Great Wall, Webway

The great battle ended, and the dust settled.

Although the Northern Council suffered a major defeat, it still had a large amount of supplies and reserve troops within its borders. Its war potential was not only not exhausted, but it was more like it had just been mobilized more than halfway and was still full of energy.

But the war is indeed over.

Just like Grand Chancellor Kaliusi, who clearly held significant military power in the South, yet still chose to acquiesce and compromise in the face of Kang De's vicious actions of tearing the country apart and separating the northern counties, completely manipulated by a scumbag.

While Kang De's skillful methods certainly played a part, the more important factor was his foresight in recognizing the overall trend.

... By the way, the "general trend" here is used in its original sense, so please don't get it wrong.

In short, after Griffin was publicly executed and the Deceleration Field and psychic mechanism were successively broken and destroyed, the outcome of this war was no longer in doubt.

The northern counties, having lost their prestigious and influential leaders, were no longer able to organize any significant resistance, let alone withstand Kang De's military might. The balance of power between the two sides was shifting rapidly.

After all, Griffin possessed Deceleration Field that weakened the alchemical weapons of the Cathayan to their minimum, yet they were still flattened and destroyed by Kang De's steel torrent. This purely violent result was enough to show that the thing was not very useful, and the countries' delusion of containing Kang De could give up.

Moreover, the destruction of the Deceleration Field unleashes the power of more than just conventional alchemical weapons.

There are also Forbidden Spell.

Overnight, the Yankees of the Council were shocked to find that the leader they followed had become a sinner who had betrayed the Mortal World, and that they had become his henchmen, lackeys, and accomplices.

One moment they were rebels following Grand Speaker Griffin to reclaim the rights that the Northerners deserved, demanding a share of the Southern Islands' markets and more political rights; the next they were traitors condemned by Mortal World.

Crimes against humanity, crimes against the world, crimes of war, crimes of aggression against other countries, crimes of collusion with the Star Palace, crimes against humanity... Kang De's transport planes swept in, and the leaflet offensive was once again in full swing. One after another, the big accusations were written on the paper, making the wealthy merchants, nobles and aristocratic families dizzy.

The northern prefectures were alarmed three times a day.

The powerful and wealthy lacked any spirit or drive to fight Kang De to the bitter end. Upon hearing about this, they almost simultaneously split into two groups to try and overcome the difficulties.

They quickly contacted Tula Xiaye and, through family connections, reconnected with the stupid Southerners... oh wait, I mean, the sweethearts.

One by one, they all turned into loyal subjects, claiming to have realized their mistakes and willing to unconditionally return to the rule of Tula Xiaye. They said they were all members of the Arcane Council, and blood was thicker than water. They begged their former colleagues and friends to help their brother out of the sake of France (huh).

On the other hand, they sent envoys northward with generous gifts to meet the Dragon of Cathay, recount the past events, cry out their grievances, and say that they too had been deceived by the despicable traitor Griffin and had no intention of betraying the Mortal World.

Both routes ended up failing.

Although Tula Xiaye was furious, he still reluctantly refused the Yankees' request.

They loathed Kang De's opportunistic and greedy behavior, so they decided to speak frankly with him.

--The Cathayan said that this war is not over. The only way to end it is for the northern counties that started the war to surrender unconditionally to the Distant Harbor. If Tula Xiaye accepts the north again, it will be regarded as the main body of the northern counties and will be held responsible for the northern counties' betrayal of the Mortal World and their allegiance to the Star Palace.

Distant Harbor will continue the war based on this standard until the initiating party surrenders unconditionally.

The wording was so euphemistic that it needed to be translated—meaning, Distant Harbor spent a fortune and paid a heavy price to defeat Griffin's rebels and resolve the turmoil in the Northern Council, not to help you, Tula Xiaye, by doing all the work for them. If you hide behind the scenes and try to reap the rewards, I'll take you down with me.

The northerners felt a chill run down their spines, and only then did they fully realize that the situation was hopeless.

Even Tula Xiaye had to submit to Kang De's will. The course of this war, the fate of the nation, and the fate of the entire family were now completely in the hands of the Cathayan.

But the problem is...

Kang De's conditions were too harsh.

He surrendered all his property, except for half of his precious metals, left the land where he had lived for generations, and left behind all his employees and servants, moving his entire family to Distant Harbor.

These conditions were so vicious that even these powerful and wealthy individuals, upon seeing them, couldn't help but curse and be filled with indignation, wishing they could devour Kang De's flesh alive.

They would never be grateful to Kang De for leaving them half the money! They would only feel that Kang De had stripped them of their status, taken away their means of production, and left them without a livelihood!

Money? What's the use of money? Without status, land, property, and support, the money in your hands is the root of all trouble. It will only slip away faster and eventually be completely wiped out!

--Talking about moving the whole family to the Distant Harbor and starting a new life, I spit on that! They're just afraid of fierce resistance! Once the whole family actually moves to the Distant Harbor, they'll be at everyone's mercy, and even the half of their money will be slowly swindled away by Kang De, leaving them with nothing and falling into the mud!

In short, the powerful figures in the North saw through Kang De's despicable scheme at a glance.

After all, they were all too familiar with this kind of thing. For Kang De to deal with them in such an unseemly and crude manner was simply an insult!

The curses of the powerful and wealthy echoed throughout the northern prefectures.

Faced with the greedy invasion and shameless demands of the Cathayan, everyone was filled with rage and could no longer tolerate it!

Filled with contempt and hatred for the invaders, they packed their belongings and prepared to flee!

... What else? Are we supposed to stay and fight Kang De to the bitter end? What a joke! We've never even beaten Griffin, and Kang De has threatened to kill his entire family!

Who dares to stay and try? Let's see if he keeps his word.

However, as if Kang De had anticipated their thoughts, bad news followed one after another.

The envoy sent to the Goth border to fawn over Kang De didn't even have time to take off the trousers of the Dragon of Cathay before Dong Tianming sent him back, bringing back a long and wide list.

That was a list of war criminals already compiled by the Distant Harbor authorities.

All the families in the northern prefectures who had even a small amount of property were prominently listed.

The messengers brought back Kang De's orders: all families and individuals on the list were to remain in their localities, maintain normal production and operation of their industries, freeze all transactions and transfers, and seal their assets.

Awaiting receipt by the relevant department.

Anyone attempting to buy Wyvern ticket and flee overnight to the Imperial Winery will be treated as a traitor.

Anyone attempting to sell real estate or transfer funds and assets to other countries will also be treated as a traitor.

The most outrageous thing is that there was actually a job posting attached to this list.

It is said that the Distant Harbor Ministry of Unity has established a new department called the "Special Investigation Department" with the northern counties as its main business. Its main function is to search for the property and materials that the "Star Palace Traitors" are trying to hide, and to ensure that the remnants of the Star Palace are completely eliminated in the northern counties and that there is no possibility of them making a comeback.

The Special Investigation Department consisted mainly of soldiers from the Council and locals recruited from surrendered soldiers. In addition, they were also recruited openly from the northern counties, encouraging them to lead the way and gather clues.

Anyone who can provide effective reports and valuable clues that enable the Special Investigation Department to find the assets hidden and transferred by the target can receive up to one-tenth of the amount of the stolen money as a reward.

It specifically points out that even families, clans, and organizations on the suspect list can send their best members to voluntarily join the Special Investigation Department, fully demonstrating their understanding and care for their "friendly partners," and engaging in a two-way reporting effort.

This way, the remnants of the Star Palace can be eradicated from the northern prefectures, and one can also wash away one's own sins to show one's sincere intention to abandon darkness and embrace the light. After all, mutual supervision is the only way to make progress together.

Upon seeing this, the powerful and wealthy were already disheartened.

They realized that Kang De had left them absolutely no chance.

They said it was "voluntary joining of the Special Investigation Department," but the letter that came with the list clearly stated that three to five shrewd and capable family members were to be selected immediately to join the Special Investigation Department —this was an order.

It is obvious that when outstanding members of the various clans appear under the guise of the Special Investigation Department, the last glimmer of hope for the powerful clans of the northern counties to unite will be extinguished!

Because the prisoner's dilemma has already arrived.

There's no escaping it now.

The teleportation array leading to the south was shut down in one direction, the ports were blockaded, and the skies were controlled. Moreover, Kang De made it very clear that anyone who escaped would be treated as a war criminal. The Dark Brotherhood placed an order, and a coalition of nations offered a bounty to hunt them down. They would pursue them to the ends of the earth and bring them back to be torn to pieces.

Gather together and violently resist?

They simply can't win; the consequences of losing would be even worse.

Wanting to secretly hide and transfer some assets so as not to get too badly punished by Kang De —that disgusting thing Special Investigation Department had already brought out its tools.

The powerful and wealthy were bewildered when they heard more bad news.

The Distant Harbor Air Force and the dragons have already entered the country on a large scale, dropping numerous purple crystal pillars near major transportation routes, wilderness areas, and strategic locations.

The thing took root directly in the ground, spreading out a purple Shadow in all directions.

Then some strange devices were transmitted over.

"This idea came to me during the fighting a few days ago."

In the frontline command post, Kang De looked at the glittering dots on the map and explained to Dairila.

"At that time, the Council's soldiers were still under mind control, and our army was eager to destroy the Deceleration Field and mind control mechanisms, so we had no choice but to advance by force..."

Kang De paused, looking at Dairila had suddenly broken into a bright smile, "What are you laughing at?"

The Empress smiled amiably, leaning forward to look at the abstract, unremarkable electronic map, and urged, "It's nothing, please continue."

... This is getting stranger and stranger.

Kang De glanced at her again, shook his head, and continued, "The problem at the time was that mind-controlled enemies hid in bunkers, tunnels, and the like, their bodies strapped with explosive crystals, and would suddenly jump out to launch suicide attacks at close range... This caused our troops to react hastily and easily resulted in casualties."

"The solution at the time was to deploy Paradox Sacred Pillar on a large scale on the battlefield, deploy teleportation PRISM, and then use drones for large-scale battlefield reconnaissance to closely monitor any unusual activity."

"Upon detection of an enemy assault team, immediately report its coordinates via the command link. Once the coordinates are confirmed, select the nearest teleport PRISM to warp the unit."

"I've organized a rapid reaction force stationed in the Spacetime Nexus specifically for this purpose... Suicide squads launch raids, we launch raids too, teleporting out from the enemy's flank and eliminating them in a single encounter. After implementing this mechanism, the success rate of enemy suicide raids immediately decreased."

Upon hearing this, Dairila's eyes showed surprise.

Her previous joy had been forgotten... As the most outstanding monarch and general in the Mortal World, she instantly realized the immense usefulness of this system.

"So you applied it to the northern prefectures?"

"Yes."

Kang De looked at the map and said, "With millions of square kilometers of land, so many cities and people, even if we were to station troops Distant Harbor to manage it, we wouldn't be able to handle it all. Moreover, we would have to break it up into smaller units, which would require a huge amount of energy and manpower. We wouldn't be able to do anything well."

"But with this military system in place, the garrisons in the northern prefectures will only need a single second-level brigade for riot control. Even if the northern prefectures wanted to rebel, they wouldn't dare organize a large-scale army to confront the enemy; the most likely course of action would be to carry out sabotage covertly."

"Each high-value area will have an outpost stationed around a teleportation PRISM. These outposts can even be unmanned, requiring only one or two automated defensive weapons, power generation units, signal base stations, and monitoring systems equipped with identification modules... That should be sufficient."

"Once a threat is identified or a warning is received, a response can be taken immediately."

"For example, if a hired sabotage team vandalizes a road or a telephone pole, and they are well-trained and work together seamlessly, completing the task in minutes and then fleeing quickly, I must say, if they hadn't bought a teleportation array that costs at least 5,000 gold coins beforehand to leave, they would be doomed."

"Within three minutes at most, a drone will fly overhead, lock onto them, and launch a missile; they won't even know who killed them."

"If we need to capture them alive, the drones will launch teleportation beacons into the vicinity. A team of elite operators is already on standby and can call for more support at any time."

Kang De pressed the keys on the keyboard, and on the map, the vast lands of the northern counties appeared as scattered dots.

Liancheng's intricate network of roads, like a giant hand, controls the entire situation.

"Kaliusi's statement that I am incapable of governing the northern counties is a gross underestimation of me."

If this approach were applied to Earth, American Empire, a specialist in counterinsurgency warfare, would have to call it "daddy."

Dairila marveled at the grand scale of the war system.

Without the need for roads or logistical support, maximizing the advantages of hyperspace mobility, and supplemented by rapid battlefield intelligence transmission and response... a few thousand soldiers can suppress a country.

She asked softly, "What's the name of this military system?"

Kang De turned to her, a proud and smug look on his face.

"--Great Wall."

"Very appropriate."

Dairila didn't react particularly to the name, which is normal; it's just a name, and she cares about other things.

The Empress said quietly, "It seems you really care about the northern prefectures. Not only are you determined to eradicate the old forces here, but you've also specially designed this system for suppressing riots..."

"Not the old guard."

Kang De denied this, saying, "I drove them away not to fill the ranks with people loyal to me to create a new power."

Dairila tilted her head, indicating that she didn't understand.

"What was swept away from the northern prefectures was not the old forces, but the entire... rentier class."

"Now there are no emperors, no nobles, no capitalists, only me and the working people."

"I'm doing this not only to make the northern counties a more efficient source of soldiers, resources, supplies, and weapons, and to eliminate the rentier class, but also because I want to conduct an experiment."

Kang De said calmly, "To experiment and find a path suitable for the Mortal World."

Dairila said crisply, "I don't understand."

"Explaining this is difficult, and even if you have professional training, you might still be afraid."

He smiled and said, "Simply put, I want the Mortal World to become like my country, to become something I know and better, but I can't simply transplant our model and successful experiences wholesale."

At this point, Kang De lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and said, "Nearly a hundred years ago, my country was under a different regime, utterly corrupt. The pioneers wanted to take a different path. They imitated the experience of a successful great power, but ended up suffering greatly and paying a heavy price. Only then did they conclude that specific problems must be analyzed specifically, and one must never blindly apply rules."

"The experience of that great power is different from that of our country, and the situation in the Mortal World is also different from that of our country. There are no such things as superhumans in my hometown, and there is no social class or group with superhuman talents. If I were to blindly copy our successful experience from that time, my predecessors would probably not be happy, but rather disappointed."

He spread his hands and said, "In the Distant Harbor, my prestige and public opinion suppress the situation, so the antagonism between superhumans and ordinary people isn't obvious, but the problem still exists. They are inherently different from ordinary people. One can release fireballs with a little training, while the other can't even produce a spark after a lifetime of practice. The difference is so great that, under these conditions, I don't think the slogan 'all men are created equal' is convincing."

Seeing Dairila's bewildered expression, Kang De shook his head. "Forget it, let's defeat the Star Palace. If we can't defeat them, nothing we say will matter..."

The Empress truly couldn't understand what Kang De was saying.

Because, considering the elves' social structure, lifespan, overall national strength, wealth gap, and lifestyle, there is absolutely no fertile ground for the emergence of a communist ideology...

--The period when the Dusk Moon Dynasty most needed to exploit its people and when internal conflicts were most prominent was actually pushed through by that bastard Parrot through a great discovery of magical technology and a golden age. It's truly unbelievable.

Seeing that Kang De seemed uninterested, Dairila deliberately changed the subject. After a moment of thought, she asked, "Have you considered applying that space teleportation system to civilian and governance purposes?"

Kang De paused for a moment, then laughed.

"Of course I've thought about using teleportation channels to connect the entire world."

"Economic activities, population movement, exchange of goods, and progress in communication—everything will accelerate, and much of the pressure on cities will be alleviated. Cities and towns will be more closely connected, and governance costs will be greatly reduced. Social efficiency will be higher, and change will occur in every aspect of life."

He stretched and shook his head.

"The invention of the wheel and the domestication of large livestock made connections between settlements closer, thus enabling Civilization to develop further. The significance of transportation to Civilization goes far beyond just travel. Spatial travel modes surpass trains, airplanes, and ferries, and should be able to drive Civilization to advance again... I certainly have this plan."

"But it's not the right time yet."

"For the current daily life of the people in the Distant Harbor and even the northern counties, the sea, land, and air forces are sufficient. Shalana's processing capacity is limited, so let's focus on military use first."

Dairila listened intently; she understood it and was very interested in it.

So he pressed further, "When will it be available for civilian use?"

Kang De casually replied, "At least after we finish fighting the Star Palace, right?"

The Queen laughed, appearing even happier. "You've thought so far into the future?"

"Ah." Kang De turned to look at the sky, "The world outside the atmosphere is monitored and shrouded by the Star Palace. Era after era, Mortal World souls have been bound by gravity. Now that this mountain overhead has been removed, the crisis of destruction no longer exists. Having defeated the powerful enemy dwelling in the stars, what is next?"

"Such a magnificent and romantic feat has been accomplished..." He turned back and rolled his eyes at Dairila, "Don't tell me you want to stay on this muddy planet and keep fighting."

Dairila pondered, "That's quite possible. With the Star Palace posing a threat, the nations are still hesitant and can't resist internal strife. And once the Star Palace is defeated, they'll certainly attack each other even more recklessly, because nations always want to seize things..."

"So I'll go all the way and find you something to do after we defeat the Star Palace, instead of just keeping an eye on our little corner of the planet all day..."

With the support of a hyperspace jump system, interstellar travel and space exploration wouldn't be so slow, right?

But then again...

Kang De murmured, "What would the universe of this world be like?"

Just then, Dairila patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go take a look together!"

The Earthlings were taken aback.

The Empress felt a slight tightening in her heart, but tried her best to remain calm.

Then she heard Kang De slowly say, "... Hmm, okay."

The elf immediately smiled, and hugged her tightly, saying, "It's a deal!"

"... oh."

No taking it back.

"What's there to regret?"

"Hehe--Speaking of which, what are you planning to call this civilian version of the teleportation system?"

"Haven't decided yet... the Grand Canal?"

"That's strange—look, countless points and countless jump channels intertwine, truly resembling a large net, a network of spatial channels; perhaps it should be called Webway."

"A name doesn't matter what you call it."

Dairila was about to say something more when the cell phone on the table buzzed.

Kang De raised his hand to answer the call, simultaneously turning on speakerphone. "What's up?"

"Father, the latest news from the Empire."

The peaceful and casual atmosphere vanished, and Kang De's face turned cold.

"--Did you find that bastard?"

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PS1: Damn, I feel nauseous and uncomfortable after eating. I almost threw up after eating a few dates this afternoon, and I also have a fever and headache... After thinking about it, it's probably because I didn't put the food I ate for lunch that day in the fridge because it was too much trouble. It's hot, everyone be careful... It's amazing that I'm typing on the toilet.