"Okay, I understand."
A fleeting look of longing crossed the [ Ginseng Rooster ]'s eyes, quickly replaced by an almost fanatical loyalty:
"Please convey to His Excellency the Archbishop that... the militia will surely fight to the death for Black Pine City!"
The servant nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, then took his leave of [ the Ginseng Rooster ] and returned to the Fitz family castle to report.
[ Ginseng Rooster ] quietly called out a few other players in the group chat. By this time, the training team had already disbanded, and there were hardly any militiamen wandering outside.
Without being provided with meals, most of the militiamen, exhausted from a day's work, had already returned to their own tents.
They neither knew nor wanted to know what was happening outside.
Several players who hadn't been drawn away by the Grand Knight Commander quickly arrived at [ Ginseng Rooster ]'s side.
Together, the group carried the wagons containing the "military funds" to the edge of the camp. Then, they worked together to bring the boxes filled with tree seeds back to the militia captain's tent. [ Ginseng Rooster ] then called over all the players he could gather.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!"
The five large chests were opened one by one, revealing plump and round tree seeds to the players.
The archbishop of Fitz Province was not as mad as Antiya Lisi, so the common people of Fitz Province had to pay less tax than those of Aduolin Province.
Plants are incredibly resilient. With just a slight reduction in taxes, the deformity rate among the common people in Fitz Province dropped dramatically, and the Symbiotic Tree trees that produce offspring are naturally more rounded and fuller than those in Aduolin Province.
Players had little concept of such a large number of tree species, and for a moment they found it difficult to estimate exactly how much military funding Luorui'er had sent.
Several players were constantly swallowing hard, as if they were about to jump into the large box and bathe in the tree seeds at any moment.
Seeing this, [ Ginseng Rooster ] cleared his throat and said:
"Please listen to me, everyone."
Everyone looked at the temporary leader who had secured their positions, and listened as he explained his plan:
"I understand everyone's desire to exchange tree seeds for gold or silver coins, or to open blind boxes, but I must first clarify one thing--"
He looked at everyone and said:
"This is the pay that Luorui'er is giving to the entire militia. In principle, it belongs to all militia members, including the NPCs."
Seeing that someone looked unhappy, [ the Ginseng Rooster ] continued:
"Although saying this may seem a bit weak and saintly, I think the NPCs in this world are no different from the living."
"Even if we can't make their lives better, we shouldn't intentionally make their lives worse, right?"
Upon hearing this, the players who had initially looked unhappy all showed expressions of relief.
We are all modern people who have received good moral education. If resisting evil regimes is an instinct, then sympathizing with the weak is also an instinct.
Seeing that everyone was no longer confused, [ Ginseng Rooster ] changed the subject and said:
"But ultimately, everyone has a part in this, so I've come up with a plan that we can all listen to."
All eyes turned to him, and he said with righteous indignation:
"If anyone doesn't want to participate in this program, they can count out a thousand tree seeds and leave now. That's equivalent to ten to twelve gold coins, which is quite a sum."
Seeing that no one moved an inch, [ Ginseng Rooster ] said with satisfaction:
"It seems everyone here is indeed as loyal as I am."
"Hurry up and tell us. Do you really think we're all good people? We just want to see what tricks you have up your sleeve this time."
One player impatiently interrupted, but [ Ginseng Rooster ] remained righteous and awe-inspiring:
"Although these tree species belong to the militia, we can prevent them from reaching the militia 'temporarily'."
"What?"
One player's expression changed drastically:
Are you embezzling funds or planning to misappropriate public funds?
[ Ginseng Rooster ] shook his head and said:
"Let me finish explaining. My plan is simple. Don't we want to get those militiamen to turn against us in the end? Then let's withhold this batch of military pay. This will exacerbate the conflict between the local NPCs and the archbishop to some extent."
"Then we'll pretend to argue our case, or even pretend to forcefully demand the money, and then distribute the military pay to them. This will strengthen our bond."
One player clapped his hands instinctively, then exclaimed in sudden realization:
"You're planning to turn the archbishop's soldiers into our private army!"
"That's right, exactly!"
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] gave him a look that suggested he was teachable and continued:
"Therefore, the most urgent task is to hide these five large boxes, so that we can be more flexible in distributing money to everyone or using them for other purposes later."
"These things are already in the way just sitting here; if this continues, they'll be discovered in less than three days."
The players readily agreed, and subsequently unanimously approved the plan to temporarily bury the large chest under the camp.
So everyone started digging a hole on the spot.
An old sage, whose mouth wasn't very clean, once said, "A hole that is two meters long, two meters deep, and one meter wide, even if you dig for ten hours a day, might not be finished in three days."
However, this is World of Disorder, a fantastical world where a person can use their limbs to wield five shovels simultaneously, and where the roots of symbiotic plants can be used to loosen the soil.
With dozens of players present, the entire process of digging holes, burying boxes, filling in soil, and tamping it down was completed in less than half an hour.
The players jumped around on the filled-in ground, trying to completely cover up the traces of the recent digging.
As for the soil that simply couldn't be filled in, they used a method they'd seen in movies: carrying it out little by little in sacks, back and forth between the tents and the training grounds.
With everything resolved, the players all left. Everyone needed to log off and rest quickly, otherwise they would miss tomorrow's training.
Unlike the carefree civilians Tree Worship Church, the players knew that given Duma's military command style, such good days probably wouldn't last much longer.
Meanwhile, Duma, far away at the church in Laurel Town, received a message from Ed:
" Duma."
"I am here, Son of God."
There's something I need to discuss with you.
"Please speak."
I need some manpower.
"Should we draw them from my place?"
"Yes, the situation in Klaf City is more complicated than we imagined, so I have a new plan regarding the destination of the Soul Returner."
"I am all ears."