Chapter 597: Order and Conceit

In the bustling hustle, Afandila was like a child who had just obtained a new toy. With an excited smile on his face, he kept trying to cast various sorcery techniques as he walked on the white clouds and left the temple surrounded by the Wizard Li warriors.

“Your Majesty, congratulations. You finally harvested your first most valuable ‘seed,’” Charlot looked at the receding figure of the old man who seemed to have regained a new life and looked at Zhang Lisheng with a mixed expression before speaking in a low voice, “With him, your faith in the mainland can finally take root now.”

“This is indeed a happy event, Charlot,” Zhang Lisheng smiled. “But there already are high priests among the mainland slaves on Wizard Li Island…”

“That’s different, Your Majesty,” Charlot interrupted the young man’s words, something that he rarely did, “No matter how strong spellcasting power your former mainland followers possess and how high their social status is, they can’t make any big impact on the people in Sea Haines City at all. However, a miraculous story like how a lowly poor citizen who had been living in Sea Haines City for several decades has suddenly miraculously obtained the power of casting spells and become a distinguished high priest because of his devout faith, then it would be completely different. This is a complete reversal!”

“I hope so, Charlot,” When Zhang Lisheng heard these words, a happy smile spread across his face. He looked up to the sky through the large square door of the temple, and whispered softly, or more like a mutter to himself.

The hardest thing in this world was to make the first breakthrough. The following events had indeed verified Charlot’s speculation.

The news of a mad old man living in poverty had miraculously obtained the power of spellcasting and had risen to become the god’s high priest that even the barbarian chief warriors respected because of his piety towards the Wizard Li’s god spread out one by one through words of mouth. Under the deliberate manipulation of Zhang Lisheng, the second, third, and more mainland high priests, began to appear in a short time in Sea Haines City and the nearby city-states.

Along with the emergence of high priests, the cities began to expand, more and more mainlanders were convinced that the barbarian god was a true god who could grant mighty power to his believers. The hundreds of millions of people who initially had no choice but to go to the temple every morning to pray under the threat of swords and sabers of Wizard Li’s warriors slowly began to become conscious of doing so. There was no more prolonged hatred on their faces but was replaced with more awe and submission.

When the seeds of faith were planted in the heart, they soon flowered and sprouted. Gradually, the pet phrase of “Oh my god!” people would say when they were in shock, or to swear and curse, had changed to become “In the name of Wizard Li!” In just a short span of several dozens of days, the foundation of Zhang Lisheng’s ruling on one-fifth of the mainland had really started to show signs of being rooted.

At the beginning when the new order was formed, Zhang Lisheng seized the opportunity to successively make several necessary orders to delineate the administrative areas of the enemy, erase the previous concept of the state, and succinctly divided the territory with a system of two city ranks of ‘big’ and ‘small.’ He also shared the land equally to the farmers, lifted forced labor and curfew, and determined the tax ratio.

Not only that, but he also forced all children between the ages of six to fifteen years old to enter school to learn how to write. The schools needed to be integrated with the temple as well.

He even constructed spacious roads in the new ruling land of the mainland, established civilian air routes connecting the Wizard Li Archipelago to various destinations, uniting all of his territories together. At once, he caused a series of changes in the entire Green Leaf Mainland…

In Rhilo Garden, a group of waterfowls flapped their wings and charged into the water surface of a rippling blue-green lake before flying back to the blue sky drenched in water after capturing several small fishes.

In a meeting room of a unique-shaped mansion several hundred meters long that had a dome as its top, a sturdy middle-aged man with raised eyebrows, square nose, big mouth, and a face that was as majestic as a male lion stood in agitation in front of a floor-to-ceiling window inlaid with transparent crystal watching the flying birds in the distance. Sardonically, he snarled, “Even the cormorant eagles also know how to seize the opportunity when the lake fish has just surfaced to attack before they manage to get to swim happily. We’ve already spent a whole month in vain and watch the Hellfire barbarians slowly set up their ruling after capturing various states like Kattaman and Vanasu! Don’t tell me that the kings and prime ministers in the Green Leaf Mainland don’t even have the wisdom and courage of a few birds?”

In the meeting room, many of the most influential people could only smile in embarrassment or just cast a sidelong look at somewhere else expressionlessly, in the face of the strong position of the king without a crown of the entire civilized world. Only an elder sitting on a sofa in a dark corner whose whole body was hidden in the shadows said with hatred, “Dear respectful Highness Hoffe, I do not lack in wisdom and courage, but your two imperial guards had just defeated Fran’s 25 regiments, the Unihorn and Black Dragon Claws were on the battlefield, so we no longer have the strength to carry out a large-scale part. Well, unless Yassen exempts the war reparations and allows me to use my treasury to recruit new troops…”

“Dear King of Fran, who once bragged about being as great as the sun illuminating the Gaia World, do you only know how to hide in a dark corner and tear up your promises?” That strong middle-aged man abruptly turned and looked sharply at the corner of the house and sneered coldly. “How pathetic!”

“Hoffe Lehman don Eiro!” The old man stood up from the corner in rage and gritted his teeth. He looked back at the middle-aged man for a few seconds while panting heavily and then looked around the room.

Upon seeing the gaze in the eyes of this elder who had mastered the most extensive country in the Green Leaf Mainland for a whole fifty years that seemed to be flowing with cold flames, his alliances who used to follow behind him opened their mouths, but nobody dared to make any sound.

Amid the silence, the frowns on the old man’s face seemed to have deepened significantly. In the end, he broke the silence and hissed between his teeth, “A defeated person is not worthy of sympathy and respect. It seems that I can only swallow the humiliation that you gave me, Dignity King. However, as long as I’m still the King of Fran, I’ll never send a soldier to fight under your command!”

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After saying so, he sauntered out of the room.

In the dimly lit corridor, when the Fran court guards who were wearing bright red armors saw the old king walked out with a grave expression, they silently guarded around him.

“Siro, send an order to Count Anodun, say that I’d rather trade with the devil in hell than to charge the enemy line with a crude wild boar.” The old man staggered as he passed through the long corridor to a massive, old carved wooden door. A series of expressions ran across his face as he hesitated for a long time before ordering with determination in a hoarse voice.

Although the resolute-looking guard did not understand the profound meaning in this order, he immediately replied without any hesitation when he heard the Sun King’s request, “Yes, My King!” before striding away.

Looking at his hurried receding figure, the old king suddenly felt deep remorse in his heart. He hesitated several times, wanting to withdraw his order, but the conceit and arrogance unimaginable to ordinary people that was formed from holding an absolute authority for too long made him ultimately remain silent.

“If it’s not for that damn Tandali who managed to research the ‘artillery infantry squad,’ how could I possibly lose to that Hoffe pig?! Anyway, it’s only a new-born god who won by carrying out a sneak attack. If the Holy Emperor Kailin of Rhoma can do it, I can do it too…”

Watching the chief guard disappearing into the darkness, a fiery passion overcame the Sun King’s heart as he muttered to push open the wooden door and went in the corridor as well. Right at this moment, on the other side of the mainland, Zhang Lisheng was sunbathing in the small garden of the Golden Flower Terrier Manor and drinking tea while listening to the front line news that several Wizard Li chief wearing golden headbands warriors brought.

“After seeing the power of the mainland high priests of the fellow countrymen, the prisoners of war become more honest and work harder day by day. The wooden frame used to hang the fugitives are getting more and more vacated as well,” An ugly ferocious-looking Wizard Li legion commander whose stout neck was exposed with blue veins kneeled on the ground and said, “It’s all inspired by your divine power that…”

“Alright, Aruki, you don’t have to compliment me. As long as you can remember my instructions that all mainlanders who have converted to my faith are your compatriots and Wizard Li tribesmen, too, so you can’t discriminate against them. It’s already the most sincere compliment to my morals and virtue,” Zhang Lisheng breathed in the pleasant fragrance of the flowers and interrupted the native’s words.

“Yes, Great God!” Aruki answered respectfully. “Anyone who presents you with piety will be my close relatives.”

Of course, the young man would not take the exaggerated promise made by a native who was not his fanatical believer seriously. Chuckling aloud, he said, “I hope so,” and no longer added anything. He shifted his attention to another native who was kneeling and asked, “Yachoza, how’s the preparation for the next battle?”

“The hundred of worm dragon created by Chief High Priest Aruba has already hollowed out the entire Gaoden Hill, and the ‘underground car’ is continuously transporting the warriors into the city in secret…” The native legion commander replied respectfully and suddenly shut his mouth with alert.

A few seconds later, a man, who had two mustaches, a slender body, and a fine-looking face with dark circles under his eyes, dressed in black formal attire, walked through the flower beds and came up to the young man. After bowing deeply, he said in a hoarse voice, “Your Great Majesty, Miss Yaj is here to see you.”

“Sakni, I’ve told you that no one can disturb me except for Charlot when I’m in the middle of a meeting, have you forgotten?”

“Your Majesty, Miss Yaj, looks very anxious, so I-I…”

“Forget it, Yaj is your former master after all so I can understand your selective forgetfulness on my words for her sake,” Upon seeing the butler’s stuttering manner, the young man stood up and burst into a chuckle before transforming his expression into something solemn, “But remember, there’s no next time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Sakni replied in great gratitude and hurriedly brought Zhang Lisheng into the living room of the manor.

Now that Zhang Lisheng finally saw the female merchant after so many days, he could not recognize her at first glance. Yaj’s entire appearance appeared like a weak, female laborer; her oily hair only a thumb length at most, her skin that had turned dark because of the sun, and her gunny garment that was patched with linen was utterly different from how she used to look.

“Yaj, it looks like life has smoothed your edges and corners. Is it because you plan to be converted to my faith now that you’re so eager to see me?” After a moment of shock, the young man asked with a smile.

“Sir Li… I mean, Your Majesty, the glory of my lineage and ancestry force me to have no choice but to refuse your good intention for the time being, but I’ve brought you unbeatable good news this time.”