” Vasida said.

“But we really can’t watch over her forever. We have our own things to do,” Lilith said. “Let’s go!”

She connected with the flying carpet, ready to set off once more.

“Wait!” Sylph said. “Let me give her one last blessing!”

She took out her wand and cast a luck spell on Greta, hoping her journey ahead would go smoothly.

Back at graduation, she had originally planned to bless the other young witches too, but she’d been caught off guard and pushed out of the school, only managing to complete the blessings at the bonfire party.

Vasida was inspired. “I’ll do one too!”

Lilith followed right after.

Mo Lan shook her head with a smile. Despite talking about testing Greta, she still cast a luck spell on her as well.

Greta, at her roadside stall, suddenly shivered. “Why do I suddenly feel all warm inside, like I could succeed at anything?”

“Excuse me, how much are these magic cards?”

At her previously ignored stall, someone had suddenly come to ask about prices. Greta hurriedly launched into her pitch.

Lilith steered the flying carpet northward, circled over the woods north of the village, found a suitable spot to land, took out a Burrowing Mushroom, and set up the underground mushroom camp.

However, villagers likely frequented these woods, as there were hardly any magical beasts in sight.

Under these circumstances, having the Vampire Vine guard the camp would only make people think something was off here and draw unnecessary attention. So Lilith didn’t let the Vampire Vine out, bringing it along into the mushroom camp instead.

Mo Lan, Sylph, and Vasida ducked through the small door into Lilith’s mushroom house and entered her tent.

A large map of the Duchy of Lance had already been hung on the living room wall.

Mo Lan floated a small red flag over and stuck it next to a border town called Green Forest Town, northeast of the Parluf Territory in the Duchy of Lance.

“This is where we’re heading next.”

Mo Lan said, “East of Green Forest Town is the Elven Woods, and to the north is the Kingdom of Elwiss—the nation of that half-elf lord who sparked the war in the Elven Woods.

“Because of the conflict with the elves, the eastern regions of the Kingdom of Elwiss are also quite unstable. The capital of the Kingdom of Elwiss is also in the east, close to the war zone.

“My grandmother says that recently, quite a few mage apprentices from Elwiss who don’t want to be involved in the war have been coming south through here, seeking refuge in the Duchy of Lance.

“Entering the Duchy of Lance from here is our best option.

“In a nation embroiled in war, three extra people won’t attract any attention.

“And if anything comes up later, it’ll be hard to trace back.”

“Green Forest Town?” Lilith checked the route planning function on her broomstick. “The straight-line distance from Riverside Village to Green Forest Town is over five thousand kilometers. At the flying carpet’s speed, flying twelve hours a day, we can get there in about five days.”

“But we’ll need to detour around Parluf City on this route. Every city in the Duchy of Lance has anti-air magic circles,” Mo Lan said.

Lilith re-planned the route. “How about this route? Every night, there’s woodland far from any towns where we can set up camp, and it doesn’t pass over any cities. But it’ll take an extra day.”

Mo Lan looked it over. “That should work.”

She recorded the route in her own broomstick’s route planning map as well.

“Over the next few days, everyone should familiarize themselves with the effects of mage-style magic. Once we enter Green Forest Town, we’ll need to go to the administrative center’s magic department for magic testing,” Mo Lan reminded them.

“Got it!” ×3

*

Six days later, on a rainy evening, deep in the woods north of Green Forest Town, a carriage sat parked.

Inside, Mo Lan had just finished receiving her companions’ praises.

“Moira, this carriage is way too luxurious!” Vasida lay sprawled in the cabin. “All four of us could lie down and sleep in here! We could even roll over.”

Lilith and Sylph crouched by the control panel at the very front of the cabin.

There sat a disc covered in alchemical arrays, and on the disc, a small wooden horse pulling a miniature carriage.

Lilith studied the runes on it. “When did you make this? The energy fluctuations in these runes don’t look like witch craftsmanship!”

Sylph stared at the small wooden horse on the disc. “This entire cabin is pulled forward by just this little wooden horse?”

Their carriage had only a cabin—there were no horses on the outside.

After Mo Lan placed a magic gemstone in the center of the disc, the small wooden horse on top began to move, and the carriage lurched forward as if being pulled.

“It is indeed a product of human alchemy. I found the alchemical blueprints in the books my grandmother sent me, and built it according to the diagrams.

“The blueprint is called [Carriage Power Core (Low-Grade)]. This disc and the metal rods extending from beneath it all the way to the four wheels form the main body.

“They control the movement of the wheels, driving the entire carriage forward.

“The little wooden horse pulling the carriage on top is really just a visual steering wheel and dashboard—it serves to display speed and control direction.

“Carriages like this are actually quite common among mages in the Mage Empire. Even Intermediate mages can afford them.

“Apparently there’s an even more advanced [Automatic Carriage Power Core] that can achieve autopilot, just like our broomsticks.

“The low-grade one we’re riding in has to be manually operated.

“Someone needs to sit on the cushion in the corner of the control panel, open the observation port, watch the road ahead, and steer the carriage by gripping the little horse.

“When mages travel, they usually bring a few apprentices to take turns at the controls.”

Mo Lan looked at her three “apprentices.” “Who wants to try? It’s getting dark, the rain’s getting heavier, and we need to reach Green Forest Town soon.”

“Me first, me first!” Vasida was very interested. She was the first to sit down in the driver’s seat, placed her hands on the little wooden horse, and pressed her eyes to the observation port.

The front of the cabin had a protruding semicircular section, with the observation port at the very tip of the arc. From there, the view ahead of the carriage was completely unobstructed.

“Push the little horse forward to accelerate—”

Before Mo Lan could finish her sentence, she was thrown backward. Vasida had shoved the little horse all the way to the front edge of the disc.

They were in the middle of a forest. Before Mo Lan could even right herself, she hurriedly pressed a safety valve beside her, bringing the carriage to a halt.