Chapter 766
Assign Three Bishops to Them
“Fear?” Isabel was stunned.
“Yes. Because they were all goblins’ slaves, and slaves are not allowed to take others’ belongings without permission. To their masters, it’s a humiliation, signifying their master’s ‘poverty and lack.’ Slaves who take others’ things can even be sentenced to death.
“But similarly, slaves do not have the right to refuse gifts given to them. Because the Avalonians are Free People, slaves have no right to refuse the gifts of Free People.
“So when they knelt, they were actually begging for mercy out of fear… ‘Please, don’t kill me’—that’s probably what they meant.” Alistair vividly recounted the knowledge she had newly acquired from the Church, showing the pride of someone who had learned something new and wanted to show it off to her girlfriend.
“Extraordinary beings can become slaves?” Isabel was surprised. “Then what happened later…”
Alistair shook her head. “Later, the goblin manager of the engineering team probably opened up the permissions, allowing them to accept gifts. After all, within Avalon, it would be inconvenient to publicly execute slaves—it would be too barbaric and bloody for us.
“…And then their salutes and blessings were their genuine expressions of gratitude. If nothing unexpected happens, the trolls would have truly bestowed blessings upon the residents… because they couldn’t understand the Avalonians’ culture of ‘only verbally praying for blessings.’
“After all, trolls can genuinely bestow blessings through rituals—but blessings themselves are abilities of the Path of Devotion. Forcing imitation or long-term maintenance with the Transcendent Path is extremely difficult. Using it with their low energy levels could even shorten their lifespan.
“I didn’t realize that…” Isabel became serious. “Then I must order them not to ask the trolls for blessings. They’re building our railway for free, and we can’t cause them trouble… If word got out, it would make people look down on us Avalonians. Thank you, Alai… the information you gave me is very important. Want a kiss?”
“It’s nothing,” Alistair said softly, turning her head away as a silent refusal.
However, speaking of the construction team, she thought of another matter. “What about the railway? How is the construction going? I remember Grandet mentioning he would give us ten locomotives… has he delivered?”
“No, they’re reportedly still procuring them. The railway, though, is almost half completed…” Isabel recalled.
“The contract states it should be operational by August,” Alistair nodded in satisfaction, emphasizing, “But don’t rush to open it then. Remember to send experts to inspect it first. Although the possibility is slim—they probably wouldn’t dare—based on my understanding of goblins, the managers and supervisors executing the project might very well substitute inferior goods and embezzle a large amount of funds.”
“Okay, I will conduct a strict inspection,” Isabel nodded, making a note. “Anything else?”
“Don’t just foolishly let those goblins decide the direction of the railway—the contract states that ‘railways must pass through any city where three or more bishops are stationed.’ Go find Minister Hermes and mention it to him: draft a list of ‘cities urgently needing train access,’ and then see if you can lay out three lines.
“As for the cities in between that are disconnected, that’s also easy to solve. Go to the Church and ask Bishop Mathers to issue a decree, transferring the bishops to the cities we need, placing three in each city—I mean, assign three bishops to all important cities.
“If the bishops wish to return to their original posts… tell them to wait half a year, consider it a period of training. After the railway is operational, ask them if they want to return to their original locations.”
“…Will that be alright?” Isabel asked with some concern. “Isn’t this considered… too despicable?”
“How is that possible?” Alistair laughed, her eyes bright. “Don’t underestimate the cunning of goblins. Since they proposed this condition, it means they have already foreseen this scenario—it’s like a casino; for one person to profit, two must lose. But the casino owner will never lose.
“It’s like those buildings they built for us. Although these buildings are part of the contract and free… renovating them costs money. Whether it’s external decoration, or the furniture and daily necessities needed inside, it’s too troublesome to transport them from the interior.
“The best solution is to set up a factory in the Summerfall County. Or, buy in bulk directly from the port—either choice means increased domestic demand, and we still have to buy things from the goblin merchants.”
Speaking of which, now that the war has stopped… perhaps they could also use the Church’s connections to build a bridge and contact the Star Antimony people. Alistair mused.
If Avalon and Star Antimony engage in trade, on one hand, Avalonians can buy affordable and useful goods, and on the other hand, Star Antimony’s economic collapse can be slightly alleviated… this might be a miracle akin to a ‘savior descending from the heavens’ for some Star Antimony people.
“In fact, the goblins are also happy to see this situation. The greatest benefit of cities with resident bishops is that undead disasters are unlikely to occur. Undead disasters in the interior—especially in dense forest or swamp areas—are more severe than drought or flood disasters.
“This means that ordinary people face great risks when trading and traveling. Without regular purges by the Wild Hunt, if they encounter a large number of undead in complex terrain, they might become one of them.
“And when wandering undead gather and become a disaster, they will impact areas with many living beings—farmlands, pastures, or even rural towns could be affected.
“For most mortals, ‘dying’ is the easiest way to become stronger in their lifetime. Many ordinary people become undead with Extraordinary Power after death, and if these undead gather, unescorted individuals or those without weapons are utterly defenseless.
“Therefore, a core condition for a ‘large city’ is that the scale of its Church cannot be too small; at least, the clergy must be able to cover local funerals and weddings.
“After all, at the bishop level, they can teach ordinary people simple rituals and divine arts… so the presence of a bishop makes a significant difference. Furthermore, with a Third Tier Devotee, even if a distinguished figure passing by suddenly gets injured or sick, they can receive effective treatment immediately.
“With these conditions, coupled with the operational railway, it’s easy to become a densely populated city. And once the population becomes dense, merchants will naturally increase.”
“…There’s such a saying.” Isabel nodded, hastily taking notes.
Adhering to the principle of asking when unsure and not pretending to know, she pondered and then carefully asked, “What about after the bishops leave? Won’t these big cities suddenly become empty?”
Alistair laughed. “They won’t. Not to mention, we need more bishops anyway… and Isabel, don’t forget, these people don’t just appear out of nowhere…”
“Appear out of nowhere?” Isabel blinked. “Oh… I sort of understand what you mean.”
“Yes. They must have been transferred from other places, meaning the population in other places has decreased, and the demand for clergy has naturally declined.
“The Church schools would also continuously send graduating interns to towns and villages to serve as clergy. In reality, this is just transferring more clergy from backward towns and villages to transportation hubs.
“This is actually a win-win situation—they also don’t want to live in very backward places, and these hub cities will have more clergy. With relaxed moods and voluntary work, they are more likely to be promoted to bishop. From this perspective, it can even be considered a triple win.”
Alistair paused here, thoughtfully adding, “Moreover, as a fallback, I might have a way to acquire a batch of existing bishops. However, that’s not certain.”
She was referring to the people of Star Antimony. After receiving comfort and support from Eivass, she planned to organize a new faction in Star Antimony. The existing factions in Star Antimony were already very complex: the Royal Alchemical Association of the Path of Balance, the Forbidden Association of the Transcendent Path, the Spirit Tower of the Twilight Path, the Red Fortress of the Path of Love, and the Leipzig faction… Strictly speaking, the Royal Family should belong to the Royal Alchemical Association. But clearly, the Royal Family’s alchemy technology was not enough to ensure the Association’s complete loyalty. Thus, the Royal Family could be considered a fifth independent faction.
But there was a problem here—Star Antimony actually had the Church of the Nine Pillars God, and a considerable number of clergy. After all, Star Antimony’s territory was vast and well-developed. Compared to Star Antimony, any city in Avalon outside of Glass Island was like a village. With such population density, the number of clergy in Star Antimony was far greater than in Avalon. Because Star Antimony’s political landscape was extremely complex, and no matter who controlled Star Antimony, the Church of the Nine Pillars God would ultimately be needed… the Church had chosen neutrality.
So what if someone gathered and commanded these clergy to form a new faction? “Go save those people”—this was Eivass’s statement to her. Alistair preferred to call it a mission, or an order. If the plan went smoothly, she would lead these people to save the Star Antimony people from their suffering. And if the plan failed, or if Star Antimony was truly too rotten to be saved… Alistair couldn’t just abandon these clergy who were forced into the political vortex and leave carefree. In that case, at least Alistair could find a safe place for them—taking them back to Avalon. This way, they could avoid the turmoil during the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s descent and avoid raising suspicion from the Rose Cross.
At this moment, Isabel suddenly yawned, and her body began to gradually become transparent. This was a sign that she was about to wake up from her dream. So Alistair hurriedly added, “Oh, and Isabel—remember to give the residents of Summerfall County some benefits, such as very low prices, or even temporarily free rental prices, to make good use of those empty high-rise buildings. They can also be rented out at low prices to companies as offices.
“By the time the population gradually moves there, it will be too slow, and it is very likely that the original residents of Summerfall County will become too rich too quickly, leading to exclusionary sentiments towards future immigrants… They might think that those people are taking away wealth that originally belonged to them. To avoid this situation, we need to relocate a batch of people there. And compared to coercion, providing welfare support is a better option…”
“Okay, okay—I’ve got it all down.” Before Alistair could finish, Isabel suddenly interrupted her. Just as she was about to disappear, Isabel playfully tapped the head of Alistair, who was still engrossed in the conversation, then suddenly bit her ear before vanishing like a bubble.
Alistair touched her inexplicably bitten ear, looking bewildered, her cheeks gradually turning red. “…Why did you bite me,” she mumbled with a pout, touching her reddened earlobes. “I was talking about important matters…”
Alistair tilted her head, looking at the empty room where only she remained, but her lips gradually curved upwards, her eyes serene and clear. The hollow soul had healed, the anxious mind had calmed, and the fearful spirit had found peace. Perhaps Isabel could truly save her. ‘I am here to save the world, and she is saving me…’ Alistair thought, slowly rolling over and moving to where Isabel had been lying. Mimicking the way Isabel had hugged herself earlier, she hugged her own curled left arm, embedding her body into the soft bed, into the indentation that still held warmth and fragrance.
“Goodnight, Isabel,” the doll-like girl whispered softly. Alistair closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep alone in a sweet dream.
(End of this chapter)
