Chapter 779.2: Human Nature...

At present, there remained debate within the Port Gallon’s League over whether Laxi was truly a qualified leader, though most senior members of the association remained optimistic. It was understood that Laxi had previously been a slave. During the capture of Camp Rowell, he had also ordered the execution of soldiers under his command who had abducted civilian women.

Some members of the New Alliance had previously criticized his methods as excessively crude. Since then, however, he had clearly absorbed lessons from those criticisms, establishing institutions such as disaster-relief offices. That was also one of the reasons senior figures within the League remained optimistic about him.

According to this newspaper’s editors, over the past two centuries, the Poro Province had experienced countless civil wars of varying scale. Allowing soldiers to loot settlements after capturing them had become an accepted custom, much like how marauders in the River Valley Province, the Brocade River Province, and the Spur Province imitated Mutant Humans by eating people. By contrast, prohibiting soldiers from burning, killing, and looting after taking a settlement was extraordinarily rare...

“This guy’s actually got something going for him.” By the time Liszt reached the end of the report, a look of genuine interest had appeared on his face. He read the article from beginning to end once more, and the more he read, the more he felt that this man wasn’t actually a fool.

Much of Laxi’s behavior involved clumsy imitation mixed with rough modifications of his own, but setting aside those crude methods, he was vastly more capable than the man Liszt had just met.

Moreover, as a member of the Moon Clan who had taken an entire state of the Xilande Empire, Laxi had struck the Empire directly in a vital organ.

The Heavenly City would never let him go. To maintain its balance with the Army, the New Alliance would probably avoid interfering directly in the Poro Province. The odds of it sending troops were practically nonexistent. That meant if Laxi wanted to establish a stable foothold right beneath the Xilande Empire’s nose, he would have no choice but to cling tightly to the New Alliance.

“Han Long, an opportunity to make money just arrived.”

Seeing the delighted expression on his boss’s face, Han Long, seated in the front passenger seat, paused in confusion. “Boss, didn’t you say the Poro Province had no investment value?”

Liszt flicked the newspaper lightly and smiled. “That only proves you didn’t understand what I told you before. In an emerging market, what’s worth investing in is the person, not the market itself, because places like that are usually dominated by individuals. An idiot certainly isn’t worth investing in, but a mighty expert is.”

After a pause, he continued, “Here’s what we’ll do. In a few days, accompany Qian Duo over there.”

Qian Duo and Qian Lai were his subordinates and had followed him for a long time. Liszt had been thinking that it was about time to let them go out and gain some experience on their own.

Han Long hesitated slightly. “But... what about your safety?”

Liszt laughed heartily. “What problem with safety could I possibly have in Dawn City? You need to update the way you think. This place stopped being an emerging market a long time ago!”

...

Unlike the civil war in the South Sea, the Moon Clan Resistance Army’s entry into Mammoth City was nowhere near as glorious or sensational as the Southern Sea New Alliance’s arrival on North Island, nor did it stir the nerves of anyone across the wasteland, even though North Island covered less than half the area of Mammoth State.

Dawn City Television devoted only a small amount of airtime to the event.

When Banteno, the Army’s ambassador to the New Alliance, saw the news about Mammoth City, his first reaction wasn’t to call his allies, but to pick up a map and look at where the place even was.

When he discovered that the damned place lay on the east coast of the Poro Province, separated from West Sail Harbor on the west coast by several entire states and far beyond the sphere of influence of the Army’s civilian bureaucracy, he immediately put the matter aside and stopped caring.

The Camel Kingdom, which bordered Mammoth State, did become briefly nervous, mainly because it feared that large numbers of refugees might flood into its territory.

The royal court of the Camel Kingdom was an enlightened theocratic monarchy. But however enlightened it might be, it remained a theocratic monarchy in the end. They could tolerate the Silvermoon Church’s new interpretations of old doctrine. They could tolerate heretical merchants bringing treasures they liked. They could even tolerate the New Alliance stationing troops in Silvermoon Bay... after all, they had asked for those things. But under no circumstances could they tolerate heretics coming onto the lands of the Spirit of the Desert to beg for food.

On that matter, the merchant-nobles of Silvermoon Bay were unexpectedly aligned with the royal family. After all, if those beggars entered the territory of the Camel Kingdom, Silvermoon Bay would be their first stop.

Several local chambers of commerce immediately sprang into action and proactively contacted Resistance Army leader Laxi. In gratitude for his protection of the church, they offered him an interest-free relief loan of 10,000,000 Silver under the banner of disaster assistance.

The moment Laxi heard about such a good deal, he agreed without hesitation. He even designated a tract of land outside Mammoth City as a church district for those religious charlatans.

Within that district, they only needed to obey the laws of the local government. They paid no taxes whatsoever, and residents from Silvermoon Bay could develop the area however they pleased.

The land had been a wasteland to begin with. Leaving it unused would accomplish nothing. It made more sense to hand it over to those Silvermoon Bay believers who were so enthusiastic about colonization and let them develop it.

Besides, Silvermoon Bay residents had lived alongside the people of the Poro Province for a long time. Locals were hardly hostile toward those business-savvy fellows.

Once they had developed the place, Laxi could decide later whether to take it back or simply put a price on it and keep leasing it to them. At least in his view, all of that was negotiable.

While Laxi’s government was expanding its army amid the disaster in Mammoth State, using the flood to solicit money from every direction, and aggressively pushing through their new policies, the Xilande Empire finally realized with a start that a large chunk had gone missing from its 4,000,000 square kilometer map.

Inside the Heavenly Palace, Wutuo Xilande urgently summoned his ministers and trusted confidants and shut the doors of the council hall to begin deliberations.

The officials scratched their heads in frustration and argued noisily among themselves, yet not a single one could come up with a workable plan.

Unable to watch any longer, Prince Dilip stepped forward and cautiously suggested, “Why don’t we order the local armies of Bird State and Horse State to assemble from the west and south toward Mammoth State? The Moon Clan Resistance Army has yet to establish firm roots there, and with the region suffering such a severe disaster, I suspect the moment our forces press in, they’ll collapse on their own.”

Nihark’s heart jolted at those words. Before Wutuo Xilande could respond, he hurriedly stepped forward and yelled, “Your Majesty! Absolutely not! The Fierce Tiger Army and Black Panther Army have already become problems too powerful to control! It would be easy to assemble the troops of Bird State and Horse State, but controlling them afterward would be another matter entirely!”

Wutuo Xilande had originally been considering nodding along with Prince Dilip’s proposal, but the moment he heard Nihark’s warning, a cold sweat broke out over his body.

That had been close.

Seeing the change in Wutuo Xilande’s expression, Nihark’s palms also broke out in sweat.

Good thing I spoke quickly. If I had been even a little slower, there would’ve been no room to turn things around.

After a pause, ignoring Prince Dilip’s displeased expression, he lowered his head and continued, “Your Majesty, Mammoth State is a minor matter. We must not throw ourselves into disorder over it. If all thirteen states of the Poro Province begin imitating Tiger State and Panther State by hoarding troops and asserting their own power, then smoke from war will rise all along both banks of the Everflowing River. The Poro Province may once again fall into the chaos of a century ago!”

“Then what do you suggest?” Prince Dilip asked unhappily, turning toward him. “Are we supposed to simply ignore the fact that Mammoth State has been occupied?”

“We absolutely must deal with it!” Nihark raised his head and stared intently at Wutuo Xilande as he continued, “But under the current circumstances, only the central army can act! We need a victory to show the local powers our strength.”

After a pause, he added, “We should send Alyang.”

The hall immediately erupted.

Shock appeared on the faces of the gathered officials as they stared at the man who seemed to have had his brain ruined by his imprisonment with the New Alliance.

Send Alyang?

Wouldn’t that simply repeat the disaster at Port Gallon?!

Even Wutuo Xilande, seated high above them, frowned at the suggestion.

Before the assembled nobles and officials could protest, Prince Dilip was the first to step forward. He glared at Duke Nihark, who had been opposing him at every turn and snapped, “That man is nothing more than someone the New Alliance already defeated. How could he possibly be a match for Laxi?!”

Duke Nihark replied in a deep voice, “Precisely because he has fought the New Alliance before, he knows how to deal with people influenced by the New Alliance!”

Prince Dilip was about to retort that they should send him since he had also been defeated by the New Alliance, but quickly realized that would only drag himself into the mess. His face reddened, and he hurriedly changed angles. “But if we transfer the Gray Wolf Army away from the Port Gallon border, wouldn’t that leave the entire frontier in the hands of the Fierce Tiger Army and Black Panther Army?!” Duke Nihark grumbled with bitter frustration.

“What difference does it make whether they stay there or leave now? Every officer the Army trained for us has already been corrupted by those treacherous bastards! We might as well use this opportunity to move those who still remain loyal to us northward and at least keep the restless Horse State and Bird State under control!”

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