"Hahaha, I'm young and ignorant, and I haven't paid much attention to this before. Moon smiled, "Isn't it an exaggeration to ask my father to send a long-term garrison?"

"Your Excellency, this is not an exaggeration. Imperial regulations, all lords must hand over the prescribed Black Yao Fruit on time and in full, we small lords have no belongings themselves, and our armaments can't keep up, so naturally there is no way to recruit high-end talents, and when we encounter the sudden situation before, it is almost helpless, and we can't break the law! Then there is only..."

"yes, I see. Didn't the council reduce the amount you paid in response to your situation?"

"Your Excellency, I don't know if there is a council, and I don't know if there is an Orffindor in charge of our area. ”

"The Dream Lord is in charge of you, so why doesn't he send someone to help you when you encounter problems?"

"......" Flange bowed his head and did not answer.

"Hmm... I kind of get it. Moon thought about it and probably knew what the problem was. The Dream Lord only takes care of the collection of the Black Yao Fruit and ensures the amount handed over to the empire, and does not have to be responsible for the responsibilities of these small lords, so naturally there is no need to send his own people for other people's affairs.

"Your Excellency, a big nobleman like the Duke is actually not common. ”

"yes, I'm slowly starting to understand that it's not very common. Moon looked around at the other tables, looking at the dishes that were obviously a few grades lower than his own, and suddenly felt bored, and said something else.

"By the way, Lord Fran. Moon asked, thinking of something more.

"Your Excellency, please speak. ”

"Don't blame me for asking more directly, why do I look at Your Excellency's troops, there are more civilians, although the combat effectiveness is some... But what about still daring to face the Void Beast?"

"Hey. What Moon didn't expect was that Farran sighed heavily. "Moon, Your Excellency. What kind of people are the unawakened in your eyes?"

"Don't hide it from Your Excellency, my understanding of the unawakened may be relatively one-sided, just the unawakened. I always think that when they turn 100 years old, they are equivalent to not existing. "Moon did think so before, and although he would go around collecting the unawakened, most of them had not been banished or sent to participate in the Butterfly Transformation. It wasn't until he met the Dark Elves in the Flame Rift who had been sold into slavery to survive that Moon understood that they were not numbers, consumables, but tangible beings, small, humble, struggling to survive but longing to live.

"Hmm... My army, in fact, happens to be sustained by the unawakened. The flange hesitated, then said.

"Huh?"

"Your Excellency, what kind of family do you say, it is easier to produce the unawakened. ”

"Civilians. "Moon doesn't have to think about it.

"Yes, civilian families. How much do you think, as a commoner, a parent, would be willing to be taken and 'disposed of', and if you were a parent, would you send your children to be disposed of, even if they were unawakened. ”

"...... "There are some things, it's not that I don't know, and there are some things that I don't understand." It's very simple, and if no one mentions it, they won't think about it. That Farran's question is actually easy to answer, Moon himself is the Unawakened, how did Storm treat him?

"Viscount Farran, you...... Didn't truthfully report the number of the unawakened?, and shielded them?" Moon looked at Nafran, puzzled.

"Your Excellency doesn't need to look at me like that, since I said it, I won't be afraid that Your Excellency will report me, and I don't think I've done anything wrong in this regard. Nafran paused and continued, "If I don't leave those unawakened, why would the unconcerned soldiers risk their lives to help me defend against the Void Beasts? For the sake of feelings? For the sake of justice? Or for the sake of Black Yao? The Imperial Statutes clearly stipulate the disposition of the unawakened, and if it were me, I would not have taken up arms against the Void Beasts. The reason is disobedience, resentment! That's their family! Dearest! Flesh and blood!"

"And we, the great nobles, can use our privileges to keep the same wasteful unawakened alive, right?" Moon said with a smile for the Farran.

"I saw a soldier just now receive a bag of food for the unawakened?"

"Yes. Your Excellency is very observant. ”

"I see. "Moon understood, using the memory and concern of ordinary soldiers for their families to organize defense against the Void Beasts that appeared from time to time, in order to ensure that the production of the Black Yao Fruit did not shrink so much. In the case of not getting reinforcements from the imperial capital, there is only one way to ensure that the amount handed over is sufficient.

"You're not afraid that the council will hold you accountable?"

"I'm afraid, I'm naturally afraid, but what can I do? The dream lord doesn't care, the emperor doesn't care, he has to hand over the Black Yaoguo in full, and if the amount is insufficient, he will be held accountable. What else can I do?"

“...... Truly. Moon nodded, he felt a little depressed, the weather in Heiyao had been good recently, there had been no large flying spider webs for a long time, and there were no oppressive water clouds, but he just felt depressed.

"If you need to, I can try to contact my father and see what he means. ”

"Your Excellency's kindness, I appreciate it. Still don't need it, the imperial regulations strictly prohibit a big lord like the Duke from meddling in the affairs of other regional lords. There must be no more traditional and upright nobles like the Duke, otherwise the empire..."

"Hmm. Moon didn't speak again, he didn't know what to say. Farran didn't say much more, and dinner went on in silence.

After hurriedly finishing his meal, Moon left with Luo Xia. After that, he didn't inform Sandeon and the others, so he left the castle and wandered around the city accompanied by Luo Xia.

Without the root of the light source as a light source, the underground can only be lit by firelight or magic lamps, and there are very few magic lamps in this city, except for the two in front of the castle gate, all of them are lit by torches.

With his memory, Moon found the outpost in his memory, and then led Luo Xia to the end of the fork in the road. The silent streets were deserted with pedestrians, the crackling of torches was clear and piercing, and a dilapidated looking house stood alone at the end of the road.

Luo Xia took two steps forward and knocked on the door, and there was a strange sound in the room, and there was a more obvious sound of something being buckled.

"Who are you looking for?" The man who came to open the door was the soldier he had seen before, his eyes full of vigilance.

"Where are you hiding?" Moon asked him with a blank face, Imperial law, hiding the unawakened, and banishing them with their treatment. Well, Moon is naturally different if he hasn't been discovered.

"I don't know what you're talking about. There was a hint of exasperation and panic on the soldier's face, and he was about to close the door.

Although Luo Xia didn't know why Moon wanted to scare the other party, she still flew up with a kick and kicked the door into the house with the others.

"You! you!" the soldier clutched his abdomen, groaning in pain, the pain making him gasp for breath.

The furnishings in the room are quite basic, with only basic tables, chairs, beds, and stoves. Moon turned his gaze to a covered cellar entrance and walked over.

"Don't move!" the soldier stood, crawling on the ground like a snake and wriggling in the direction of the cellar.

Moon lifted the lid of the cellar and was greeted by a pair of frightened eyes, purple eyes. To be honest, Moon had seen many of these looks before, but he didn't feel it at all, not as if he had been stabbed today.

"Bastard, get out of here!" the soldier struggled to his feet, slamming his body into Moon. It's just a pity that when he was still in the air, he was caught by Luo Xia and thrown aside.

"Don't, don't beat my brother, I, I'll just go with you. The woman in the cellar rushed out crying, and she didn't have to look at what was going on outside, she could tell it by hearing. After she rushed out, she was dead in front of the soldiers.

"Is it worth it?" Moon looked at the two men, not knowing who was asking. The soldier just glared at Moon with his eyes, and the woman kept nodding her head and tears raining down.

"Why don't you resist?"

"Hmph, what's the point? shoot you magicians with a bow, what's the difference between that and death?" the soldier's pained expression was full of disdain.

"If you have the opportunity in the future, you can come to Jixiang City to find me. Moon dropped a few Crystal Coins, the Black Shine Universal Currency, and then left with Luo Xia. Only the two of them were left in a daze in the room, until they were sure that Moon was far away, and hugged each other and wept bitterly.

Instead of returning to the castle, Moon found a relatively low wall and climbed up, where he sat and watched the darkness in the distance.

"Young Master?"

"I don't know, I don't know what's wrong with me. Moon's expression was a little helpless, and a little sad.

"I always feel that those who have not awakened, those civilians, are different from what I remembered. ”

"Where?"

"I can't tell—" Moon fell silent... After a long time, he spoke again, "I'm still naïve. Moon turned his head, looked at Luo Xia, and continued: "I didn't expect that in the empire, the Storm Leader turned out to be a very good place, both in terms of resources and Black Yao's output. I thought that under the existential pressure of imperial propaganda, people would mostly be rational and accept the things and regulations that were predestined. But wasn't that the exception?"

"Instead, I forgot to try my irrational self. Yes, a person with a bit of humanity, who can calmly face his loved ones by ..."

"It's not that they don't want to resist, they just don't have the ability. The high-end power of the empire, magical power, and so on are all in the hands of the Great Lord and the Council. Even resisting is useless. It's better to come down and find a way to feed your relatives. ”

"The council and the local lords, the big lords and the small lords in the jurisdiction, the council and the small lords, in fact, there are already conflicts and contradictions, and the separation between the local and the council is too strong. ”

"In that case, isn't the policy formulated by the parliament based on something entirely accurate? I don't know why, today I suddenly feel that this kind of forcible separation of close relatives and leaving some of them to fend for themselves is really..."

"Do you think I'm... Hypocrisy?

"Not count, Moon. Luo Xia thought for a moment, "The information and education you have received have always been like this, and it is relatively normal that you have not thought deeply about what happened to them." If you suddenly feel that this is not right, you want to change, that is a strange thing, you are in this environment, you can't have the idea of changing all of a sudden. The other is that because of your identity, your identity as an unawakened person, it is precisely because you have something in common, but your life is completely different, that you will feel unreasonable to a certain extent, and you will want to change. ”

"......" Moon looked at Luo Xia in confusion, "How do you feel, you know me better than me?"

"Huh, because I've always been by your side, the so-called bystander Qing?"

"That's... Should I?"

"There's nothing you shouldn't do, Moon just needs to do what you want to do, even if you modify it halfway, isn't that still what you want to do?"

"Hmm... Be. Moon nodded, looked into the dark abyss, and muttered to himself, "I want all the unawakened to one day puff up their chests and be proud of themselves and our country." I want our people to no longer distinguish between awakened and unenlightened. I think that one day, I can take like-minded people to the earth together, return to the world that originally belonged to us, and go to see the real starry sky, to see the real moon. ”

Luo Xia smiled, looked at the somewhat stunned Moon, and said casually, "It's going to be difficult." It's hard, it's hard. ”

"Well, it's a bit empty, a little big, a little wishful thinking. ”

"Will you give up?"

"It's hard, it's hard, it's hard. ”

"What does it have to do with me?" Moon shook his head, shaking his head out of his confusion, and his purple hair flew for a moment.

Early the next day, after bidding farewell to Viscount Nafaran, Moon and his party set off on the road, and Moon, who was sitting in the car, kept thinking about the soldier's expression and words last night.

"Young Master, are you still thinking about yesterday?"

"Hmm. Moon closed the window and continued, "You say, the empire seems to be in order, could it be that there is already a deep grudge between the various classes, especially between the commoners and the nobility. ”

"Yes, in the case of our demon race, it must be. And it will definitely develop into a revolt, a riot or something like that. It's just that the composition of your elves is more special. ”

"You mean, the balance of power?"

"Yes, the large number of commoners did not possess the means and power to subvert the rule of the aristocracy. This is also the reason why the contradictions, although sharp, cannot erupt. Maybe it erupted, but it was just a bubble and then it was extinguished. It doesn't make any sense, and it's kind of ridiculous. ”

Moon was already frowning at this point, and he thought of his bluegrass, moon energy, and moon energy guard. In a sense, it seems that this thing can really play a role in the power structure and even the political situation of the empire? My father already knew about it, so why didn't he stop himself? Or did he take it all over? Could it be that my father had the intention of changing the status quo of the empire?

"I feel like this kind of thing still needs to be solved. Moon put aside his doubts and continued: "I think when we were on the ground, we never thought that the teleportation circle would fail, and the humans would suddenly resist us, and they succeeded!"

"Well, that's right, it's not a flashpoint yet. ”

“...... Forehead. Inspired by Luo Xia, Moon felt more and more that if this continued, something would go wrong sooner or later, but he couldn't do anything. How can systems and policies that have lasted for more than 1,000 years be abolished so easily, and how can so many contradictions and confrontations be easily eliminated.

"You say, how many unawakened people will be hidden in that Falan?"

"I don't know, in short, not too much, not too little. ”

"Aren't you talking nonsense?" Moon rolled his eyes widely.

"I think the defense force he organized at that time was not too small, at least there were four or five hundred, let alone a little, some may not have any, some may have two or even more, and the unawakened people behind it are basically four or five hundred. The reason why we don't say too much, because we also mentioned the acquisition of the unawakened, then Viscount Frann is still very happy and generous, and has sorted out a lot of unawakened people waiting for Jixiang City to send someone to take them away, and the number is not much. ”

"You said that the lords of this way, why are they selling so happily?"

"Young master, are you stupid? So far, there are not many unawakened people who have survived to the age of a hundred and have developed their talents, and they have raised them until they are a hundred years old, and it is only because of the provisions of the imperial regulations. If you can get rid of the burden as soon as possible, you can't ask for it. ”

"Isn't it still possible to do some farm work?"

"The production of black yao fruit in various places has dropped a lot, where is there still work for them to do, besides, in order to ensure the amount of money to be handed over and their own use, wouldn't it be better to use the civilians in the territory to do it?

"Well, it's no wonder that all the way to the unawakened people who don't have much labor are gone. Moon laughed self-deprecatingly, "It seems that the imperial regulations are not all bad, at least to ensure that they can live to be a hundred years old?"

"Young master, right and wrong, good and bad, how did you tell me before?"

"Well, yes, this kind of thing still depends on the position and focus. ”

Moon originally only sympathized with the unawakened, although he himself was, but he didn't personally experience that kind of struggling to survive environment, it was really difficult to resonate, plus the unawakened people who were acquired before were almost 100 years old, and it was difficult for Moon to see their previous life status.

What he struggled with before was more in his state of mind. That kind of inferiority, self-pity, resentment of incompetence, and incomprehension of himself are the ones that prompted him to engage in research and exploration, but the results have no effect on himself.

Now it's a little different, and it's a different kind of empathy. On the one hand, the cognition of strength and ability goes beyond simple force or magic, and on the other hand, it can be regarded as an increase in knowledge and understanding of many difficulties. It was these small things that he had experienced that made him completely change his attitude towards the unawakened, and he really saw him as a fellow citizen, especially since he had something in his hands that could make them change, and on the whole, it could be regarded as a kind of growth for Moon.

Moon remembered a quote he had read earlier, "I used to think that people grow slowly over time, but over time I realized that growth often only takes a moment." ”

Rift of the Flames

"Your Highness, the current domestic situation is almost the same. ”

"Well, I think it's time too. It's all going to be a mess, and I feel like I'm going to have to fight if I keep making trouble. ”

"That's... Do you want to help that little guy properly? Otherwise, with his ability, it will be more difficult to touch. ”

"Hehe, don't talk nonsense, he's a key part of our plan, so naturally we need to help. Tell them to do something nice and don't show your feet, or you'll have to come to me with your head. ”

"Yes, Your Highness. ”

"Hmph, hum, hum. Hahahaha, churning, surging, hahaha. With a low snort, with a slight smugness, the young man in a gorgeous robe and a golden beard sat upright on a gold-encrusted chair.