Novel Full Chapter 785 785 A New Age
The Coven Leader smiled at the gathered Council Families and other important people of her city, then began her hastily prepared speech.
“Thank you all for gathering on such short notice, but this particular bit of news simply could not wait. As of this afternoon, an underground highway system linking every one of our border towns to the Sylvan Fortress has been completed. No longer will we have to risk sending goods overland and having them be intercepted or subject to the whims of the weather.
We have already been in contact with the outlying border villages and have arranged to begin transferring them supplies and receiving the goods they have produced for us through this highway starting tomorrow morning.
It is thanks to the Priya Family Head, Lulabeth Priya, that we are able to move goods smoothly through these tunnels, as they do not allow for the use of fuel fired vehicles, due to ventilation issues. She has helped us convert a number of our buses and cargo trucks to run more efficiently on magic so that they can be recharged by the drivers without a need for connection to the electrical grid to charge between runs.
While recent upgrades have made the power grid more stable, and the rationing measures have been eased, the power usage of enough cargo trucks to supply the entire nation would be far too much for us to maintain, so these upgrades have truly made this endeavour possible.”
She paused while everyone clapped for Priya, and then continued.
“The tunnels were created by Wolfe Noxus, Patriarch of the Noxus Magi Family, who is bonded to the Priya Family Head. I believe that many of you are familiar with him after his last visit, or from your time on the border during the early stages of last winter’s monster defence.
Patriarch Noxus has recently become a Saint, after reaching Rank Seven, and is currently the only natural-born Saint on this planet.
It is not widely known by the general population, but all of you should be aware that there are visiting Fae Saints and Demonic Overlords at the Seventh Rank all over this world at the moment, ensuring the balance of the world’s mana, and helping it recover after the losses from the Great War.
What you might not know, is that the losses were not primarily from the final blow that rearranged the planet, but the loss of lives in the offensive.
It was the vast number of long-lived and powerful Magi and Fae that were keeping the mana level of the world at an increased level, and when the Fae were driven out and the Magi killed, it caused the mana level of the world to plummet.
That is why we did not have any higher ranked witches of our own until they began to return, and why the witches of the One World Army had to rely on magical beasts to awaken their powers.”
There was a lot of murmuring in the crowd as the worked to take that news in. While they had won the war, it was obvious that it was a Pyrrhic Victory at best, but after learning that it was not the Magi’s counterattack, but their death, that had caused the mana levels to plummet and the world to lose its powerful Witches, the entire Great War seemed like it was the greatest mistake in recorded history.
“Furthermore, we are not alone and isolated in this world. While they did not make themselves known, powerful creatures were sent to watch over us and ensure that we were surviving, while their mere presence helped maintain the mana balance in our region. She declined to attend today, but there is a powerful Water Fae in the city, informally working as our Guardian, while officially, according to the Continental Representatives who are overseeing the world, Saint Noxus is our Guardian.
It is his magic that surrounds our city, that reduced the crime rate to nearly zero, and which cured our bloodline curse. For that, and the gift of a highway system, which he has provided free of charge, we have called this meeting to give him thanks.” The Coven Leader finished.
There was no need for Wolfe to charge for the road. They would be charging for the goods that were sold from Forest Grove, and the flow of people would be for of everyone’s benefit.
The Coven Leader stepped aside, gesturing for Wolfe to say something to the crowd.
“Good evening everyone. It is always a pleasure to be back here in Sylvan Fortress, especially when I have good news.
This highway system does not just link the few border towns of Sylvan Coven, it will extend all the way down the coast, allowing the villagers of the Frozen Wastes to move and trade goods with each other, and with you.
The network started in Forest Grove, my new hometown, so that the goods we were producing could be moved to the villages that were within the Fae Forest. Moving through the thick foliage was nearly impossible, so we started to move goods underground and down the river.
Then we added aircraft, powered by magic, to drop emergency relief supplies to our allies. I believe that many of them have been sent to the newly repopulated border towns as well.
Now, we are expanding our air service into other nations, to trade goods that everyone wants and needs, while the highway system will provide an underground link for the entire Frozen Wastes Nation.
Yes, it will truly be a nation, as all the villages are in an alliance, and the Protectors assigned to them are in agreement.
Once trade is moving smoothly, we will be working with the Coven Council to develop an airport here, for the efficient movement of goods and people over longer distances, with the goal of adding more villages to the south.
There are a few villages within Morgana Coven territory that we are currently working with, and that receive weekly visits from our smaller aircraft, but none of them have a runway sufficient for the largest of our flights, the sort that can move hundreds of people between nations at over eight hundred kilometres an hour.”
The Sylvan Coven had been on the front line of the Monster Tide for generations, so they knew very well that sort of speed could do more than just civilian duties.
The chances to move people from one end of the nation to another using magical aircraft would definitively change the Coven’s military deployment strategy. Not only that, but with the new weapons developed in the last year, and the ability to move quickly across the Frozen Wastes, there was no need to form a shield wall against the Monster Tide at all.
They could deploy to the hot spots and deal with them before they got out of hand.
In short, the Sylvan Coven military leadership was in love with the thought of an airbase beside the city, and they were eager to get to the Council members and start on the construction project. With the number of witches they had, it shouldn’t take more than a day or two, and then they would be ready to start working with Forest Grove on deployment strategies.