Ignoring what Zolde said about "harvesting" and just looking at the specific things, Frodo agrees with it very much, otherwise he would not have followed Zolde all the time.

In the past few years, Flordo has sent thousands of halflings to Zold's workshops and trading houses, both from the villagers of Stone Lizard Mountain and from outsiders, and on the whole they are doing well.

In the Fourth Age 1232, the main plane of Fein was drastically changed from a few years ago.

The war has temporarily subsided, and the transformation of traditional magic by magic particles, the popularization of the Red Union Spiritual Power Enchantment and the Magic Transformation Technology have all deeply affected the lives of mortals, especially civilians.

The Lizard Mountains ruled by Flodo, with a population of just over 10,000 people, and now not many people grow crops, and the output of the Enchantment Farm makes food very cheap. The tailor and blacksmith's business is also not much business, and the daily necessities provided by the Wishing Network terminal and the commercial temple trade terminal are cheap and of good quality, far from being comparable to the products of small craftsmen.

As a result, more and more people are moving out of the countryside and into small towns and even cities. Either enter the workshop trading house, or do various service jobs. There are more and more small towns, and cities are getting bigger.

In both small towns and cities, families with a modest income can afford to pay for magic lights. Lights allow civilians to use longer, and they can do more work to earn more money.

Frodo was a good lord, and he built small magic wells and magic furnaces for the villages and towns of Stonelizard Mountain early on, built a public power grid, provided public lighting, and built a public transportation network to make life easier for the lords.

Other lords who were not so kind-hearted gradually did the same, as they found that these facilities allowed civilians to work more time and earn more money. In this way, not only is every public facility a good excuse to find the people to collect money, but there is also hope for those territorial taxes that could not be collected at all.

A single civilian doesn't have much to scrape on, but when thousands of civilians come together, the final number is still considerable.

Of course, the actual situation is much more complicated, some lords are unwilling or have no money to build, so they sell the corresponding rights or "rights to shares" and let the lords build on their own. In order to expand the market, some businessmen took the initiative to fund and help with the construction. In the Imperial Territories, officials did not want their jurisdictions to be more dilapidated, dark, and inconvenient than other jurisdictions, and they did everything they could to promote municipal construction.

In short, during the quiet period of more than three years, the tide of magical technological change that originally focused only on war and weapons spread to the level of mortal life, coupled with the popularization of information networks, the changes are really changing with each passing day.

Zold's workshops and trading houses never used long-term contracts like Mosmut's, and he only signed contracts for a maximum of three years. Although the working hours are long, the more you do, the more you are paid. Not only in Fleet City, but also elsewhere, there were always long queues at the Zolde workshops and trading houses as soon as they were hired.

The details of this are clear to Flodo, the average worker who works in the Zolde workshop earns half of the "order scales" every month, in addition to food, clothing, and shelter, that is, the imperial concealment, which allows them to do something else besides work. And the Mosmut deed workers were not much better fed, clothed and sheltered than slaves, and the silver coins saved could not buy a few glasses of local inferior rum.

Unfortunately, the number of workshops and firms in Fleet City was far less than that of Mosmut, a city nominally under the jurisdiction of the Empire, which was in fact ruled by Mosmut, had a population of nearly 200,000, and less than 20,000 civilians could enjoy the "Zelder treatment".

Zord's words still couldn't be understood, and Mosmutt sneered, "Who doesn't know that you are currying favor with Lady Crimson?

When you speak, you still look at Flodo, that means that your little brother used to be a member of the Fei Gong, and you still came to fool me, am I stupid?

"I'm here for your own good, Mosmut, and since you're looking forward to a change of situation, you have to be ready," said Zord. In this regard, I feel that you still have a lot of questions. ”

"The most important thing is the understanding of civilians, and your biggest problem is that you feel that there is a huge gap between civilians and transcendentals, so you don't take them seriously. ”

"Is there a difference between a civilian and a transcendent? There are many differences, of course, but it depends on what you look at. ”

"From the point of view of a legendary magician, civilians are ants without supernatural powers, and that's right. ”

"From ...... From a career point of view, if you want to earn gold bushels, you still see civilians as ants, that is wrong. ”

"What is the difference between civilians and transcendents in this respect?

"Since you are mortal, you will care about whether you eat well, live well, and dress well. ”

"He wants to be healthy, he wants to be safe, he wants to live longer. ”

"He will compare himself to others, and he wants to live a better life than he is now, better than others. ”

He will strive for his own happiness, and he will not give up while he is alive unless someone else or even a god makes him realize that all efforts are meaningless. ”

"Each of them, with or without supernatural powers, has such desires tumbling in their souls, just like us. ”

Mosmut was a little touched: "This...... Everyone can dream, the key is whether it can be realized. ”

It's not that he doesn't know, but he just subconsciously ignores or even denies it.

Zolde continued: "Then create the conditions for them to achieve it, isn't the supernatural power doing such a thing?"

"Enchantment Farm grows more food, so they don't have to farm in the mountains anymore. ”

"The magic light gives them light and allows them to work day and night. ”

"Instant stones make houses faster and cheaper, magic metal towers make buildings taller, magic civic facilities can make cities bigger and accommodate more people, and with public transportation or something, civilians can live more conveniently and comfortably in the city. ”

"That way, he won't just be working for the bare minimum of survival......

"You know how simple it is for a commoner to just feed himself? a small field and a straw shed are enough. ”

"Now, he has basic requirements for the quality of food, he has to dress modestly, he has requirements for his spouse, it's not good to have a woman anymore, he even starts to think about how to raise children so that they can live a better life in the future. ”

"He has to do more work and work more to satisfy those desires. These labors are not something that can be solved by a simple puppet, he must use his brain to know the craft, and he must have a long accumulated experience. ”

Speaking of this, Mosmut deeply agreed: "Yes, many things are not something that puppets can do, and the cost of using puppets is not low. Even if a puppet can do a lot of things, someone has to design it. ”

Zolde became more and more serious: "I have indeed studied the creed of the Philip, and I do not believe them in matters concerning how mortals should pursue happiness. But in matters of soul, labor, and wealth, I agree with their creed. ”

"Only mortals with independent and free souls will create wealth. A slave who is not free will not be free, he will only obey the will of his master, he is just an extra arm of his master. ”

"The problem is that the master is not a god, so how many thoughts and desires can he have? Even if he wants to be a god, it is not as much as he wants to add another separate soul. Even if the soul craves something insignificant, it's an extra quantity. ”

"In the words of Fei Gong, the soul is the first means of production, and only when it is completely owned by mortals can they exert their greatest power. ”

Mosmut is a legendary magician, and no matter how bad his intelligence is, he can't even hear what is hidden behind Zold's words.

He smiled and said, "I was wrong, it turns out that you have become a believer in the goddess of commerce." These words are only spoken by the believers of the goddess of commerce, and only when everyone creates more wealth, the currency used to circulate wealth, and the commerce organized by money, will prosper. ”

Zelder laughed and shook his head: "It's a bit related, but I'm really not all the way with His Highness Ginny and the people of Rohippers." ”

Pouring another glass of beer, Zelder shook his finger and said, "You also have a problem with the understanding of the goddess of commerce, that majesty doesn't care about the condition of mortal souls, he only cares about the circulation of gold bushels and silver eles. Because of this, He did not distinguish between good and evil, and he never made much progress in the previous epochs. ”

"Now he can rise to the throne thanks to Her Majesty, the Lady Crimson, and that Romross. It was they who shattered the old order and were still fighting for a new one. ”

"More directly, of course, is the development of magic technology, as well as the tenets of the equality of all spirits, the emancipation of slaves, and the freedom of souls. ”

Mosmut interjected: "These creeds...... Isn't that the faith of the Crimson Lady?"

Zold's eyes narrowed, "It's not just the Crimson Lady who has such a belief......"

As if he was afraid of Mosmut's question, Zelder immediately changed the subject: "So, Mosmut, I talked to you about the contract just now, kindness and kindness are only secondary, but more important things. ”

"You are also producing magic planes for the empire, compared to my magic guide aircraft workshop, how much lower is the production efficiency of your side, have you calculated?"

The corners of Mosmut's mouth twitched, and he smiled bitterly: "My eye for picking people is not as good as yours, and the deacons in charge of the workshop are all too stupid." ”

"Think about what I just said", Zelder patted Mosmut on the shoulder: "It's not a matter of deacons, when the situation really changes, and the Empire's demand for floating ships has increased greatly, will you have an advantage in terms of output and cost over the Royal Workshop, Simberner, and our Santalin Society?"

"It's not more than three years ago, and the technology is still evolving, but it's only in the realm of exploration. Everyone knows very well what the floating ship used to fight the war should look like and what technology is needed, and they can all take it, and at that time it will be the cost and output that will be fighting. ”

Mosmut nodded his head again and again, raised his glass and touched it to Zold.

Flodo had been listening to it, and there were a lot of things that Zord had said, which he didn't particularly understand, and in the past three years or so, Zoelde has also changed dramatically, at least becoming more ...... Wise.

Flodo always felt that Zolde seemed to believe in some mysterious god, and now he didn't pay much attention to the goddess of order, the goddess of commerce, the goddess of magic, or even the Crimson Lady.

He said that he was going to fight with Flordo, but Mosmut didn't pay much attention to him today, and only cared about chatting with Zold. It was only when Flodeau said goodbye to Zolde that he remembered his existence. The issue of Captain White's group of contractors was mentioned again, and Frodo was asked to release them as soon as possible.

"Do you have an old vendetta against that White?"

As he walked out of the hall of the Flagship Fort, Zelder said to Flodo: "Just take the contractor directly to Fleet City and give it to Mosmut, that White, if there is really an old feud, my advice is to beat him to death with a stick, and not leave any hidden dangers." Don't worry about Mosmut and the others getting in trouble, I'll take care of the whole thing for you. ”

I have to say that Zolde takes good care of his subordinates, not deliberately, but always so.

Flordo thanked him gratefully, Zold's words made sense, but he hadn't been violent enough to do so, he just wanted to vent his anger.

"Also, talk to your friends in Red Union when it's empty. ”

Zelder looked at Fleet City and said lightly: "It's not good for me to contact Li Qi directly anymore, you tell Li Qi through them that neither the Goddess of Order nor the Goddess of Dawn will sit idly by and watch their actions in the outer plane, and there will be some big moves in the near future." ”

Flordo nodded solemnly, which was also the fundamental reason why Zolde took a fancy to him, he could directly communicate to the senior management of the Red Union through Sam and Mayne.

Saying goodbye to Flodo, Zolde boarded the shuttle and returned to his floating ship, the Cynthia.

The name is very common, there are thousands of women called Cynthia, and Zold's explanation is to commemorate his first love, who died in the civil unrest of the Storm Islands, and everyone believes it.

Entering the ship's secret communication room, Zelder activates the crystal ball.

He wasn't worried that the crystal ball would be detected by the "Communications Review Committee" of the Holy See of the Imperial Order, as well as the "Sky Eye" of the Red Alliance, which was made with top-secret technology.

A few minutes later, smoke billowed from the crystal ball, condensing a vague avatar, and said in a slightly hoarse low voice, "Tell me something, I'm still busy." ”

Zolde bowed his head deeply and said respectfully: "Mentor, now that the Empire and the Red Federation are preparing, the situation will deteriorate soon, I think it's a good opportunity, it seems that we should do something." ”

"Zolde, whatever you want, but don't pull me", the voice said lazily, "only you can help me find what I need, and if there is any trouble I can solve, I will try to help." It's just a deal, don't have any mentor-apprentice relationship with me, I don't want to be a ...... 'us' with someone like you who can't see who you're working for. ”

Zelder reclaimed: "My faith in His Majesty and my loyalty to my mentor cannot be melted by the River Styx!"

The voice sneered: "Yes, you are so familiar with Richie, let him talk to the goddess of Styx, you can't even melt a hair." ”

Zolde coughed, and the other party continued: "I really want to do something, help me get a few hundred kilograms of cloud shadow crystal titanium, and I can mobilize some strength to help you." ”

Zolde thanked him repeatedly, and the other party also thoughtfully pointed out: "The empire doesn't have this, go find the Red Union." However, they may not be able to smelt this magic guide alloy, and the copper furnace kingdom of West Fein, which is north of the Pegasus Kingdom, should have this kind of technology in the place where it is leaning on the ice field. ”

Ending the communication, Zelder exhaled in relief.

This one is really cautious, it is clear that she finds herself, and preaches the faith of that god to herself, but she always puts on a posture of plucking.

Who makes himself so incompatible with that kind of faith?

Fortunately, when she talked to Mosmut about this position before, she joked about 500,000 gold bushels, but she didn't feel it.

I have to pay attention to it in the future, and I finally hugged this thigh again, and I can't slip off.

Zolde was a little anxious, it seemed that the thing she was doing in the Storm Islands had not yet been completed, and the god was still dormant, not even a divine fire.

..................

In the depths of the Hell Plane, deep in the purgatory area, the winding rivers of blood and magma converge, piling up piles of strangely shaped stone forests. Those stone forests are not rocks, but not iron and stone, and they are full of hollow sponge-like things.

These are sponge black iron, the best material for making magic steel, because it is too far away from the Fort of Return to the team to be exploited by the Hell Commune.

At the top of a giant sponge iron pillar, a group of people were fiddling with something.

"Nickna, don't get too close, the magical impact of the suppression force field will shake your soul apart!"

The man with square eyebrows, his whole person filled with a reliable aura like a mountain, and then magnified several times by the strong magic guide armament, said in a deep voice: "Although I don't agree with your crazy thoughts, you are an indispensable treasure of the Hell Commune after all. ”

The thin young man who was busy lying on a huge machine next to him said dissatisfiedly: "Commissar Kane, now that the power of civilians is getting stronger and stronger, you still regard my basic legalism as an idea that only a madman can have, and you are too ...... It's old-fashioned. ”

Another hell barbarian pouted, "You can use ethereal weapons, and you're embarrassed to say that you're a civilian?"

"That's just ......"

Nickna, the director of the Thunderbolt Technology Research Institute of the Hell Commune, argued: "It is only related to me personally, and it has nothing to do with the technical route I adhere to! Although I have extraordinary powers, I do not believe in such powers, and they are just convenient for work." I still think that based on the basic law, the power that even civilians can grasp is the most powerful!"

The integrated director of the research institute, the red network druid maier, spread his hands: "As a result, don't you have to rely on the suppression force field to shield the transcendent power in order to make the basic power work?"

Nickner shouted angrily: "At least it can prove that the basic power is universal and irreplaceable! Think about how the magic guide gun changed the world, isn't it the introduction of physical projectiles, so that the supernatural power and the basic power are fused? Here in hell, the stage of the basic power is much broader!"

"Okay......"

Kane interrupted the argument he had sparked: "The target is close, ready to fight!"

Meier didn't bother to say anything, and directly ripped Nickner off, picked it up and ran towards the cover behind him.

Nickner was still yelling, "Don't break the machine!

The hellbarbarians didn't bother with him, and they all took their place on this giant machine.

This is a terrifying machine with a height of more than ten meters, a length and width of nearly ten meters, and the whole body is made of magic steel.

Externally, it looks similar to the old Siege Cannon, but the barrel above the turret is much thicker and the muzzle is much thinner. Viewed from the muzzle of the gun, there are dense circles of coils.

Behind the cannon, a magic cable connects two magic machines that are also several meters high, which are the micro-magic engines used by whale-class floatships.

"Thor's Hammer" force field cannon, this is a scientific research task that took the Raiden Commune nearly four years to complete, specially used to deal with enemies at the level of the Demon King and Demon Lord, to avoid having to mobilize the battle sequence and even the witch as soon as there is a Demon King and Demon Lord.

Now it's a real combat test, and if it succeeds, the Hell Commune will not only have a weapon of mass destruction against high-end forces, but will also be able to further improve the combat effectiveness of troops and individual soldiers through miniaturization.

Because of the importance of this test, Kane, the general political commissar of the Hell Plane Army, was also present at the scene to direct the operation.

"Rank 7 Rock Lord......"

Identifying the enemy who had been lured in, Kane sent a message through the battle network: "If the three artillery guns do not solve the enemy, use aerial bombs to clear them." The ground personnel also evacuated immediately, otherwise it would alarm the Rock Princess. ”

Nickna, who had high-level authority in the battle network, shouted, "Unless you can't fight accurately, why do you need three guns!?"

Kane ignored him: "Prepare ......"

The earthquake trembled, and the surface of the Blood River thousands of meters away boiled, and several dexterous figures shot out, scattering in panic. Then the Blood River exploded into a huge column of water, and a huge figure large enough to clog the Blood River crawled out, letting out a majestic roar that caused all living things within a radius of several kilometers to be conscious.

This figure made of countless pitch-black rocks crawled up the bank of the Blood River, taking a slow and heavy step towards the sponge black iron forest.

The channel echoed Kane's annoyed shout: "How much did you drink to make a monster? Where is this Rock Lord, this is the Black Iron Lord! The seventh-level Black Iron Lord must be counted as the eighth!"

"Just right!"

Nickner was very excited: "Do it like the eighth level!"

By the time he was shouting, Thor's hammer was already accumulating.

According to the target designation system, the hell barbarian turned the gun mount and aimed the thick long barrel that could fit several people at the black iron lord like a stone mountain.

The Micro Magic engine hummed and vibrate, and the outer layer of the barrel flashed with a light purple arc of light, and a strange force enveloped the barrel.

The crackling white light arc was pushed and spread by the force, and the hell brute who stayed on the gun mount retreated, and Nickner shouted, "Oh no! The performance of some magic materials in the suppression force field has changed significantly, and the test must be stopped immediately!"

Looking at the huge figure that had approached within a kilometer, Kane ordered in a firm tone: "Open the gun!"

The hellbarians hiding behind cover activated the switch, and Thor's hammer vibrated violently, and a stream of orange flames erupted from the muzzle.