The Cornflower Witch

The Ninth Train continued northward, threading beneath the heavy build-up of clouds, the world around dimmed to a murky dusk, with only a faint line of light where sky met land far away.

“It’s only one in the afternoon, but it looks like night.” Sitting by the window, Sylutia listened to the passengers’ complaints.

It was the third day since departure, and they had completed three-fifths of the journey. The tracks the train now passed ran through barren stretches, a vast gray plain unfolding before everyone’s eyes.

This was the northern grasslands within the Mage Alliance’s territory, where cities were sparse; often you had to travel nearly a hundred kilometers before coming across a modest town.

By three in the afternoon, the wind blowing against the window grew colder, carrying a faint mist. According to the mages on board who specialized in the Vaulted Sky aspect, a new wave of storm and rain was about to arrive.

“Notify all teams on the train to close their windows,” Master Ge Zhen ordered, and the teams began to carry out the instruction.

Half an hour later, a torrential rain arrived as predicted.

Raindrops the size of bullets poured from the sky, growing larger and larger; the water striking the windows didn’t come in isolated beads but in steady, unceasing sheets, streaming like a waterfall.

For safety, the train gradually reduced speed. The locomotive then cast an amber column of light through the rain, piercing the downpour to illuminate what lay ahead.

“I wonder if such a downpour will wash away the track foundations along the way,” someone voiced their concern.

“Don’t worry. That was taken into account during construction. The foundations are solid,” another soothed.

“That may be true, but this isn’t the usual kind of weather. Anything could happen.” Not just him, many on the train shared the same unease.

Outside the windows, the rain only intensified. The dense sheets of water made it almost impossible to see outside; all that remained was the roar of the storm.

“Crack!”

Suddenly, a sharp sound struck the window, leaving a smear of blood-red, but the stain was soon washed away by rain. Before anyone could react properly, more impacts pounded the glass in succession, shattered blood-splashes blooming across the surface and leaving streaks of red.

“What’s happening?”

“Blood?”

Many crew members grew anxious. Sylutia received a report from the teammate beside her. She rose and moved into an unmanned storage car, lifting the hatch on the roof. Torrents of rain immediately poured in, but a protective barrier quickly deployed, keeping the water out.

At that moment, Sylutia could finally make out what was happening outside.

Clouds in the sky churned like reverse-flowing rivers. Within the sheets of rain, frogs of different sizes were falling from the air. Some landed and hopped in puddles on the ground; some slammed into the train, reduced to smashed flesh and spraying blood.

During the wind season, frogs frequently fall with the rain. Scholars have determined that storms pick up tadpoles from water bodies; those tadpoles, bathed in the storm’s Vaulted Sky atmosphere while carried aloft in cloud-water, grow rapidly into frogs. Once they become too heavy to continue floating in the cloud-waters, they fall along with the rain.

A large number of frogs fell with the downpour. The wind carried not only the Vaulted Sky aspect’s aura but also a strong scent of the Snail Fish aspect.

[“Frog Rain”] (Vaulted Sky · Snail Fish): a Gale Season climatic phenomenon in which masses of frogs fall with the rain. It’s said that catching these frogs can fetch a good price from pharmacists.

“Frog rain?” a teammate behind the girl exclaimed.

“I only read about this in books. I never expected it to actually happen.”

“Those frogs look pretty average.” One crew member reached out and snatched a falling frog from the air.

Sylutia’s curiosity was piqued too; she reached out and grabbed one.

The frog in her hand was icy and lively, wriggling furiously between her fingers, its slick body nearly slipping out of her grip.

The mist and a faint fishy scent of the rain hit her nose. Sylutia blinked, and information about the frog surfaced in her vision.

[“Frog”] (Vaulted Sky · Snail Fish): stimulated by the Vaulted Sky aspect, its internal Snail Fish aspect becomes active, accelerating its growth. Although these frogs have not yet condensed their aspects, they are an important raw material for making “water-breathing” potions.

When Vaulted Sky and Snail Fish meet in the cloudsea, it is reminiscent of ancient times when Vaulted Sea and True Fish merged intimately.

Upon learning that these frogs were valuable medicinal raw material, the crew erupted with interest. Some began catching them with pockets, others curiously held them up for inspection.

Many team members climbed onto the train roof, braving the rain to grab frogs; occasionally someone would slip, drawing a round of laughter from companions.

Although the past two days had been somewhat dull, the chaotic joy of catching frogs in the downpour lightened the whole crew’s mood and released much of the pent-up tension.

...

On the other side, the Second Train sped across the eastern grasslands.

Although it had departed earlier than some other trains, its longer detour meant it still had two days’ travel left to reach its destination.

The iron locomotive cleaved through the air like a ship’s prow, shaking loose small stones and grit along the tracks; startled insects and small animals scattered.

At dusk, the train entered the Babbu region on the northeast edge of the Mage Alliance and stopped at the main city there to rest and replenish fuel.

“What! You actually handed out crucial coal briquettes to civilians to keep them warm?” Crew members who had disembarked confronted a local official angrily, berating him loudly.

“Did you even consider the consequences of this? If the North Wind Defense Line fails, how many regions will be affected?”

“Sir, we thought about it. But if we don’t give them the briquettes, many people will freeze to death tonight.”

Babbu remained warm year-round, so residents rarely prepared for cold. When the storm hit and the cold front swept down suddenly, many locals lacked warm clothing and would freeze during the night. The local officials, unable to bear the sight, distributed their reserve coal briquettes so residents could stay warm.

Coal briquettes are compressed blocks refined from charcoal and can be used as train fuel. Because their raw material is wood rather than coal—coal being virtually nonexistent in this world—the briquettes are costly and time-consuming to produce. Stations typically keep a reserve supply to refuel trains.

Learning that the local authorities could not supply the train enraged the crew. The detour to the east added significant distance; the fuel aboard the train wouldn’t stretch to finish the entire route without resupply.

Everything had been planned, but this unexpected development upended those plans.

“If we keep moving, can the train make it to the next supply station?” Commander Master Hiden asked the conductor at his side.

“Sir, I’m afraid not,” the conductor replied with difficulty.

“The next major supply point is in the Moze region, eight hundred kilometers away. The remaining fuel simply won’t last, and their stocks of coal briquettes are limited.”

Hearing this, Master Hiden’s brow deepened.

“What about producing briquettes on site now?”

“There’s a deficit of about five hundred tons. Even if we work full out, it will take more than ten days, and this area isn’t forest-rich, so gathering raw materials will take longer. In total, it might take around twenty days.”

Over twenty days was far too long and would introduce too many uncertainties. Nobody knew how much longer the North Wind Defense Line could hold.

“We can’t wait that long.” Master Hiden spoke slowly; the team captains beside him shared the same thought.

“Tell those officials to recover all the briquettes distributed in the last two days. I refuse to believe they’ve burned through them all in such a short time.”

“But doing that might spark public resistance...” someone warned quietly.

Hearing that, Master Hiden’s brow arched as he glared at the speaker.

“It will cause public anger, but so what?”

“Our mission must be completed. That outweighs present public outrage. Even if every resident in Babbu dies, so what? If their sacrifice ensures the safety of the North Wind Defense Line, then it’s worth it.”

“Follow my order. All crew to battle readiness. The train’s legion guard will enter the main city to supervise the retrieval of briquettes. Anyone who resists will be executed on the spot!”

“Yes, sir.” Though pressured, the legion captain bowed and obeyed, beginning to gather his soldiers.

That night, armed hand-cannon soldiers entered Babbu’s main city. Streets were locked down, torches held high, as city guards and legion soldiers hammered at doors and smashed them open, forcibly reclaiming the distributed coal briquettes.

Shouts and the sounds of scuffles rang through the night. Countless people lost sleep that night.

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