Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 579 The Edge of Black City

At the World Tree's "station," the steam train's whistle, like an urging bugle call, echoed among the branches shrouded in the glow of life. One by one, the figures of their companions disappeared behind the dark carriage doors, leaving only Tang Zijun and Chang Lei.

Tang Zijun didn't get on the train immediately. He turned around, his gaze falling on Chang Lei. This usually unkempt, pot-bellied man now appeared somewhat frail standing beside the massive steel train. Tang Zijun's gaze swept over Chang Lei's slightly tired yet relieved eyes and brows, finally settling on the slight upturn of his lips.

After a few seconds of silence, Tang Zijun raised her hand and gently patted Chang Lei's shoulder.

The movement was subtle, without a word, but Chang Lei understood instantly. He knew Tang Zijun had realized that Yi Yi's decision to stay wasn't solely for handling matters related to the Demon Supervision Bureau and the Heretical Demons. He paused, a barely perceptible tenderness and satisfaction creeping into his voice. "...Luan Luan's leg is recovering well; she can walk on her own now. The little girl's been so cooped up. These next few days... I want to spend some quality time with her, take her to the park to soak up the sun, and watch her limp and chase after the pigeons. It'll be so much fun."

As he spoke, the image of his daughter, Luan Luan, her small figure still a little unsteady but full of joy, seemed to appear in his mind, smiling like a sunflower in the sunlight. This happiness was clearly written in his eyes. Tang Zijun looked at the tenderness and contentment of fatherhood in his eyes and also smiled. "If you have any difficulties, go to Shiyao. She's quite powerful now." After the brief farewell, Tang Zijun's eyes regained their usual focus.

He stopped looking at Chang Lei and turned to the side, his gaze fixed on the direction of the locomotive's driver's cab.

There, Katie was leaning halfway out of the cockpit window, her delicate features standing out in the steam. She was holding onto the car door with one hand and waving vigorously at Tang Zijun with the other, her face full of undisguised excitement.

Tang Zijun raised her hand and gave Katie a clear and forceful gesture.

Katie grinned, revealing her pearly white teeth, gave a "yes" sign, and immediately retreated back into the cockpit.

Her ability to enter the dream world relied on Tang Zijun as the key and coordinate. Tang Zijun had to arrive first to open the door to the dream world for her. Then, Tang Zijun closed his eyes, and an invisible, powerful field of will instantly spread out from him, stirring the surrounding aura of life and steam. He was not communicating with space itself, but calling upon a partner bound to his belt, existing on the other side of the dream dimension.

hum!

A deep, powerful engine roar seemed to pierce through from a distant point in time and space. In the void in front of Tang Zijun, the air twisted and boiled violently like a lake surface tossed with a boulder. Countless energy lines, shimmering with a ghostly blue light and resembling the patterns on a circuit board, appeared out of thin air, outlining a shimmering silhouette.

It is Langya.

The heavy motorcycle from the dream world is responding to its master's call.

"Chang Lei." Tang Zijun's voice came through the roar of the engine, reaching Chang Lei's ears clearly. "Give my regards to Luan Luan." Before she finished speaking...

With a violent spatial distortion and energy explosion, Tang Zijun transformed into a streak of light interwoven with ghostly blue and scarlet, instantly disappearing into the bizarre passage. On the platform, the massive steam train trembled slightly. At the front of the engine, an extremely unstable "door" composed of ghostly blue runes and distorted light was slowly taking shape—the passage Tang Zijun had opened after successfully anchoring on the other side.

Chang Lei looked in the direction Tang Zijun had disappeared, then at the solid World Tree branch beneath his feet, and then at the little girl waiting for him at home. A warm smile appeared on his face. *Whoosh!*

With a long, drawn-out whistle that seemed to tear the veil of reality, the massive steam train broke free from the shackles of the world's branches and plunged into the void. The carriages jolted violently, then settled into a strange, slightly weightless state of equilibrium.

Outside the window, the familiar green light of life was no longer there, but a vast, boundless, bizarre void.

The profound darkness was not nothingness, but rather flowed with indescribable colors—like a spilled palette spreading across the cosmic scale. Violet nebulae pulsated slowly like the breath of a giant beast; emerald energy streams surged like liquid jade in unseen rivers; in the distance, a gigantic jellyfish-like celestial body, constantly shifting shape and emitting a soft orange glow, drifted by leisurely; closer still, fine, shimmering, iridescent spatial dust, like a swarm of startled fireflies, fluttered against the train's windows, which were covered by a faint energy shield, exploding into tiny specks of light. "Wow—!!"

Inside the carriage, gasps and exclamations erupted in rapid succession.

Tang Cao and Su Siyao's faces flushed with excitement. Although they had accidentally stumbled upon the edge of the dream world before, they hadn't had a chance to appreciate this wondrous sight of traversing the void. "Yaoyao, look! It's much prettier than last time!" Tang Cao excitedly pulled Su Siyao's hand, her head darting between the car window and the small window in the aisle on the other side, afraid of missing any spectacle. Xiao Bai was also perched on the windowsill, its sapphire-like eyes reflecting the shimmering light.

Su Siyao nodded vigorously, her face beaming with pure joy. "Tangtang, look over there, don't those light bands look like flowing rainbow bridges?" As she looked, she didn't forget to take out her camera. "Void energy form observation record...color distribution...suspected signs of space biological activity..." She looked every bit the meticulous little scientific researcher.

Qin Nan, who was sitting by the window, seemed somewhat absent-minded.

The fantastical scenery outside the window was dazzling, but her gaze kept drifting uncontrollably, like a thief, quickly sweeping across the carriage, glancing at Tan Zhixin sitting diagonally opposite her in the soft seat. Tan Zhixin seemed uninterested in the ethereal spectacle outside the window; she leaned lazily against the wide, comfortable back of her seat, holding a cup of… steaming floral tea that appeared out of nowhere. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the flowing purple nebula outside the window, but her eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if piercing through the void and landing on a figure that had already moved on. A faint smile, tinged with sweetness and anticipation, played on her red lips. Sunlight (perhaps a refraction of some special light source outside the window) streamed through the window, casting soft shadows on her delicate profile, making her look like a classical oil painting.

Every time Yu glanced at this scene, Qin Nan felt a pang of sadness, as if an invisible hand had gently tugged at her heart.

Since confirming Tan Zhixin's existence as a rival in love, she found herself truly unsure how to naturally face her.

greet?

I'm afraid of feeling awkward.

Not saying anything?

It seemed deliberate.

Asking for magic?

It feels like walking into a trap.

Various thoughts were clashing in her mind.

Sister Tan probably didn't notice, right?

Qin Nan tried to reassure herself, quickly averting her gaze and pretending to be deeply interested in a pink nebula outside the window that looked like a cotton candy, though her face involuntarily flushed. Little Grey, perched on her shoulder, tilted its head, watching her with helpless eyes. He couldn't help her much, after all, he was just a parrot who knew nothing of love. Fortunately, Tan Zhixin seemed truly lost in her own thoughts; her languid and focused profile remained unmoved by Qin Nan's few mouse-like stares. She only occasionally picked up her bone china teacup and took a small sip.

At the other end of the carriage, Xiao Man and Katie were talking in hushed tones. Xiao Xiao also looked quite excited. She had gone to the wasteland last time, and now she had another chance to go to the dream world. Other magical girls didn't have such good luck. The train's boilers emitted a steady and powerful rumble in the void, and the steam pistons rhythmically pushed the huge metal wheels.

Amidst the diverse thoughts of everyone in the carriage, it wasn't long before a passage connecting to the "material world" appeared in their field of vision. The massive steel body of the steam train rolled over the last ripples at the boundary between the void and reality, accompanied by a long, drawn-out whistle that seemed to shatter stardust, before crashing into a completely different world. There was no gentle green light of life, no flowing, wondrous colors of the void.

Instead, a dark red sky, seemingly forever shrouded in gloom, appeared.

The air was filled with a strange, eerie atmosphere, a mixture of rust, gunpowder smoke, decaying vegetation, and some indescribable chill. The earth was a dark brown, and in the distance stretched a forest with twisted, gnarled branches reaching for the sky like painful arms.

The train's heavy metal wheels rumbled over the gravel and hardened dirt, startling several strange, black birds with three blood-red eyes that had been perched on nearby dead trees. The brief silence in the carriage was replaced by even louder screams.

The girls crowded around the car windows, their curiosity tinged with a hint of instinctive fear as they surveyed this unfamiliar land, which seemed to exude an ominous aura. Before they even arrived, a figure was already standing not far away.

It was an ancient stone city wall clinging to a steep cliff, clearly having undergone urgent repairs. The wall wasn't particularly imposing, but the massive stone walls were covered with newly added reinforcement marks that shimmered with faint runic light. Tang Zijun stood at the highest point of the city wall.

The biting wind whipped at the stray hairs on his forehead, making his hair, which wasn't styled with hairspray, a mess.

At this moment, Tang Zijun had her head slightly lowered and was talking quietly with someone beside her.

Standing beside him was Grilando, who wore a well-worn but meticulously maintained dark brown leather armor, covered by a similarly stained, thick cloak. Her short, fiery orange-red hair was disheveled by the cold wind, with a few strands clinging to her forehead.

At that moment, she was forcefully poking at a rough animal hide map spread out on the battlements with her finger, her voice hoarse and hurried.

"...My lord, something strange happened in that swamp to the east last night. Scouts reported seeing purple mist gathering, and the rotting swamp zombies inside were extremely restless. It's probably affected by what we're doing here. I suggest sending a team over before dawn to set a fire and burn those disgusting vines."

Tang Zijun nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the location Grelando pointed to on the map, her voice low. "Okay, you're more familiar with this area, so you can handle it. But make sure they're careful and don't venture too far in; the wilderness is still very dangerous."

"Arrange for as many people as possible to cooperate with me. I plan to break up the wall leading to the mine and build some structures to protect Black City. At the same time, the road to the river front also needs to be opened up. All of this requires manpower." "Understood." Gloria pounded her chest armor hard, making a dull thud, a determined glint in her eyes. "I know what to do." Just then, the massive silhouette and deafening roar of the steam train rang out from afar, attracting their attention.

"Here you are." Tang Zijun raised her eyes slightly, a smile appearing on her face.

Beside her, Grelando's tense face relaxed a little, and she followed Tang Zijun's gaze in the direction from which the sound came.