Chapter 27 Infrastructure: Arrival at Gaola

The world is quiet before dawn.

The beast, which had been busy all night, returned to the dark cave with its bloody food. The sound of birds flapping their wings could be faintly heard from the bushes. Deep in the clouds, the pale moon was about to set, and its cold light seemed to see through everything in the world.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Armored horses emerged from the darkness one after another, the knights extinguished their torches, and headed for the Gola region adjacent to the wilderness along the main traffic route called "Road of the Gods" that included all the major cities of the Western Continent.

(…According to Yaris, the "Road of the Gods" existed before the emergence of the Solar Empire. It is a precious legacy left to later civilizations by the Eternal Empire, which was destroyed by divine punishment six thousand years ago. The Solar Empire is merely the maintainer of this great road that connects the distant past and the distant future, destined to be remembered forever as a dazzling achievement of human civilization.)

(Such a great civilization could be destroyed overnight, with hundreds of millions of people losing their lives. No wonder Kairusha felt that the civilization humans had painstakingly constructed over thousands of years was a fleeting accident, and that the ephemeral nature of life and death was the norm in the universe...)

Xiao Yun looked at the sparse trees on both sides of the road, his mind in a state of confusion.

"What are you thinking about, sir?"

John Deere's voice came to my ear.

His current position is the chief of staff of the Marquis of Gaura.

"I wonder... just how great did the Eternal Empire reach in the past? And what kind of mighty power could destroy such a glorious civilization overnight?"

"god."

"god?"

"God destroyed the Eternal Empire because it wanted to be equal to God."

"After both magic and technology reached heights unimaginable to us, they gradually realized that the so-called gods were merely another group of 'people' who had mastered great power before them... 'Gods' could make mistakes, suffer injuries, and be plagued by aging and death... They couldn't be resurrected after death—and I mean a flawless resurrection, not the dark magic of bringing souls mixed with foreign matter back to the mortal world. This self-confidence, or rather, arrogance, ultimately brought them destruction."

"At least, that's what your brother, my master, told me."

John Deere, with his quiet and slender appearance, added.

"--But your brother doesn't think they're arrogant; he thinks they're brave. Even though their actions have long suppressed our subsequent civilization, both in terms of magic and technology, to a very primitive level by the gods."

"I also think... their dream of seeking equality from the gods is great, and their annihilation after failure is tragic..."

Xiao Yun felt a little depressed as he recalled the tragic stories he had read in his previous life about the people of former colonies in Africa, Latin America and other countries who had failed in their resistance to oppression and whose countries had become hell.

"——They didn't completely die, so aren't we still alive?"

The rough-edged Lance joined the conversation at an inopportune time.

His master, the infamous mercenary king Alfonso "White Devil", rented this guy to Yaris in order to gain recognition from the traditional political forces of the Western Continent headed by the Holy Grand Duke.

Jaris handed him, who had rich combat experience, to his younger brother Lucien and asked him to follow Lucien to Gaula to fight against the barbarians.

He remained Lucien's servant until the end of the three-year lease.

"Lance, you're right!"

Xiao Yun suddenly realized: "They are not completely wiped out! We are still alive! We are their descendants, and we have inherited their legacy, even if it is only a very small part. As long as we are alive, they are still in this world."

"...Your brother has similar expectations of you."

John Deere touched the cross pendant on his chest and murmured softly.

Xiao Yun didn't hear this sentence, his ears were filled with Lance's loud voice.

"——Mr. Grand Marquis, do you want to know what kind of man my master Alfonso is?"

"Somewhat interested."

Xiao Yun nodded: "I heard that he is a notorious gangster and robber who has done many brutal things."

"Brutal things? Do you mean massacre?"

"Yes."

Xiao Yun said seriously, "I don't understand why you would follow a villain who massacred a city."

"Because he gave me the chance—"

Lance spoke bluntly, "Your Excellency, Grand Marquis, was born into the oldest and most noble Holy Family, raised in a palace overflowing with gold, silver, and jewels. Your brother, the Grand Duke, used a little trickery to make you the Grand Marquis of Gaula. Even if the Emperor unfortunately strips you of your title of Grand Marquis in the future, after your brother's death, you will be able to rest in luxury as the guardian of the next Holy Grand Duke."

"And I, once a slave who fought in the arena for bread, am now a mercenary fighting on the battlefield for gold. According to the title system established by the Solar Empire, I cannot even obtain the lowest title of Baron even if I fight my whole life."

"But as long as Alfonso succeeds in establishing his kingdom, I can immediately be promoted to nobility!"

(So ​​that's how it is. The nobles have blocked the path to advancement for the lower classes... Lance and the others therefore place their hopes on Alfonso, hoping to use violence to secure a better future for themselves and their descendants...)

Xiao Yun thought of the students in the lower city.

(They also want to stand out, but are restricted by their civilian status...)

"And Alfonso is a very charming man."

Lance continued excitedly.

"When I say charming, I don't mean he's handsome, although he is handsome, dangerous, and agile, like a white wolf in the wilderness. He's not very literate, but he's clear about rewards and punishments, respects scholars, and is generous. When promoting people, he doesn't consider family background, but only ability."

"He was very brave and could remember the name of every soldier around him. On the battlefield, he always led the charge, tirelessly reaping lives like the Grim Reaper, instead of following the traditional nobles and hiding in the safety of the rear to command the front."

"...even the most cowardly will be seized by his passion and rush forward with him, fearing no loss of life. That is why he always wins and never fails."

"It's my fault that Alfonso can't read—"

John Deere suddenly spoke up, looking guilty.

Xiao Yun remembered that John Deere and Alfonso were fellow townsmen and good friends.

"...His mother was a tavern waitress. He had no father, and his mother had no idea which customer his father was. When he was three, his mother was killed in a tavern brawl. He was raised by the other women in the tavern, as well as the gamblers, mercenaries, and thieves who took care of their business."

"When he was five, he followed older boys into dark alleys to steal drunkards' wallets and to the riverbank to pick up armor from corpses. Because he was born with white hair, handsome looks, and an orphan without parental protection, he had to be more courageous and aggressive than other boys his age, fierce and daring, so that adults would think he was not to be messed with."

John Deere added.

"He looked down on the nobles, thinking that most of them were just lucky enough to be born into noble families. If he were to wear noble clothes, he could be more noble than the nobles themselves!"

"He once promised me that when he became king, he would appoint me as his prime minister and duke, so that he wouldn't have to waste time learning complicated and tedious legal documents."

"Once you meet him, you'll agree he's a charming villain."

“…”

"After listening to you two talk for so long, I can't help but imagine the scene of meeting Alfonso."

Xiao Yun seemed to be thinking about something.

John Deere suddenly raised his whip and pointed at the misty horizon. He said sternly, "Gora, the city your brother chose for you, not only has a humid climate and fertile land, but is also a natural port and a transit point for East-West trade. As long as the curse is lifted, the barbarians are tamed, and the ghouls are settled, it will become the most prosperous city in the Western Continent!"

"But there is a problem that we must solve as soon as possible——"

"What's the problem?"

“The locals may not be willing to obey you.”

…

…

In this era, through sorting out the fragments of knowledge left by the Eternal Empire destroyed by divine punishment six thousand years ago, scholars have generally known that the world they live in is a huge sphere named Ella by the gods, hanging in the vast universe. They also know that most of the gods they believe in are real beings who live in a higher dimension that is out of reach. They will interfere with the human world for various reasons, causing the rise and fall of empires and the prosperity and decline of civilizations, but people are powerless to do anything about it.

Moreover, since human civilization in this era is still in its infancy, although people have built beautiful cities that shine like pearls day and night, prosperous places like the Capital of Light are only a minority after all. Most of the land on the planet has not been developed and is occupied by animals, plants, and mysterious and bizarre monsters.

These vast lands that have not been developed for various reasons are collectively referred to as wilderness.

The most eye-catching wilderness in the Western Continent is the three thousand mile long Death Desert in the eastern part of the Sun Empire, centered on the ruins of the capital of the Eternal Empire destroyed by divine punishment. It is also the natural dividing line between the Western Continent and the Eastern Continent.

The vast area west of the Great Desert of Death, centered around the ancient city of Gola, which lived six thousand years ago and still lingers with a terrible curse, is marked on the map as the Gola region.

The natural environment of the Gola region is exceptional. On one side are the rolling Taliya Mountains, which block the fierce winds and white sands of the Death Desert. On the other side is the Kas River, one of the three major rivers of the Western Continent, which flows southward into the Lente Sea. It borders Monglis above and ends at the vast Lente Sea. The climate is warm and humid, with abundant sunshine year-round, and boasts vast expanses of fertile, verdant plains.

These plains, including most of the Talia Mountains, are now covered by dense forests that are difficult for humans to live in, and have become the residence of barbarians and ghouls.

In the last hundred years, as the curse faded, the land near the banks of the Kashi River was occupied by pioneers who brought their families with them, forming villages of various sizes.

In fact, long before the settlers' villages appeared along the Kas River and the Gaola area was still a wild area shrouded in cursed fog, the empire had already built fortresses and stationed troops in this area to monitor the changes in the curse of Gaola, resist the barbarians and ghouls in the dense forest, and receive and escort the Eastern delegations who ventured across the Great Desert of Death and the Eastern luxury goods they carried to the royal capital.

In theory, all these castles and villages belong to the Marquis of Gaura who is about to arrive here.