The Defeated Saintess Is On A Journey To Tame The Evil God Book 01 Chapter 06.13 - Whale Song

When the carriage landed, Xing Mo opened the door, opened her umbrella, and stepped onto the wet cobblestone road.

The Docklands in the pouring rain felt like a steam oven, with rain battering the streets, raising thin mist that mixed with the steam drifting from the factories, creating a scent somewhere between vapor and charcoal.

Xing Mo instinctively covered her nose, while Lucius opened his umbrella, an unfazed expression on his face.

In the middle of the torrential rain, Lucius shouted half-jokingly: "In this downpour, Sir Derek Larson shouldn't turn us away, right?"

Xing Mo looked up at the factory before them: gray stone bricks interwove with slightly rusty pipes, resembling diseased lungs.

From time to time, an animal cry would come from within the factory, accompanied by a flash of lightning in the sky.

"Is that a narwhal cry?" Xing Mo frowned.

"It seems our animal friend isn't feeling well." Lucius adjusted his hat with a hand, "Let's go."

When they walked up to the factory's iron gate, Lucius approached the guard booth and tapped the glass: "Mister, we are friends of Sir Derek Larson, here to visit. Would you mind notifying him?"

The elderly guard glanced at Lucius and waved him away.

Upon seeing this, Lucius gave Xing Mo a helpless smile: "It seems the good Sir doesn't wish to see us."

Then, he took a couple of steps back, drew his wand, and swiftly brandished it in the gate's direction—

Boom—

Golden starlight burst out and shattered the iron gate into pieces in an instant, sending black bars flying in different directions.

The elderly guard in the booth was startled, then grabbed a rifle from the booth and stormed out, cursing at Lucius: "This is Sir Derek Larson’s private property! You're trespassing!"

"Ha-ha, apologies. A true gentleman needs morning exercise. Although, mine may be a bit rough." Lucius raised his hands, a conciliatory smile on his face.

A dozen-plus guards—some holding rifles, others holding the leashes of vicious dogs— emerged from the factory's main entrance, crossed the smashed gate, and surrounded Lucius.

At this moment, Xing Mo was already perched on the factory's roof's eves.

In the instant Lucius blasted the gate open, under the cover of the dazzling golden light, Xing Mo slipped through the gate, then was lifted by a gust of hot wind onto the roof's eaves.

This was quite the coordination!

…

She took a look at the instructor. After confirming that he was alright, Xing Mo pulled her hood tighter and began running along the roof's eaves.

She soon found a window, then leaned over and peered inside. It looked like a boiler room.

After making sure there was no one around, Xing Mo opened the window, slipped in, and then quietly closed it behind her.

The boiler room was stiflingly hot, with bronze machines filling the space, pale blue steam occasionally bursting out from pipes.

After ascertaining that she wasn't discovered, Xing Mo found a spot in the corner of the boiler room and sat down.

She pressed the Tree of Life brand on the back of her hand and closed her eyes, waiting quietly.

A few minutes later, the shadow beneath her feet suddenly deepened, then a speck of dark light tore the shadow apart, revealing a petite figure in a dark green robe.

It was Aria.

"Lady Saintess, do you have any instructions?" Aria asked softly.

"Where is Sir Derek Larson's office?" Xing Mo uttered in a low voice.

"Give me ten minutes. I'll have the little birds help me scout." Aria whispered.

"Okay." Xing Mo nodded.

Aria didn't vanish right away. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then went on to say, "Lady Saintess, I have a request. Please save my companions in the factory."

Save? This word sounds quite heavy... Xing Mo mused, then asked: "What do you mean by save? Are they imprisoned?"

"To be precise, they are being controlled." Aria's voice suddenly sounded resentful, "Sir Derek Larson has taken control of them, turning them into slaves."

Xing Mo's pupils contracted slightly when she heard this: "Go on."

"It’s hard to explain. If you see it for yourself, you'll understand right away." Aria said in a low voice.

Looks like waiting here isn't an option... Xing Mo mused, then got up and patted her robe: "Alright, I'll go take a look. You go scout."

"I shall obey." Aria bowed to Xing Mo, "May the Tree of Life's Goddess watch over us." With that, she cut through the shadow with her dagger and sank into it.

Looking at the spot where Aria disappeared, Xing Mo pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and pushed open the door of the boiler room.

Steam mixed with the stench of rotten eggs wafted over. Xing Mo waved her hand in front of her to clear it away, all the while holding her breath.

When the steam before her dissipated, she found herself standing on a high walkway within the factory, separated from the vast factory floor by just an iron railing.

In the dense steam at the center of the factory, Xing Mo saw a gigantic eye—

—a narwhal eye.

This was a colossal creature, over thirty meters in length, similar to an ordinary whale but covered in pale scales, resembling the armor of ancient knights.

However, that armor was bound with iron rings, with dozens of copper nails pierced through scales and embedded into flesh, the exposed parts stained with blood.

At the front of the whale's head, its pale-white horn was enveloped by pipes and machinery, blue electric arcs constantly crackling into being around it, branching out like tree branches in the air.

Storm Narwhal, mythical creature, master of storms, and the source of String Affinity Whale Oil.

In ancient times, they ruled the seas, and were worshiped by many small settlements as Gods in charge of storms.

But ever since the Steam Revolution, they had been captured en masse, imprisoned in factories, and turned into machines for extracting whale oil.

As one of the principal materials for steam alchemy machines, controlling whale oil equated to controlling the lifeblood of the Steam Revolution, and thus equated to controlling gold.

…

Xing Mo stared blankly at the transparent pipes piercing the narwhal's body, looking at pale-blue whale oil flow through them and into towering copper cylinders a dozen-plus meters in height.

Her gaze shifted downward. In the shadows of the enormous whale, numerous tiny figures moved about, either transporting whale oil tanks or working on assembly lines.

This scene eerily resembled ancient murals in caves: humans surrounding a God on an altar, extracting its flesh and consuming its energy.

"Whoo~~~~~"

Along with a long cry from the narwhal, Xing Mo felt the strings in the air being stimulated, and for a moment, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the sky.

She took a deep breath and activated her spiritual vision, and then observed the workers surrounding the narwhal.

She quickly noticed something unusual—

—the workers all bore the black curse!

However, the curse wasn't spread around their bodies, but instead was concentrated on their napes, which were covered by clothing.

Xing Mo focused her senses and scanned the crowd.

Finally, when a worker collapsed from exhaustion, Xing Mo caught a glimpse of the device on their nape—

—a bronze clock-like device, with glass on its surface and gears turning underneath.

When the worker fell, the clock's hands began to count down.

......