Crisp winds swept through the wasteland, whistling dry sand and dry deciduous grass clippings, and on the deserted land, where the ditches that had once been used for irrigation had dried up due to the interruption of the upstream, a crumbling wall had fallen into the dirt, mostly covered in yellowing weeds.

An old abandoned mill stands alone on the side of the road, the blades of a huge windmill that have fallen off the mill are like some kind of severed limb on a half-collapsed red brick wall, the traces of burning and explosives can be seen everywhere around the mill, and a charred street sign stands crookedly on the intersection in front of the mill, and the vague handwriting on the street sign is faintly visible:

"Longtail Woodland - Cabre Town"

A rough, bony hand brushed over the sign, wiping off a layer of charred ash.

Norris looked at the black ash on his hands, then rubbed his fingers together and looked at the old abandoned mill not far away.

A gust of autumn wind blew, and the cold air in the wind poured into Norris's lungs, which were no longer healthy, and he couldn't help but bend down and cough continuously.

Several young people who accompanied him immediately stepped forward, and someone supported the Minister of Agriculture, whose body was slightly shaking: "Minister, are you okay?" ”

"It's nothing, I'm old, and the wind isn't very kind to me this season," Norris waved his hand, rejecting the support of his subordinate and apprentice, and slowly retracted his gaze from the direction of the mill, "I've heard of this place...... It is said that the most fertile land near the Longtail Woodland is here......"

"It's all deserted," a young official sighed, "and the entire Longtail Glade had been overrun by the Crystal Cluster Legion by the time the troops arrived, with fewer than a hundred survivors gathered together, and in order to get rid of the monsters once and for all, the soldiers had bombarded and burned all the towns, including the settlements around them. ”

"Desolate...... Desertion is not terrible, and the deserted land can still be saved," Norris said slowly, looking at the weedy farmland not far away, "I'm afraid that there will be residual pollution." Let's go over there and have a look. ”

The young officer who was accompanying him turned his head and ordered a few magic guide cars to stop on the side of the road and stand by, and then walked to keep up with Norris.

The once fertile fields had been deserted, weeds had grown, then bombarded and burned, and after the burning, new weeds had grown with several storms, and now the former farmland was almost completely unrecognizable from a distance, Norris crouched down beside a barely distinguishable ditch, reached out and grabbed a handful of dirt, rubbing it slightly at his fingertips.

The black soil, mixed with grass and wood ash, with a hint of damp and sticky texture, fell to the ground with the movement of fingers.

"What good soil...... Norris stretched out his hand and asked his entourage to look at the dirt left in his hands, "how can there be such good land in the south?" ”

After sighing, he clapped his hands and began to instruct the sampling staff to collect local soil samples, while an accompanying clerk took out the folder he had brought with him and found the corresponding report: "This and the surrounding fields are part of the 'Velvet Sedge Manor' and belong to the private property of Viscount Cabre, but it is difficult to count the specific population of the entire town of Cabre, and can only be roughly estimated at about three hundred households - not including the more remote villages and a mine." ”

A young technician in field overalls with an Imperial rattan ring druid badge on his chest inspecting the soil said, "The soil here still looks healthy and fertile, much better than the two contaminated areas found before......

"Let's mark it green for now," Norris slowly stood up, propping up his knees, "before the next planting season, collect as much information as possible on the land that can be restored, and don't forget to mark the heavily polluted areas......"

"Yes, Minister. Wait a minute, are we going to ......."

An accompanying Ministry of Agriculture official responded, but as soon as he was halfway through his words, the guard standing guard on the earthen ridge next to him suddenly shouted not far away: "Who is it? Come out!! ”

Several pairs of eyes suddenly looked in the direction of the guard's reprimand, Norris raised his eyelids and saw that there seemed to be a figure shaking in the abandoned mill not far away, and after the guard shouted a second time, the two figures hiding in the mill finally came out of the abandoned building.

It was a man and a woman, not of much age, dressed in dusty clothes, with dirty hair and face, and they cautiously bent over and walked towards this side, with humility and fear, as if they were afraid that they would be caught by a few "big people" in front of them if they made a mistake.

The expression on Norris's face shook subconsciously at the sight of the man and woman, and he remembered himself a few years ago...... That humble and cowering gesture had been carved into his bones for decades, and he was really too familiar with it.

"Survivors? Are there survivors in this area? A young clerk whispered in surprise.

Norris frowned, and only after the two men approached did he ask, "Why are you here?" You've been hiding here? ”

"Sir, we are...... It was from the town to the south...... We hid out and fought, and then we came back after the fight was over. ”

The hunchbacked man spoke cautiously, and as he spoke, he kept tugging at the thread on his clothes, and his words were a little confused, but Norris quickly understood the meaning of the words—the two men had not been hiding in the mill, they must have escaped with everyone when the accident had happened before, and then luckily escaped from this hell alive, and most of the time they had been wandering in Pompeii or the Scordland region for half a year, and now they probably heard the news of safety in the north, and ran back again.

Situations like this are not uncommon in this vast area – there were few survivors of the disaster, but there were always people who escaped.

Some of these people have been contained and protected by the team sent from the South, some may have found a permanent home in the South, and some ...... Unable to give up the land they had cultivated for generations, the only familiar homeland, or the way to live in the south, they ran back and wandered the land that had become a war-torn wasteland.

Left unchecked, sooner or later most of these people will die of hunger, cold, disease, or the maws of wild beasts, and the rest may become rogue bandits in the eastern part of the Whitsunday Plains, and this desolate land will become a lawless land of astonishing proportions.

But the Empire will not sit idly by, Norris and his team, as well as several other teams heading in different directions, are tasked with rebuilding the "granary of the Empire".

"I'm not a lord, my name is Norris, and I'm here to rebuild this place on orders from Your Majesty," Shaking his head, throwing his complicated thoughts out of his mind, Norris said to the men and women in front of him, "It's not suitable for this place to settle down now, you can go to the resettlement area in the southeast first......"

The woman with dirty hair didn't seem to understand Norris's words, but her eyes widened: "Your Majesty? Which Majesty? Isn't His Majesty Francis no longer there? ”

Norris was stunned.

Among the fleeing poor people in the central region, the news has been so slow that they not only do not know the founding of the empire, but they may not even know whether the civil war is really over, and when did they start fleeing? How long has it been cut off from the civilized world?

After living in the advanced and prosperous city of Cecil for several years, Norris once again saw this familiar poverty and backwardness, so much so that he forgot to open his mouth for a while, but the druid technician standing next to him couldn't help but say: "Is it Gawain?? His Majesty Cecil, he is already an emperor. ”

The man and woman were stunned for a long time before they finally exclaimed again and again.

"Let's go to the resettlement area in the southeast," Norris said to them again, "we have a car to take you there, and some of the refugees who have fled are making their homes there." It's too dangerous for you to stay in this place, and there's no room for you to live in right now. ”

The man and woman finally understood what Norris meant, and they hesitated, but after seeing Norris's entourage and escorts, they looked nervous and afraid, but Norris couldn't think of how to explain everything to the two of them except for relief - he could only make some assurances, let the entourage take out some food, and emphasize that it was "His Majesty's order of the Emperor" to reassure them.

But before following the soldier away, the hunchbacked man suddenly opened his mouth again, and while tugging at the thread on his clothes, he said cautiously: "Sir, we still have something...... Can you hold it together? ”

Norris nodded: "Yes, but not too much, the car can't fit." ”

The man thanked him for his gratitude, and hurried back to the mill, and a moment later he came out with a tattered cart that seemed to fall apart at any moment—it was piled up with all sorts of miscellaneous items, old jars and basins, and rags of no discernible color, and a place for people to sit.

That's all the men and women have to go — Norris can almost imagine how they got out of here with the cart, wandering from village to town to the south, and then back to the place with the cart.

"That's all, that's all," the man smiled humbly, "not much." ”

The soldier who was about to escort the man and woman to the resettlement camp glanced at the contents of the cart and wanted to say that the rags could be thrown away, and that the camp would give the refugees a set of necessities anyway, but in the end the soldier did not say so, but sighed: "Alas...... Things can be carried, but this cart can't be loaded into our car. ”

"Old ...... "Master," the man panicked, "I can push the cart behind you!" I'm running fast! ”

The soldier shook his head: "No, you don't know ......"

Norris interrupted the soldier: "Tie this cart to the roof." ”

The soldier looked embarrassed: "...... My lord, this ......"

"Do as I say," Norris shook his head, "it's their most precious thing right now." ”

"Yes, sir."

"Sir, you are such a good person!" The woman with dirty hair hurriedly said, "You look like a kind noble lord!" ”

"I'm not a lord, and I'm not a nobleman, just call me sir," Norris corrected again, then waved his hand, "Let's go, follow this soldier, our car is waiting on the side of the road." Don't be intimidated by the car for a while. ”

The man and woman hurriedly agreed, but as soon as they followed the soldier a few steps, the hunchbacked man couldn't help but turn his head again: "Master...... Sir, do you think this place can really be changed back to its original state? ”

“…… It's going to be better than before," Norris said word by word, looking at those cloudy but expectant eyes, "This is the mission that Your Majesty has given me. ”

"That'...... Can we come back then? The man observed the face of the soldier next to him, and said quickly, "Our family is in the town, and there is ...... over there."

Before he finished his sentence, the woman next to him seemed to sneak into his arm, and Norris guessed what the unfinished half sentence would be—a can of wheat? A box of flour? A scythe? Or maybe a few hard-earned silver coins?

He didn't ask, just nodded vigorously: "I will come back - this is the order that His Majesty gave me." ”

The hunchbacked man laughed, "Ah, then it seems that His Majesty Cecil is really a good man. ”

They left.

After a long time, Norris finally broke the silence: "We still have a long way to go. ”

"Yes, Minister."

"But all will be well," Norris said, turning, looking at the vast, war-burned fertile land, as if to himself, "as Your Majesty said...... In this burned land, new sprouts will eventually grow. ”