Major Overhaul / Trap

At this moment, Feodor was locked in a desperate struggle with the old nobility. His refusal to wage wars and expand his territory went against the Ursus people's usual understanding to a great extent. Therefore, even as the domestic economy gradually improved, many people still leaned toward the pro-war faction.

But things were different now. Feodor had gained confidence. He loudly proclaimed:

'Didn't you say that if I didn't wage war, I couldn't expand Ursus's strength? Just look at things now. Through my mediation, we gained Kazimierz's territory without spending a single soldier!'

A large number of wavering nobles took Feodor's side, and the Ursus public's recognition and support for him rose sharply as well. Moreover, these newly acquired lands had nothing to do with the Emperor or the old nobility at all. Their distribution was entirely up to Feodor.

Kazdel's move instantly tore open a gap in the old Ursus nobles' suppression of him, finally giving the nearly suffocated Feodor a brief chance to reorganize his forces.

Feodor: "So this is what Yan calls 'timely aid'?"

As soon as Theresica returned to Kazdel, Vitt, Speaker of the Ursus Imperial Council, immediately began the procedures for a visit.

"Mr. Vitt, long time no see."

"Ah, Your Respected Majesty, please allow me to dispense with formalities and express my gratitude to you first."

Looking across all of Terra, no other country could enjoy such a harmonious atmosphere when visiting Ursus.

Vitt said, "His Majesty the Emperor is very concerned about Kazdel's current situation and specifically ordered me to pay this visit."

"Thank you very much. Ursus's concern is truly touching."

Theresica exchanged a polite remark, then began pouring out his grievances.

"The Knight Errants of Kazimierz are simply too strong! They charged over on riding beasts, huge and making an enormous racket. Our soldiers were often so frightened that they fled the battlefield! Even the discipline squads couldn't stop them!"

"Then how did you defeat them?"

"That was purely luck. They thought too highly of themselves and let their guard down, while we pursued them over a long distance without resting. That's how we found a sliver of hope for victory. But even so, we suffered heavy losses and can now only barely maintain the coastal defense line."

Theresica wore an expression of grief. Vitt observed him carefully for a while, but could not tell whether it was genuine or false, and could only say:

"Your Respected Majesty, Kazdel's situation is truly heartbreaking. If you are willing, I can find a way to gradually repatriate the Wendigos within Ursus to Kazdel. I believe they will become an asset in resisting the Seaborn."

Hmm?

Theresica was astonished. Could there really be such a good thing?

The Wendigos were genuine war machines! They were exceptionally massive, possessed outstanding physical abilities, and could even use arts. But they had originally left Kazdel themselves, so why would Ursus be willing to give them up? They had been guarding Ursus's northern demon defense line all this time.

Theresica did not give an answer on the spot. Instead, he dragged things out until nearly dinnertime. Drawing on his previous experience, he prepared a banquet and brought in a group of shapeshifters as well.

After several groups took turns drinking heavily with Vitt, and after analyzing his drunken ramblings along with the shapeshifters, Banshee, and several other clan chiefs, Theresica finally learned why Ursus had disbanded the Wendigo forces.

It turned out that, while guarding the north, the Wendigo forces also participated in Terra's conventional wars under the old Emperor's orders. Discrimination against outside races had always existed within Ursus. Although the old Emperor had suppressed it, outside races that fought for Ursus year after year could rise only as high as an Ursus captain.

He did not trust that his son could continue suppressing this trend. Thus, among his final instructions was an order to disband the Wendigo forces and have the Sixth Army Group take over their defense duties.

Feodor immediately carried out the latter order. It would pin the Sixth Army Group, which did not support him, down on the mountains of the Northern Plains. As for disbanding the Wendigos, however, although he carried it out in name, Feodor had actually been seeking ways to absorb these Sarkaz.

This had nevertheless provoked rejection from all of Feodor's current supporters. The Wendigos would inevitably rise even higher and enter Ursus's circle of core power, which was something they did not want to see, regardless of whether they supported the new Emperor.

Seeing this situation, Feodor did not dare dismantle his own power base. He could only first find a way to ease the tension, and the most direct method was to send them back where they came from.

Thus Vitt had come under the banner of helping resist the Seaborn.

Theresica pondered slightly. "Thank you for Ursus's assistance."

"Helping a sincere ally is only right." Vitt's face was flushed. "However, Your Majesty the Emperor, there is also something I would like to trouble you with..."

The world's first major renovation

There was no such thing as a free lunch. Ursus had sent such a great gift as the Wendigos, so naturally it would make a corresponding request.

The true power behind the East is Yan. That was why the East had been able to hold out during the Eastern-Ursus War.

Before the old Emperor of Ursus died, he ordered peace talks with the East. Feodor now wanted to go a step further and repair relations with Yan. The method for repairing relations was for both countries to provide a mobile landmass and establish a brand-new commercial mobile city in the desert.

If successful, it would not only strongly stimulate the economy of Ursus's border regions, but also allow them to reduce some of the military forces on the southeastern border and strengthen Saint Petersburg's influence.

The problem was that Feodor currently had very few people he could appoint. He could barely manage domestic affairs, so where could he find anyone to send to the desert? Besides, the people selected might have old nobles behind them. If they took the opportunity to cause trouble, it would probably trigger a war.

Under such circumstances, a small country like Kazdel—which did not belong to Ursus but could still represent Ursus's position—was perfectly suited to get involved.

Feodor decided to hire Kazdel to provide armed protection against desert nomads for Ursus and Yan's joint city-building operation, as well as a certain amount of material transportation.

A great nation only had to let a little slip through its fingers for a small nation to eat its fill.

After carefully examining the documents Vitt handed over, Theresica found that this saying was indeed true. The offered price was genuinely tempting, and it would also give Kazdel a chance to establish ties with Yan.

But that also meant Kazdel would enter an entirely new environment. Facing the two Terra hegemons of Ursus and Yan so close at hand, Kazdel would have to tread carefully in everything it did. The slightest mistake could invite a massive disaster.

The document before him was both a danger and an opportunity. Should they shrink back and develop slowly on their own, or ride this exciting tailwind?

"...The Sarkaz are fully capable of handling this matter. Please rest assured."

After struggling inwardly for a while, Theresica accepted. Every country in Terra was developing. If Kazdel progressed more slowly than everyone else, it was effectively falling behind.

Hearing that the Sarkaz agreed to the request, Vitt rose and bowed.

"Your Respected Majesty, I will return home and report first. Once everything officially begins, Ursus's diplomats will come to discuss the specific details."

"Mm, all right."

Theresica smiled as he saw Vitt off. But once Vitt had left, the sorrow on his face immediately drove away all traces of his smile.

"Why are you so worried?"

Yelena, who had accompanied him, looked utterly puzzled. Theresica could only let out a weary sigh.

"It is difficult for a small country stuck between great powers."

On June 1, 1071, Terra calendar, the compensation agreed upon by Kazimierz began to be delivered in earnest. This day was also regarded as the date when the two countries truly ended their state of war.

Kazimierz paid a large amount of Rubles to the Kazdel National Bank. At the same time, transport ships arrived in Kazdel. After unloading the production materials and industrial machinery provided to the Sarkaz, they took aboard the prisoners whose ransoms had been paid.

Of the 120,000 prisoners, Kazimierz bought back all the Beastmaster Knights and some of the Knights on foot, for a total of 60,000 people. As for the rest, the Monitorate showed not the slightest interest.

Most of these people belonged to ordinary minor knight families and did not have much money. Russell had little funding left either, so they could only helplessly abandon them.

"Then, Your Majesty, what should we do with these people? Kill them all?"

The Confessor managing the prisoners did not know what to do. Sarkaz food could not be wasted on raising foreign races for nothing.

"Have them... mine!"

After some consideration, Theresica ordered the abandoned prisoners to mine Originium.

It was merely physical labor. Having the Originium-affine Sarkaz mine it would be a waste. He assigned all the original miners to Originium refining plants to purify the Originium, leaving the mines entirely to the Kuranta.

Theresica ordered that these Kuranta be given the same food, clothing, and living conditions as the original Sarkaz miners. However, their range of activity during leisure time had to be restricted, and they would not be issued protective suits.

That thing absolutely could not be allowed to spread!

Even so, Theresica felt somewhat troubled. He knew there were ways to protect them, yet he had deliberately refused to provide these people with them.

The Kuranta left in Kazdel, however, showed no displeasure. They were ordinary people from Kazimierz themselves and often worked to supplement their families' income.

To their surprise, although mining here came with no wages, the food and lodging were better than what Kazimierz's miners received. The wages of Kazimierz's miners might not even be enough to afford such food and lodging! Besides, if they mined more here, they received extra beast meat as a reward. In Kazimierz, the foremen would have preferred it if they did not eat at all!

Kazdel's high-purity Originium output surged. Combined with Kazimierz's economic compensation, Theresica began a major renovation of Kazdel.

First, he established Kazdel's first medical university and affiliated hospital. Warfarin would serve as both president and hospital director, responsible for training the students and constructing the hospital.

Then he integrated the original industrial skills schools. Apart from the ship-production training school, which remained unchanged, all the other factory training schools were consolidated into Kazdel Industrial Skills Vocational College. It was divided into military and civilian categories, then further divided into specializations according to machine type. Students would be recruited nationwide. For now, it offered full-time accelerated courses linked to primary schools, as well as part-time classes open to everyone.

All military and civilian production workers were currently enrolled in the part-time classes for assessment. Those who passed would graduate directly and receive a little extra monthly food allowance, while those who failed would train while working. Zeppelin found this puzzling.

"Your Majesty, with your assembly-line production, the workers' current condition is entirely sufficient. Why waste time strengthening their training?"

"It is sufficient for now. What about later? Technology will develop. When that happens, those workers may no longer be suitable."

Theresica said, "If we do not keep these workers up to pace at all times, are we supposed to cast them aside later?"

"I understand."

Zeppelin immediately saw the point. His Majesty was right. Kazdel was currently producing simple products, but what if they became more complex in the future? Then these workers would face the danger of being made redundant.

After completing the two schools, Theresica established one for the military as well: Kazdel Military Academy.

It had three divisions: officers, noncommissioned officers, and technical soldiers. Everyone in the army at or above squad-leader rank was assigned to advanced officer training. All soldiers were assigned to the noncommissioned-officer program and then selected one technical-soldier specialty.

The teachers were retired veterans who had survived Sarkaz's years of war. The Confessors and Banshees compiled all the textbooks, using information sourced from the... corpses of countless professional soldiers from enemy nations.

The Trap

War history was essentially equivalent to Sarkaz history. The countless veterans who had survived those wars might have lost their physical strength or fallen behind intellectually, but when it came to preserving themselves and efficiently killing enemies, they possessed instincts fused into their very souls.

The Confessors acquired the information and gave it to the veterans, who selected from it while incorporating the experiences of active soldiers. It was then handed to Theresica for personal review. Finally, the Banshees compiled it into textbooks for each subject and distributed them to the military academy.

The previous literacy campaign for soldiers had achieved excellent results. Although military education still encountered some minor bumps, it proceeded smoothly overall.

Taking advantage of this educational construction, Theresica also reorganized the primary-school curriculum. He completely changed the original physical-education classes into military-training classes, including physical conditioning and formation drills, basic disassembly and assembly of semi-automatic crossbows, and marksmanship.

He also added an entirely new subject: ideology. It did not yet possess the intense distinctive flavor it had on Earth. It merely explained, in broad terms, the differences between Kazdel and foreign countries, the role of the National Planning Committee, and some necessary ideological concepts. Theresica personally wrote the textbooks, while Amaya served as both teacher and reviewer.

Kazdel had never had such abundant funding. Kazimierz had practically revived the Sarkaz with a single massive infusion. After handling the urgent construction projects, a large surplus still remained on the books, so Theresica turned his attention to infants and young children. They were the future!

He announced throughout Kazdel that, from then on, all pregnant women in the country could receive one month of maternity leave before giving birth and three months afterward. Women with multiple births would receive four months of leave after delivery. During that period, they did not have to work and could enjoy free food. In addition, the National Planning Committee would provide all daily necessities, healthcare, and medicine required by children aged zero to six.

Kazdel was frantically busy, but foreign affairs were not idle either.

After obtaining permission from the two Terra rogues, Ursus and Yan, Kazdel's newly established cavalry corps immediately charged into the wilderness. Their mission was to clear out all bandit groups currently active within the area where the two great powers would soon jointly build a city.

Against the wilderness bandits, the well-equipped cavalry carried out a completely one-sided massacre.

Theresica personally inspected one battle by Kazdel's cavalry corps. They charged a group of bandits with nowhere left to flee. The semi-automatic marksmen and casters first blasted the bandits into disarray. When the riding beasts plunged into the crowd, some people were sent flying several meters. The lucky ones who avoided the beasts were soon decapitated beneath the blades of Sarkaz soldiers.

Manfred was very satisfied with the battle, but Theresica wore little of a smile.

"Your Majesty, is there a problem?"

"The formation is not yet as dense as Kazimierz's, but I understand. We only need to intensify training. These are minor matters."

"May I ask, Your Majesty, what concerns you?"

Manfred asked cautiously. Ever since Lord Theresis's younger brother had ascended the throne, he had led Kazdel's development all the way to the present without making any mistakes. His concern therefore made Manfred somewhat nervous as well.

"Do you think we look like Kazimierz did before?"

Theresica's brows drew tightly together. "At least they had a Kazdel to target. But what about us? How could we ever kill all the bandits in this wilderness? Today they are nomads; tomorrow they may become bandits. And we cannot sort out the connections between them."

"Are you worried that they will seek revenge and interfere with the transport mission we have undertaken?"

Manfred guessed. He said, "They are nothing more than genuine bandits. If we strengthen our defenses, they certainly will not be able to interfere with us."

"That would work, but it is not the main point."

Theresica's face was filled with worry. "Although Ursus and Yan are the ones building a mobile city here, we Sarkaz are the ones slaughtering these bandits right now. Who do you think the bandits here will bite in the future?"

Manfred fell silent. The two great powers were building a commercial city here, so trade and transport would certainly be extremely frequent. But that meant the bandits' attention would be focused entirely on the Sarkaz. If the Sarkaz transport teams and those of the two great powers traveled together, the bandits would surely target the Sarkaz first.

A great power's meal was truly rather hard to chew.

Theresica clicked his tongue. "We cannot continue like this. We will earn a little less and be more cautious."

"Please give your orders." Seeing that Theresica had an idea, Manfred immediately waited for instructions.

"Survey the nearby nomad settlements, then give them some scarce supplies. Tell them to stay quietly where they are and cause no trouble. If the mobile landmass arrives, have them temporarily move aside. You must keep a close watch on this!"

The cudgel had already fallen on the bandits' heads. Surely these nomad settlements would not dare refuse the Sarkaz's carrot now.

Still, the mess they had created earlier was already festering here. There was no way to resolve it. They could only find a method to complete Ursus and Yan's commission first. Failing to handle this properly would cause enormous trouble!

Theresica returned to Kazdel and convened an emergency meeting, informing everyone of the situation.

"Is there any good way to transport the supplies there with absolute safety?"

The clan chiefs of the Royal Court offered plans based on their strengths. Since the bandits were so troublesome, they could simply turn that area into an uninhabited zone by killing everyone there!

Theresica rejected it outright. The transport escort mission had directly become a war mission in their hands.

At that moment, Zeppelin stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I have something here that might be worth trying."

Once again, they arrived at the canyon beside the military camp. Compared with a year ago, it had changed enormously. Roads had been repaired inside, and sufficient artificial lighting and ventilation systems had been installed.

"Zeppelin, what are you going to show me?" Theresica asked curiously. Zeppelin had brought him inexplicably to a pitch-black place where he could not see anything ahead.

"Your Majesty, this is something I built according to Lord Theresis's design."