Blessed by Abundance, Scourge of Terra

Of course, if this Demon King was skilled in cooking the books, it wasn't entirely impossible to pull off...

"Your information network is truly impressive." The beautiful Banshee let out a soft sigh.

Since things had come to this point, with the Demon King begging so earnestly, there was no way Lamian could simply turn a blind eye no matter how she felt.

New book seeking support, thank you everyone!

Chapter 4: Eating Grass Develops Better Than Eating Desserts

This winter, they'd have to tighten their belts again, Lamian thought to herself.

Children were the future of Kazdel; they couldn't be allowed to starve. After all, she and her people were long accustomed to going hungry.

But the proper procedures still had to be followed. With several hundred people in the Banshee River Valley, Theresia and Lamian would have to go door to door to ask for the Banshees' opinions.

The Banshees were all very kind-hearted, and besides, when Your Highness practically begged you in a pleading tone, who could possibly refuse?

Yet for some reason, when Lamian led Theresia knocking on doors, she deliberately avoided Huang Cao.

Even when they happened to pass by, she pretended it was just a withered tree, not sparing it a single extra glance.

Lamian had already developed her own selfish motives—she absolutely could not let Theresia discover the unique properties of this plant.

Otherwise, if Your Highness somehow took it away, her people might no longer be able to live within the valley.

Almost all the Banshees held a kind of reverent awe toward this enormous grass.

On this land, plants with spiritual energy were not uncommon, let alone the fact that Kazdel once had the Tree Spirit clan.

Fortunately, Theresia had come in a hurry today and didn't notice anything special about the grass that looked like a tree.

After chatting a little longer, she quickly left the valley. The Banshees watched Your Highness recede into the wind and snow, all letting out an involuntary sigh of relief.

Then they prepared to organize the supplies; before long, Theresia would likely send people to collect them.

"Please keep the matter of Lord Grass Spirit confidential," Lamian said, bowing slightly to her people.

At least until we have the foundation to withstand the next war...

"It seems the situation outside is even more dire than I imagined."

Thinking this, Huang Cao felt it necessary to speed up his own development. The Originium in the valley had basically been drained dry by him.

His main body was so massive—what if, after this nation's population recovered, he still hadn't figured out how to shrink his form?

It wasn't thieves he feared, but being coveted. His ability to purify Originium was far too valuable on this land.

He didn't want to be treated like a mascot.

Of course, being caught was out of the question. Going up to the sky might be difficult, but he could go underground.

I'll just burrow a thousand meters down—let's see if you can dig faster than I can run.

After such a long period of development, this valley had completely become part of Huang Cao.

It was somewhat similar to Yelagond's ability—wherever his roots reached was his domain.

"Lamian... are we going hungry again this year..."

A young Banshee looked reluctantly at the grain filling the entire storehouse. Though she said this, her hands didn't slow down as she packed bags.

Don't I wish I could let you all eat your fill?

Lamian had no words to reply. She could only continue hoping that Lord Grass Spirit would work his divine power again when spring came next year, bringing another harvest to this land.

A few more days passed, and the wind and snow briefly subsided.

Theresia led her subordinates to empty the storehouse, leaving only enough grain for the Banshees to barely scrape through the winter, by Lamian's standards.

Winter was not yet over; spring had not yet arrived.

There was a saying: when winter comes, can spring be far behind?

But not everyone could endure the winter.

Hovering in the air, Huang Cao watched the Banshees and felt a pang in his heart. After all, he'd spent a year with them—though he only saw their outward forms, the care these girls had shown him over the past year was genuine.

They'd even built him a little fence.

They were very polite. Who could dislike such a beautiful race?

Appearance was just a bonus, but for him, morality was the true standard for passing the threshold.

I'm helping this time!

Time to try out my new ability...

Two days later, another heavy snow fell. Unable to bear the extreme cold, the Banshees all retreated into their wooden cabins.

With food once again in short supply, the Banshees' gatherings became pitifully rare.

Of course, there was no sight of girls huddling around a campfire.

Not exciting at all!

Little Grass here is finally angry!

Huang Cao moved his mind, and a form coalesced directly on the snow—a handsome young man in a thin shirt and trousers.

But right now, his state was about as substantial as a puff of air—yet the power he possessed was enough to rival some elite operators.

Of course, that was his own estimation, since even among Rhodes Island's elite operators, there were gaps in strength.

With his roots spreading across the entire river valley, Huang Cao easily located the grain convoy still rumbling along.

Theresia had been waiting ahead; it had taken a full two days to haul this batch of grain to the area near the city.

What a coincidence—the orphanage Theresia had set up was exactly where Huang Cao used to stay, very close to his spawn point.

It made sense, really. Everywhere he went, he drained all the Originium from the area, leaving behind places perfectly suited for urban development.

Even if no other plants could survive without his permission, the mere absence of Originium was enough for people to settle down and live in peace.

"Why does this feel like the Middle Ages? Where's my Mobile City?"

As it turned out, the gap between Terra 300 years ago and Terra 300 years later was no small thing.

Especially in Kazdel, where the folk were simple and honest—it was even more backward than Siergrag 300 years later.

The vehicles had driven for two full days just to get the grain out. When they finally emerged from the valley and saw the town, Huang Cao realized just how much the word "town" overestimated this nation.

Nothing but ruins and rubble, with starving Sarkaz everywhere, their eyes green with hunger.

Many Sarkaz wore simple mercenary gear, their gazes locked onto the grain convoy.

Huang Cao saw longing in those eyes, but also restraint.

As the most charismatic Demon King, Theresia was the only light in the hearts of all Kazdel's people at this moment.

This area also happened to be where his roots were densest.

Thanks to the Originium Database spanning all of Terra, even if these roots left his main body, he could still infinitely control his original body parts.

There was even no lag—just a bit of mental strain. If the roots were too far, switching coordinate axes would cause phantom pain in his brain.

Theresia wasn't in the convoy, but the Demon King's banner flew above it.

Just as Huang Cao thought the grain would be safely stored, a sneaky Sarkaz produced a token and diverted a third of the convoy away from the main force.

Seeing this bizarre scene, Huang Cao immediately activated his vast database search technique and quickly found relevant information from the memories of a Sarkaz who had starved to death just yesterday.

There was no second orphanage in this area. Was this Theresia's intention, or...

But why are your nutrition levels so good?

Looking at the impressive physiques of the row of Sarkaz women, Huang Cao felt his scientific literacy being challenged.

The Sarkaz lived lives of luxury and ease, yet the only archangel to appear so far was that nun from the roguelike mode.

Under such scarce food conditions, whether it was starving commoners or armored soldiers...

Especially the women—their figures completely outclassed those sweet-toothed angels next door.

New book, please support me, thank you all!

Chapter 5: The Super Scammer Protagonist Goes Online

Can't figure it out...

Huang Cao sincerely marveled that Presis's beautification package was truly an art.

But then again, maybe the Sarkaz were the original inhabitants here? Or maybe not?

Even though he'd played Arknights, when it came to storylines he didn't like, he chose to skip the cutscenes.

Huang Cao followed the diverted convoy, his body hovering like a thin mist above the crowd.

After a few hours of bumpy travel, the convoy finally reached its destination.

It was a heavily guarded military camp, and inside, Huang Cao spotted Teresis.

"Her Highness Theresia did not agree to this..." a horned woman said to Teresis with respect.

The latter waved a hand to store the grain, his expression unchanged: "Say no more. I'll explain it to her. She should understand."

After hearing their exchange, Huang Cao pieced together the whole story.

Theresia and Teresis had indeed set their sights on the Banshee River Valley's food. The former genuinely wanted it for the orphans, but Teresis's actions were also tacitly approved by her.

There was no way the grain transport could have happened without her direct involvement—otherwise, why would she have left midway?

The reason she avoided being seen was to give herself a clear conscience, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

Huang Cao didn't plan to confront Theresia. He didn't know how to govern a nation; maybe she had her reasons.

Different people have different views. Dwelling on it was pointless.

But this food was still my hard work!

Daring to pull these little schemes right under my nose—you've got some nerve.

And according to the Originium Database, Huang Cao learned from the memories of a dead Victoria high-ranking general that for the next fifty years, Victoria and its neighboring countries had no plans to attack Kazdel again.

They'd been crippled a few years ago, and Kal'tsit had vanished without a trace.

Plus, a wave of technological development was coming in a few years. Every nation wanted to seize this opportunity to surge ahead—none of them had any intention of starting another war.

Small-scale skirmishes might never cease, but large-scale war was likely off the table.

"Theresia, you're right—kids can't go hungry. The adults can tough it out for a while."

Teresis didn't care about these scraps at all; in the literal sense, he'd just grabbed a portion on a whim.

This amount of food could sustain a few squads for about a month of combat.

Huang Cao's body transformed into a seed, then plunged deep into the ground beneath the military camp. Roots and stems rapidly spread and grew under the camp.

In just a few minutes, roots, stems, and leaves had spread across the underground of the camp.

This era had no surveillance, and any experts capable of monitoring weren't bothered with keeping tabs on a small grain depot.

Huang Cao's movements were very subtle. In an instant, he opened a large hole and dragged all the crates of food into the earth.

He then constructed plant leaves to serve as temporary conduits, smoothly transporting the grain out of the camp.

Originally, he'd planned to send it to the orphanage, but on second thought, Theresia didn't have the time to manage orphanage affairs.

Though she carried a bit of a mascot vibe after the war ended, she was still a nation's leader. Spending every day playing house in an orphanage wasn't befitting of a leader.

It might just get embezzled again after being sent over. Better to use this batch of grain to trade for something useful to himself.

Huang Cao could actually stimulate plant growth. The information stored in the Originium was enough to let him spur any plant to life, which was how the River Valley region had achieved the miracle of four harvests a year.

But if he wanted to obtain more things, he'd need the wisdom of others.

For instance, he couldn't just build an electronic computer with his bare hands.

...A day later.

Huang Cao had a new identity: bounty hunter.

He'd cleaned out all the wanted mercenaries in the nearby town and successfully secured his first batch of startup capital.