Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In City Alliance of Sheehan, the City of Tephis was close to the coastline. There were many ships anchored in the harbor, including merchant ships and warships.
Although there were still many sailing boats at the wharf, they were being gradually replaced by the new steam boats that were powered by screw propellers. Currently, the ships that were arriving at the harbor gave out the sounds of sirens, which painted the image of the steam era. As for the black smoke that was coming out of the ships’ chimneys, it was a scene that many kingdoms on the Alen Continent desired but could never attain.
The most attractive part of the harbor was an enormous iron warship that was anchored there. That iron warship was more than two hundred feet long, so only steam machines with magic reinforcements were able to sail it out to the ocean.
There were a lot of rivets and signs of assembly on the shining outer case of the ship. There were also a lot of flexible alchemy barbettes, whose muzzles could swirl.
Today was the day that the first iron alchemy warship in the City Alliance of Sheehan would be launched. A ig ceremony was being held, and many people were there, carrying the flag of City Alliance of Sheehan at the wharf and playing military music.
The soldiers were wearing the uniforms of the City Alliance of Sheehan and were standing at the wharf, carrying their rifles and standing in a military formation. The prime minister, the master of Tephis, and various navy officials were all giving speeches in front of the soldiers.
There were well-dressed royal gentlemen, ladies, and teenagers of the new era there as well, all of whom were dressed very fashionably. They were all waving their flags and cheering, while standing in their carriages.
There were carpets and flowers on the ground, and numerous journalists and commoners had come here to watch the show as well. With the performance of the military music and the waving of countless flags, it was quite a scene!
Everything seemed to prosper here, and everyone seemed busy and enthusiastic. The changes that had been brought about by the steam era and high-tech machines had paved the way for the City Alliance of Sheehan to become a powerful country on this continent, both on the land and on the ocean!
The prime minister of the City Alliance of Sheehan said during his speech, “We can see the future of the world here!”
After the ceremony was over, many navy soldiers boarded the first iron alchemy ship Legendary Adventurer. The name of this ship was the same as the first ship that Marina Bosa had used to travel the world.
Naming the ship this same name was a salute to Marina Bosa, who started this era and finished that legendary journey. With the sound of a siren, the Legendary Adventurer officially started its first sailing mission!
As for the commoners at the shore, they were yelling and shouting with joy and exhilaration. They were all standing at the wharf and waving their flags. The entire wharf was packed with people, while the military music was playing loudly.
“Praise the great Goddess of Steam and Machine!” the people all yelled in unison.
“Long live the great City Alliance of Sheehan!” they all said. “Long live steam and cannons!”
At this moment, a carriage stopped at the harbor, and a beautiful lady wearing a pair of glasses and an alchemy sorcerer cape could be seen through the window. She was watching Legendary Adventurer sail away.
As she opened the curtain in the carriage, if someone looked carefully, he could see that her hands and skin that she had just exposed were glowing! The power of god had penetrated her cells, and the light couldn’t help but glow out from her body. The light covered her entire body, and even those she was able to suppress that terrific power, it was still affecting the environment around her.
She was the legendary alchemy sorcerer, Marina Bosa! As she watched Legendary Adventurer sail away, she recalled when she was twenty-years-old. At that time, she had just started to travel around the world because she wanted to help Gina get home.
Back then, she was so passionate and exhilarated, and she could still remember how she felt as she was saying goodbye to those cheering on the ship and at the wharf. Her teacher Akkad was standing at the wharf at that time, looking at her with joy.
She could still remember how her teacher had praised her, saying, “Many people speak bravely, but only few of them act bravely!”
Now, most of her disciples had died since then, and the youngest of these disciples had already betrayed her and had gone away. As for Gina, who later became the queen of the mermaids, she had also drifted away from her.
Gina had already become a god twenty years ago, and she was revered by her god kingdom. Now, she had also attained the position of gods. Hence, the two of them had simply lost touch.
The City Alliance of Sheehan announced that its official belief was the Goddess of Steam and Machine, and as such, there were sacred sculptures and churches of the Goddess of Steam and Machine everywhere. As for the alchemy sorcerers, they all automatically became the disciples and priests of the Goddess of Steam and Machine.
The belief system of the Goddess of Steam and Machine then became a part of all of the families in the City Alliance of Sheehan, which only grew with the popularity of steam, iron, and alchemy objects. A large amount of belief power also gathered on Marina Bosa, which pushed her up to the threshold of the gods.
More than a decade ago, she had summoned the divine personality in the Church of the Goddess of Steam and Machine in Tephis. As such, she just needed to attain level seven in order to summon the star god kingdom and enter her kingdom of gods.
“Time did fly!” Marina Bosa couldn’t help exclaiming.
She then added, “Okay, let’s go back!”
Upon hearing her order, the black-caped figure riding in the carriage didn’t say anything, but immediately rode the horse carriage back. It could be seen from looking at his lower body below the cape that it was a machine alchemy puppet. Specifically, it was Archimonde!
Marina Bosa was about to become a god, so this was probably the last time she would go out before becoming a god. She wasn’t sure what her world would be like after it became an official world, but one thing that she was certain of was that gods wouldn’t just descend to the mortal world easily.
After all, a being like that showing up in the main world would have a huge impact on the lives and stability of the world! As Marina thought of this and looked around at the scenes in Tephis, everything here triggered her deep memories.
When she was young, the City Alliance of Sheehan was poor and quite backwards. Her hometown was a small fishing town beside Tephis.
Many people wore clothes that couldn’t even properly cover their bodies, and they had to endure the exploitation of the royal families. They struggled to survive with the paltry sustenance that their infertile soil provided, while living as if they were in an ancient era.
However, there were now ships all over the ocean, stretching to the horizon. The original alchemy warship Legendary Adventurer was long gone, and the era of iron and steam was about to come. There was even a railway train that was powered by steam on the streets, carrying groups of people.
The engines of the trains were always carrying two to three carriages as they traveled through the city. They had even replaced the original horse buggies!
“Boarding soon! Boarding soon!” they conductors would call out.
“The train is about to go!” the people said!
“Let’s buy the tickets first!” everyone exclaimed as they ran to catch the trains!
The streets were busy, and although there was still a sizable income inequality among the people and numerous slums still existed, this era was much better than the one before it had been. Railways now covered all of the major cities, and the sirens on the steamed vehicles were always sounding, echoing throughout cities of all sizes within the City Alliance of Sheehan’s workshops, alchemy workshops, and everywhere else.
Industrial workers soon became the largest group in the City Alliance of Sheehan, as their number had far exceeded that of farmers. There were also goods and markets of all sorts in the city.
There were also more people in the city, and the buildings were getting taller and taller. New things and new ideas kept flooding this place, changing everyone’s lifestyles and perceptions of the world. This all came about because of the alchemy sorcerers.
Akkad Alchemy College and the knowledge that it had brought had only been influencing the City Alliance of Sheehan for about two hundred years, yet it had completely reshaped the city already. Marina Bosa, as the successor of Akkad, was the culmination of the era of steam and alchemy, its pride and joy.
At this moment, both the alchemy sorcerers and the City Alliance of Sheehan needed a Goddess of Steam and Machine. They needed a god that would bless them in the era of the god kingdom, and they also needed a god that would protect them. In short, Marina was the exact Goddess of Steam and Machine they needed!
As Marina Bosa looked at the new era that she and her teacher had brought about, she smiled. “It was all worth it!” she exclaimed.
She then added, “As long as I can become a god, then the alchemy sorcerers will have a god of their own. I will protect this era that belongs to steam and alchemy.”
Several years later, during a sacrificial ceremony for the Goddess of Steam and Machine in Tephis, along with the sound of cannons and guns that were used for salutation, the giant star god kingdom showed up in the sky of Tephis and an immense light was cast upon the Church of Goddess of Steam and Machine.
At the same time, an enormous shadow of gods showed up in Tephis. While enjoying the admiration and cheers from all of her believers, Marina Bosa ascended to the kingdom that belonged to her.
