Chapter 1211: A Farming Tractor

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty — what’s Lady Anna driving?”

Roland turned around. Echo and Soraya were already rushing toward him.

“A car,” Mystery Moon said before he could open his mouth, her voice carrying the self-satisfied lift of someone who had been waiting for this moment. “A Magic Ceremony Cube-powered car. If you want a turn, go line up.”

“A… car?” Soraya repeated slowly. “Powered by a steam engine?”

“The boiler’s been replaced by a relic of the Radiation Clan — that’s why it’s so small.” Mystery Moon straightened up. “It’s still bigger than an electric motor, though. I keep thinking about what it would look like powered by Dawn I. Then we’d have to call it a magnet-driven car!”

“You can barely manage a few dozen copper rods,” Lily said, her lip curling. “And now you want to power a car?”

“I just came of age,” Mystery Moon said, her confidence crumpling slightly. “Obviously I’m not that powerful yet. After I upgrade, I’ll be able to manufacture Dawn I by the ton.”

“I’d rather put my hope in Miss Doris.”

“Say that again and I’m confiscating all your Chaos Drinks.”

“I dare you —”

“Ha!” Phyllis burst out laughing. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s steam or electricity. We still call it a car.”

All the witches turned toward her.

“That’s what they call it in the Dream World,” Phyllis said, savoring their attention. “And those cars are something else entirely. They shelter you from wind and rain. They have heating, air conditioning — a mobile house, essentially, only much faster than any horse.”

“Have you actually driven one?” Mystery Moon asked, eyes wide.

“Of course.” Phyllis lifted her chin. “I once drove His Majesty’s vehicle on an endless highway, flat out at maximum speed. The whole frame shook. Wind screamed past the windows. I felt I could conquer the world.”

Roland pressed his fingers to his forehead. What Phyllis had actually driven was his battered old minivan — a vehicle with the noise insulation of a paper bag and a suspension that turned every highway into a rodeo. She had described it with the reverence of a sports car.

Still. Even that rattling minivan outperformed what currently circled the yard.

He had built the vehicle in four days. A steam engine up front, a heating unit at the rear, a power unit bolted to a basic automobile frame, a bench seat in the middle. No gearbox — just a valve beside the seat to govern speed, a steering wheel, a clutch, and a brake. Once the Magic Ceremony Cube raised the water to steam and the engine turned over, the vehicle moved. As pressure climbed in the conduits it accelerated; the driver cracked the valve to bleed off steam and keep the engine from overloading. To stop: apply brake and clutch. To hold stopped: open the valve, release the pressure, let the engine rest. The cogwheel could strip under sustained load if he didn’t.

Cumbersome power unit. Primitive frame. Crude steering. None of it mattered to Anna. She circled the yard the way a child circles a Christmas tree — without the slightest inclination to stop.

The other witches gathered at the edge of the yard, murmuring, alive with something Roland hadn’t heard from them since before the battle of Taquila. Real laughter.

He wished Tilly were here. Nightingale had told him she was spending all her time drilling the aerial knights; she rarely came to the castle anymore. For Tilly, he supposed, happiness had the shape of a defeated demon, not a car doing loops around a flower bed.

When Anna finally stepped out of the vehicle and asked who wanted a turn, the witches surged forward. Sylvie, who had been first on the scene, won the argument.

“How do you like it?” Roland asked Anna.

“More fun than I expected.” She smiled — a real smile, the kind that split her face open without warning. “Thank you, Roland. I’m glad you taught me to drive.”

He glanced at her and immediately looked away, heat rising without permission, as though the last few years had folded back on themselves and he was standing again at the beginning of everything. “I’m glad you like it,” he said, and meant it.

Anna blinked. “By the way — Celine found a way to stabilize the Magic Ceremony Cube. Does that mean we can use it in the Battle of Divine Will?”

He pulled himself together. “Technically, yes. We keep supplying water and the cube-powered steam engine keeps running. How much it’ll help with logistics still needs testing.”

“Could we mount a Longsong Cannon on an armored vehicle?” Phyllis cut in. “Something like that and the Spider Demons stop being a problem.”

She wasn’t wrong. A capable power unit made armor possible. Even the crudest tank could shrug off Mad Demon assaults and deflect the bone-needle volleys of Spidery Monstrous Beasts — offense and armor fused into one hull. But developing that weapon properly demanded more than better engineering. It demanded educated workers, coordinated production lines, and Anna’s hands on the frames. Anna could not build biplanes and armored vehicles simultaneously, and attempting to leap straight to a tank with current resources would produce something that broke down before it reached the front.

The first thing Roland’s mind settled on was not a tank.

It was a machine for civil use — one that would multiply farming efficiency and free up enormous amounts of human labor. The engineering principles overlapped significantly with armored vehicles, which meant workers who built it would arrive at the tank problem already half-trained. And when the time came to convert the plant to military production, they could pivot without losing months to relearning.

The machine was a tractor.

Chapter 1211 - A Farming Tractor

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what’s Lady Anna driving?” Roland turned around and saw Echo and Soraya rush toward him. “It’s a car, a Magic Cube-powered car!” Mysterious Moon supplied the answer fervently. “If you want to drive it, go line up.” “A… car?” Soraya echoed, “A car powered by a steam engine?” “Yup, but the boiler of the steam engine has been replaced by the relic of the radiation clan, so that’s why it’s so small,” Mystery Moon boasted. “It’s still a lot larger than an electric motor though. I wish it could be powered by Dawn I. That’ll be perfect… No, then we should call it a magnet-driven car!” ‘You can barely manage to work with dozens of copper rods,” Lily retorted while twitching her lips. “And now you want to power a car?” “Er…” Mystery Moon faltered. “I, I just came of age, so obviously I’m not that powerful. Perhaps I could manufacture tons of Dawn I after I upgrade.” “I would rather put my hope in Miss Doris,” Lily said scathingly. “Shut up, or I’ll take away all your Chaos Drinks!” “I dare you — ” “Haha…” Phyllis burst into a laughter. “Actually, no matter it’s powered by steam or electricity, we still call it a ‘car’.” “Really?” All the other witches said together while looking toward her. “Yes, in the Dream World, it’s called a car,” Phyllis replied triumphantly. “The cars in the Dream World are much better than this one Her Highness is now driving. They could not only shelter us from rain and wind, but they’re also equipped with an advanced heating and air-conditioning system. It’s pretty much like a mobile house, and it’s a lot faster than horses!” “Have you… driven a car before?” Mystery Moon asked, her eyes widening in curiosity. “Of course,” Phyllis bragged. “I once drove His Majesty’s vehicle on an endless highway. The vehicle literally trembled when I drove at the maximum speed. I could only hear wind howling around me, and I felt I could conquer the whole world!” Roland mopped his forehead, amazed that Phyllis could drive his battered mini van in the same manner as she drove a luxurious sports car. The truth was that his vehicle had poor noise insulation and it always wobbled violently on highways. Nevertheless, even the old mini van functioned better than this cube-powered vehicle. It had taken Roland only four days to complete the production. The vehicle was comprised of a steam engine at the front, a heating system at the rear, a power unit attached to the automobile frame, and a couch in the middle. Apart from a steering wheel, a clutch and a brake, the vehicle had no gearbox but only a valve next to the seat to adjust the speed. Once the Magic Ceremony Cube heated up the water and set the steam engine in motion, the vehicle would start to move. As the air pressure in the conduits increased, the vehicle accelerated. Then the driver could switch the valve on to release some steam so that the steam engine would not overload. In this way, the driver adjusted the speed of the vehicle. In other words, the driver simply needed to press on the brake and the clutch to slow down and release the brake to accelerate. Due to the high air pressure, the spinning cogwheel might sustain some extent of damage. Therefore, once the vehicle came to a complete stop, the driver must open the valve to release the steam and reduce the air pressure in the steam engine. Despite the cubersome power unit, the primitive automobile frame, and the crude steering device, Anna was over the moon. Like a little girl who had just received the best present in the world, she drove around the yard with the slightest intention of taking a rest. In addition to Anna, the other witches were also aroused by the vehicle. They exchanged excited murmurs. It was the first time they laughed so heartily after the battle of Taquila. Roland wished Tilly could share this happiness. Nightingale told him that Tilly invested most of her time in training aerial knights, so she rarely came to the castle lately. Perhaps, for Tilly, the happiest thing was to defeat the demons. When Anna finally alighted from the vehicle and asked who would like to try out, all the witches pressed forward to take the share. Sylvie, who was the first to arrive at the scene and spot the car, got the opportunity to drive. “How do you like it,” Roland asked Anna. “It’s more fun than I thought,” Anna replied with a smile. “Thank you, Roland. I’m so glad that you taught me how to drive.” Roland dazed for a second as he saw Anna’s face split into a dazzling smile. He quickly averted his eyes, a little embarrassed, as though he had suddenly traveled back to the time when they had first met. Roland said, “Well, I’m glad you like it.” Anna blinked and said, “By the way, Celine found a way to stabilize the Magic Ceremony Cube. Does it mean that we could use the Cube in the Battle of Divine Will?” “Technically, we could,” Roland replied on a cough and pulled himself together. “We just need to keep supplying water to make sure that the cube- powered steam engine works. Time will tell how much this new steam engine could help with the logistics.” “Can we use the steam engine to create an armored war machine with a Longsong Cannon anchored to the top?” Phyllis cut in. “If you could make such a weapon, then we don’t have to be afraid of the Spider Demons anymore.” It was true that a competent power unit would make an armored unit possible. With a powerful tank, they could instantly dominate the war. Even the crudest tank could easily repulse Mad Demons and block spears and bone needles ejected by Spidery Monstrous Beasts. It was a weapon as well as a defense. Nevertheless, extensive research was required to create such an advanced weapon. Not only did they have to improve technologies, but they have to also educate workers. Anna could not manufacture the biplanes and the armored weapons at the same time, it was also unrealistic to directly create a tank. In short, considering the limited technologies and resources, most of the work had to be completed by plant workers. The first project that came to Roland’s mind, however, was not a tank or an infantry fighting vehicle but a transportation tool for civil services. This transportation tool could considerably increase farming efficiency while saving a lot of manpower. As the principle and technologies applied to this transportation tool were quite similar to those related to armored vehicles, Roland could also, at the same time, provide soldiers with some training. Meanwhile, workers in the plant could also immediately start to produce armored weapons, if necessary. This transportation tool was — a tractor.