Castle of Black Iron

In the afternoon, Zhang Tie followed the team of junkmen and entered Kalur City’s control area.

It was a bit ironical that when Zhang Tie arrived at the Kalur war zone last time as a military officer of the Norman Empire, he hadn’t even had a chance to enjoy the city’s view before having to leave. This time, only after a short period, he came here again as a criminal.

What Zhang Tie saw along the road from the deserted Forgue town to the actual control area of Kalur brought him a more concrete sense of the war between the Sun Dynasty and the Norman Empire.

The closer he got to Kalur City, the more serious the confrontations between the Sun Dynasty and the Norman Empire were. Judging from the bases, fortresses, and fortifications the two forces had built around Kalur, it was clear that this war which involved hundreds of thousands of soldiers was doomed to be a long lasting competition. Zhang Tie understood this current situation of the Kalur region based on the news he’d received from the junkmen and what he had seen and heard in the military,

Besides the Sun Dynasty and the Norman Empire, there was another party in the Kalur region that had a say about this war—Kalur, the city of machine, the manufacturing center of Andaman Alliance and the fat which brought about the war between the fierce tiger and the hungry wolf.

The reason that it could become a fat in the eyes of the Sun Dynasty and the Norman Empire was that it was qualified and had the benefits to be a piece of fat. Compared to Blackhot City, an emerging city which only had a history of dozens of years, Kalur had over 200 years’ history which meant a rich accumulation of resources in all aspects. Population, prosperity, manufacturing force, army establishment, actual power and control area of this city all ranked number one in the Andaman Alliance.

Even now Kalur still had a regular army of almost 80,000 soldiers plus the tall city wall and the terrifying city-defense weapons that the city had carefully managed the past 200 years. Such a force was capable of determining the result of this war.

The moment Zhang Tie came to the actual control area of Kalur City, he was shocked by the prosperity here. He even failed to see the city wall within 10-odd km. His eyes were blocked by the huge chimneys that were as dense as woods.

Those chimneys originated from the plants in the controlled area which had already formed a wide industrial zone. Many plants were even connected by pathways hanging up in the air and various tunnels of different sizes. Under the winter sunlight, the black smoke erupting from the chimneys almost dyed the whole sky dark gray. The plants were still producing various items, revealing no sign of depression at all.

Compared to the plants here, the ones in Blackhot City, besides them being on scale, they were as simple and crude as rustic workshops of country moneybags.

What Zhang Tie was seeing right now was just a corner of the actual control area as he was standing in the north.

A single smoking chimney reminded people of pollution while hundreds of tall, smoking chimneys made people feel trivial.

Here, Zhang Tie felt the power of industrial development.

Although people inside those plants were still busy working, outside the plants, hundreds of thousands of refuges poured in from the surrounding areas because of war, causing the whole area to become a bit chaotic.

Walking through the streets, Zhang Tie could see shabby and exhausted refugees queuing up outside plant recruitment points while more men and women were raising boards on the roadside on which were written: ’I’m a tailor; I want to work for food.’

In relatively vacant places on the roadside, refugees had built their tents. Kids’ cries drifted over from the insides of many tents.

On the relatively better and cleaner wall next to the roadside were plastered various paper tapes and photos seeking for relatives.

Since this was Zhang Tie’s first time being here, he didn’t want to attract attention to himself and so insisted in seeing more and speaking less. He kept his head lowered and carried his items while following the other junkmen. Not until the team arrived at the control area of Kalur City did head Fred let out a breath and put back his blue-green flag.

On the way here, Zhang Tie heard many legends. In the past months, many junkmen had not come back after entering the war zone.

There were junkmen who truly made a fortune by discovering some items that had not been taken away by others in some deserted towns or villages. Some even picked up some valuable booty such as excellent weapons or gold coins from corpses in the fields of battle where the two armies had clashed. And some unlucky guys also lost their lives.

It might be very exciting to search for forgotten treasures in the deserted villages and towns surrounding Kalur City, but this was at the risk of one’s life. This profession born from war was really akin to licking blood from the blade of a saber for commoners.

...

"Have you seen my daughter? My daughter is Selena. Here’s her photo. She said that she was going to school in the morning, but she still hasn’t come back yet..."

...

"Have you seen my daughter? My daughter is Selena. Here’s her photo. She said that she was going to school in the morning, but she still hasn’t come back yet..."

On the roadside, a 50-odd woman was holding a photo of a girl and pulled at every passer-by to ask the same question. Although she was asking, her eyes were as hollow as if she’d already lost her soul.

Zhang Tie followed the other junkmen and silently passed her.

"This woman is done for. She comes from the south. It’s better in the north. It’s said that in some southern places, those beasts of the Sun Dynasty would rape every woman they see, aging from small girls to grandmas. Any men who dare to resist would lose their heads. Many of them would even be caught to do labor works, repair roads, and carry items..."

Walking beside Zhang Tie, Gerry let out a sigh. "The tide of refugees coming to Kalur started from the south, but hearing what was happening in the south, the northern people also escaped. They all wanted to escape to Kalur for protection. However, they did not know that with the increasing number of refugees pouring in here, nobody would live well..."

Zhang Tie became silent as he was shocked inside. This was the true, cruel side of war. War would cause the greatest harm to commoners. The war between two countries where hundreds of thousands of soldiers fought had caused such a great disaster, how miserable would it be if the third holy war between humans and demons broke out?

...

After walking through the control area of Kalur for less than 20 minutes, Zhang Tie arrived at the junkmen’s base. It was inside a large landfill behind the plant district. It was covered with deserted black coal gangue, so Zhang Tie could not tolerate the environment here.

More than one hundred years’ wastes like coal gangue were piled up here, so one could imagine the scene here.

In this landfill of coal gangue, there were thousands of tents. At least 10,000-20,000 people lived here. When Zhang Tie followed the team here, he still saw many steam-based trucks that carried coal gangue and poured it inside this place.

The moment the trucks arrived, a great number of kids started running after them. They didn’t care about the possible dangers at all. When the coal gangue with low combustion efficiency was poured out, the kids then rushed forward with small kegs and pack baskets and started to dig for the little coal in this coal gangue that could still be used.

The whole refugee camp was covered with dust due to the vehicles and running kids. All of the refugees were huddling together, men, women, old, and young, like ingredients in a pot of porridge.

Soon after they entered the tent area, a 60-odd man came toward them. "Fred, what did you bring this time..."

"So... We went to Forgue and brought back some tableware and something to live through the winter. Quote us a proper price..."

"Something to live through the winter? Many people don’t even know how to live through this!" After appraising the items on their backs, the 60-odd man nodded. "Follow me..."

Zhang Tie also followed the others and arrived in front of the old man’s tent. He was only carrying several dirty quilts that he had fetched in Forgue town. Besides, he was wearing a half new wool-like coat which didn’t seem to match his image well, making him look like a refugee. Seeing him walking with the team, that old man only cast a glance at him before moved his eyes away.

The tent was very large, filled with many items while strong hatchet men were patrolling around. This seemed like a hub of this tent area.

Many people were standing in front of a notice board on the roadside next to this tent. When Zhang Tie passed by that notice board, he saw images of him and Major Franca. They were two orders for arrest under which there were some other orders for arrest. However, because the bonus of the two were the highest-3000 gold coins, they were put on the top.

With just one glance, Zhang Tie memorized the contents on the orders for arrest in his mind.

His heart raced. It was not too shocking to see orders for arrest in the refugee camp as it was close to the Norman Empire; this was just a slum that had not been destroyed by war. What made Zhang Tie really confused though was that Major Franca was wanted by the Northern Border Army while he was wanted by the Orders Review Committee.

This was good news for Zhang Tie. At the sight of this, he recovered his composure and no longer worried about his family members any more. His family members would be protected by the Northern Border Army and would never have to suffer from any danger from the secret police. If not, the Northern Border Army and the Iron-Horn Army would be smacked on their faces.

As Zhang Tie’s current age and looks were both far different from that image on the arrest order, nobody guessed that one of the junkmen was the guy on the poster worth 3000 gold coins.

...

Zhang Tie sold the items that he brought from Forgue town for 4 silver coins and 37 copper coins.

Each one in the team had to pay a tribute. According to the rule, every person should submit 30% of their income as the protection fee. After submitting 30% of his income, Zhang Tie won a more genial look from Fred.

"How about that? You are brave enough. How about joining us. We can work together!" Fred invited him with in an enthusiastic voice that promised ’great undertakings together’...

...

Of course Zhang Tie did accept this "promising profession". With the excuse that he wanted to find stable work in the plant, he refused Fred’s "invitation". After that, he touched the silver and copper coins in his pocket and left the refugee camp.

Although the secret police’s power had not reached Kalur City yet, it didn’t mean that he was safe now. Many people would risk their lives here for 3000 gold coins. Generous rewards birthed heroism. If he was caught here, the people could definitely transfer him out of Kalur’s war zone. Even the huge airship of the Sun Dynasty could arrive here, let alone a person getting transferred only over 100 km away.

When he was walking through the streets, he kept thinking about that. Even if he was not wanted by the army of the Norman Empire, he could not go back to the troop either. He could not explain the conflict between him and the secret police. Such a great event could never be covered by saying he was struck by a lightning bolt. Then how could he go back to Blackhot City and contact his family members?

Zhang Tie kept walking as he thought.

He did not know for how long he walked. When a building appeared in his vision, he was suddenly shocked.

On the front door of that building was a relief of a mighty four-winged golden roc...

Yes, Golden Roc Bank!

Recalling the services that the Golden Roc Bank in Blackhot City provided, Zhang Tie’s eyes brightened up...