When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 832 - 783: New Recruit Training (Part 1)

In the late autumn season, while cannon fire roared around Xia Lvcheng, Joan of Arc Castle was equally bustling.

In the face of the troop transport ships, even the spice ships from Black Snake Bay had to stand aside.

At each pier on the riverbank, gangplanks extended from the decks.

Stepping onto the swaying gangplanks, men with pant legs tied with twine and wearing woolen hats with pom-poms on their heads walked up the piers.

They carried cloth bags slung over their shoulders and wore mismatched armor pieces on their bodies.

Squinting their eyes, they looked around both cautiously and curiously.

With the improvement of the situation in Black Snake Bay and the popularity of products like sugar and spices, the economic situation in Joan of Arc Castle was changing daily.

Though it might not be as prosperous as the old affluent cities like Changge City or Huaqiu City, it was definitely vibrant in the foothills on both sides of the Dragon Sleep Mountain Range.

For these mountain people emerging from the Dragon Sleep Mountain Range, everything was a novelty to behold.

Thrushes and pigeons circled over the rooftops, and the mortar-paved roads were crowded with carts, donkeys, and horses.

Looking out, the docks were chaotic with porters and Night Watchers maintaining order.

Various strange new ships sailed the river, while both riverbanks were lined with dense watermills and forging workshops.

"So many people, so many ships…"

"Joan of Arc Castle is so prosperous, the Female Grand Duke governs it well."

"Isn't this the territory of that Saint's Grandson?"

"Isn't he still a vassal of the Female Grand Duke?"

Standing in the sunlight, they seemed somewhat unaccustomed to the cool climate, starting to converse in heavily accented Norn language.

"Why are you stuck here? Follow my banner, come along!"

The mercenary agent behind them swore, took out a stick, and whipped their calves, forcing them to move forward.

This journey brought over 5,000 Norn mountain people from Mangde County, travelling by ship across the Tai Bo River Dam, passing through Autumn Dusk Island to reach Joan of Arc Castle.

Due to the port capacity limitations of Joan of Arc Castle, it couldn't accommodate 5,000 people coming and going at once.

Thus, as soon as the Norn mercenaries disembarked, they immediately had to leave to make room for the next batch of incoming Norn mercenaries.

The citizens of Joan of Arc Castle sat on window sills, curiously watching the groups of marching soldiers advancing noisily towards the suburban train station in simple formations.

The advancing Norn mountain people looked at the citizens of Joan of Arc Castle standing by doors or windows, none without a hint of envy.

"So many tall buildings."

"Will our barracks be like this too?"

"Wishful thinking, even a wooden hut would be nice."

The Norn mountain people grumbled, but were pushed forward by their compatriot agents behind them.

The "tall buildings" in the eyes of the Norn mountain people were actually just 3-4 stories high Insula Apartments, serving as transitional housing for farmers coming to the city for work during the off-season.

Due to the lack of steel in mortar concrete, its tensile strength was only one-tenth of its compressive strength, thus limiting its height.

Through testing, the maximum height with civilian materials was only 15 meters.

The standard issued by Horn in the Stonemason Guild required that the height of residential buildings made with mortar concrete should not exceed 12 meters. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The booming construction at Joan of Arc Castle and ry Court Barracks led many farmers with only small plots of poor land at home to sell their fields and move to towns either to start businesses or seek employment.

In Insula Apartments, this group of people was also a common sight.

Some citizens, with open personalities, would even step out of their homes and wave at the Norn mountain people.

This puzzled the mountain people; were they that familiar with them?

While some mountain people managed to wave back amicably, most bowed their heads and muttered softly.

Hearing the muttering of the mountain people, these citizens were equally perplexed.

Norn language and the languages north of the Dragon Sleep Mountain Range were significantly different.

To be precise, Leia's language, Falan, and the Highland Leia language prevalent in the Thousand River Valley were all variations of the Ayr language.

However, the Norn people, as the indigenous inhabitants of the eastern continent, were collectively called Norn, yet were several completely different tribal ethnicities.

They spoke entirely different language families, and even the Norn people from different regions spoke different language systems.

The three major territories of the Norn people covered more than half of the Empire, with dozens of languages internally; no wonder they had to implement a system of elected monarchs.

The mountain people hadn't walked far before spotting something strange on the suburban outskirts.

It was a rectangular wooden platform about 1 meter high, covered with a canopy of sailcloth and oilcloth.

Standing on the platform, called the "platform," were two officers in close-fitting uniforms, standing quietly.

In fluent foothill Norn language, the tallest officer shouted, "Call up some stewards; all agents get up here."

Eight or nine agents in armed clothing and chain mail ran to the platform, looking up to speak with the officer.

The front-ranked Norn mountain people stretched their necks, curiously inspecting the peculiar object on the ground.

Next to the platform on the ground were hundreds of wooden sleepers laid parallel, extending to the horizon.

Connecting these sleepers were two strips of iron tracks, fixed together with rivets.

A mountain man in a wolf-skin vest stuck his head out and after a long look, slapped his forehead: "Iron! These Thousand River Valley people are really rich!"

"Dieterbert, what are you muttering about?" A bearded squad leader came from behind.

Dieterbert pointed at the iron tracks: "Ad, look, these are all iron."

Adelaide, the squad leader, glanced at the iron rails, scoffed, "You've seen little; do you know what this is?"

"I don't know," Dieterbert honestly replied.

The squad leader laughed: "Country bumpkin, this is a magic formation, used to refine the land; haven't you heard? The Saint of the Thousand River Valley is a magic-wielding saint."

"A magic-wielding saint?"

"The saint's magic isn't called magic anymore?"

Dieterbert was left speechless and after a while worriedly asked, "Won't this lead us to Fire Prison?"

"They paid money, so if anyone goes to Fire Prison, it's the person who paid, not us," Adelaide asserted confidently.

Dieterbert wanted to ask more but heard the mercenary agent above shout, "Bubula County folks, get on the platform, Bubula County!"

The squad leader immediately waved the flag, gathering the scattered mountain people: "Get on the platform; if you're left behind, make your way back yourself."

After speaking, Adelaide patted Dieterbert's shoulder: "Be careful, don't step onto that magic formation, or it'll suck away your soul."

With bags in hand, Dieterbert followed his companions onto the platform.

Only then could they see the "magic formation" was actually a train with four cars pulled by Kush Coarse-Hoofed Horses.

"Find your spot, get on through the door, one by one, no pushing or crowding!"

Under the command of the two officers and agents, the mountain people boarded the rail wagons one after another.

Dieterbert was still worried about having his soul sucked away by stepping onto the magic formation, but seeing everyone ahead was fine, he calmly boarded the train.

These wagons were narrow, without a roof, just two rows of people sitting facing each other with the luggage on their knees or on the floorboards.

These four open carriages surprisingly accommodated nearly 100 people, seemingly impossible even for the strong Kush Coarse-Hoofed Horses to pull.

Unexpectedly, with the crack of the coachman's whip, the four horses all neighed and the wagon actually started moving slowly and continued accelerating.

"Thousand River Valley, truly a magical place…" Dieterbert couldn't help but mutter.