Chapter 9: Chapter 7

DECEMBER, THE YEAR OF RENEWAL 102

11:00 PM, NORTH LOGISTICS LINE, DURST CITY

 

As the snowflakes slowly brush gently over the railroad tracks, the signature sound of a locomotive fart is heard from afar. The puffs of smoke rising with the sound of farts, which are the result of burning coal to produce steam, came from the southeast along with the noise of the wheels grinding against the rails. It was then, from behind the conifers in the distance, that the muzzle of a locomotive appeared in slow-motion animation.

It was a logistics train, sent from the civilian town in the south to the northern fort, for the sake of delivering supplies.

“Ahhh….Even this year's night is very cold, isn't it? After all, we're heading north. I'd rather sleep by the fireplace than send provisions north in the snow.

"Hahaha... Then, how about you go to the coal kiln instead."

"Hah! Are you kidding me? I would be filled with the smell of smoke, rustling sounds, and an uncomfortable environment if I went there. You know, right?”

“Then stop complaining, mate. Just accept this fact. After all, our job is just to guard the supplies until Durst Town before sunrise. Come on, let's just play cards to pass the time. We still need another four hours to get there.”

Right under the comfort of an oil lantern and under the boredom of work, two soldiers were groaning in the train car while casually taking a few puffs before being blown back. One of the men took a card from his back pocket and decided to kill the boredom by playing cards together until the night shift ended. Ashtrays and several rolls filled with dried tobacco leaves have also been prepared, for feasting on cigarette smoke with pleasure. With that, it was undeniable that the inside of the sixth carriage would be filled with laughter and cigarette smoke.

To reach the northern bastion, the train must pass through the valley on the north side of the Alpenhagr Mountains, which is south of the Town of Durst, then head north until it reaches the Town of Durst Station before sunrise. That's where the change of guard also occurred. After that, the train exited the city and entered an abandoned area containing only conifers before reaching the northern fort.

From the start, it all took 12 hours of travel.

The northern fort was currently filled with snow. It was only natural for those who were always beset by those white-cold powders to seek help from other areas, who lived with excess warmth. Apart from the bone-chilling cold, the troops stationed at the northern fort also had to struggle in conditions of a shortage of food supplies.

In this era of renewal, the human struggle is indeed so difficult just to maintain peace and prosperity. Famine and death rates soared in this era. Tensions are also constantly high for those tasked with guarding the continent's edge. Like in the northern fort, at any moment, another world invasion could come from the blue ocean without any notice. For this reason, they must always be on alert so they are not caught off guard if at any time a sudden attack occurs. For the sake of protecting the civilian area behind it, which has the role of restoring civilization.

Although, the restoration of peace in this era is still a long way to reach.

“Straight Flush! It's my best combo right now. Uwahahaha...”

With aplomb, one of the men dropped his best combination. Staring arrogantly at his opponent.

“Oh! You already seem confident even though I haven't shown mine yet. In that case, feel free to fall for what is my luck.”

The man's opponent did not show a worried face, instead, he casually exhaled the cigarette smoke while throwing the combination he had.

“W-what… Royal flush….? How could it be?"

Inevitably, the man who was once full of confidence immediately fell deeply into the abyss of disappointment.

"That's how it is when you get overconfident. Unfortunately, this game doesn't sell stakes. Otherwise, I would have made a fortune in resources."

Usually, during free hours, at their base, it was commonplace to place bets in the form of alcoholic beverages. As a form of self-consolation and a substitute for fatigue, alcohol is the best treatment for those who are tired at work. Their love for alcohol even exceeds the value of money. That's why they would risk alcohol on each other to be able to multiply it.

“Well, that was also my luck. As guards, we are not allowed to bring alcohol. Even though right now I also want to drink.”

"Too bad. Even now, we are still far from our goal.”

To spend the mourning time in a silent night, in the train carriage, these two guards continued to play. Without alcohol and entertainment, they might just die of boredom. Because after all, in the middle of this land, which was far away from the sea, it was very rare to encounter any kind of threat. Any kind of threat would have to be able to get past the fortresses on every edge of the continent if it wanted to break through. That's why civilians can feel safe living life.

But, that doesn't mean it can't happen.

It happens slowly.

At first, there was a slight jolt. The small ripples created on the water barrels are proof of that. No one would notice because after all the vibrations were so small that they were masked by the train's natural vibrations. But as time goes by, the vibrations also give more and more taste. One man's buttocks, which are quite sensitive to vibrations, began to feel a bit of discomfort.

"Hmm...?"

As his mind focused on the card he held, the shock running through his buttocks awakened his consciousness. And that feeling was completely convinced when a few moments later there was a soft rumbling sound from afar.

"What's wrong, guys? Are you starting to give up? You have a more complicated expression now.”

The game of poker is also a game of reading the opponent's expressions. Eye movements, forehead wrinkles, and corners of the mouth are areas that need to be read. People who can maintain their poker face are those who have more advantages, especially if they can read the expressions of their opponents even if they are only as thin as dust. So, while the man was showing a blatantly worried expression, the man he was playing with came to a conclusion that was clearly out of place when he saw his friend suddenly showing a concerned expression when he should have been able to maintain a poker face.

“No, that's not it. Don't you feel a strange vibration? Also that faint rumbling sound?”

"Vibration? Rumbling sound?...... If you say so, I can feel and hear it a bit now."

Trying to figure out the unrest in his current comrades, the man who previously felt nothing, started to find out and shifted his focus to his surroundings. And that's when he started to feel it. Coincidentally, it was simply because the rumblings and tremors grew louder as time passed and the closer they got.

“Also, I don't know if this is just my feeling or not. But I feel that this train is getting slower.”

Indeed, the tempo of the sound of the wheels turning was getting slower. The sound of the locomotive farts also sounded weaker.

“...I'll find out in a bit. Marve, please tidy this up, I have a bad feeling.”

The boy who first noticed the discomfort immediately got up and headed in the direction where the communication devices were, telling his partner, who seemed to be named Marve, to quickly take care of the rest. This carriage does not have a window to look outside freely. It only has a few small holes in the roof which serve as a place for air exchange. But, even looking through it, this night provided a limited view. So the only way to know what's outside is to ask someone in charge of navigating the surroundings.

But before he could pick up the phone, a notification sound suddenly passed through the megaphone from the corner of the carriage room.

"Emergency! Emergency! We have confirmed that there was an avalanche right in front of the train that buried the tracks. Therefore, the train will be stopped by force. Each occupant of the carriage is requested to immediately prepare themselves for severe shocks. ... Stand by, forced braking is applied at 5, 4, 3, 2,...1.”

And just like that, even though it had been slowed down according to convenience rules, the train's speed was still high enough to crash into a pile of snow on the tracks if forced braking was not applied. Still, there is the possibility that the train could derail and rollover. Therefore, the crew of this train gave the occupants of each car a summary of information and ordered them to be on alert immediately. All for the sake of asking for a quick response.

As soon as the countdown stopped, a squeaking sound arose due to the friction between the brakes and the iron wheels, which were racing against each other, even causing lots of sparks. Luckily the sparks landed cleanly on the snow, making the threat of fire and explosion impossible and the train managed to stop without derailment before its muzzle managed to touch the snow debris which had a height of more than half a meter.

It was quite a relief for everyone when the shaking wore off and the train stopped.

But the event is not over.

*CLAP*...*CLAP*...*CLAP*...

Suddenly there was a popping sound from the wall of the carriage as if something had hit the metal wall violently. And the sounds are never interrupted, on the contrary, they always continue with increasing frequency as time goes on.

"Wh-what else is that?"

Marve, who was still not ready to clean anything up since the rotation of the carriage wheels was being heavily damped, panicked again when the loud clinking sound kept coming and etched several traces of it on every wall of the metal carriage. Like the traces of an animal's claws and the bite of sharp fangs capable of bending the durability of metal walls. One way or another, it was an abnormal occurrence for every imaginable reason. How could any earth creature be capable of cramming its claws and fangs to leave its mark on the metal wall?

"Th-those...Bats..? Why are there so many bats surrounding this carriage?"

“…And it's no ordinary bat. With bloodshot eyes, a larger-than-normal body, and a power capable of bending metal, it was obvious, it was a type of monster called a Vampire Bat. Prepare for battle together, Marve!”

"Emergency Warning! All guards are requested to immediately enter battle mode. A swarm of Vampire Bats has been confirmed to be appearing by the thousands. All guard troops, quickly grab your weapons and take up defenses while waiting for reinforcements to arrive! Protect this train!"

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And once again, in panic, an emergency announcement was broadcast to all the guards in each carriage. It was the appearance of a Vampire Bat that had the size of a backpack and wide wings. Every guard in every carriage was ordered to immediately enter combat mode to take defensive action to protect the train at all costs.

Even so, their numbers far outnumbered the guard troops. On average each carriage only has two guards who only serve as stockkeepers. So their combat talent is not guaranteed. After all, it was a logistics train from the start.

"Damn it! Isn't the land here far from the sea? Then it should be a safe area. Why did the monsters manage to escape to the mainland? What were the eyes of those guards doing, letting the monsters enter the land?"

Marve and the others hurriedly grabbed their rifles and started shooting from the holes. Although annoyed, they are still soldiers who have a duty as guards. Even without any magic to bring about victory, they already possessed combat prowess when they became military apprentices. All for the sake of dealing with an unexpected situation like this.

"Damn! There are so many of them. It's like a flock of hundreds of thousands of bats. They can even cover the sky. How many of them exactly are there?"

Although a single Vampire Bat would become small fries, which could be taken down with a single shot, it was different if their number exceeded thousands. What's more, they just kept coming. From the night sky, flying through, to even completely covering the starry sky. It wouldn't be strange if the actual number was in the millions. If that went on, the ammunition would be outnumbered to keep the guards alive and make sure the train stays safe. 

Still, the only hope of holding out was to keep fighting until reinforcements arrived.

Normally it was extremely rare, in fact almost impossible for monsters to get this far across the land. Because there should be large forts on every edge of the land. It was there that the main troops blocked the path of every monster that came from the sea entering the land. So it's natural to show anxiety about what's going on at the fort on the beach. Was it just an oversight or did it breakthrough? That's what to worry about.

"Damn it! What's going on? Why is it suddenly getting colder?"

And being abrupt once more, the temperature suddenly dropped and a cold mist began to seep into the interior of the carriage.

"No, that's not it. That, it's because of those bats. They, they're not just normal Vampire Bats, but Vampire Bats with an Ice affinity! They're Ice-type bats that can freeze everything!"

As the name suggests, they are a type of bat that lives in frozen nature, like in this area of the Alpenhagr Mountains, which often have a climate that is always cold. In fact, they don't even exist on Earth. It seems they were sent to infiltrate the mainland disguised as ordinary bats and breed in the Alpenhagr Mountains until their numbers were sufficient for a large-scale attack.

This type of bat can release the frozen breath through its mouth, or to be precise, its pair of fangs can absorb heat and make whatever it bites freeze. By freezing fruit, prey, or anything they can eat, they will freeze and take it to their home, which is usually in a frozen cave. That's how they hunt.

And for some reason, this train will be the next frozen prey.

"It's bad at this rate, this train could freeze."

Sure enough, little by little frost started to form on the walls of the carriage. Even though they had been shot down many times, they kept coming following the adage one die grows by a thousand. Maybe that's their only goal, which is to freeze this train. That's why they surrounded this train.

"Damn it, why is the center taking so long to send reinforcements?"

“That's probably because this carriage is still quite far from the city. It took them an hour to get here even with fast movement. Even if there are reinforcements, they should also be local soldiers. It was impossible to send out Gifters because they were supposed to be at the forefront. It is our destiny, the only thing that can save us is our struggle."

"No way! Are we going to end up here? I still have one of my daughters waiting. I have to get home alive. I don't want to die here. Damn it!!! Hyaaa!!!!"

Reloading once more, one man with burning determination began shooting bats desperately through the available holes.

He thought several pictures of his daughter who was still aged 7 years. She had lost her mother early in her life and now that her father was drafted into the military, she has been placed in the city's orphanage. So the man was not willing if he had to follow his wife when his daughter was still immature. Can't imagine how many tears will be shed. Before his assignment, the man had even promised to be able to have dinner together while telling stories. It broke his mind to imagine his daughter living alone. Only hope keeps the man fighting to win his life.

But that's the real destiny for him. The sound of the roaring bullets continued to merge with the lively screams from his heart. The tears of the father who couldn't keep up with his daughter merged with the smell of gunpowder. His focused gaze, trying not to waste his luck. Keep aiming and won't be allowed to miss. One bird for one gunpowder.

Until finally the barrage stopped, leaving smoke mourning the death of the barrel.

"...Anne... I'm sorry... for not being able to stay with you..."

"Marve..."

His colleague, who had run out of bullets, also sat down, looking concerned at his co-worker with a languid look. He couldn't do anything to reverse the situation, it was common to die on the job. Because that's how soldiers are, laying down their lives to protect what is their treasure. The other carriages seemed to have run out of bullets as well, leaving a knife in hand for its final struggle. Even so, the rain of bat attacks never subsided either. It is so infinite that it is worthy of being counted as infinity. The air temperature has also been dropping, the condensed water vapor has formed fog, and spreads cold air. Slowly but surely, the walls of the carriages continued to gather frost to perpetuate the trains' frozen.

Only a sense of surrender and surrender that they can give. The cold feeling that spreads, already makes the body lazy to move. Desperate to respond to helplessness.

Such is the tense atmosphere as time falls.

*THUD*

But the sound of a loud crash on the roof of the carriage was like gifting the Goddess of Fortune to those who were stricken with despair.

Marve and co looked up, it happened that the sound of impact was right on the roof of the sixth train car.

"...There's nothing we can do when the bigger ones come."

The desperation grew even more when Marve and the company noticed large claw marks that had bent the metal roof of their carriage. It must be the boss of the bats if the paw prints alone are much bigger than the little ones. Now they can only wait for death to come to pick them up.

*GROWLS*

*Thump*...*Thump*...*Thump*...

But for some reason it seemed like there was a misalignment, the bigger monster, which had just arrived, kept running across the roof of the carriage and was acting unexpectedly. It feels like they are not in harmony. Even the bats were all squeaking in displeasure as if fighting over food.

Sure enough, when Marve ventured to look up through the hole to take a peek, he saw something beyond his imagination.

"...T-that...White Dragon...?"

What had become a huge monster was a beautiful White Dragon. Already in the monster encyclopedia the dragon is described. With white fur, a long tail, with two charming white wings, it flies gracefully. Measuring only two meters tall, it was obvious that the dragon was still immature and didn't have any terrifying aura. Instead, the dragon exuded such a captivating charm.

Marve somehow admired that figure, befitting a divine beast descended from the heavens. The dragon devoured the bats with its fangs and claws, destroying them one by one.

"...Did that dragon save us...?"

Marve's companion, who now also joined in on peeking at the outside, also stared in disbelief at the scene that flashed in his eyes. Quickly, the white dragon knocked down the Vampire Bats one by one.

But the miracle is still not finished.

Suddenly the air in the sky dropped drastically. The water vapor and clouds merged, and formed various thin crystals like frozen arrows. As if ready to aim, the arrows were immediately launched to resemble a rain of frozen arrows.

"What's that...?"

Marve and the others were taken aback by the torrents of frozen arrows that fell from the sky like rain. With their number probably reaching thousands, the arrows quickly targeted the bats still flying in the air with the right target. The soldiers who were paying attention could only stare in disbelief. It's so impressive to knock down a scattering of bats in an instant.

Does luck come? So thought the soldiers.

Marve also stared in disbelief. The look in his eyes that followed the action of the white dragon suddenly saw a beautiful small all-white figure far away on the high hill. Her hand pointed forward as if directing the arrows toward their target. The figure's long hair also appeared white when the breezy wind swept her beauty. It was only because of the great distance separating them that the white figure looked so small by comparison. Her face is impossible even to be recorded in memories.

There was only one thought capable of bringing a conclusion to the minds of Marve and co.

“Is that... The White Witch...?”

 ***

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