In Terra, I Have No Books to Read

Even without a signed written agreement, the Sankta could actually be quite flexible. Theresica immediately hit it off with them, and the two parties sat at the dining table, venting their frustrations about the Leithanian people's various behaviors.

And the Leithanians who arrived at the same time?

They were the diplomatic delegation of the Elector organization. Although Kazdel was represented by the Banshee chieftain for an equivalent reception, they were unable to meet Theresica. When they tried to discuss fulfilling the payment with the Banshee, she stated that she had no authority to make decisions.

The entire matter seemed to have reached a standstill!

The Leithanian diplomats were restless. Every extra second of delay now would have a significant negative impact on Leithania.

Before being dispatched by the Electors to Kazdel, they had completed a diplomatic mission in Ursus.

The atmosphere at the meeting site at that time was extremely strange. The representatives of the Ursus Imperial Council seemed completely uninterested in the price Leithania offered. They even engaged in loud private discussions in front of them while signing the documents.

"Hey! Should we sign this agreement or not! We might just be wasting ink!"

"Don't worry, that'll make us even happier!"

"Hahaha..."

The Leithanian diplomats sat there, listening to the Ursus people's taunts, their faces turning red and then pale. Although their mouths didn't move, they were already cursing inwardly.

'What kind of mess is this Empress making!'

After waiting in Kazdel for a long time with no results, the Leithanian diplomats, with no other choice, compiled a report on the situation and sent it to Siracusa, forwarding it back to Leithania through the communication relay station there.

In the council hall within the high tower, the Electors, who had been awaiting the results, received the unfavorable report from the attendants.

'It seems the Sarkaz have decided to deliberately provoke them.'

Behind them, on a raised platform, sat two women who also seemed to have noticed the Electors' somber expressions.

"Apologies, our impulsive actions have led to these negative consequences."

"No, Your Majesty the Empress, this matter is not worth your concern. All the nations of Terra have a history of breaking treaties. This storm will pass with time."

After hearing the Empress speak, the Electors hesitated for a moment before deciding to comfort their leader first.

To avoid detection by the Witch King, the nobles had been carefully hiding them in the countryside, and their mannerisms inevitably carried a rustic flavor.

However, this was understandable. After all, they had not yet received proper political education, and unlike the Witch King, they were not beyond persuasion. It was believed that in a few years, they could become competent leaders.

One of the Electors, prompted by those beside him, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we require the authority to intervene in your daily schedule."

The two women exchanged glances, and one of them asked, "Why?"

"You currently need to understand this country from a completely new perspective, so that everyone can better submit to your will in the future."

The Elector explained.

The power of the Twin Empresses had temporarily been reclaimed by the Leithanian nobles. They had not forgotten the Witch King's autocratic style of governance.

Unlike the nobles of Victoria, they dared not directly lead an army against the royal family. They could only seize opportunities through the minor mistakes of the other party to gradually shrink their space.

The issue of payment between Kazdel and Leithania seemed to be left unresolved. Leithania turned a deaf ear and continued with its own life. Kazdel also disregarded the matter, focusing on developing its shipbuilding industry while shifting its attention back to the construction of Lungmen.

Serving Ursus and Yan was the most important thing.

On the Ursus side, the second batch of the Wendigo homecoming plan was also initiated. This time, there were over a thousand people, but they were mostly women, children, and elders of the Wendigo tribe. Under the escort of the Sarkaz army, they set foot on Kazdel's land.

With their return, the Wendigo had officially returned to Kazdel. This race, once driven away, had once again set foot on their ancestral land.

Chapter 95 Bodrocasti

The Wendigo tribe, who had been away for hundreds of years, returned to Kazdel. Both adults and children alike surveyed the unfamiliar city before them with curious eyes.

Although it wasn't as prosperous as Ursus, there were no dark corners, no idle people on the streets, and everywhere were ordinary residences.

They looked warm, had good natural light, and were well-ventilated.

However, the Ursus authorities had not allowed them to take any property when they left, and they had not accumulated much wealth in Ursus. Could they survive here?

"Everyone, please don't worry."

The Banshee seemed to have sensed their concerns and quickly said, "Currently, all resources in Kazdel are uniformly allocated by the National Planning Committee established by His Majesty. Everyone's daily necessities will be fully provided."

This left the Wendigo looking bewildered. The Banshee could only bring Amaya over to give them an impromptu lesson.

As Amaya was helping the Wendigo gradually understand the differences between Kazdel and other countries on Terra, Theresica received the representatives of the Wendigo tribe—the Bodrocasti family.

Although he was not the chieftain of the Wendigo tribe, he was currently the only pure-blooded Wendigo on Terra. His strength was terrifying, and he had become a Captain in the Ursus army solely based on his military achievements as an outsider.

This was the pinnacle of military achievement for a non-Ursus resident!

"Hello, Mr. Bodrocasti, welcome back to Kazdel."

"Hello, Your Majesty, cough cough..."

His unusually hoarse voice was interrupted by a bout of coughing. Within those few seconds, Bodrocasti's brow furrowed, and a lot of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The woman standing beside him immediately turned pale, and the child in her arms looked at his mother with confusion.

"Do you need a doctor?"

Theresica asked, "Kazdel can now treat most common illnesses, unlike in the past."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. This is not a... common illness, but a complication caused by Oripathy."

Bodrocasti ignored his wife's anxious expression and stated directly, "I have contracted Oripathy. My colleagues in Ursus have been covering for me."

"It's alright. This is Kazdel. You can openly talk about being infected with Oripathy. Although Mr. Bodrocasti was previously a Ursus citizen, starting today, he is a citizen of Kazdel, and we will follow Kazdel's rules."

Theresica smiled and motioned for Shining to go fetch Warfarin.

"Doctor Warfarin will give you a check-up later. I can't guarantee a cure, but Kazdel will definitely supply enough Oripathy inhibitor medication."

"Your... Your Majesty... How much will it cost?"

Bodrocasti's wife couldn't help but ask. Oripathy inhibitor medication wasn't cheap. Even with a high monthly salary as an Ursus Captain, she could only afford to secretly buy a little medication occasionally to slightly alleviate her husband's pain.

"How could you..."

"It's fine, it's only natural to be concerned," Theresica waved his hand dismissively, signaling Bodrocasti not to scold his wife. He continued, "In Kazdel, those involved with Originium, military personnel, and retired military personnel receive lifelong free medical care. All health and treatment costs are borne by the national treasury."

A smile immediately appeared on Bodrocasti's wife's face after Theresica finished speaking.

"What the newspapers said is true!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Bodrocasti bowed.

That day, all Wendigos and Absolvers returning to Kazdel from Ursus, along with Kazdel's medical staff, conducted a physical census on them.

Despite being terrifyingly powerful war machines, they stood nervously before the imaging machine, even afraid to approach it. Warfarin watched them with a speechless expression.

"Look at your size! And you're cowering like this! Anyone who didn't know would think I'm some kind of devil! Come here!"

Under Warfarin's roar, a young Wendigo took half a step forward, but upon seeing the activated imaging machine, he took a large step back, shaking his head desperately.

Warfarin, having lost her patience, pointed to the side where two Wendigos who had already completed their examinations stood.

"You two! Come here and hold him down!"

The temporary screening site immediately shook as if an earthquake had struck. In the end, Warfarin 'dragged' out over 20 infected individuals from among the Wendigos.

They stood in a line, their shadows covering a small part of the camp, but their faces were filled with unease. This showed just how terrifying it was to become infected within Ursus.

However, this was Kazdel.

"Come, come, come, take your medicine, take your medicine," Warfarin had someone push a cart full of medication. "One bag per person! Don't move around for the next few days. Doctors will visit to check on your condition. We've never treated a race of such immense size before, so we must strictly monitor the drug reactions!"

Wendigos possessed extremely strong physical constitutions, which meant that even when infected with Oripathy, most of them remained in the mild infection stage. Bodrocasti, however, was different. He had been accidentally injured by friendly fire, which directly led to him becoming a moderately infected individual, with the infection focus located in his vital throat area.

Upon learning that the only pure-blooded Wendigo was infected with Oripathy, the Banshee, the King of the Scavengers, and the Bloodfiend Grand Duke all personally went to visit him. Theresica also inquired about his specific condition from Warfarin.

"He has over a dozen Originium infection foci, likely caused by war. However, for a Wendigo's physique, this level of infection is only moderate, but..." Warfarin took out a large imaging film and pointed to Bodrocasti's severely blurred throat area. "This is his primary Originium infection focus. Based on its development, it has been worsening for over 5 years and has already begun to spread, moving towards his lungs. Without this focus, he could have lived for another hundred years, but now... he has about 20 years left, no more than 40."

Theresica glanced at the closed partition door and then asked, "Are there any treatment plans?"

"For now, we can only have him take Oripathy inhibitor medication and surgically remove the foci not attached to organs to reduce his physical burden as much as possible... that's all we can do." Warfarin's expression was somewhat melancholic. Bodrocasti's wife was not a Wendigo. One branch of the Sarkaz was heading towards its end.

Theresica also wore a grim expression. His mood today had been like a roller coaster. At first, he thought he could truly become powerful, only to realize that he had a timed trial card.

However... there were still 20 years. Kazdel's medical advancements would surely progress!

As Theresica was comforting himself, the Shapeshifter Chieftain quietly pushed open the partition door and walked in.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What news?"

"Victoria has calmed down. The Dukes seem to be tired of fighting."

Chapter 96: Mechanization, or Rather, a Bicycle

Victoria's civil war suddenly stopped, which was something none of the Terra nations had expected. The civil war had erupted suddenly, and its cessation was even more abrupt. None of the dukes who had been killing each other had died. If they stopped now, wouldn't all the previous fighting have been in vain? Could they be content with that?

Despite their confusion, facing a behemoth once again made them more nervous. Columbia hastily ended its war with Sargon and withdrew its federal army back to its borders. Leithanien redeployed its defenses, strengthening its reserve forces to counter Victoria. Kazimierz initiated a new round of knight conscriptions and dispatched the newly formed knight orders to the border adjacent to Victoria.

While the nations of Terra were on edge, the residents of Victoria breathed a collective sigh of relief. The civil war had finally ended. Internal wars, unlike external wars, did not consume foreign lands but instead caused exponential damage to oneself. Especially in terms of livelihood, the impact was immense. Prices of various goods soared, medicine was scarce, and production and commerce had completely collapsed. The lives of Victorians had been extremely painful over the past year.

However, none of this was experienced by the dukes high above. Outside Londinium city, residents bustling about to make a living cast unfriendly glances at a slowly approaching Landship. The ornate noble crest carved on its prow indicated it belonged to nobility. However, most of the Originium in Victoria was now used for the civil war, leaving even minor nobles to walk like commoners or revert to using beast-drawn carts. In such circumstances, only the great dukes could still operate a Landship. Sitting comfortably in the elegantly decorated bridge, Duke Wellington enjoyed the sunlight while quietly gazing at Londinium city.

Massive city defense cannons were positioned at intervals along the walls, and they were now slowly rotating to aim in this direction.

"My Lord Duke, your guests have arrived," the maid said, bowing.

"Notify me when everyone has arrived."

"Yes."

The maid slowly retreated. Duke Wellington made no move, continuing to watch the city defense cannons adjust their trajectory.

He knew they wouldn't dare fire.

Wellington picked up his teacup and savored the aroma of the tea.

He had not participated in Victoria's civil war from beginning to end. While others were exhausted, he remained unscathed. He had been the most powerful noble before, and now he was even more so.

Today, he would leave his territory, invited by the Unicorn, the only remaining political family in Victoria besides the Aslan and Draco, to discuss state affairs.

The Unicorn proposed that although the Victorian throne was vacant, no one wanted to bear the infamy of usurpation, and the nobles couldn't agree amongst themselves. Therefore, they should simply establish a council to jointly decide the nation's direction.

The nobles agreed, but none of them cared about Victoria's future. These individuals were merely weary from battle and needed time to recuperate.

"My Lord Duke, they are all waiting for you."

"Mm."

Wellington set down his teacup, straightened his hem, and then unhurriedly walked out.

The Dukes' landships were docked outside a scenic resort estate. Eight landships and a large number of soldiers had completely surrounded the estate.

Inside a comfortable pavilion, the Dukes and the Unicorn were waiting for his arrival.

Despite the posturing, when it came to formal discussions, no one wasted time. They immediately voted by a show of hands to establish the council, with the Unicorn appointed as Speaker and the Dukes as members.