Prologue

Rebirth of the Legendary Lord

Prologue

Higua hung high in the sky, just as it always had, showering warmth over the streets and alleys.

The enormous statue of Higua, the Sun God, God of Light, and God of War, gleamed brilliantly beneath the sunlight. The magnificent Higua Temple appeared even more splendid and dazzling.

This was Molent City, the capital of the Forde Commercial Alliance, the largest commercial metropolis and greatest port city on the Galintea Continent.

It had more temples than anywhere else on the Galintea Continent, where countless gods were worshiped. It was also known as the City of Temples.

It had more academies than anywhere else on the Galintea Continent. Seven of the continent's top ten academies were located here, earning it the prestigious title of City of Academies.

This was the largest metropolis on the Galintea Continent in terms of urban population, with nearly eight hundred thousand permanent residents.

Commerce flourished here, with people and carriages constantly streaming through the streets. Nearly a million gold coins of all kinds circulated through the markets every day. Countless mercenaries, swordsmen, adventurers, craftsmen, traveling merchants, peddlers, and commoner slaves came here with purposes of their own, then left again...

In the songs of wandering bards, this was a land favored by the gods, a fertile country where wealth gathered...

The Silver River, the Galintea Continent's second-largest river system, quietly nourished the Malichu Plains before finally flowing into the sea west of Molent City. The tranquil Silver River had brought Molent City a prosperous Hidden Gold Bay, along with a powerful naval fleet.

The vast and fertile Malichu Plains basked in sunlight and flowed with honey. Year after year, their abundant harvests supported Molent City's constant expansion and growth.

One hundred and sixty-seven years ago, Grand Duke Forde Molent of the former Malichu Duchy had abruptly announced a change in government. He abolished the hereditary feudal lord system and replaced it with a system of citizen representative councils. He also abolished serfdom, freeing nearly four hundred thousand serfs and turning them into freemen. This move shocked every nation on the continent.

Grand Duke Forde Molent also announced that the nation would be built on commerce. He joined forces with the six largest merchant guilds on the Galintea Continent to establish the Forde Commercial Alliance, using the Malichu Plains as a base for trade with other nations. This became the famous Molent Reform in history.

The newly founded Forde Commercial Alliance became famous throughout the Galintea Continent for its freedom and openness. It continuously attracted countless people who yearned for freedom and pursued wealth, while also drawing the greedy eyes of powerful neighbors.

The Krissen Empire, the foremost of the Galintea Continent's three great empires, lay north of the Malichu Plains. It declared Grand Duke Forde Molent's reforms illegal and brazenly invaded the Malichu Plains, opening the curtain on more than a century of bloody warfare.

The fledgling Forde Commercial Alliance refused to submit. Under the banner of fighting for freedom, countless people unwilling to become slaves took up arms and threw themselves into battle one after another. For more than a century, blood stained the Malichu Plains red.

On the Malichu Plains, along the Silver River, and beneath the walls of Molent City, two emperors of the Krissen Empire, more than a dozen dukes, and countless elite soldiers and powerful commanders fell. The blue flag of the Forde Commercial Alliance still flew high above Molent City.

Throughout the long years of war, the Forde Commercial Alliance grew stronger with every battle. During the final great campaign, which involved more than one hundred thousand soldiers, it employed a brilliant stratagem that caused the Krissen Empire's only Sword Saint to fall on the battlefield. This not only won the alliance nearly twenty years of peace and recovery, but also set the Krissen Empire on the road to decline.

As the Krissen Empire's last old emperor lingered on his sickbed, his three princes began openly and secretly fighting over the throne. The Forde Commercial Alliance finally cast off the threat from the north and rapidly developed and prospered. Twenty years of peace had transformed the Forde Commercial Alliance into the greatest power in northern Galintea, a commercial behemoth whose reach extended across the entire continent.

This was Molent City, an unyielding city-state and a free alliance. Molent City had originally been called Seaview Fortress, but it was renamed Molent City in memory of Grand Duke Forde Molent, who had died during the war against the Krissen Empire's invasion. The city had originally contained only twelve districts, but twenty years of peace had allowed Molent City to expand at an astonishing pace. To meet the needs of commercial development, the Forde Commercial Alliance had spent enormous sums to add thirty-six districts outside the city walls and build a new wall around them. From then on, Molent City was divided into an inner city and an outer city.

The people of Molent did not call them that, however. They referred to the inner city as the Upper City and Central District. The western part of the outer city was the Academy District, where nearly twenty academies of various sizes were gathered. To the northwest were the Fleet District and the Docklands, followed by the enormous Commercial District and the Slum District, which had the largest number of outsiders. The City Defense Army's barracks occupied the northeast, while the southern and eastern parts were residential districts.

Although Molent City was the capital of the Forde Commercial Alliance, the alliance's highest authority, the Council of Elders, was not responsible for managing the city. Daily administrative affairs in Molent were handled by the city hall in the Central District. Its director was appointed by the Council of Elders for a five-year term. When the term ended, the city council, composed of representatives selected by the various districts, would evaluate the director and report the results to the Council of Elders, which would then decide whether to reappoint or dismiss them.

When the Forde Commercial Alliance had first been established, it had been plagued by rampant underground criminal forces and enormous administrative expenses. To prevent corruption and streamline its staff, it had introduced a bizarre policy from a merchant's perspective: bringing underground criminal organizations into the open. The leaders of these organizations were contracted to handle public security, tax collection, sanitation, and other administrative affairs in individual districts. This served three purposes. First, it prevented the criminal organizations from uniting and growing too powerful. Second, it reduced the costs and manpower required for urban administration. Third, once the criminal organizations were brought into the open, they became much easier to manage. For example, an evaluation was conducted once every year. If the residents of a district complained incessantly about the organization responsible for it, the city hall would shut down that criminal organization and launch a targeted crackdown. The other criminal organizations in neighboring districts would even assist with the operation.

When this policy was first implemented, no one thought highly of it. But after two years, people discovered its ingenuity. Not only had public security improved tremendously, with serious crimes becoming rare, but the city hall had also gained a large amount of tax revenue. This gave it the ability to invest in more public services and further improve the city's living conditions.

The result greatly shocked the people who had mocked the Forde Commercial Alliance for knowing nothing about urban administration. Quite a few kingdoms and duchies even sent envoys to study the system. After completing his inspection, one grand duke sighed, "The noble officials of our kingdom are not even as incorruptible or efficient as members of underground criminal organizations. It is truly shameful."

This was Molent City, a city of merchants, a place filled with vitality and ingenious ideas. Some regarded it as the paradise of their dreams, while others denounced it as a land of depravity where the devil tempted humanity.

By day, the cries of street vendors and the prayers from the temples echoed together. By night, the dazzling lights, wine, birdsong, and laughter stirred the soul. This was Molent, the city that never slept.