At present, this city floating in the sky is once again crowded.
In various hotels, pubs, squares and shops, you can see them gathering together to chat, brag, sell or buy weapons and equipment.
Ever since the first echelon of elites were recruited by Shane VII, everyone knew that a whole new world would soon open up to them.
Therefore, everyone is in high spirits, looking forward to a more tense, exciting and wonderful adventure.
After all, in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, they have tasted power and the power over the lives and deaths of others, and have personally experienced the pleasure of being able to change the world at will and reshape social structures, laws, and rules.
In reality, this is almost impossible to achieve unless the entire country collapses.
The most important thing is that for the first time, these ordinary people have the opportunity to control their own and others' destiny, and are no longer the objects manipulated by fate.
As we all know, human happiness is built on the suffering of others, and happiness is the sense of superiority gained by comparing with those who are worse off than oneself.
Although these so-called "players" are just tools created by Zuo Si to serve certain plans.
But they themselves don't know this.
Instead, they believe that they are completely superior to the natives in terms of both status and power.
Compared to those fragile natives, players have unlimited abilities to revive and become stronger, as well as a large amount of modern knowledge and technology.
As long as we unite, we can be omnipotent like God.
Coupled with the constant psychological suggestion and strong sense of superiority that create an addictive feeling, they will eventually devote almost all their time and energy to it.
Coupled with the rich reward mechanism and sense of achievement, Zuo Si has always believed that the player group will one day grow into his trump card for unexpected victory when encountering strong enemies.
At this moment, he was standing in the brain pool of the conch shell ship inside the floating city, holding a spark of the planeswalker in his hand, and asked the main brain in the pool, which had expanded countless times, "How is it, are you ready?"
"Yes, I have been ready for this day for a long time."
The mastermind gave a straightforward affirmative answer.
As an absolutely rational and super-intelligent creature, she was not as excited and thrilled as Shane VII about obtaining the spark and becoming a planeswalker. Instead, she was very calm.
The reason is simple! From the moment the promise was made, the mastermind knew that Zuo Si would not lie to him, so he started making preparations long ago.
At present, she has transformed the entire spiral shell ship into a part of her body by building a series of tentacles and psychic energy conduction systems.
The transformed and upgraded mind layers around them are more like cells, parasites or beneficial bacteria in the body.
As long as you lie in a special cabin and merge mentally with the main brain, you can use the power of sparks to complete the cross-time and space transmission.
Of course, in addition to the Mind Flayer, the Snail Shell can also carry the player's soul and clone cultivation equipment, and set off the Fourth Disaster in any time and space or even the universe.
"In that case, let's get started."
After saying that, Zuo Si decisively activated the Planeswalker Spark in his hand through resonance, slowly controlling it to enter the central nervous system of the main brain, and then tightly bound it to the soul inside.
Because he had previous experience, he was now very familiar with the process and completed the "transplantation" of the sparks in a short while.
The reason for using this word is that unlike natural born planeswalkers, this type of planeswalkers who acquire the spark later in life seem to have some kind of defects.
It may not be noticeable at normal times, but after entering the dark void, the sparks will become very unstable.
In other words, artificially created planeswalkers cannot stay in the dark void for a period of time with the protection of sparks like natural planeswalkers.
Zuo Si hasn't figured out what's going on yet. Maybe Karn, who lost the spark given to him by Urza before his death while repairing the time rift, knows something.
After all, this Silver Golem is the most well-known acquired planeswalker.
The main brain waved its tentacles to feel the power of the sparks, and continuously converted psychic energy and magic power into corresponding mana.
During this process, one can clearly see the pipes on the ground used for conduction constantly emitting silver or blue light.
There was no doubt that she had been drawing on the huge amount of energy that had been stored before.
As the hub connecting hundreds of thousands of players, the main brain would normally intercept and store about half of the magic, life, and spiritual energy obtained from killing players.
On the one hand, they are indeed cutting leeks and using players to strengthen themselves; on the other hand, it is also a reserve for extraordinary times to prevent players from dying one after another in a short period of time once a large-scale war breaks out.
After all, every time a cloned body dies and energy is transferred, some losses are inevitable.
Although this part of the loss was converted into a game rule called "Death Penalty".
But the reality is much more complicated.
For example, if the body is eroded by negative energy and a "negative level" appears, then if the player dies at this time, the main brain can only recycle and transfer a small part of the life energy into the new body, which is far below the scope of "death penalty".
At this moment, it is necessary to call on reserve energy to make up for the losses in the middle.
Otherwise, players may become psychologically unbalanced due to losing too much at once, or even give up on themselves and lose the motivation to work hard.
The interior of the entire Snail Shell is actually a huge biological energy storage device based on psychic technology.
Now, the mastermind undoubtedly wants to extract a portion of it to strengthen the spark it just obtained.
About ten minutes later, when she had achieved her intended goal, she said in a slightly fluctuating voice, "So this is the source of the planeswalker's power - the spark. It feels like being connected to the space infinite and time and the universe through a layer of sticky gelatin."
Zuo Si sighed slightly and said, "Yes! That sticky colloid is the dark void, a fault that separates different worlds in space and time.
It acts like an impenetrable physical wall to most people.
Only with the planeswalker's spark will the wall turn into a sticky gelatinous substance that is barely traversable.
To me, the spark is like a key.
It may not bring god-like power all at once, but it can open up a future of infinite possibilities for the planeswalker.
And this infinite possibility is what matters most.”
"I totally agree. But what I don't quite understand is... why do you want to give the power of the spark to others? Isn't it better for one person to have it all to himself?"
There was a strong sense of uncertainty in the Mastermind's tone.
Because in her opinion, giving sparks to others would greatly increase all kinds of dangers.
Especially Shane VII. Although he is a good ally now, there is no guarantee that he will not have his own ideas as he visits more time and space and his horizons become broader.
Zuo Si smiled and shook his head: "No, you are wrong.
No matter what it is, the prerequisite for monopoly is that you are strong enough to defeat all snoopers.
But the problem is that I obviously don't have such power yet, and I urgently need a lot of allies.
After all, all I paid for was a few sparks of the planeswalker.
This was nothing compared to taking Nicol Bolas' place in the War of the Spark and gaining the power of the Ancient Planeswalkers.
You must understand that our greatest enemy today is Nicol Bolas.
He is also the most powerful of all the existing planeswalkers, possessing the power to control, brainwash and transform gods, and can destroy ancient dragons like Niv-Mizzet like crushing an ant.
In front of this guy, the only thing I can do is to win over as many allies as possible and prepare trump cards that may pose a threat to him.
As long as I can achieve my goal, I am willing to cooperate with even a suspicious guy like the Spirit Dragon Wu Jin, not to mention other people.
Whether it's Shining Oil and New Phyrexia in Mirrodin, or the demon army in the ninth layer of Baator, or the player community cultivated in the floating city world, and the cooperation with the gods of Faerun...
All of this preparation is ultimately aimed at replacing Nicol Bolas and completing the War of the Spark.
In fact, if your significant other, Isadora, wasn't so crazy, I would even give her a spark to become a planeswalker as well."
"Is Nicol Bolas really as powerful as you say?"
The mastermind was obviously a little unconvinced.
Zuo Si patiently explained: "Believe me, he is a thousand or ten thousand times more terrifying than you think.
So far, I know of no fewer than two or three hundred planes that have been destroyed or damaged to the brink of collapse by Nicol Bolas.
There are many worlds that gave birth to powerful gods.
If we were to compare it to the universe where Toril is located, I think that except for a very small number of gods above gods and the will of the abyss that cannot be described in specific words, perhaps only the most powerful divine power can be compared with it.
At least in Faerun, I have not seen any god who can brainwash and control other gods for a long time, and transform them into a mummified undead form after their death.
Combined with more than twenty-four thousand years of accumulated knowledge, power, and experience, as well as the innate power of an elder dragon and the spark of the first planeswalkers, Nicol Bolas is definitely the most dangerous enemy.
Why else do you think I made so many plans to explore and invade other time and space? Just for fun?
No! All of these worlds on the list have things that could threaten the old dragon, or could greatly increase my power.
Take the time and space where Shane VII is currently located. The so-called origin magic is most likely some kind of authority and key to control the core power of this world.
If we assume that all the players who traveled through time and the world props they possessed were created by the Dragon Emperor through the origin magic, then wouldn't it be much more reasonable to assume that the two could cancel each other out? So I think that the origin magic is equivalent to the authority given to individuals to change the rules by the will of the entire world.
This is not much different from the awakened planetary will on the plane of Zendikar, where it chose to grant authority to the elven planeswalker Nissa.
Perhaps the Dragon Emperor keeps creating players in the hope that he can kill all the others who might master the original magic, monopolize this power himself, and eventually become an unrivaled god.
If I could figure out the secret, I could use the authority provided by the land cards to use the original magic to restrict and weaken Nicol Bolas in the final battle.
If all else fails, trying to devour the mana of the entire world is also a good option."
"Okay, I think I see what you mean."
After realizing the danger posed by Nicol Bolas, the Elder Brain quickly realized that it could never be too cautious when dealing with such a foe.
After all, the mere fact that a powerful divine power is not restricted by space or belief and can instantly reach any place one wants to go is already quite terrifying.
"I will be keeping an eye on the Son of Bhaal in Faerûn recently, so I'll leave the New World to you. Remember to keep a good look after the diary, and don't let him do anything too outrageous."
After saying that, Zuo Si cast a teleportation magic and disappeared from the spot.
As soon as he left, Isadora followed him, smelling the scent and standing next to the brain pool, she asked, "Has Soth been here just now?"
"Well, yes, he gave me a spark. Now, I am a planeswalker like him who can travel freely between different time and space."
The mastermind did not try to hide anything and told the truth openly.
After all, they are all different personality fragments split from one consciousness, and they still retain some kind of spiritual connection that is difficult to describe.
"What? For you! What about mine?"
Isadora pointed at her nose with an unconvinced look on her face.
In her opinion, if anyone is going to give something, it should be given to herself first. Why give it to the main brain, a guy who doesn't even look like a human?
Could it be that Zuo Si has some unknown XP that makes him like these strange-looking, alternative, non-human creatures? That's not right? According to the previous attempts, Zuo Si should be a Furui control who likes the combination of humans and animals.
The girl frowned and fell into deep thought.
As the absolutely rational side, the main brain ignored Isadora's nonsense and jealousy, and replied in an emotionless tone: "Because in Soth's opinion, I, who inherited the rational part, am much more reliable than you who act completely based on emotion.
He can't judge or predict what you will do after getting the spark, so naturally he won't choose you.
If you want to have your own spark, you need to learn to control yourself from now on.
Especially those crazy thoughts in the mind that are completely opposite to those of normal people.
If you maintain your mental stability over a period of time, he will naturally consider you."
"Damn it! Don't tell me you chose to become the Mastermind just for this day."
Isadora glared at the other person indignantly.
She is even jealous of her own separated personality fragments. I guess only someone with abnormal brain circuits and mental state like her can do that.
The main brain responded nonchalantly: "I said that I would be the most useful tool for Soth and provide him with help until the end of his life. This is also what you thought in your mind at the beginning. Now I have done it, you should be happy."
moment!
Isadora was speechless, a look of annoyance appeared on her face, and she immediately turned around and left without looking back.
Because she knew that with the loss of her absolutely rational personality, it would be almost impossible for her to maintain self-restraint.
In other words, her self-control had long since disappeared along with the stripping away of her rational personality.
Now, whenever I have any thoughts or ideas in my mind, my first reaction is to put them into action and I can't control myself at all.
When the girl returned to her own room, the first thing that caught her eye was the dozens of dolls and pillows of all sizes that filled the entire room, created with psychic powers.
Of course, not surprisingly, these dolls and pillows all have portraits or cartoon patterns of Zuo Si.
Isadora leaped directly into the dolls and pillows on the bed, rubbing against them, acting coquettishly, and mumbling something in a language that no one could understand, as if she was venting her emotions.
But soon, she got rid of her previous state, stood up, stared at herself in the huge mirror, and began to talk to herself like a madman and a psychopath.
If someone who didn't know the inside story happened to pass by and saw it, he would definitely be scared to death.
But for a psychic, this obviously means nothing. He is simply debating with the new fragments of his personality, so as to better tap the spiritual power contained in his self-consciousness.
…
At the same time, Zuo Si, who had just returned to the Royal Palace in Port Kalin, happened to hear several cabinet members arguing about universal basic education.
As chancellor, Shaud Tarovin had no opinions of his own and was just a ruthless execution machine.
No matter what order the emperor of the empire gave, he would execute it without hesitation.
In contrast, Vera, who was appointed as the Minister of Finance, believed that universal basic education was a complete waste of money, time and energy.
Rich people will naturally send their children to receive education, but even if poor people without money receive basic education, it will not be of much use, and it will be difficult for them to achieve class advancement with that little knowledge.
Instead of spending this time, it would be better to build more water conservancy and irrigation facilities and repair a few roads.
Most importantly, this thing is too expensive.
The free teaching materials, lunches and salaries paid to teachers alone made Vera feel extremely painful.
The Minister of Culture and Education, who graduated from the local college in Port Calin, held a completely opposite attitude and believed that providing free compulsory education would definitely bring more benefits than disadvantages to the entire empire.
Although you may not see any results in the short term, as long as you persist, sooner or later the quantitative change will lead to qualitative change.
Several other ministers who were qualified to attend the meeting also took sides and expressed their opinions.
If you observe carefully, you will find that this kind of political stance is actually very interesting.
Most of the senior bureaucrats from Amn in the north chose to support Vera, while those from the civil service system of Calinshan in the south all supported the Minister of Culture and Education.
The former represents the typical way of thinking of capital and business groups, which is to pursue short-term and fast investment returns.
In their eyes, a program like education, which makes a lot of money but has no visible benefits, is a pure money-losing thing and is not worth throwing a single gold coin into.
The latter represents the typical way of thinking of professional scholars, who do not care about the benefits but analyze the pros and cons from the perspective of whether it is beneficial to the development of the entire country.
As long as the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, they will choose to support it no matter how much it costs.
There is no doubt that although the West Coast Empire was established not long ago, it already has two political factions.
As for the generation from Baldur's Gate to Dragon Coast, due to the fact that they were too fragmented and had been purged before, they could not form any political force in a short period of time.
The nobles of the Kingdom of Tethyr also suffered a devastating disaster, and were left with no political voice.
As for the military, it has no right to participate in internal affairs discussions.
As a modern man, Zuo Si had a very clear understanding of the two points that the military is not allowed to do business or interfere in politics.
When he walked into the conference hall from outside, the two groups of people who were arguing fiercely finally stopped.
"What is there to argue about? Don't you understand why I want to provide universal basic education? Or what do you think education is?"
Zuo Si glanced at everyone present calmly.
"Um... isn't it to give those poor people who can't afford to go to school a chance to receive education, and at the same time open up a channel to the middle and upper class society?" Vera asked cautiously.
Zuo Si nodded first, then shook his head: "Yes and no.
You don't think I would be so kind as to throw in millions of gold coins every year just to give the poor a better future, do you?
Education is actually a tool of rule, but it is also a glue that solidifies social consensus, values and identity.
In my opinion, all the people in this world are like a tree.
If you leave it alone under normal circumstances, it will grow freely and wildly.
It may be lush and green, or it may be thin and withered due to lack of water and soil fertility, or it may be invaded by pests and diseases.
Just as a person may become a serf, a herdsman, a hunter, a lumberjack, or may become a criminal, a cultist, or simply die suddenly.
Many accidental factors play an important role in this.
Education is like a gardener. It will prune away unnecessary branches, fertilize and water regularly, and eliminate pests and diseases, so that all the trees will tend to be close to each other.
Simply put, it is to minimize the role of accidental factors.
If you still don’t understand, then please stand up and look out the window at the neat and pleasant gardens in the palace gardens.
That is for the purpose of universal basic education.
As a powerful empire that will cover the entire west coast of Faerun in the future, our rule will inevitably absorb and tolerate different races, cultures, ideas, and values.
These things are all potential factors that create division, unrest and hatred.
In order to eliminate these influences, education becomes the only means.
Think about it, when the next generation of the whole country receives free compulsory education and establishes common values, ideas and identity in the learning process, who can shake the foundation of the empire? In addition, we can also list some of the advantages of the empire over other countries in the textbooks, such as the vast territory, developed transportation system and the most prosperous business, as well as the clean and efficient bureaucracy.
In this way, when students graduate, they will be proud of their status as citizens of the empire and feel proud of the achievements of the empire.
They will subconsciously spread it around and influence more people.
This kind of spiritual thing will create a strong cohesive force over time.
Once everyone in the country accepts this value system, the entire West Coast will be completely solidified into a complete entity.
Even if the empire collapses after hundreds or even thousands of years, there will still be countless people who stand up and try to restore its glory.
And we who have established this education system and consensus will surely be remembered by history and future generations.
Therefore, investing in education is not just to enable more people to be literate and capable of simple math calculations, but also to enable them to learn various professional knowledge on their own when needed.
Its real intention is to create a soul that is different from any other city-state or even country on the continent of Faerun.
Moreover, we can also provide professional education based on basic education to provide urgently needed talents for all walks of life.”
As these words came out of his mouth, everyone present widened their eyes in shock.
Especially Vera, who had strongly opposed before, her eyes were full of admiration and fanatical worship.
Because she understood that if she could achieve this by investing several million gold coins every year, then the investment would definitely be a huge profit.
The Minister of Culture and Education, who looked to be in his sixties or seventies, bent down and bowed deeply, and said in an excited voice: "Your Majesty the Supreme Emperor!
Please allow me to applaud your vision and planning that transcends the times! You are undoubtedly the best ruler in the world! Under your leadership, the West Coast Empire will usher in unprecedented prosperity and glory!
I am willing to devote the rest of my life to education, hoping to see a glimmer of light before I die."
"Thank you for the compliment. I also hope this day can come sooner."
Zuo Si patted the old man's shoulder encouragingly.
He has always been very fond of pure scholars who have no interest in pursuing their own interests and only want to realize their own value.
In today's bureaucratic system, the proportion of such people is not low.
Vera came back to her senses at this moment, her face full of shame, and she lowered her head on her own initiative: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I am too superficial and stupid, and I didn't understand the profound meaning of your investment in education."
Zuo Si smiled and waved his hand: “No, you don’t have to apologize.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, it is your duty to resist every unnecessary expenditure.
I don't think you did anything wrong. On the contrary, I think you are doing your job very conscientiously.
Well, that’s all for the debate on universal basic education.
If there is nothing else, please continue with your respective work."
After watching Zuo Si disappear at the end of the corridor leading to the depths of the palace, Xiaode Tarovin finally relaxed his tense nerves and said in a half-joking tone, "Everyone, I believe you all know now what a great monarch we are serving, right?
If you don't want to lose your current position, you'd better work hard and don't play tricks.
After all, there are countless people behind you, eyeing every chair that might become vacant in the cabinet.
Now, let us come to the particulars of the plan for building public schools in various towns.
This is not an easy job.
Although we have built one or two schools in many cities.”
"In terms of finance, based on the current tax revenue, we can allocate a special fund of approximately 3.6 million gold coins."
Vera glanced at the account book in her hand and quickly gave an accurate number.
The Minister of Culture and Education quickly checked the number of towns and immediately nodded with a smile: "Thank you very much! I think this money is enough as the start-up capital for the first phase."
"Let me be frank with you. I will have to send someone to verify the whereabouts of every penny of this money. You'd better keep a close eye on your people. If there is corruption or they don't know where the money is spent, you should know the consequences best."
Vera raised her head and issued a warning solemnly.
"Don't worry! If anyone dares to take action, I will be the first one to not let him off."
…
Just as the senior cabinet officials were deciding matters of all sizes throughout the empire through meetings, Zuo Si had already returned to the Mage Tower in Askatra through the portal.
The succubus loli Atona, who had been waiting here for a long time, immediately jumped up and hugged his neck, kissed him hard on the cheek, and then reported excitedly: "Master! Viconia just received intelligence that Erinikas is about to complete all experiments. She asked me to ask you if it is possible to enter the next stage?"
"Of course! Tell Viconia to take Aberdare and his group directly to Athkatra through the portal."
Zuo Si casually put the little girl in his arms on the ground and gently stroked her soft long hair and the curved horns on her forehead.
The succubus obviously enjoyed this kind of intimate interaction, squinting her eyes and showing an expression of great enjoyment, while continuing to report: "In addition to Viconia, the Seraph Nimidona also came back two days ago.
She has combed through the druidic sects in most of the forests within the empire.
All the extreme sects that believed in Silvanus were not spared, and the rest either chose to convert or were expelled.
Now the only thing left is the Wildas Forest where the elves are entrenched, which is not very convenient to attack."
"How do the cults of those nature gods react?"
Zuo Si asked thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
“No response yet.
After all, the Druids' idea of restricting the development of towns and villages and protecting nature is not in the best interests of most people.
After learning the news, many people applauded.
Especially professions like hunters, woodcutters, and lumberjacks, they wish all druids would die.
With the disappearance of these druidic sects, logging has once again become prosperous in many towns.
After all, since the invention of the propeller magic thruster, the shipyard's orders have almost been scheduled for two years later.
So they urgently needed a lot of wood and steel to build new ships.”
The succubus Loli dumped out all the information she had collected.
You have to know that she has countless "dogs" in the city of Askatla, and she can easily get all kinds of information from them.
And this intelligence network does not require any money to maintain, and in turn can provide a variety of luxurious enjoyment and valuable gifts.
"Well, it seems that I have overestimated the power of those natural gods and their churches in the mortal world."
Zuo Si shrugged with a relaxed look on his face.
He originally thought that his behavior would trigger a series of chain reactions.
But who could have thought that Silvanus, the father of oak, would completely ignore it and let his faith disappear completely in the southern part of the West Coast.
In this case, we can then make drastic and large-scale changes to the climate, natural environment and terrain.
After all, looking at the continent of Faerun from a modern perspective, there is no need to protect any damn nature.
Outside of towns and villages, all you can see are endless forests, grasslands, mountains and wilderness. The monsters and beasts that can never be killed are the best proof of this.
Zuo Si's goal was simple, to first eradicate the Cloak Forest, Sharptooth Forest near Baldur's Gate, and the Serpent Forest south of the Green Wilderness.
As a result, a large, continuous fertile plain will appear north of the Cloud Mountains.
As long as we make good use of the Chongsa River and the rivers and lakes in the Anmu area, this place will become a huge granary.
Standing on the high tower, Zuo Si and the Succubus Lolita looked down at the brand new scenery of the entire Gold Coin City.
With the proposal of urban planning and renovation plans, Athkatla has now demolished its original city walls and began to expand and extend outward.
Several of the original urban areas are also under intensive construction. Old buildings are constantly being demolished and new, taller buildings are rising from the ground. At first glance, it looks like a huge construction site.
Through these demolitions and reconstructions, the originally narrow roads in the city have been significantly widened, and green belts and street lights with eternal flames have been added on both sides.
When night falls, the whole city is bathed in abundant light.
Those small vendors who used to have to pack up their stalls and go home when it gets dark now gather in groups under street lights to sell their goods and snacks to pedestrians.
Many civilians who do not have the habit of nightlife are now beginning to enjoy the changes in their lives brought about by the popularization of magic and technology.
The prosperous port has adopted a completely new management method, which is not only efficient but also can accommodate more ships.
Sailors from all over the world gathered in taverns and special service places, praising loudly this port city which they considered to be the most prosperous, lively, safest and most opportunity-rich in the world.
The workers in the shipyard also worked in three shifts, striving to ensure that every ship in the dock was built at full capacity. To this end, the owner of the shipyard did not hesitate to significantly increase the workers' wages.
There is no way. There are only so many orders now. The faster we produce, the more money we make.
Not to raise mention the workers' wages, some bosses even spend a lot of money to hire wizards to help, just to dehydrate and dry the wood faster.
Although with the intervention of the Church of Gund, the God of Craftsmen, and the Guild of Inventors, several shipyards within the empire have the technology to build keels with steel frames.
But the hull will continue to use traditional wooden boards.
The only thing that made the shipyard owners feel fortunate was that the great Emperor Soth had cleared out the druids in the two forests near Baldur's Gate and opened up permission for destructive logging.
Therefore, there is no shortage of timber supply for the time being.
And since the advent of steel keel technology, the size and length of ships have also increased significantly.
In the past, ships of two or three hundred tons were considered large ships, and only a very small number of shipyards that mastered the key technologies could build them.
But now, after the expansion of the dock, we can easily build a thousand-ton sea-going vessel.
This was simply unimaginable before.
In addition to the shipyards, a large number of workshops, mills, blacksmith shops, oil presses, etc. in the city's industrial areas also use hydraulic machinery, and their output is several times higher than that of their counterparts in other places.
There is no doubt that Askatla is the first city in Faerun that is developing in the direction of Earth's modern times.
In some places, tall chimneys were even erected, with large amounts of black smoke coming out of them.
Although some of the physical and chemical rules of this world are very different from those on Earth, the fact that coal can be used to boil water to provide power is the same.
A primitive steam engine was apparently invented, inspired by Gond, the god of craftsmen and crafts.
However, due to its high cost and frequent malfunctions, it can only be used as an experimental toy for the time being and is still a long way from being put into mass production.
"Master, are you really a big devil?"
The succubus loli suddenly raised her head and asked.
Zuo Si raised his eyebrows and asked, "What makes you doubt my identity?"
Atona pointed to the prosperous scene outside and said, "Because you are making the lives of these mortals better and better, this doesn't seem like something an evil devil would do."
Hearing this, Zuo Si immediately couldn't help laughing: "Hahahaha! No, my little cutie, you seem to have misunderstood something. Why do you think I'm trying so hard to improve the quality of life of these mortals and make them have strong expectations for the future?"
"Hmm—I don't know."
The succubus Loli thought for a moment and immediately shook her head.
"Then you should know that the number of souls born in a world depends on the total population base, right?
For the devils in hell, the soul is the most important resource and source of power.
Therefore, the better the lives of mortals, the more offspring they produce, and the greater the population density of this world, the better it is for me.
Moreover, the higher the quality of life and the more rewards that can be obtained through labor, the easier it is for mortals to be tempted by instincts and desires and become depraved.
Therefore, whether it is to provide a better living environment to increase the population, or to allow mortals to obtain more rewards and continue to fall under temptation, the ultimate goal is to achieve the goal of obtaining souls.
You can understand that I'm playing the long game to catch a big fish.
In addition, population growth is also a good thing for many gods, as they can enhance their divine power through faith.
This also means that I have also won over some powerful allies through this process.
True evil is not as bloody, cruel and horrible as you imagine.
Instead, it should be like a gentle spring breeze, silently changing a person's thoughts, consciousness and cognition.
In this process, mortals should not be painful, but happy.
Only in this way can this evil penetrate into their bones and even their souls and continue to exist."
Zuo Si taught the succubus Loli a lesson in a patient and persuasive way.
"I see!"
A bright light flashed in Atona's eyes, and she seemed to have an epiphany, frantically digesting the information.
Although her essence is a demon, she gradually develops into a lawful evil devil under Zuo Si's training.
Just like that, after instilling some thoughts and ideas into the succubus Lolita, Zuo Si returned to his own room and began to prepare to welcome Aberdare and his party.
Because he knew that once this group of people escaped, they would definitely choose to find him first.
(End of this chapter)
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