What was Desolate North Imperial City like?
It was indeed an imperial city warped far off course.
Militarism was merely its outward label.
The problems it had spawned within had long since festered and rotted.
Outsiders could not even enter the Outer City District and could only linger in the heavily guarded satellite city.
This had turned the entire imperial city into a diseased state within a state.
Under such circumstances, those arriving in Desolate North Imperial City for the first time might form a preconceived impression: that Prince Ortis, who ruled this place, had to be a tyrant.
But the truth was exactly the opposite.
Desolate North Imperial City had not been built in a day.
It had not chosen war; war had chosen it.
Taking into account factors such as geography, resources, and environment, this place was far inferior to Saland's central and eastern regions.
If Saland North wished to survive, it had to unite as one.
War was the best pretext for rallying and unifying people.
In fact, centuries ago, Prince Ortis's forebears had already begun transforming Desolate North Imperial City and the entire Saland North region.
Prince Ortis was merely their successor.
He himself was refined and easygoing, yet never lacked rationality.
Though he believed in the supremacy of strength, he could still heed advice that grated on the ears.
Otherwise, he would never have allowed Tami to study at Scholar City.
To persuade those old diehards at Scholar City to accept Tami, Prince Ortis had put considerable thought into it as well.
Now that he saw Princess Tami return after completing her studies, the first thing she did was strongly advocate building schools within the city. He knew her studies had not been in vain.
Although the strategy of building schools would greatly increase expenditures,