Chapter 97 - 78: Sweeping the Silver Holy Land, Hedersen Monarch

Chapter 97: Chapter 78: Sweeping the Silver Holy Land, Hedersen Monarch

"The first batch of spoils has been distributed. Let’s start on the second, more important batch now," Shen Xing said.

After conquering the Silver Holy Land, in addition to the loot dropped from killing the monsters, there were also several dozen Slave Laborers, plus four acres of Moonlight Wheat.

This was their main objective.

"Shen Xing, all this wheat is ripe. Why don’t we harvest it first, then split it evenly by the kilogram?" Xia Wanyin suggested.

Shen Xing thought for a moment and agreed.

They then ordered the Slave Laborers to begin harvesting the wheat field.

Just then, a female laborer with dark skin and a weathered face spoke up timidly, "My... my Lords, this is premium wheat meant as a tribute for the Hedersen Monarch."

"If you take it, he will bring down punishment."

"The Hedersen Monarch..." Shen Xing repeated the unfamiliar name, confused. "Who’s that?"

"He is the ruler of this area. He controls the entire Videng Royal City and commands an army of tens of thousands." Deep fear flickered in the female laborer’s eyes.

Shen Xing’s heart skipped a beat when he heard "an army of tens of thousands."

’This Hedersen Monarch sounds like he’s not to be trifled with.’

’A being of that level could crush me with a flick of his finger.’

Beside him, Xia Wanyin’s brow furrowed. She realized things were more complicated than they’d expected.

"My Lords, you needn’t worry too much."

A younger, equally dark-skinned man spoke up. "The Hedersen Monarch may not have the luxury of paying attention to us anymore. We’re not even sure if he’s still alive."

"Oh? And why is that?" Shen Xing asked, a flicker of hope in his eyes.

The young man stepped forward and replied, "Videng Royal City was sealed off a year ago, and no one has come here in a very long time."

"The story goes that the Hedersen Monarch was conducting some forbidden experiments. He angered an Ancient God in the Fog, which brought down a divine punishment and caused the entire Videng Giant City to fall."

’Forbidden experiments... an Ancient God of the Fog...’ Shen Xing muttered the keywords, confusion clouding his eyes.

He thought for a moment and decided to check the forums for information on Videng Royal City and the Hedersen Monarch.

He logged out of the game, quickly pulled out his phone, logged into the forums, and entered the keywords.

Sure enough, he found relevant entries in the game’s lore section.

He clicked on it and browsed through the information. A look of understanding slowly dawned on his face.

Just as the man had said, the Land of Mist had native inhabitants.

However, due to the Fog and the vast number of monsters that roamed within it, ordinary people stood no chance of surviving in the wild.

Thus, the surviving humans took refuge within massive cities, barely surviving under the protection of their high walls.

But in the course of civilization’s development, special individuals would always emerge. They possessed powerful Talents and brilliant intellects, almost like the protagonists of their time.

Through immense Power and cunning, they united these great cities, carved out territories, and established their own factions.

And so, factions such as kingdoms, religious orders, and ancient families sprang up across the Land of Mist.

Some of these factions had existed for centuries, others for little more than a decade, but without exception, all of them possessed immense power.

The region Shen Xing was in, including a vast surrounding area, belonged to the territory of the Vinar Kingdom, ruled by King Vinar.

But the Fog was fraught with peril, making travel treacherous.

Even King Vinar couldn’t govern every great city, so he granted the various City Lords a great deal of autonomy.

Over time, Videng Giant City slipped from the royal family’s Control.

Wherever there are people, there is class, and there is oppression.

Furthermore, because the Fog had blighted the land, resources were scarce throughout the world. This fated a small minority to enjoy lives of comfort, while the rest had no choice but to offer themselves up as the very bedrock of society.

Nearly every great city held vast numbers of Slave Laborers.

They were the cogs at the bottom of the social machine, consuming the fewest resources while performing the filthiest, most grueling labor to keep the great cities running.

Hedersen had originally been one of the countless slaves. After some unknown fortuitous encounter, he gained immense Power in a short amount of time.

Later, he led an uprising, overthrew the original City Lord in one fell swoop, and seized Videng Giant City.

People thought that after rising to power, he would treat the lower class kindly and free the slaves who shared his origins.

But once he seized power, he became even more ruthless, demoting more commoners to slavery to serve his army.

He even renamed the great city to a Royal City and declared himself the Hedersen Monarch.

In order to maintain his rule and pursue even greater Power, he began to actively court the power of the Fog, conducting all manner of forbidden experiments.

And he actually achieved some results. The Fallen Wardens were the first products of his experiments.

They not only possessed terrifying Power far beyond that of ordinary humans, but they could also navigate the Fog with ease and even control monsters like the Evil Dogs.

Having gotten a taste of this power, the Hedersen Monarch grew even more extreme, launching a frenzied study of the Fog.

Later, however, a large-scale experiment spiraled out of control. The entire great city was completely taken by the Fog’s Devouring, and all contact with the outside world was lost.

This backstory had been pieced together by the Lords of the surrounding regions from their own experiences and various documents.

In addition to Videng Royal City, the players had also compiled the backstories for many other factions.

The game officials had collected all this information and created a dedicated "Land of Mist Lore" section.

’This world is more complex than it seems. The factions are far more intricate than I imagined.’

Shen Xing nodded to himself. ’It seems I’ll have to study up on all this lore when I get the chance.’

He closed the forum and logged back into the game.

He looked at the young slave in the crowd and asked, "What’s your name?"

The young slave trembled and replied respectfully, "My Lord, we lost our names when we were made slaves."

"Is that so?" Shen Xing nodded slightly. "Then from this day forward, you will be called Monday."

"Now, lead the other workers and harvest all of this Moonlight Wheat."

’Since Videng Royal City has already fallen, there’s nothing to fear.’

’Even if that Hedersen Monarch isn’t dead, he’s likely got his own hands full and couldn’t care less about a few acres of wheat.’

Monday, now possessing a name, felt his breath catch in his throat. He replied with grave solemnity, "Yes, My Lord!"

Although the dozens of workers still hesitated, their fear of the Hedersen Monarch lingering in their hearts,

But when they thought of the immense power of these two Lords, they all chose to obey.

They took up their sickles, bent their backs in the field, and harvested stalk after stalk of ripe wheat.

Shen Xing picked up a single stalk and examined it in his hand.

The wheat grains were plump and a uniform silvery-white, looking more like works of art than simple crops.

[Moonlight Wheat]

[Quality: Green]

[Effect: Greatly increases satiety when eaten. Long-term consumption increases Constitution and resistance. Additionally, any Food made from this wheat will possess a special Effect.]

(Note: Wheat imbued with sacred power. Has specific environmental requirements for growth.)

...

’Just as Xia Wanyin said. This wheat strengthens one’s Constitution, and its Effect is far superior to that of ordinary wheat.’

’No wonder she was so eager to transplant it to her own territory.’

’If I cultivate this properly and expand the scale of production, not only could I solve the Food problem for my soldier types, but it could also become an excellent source of income.’

After all, a Food that could both fill your stomach and permanently boost your Constitution would be highly sought after in any world.

He could earn a massive income by trading with other Lords or selling it to the natives.

Shen Xing nodded to himself. He decided he would also invest heavily in cultivating Moonlight Wheat when he got back.

Time passed slowly as the workers toiled in the fields.

This wheat field was vast, covering about four acres.

After more than an hour of harvesting, the forty-odd workers were finally nearing the end.

Fortunately, they were within the protective radius of the Silver Ancient Tree, so they didn’t need to light their Horse Lanterns. Otherwise, they might have run out of oil.

"My Lord, we’ve finished harvesting everything."

The slave named Monday hurried over, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Shen Xing nodded and went over with Xia Wanyin.

On the ground, the silvery-white stalks of wheat were piled into a small mountain two or three meters high—a truly spectacular sight.

A rough tally showed that after threshing, the grains weighed nearly 2000 kilograms—an impressive yield.

"Let’s split it evenly," Shen Xing proposed. "One thousand kilograms of wheat for each of us, and twenty-three slaves each."

Xia Wanyin nodded in agreement.

The Slave Laborers certainly had no objections.

It was an immoral thought, but the cruel reality was that these slaves were the lowest cogs in this world’s machine—commodities to be traded at will.

And commodities don’t get a choice.

They each stored their share of the wheat in their inventories. A thousand kilograms of wheat took up a full three slots.

"Phew... I can finally start farming."

A satisfied smile spread across Xia Wanyin’s face. She then added, "Oh, right, Shen Xing. When you get back, remember to have your people sort through the wheat and pick out the plumpest grains to use as seeds."

"Alright, I will."

Shen Xing nodded, then shot a meaningful glance at Hellish Roar, who was standing to the side.

Hellish Roar paused for a second, then quickly understood his Lord’s intention. He grabbed a nearby shovel and led the Beastman Squad onto the freshly harvested field.

Shovels flashed, and scoops of dark red soil were dug up and piled to one side.

"Shen Xing, what are you doing?" Xia Wanyin asked, confused.

"Er... the soil here looks pretty good. I was thinking of taking some back to study it," Shen Xing replied with a straight face.

Xia Wanyin stared blankly for a few seconds before it clicked.

She immediately dispatched her own twenty-three Slave Laborers to join the digging effort.

Shen Xing watched the scene unfold. ’She catches on quick.’

The area around the Silver Ancient Tree was covered in this nutrient-rich, red soil. There was more than they could ever hope to dig up.

While the Beastman Squad was digging up the soil, Shen Xing wheeled himself to the base of the hundred-meter-tall Silver Ancient Tree.

Looking up, he saw its massive trunk, like a pillar of silver. The dense, Silver canopy spread out above, seemingly holding up the very heavens.

Marveling at the ancient tree’s grandeur, Shen Xing circled halfway around its base, his eyes scanning the roots.