Chapter 129
Chapter 129: Returning Home
Letters cut off by the mountains’ ridges,
Winter turning into spring.
With trepidation I approach my homeland,
Fearing to ask locals passing by.
Heading straight north, the nearer I approached that familiar land, the more I experienced the “trepidation of approaching my homeland.” However, due to the worsening circumstances, it was impossible for me to back down even if I wanted to.
Since it was fated to be unavoidable, I might as well face it head-on.
Under my request, the Borealis stopped at every single town, and I would disembark from the ship to inspect the situation there.
Due to the frequent stops, the journey to East Mist Communal Country that should have only taken a week dragged on for two months.
This was my usual way of doing things, and I imparted this foundation of governance to Annie and Reyne as well. It was impossible to solve problems by sitting on a high throne and commanding one’s subordinates. To truly solve a problem, one had to first investigate what the crux of the problem was.
In this aspect, waiting at one’s quarters for a report and witnessing it firsthand were two completely different sensations. “Twenty people starving to death” and “personally seeing ten frozen bodies on the street, and the tragedy of humans snatching food from one another” were two completely different matters. The former would only result in the information being thrown to the back of one’s mind after flipping through it, while the latter could give any conscientious governor insomnia.
At this moment, the more I investigated the situation, the more appalling I realized the situation was, contrary to my estimations.
All of the worst predictions that I had held for the country came true. After losing its final mine, the bankrupt East Mist was unable to sustain its spending and had barely kept together for twenty years.
Furthermore, the war with the Beastmen a year ago had shaken the final foundation of East Mist. After grinding away the last bits of the resources of the country, to the point that it did not have sufficient money to purchase rations for winter, the East Mist Communal Country was on the verge of collapsing.
As usual, the crops this year were lacking, and the treasury was so poor that its doors did not have to be locked. It was nearly guaranteed that a famine would occur. It was an utter blessing that we had extorted a large sum from Auland Empire, so that not many frozen corpses would be found during this year’s winter.
Even so, seeing those citizens who didn’t demand much of the country suffering so bitterly made one feel terrible inside. When I met cases which I was unable to tolerate, even though I knew that my actions wouldn’t bear much effect on the country as a whole, just temporarily alleviating the situation of the individual, I still chose to lend a helping hand.
“Perhaps this may not be sufficient to change the fate of the whole country, but at the very least, it is able to change the fate of the person before me.”
Throughout the journey, we collected more than thirty orphans. If that Ailee wasn’t adopted by the warrior Cloone, I might have taken her away with me as well.
Of course, where there were good children like Ailee who left one heart’s aching, there were bound to be evil fief lords and immoral merchants who, as always, stockpiled like the ones that appeared in traditional folklore. No matter where, those who tried to profit from catastrophes could be found.
Whenever I met with such situations, I jotted it down in my book to remind me to get even with them in the future. If they really went too far—for example, there was a fief lord who threatened to exercise his droit du seigneur to extort from his people. which caused all of his people to cry in discontentment. I would not forget to fulfill my duties as an executioner. Of course, at such a moment, I had to thank Reyne for the proof as an envoy of the royal family.
TL: Droit du seigneur, also known as ius primae noctis, refers to a feudal lord’s rights to conduct sexual activities with any woman in his territory. ED: There are no known contemporary sources for this actually occurring in medieval Europe.
“Wonderful, the royal family has started to punish the evildoing nobles.”
A chaotic era called for extreme means. Since it would be the death penalty even if they were to granted an impartial hearing, for the sake of the oppressed citizens of his territory, it would be wiser to spare the cumbersome processes.
Even though I made sure to conduct my activities covertly, the rumors still spread like wildfire, causing a rise in prestige and authority of the royal family.
However, what was relieving was that perhaps those nobles who craved for a better life had escaped to other countries. Perhaps this country had the tradition of distributing land to those who had significant contributions to the military. Or perhaps, due being in the far north that the corrupt and extravagant means of the human nobles had failed to make its way here, a large portion of the fief lords didn’t spout nonsense like “Since we don’t have grains, why don’t we consume meat soup instead.” They did not try to free themselves of the smell of earth, and continued to fulfill their duty in protecting their people.
Yep, using the words of the “pure noble blood” inherited over a span of several thousand years by the “true nobles” of Auland, the supposed nobles of the Northern Lands were barbarians who used their muscles to think. They had yet to shake off the stink of manure off themselves.
However, if I had to say, compared to those supposed pure-blooded nobles who were obsessed with banquets, extravagance, and hallucinatory drugs, I still prefered these farmers and barbarians. At the very least, they had not forgotten their origins. At the very least, they were like the ancient fief lords, protecting their own people from famine and the savage beasts of the wilderness.
While the royal family was stuck in a desperate situation due to long years of wars, a large portion of the fief lords were still trying their best to prop up the country. I had seen many who worked hard to bring better lives to their people, and there were also quite a few who were willing to use all of their fortunes to bring relief to their people. Every time I met with such situations, I couldn’t help but feel that when the people and fief lords had yet to give up hope, this meant that the backbone of this country had still not broken. There was still hope for it.
This was the aspect that I found the most relieving my entire journey. There was a solution even for the hardest external problems, but if even the bones had started to decay, then there was really no saving the country.
I had promised little Ailee to change everything, but as for how I should go about doing it still remained a gigantic problem for me.
In this era where the citizens did not demand much, there were two basic prerequisites to ensure a country’s steady development. First, a steady supply of ration. Second, the security of the society. These two factors were closely associated with the basic problem of survival. As for jobs, commercial and education, all these were higher tier demands up the pyramid.
The Northern Lands had never been a fertile land for growing crops. However, it was rich with mines. Using minerals to trade for rations and daily necessities was the standard norm that had been continued for thousands of years. In this very land, the past Mist Country stood high and mighty in the North. However, the current East Mist Communal Country kept losing its territories and it was on the verge of collapsing. This cannot be blamed on the previous generations of emperors for being inadequate. In truth, there was only a single reason.
“When the country is strong, its people will be strong. When the country is weak, the people will be weak. When a country is weak, everything really is sorrowful.”
It was clear to see what the core of the problem was just by doing a slight comparison.
In the past, the Mist Country was a prominent country. Despite being small, it wasn’t weak. The country had a militaristic tradition. The numerous combination of tier-3 troops and the Aurora Knights who were at a minimum of tier-4 were renowned throughout the entire world. Of the seven elite knight divisions under the Royal Knight Order, any two of them were sufficient to sweep through the entire Northern Lands.
Back then, the powerful Mist Country had helped the human society ward off the Beastmen and Elves, while sealing away the Demon Abyss in the east. Furthermore, being rich with mines, not only did the neighboring countries not attempt to choke the Mist Country of its food supply, they even took the initiative to trade with it.
However, after the East Mist Communal Country rose from the fallen ashes of the destroyed remains of Mist Country, many of its powerful troops were lost, and the rich mines were occupied by other countries. Furthermore, the countless years of resentment that had accumulated throughout history brought it many different enemies. With its externals enemies and internal instability, it grew weaker and weaker throughout the course of numerous wars.
“Weak nations long for strength.” Perhaps a reason for the current weakness of the East Mist was due to the heroic Twin Star Knights being seen as its Guardian Gods. Although the Mist Country walked to its doom eventually, the historical story of how a single country caused the alliance army consisting of over a dozen country scramble to flee was still spreading to date, and those lost, powerful troops still remained as legends within the speech of the males of East Mist.
However, when comparing to its glorious past, the current tragic state its people were in made them even more depressed. Even if the militaristic tradition still remained, the current East Mist Communal Country had already been reduced to a third-rate country. Not only was it unable to dominate the Northern Lands with its military prowess, it was barely holding up against the waves of beasts in winter and the ambitious neighboring country.
“If only we had sufficient provisions and resources, Ailee’s mother would not have starved and frozen to death. With a stronger military, even if the Mist Country is still unable to conduct the Winter Hunt and prey on the winter beast packs, at the very least, it will be able to control the scale of the beast pack before winter arrives. Entire cities wouldn’t have to move in the face of oncoming winter, and little Ailee’s father wouldn’t have died in the journey.”
This was also why I said that I was only “temporarily alleviating the situation.” The foodstuffs that we extorted would be finished sooner or later, and without sufficient military power, even if we were to survive this year’s beast wave by some luck, we would still meet with problems next year.
If I wanted to reverse all this, what I had to do was clear. Since the lack of food and a weak military were our foremost problems, then settling the issue of rations and strengthening the army was what I had to deal with first. This was the path I had to take to settle the problem at its core.
I already had a plan for strengthening the army, but the greatest problem still lay with food.
“Provisions, is it … This is really hard to deal with.”
The barren, frozen ground may be rich in mines, but it really wasn’t arable land. It was possible to hire Mages to adjust the weather in the short-term, but the Mages would require certain materials for their spell, and doing it on a large scale would be unsustainable for anyone.
Since the solution eluded me, I should check the walkthrough. Naturally, the “history walkthrough” wouldn’t provide me with the answer for this question. The one I had to check was a different one.
【Roland’s Foreign World Survival Booklet】
The thick and worn-out booklet had a thick layer of dust coating it, and the pages of it had turned yellow. Just by changing its cover, it could probably be sent to a museum as a historical artifact.
This was the notebook I made when I first traveled to another world so that I wouldn’t forget the knowledge of the foreign world. Upon consideration that I might come to use it this time, I brought it along with me.
“Earning money by creating glass.” The front pages of the notebook were filled with ideas, but most of these ideas had a small note written below it. “The creation of glass is a success, but the idea is a failure from the start. Alchemists have already created an even more transparent glass in the midst of their experiments out of sheer coincidence. My efforts are in vain.”
“Inventing gunpowder … Goblins have already invented it. Printing press … The God of Knowledge has built his career on this.”
My failures were jotted below each of those ideas. The notes written on it were the traces of my failures after my hard work back then. If words reflect a person, then these squiggly words clearly revealed my immaturity and anger back then.
With the knowledge of a foreign world, I expected to build a big name for myself in another real world. Looks like I was filled with ambitions then, but was struck down repeatedly by the cruel reality.
However, this wasn’t the time to be reminiscing about the past. Recalling my primary objective, I flipped to the page on food, and I was shocked by it yet again.
“I got it! The solution to our food problem. Yeah, that is to plant highly resilient crops with high yield. Corn, sweet potato, potato, hybrid rice … Using the high-yield foreign crops to replace the ordinary low-yield crops? This sounds like a great idea.”
While nodding my head in agreement with the excellent ideas written on the book, I closed the book and threw it against the wall.
“That’s easy to say! Where can one find corn and similar high-yield crops in this world!”
Yes, that’s the main problem. If this world had such plants, famine wouldn’t be a problem in this world. Looks like I really wasn’t reliable back then.
“I know that the possibility isn’t high, but it is worth a try. System, are there any high yield crops that can be exchanged for points?”
【There are.】
A question that I asked without expectations turned out to be affirmative. Even so, I wasn’t moved yet. After all, I have been scammed too many times.
“What conditions do I have to fulfill for it? If it were that simple, I would have exchanged for it back then.”
【10,000,000 Fate Points per high-yield crop.】
Alright, the System was still as damned as I expected it to be. However, this time, I unexpectedly received an explanation.
【If high-yield crops were to appear in this world, under the propagation of Druids and Mages, it would change this world from its core. It might even shake up the society that is based on feudalism. You can’t possibly afford such a twist in karma.】
So that was the reason why I am unable to exchange for it. However, the System’s explanation reminded me of a possibility.
“Looks like I have to send a letter to Eaglestorm. It would be impossible for us to hire Mages, but as long as we acknowledge the teachings of the Druids, who are viewed as a threat in most countries, they shouldn’t demand much from us.”
Since we are intending to accept Undead in our country, Druids were naturally not a problem. Different from the expensive Mages, Druids didn’t require a catalyst to utilize their spells, not to mention that ripening crops was one of their areas of expertise.
“However, that isn’t sufficient. No matter how many Druids there are, it won’t be sufficient to satisfy the needs of the entire country. Looks like I still have to scavenge for other ideas.”
【I have already hinted you to such an extent, have you not realised it? The System might be unable to exchange high yield crop for you, but can’t you create it yourself?】
Create it myself? My first thought was that the System was trying to scam me. I was only capable of Undead Creation. It was possible for me create a being that would turn one into an Undead when consumed, but it was definitely impossible for me to create a safe high-yield crop.
【Have you forgotten from whom you learnt Life Creation from? You are still deeply etched in her mind.】
At that moment, I came to realization. My Undead Creation originated from the combination of the knowledge from multiple fields, and many of the theories within came from a certain great Mage of Life Creation. If my memory did not fail me, that great Mage’s specialization was the creation and summoning of plants. It might be impossible to create a high-yield crop that was capable of changing the entire world. However, to create and modify a crop suited for a little country in the Northern Lands shouldn’t be too much trouble for her.
Thus, I hesitated for a moment on how I should write the second letter. That great Mage was different from Eaglestorm. If possible, I wanted to never meet her again in my entire life.
However, after contemplating it, no better ideas came to mind. Thus, I could only start writing helplessly.
“Dear Senior Amelia, it has been long since we last met. Your junior has something to ask of you…”
***
Even the longest journey will come to an end one day. All kinds of primary scouting job had been completed and the familiar capital, Diffindor, comes into sight. However, I got lost in worry about personal gains and losses.
There was no reason to drag it on any longer. When we were about to enter the city, news that I received impelled me to order the ship to turn around.
Half an hour later, on the mountainous terrain twenty kilometers southwest of Diffindor, I found my objective. It was a quiet camp and a bonfire burned silently. The entire campground was filled with cloaked black figures who were sitting around solemnly.
“The Church of Law led by Xueti has already entered the city, established the Church and started propagating the faith. On the other hand, Sir Ferdinand and the other Undead Knights are camping outside the city.”
This simple news surprised me. After all, I understood Sir Ferdinand well. He was adamant about keeping promises and obeying orders. Since I asked him to lead the Undead Knights into the city to tutor the new generations of knights, it was impossible for him to discount my orders. He should have already entered the city by now.
However, the moment I disembarked from the ship and caught sight of the situation of the campground, the reason immediately came to me.
Initially, I thought that Ferdinand only brought twenty to thirty elite knights of the various troops to serve as instructors, so it should have been easy for them to sneak into the city. However, there were at least 300 people clothed in darkness at the camp!
Not even speaking of sneaking into the city, with 300 intelligent High-tier Undead, at least thirty of which are Undead Lords, a force that was capable of stirring up an Undead Calamity and destroying any city of the living, if the news of them were to leak, the consequences would turn out to be disastrous.
“What is with you all, didn’t I say that …”
Old Sir Ferdinand walked forward to bow to me. The old Skeleton General revealed an embarrassed expression. He was aware that he didn’t do a good job with this matter.
“Upon hearing that we were heading to Diffindor, everyone wanted to take a look. As a result, the number of volunteers kept increasing. In the end, if it wasn’t for Captain Bastian stepping out to suppress them and repeatedly adjust the number of personnel to send over, the number might have probably reached 5000 or 6000.”
Looking over, Fayde, Lucas, Timier, Slance, Lani, Kakana and all the ace knights were here. Under my gaze, they felt slightly embarrassed.
I sighed helplessly.
“To think that you all walked over from the Underground World like that, you all didn’t get noticed in the middle of the journey? However, it is good that you all came as well. It just so happens that I am in need of manpower.”
“We mainly chose tread in the barren mountainous regions and wilderness, resting the day and trudging forward at night. It was troublesome in some countries, and there were a few small-scale skirmishes, but no one was injured. However, as we are well-versed in the geographical terrain of Mist Country, no one should have noticed us yet.”
“Indeed. But for us to be able to creep to the vicinity of the capital without being noticed, the knights of this generation are far too lacking.”
Alright, after these fellows managed to sneak in easily, they even started to complain about the other party’s weak defenses.
“Have you all entered the city yet? What does it feel like?”
Even though the bulk of the group might have been unable to enter the city, given their prowess, it shouldn’t be difficult for a dozen of them or so to sneak in. But when I asked this question, the response I got was an awkward silence.
“You all … It can’t be that none of you have entered the city?”
Yet again, silence. However, this time, it was silent consent.
“When we were far away, we were so tempted to come over to take a look. Yet, when we are finally approaching our goal, somehow our courage to enter just withers.”
Fayde’s words received a wave of head nods.
Perhaps, this was another form of “trepidation to approach one’s homeland.” Even so, the Undead Knights did have other concerns.
“After all, we are already Undead, and we tread a different path from the living. Actually, I am already satisfied just by looking at it from afar.”
“The circumstances surrounding the Mist Country of this generation aren’t good. If they were to be associated with Undead as well, they might end up being even more isolated by the human society.”
“Your Highness, our stubbornness has burdened you. Actually, we are already contented with walking about our homeland. We have already discussed about it and have decided to leave twenty people behind as instructors while the rest of us tread back on the path we took here…”
“Enough!”
An inconceivable fury made me interrupt the lamentations of the knights.
“Are you all done? Satisfied with a single look? Tell me loudly that your journey of a thousand miles, shouldering the danger of traversing through the territories of countless countries was just to look at your home from afar! You all are just satisfied with this? You all are willing to return just like this? Do you all think of me as a fool?!”
“Of course …” Lucas swallowed his words after a glare from me. Apparently, he didn’t mean what he said.
The sight that unfolded before me was similar to the one with Camisia and Fanderk. The past few days, they also kept saying that “I had fun these several days, but there are still fundamental differences between the living and the dead. We will be content with just flying behind you all.”
The fact was that no intelligent being loved to be alone, not even speaking of being treated as a foreigner. Since they are happy with it, why should they allow the opinions of others to impede this happiness of theirs?
I knew that they were hesitant and fearful of facing the living. They were worried that they might bring about unintended consequences to my plan, that I would be viewed with enmity by the rest of the world. After all, the status quo was that Undead were evil. I could understand how this feeling of inferiority was born, but I did not intend to allow them to accept it!
“… Back then, you all died for the people of this land. The current you are all returning back to save them! You are all triumphant warriors returning back to your homeland, and not cowardly escapees! You don’t owe anything to anyone, it is the bastard world that owes you all.
“Stick out your chests! All of you are my prided knights! Put away those pointless concerns of yours. Today is the day of our victorious return. For all of you who have sacrificed your lives for this land, why should you all hesitate to return to the land which you have given your all to protect? What are you all fearing? Answer me! Such cowardice. Do you all think you were wrong back then? Do you all regret your actions?”
My confrontation caused the 300 pairs of soulfires to silently burn in the dark of night. Their minds weren’t calm.
“No, we never regretted it!”
“Even if time were to rewind, we would still be willing to sacrifice our all for our homeland. But the current us …”
Who could be willing to simply look at the homeland that they have dreamed about from afar? The consciences of these knights were clear, so why should they be condemned to such a cruel fate? They feared, but what they feared weren’t powerful enemies. Our knights never, had never, and would never fear a battlefield. I know that what they were fearing were the hostile eyes of those whom they had given their lives to protect, just because they were Undead.
“Great! Since you all don’t regret it, then there’s no reason to hesitate. Take off those meaningless cloaks and follow behind me standing straight as you can. Please continue to believe in me! I will bring you the honor and respect you all deserve!”
All of the Undead Knights stripped off their cloaks and black auras of death started to emanate from them. However, I smiled. These were the cute knights that I was proud of.
“Fayde, my flag bearer, are you ready?”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Raise the flags!! Tell everyone that 377 years later, we have returned victorious!”
The tall Skeleton General carried the war flag of the army and started to beat the war drums. The rise of the Mist war flag also meant a declaration to the world that the immortal army was gathering once again.
Just as before, the horn of war was blown on and the war flags of the military soared in the air. The knights wielded their weapons and marched forward in their formations.
Since it was a march of victory, how could there be only a single war flag? Under my gaze, the other knights also raised their own flags and among them, there were flags carrying their glorious family emblems, division flags that represented the honor of the division, and even personal flags bearing their war contributions.
To the knights, the war flags represented their honor. Even if they were to lose their weapons, they wouldn’t allow the flags they bore to fall.
The continuation of a family’s honor, the glorious military, and the personal contributions of an individual. There were quite a few who bore all three of these flags together. There were even knights who carried over ten flags. However, they were only stubbornly shouldering the war souls of their brothers along with them.
Slance had twelve flags, Fanderk fifteen, Barak twenty and Setta seventeen…
Some of the skeleton hands of the knights carrying the flags were trembling. This wasn’t due to their weakness, but rather the heavy weight of the war flags. A flag bearer who was last in his division was afraid that he might bring shame to the honor the Snow Lion War Flag represented.
Ed Ron. His family had served in the Snow Lion Heavy Infantry Division for generations. However, this infantry division was struck by forbidden magic during the battle in Diffindor, and the remaining one hundred survivors had fought to the bitter end in the ensuing battle.
There were also knights who lost the final war flag of their unit in battle. However, they used the fresh blood of the enemies to regain their honor, and the shabbiness of the war flag that he personally stitched together made it hard for people to look at. Even so, no one mocked him. On the other hand, they allowed him to walk at the forefront of the marching contingent.
His name was Timier. The Black Griffon Aerial Unit had been wiped out; not even their corpses remained. Only he, who was a Dragon Knight, answered my summons and returned from hell.
The war flags were an extension of history. What he inherited were the bones of the loyal soldiers buried beneath the lands, the will of the warriors who had given their all for the land.
Every single flag was unbearably tattered, and every single of them represented the countless sacrifice and passion of brave warriors, as well as the memories of blood and flames beneath these flags.
In the distance, the morning sun slowly rose, and the last breeze of the night blew past. The tattered war flags rose in the air and we, the remainders of the fallen army, returned victoriously.
“Band! Rydestein’s Heroic Victory, 3rd Movement—Celebration of the Triumphant Return!”
Accompanied by the echoing of the horns was music that represented the victorious return of warriors. The banshees started to use a gentle and cheerful rhythm to sing along with the music and in the midst of the harmonious orchestra, even the most awkward of knights started to hum along.
The march of triumph which brought a smile to everyone’s face sounded by everyone’s ears, as the celebration of victory in the past reappeared before everyone’s eyes. This was just like the innumerable times when we had returned triumphantly, preparing to be welcomed by the cheers of the citizens within the city.
“We … are home!”
Notes:
1. Weak nations long for strength 国弱思武穆
The literal meaning of this saying goes that a weak nation longs for the appearance Wu Mu (which refers to Yue Fei, a renowned general in the Han dynasty).
2. “Letters cut off by the mountains’ ridges, / Winter turning into spring. / With trepidation I approach my homeland, / Fearing to ask locals passing by.”
This is a poem from Song Zhi Wen when he was escaping from his exile back to his family.
3. Bones of the loyal subjects buried beneath the lands
This is slight alteration of a poem by Ma Yuan, a general in Han dynasty. The whole poem means that the entire lands are filled with the bodies of the loyal soldiers who had fought for their country, is there a need to trudge their bodies back in horse carriages just for burial? (that’s how they sent back the bodies back then) Back then, when Mao Ze Dong’s son died in battle, and his general asked if there is a need to bring his body back for burial, that’s how he answered.
Alright, so Roland is 391 year old.