Chapter 561 - 560: Festival of the Mechanical Devices

Chapter 561: Chapter 560: Festival of the Mechanical Devices

The merchant ship slowly sailed into the port of Holy Tear City.

Colin and the others led Big Hoof Treasure out from the ship’s hold. After paying the city entrance fee of one Copper Coin each, they stepped onto the docks and headed for a tavern inside the city.

After being at sea for so long, they definitely needed to rest for a while.

The place was exactly the same as when they had last visited. Many brass-colored metal pipes ran between the houses along the streets, and white steam constantly billowed from the seams of some of the pipes. By the roadside, they could occasionally see fashionably dressed Gnomes talking loudly.

Even the wooden plank nailed to the door of the Mist Land tavern, which read "No Half-Elves Allowed," was...

Standing at the tavern entrance, Colin coughed twice and said, "We should find another tavern."

"Why don’t they welcome Half-Elves? Usually, aren’t the ones to get that treatment Half-Orcs or Half-Demons?" Dorn asked, puzzled. "Is the owner a Dwarf? If so, I have to try this place’s beer."

Colin glanced at Ale, who was standing nearby with a puzzled expression, completely oblivious to what she had done. Then he grabbed Dorn by the shoulder and said, "Let’s go, we’ll find another place."

"Such a pain. Is the bartender really going to throw us out?" Dorn grumbled, but he nevertheless agreed to Colin’s arrangement.

The group returned to the main street.

They hadn’t gone far before they were blocked by a crowd of citizens gathered by the roadside, a situation that reminded Colin of the time they had watched the victory parade.

He stepped forward, tapped a man on the shoulder, and asked, "Hey, pal, what’s going on?"

"Today is Miracle Day. We’re all waiting to see the parade," the man in front replied without turning his head.

Standing behind Colin, Kase and Big Hoof Treasure both snorted. Kase asked impatiently, "What’s Miracle Day?"

"Miracle Day is, uh... Ah!" The man in front turned, saw Kase’s frightening appearance, and yelped in shock.

Hearing the shriek behind them, several other people in front of the man also turned to look. They were just as startled when they saw Colin and his group, and an opening appeared in the tightly packed crowd.

Colin and the others didn’t stand on ceremony, walking straight through the opening to the front and nonchalantly starting to wait for the Miracle Day parade.

The bystanders who saw this were a little confused, but no one dared to approach and start a conversation, let alone cause trouble.

"Since Winterless City is the city-state with the largest population of Northern Gnomes, they have a holiday here to celebrate the Deity of Invention from the Gnome Pantheon. It’s called Miracle Day, and it usually consists of a parade for the Constructs made by Gnome craftsmen," Colin explained to Kase after they reached the front of the crowd.

"Constructs? Are those the moving statues?"

"More or less," Colin nodded casually.

Just then, a series of moving black shadows appeared at the end of the steam-filled street.

First, a giant white elephant made of white oak and steel ambled over. It carried a wooden crate on its back, filled with flowers and soil.

And behind the white elephant followed a large assortment of various strange objects.

Walking display cabinets, machines advancing along the ground, robots in various outfits... all of them were made of wood and steel, with the Spiritual Light of Magic flickering in their joints.

These were the so-called "Constructs."

Orelia said with fascination, "Wow, this is the first time I’ve ever seen so many Constructs. If we bought one to take home, does that mean we wouldn’t have to sweep the floors ourselves?"

"You’re probably the only person in the world who could afford to buy something like that and then just use it for sweeping," Dorn sniped.

"The parade won’t be over for a while anyway. Let’s just watch it finish and then find an inn," Colin suggested.

Ale, who was next to him, immediately said, "I want to watch."

The rest of the group said nothing more, tacitly agreeing with the proposal.

Just then, a few floats slowly rolled in from the end of the road.

Standing on the floats were actual people, all of them wearing robes adorned with the Divine Emblem of the Deity of Invention.

They enthusiastically showcased the novel inventions on the floats to the crowd. At a glance, one could see things like an automatic roasting spit and a weaving loom.

There was also an item that resembled a washing machine, but it exploded halfway down the road, splashing water all over the nearby onlookers.

While Colin and his group were enjoying the spectacle, the entire parade procession suddenly stopped. A humanoid Construct standing on a cart suddenly shouted at them, "Hey, Adventurers! Judging by your gear, you all must be quite skilled, right?!"

At that, everyone in the vicinity turned to look at them.

’What’s this all about?’ Colin shouted back, "We’re just passing through!"

"Do you want to take on a riddle challenge? There’s a mysterious prize for the correct answer!" Before Colin could even respond, the Construct spoke on its own: "Born black and swarthy, body shaped in searing fire. Hard to bend as you please, I make a CLANG when struck."

’Might as well have some fun,’ he thought.

Colin sighed and said, "Is it ’steel’?"

"Wrong! It’s the Steel Armor on a Construct Shield Guard from the Gear-Clatter Guild! The Gear-Clatter Guild, always protecting your safety!" the Construct spoke again. "I have seen trees grow tall and fall down. I have seen stone shatter into dust. I have seen fine steel rust into scrap. What am I?"

"It’s ’time’," Ale said confidently.

"Wrong! It’s the loyalty of a Construct Shield Guard from the Gear-Clatter Guild to its master! The Gear-Clatter Guild, always protecting your safety!"

’What is this? An advertisement?’ Colin was rather speechless.

"If you wish to purchase combat Constructs, please visit the Gear-Clatter Guild! From Ordinary Mechanical Dogs to professional Construct Shield Guards, we have everything you can imagine!" After it finished speaking, the Construct Shield Guard grabbed handfuls of candy from the float and threw them to the crowd.

The surrounding passersby cheered, reaching out to catch the flying candy, and the atmosphere instantly became quite cheerful.

After delivering this lengthy advertisement, the procession of floats began to move forward again, continuing the day’s parade.

Colin watched the parade move off into the distance, feeling that the recent series of riddles had been aimed directly at them. After all, something like a combat Construct was not something an Ordinary person could afford.

A standard Construct Shield Guard was worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins. Its combat power was comparable to a Golem, and some accomplished Mages were fond of purchasing such things to serve as their private guards.

"I’ve seen that riddle before. The answer is absolutely ’time,’ I’m sure of it!" Ale watched the departing floats, her small mouth forming a barely perceptible pout of displeasure.

Dorn looked up at the others and said, "Oh, come on. That was just to attract attention. Didn’t you hear it constantly droning on about some Gear-Clatter Guild? Let’s go find a tavern first."