When the young man, who was kneeling on the ground, heard the Wizard Li God's meaningful question, thousands of thoughts rose in his heart with mixed feelings.
A few years ago, when the capital was destroyed by the Atandin tribesmen, his father who forced him to change into a servant's attire had a face that was mixed with intense despair, grief, indignation, unwillingness, and self-blame that only a king of a fallen country would have.
Even when he was captured and sold as a slave by the hateful foreign rebel army, his good teacher, Hobbie, who had always been by his side, seemed to always have a hopeful look in his eyes.
When he was dragged to the desolate Hellfire island by the slave trading ship, and when the barbarian warriors pierced the throats of his thin companions beside him for crying out in alarm, the greedy faces of the slave merchants.
When the Wizard Li expeditionary army raided the Green Leaf Mainland and gained a foothold, the god's smile that contained an inexplicable meaning when he took the risk to meet the Wizard Li God to borrow troops to restore his country.
When he boarded the city-sized skybeast and led tens of thousands of soldiers to cross thousands of miles to return to the ancestral dwelling place, and when he conquered the first oasis in the desolate corner of the Songee Desert, the ecstatic and worshipful cheers and shouts of his compatriots who were persecuted by the foreign tribes … The most memorable scenes in his life flashed across his mind. Yeegan became silent for a moment before replying in a dry voice, "Great God.
I'm here to offer you the devout faith of tens of millions of sand people and ask your Holy See in the mortal world to take over all the oases that I've recovered. "
When Zhang Lisheng heard that Yeegan came to see him in disguise on his own initiative to give up his rights, the expression on Zhang Lisheng's face changed subtly.
After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth and said, "Knight Yeegan, you've launched a war of revenge against the Atandin people in the Songee Desert with 50,000 paladins and gained the support of millions of sand people in a short period of time. You've shocked the Atandin Royal Court and tied the hands and feet of the Atandin people, making them unable to join the mainland coalition forces. You've made a great contribution and it's enough for you to divide the territory.
However, the theocratic world that I've created will never retain the aristocratic class, so it's impossible for you to restore your country.
But as a god known for his generosity, I won't be stingy with my followers who have made outstanding contributions. I'll give you the position of High Priest and make the Songee Desert your parish in the future. "
In the land shrouded by Wizard Li's faith, the theocracy and the political power were integrated into one. A chief priest who was in charge of a diocese that was comparable to a kingdom's power was almost the same as the old king. Even though the position could not be hereditary, the Wizard Li high priests were not prohibited from getting married and could also keep their private property. It was not difficult for those with high status to shelter their descendants. Compared to his merits, Yeegang's treatment was not too harsh.
However, as an ambitious Restoration King who had honed his brilliance in a short period of life and death battles, Yeegan could not feel the balance in his heart. However, the current situation was completely different from a few months ago. Even an idiot would know that it was only a matter of time before Wizard Li's faith would envelop the entire mainland. Those who stood in his way would be crushed, and he could only submit.
"Thank you for your gift and generosity, Great God." The Sand King, who went against his will and listened to his advisor's advice to sell himself at a good price in advance, could only pretend to be joyful and thank him loudly.
Zhang Lisheng could see the unwillingness in Yeegan's eyes that was filled with joy, but he did not care too much about it. A truly outstanding king and wise man would often not be superstitious about other existences other than themselves, so of course, the young man would not force it.
Smiling secretly, he ordered the choresman beside him, "Send my order to Shalunono, Dupanzi, Surusasha … The nine legion commanders will lead their subordinates to accompany High Priest Yeegan to return to the Songee Desert on the armed airship and launch a strong attack from the enemy's rear.
The rest of the legions will fight on the front battlefield. We must make sure that the Atandin people will not be able to take care of both the front and the rear at the same time and defeat them in one fell swoop. "
"Yes, Great God!" The native choresman kowtowed and retreated. Then, Yeegan also left the tent respectfully.
Looking at his disappearing back, Zhang Lisheng muttered to himself, "I hope you won't turn your unwillingness into action …" Then, he stood up and waved his hand to condense a thick fog to hide his figure. When he reappeared again, he was already in the cabin of a ship that looked no different from an ordinary public transport airship.
A few minutes later, the airship slowly rose into the air and floated away into the sea of clouds, soon disappearing without a trace …
The heat of September gradually dispersed. Located in the plain area with four distinct seasons, Lange City, which was originally part of the Dente Province of the Felan Kingdom, was already enjoying a pleasant autumn weather.
When the Wizard Li army occupied Felan, other than a few medium-sized battles in the frontier area, the kingdom that had fallen into a civil war could be said to have fallen without any bloodshed. Most of the cities were not affected by the war. For this reason, this huge industrial city built in the mining area, other than the lack of surrounding walls, had not changed much compared to the era of the monarchy.
Other than the addition of a magnificent and gloomy temple, there was not much change compared to the era of the monarchy.
Early in the morning, the airship station in the suburbs of Lange City was already crowded with merchants who ran seasonal goods and travelers who planned to travel far.
After the Wizard Li theocracy replaced the secular regime to rule the mainland, other than the reconstruction of the temple, the most important political affairs was to improve the transportation. Spacious cement roads and railways were connected one by one, and airships could be seen in the sky from time to time. At this moment, the original main means of transportation, the carriage, had long been eliminated, other than being used by people to travel in the city.
In the beginning, the mainlanders did not understand why the gods who had conquered them were so keen on building roads and various stations. However, they soon discovered that as the time it took to cross the Green Leaf Mainland from the east and west changed from more than ten months to more than ten days, the area of the entire mainland seemed to have shrunk a lot, naturally giving off a sense of integration.
The foreign land that was originally out of reach suddenly seemed to be within reach. Other than the dignitaries who used to hold great power and live a luxurious life, many decent people who were the backbone of the old society slowly felt that not only did the opportunities around them not decrease, but they were also increasing instead. Compared to the past, it could be said that there were gains and losses, and it was not entirely bad luck.
Gradually, some smart people realized that the Wizard Li God's idea was completely different from those powerful gods who ruled the world with theocracy in ancient history. He did not intend to fool the mortals, imprison the people's wisdom, and cultivate hundreds of millions of ignorant believers who only knew how to worship him and knew nothing else.
Instead, he actively spread knowledge and opened the people's wisdom so that the world would be grateful for his kindness. Then, by comparing it with his cruel means of punishment to the heretics, he would subtly influence the believers to become more and more pious in gratitude and fear.
The Wizard Li God's way of doing things made the few dissenting mainlanders to become more and more desperate. Although the cruel suppression of the general public could achieve the effect of purging the heretics for a while, it would inevitably lead to disasters in the long run.
A life that was richer and happier than the old era would make the vast majority of people slowly forget their hatred. In this way, the soil for the survival of the heretics would naturally continue to decrease and eventually disappear completely. This was the reason why Zhang Lisheng was confident that he could unify the Gaia World.
"Looks like the order in the hinterland of the Green Leaf Mainland has become more and more stable. In this case, I might be able to recruit an army from the mainlanders next spring to go on an expedition to other mainlands.
Well, before that, maybe I should go back to Earth … "Looking down at the noisy crowd from the slowly descending airship corridor window, the young man muttered with a slightly proud tone.
As he was speaking, the pod floated to the ground. A young woman dressed in a blue uniform, dressed as an airship attendant, walked up to Zhang Lisheng and reported softly, "Sir, we've arrived at Lange City."
"Thank you." The young man nodded and thanked her like an ordinary person before walking to the cabin door. When he came to the door, he suddenly stopped and whispered, "Don't forget to bring the guest with you when you leave. Disguise must be perfect." Then, without waiting for the others to answer, he quickly walked up the stairs to the ground.
Under the rising sun, a cool breeze blew past, blowing the silk headscarf wrapped around the young man's black hair, causing the two ribbons behind his head to dance in the wind, giving him a rather unrestrained temperament.
When the coachmen, who had been waiting for the guest early in the morning, saw that there was only a young man who was dressed in a strange but excellent material walking out of the airship, their eyes lit up right away. They ran over in unison and scrambled to shout, "Young Master, do you need to rent a carriage? The seats in my carriage have been specially changed. They're spacious and comfortable …"
"Guest, I can tell that you're an artist at first glance. Are you going to the old mining area of Lange City to paint? I'm most familiar with that place …"
"Sir, it's your wisest choice to hire my carriage. I used to drive for Sir Conaway, a noble of the territory …"
Zhang Lisheng ignored the noise of the crowd and looked at the carriages parked side by side in the carriage rental area that was specially designated not far away. Pointing at the carriage that had the cleanest animal fur and the carriage's exterior that was painted old, he asked, "Whose carriage is the third carriage on the right?"
"It's me, sir. That's my carriage!" A young man with an extremely immature face glanced at his peers on both sides and said loudly proudly.
"Do you know how to get to the Golden Tin Road?"
"Of course I do, sir. The 35 roads of Lange City are all in my head." Without any hesitation, the young man pointed to his head and replied.
"Very well, I'll rent your carriage then." Zhang Lisheng nodded in satisfaction and took out a gold coin from his pocket to throw it at the young coachman. Then, he strode towards the carriage he had chosen.
When the guest left, the coachmen who did not manage to get any business looked at the shiny coin that the young man had grabbed with jealousy and sighed as they dispersed to continue to wait for the next airship to land. The young coachman, on the other hand, followed the Wizard Li God arrogantly and walked back to his carriage.
"Sir, which number of Golden Tin Road are you going to?" The young man took the initiative to sit on the coachman's seat and asked attentively.
"No. 29 Golden Tin Road," Zhang Lisheng reported the address. Zhang Lisheng reported the address and asked casually as he boarded the carriage, "Do you know that place?"
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