The Divine Armor of the Old Century（Book 1）

Chapter 6

The Old Dunling was huge, incredibly huge. As the capital of Engellwig, Old Dunling had been slowly expanding throughout Engellwig's history, but with the advent of steam power, this expansion reached its peak velocity.

Its architectural sprawl was astonishing, occupying the central part of the Engellwig Island. However, such a vast urban area brought with it a negative consequence: enormous transportation costs. A citizen from the East District commuting to a factory in the West District would spend half a day just walking. For ordinary citizens, steam cars were simply unaffordable, let alone the upkeep of horses to ride to work.

To tackle this issue, the Mechanical Institute initiated a new round of renovations in Old Dunling over a decade ago. They dug underground tunnels and established trains that traversed Old Dunling. They called this thing the subway, resembling a shrunken underground train. On the surface, there were tracks embedded into the ground, where steam-powered trams called "iron snakes" ran.

This transportation system served as a pilot project in Old Dunling and, upon its success, expanded nationwide. In recent years, they attempted to integrate the Zeppelin airships into this vast transportation system, marking the skies with Engellwig's presence.

The Midgard Serpent.

The engineers at the Mechanical Institute referred to this transportation system as such, drawing inspiration from the giant serpent in Norse mythology. This beautiful and prosperous world was akin to the mythical Midgard. Each person could become a part of this earthly serpent for a low cost, surrounded by machinery and steam in this increasingly shrinking world.

Victoria Central Hospital was also a notable station. Steam trams passed by here every fifteen minutes, and this time, Lloyd happened to catch one.

"Sorry, my friend!"

The doors opened, and Lloyd, carrying that extremely dangerous shotgun, headed straight for the driver's cabin.

After expelling the innocent passengers, the driver, without much resistance, was thrown off the steam tram. Then, the iron snake, spewing steam, gradually accelerated and raced along the tracks.

When have law-abiding citizens of Old Dunling witnessed such a scene? Even Preiss was a bit stunned.

This was Old Dunling, the heart of Engellwig. At any given moment, there were at least three Zeppelin airships patrolling the sky. On board were fully armed sky cavalry draped in red cloaks, serving as the strong defensive line for Old Dunling's order and security. When emergencies occurred, all you could see was the massive object covering the sky. Then, under its shadow, soldiers in red shirts would descend on ropes, followed by a gunshot to your head.

First, there was a steam pipe explosion, then gunfire, and now, hijacking of the steam tram. Although it wasn't clear what was happening at the moment, these troublemakers were destined to be apprehended one by one.

This counted as a major event in Preiss's career. He belatedly picked up his gun and ran toward the direction of the steam tram, only to see a figure hanging onto the back of it.

Preiss's heart skipped a beat.

...

"At least a third-class merit, right?"

Despite the roaring wind, the girl remained indifferent, muttering to herself incessantly.

Eve firmly gripped the handle on the steam tram, finally catching up at the last moment before it departed.

This unlucky girl hadn't realized the danger she was in. Her mind was filled with tomorrow's headline from The Queen's Daily. The front page featured the new police chief of Suaran Hall, who solved a major case on his first day, earning a third-class merit and an invitation to the Platinum Palace to meet the queen. He was set to ascend to the peak of his career and become the police inspector of Old Dunling or something equally ridiculous.