Unlike the lower-class citizens who were simply indulging their lust, some who had received basic education in the empire tried to enjoy their victory in a more "civilized" way.
Wang Shufen was a history teacher at the Seventeenth Imperial Primary School. She spent her entire life instilling in her children the "truth" that "those who are not of our race are bound to have different hearts; those who are not yellow-skinned or not Chinese are all to be enslaved."
She was chosen to attend the Royal Knights Academy of Exodar.
This is a massive castle brimming with masculinity and glory. Inside are vast training grounds, armories, and the "Hall of Heroes," which has nurtured countless generations of heroes in the Kingdom of Arathor.
Along with the academy, she was assigned several hundred young apprentice knights who were still in the academy and had not yet had a chance to go to the battlefield, as well as their instructor—a once renowned one-armed paladin who had slain countless monsters.
Looking at these young people, whose average age was no more than eighteen, with blond hair, blue eyes, tall and straight figures, and full of youth and vitality, Wang Shufen's eyes shone with a fanatical light.
She wants to teach a special "history class" here.
The first thing she did was to smash all the statues of heroes in the Hall of Heroes. Then, she replaced them with a golden statue of Emperor Lin Feng in their original positions.
Next, she gathered all the apprentice knights on the training ground.
"From this day forward, you are no longer knights, you are slaves!" she declared from the high platform in her shrill voice. "All those rubbish thoughts about honor, loyalty, and protection in your minds must be completely eradicated! The only thing you need to remember is obedience!"
Her teaching method is simple yet effective.
She would randomly select a trainee knight and have him recite the "Imperial Bloodline Purity Protection Law." If he mispronounced a single word, she would have the other trainee knights whip him.
One blow after another, until his skin was torn open and blood was everywhere.
"Look, this is what happens when you betray the Empire!" She would point to the boy lying in a pool of blood and lecture the others, "Your race, your civilization, has come to this end because you refused to accept the Empire's 'redemption'! You are guilty! Sinful blood flows in your veins!"
What she enjoys most is destroying the beliefs in their hearts.
She would have the one-armed paladin instructor kneel before Lin Feng's statue in front of all the students, kiss the statue's toes, and then loudly praise the emperor's "benevolence."
Each time, the battle-hardened old knight, his bones harder than steel, would grind his teeth, his eyes filled with tears of humiliation. But he dared not disobey, for Wang Shufen would threaten him with the safety of the other students.
After subjecting her to mental torture, Wang Shufen would also subject her to physical "reform".
She believes that these future "empire laborers" are too "superficial" and not "practical" enough.
So she canceled all sword and horsemanship training and replaced it with sixteen hours of weighted running and mining every day.
These boys, who once dreamed of becoming heroes, now drag heavy iron chains every day, wielding pickaxes in the mines, spilling their sweat and blood on the land that once belonged to them.
In the evenings, Wang Shufen would select a few of the most handsome boys and bring them to her room for "after-school tutoring."
She would make them kneel on the ground, massage her, and read aloud poems praising the empire. She reveled in the pleasure of utterly trampling the future and hope of an entire race under her feet.
She believed she was undertaking a great cause. She was "purifying" these filthy souls, cultivating a new generation of "qualified" and grateful slaves for the empire.
Liu San, forty-two years old.
He was a farmer, and his ancestors for eighteen generations had been farmers. In the Blue Star era, his ancestors worked from sunrise to sunset on that yellow earth.
During the imperial era, he was assigned to the imperial agricultural department, where he continued to cultivate "premium nutritional wheat" to supply the capital.
His life was much better than that of his ancestors in the Blue Star era. The Empire provided standardized, affordable housing and guaranteed a basic food supply.
But he remained poor and at the bottom of society. The farthest place he had ever been in his life was the "county town"—a gathering point for exchanging goods.
He had no wife, only a few Japanese maids.
In his view, these maids, who were also of yellow skin, could not be considered wives at all.
He thought he would toil silently on this land like his ancestors, and then die silently.
Until the Edict of the Exodar Colonial Order was issued.
To fill this newly occupied, enormous city, the Imperial Council opened colonial applications to all citizens with unprecedented力度 (intensity/effort), with a special note that priority would be given to lower-class citizens who had "made basic contributions to the Empire".
Liu San worked diligently his whole life and was named a "model worker" every year. His application was miraculously approved.
When he stepped onto the colony ship named "Harvest," he felt like he was dreaming. The people around him, like him, were mostly from the lower classes of the empire, from all corners of the land. Their faces wore a complex expression, a mixture of trepidation, bewilderment, and intense longing.
The colony ship arrived in Esoda.
When Liu San stepped out of the cabin and saw this magnificent city built into the mountains for the first time, he was so shocked that he couldn't speak. The tallest building he had ever seen in his life was the five-story granary in the county town. What he saw before him exceeded his imagination.
Imperial officials distributed “assets” to these new colonists, much like distributing relief grain.
“Liu San.” An official read aloud without looking up from the smart terminal in his hand, “Based on your citizenship level and contribution assessment, you have been assigned to Manor No. 17 on Street 3 of the ‘White Rock District’ in Exoda. This is your property certificate and ‘colonial start package’.”
Liu San trembled as he accepted a thin metal card.
He found his "new home" by following the map on the card.
It was a three-story mansion built of white rock, complete with a huge garden and fountain. Above the main gate, the remnants of a family crest, forcibly pried off, still remained.
Liu San pushed open the large door carved from elven wood and went inside.
Luxury was the only word that came to mind.
The floor was covered with a soft carpet of fur from an unknown creature. Exquisite oil paintings depicting mountains and rivers hung on the walls. In the center of the living room, there was even a chandelier made of magical crystals, emitting a soft glow.
Is this my home?
Liu San was so excited that he trembled all over. He carefully touched everything in the room, afraid that if he used too much force, this dream would shatter.
Just then, the back door of the manor was opened.
Two soldiers in imperial uniforms led in five slaves wearing collars and shackles.
“Colonel Liu San,” one of the soldiers said expressionlessly, “this is your ‘colonial starter pack.’ Two male slaves for manual labor. Three female slaves for housework and… anything else you need.”
Liu San's gaze fell on the five slaves.
The two male slaves, one who looked human and must have been a soldier, with an indomitable flame in his eyes; the other was a dwarf, covered in wounds.
And those three women...
Liu San's breathing stopped instantly.
Standing in the middle was a noblewoman who was about forty years old.
Although her clothes were tattered and her face was stained, her innate noble and elegant temperament could not be concealed. Her eyes were filled with humiliation and sorrow, but her back remained ramrod straight.
Beside her were two girls who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. Their faces were filled with fear, and they huddled together, trembling. One of them had a rare head of long, fiery red hair.
“They…they are…” Liu San stammered.
“They were the former owners of this manor.” The soldier’s tone was tinged with mockery. “The one in the middle is Countess Elena Valen, the wife of the finance minister of the Kingdom of Arasso. Those two little girls are her daughters.”
After the soldier finished speaking, he unlocked the shackles on the slaves' hands and stuffed an electric shock baton and a "Slave Management Manual" into Liu San's hands.
"Now, they are your property. Remember, Imperial law guarantees your right to dispose of your private property. As long as you don't kill them, you can use them however you like."
The soldiers left, leaving only Liu San and his five "properties" in the vast manor.
Liu San gripped the cold stun gun, looking at the once unapproachable countess before him.
Elena Valen also looked at Liu San. She could tell his background from his rough skin, ill-fitting cheap clothes, and uneasy eyes.
A lowly imperial peasant, not even worthy to carry her shoes.
From this day forward, this farmer will become the master of her and her daughters' lives.
An immense sense of humiliation gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.
“You…” Liu San finally mustered his courage and spoke. He wanted to imitate the imperial officials and speak with authority, but he opened his mouth and only managed to utter, “…What are we having for dinner?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Ai-Lina's eyes, quickly replaced by a deeper sorrow. Slowly and humiliatingly, she bent her noble knees and knelt before Liu San.
Her two daughters also knelt down, weeping.
“Master…whatever you wish to eat, we will…make it for you.”
At that moment, as Liu San looked at the countess and her daughters kneeling at his feet, his heart, which had been suppressed and ignored for more than forty years, was completely filled with something called "power".
He was no longer the humble peasant Liu San.
He is the master.
Liu San quickly adapted to his new identity.
No, it should be said that he became addicted to this imperial lifestyle at an astonishing speed.
He never imagined that life could be so "happy".
Every morning, he no longer woke up to the jarring sound of an alarm clock, but opened his eyes to the gentle call of Countess Elena.
Yes, he still called her "Countess," not out of respect, but out of a morbid sense of pleasure that gave him great satisfaction.
"Master, it's time for you to get up."
Elena would kneel by the bedside and serve him hot tea brewed with spices native to the Elven race. Her two daughters, Lillian and Camilla, would bring him neatly ironed clothes—exquisite silk robes taken from the Earl's wardrobe.
Liu San awkwardly put on the gorgeous clothes he had only ever seen in holographic images before, and then walked into the restaurant like a true aristocrat.
The long dining table was already laden with a sumptuous breakfast.
Golden-brown bread coated in honey; perfectly fried dragon eggs with a rich, milky aroma; and a glass of freshly squeezed juice with a sweet, fruity fragrance.
All of this was prepared by the former royal guard, now a slave named "A-1," and the dwarf slave named "b-1." One was in charge of cooking, and the other was in charge of chopping wood and starting the fire.
Liu San sat in the main seat, while Elena and her daughters stood behind him like real maids.
While he ate, Elena would gently massage his back. Lillian would add juice to his bowl, and Camilla would peel fruit for him.
Liu San would often deliberately drop food on the ground and then say in a commanding tone, "Countess, it's dirty, lick it clean."
Elena's body stiffened for a moment, but she eventually gave in. She would lie on the ground, like a dog, and lick the fallen food clean with her tongue.
At this moment, Liu San would let out a vulgar yet satisfied laugh.
He loved seeing her humiliated, pained, yet powerless expression. It intoxicated him more than any fine wine.
After breakfast, Liu San's "work" began.
He would lie on the fairy wicker chair in the garden, drinking the fine wines he had plundered from the count's cellar while supervising the slaves as they worked.
A-1 and b-1 are responsible for tending the huge garden, trimming the flowers and cleaning the fountain.
Elena and her daughters were responsible for cleaning the enormous three-story mansion. They had to wipe every corner of the floor, wash the mountains of laundry, and polish every piece of silverware until it shone.
Liu San set strict rules for them.
For example, when wiping the floor, you are not allowed to use a mop; you must kneel on the ground and wipe it bit by bit by hand.
For example, when washing clothes, you can only use cold water, even in the cold season.
He would watch them like the most demanding overseer. If he found even the slightest flaw, he would not hesitate to strike them with his stun gun.
The girls' tender skin was soon covered with bluish-purple whip marks. They often huddled in the cold slave rooms at night, silently weeping because of the pain.
Liu San, on the other hand, enjoyed all of this.
He reveled in the pleasure of trampling these once noble and beautiful lives under his feet.
He is no longer the farmer who toils in the fields.
He is a god. A god who can rule over everything in this manor.
Nighttime is Liu San's "happiest" time.
He would order Elena and her daughters to change into the most revealing evening gowns they could find in their mother's closet and dance for him in the living room.
Their awkward, shameful dance moves were, in his eyes, the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Then, like an emperor choosing his concubines, he would casually point to one of them and command, "Tonight, you will serve me."
Sometimes it's the older sister Lily, sometimes it's the younger sister Camilla.
Sometimes, he would even ask the mother and her two daughters to...
Such a "happy" life as Liu San's has become the new norm throughout Exoda.
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