News of a Death and a Plan

After the kneeling civilians dispersed like a receding tide, the area around the teleportation array finally became quiet.

David glanced around at the dozen or so wizards and broke the silence.

"Before we officially begin work, there's something I need to remind everyone of."

Everyone looked at him.

David pointed at the retreating civilians and spoke seriously.

"When dealing with these people, you can't be too gentle."

He paused, then explained.

"They've been ruled by the Chaos Cult for three hundred years. That rigid hierarchy of superiority and inferiority has been carved into their bones. If we communicate with them using Noren Workshop's idea of 'equality,' they'll be at a loss instead, and may even..." He shook his head. "Develop thoughts they shouldn't have."

Someone frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They'll think we're pushovers." A more experienced-looking wizard beside him took over. "Don't laugh—I've really seen it happen. If you speak nicely to them, they think you're weak and start paying lip service while undermining you behind your back. Once you show them what you're capable of, they're scared half to death and drop to their knees begging for mercy." David nodded. "So during the initial stage, maintaining an appropriate degree of authority is necessary. We don't need to be vicious, but they must understand that we are the rulers and the makers of the rules. Once they gradually adapt to Noren Workshop's way of doing things, we can make adjustments later." Everyone nodded in understanding.

Next, based on their respective specialties, the dozen or so wizards quickly divided up their tasks.

Some were responsible for investigating the plane's overall structure, some for drawing detailed maps, some for surveying population distribution, and some for examining the traces of remaining arrays and spells.

Benjamin and David were assigned to investigate the