Chương 116: Chapter 115: The Express Railway, and the Tartarus Free Zone

The following morning, after the loaded proving run cleared every inspection marker, the route opened for its first scheduled passenger-commercial run. TOOT... TOOT... TOOT! The sharp shriek of an arcane steam whistle tore through the eternal fog of the border. From inside the black-stone mountain tunnel, a colossal, gleaming black steel locomotive, thirty meters long, bearing Vance Commerce's gilded hollow-circle [⭕] logo, slowly rolled into Tartarus Central Station.

Jets of white steam and pressurized vapor vented from either side of the tracks with a rhythmic hiss, and the steel wheels ground against the rails with a thunderous roar. More than fifty thousand Demon-race residents crowded both sides of the platform, staring in astonishment as a twenty-car heavy-freight train, hauling three thousand tons of mixed iron and mana-ore alongside the approved food shipments, pulled into the station.

In the locomotive's cab, Evelyn pulled off her grease-stained goggles, wiped the sweat from her brow, and eased the arcane brake lever. She checked the travel-time gauge.

"Five hours forty-five minutes. Fifteen minutes ahead of schedule." On the roof of the lead passenger car, Astra sat cross-legged on the steel plating in her modest floral dress. Her left hand held a porcelain cup piled with strawberry ice cream, spoonful after spoonful going to her mouth, her right hand casually resting the Sun-Slaying Dragon Sword across her lap.

Over the six-hour journey through treacherous mountain passes, more than twenty border bandit gangs and three Void Beast packs had tried to ambush the rail line to steal the cargo. Astra had cut weapons, roadblocks, and the ground in front of charges so casually that most attackers fled or surrendered before she finished her ice cream. In the luxurious red-velvet VIP car at the middle of the train. Lucian sat at a fixed ebony tea table, fingers clicking rapidly through a magical abacus.

"Five hundred noble and merchant passengers on this maiden run. One-way fare: ten gold each. Five thousand gold in ticket revenue over six hours. Cargo transit drops from a monthly caravan cycle to same-day delivery. Working capital turns many times faster." Eleanor sat in the armchair across from him, golden hair loose over her shoulders, quietly gazing through the crystal window at the magnificent black-stone mountain ranges of the Demon Realm sliding past outside.

She reached over and gently took hold of Lucian's abacus-clicking hand.

"Lucian... generations of human Emperors before you deployed millions of troops, spilled countless lives, and never once managed to set foot in the capital of Tartarus. And you connected two realms with a railway line and six hours." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Lucian glanced at her hand, then calmly pulled a train ticket from his coat and held it out.

"Thank you for the compliment, Council President. Your one-way fare is ten gold — no free rides for royalty on this line." Eleanor burst out laughing. She didn't reach for money, only tilted her head, resting it lightly against his shoulder, watching the platform ahead glow with arcane lights.

"I'll put it on your tab. Take it out of your tea money." Ting! Ting! Ting! A dim black Unified System V2. 0 notification burst into view before Lucian. [FIRST CROSS-REALM RAILWAY SUCCESSFULLY INAUGURATED!] [CONTINENTAL-TIER PROJECT PROGRESS RECORDED: THE ONE WHO CONNECTED TWO WORLDS!] [SYSTEM REWARDS:] Cultural Hazard class progress increased. Logistics and commercial-analysis skill progress increased. Signed freight and passenger contracts registered: projected operating revenue available for normal accounting.

Click. The carriage door opened. On the central platform, a twenty-meter-long crimson silk ribbon stretched across the front of the locomotive bearing the [⭕] logo. Emperor Alaric de Solaris, Pope Lumina, Demon-race General Baelor, and Countess Carmilla stood together on the platform of honor, all raising a solid gold pair of scissors to cut the inaugural ribbon amid a sky full of exploding arcane fireworks.

The founding charter of the Tartarus Free Economic Zone officially took effect: a limited commercial district surrounding the station was jointly chartered by Solaris and Tartarus. Its tax preferences were defined by the framework; sovereignty and security remained with the participating governments, while Vance Commerce received a fixed-term logistics and operating concession.

Demon-race citizens, human merchants, engineers, railway workers, officials, travelers, and the jointly approved security contingent stood mixed together on the platform, raising their fists and cheering in unison, shaking the entire underground city.

"LONG LIVE THE IRON DRAGON!"

"LONG LIVE THE NAMELESS KNIGHT!"

"THE AGE OF HARMONY HAS BEGUN!" Lucian stood beside Eleanor on the VIP carriage's steps, looking out over the roaring sea of people below, the corner of his mouth curling into a satisfied smile. An auditable concession. A vast consumer market. And, if the signed contracts held, revenue enough to make the next quarterly meeting unbearable for everyone else. BOOM! The black-stone floor directly beneath Track 1 suddenly split open, a deep gash tearing across the ground.

The entire Titan-alloy rail system shuddered violently. This particular rail line followed an old mapped transit and geological corridor around a known World Tower access node. The survey maps had not revealed the dormant secondary shaft beneath Track 1 — or the fault now tearing it open toward the sealed Floor 10 Core. An ancient, dark pressure — reeking of blood and ten thousand years of death — erupted from the crack in the ground, shooting up into the sky as a colossal black pillar of smoke.

A soul-tearing roar, the remnant of the first Demon Lord, echoed across the entire station.

"AWAKEN... LEGIONS OF THE VOID!"