Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 700: Is it the sacred beast in the water?
The underground world of Lonwithin is intricate, not only referring to the passages, shafts, deep pits or drainage canals left over from ancient times, but also including every river running through the city. Sometimes they are the common source of the tens of millions of river networks on the ground, and sometimes they are new tributaries formed after the residents' domestic sewage sinks to the city's underground through a complex drainage system. According to statistics from the Lonwithin Geographical Magazine, the Tywell River alone has 18 underground tributaries that flow through the city's 22 blocks.

Therefore, in many literary works, if people compare the "City of Cities" of Lenwittin to a tireless and greedy giant, then these underground rivers are the capillaries densely packed in the countless flesh and blood that he devours. Through this peculiar image, the city itself becomes a living creature, and the residents closest to the underground world can also find their instincts or desires flowing in these gradually withering and regenerating blood vessels.

Was the river in front of him a natural underground river, or was it a man-made “garbage river” that was filled with wailing, scolding, groaning, and desperate roars in the dark underground? Linger didn’t know. He could only see the river water under the firelight as turbid as blood from a slaughterhouse, with inky shadows wriggling in it, floating and sinking, and finally rushing to the end of the eternal night blocked by the rusty drain fence. Where it came from and where it would flow to was still a mystery.

"The ferry station," the voice of old man Pancras came at the right time, bringing a special tranquility to this dark and noisy environment. "From here you can reach the underground ferry crossings of the thirty-two blocks of Lunwitin. Some of them were cellars or underground tombs of residents in the Middle Ages, and some were abandoned sewers or subway stations in modern times. Because it is isolated from the ground world, many ferocious monsters live under the river here. So, as written on this wooden sign, no matter what, don't go into the water easily. The safest way is to wait for the boatman to take you to your destination."

"Bondman?"

Alice looked around, but couldn't find the boat. "Where is it? Where is it? Why can't I see it?"

“Haha.” Old man Pancras stroked his beard and smiled, “He heard us and has come over.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then they listened carefully, only to find that the sound of rushing water was indeed mixed with some discordant interlude, as if something was swimming upstream in the river, gradually approaching here. They all looked in that direction at the same time, but still did not see the boat, only a vague shadow floating on the water, swimming towards here along a straight track.

"That's a boat?" Alice was a little disappointed. "Isn't it just a small raft? It might be too light to carry so many of us."

Lingge also thought it was a raft at first, but soon realized something was wrong: How could a raft go upstream in a rushing river and still move in a straight line? It was not affected by the current at all. And when it got closer, it was discovered that the shadow of the suspected raft was not flat. Its edge actually extended under the water surface, and there were short and thick things like horns on both sides. It didn't look like a man-made object, but more like... the back of some aquatic giant?

At the same time when this idea came up, the vague shadow had already arrived in front of everyone. After a slight pause, accompanied by the sound of the river water rushing down, a huge, narrow head poked out from the bottom of the water. The shape of its head easily reminded people of the appearance of the most brutal land overlord dinosaurs in ancient times, which biologists often described with excitement: a wide and solid skull, cold and contemptuous vertical pupils, and glittering fangs hidden under the muzzle. If Lingge had visited the Museum of Ancient Biology in the Lunwitingburden area and seen dinosaur fossils with his own eyes, this feeling would be even more profound.

Its neck, which was four or five meters long and could touch the rock wall if it was straightened up, was covered with tiny scales, arranged in order like the scales of a snake. In the light of the candle, it shimmered with water light, looking gorgeous and eerie. When its head appeared, its body also rose a bit, and its back, which was exposed above the water, was no longer just the width of a small raft, but as wide as a small island, enough to even accommodate a dozen people standing on it. One just had to be careful not to touch the rows of hideous sharp thorns on the edge. Its limbs were still hidden under the water, making it difficult to observe through the shadows. One could only guess whether they were the claws of an animal or the fins of a fish... But in any case, the part that it was willing to show to everyone was worthy of praise. It was a perfect combination of beauty and cruelty, a contradiction.

Alice, who was shouting just now, stopped talking again. After staring blankly for a while, she suddenly turned her head and asked old man Pancras: "Is this a plesiosaur? Or a mosasaur? I didn't expect that there are dinosaurs in the underground of Lunweiting. Isn't this too cool?"

Before the old man could answer, a cold and contemptuous voice rang in everyone's ears: "Pancras, the guests you brought this time don't seem to know what politeness is. Do you need me to teach you a lesson?" The jaws of the giant beast in the water opened and closed, revealing rows of gleaming fangs. Obviously, the words just now came from this ferocious and huge mouth. It - he is not a wild beast, nor a monster, but an alien!

"Please don't be offended, Master Gernier. They are just a little surprised because they have never seen the Alkanean people before." Old Man Pancras shook his head and emphasized, "They are the most distinguished guests of the Evangelical Convent and Miss Shesta's companions. For her sake, if there is any offense, I hope you can tolerate it."

"Since you are the companion of the respected fairy lady, then I will do as you wish." The aquatic giant called Gurne grinned, and one could actually see a hint of coldness in his smile: "Besides, there are many people who have never seen Arcane now, so I won't be angry about it."

Sure enough, it was thanks to the boss lady's face-saving ability that a quarrel caused by Alice's bad mouth was avoided.

"This guy is quite strong." Taking advantage of the gap between the two people's conversation, Nevile whispered in Linger's ear. When Linger whispered to her how strong she was, the Countess did not answer, but just spread out her palm and shook it. The young man immediately understood: probably around Sequence 5 strength, although not as strong as Nevile, but among the weak aliens in the Gospel Academy, it is already the strongest one.

At the same time, Lingge also learned the other party's origins from their conversation.

The Arkanae tribe, a mysterious alien species mentioned by the proprietress, is also called the "Arkanae in the water" because it likes to live in water. Their mystery lies in that although they are intelligent aliens, they do not like to communicate with outsiders, and have their own communication system within the tribe. But at the same time, they have a very strange habit, that is, they like to help creatures that cannot swim to cross dangerous waters without receiving any reward. Whether it is humans, aliens, monsters or even ordinary wild beasts, they can cross the river safely on their backs, because they will never allow their passengers to be threatened by anything from underwater.

For this reason, although their origins are mysterious and their temperaments are strange, they are still affectionately called "water ferrymen" by aliens. Similarly, humans regard them as sacred beasts sent by the gods of rivers and storms, and think that they symbolize the moodiness of water: when water is happy, it will carry people across the water for free, and when water is angry, it will indiscriminately attack ships, bridges and even ports on the water - that is actually because Arkagne attaches great importance to the right of ferrying in the water and regards it as its sacred and inviolable right. Even if it is the same tribe ferrying in its own territory, the two sides will fight, let alone human ships and bridges?

For the Arcane, they have no other enemies except ships, bridges, and ports. Almost all the incidents of Arcane attacking human settlements that can be documented are caused by this. This strange habit is difficult to explain even for the most knowledgeable magicians.

In modern times, as human ships became larger, bridges became stronger, and ports became more majestic, Arkanye gradually lost its territory and ferry rights, and was no longer worshipped as a sacred animal in the water. Instead, the hunting by the Balance of Order caused their already scarce numbers to drop sharply again. Today, Arkanye are rarely seen in wild waters.

Unexpectedly, in the underground river of Lunweiting, Lingge and others had the honor to witness his true appearance.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)