With a slight jolt, the passengers in the carriage realized they had reached Rock Confluence Station, and the mana rail train was slowly coming to a halt.
Outside the window, the grand station hall came into view.
The concourse inside was spacious and bright. Its roof was made of transparent glass, allowing faint natural light to wash over the interior, while works by local artists hung from the walls, portraying the history and culture of Rock Box Mountain.
Every platform was supported by massive stone pillars that blended seamlessly with the station's main structure. In the past, trains from the north had shuttled through here regularly, connecting the northern city-states to central and southern Protos. Now, however, the frequency of arriving trains had dwindled dramatically, leaving this bustling station somewhat desolate.
Lanqi and Side stood up in the carriage, taking their luggage in hand.
As they made their way down the aisle and stepped off the train, they saw scores of uniformed Imperial soldiers patrolling the station's platforms. Clad in black uniforms, they held gleaming weapons in their hands.
Every soldier was utterly expressionless, appearing as rigid and immovable as the station itself.
The traveling merchants looked uneasy, stepping carefully off the train and trying to avoid making too much eye contact with the troops.
At the entrance leading from the platform level to the main concourse, two passages diverged.
One led to the transfer gates, the other toward the exit.
The vast majority of passengers headed for the exit.
As Lanqi and Side walked down the transfer corridor, they found the crowd thinning until hardly anyone was left.
Only when they neared the inspection checkpoint did they finally see Imperial soldiers guarding the way again.
Stationed before the inspection desk was an officer of medium build with a resolute countenance. The ribbon rack on his left breast indicated he was a captain. His gaze was sharp, constantly watching every Imperial citizen who appeared before him.
Lanqi and Side exchanged a glance, then continued toward the desk.
When they reached him, the captain swept them with a cold, hard stare.
"Names, identities, and destination."
The captain's voice was deep and forceful.
"Luoqi McCarthy. This is my companion, Side Novia. We are priests from the Imperial Capital, Herrom, sent to assist the northern branch on official duties."
Keeping his composure, Lanqi handed over their travel permits and identification, speaking calmly.
Though he had prepared himself to receive a cold shoulder, his information was stated honestly, so the captain shouldn't give them too much trouble.
The captain nodded, picked up a magic apparatus on the desk, and began scanning their documents.
"Ah, priests of the Extinction Branch."
After confirming their identities, the captain's tone softened noticeably as he handed the documents back.
This prompted Lanqi and Side to exchange another glance.
It seemed the Extinction Branch enjoyed quite a reputation up north; even an officer of the Imperial Army treated them with courtesy.
One had to remember that in the southern provinces, the Resurrection Church was thoroughly despised.
Perhaps it was because this area was close to the front lines.
In times of peace and safety, the Resurrection Church was considered the greatest menace, but in perilous times, they instead represented security.
When facing the threat of war and unknown horrors, standing alongside the Resurrection Church offered a strange sense of leaning on the darkness for shelter.
"If you two plan to transfer toward the Northwestern Province, you will likely have to wait until tomorrow morning. Due to blizzards in the north, trains are experiencing massive delays. And if you intend to continue transferring farther north, I'm afraid you'll be waiting a very long time," the captain added regretfully.
While he didn't know the exact itinerary of the two priests, travelers in this city had only two directions forward unless they turned back.
"We wish to keep heading north. Why would we have to wait a very long time?"
Lanqi hadn't revealed the transfer tickets to the Northwestern Province that the Extinction branch in the Imperial Capital had purchased for them. He had only planned to buy tickets heading farther north once they cleared the checkpoint here in Rock Box Mountain, taking Side with him to investigate the dangerous northern front.
From the looks of it, however, traveling north seemed fraught with difficulties.
Beside him, Side remained silent, simply waiting on Lanqi. She had left full command of the itinerary to him; her job was merely to do the fighting.
"Truthfully, I would not recommend that you continue north," the captain said after a moment of thought.
"Did something happen up north?" Lanqi asked with curiosity.
"A critical section of the tracks farther north has broken down. It is difficult to repair in this blizzard, so no trains have come from the north for several days. You would either have to travel overland by other means, or wait until the city-state repairs the rails."
The captain pulled out a map, circling the route and the damaged section with his finger.
"Moreover, many people are said to have gone missing up north this year, and public order is a complete mess. You should exercise caution," the captain warned, lowering his voice.
"Is that so?" Lanqi raised an eyebrow.
"Not only that, but special investigators from the Imperial Capital arrived a few days ago. Whatever the trouble is, the governor of Box Mountain Province also dispatched an investigation unit to accompany them north to assess the situation on the ground."
"If you two must press north, I advise going no further than Chinston City. Not only is the weather atrocious, but the terrain is exceedingly treacherous. Without local help—putting aside all other dangers—you are likely to be buried in mountain blizzards or freeze to death first."
The captain seemed reluctant to dwell too deeply on the subject. He quickly changed the topic and asked whether they needed assistance finding lodging in the city-state for the night.
He could tell that these two elites from the Imperial Capital were by no means weak; by local standards, they were already remarkably talented and powerful.
Even so, the territory ahead was not something youngsters could handle.
***
Without lingering long at the checkpoint, the pair bid the captain farewell and began walking back toward the concourse.
"Getting scared? Careful, or we might end up kidnapped together," Side teased, smiling when she noticed Lanqi hadn't spoken for a while.
Heading due north had been Lanqi's sudden whim in the first place. Side had no objection to following their original route to join the Holy Son of Extinction in the Northwestern Province, where they could hunt down agents from the Kingdom of Asethelan and cultists from the Church of the Goddess of Fate who had infiltrated the empire.
Farther north was clearly dangerous, whereas public order in the Northwestern Province was far better.
Lanqi stroked his chin, his expression grave as if lost in deep contemplation.
"The less order there is in a place, the more it needs someone like me," Lanqi murmured to himself.
"?"
In his shadow, Boss Cat's brow furrowed at the words.
Lanqi sounded thoroughly righteous.
Yet to Boss Cat's ears, it was downright terrifying.
It had heard plenty about what this guy had pulled off in the Sanctuary Shadow World.
This guy was a master human-trafficker himself!
At the drop of a hat, he would harvest every single organ from the Blood Clan!
Chapter 306