Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 1020: Section 655: Love from the Past (Part 2)

Chapter 1020: Section 655: Love from the Past (Part 2)

"Lena, I have a question."

Setting down the diary and sitting in the now empty classroom, Anna lifted her head. The lady of the house looked at her head maid and close friend.

"Go ahead, my sister."

The elven woman sitting by the window gazed out at the desolation. This abandoned town, under the reign of residual snow, still displayed miracles of life—moss thriving on cobblestones, climbing vines weaving through crumbling eaves and broken walls, and now and then a deer roaming the streets.

"Our mentor is someone with abilities, isn’t he?" Her sister posed a question that struck her as either foolish... or perhaps overly forgetful.

"Of course. He possesses unparalleled spell formation affinity. That’s precisely why our dear Malin was recognized for his extraordinary talent at such a young age—that is undoubtedly Golden Blood." As Lena spoke, she reached out a hand, and a bold deer approached her, drawn by the warm presence of life before it.

The elf smiled and extended her hand to stroke the creature’s broad forehead.

Her sister furrowed her brow. "In the diary, our mentor claims to have no talent. What could have happened?"

"...Are you sure this diary doesn’t record anything?" Lena turned her head upon hearing this, her face filled with astonishment.

"Nothing. If our mentor had no talent, then how did he acquire such immense abilities... Was it a gift from that Deity?" Anna frowned, unsure how to explain it all. But as the Thanan saying goes, ’Heaven never seals off all paths.’ "We can keep searching. This diary isn’t among the first three, but that’s fine; we can continue looking. The next stop is the South—the Freydenbek Region of the Holy Kingdom, Starel Town. It seems our mentor once visited that area. It’s very likely that after leaving the Eastern Kingdom, he spent some time living there."

Anna tucked away the diary and walked toward Lena, who had climbed out the window.

Anna followed her sister out the window. As the two elves, clad in combat gear, reached the street, they heard the distant sound of cannon fire.

"The Northern Kingdom’s troops have begun their offensive. You’ve watched their battles—tell me, how does that Crown Prince compare to Malin?" Anna turned her head toward her sister.

Her sister shook her head. "I’d say he’s mediocre, at best. Often, I’d call him a commander of an outdated era. To save artillery shells, his forces don’t hesitate to send their best field troops to their deaths. Driven by the dream of liberating their homeland, the soldiers fight until their very last breath."

"The Eastern Kingdom’s pettiness—that’s the reason why our mentor ultimately abandoned it," Lena concluded about the Crown Prince. At the same time, she gained a deeper understanding of why their mentor renounced his noble status and left that land.

"Our mentor once said, ’Paths diverge; we must part ways.’" Saying this, Anna activated the teleportation portal. "Let’s first return to Regensburg. At the very least, we should bring closure to this months-long journey."

"At the very least, you should let the old man see you, right?" Lena added with a smile.

"Exactly. This time, leaving him at home—I’m sure he’s both furious and pleading for a hug at the same time. What a big child," Anna said as she reinforced the teleportation portal, her expression softening with a nostalgic smile.

"Men are forever children." Lena finished speaking, then glanced at the far end of the town. "Wait, there’s another type of gunfire... "

Anna tilted her head to listen and ultimately agreed with Lena’s assessment. "No mistake, more gunfire is coming from that direction—and it’s distinctly different from the semi-automatic rifles Malin sold them."

"The newly arrived Chaos forces have clearly made advancements—that’s obvious. And our Malin... doesn’t realize the trouble his acceleration is causing us." Anna sighed as she spoke. "We must leave, Lena. Let Malin handle things here."

......

Early on the second morning, Malin brought everyone back to the resting area of the fleet. Malin silently returned with a new apprentice—a bioengineered being that Mr. Meng regarded as a zombie.

However, when the child started conversing in formal Thanan dialect with Mr. Meng, he was ultimately impressed by the child’s performance.

After entrusting Konen to Mr. Meng for care, Malin wasted no time heading to two other settlements. He met their leaders, who had once been apprentices under his father. However, neither had children suitable in age to become Malin’s apprentices; in fact, one of their children had recently died in battle.

Malin instructed them to select some bioengineered beings with robust physiques—young ones. Malin planned to teach them how to forge steel weapons first. This decision came after consulting with Mr. Meng’s superior. Though the envoy expressed confusion over Malin’s help toward these non-human beings, he seemed to understand once informed that Malin’s father had once taught these zombie leaders. In his eyes, Malin’s father’s guidance had helped these bioengineered beings shed their demonic tendencies—a remarkable feat. Malin’s father was a Sage, and now it seemed Malin aspired to follow in his footsteps. If a Sage wishes to lead these bioengineered beings out of their wretched fate—why not?