High Above

What will be the future of Nanling and the future of the White People?

In Nauman City Square, Brin, the white citizen, stood in the audience, looking at the prophet on the stage, the young man he had known since childhood and even made a calculation.

——No wonder he was able to directly discover me in hiding back then. He turned out to be a prophet.

A former herb gatherer and now a caravan leader, Brin was not only thinking about this rather strange thought in his mind, but he was also thinking about a very important thing.

What kind of changes can a prophet bring to Nanling?

Change.

Something that sounds simple but is actually extremely difficult.

Even a prophet cannot fundamentally change something.

He might be able to help the herb collectors find better medicines, allow the caravans to make more money, make the White People more famous, and make it easier to find cooperation.

But this is not actually a change, but a simple improvement.

These are all symptoms but not the root cause... He can only change the future of a few people, but cannot change the future of the entire White People - the White People of Harrison Port are still just a small family, and only Ian Silverfeng's relatives and his direct descendants can He is a true 'Silver Peak Noble'.

Being a mere prophet can only change the status of those around him, but cannot change the social class of Nanling.

Because of his relationship with Ian and his own hard work, Brin has made a small class jump in recent years.

He went from being a lone herb gatherer to leading a caravan.

He successfully got the happiness that ordinary people dream of from the Baizhi Civil Chamber of Commerce - a high salary, a new house, a family, and a child.

He is no longer a single man who has enough to eat and the whole family is not hungry.

Disasters that he once didn't care about have become even more unacceptable.

For example, take the food disaster in Nanling.

If Ian hadn't brought the food from the Great Plains and found a partner in Canaan Moore, how many people would have been driven to death by the soaring food prices in Harrison Port? How many mountain people were forced to death?

And the mountain people who are driven crazy will block the trade route, and he, the leader of the trade route, will completely lose his source of income... What will happen to his wife and children?

He has the skills to collect herbs and go into the mountains. He may be able to survive with his family, but is survival really enough?

Without Ian, Brin could not even imagine how many people would have died in Nanling this time and how many families of the White people would have fallen into despair.

Although the White People already have a certain amount of power in Port Harrison and the Xiahui Territory, they are still essentially at the bottom, and he, Breen, is just an ant at the bottom who is living a relatively good life.

Something has to change. Gotta be a big shot. Become a big shot who can handle this kind of disaster.

But, no chance.

With this crisis, Brin realized many things.

For example, he discovered that his progress in progress had actually come to an end.

The leader of the caravan is his peak. If he goes up to the chamber of commerce, he doesn't have the connections or achievements to go up.

If he expected to have a child, he would have to prepare a large amount of money for the child's education and send him to study with the children of the Chamber of Commerce stewards and other high-level officials... It would be difficult for him to save so much money.

As for the Ascended One...if he could save several thousand talers, would he still be as troubled as he is now? And it's useless for him to save enough money. To become an ascendant, you need to register. Purchasing magic potion formulas and obtaining related training methods all require merit, not money.

In Nanling, where the indigenous people have been pacified and the mountain people have been subdued, there is no longer any merit for people to climb up.

He will stay in this position for the rest of his life. This is not scary. The most terrifying thing is that he can see that his child will stay in this position for the rest of his life.

This is still the best ending... If he is unlucky, his child will even die in the middle, he will not be able to hold on to such a small position, and he will become even worse than he was before.

The future that can be seen at a glance is the real despair.

So, at this moment.

With this in mind, Brin heard Ian say the words "tribulation is coming" with sadness.

His heart skipped a beat.

A strong expectation, a desire called ambition, began to flourish in my heart along with fear and uneasiness.

——Yes, that’s it, let the pain and war come quickly!

——Let the storm come and smash everything in the past!

——After all, we have to endure hardships and we can’t see the future. It’s better to be bigger and let everyone suffer. In this case...

Maybe, I'll be able to take over.

Anyway, you are going to die. If you encounter a small disaster, you will die, and you will have to live in poverty even if you are not sick or disaster, so why not have a big disaster in exchange for a chance to go further!

But, that is at this time.

Bryn heard the sobs beside him.

"Mom...I'm afraid..."

It was a little girl hugging her mother hard. The single, pale mother looked at the prophet on the stage with despair. She stroked her daughter's hair and back, and whispered in response to her daughter's frightened sobs: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid... Mom will protect you... …”

"If dad is gone, mom will protect you..."

This is the widow of a city guard. This can be seen from the style of the woman's clothes, which are made from old city guard linings.

The Flying Flame did not cause too much damage in Nanling, but it did cause certain casualties. The families who lost their men will undoubtedly fall into misery. They will no longer be able to face a greater threat. Once When all-out war begins, they are unable to resist.

Brin looked at the mother and daughter with a complicated expression.

Of course he understands the other person's hardship, but that's how the world is.

Doesn't he want peace and a quiet life?

There was a poor person in Harrison Port who couldn't buy food during the food disaster and had to go into the mountains to pick wild vegetables. The food he ate was poisoned by vomiting and diarrhea and died in the house. Doesn't he want peace?

The Flying Flame Land carried out biological warfare. The cattle and sheep on which all the hopes of the family had been pinned were infected with rot fungus and went crazy. After killing them, no one wanted to sell the beef and mutton to repay the original price. The food they ate became infected. In the end, the whole family's corpses had to be sent to If the incinerator burns down, doesn’t this family of herdsmen want to live a good life?

During the war, all resources were poured into the army. Ordinary people had to go to the expensive black market to buy medicine. Their mother was seriously ill and had to borrow loan sharks to survive. Didn't this family know that doing such a thing would only destroy themselves?

Not to mention those refugees from the Western Territory... They migrated from the Western Territory and lost everything. Now the newly established gathering place may be caught in the flames of war again. Who should they cry to for their despair and confusion?

Even Brin himself - he has a little money now, and he must say that he can live a peaceful life, but can't he, Brin, see that in the next all-out war, Nanling will become the main target of the Feiyan Land Navy? , will Port Harrison be the front line?

If he wants to survive, he must save enough money to send his family to the inland Xiahui Territory, or to Nauman City guarded by the Imperial Navy... But this requires money and merit. If he can do it, doesn't he want to live a peaceful life? ?

If you want peace and a peaceful life...it's better to wait until there is no more disputes in this continent of Terra before talking about living a peaceful life!

On stage, Ian could see it all.

With the blessing of the 'Clear Heart Potion' and a trace amount of 'Fear Potion', everyone present can clearly understand the possibility that they are most afraid of and the future that they are least willing to face.

Their performance is also very simple: those who are ambitious and eager to go further will long for the 'suffering' predicted by Ian, which is the only chance for those who have only one bad life to gain a future.

And those who have suffered hardships or are living a happy life can of course understand that everything Ian said is true, and they cannot deceive themselves that their days will get better and better in the future... It is better to say that in Now that a world war is about to break out, their only 'good' hope is to hope that Nanling will be less damaged in the future.

Faced with such people who are soaked in numbness, what should you say to them, "It will definitely get better in the future!" ''Our Nanling is a paradise! ’ If someone believes half a word of this nonsense, it means they have a tumor on their head.

Therefore, he paused and then said: "Yes, you all know that Feiyandi's offensive in the future will definitely not only target the mountain people. They will attack us from many directions, from the sea, from the sky, from the land and the underground. Launch an invasion."

“Our western border defenses have holes, our mountain borders are deserted, and our navy can only live in the Northeast Gulf—these are objective facts that we can only face and admit that we will face challenges in these aspects. Come huge failure.”

"Flying Flame Land can even send several construct knights to attack, but Nanling, except for the Cangyun Knights stationed on the inside of the mountain range, does not even have a third energy level exceeding two palms."

"Please be mentally prepared, we will face difficult times, but as long as we share the same hatred and unite as one, we will definitely get through it."

"——Do you think I would say that?"

The originally noisy square fell silent for a moment because of Ian's words.

Then there was an uproar.

"You think - I am a prophet!"

In the midst of the uproar, Ian suddenly raised his voice, spread out his arms, and the psychic energy fluctuations visible to the naked eye spread in all directions, sweeping across the entire square and surrounding streets, covering tens of thousands of people present.

The white-haired prophet rebuked almost angrily: "Are you going to tell you that we will definitely lose, so we will wait to die according to the prophecy?"

"wrong!"

His voice was like a bell, vibrating deep in everyone's heart: "Since we all know that the ending of all this is full of pain, why not change it?"

"I, Ian Silverfeng, the Earl of the Empire, the prophet of the world, will lead you to change everything!"

"Whether it's the Flying Flame Land South China Sea Fleet that's about to attack in the future, or the group of Steel Winged Dragons coming from the sky, or the construct knights pushing across from the transnational mountains, or even those further food disasters. , even more terrifying bioterrorism attacks, I have the confidence to change and defeat!"

"The premise is that you must put all your trust in me!"

Having said this, Ian turned his head, bowed slightly, and saluted the Marquis of Barton on the other side: "The Governor of Nanling, the Marquis of Barton has authorized me to have the 'right to call' for all the nobles in all the territories of the entire Nanling. "

"And my own earldom has also expanded to the entire Mountain People Autonomous Region."

"In other words, as long as we work together, the mountain people and imperial people who were scattered in the past will be twisted into a rope - I have defeated several construct knights with my second-level body, please believe me , as long as you obey my command, I can defeat them a second time!"

Hearing this, the first person whose complexion suddenly changed was not the other nobles in Nanling, but the spies from Feiyandi.

- Damn it, when did we have this plan?

What about the Flying Flame South China Sea Fleet, what about the Steel Winged Dragons, what about the Construct Knights who are raiding across the mountains...please use some common sense! The South China Sea Fleet of Flying Flame Land mainly defends against the Sea Demonic Insect swarm on the Whale Song Cliff, and the Steel Winged Dragons are hired by them. The Steel Winged Dragon King has moved a long time ago, so they will not fight against the Mountain King for the second time. Be an enemy!

Not to mention the Constructed Knight climbing over mountains and ridges...hell, the Constructed Knight is dozens of meters tall, how can such a lump of iron climb a mountain? What's the sneak attack effect if you really want to crawl? It has been targeted for a long time!

What the hell is this prophet talking about? If they are so powerful, Feiyan Land has already torn your western front to pieces and turned your South Ridge into an advance base. Why are they still fighting so hard at the pass? !

The other nobles in Nanling felt bad when they heard the "calling power".

The right to call is simply a mandatory military order in time of war - the local noble governor has the right to allocate all resources in the province to deal with the war.

Whether they are cooperating in the construction of a fortress or helping to produce supplies, the nobles who are summoned must complete reasonable tasks and act in accordance with wartime policies.

This is the highest power of the governor of a place...and the Marquis of Barton actually handed over all this power to Ian Silverfeng? !

"So, brothers and sisters, citizens of the empire! Let us unite!"

At this moment, Ian estimated that the emotions at the scene had almost aroused, and the nobles and spies had probably heard his analysis and predictions, so they immediately changed their tone: "Since we already know about Feiyandi's actions, what else can we do? Can you make him succeed?"

"Since the enemy will come from the sea, we must strengthen offshore defense to ensure the safety of Harrison Port and Nauman City!"

"Since we know that the enemy will come from the sky, every town must have corresponding alarm network facilities. Once it is attacked, it will be known immediately, and the enemy's movement trajectory can be deduced and intercepted!"

"Since the enemy will come over the mountains and ridges, we must develop the border areas and create early warning zones!"

"And all these functions require us to establish a network and alliance of mutual unity and mutual trust - we need to completely become a whole within the empire, not scattered individuals on the border!"

Ian's eyes lit up with a silvery blue light. He glanced at the faces of the small nobles of Nanling in the front row of everyone present, and said calmly: "We are going to build an alliance, an alliance network."

"In this network, every noble's territory can be exchanged and supplies can be quickly allocated to prepare for the full mobilization of Nanling. And all nobles must report to me his rank, his strength and tendency, as well as the number of ascendants and knights in the territory, this is so that I can predict the next enemies and difficulties for you."

"In addition, the Chamber of Commerce, the Masonry Association, and the Alchemy Workshop must also join this network. I must know your real production data and the operation of the workshop."

“The more detailed the data, the more accurate my predictions will be.”

"This is to allocate resources reasonably, not to snatch your disposal rights."

"You don't have to worry about the grudges between you, and you don't have to worry about my bias, because I am a prophet, and everything I do is for the empire to survive this difficulty safely and win the final victory."

"so……"

Facing these nobles, whose strength surpassed them, Ian, who could give them a great sense of oppression, calmly said: "Nobles who have objections can speak up."

silence.

Not to mention the nobles, even the common people present did not dare to make a sound.

"Then that's it."

Ian smiled calmly and said: "Next, I will stay in the Lord's Mansion for a while."

"For the first few nobles, chambers of commerce, and workshop leaders who came to register, I can make a separate prophecy for them."

"And the people of the empire, please unite as one. Although the sufferings in the future will not change, we can make all preparations to welcome the arrival of the typhoon!"

"That's it."

Ian's prophecy is over.

In front of him, everyone, whether nobles or ordinary people, were originally immersed in a kind of fear and anxiety.

But after Ian made it clear, ‘There will be a war in the future, don’t think about it, let’s start preparing for the war! ’ After this incident, they were no longer anxious, but instead became determined.

The biggest fear in everything is not being clear. When everything becomes clear, the uneasy heart gradually turns into the determination to face the enemy head-on.

Ian also took advantage of this prophecy to exaggerate the crisis. Relying on the prestige of Marquis Barton, his reputation as earl and prophet, and the fact that Xiahui Territory was indeed becoming more prosperous, he forcibly decided to integrate the entire South. The 'unification' plan of the Ridge aristocratic circle.

Originally, there was a certain degree of cooperation within the aristocratic circle. For example, the smuggling chain between Viscount Grant and Baron Ryan was actually a chain of interests that roughly ran through the entire Nanling aristocratic circle.

But Ian made it clear and almost made it clear that he wanted to be the boss.

So, who would object?

Unless he is stupid, who is so stupid as to go against a future prophet who is at least the fourth level?

Especially since the Marquis of Barton has given his full support, how dare you go against these two foxes, one big and one small? Do you want to die?

As for ordinary people...

Those who want to make meritorious deeds will naturally know that as long as they listen to the words of the prophet, they will definitely have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds in the general trend.

Those who wanted to be safe knew better that they had to support the prophet's joint plan, obey his instructions and deployment, and complete the prophet's work.

The most important thing is the group of Lingzhiyuan officials behind him.

Ian turned his head and saw the officials smiling.

——Obviously, Ian's preview of "the empire will fail" and pointed out several possible failures is indeed in line with their requirements.

As for Ian's next countermeasures, they didn't care. Rather, that's what they wanted - all the people of the Empire should cheer up because of possible threats, unite together, and then win.

In this way, the people of the empire will be more united.

Ian Silver Peak deserves to be a nobleman who became an earl at such a young age. Although most of it is because of the prophet, his ability is definitely extraordinary!

Just like that, everyone got the sound they wanted.

What about Ian himself?

(The next step is to popularize terminals, popularize vaccine artificial souls through alliances, and then lay out the virtual network bit by bit.)

Lowering his eyes, Ian returned to the city hall from the square. He thought in his mind: (The plan will be carried out step by step, first Xiahui leader, then the mountain people, followed by Harrison Port and Nauman City, as well as several other close nobles. Lead... and popularize the Chongling Religion bit by bit. By now, the religion with me as the core will become the most popular faith organization in Nanling)

"How I did, my lord."

Turning his head, Ian whispered to the old man beside him: "At this point, you should also tell me why you delegated power so easily... Is that the reason why you chose to make me the leader of the Nanling nobles?"

"Um."

The old Marquis, who had remained silent from beginning to end and left all the speech to Ian, nodded slightly. His golden-green eyes looked at the young man indifferently, and then said calmly: "I know you have already seen that something is wrong. , and I know very well that you have even guessed a lot of the answers.”

"The reason why I delegated power is because I know that I, who cannot advance to the fourth level due to old injuries, will not be able to protect Nanling in the next all-out war. In this case, it is better to hand it over to someone with a bright future and the ability to predict the future. You, who have obtained resources, are definitely better than me who is already old and decrepit."

"And the alliance of nobles is what I should do, but instead of putting this power in the hands of me, who plans to retire, it is better to give it to you, so that you have enough prestige and qualifications."

"Of course, I also know that what you really want to ask is not these ordinary decisions... What you really want to know is why I secretly contacted the second prince, the most loyal minister of the Earth Guardian, why did I suddenly secretly Getting close to a prince, right?"

At this moment, the two of them had arrived at the door of the Governor's Office in the City Hall, and Marquis Barton walked in with Ian.

This office was extremely simple, with only a desk and a few cabinets without any other furniture decoration. The Marquis of Barton searched in the drawer and took out a photo album.

He rummaged around and handed it to Ian: "Here's the answer."

Ian frowned slightly, he didn't expect the matter to be so complicated... The young man originally thought that the reason why Marquis Barton was close to the second prince was just because the second prince was easier to talk to and was not like the eldest prince who always tried to test people with riddles.

As for Axel...Axel obviously doesn't care about these little things.

But when Ian saw the photos in the album, he froze.

Because, the people in the photo are actually the eldest prince, the second prince, the eldest princess... and there are photos of several other princes and princesses!

The eldest prince Carlos smiled cheerfully with a hint of cunning, no different from him when he grew up.

The second prince, Mikael, seemed very shy and even covered half of his cheek with his hand.

The eldest princess Alegria even hugged her doll tightly, biting her fingers and looking like she was about to cry.

While Lady Ellen, the mother of Isengard, Avelina was just a baby held in the hands of a tall man.

This man...

Astonishingly, he is Axel, the defender of the soil in his youth!

At this moment, Axel was smiling gently, and he was smiling like he was not a landkeeper at all... No, is this really a person?

The emperor who coldly expelled the Mahdi and the immovable city, and the tyrant who massacred all disobedient people, are they really the man in front of him who smiles with a sense of stupidity and is as gentle as the real sun?

As for who took the photo...

Ian frowned, and Marquis Barton said lightly: "How is it, do you see it? Young prophet?"

"Do you see the disturbing 'difference' between this photo and reality?"