Chapter Ninety-Seven: Storage Management

This was the name of the town, or more precisely, the name used for towns of this kind.

It stood at the very edge of the Lev Domain, with a forest stretching ahead. Beyond it lay nothing of note except beasts and a few monsters.

Its former life had been a sentry post built ten years earlier by Princess Erin to guard against the barbarian tribes. It was the outermost point of the web of defenses, tasked chiefly with watching for barbarian raids.

But after the barbarian tribe beyond the forest was wiped out by Count Dana, the post gradually lost its purpose and became a frontier settlement.

With an armored battalion and tens of thousands of laborers pouring in, the little rammed-earth town was completely taken over.

Aside from the straight five-meter-wide road running through the center, the town was a haphazard sprawl of buildings of every shape and sort, most of them miserable shacks made of mud and timber.

The crooked shanties pressed tightly against one another, while the maze-like alleys spread out like a spider’s web; in places, the roads even ran straight through people’s homes.

What troubled the Arcane Law troops most was the sanitation. In a standard Western medieval society, there was simply no urban sanitation planning. All waste was dumped into the streets, and there was no such thing as toilets.

The drainage was equally poor, with only a few crude gutters dug out.

The reason for this state of affairs was not, as in the medieval West, fear of the Black Death. It was simply the failure of those in power. Or rather, they did not care what became of the common people; no matter how foul the sanitation, it would not affect their castles.

Besides, for some unknown reason, this world seemed never to have suffered a plague like the Black Death. At least, there was no record of such a thing in the Dawn Kingdom.

The rulers of the Dawn Kingdom did not care about urban planning or the people’s living conditions, but Arcane Law, as a modern nation, would never allow the cities under its control to remain in such disorder.

This town had to be leveled; its only purpose now was to leave behind a wide open stretch of land.

All the border folk inside were driven out and gathered together. After a rough count, there were about twenty thousand of them.

A military truck rolled to the front of the crowd. The border folk, having never seen such a steel monstrosity, cried out in alarm and instinctively stepped back, their faces filled with fear.

Fear of the unknown.

An officer climbed onto the roof of the truck and shouted through a loudspeaker, “We are the army of the Grand Duke of the Eastern Marches. Count Lev has openly defied the duke’s decree, and we have come today to punish him!”

The words were blunt, stripped of all ornament.

The officer had actually wanted to put it more politely, but experience had taught him that when speaking to these uncultivated people, he had to be simple and direct. If he made things too complicated, they would not understand a word and would only stare at him in bewilderment.

Sure enough, the border folk below began buzzing with discussion.

With their limited understanding, they might not even have known the difference in rank between a count and a duke, but they had understood that these people had come to attack Lord Lev.

The officer went on, “From now on, you will fall under Arcane Law. We promise you three meals a day, enough for everyone to eat their fill, and in return you will be bound to obey Arcane Law’s orders.”

At once there was an uproar below. Everyone looked in disbelief at the “noble” lord standing atop the steel monster.

Three meals a day, and everyone could eat their fill?

Had this lord cracked his head, or was he trying to fool them? How could there be such a thing?

“Does three meals a day mean three meals in one day?”

“Probably. That lord said everyone could eat their fill.”

“No way, he’s obviously lying to us. There’s no such good thing in this world. The last time I ate my fill was at Lord Lev’s festival. Since then, my belly has never once been round.”

“Exactly. Three meals a day is the life of a noble lord. How could they give that to us common trash?”

“Nonsense! If you ask me, noble lords eat at least five meals a day, or they wouldn’t deserve the title.”

The voices grew louder and more chaotic. For the most part, no one believed what the man above had said. They were long used to nobles breaking their word; noble promises were almost never kept.

Most of the time, such promises were spoken merely to please them for a moment, and afterward never mentioned again. Sometimes they did not even bother saying words meant to make the people happy. The populace had no way to do anything about it, and in truth, they had no opinion to offer.

After all, anyone with an opinion had long since lost his head.

Seeing the distrust in their eyes, the officer was not surprised.

The ruling class of the Dawn Kingdom had already exhausted the people’s trust completely. The reason this society still held together was largely the existence of extraordinary power. The upper class possessed crushing force over the lower class, and however much resentment the common people harbored, they could only swallow it.

Arcane Law did not expect to win the trust of the common people in a short time. In an atmosphere of suspicion, verbal promises were useless, and too many promises would only backfire. The best method now was to act, to show them with deeds and let them gain real benefits.

The refugees were the best example. So long as Arcane Law provided tangible advantage, even a single bowl of food could drive them to work desperately.

“Everyone line up in ten columns and submit to inspection.”

The foremen, who had already been waiting nearby, immediately swarmed forward with their lackeys in tow. Relying on the sturdy bodies they had built up over the past few months, they forcefully ordered the crowd into place.

“Get in line!”

“Are you children? You can’t even line up properly!”

The workers in uniform used threats, shoves, and even kicks and blows to force the people into crooked rows.

Arcane Law used a group-based system of management, letting the locals manage the locals. Each group used a points system: the better the work performance, the better the group’s treatment, and the more outstanding the classroom learning, the better the treatment as well.

This made communication and administration easier, while also stimulating their enthusiasm for work.

Of course, the method had its drawbacks. It created a clear hierarchy, and group leaders could use their position to oppress the others.

As for that, Arcane Law mostly turned a blind eye. Real-world conditions did not allow for complete control, so this was the only available way to manage the natives. Besides, with the instructor present, the group leaders would not dare go too far; at most they would quietly squeeze out a little advantage here and there.

After half an hour, ten crooked lines had finally taken shape. Under the soldiers’ supervision, the foremen began searching the border folk.

Most of the border folk were serfs driven out by their lords. They had almost nothing; some of them did not even have a complete set of clothes. A small number were fugitives who had committed crimes inland and fled to the border.

In a godforsaken place like a frontier town, the law was practically useless. It maintained only the most basic order, and beyond that lay naked survival of the fittest.

That also meant weapons were everywhere.

Sure enough, a great many were soon found: sharpened iron plates, short knives made from beast fangs, battered cleavers, and more.

Weapons of all sorts, the vast majority of them the kind that came with their own built-in tetanus enchantment. They looked terribly shabby, but they were more than enough to kill with.

On the other side, armored vehicles and transport trucks were arriving one after another along the newly cleared road, heading toward the first stronghold.

...

A jeep stopped before the castle in the center of the little town, and Qin Le stepped out.

Looking at the small castle, only eight meters tall, he found it strangely familiar. It was identical to Orina’s castle. Or rather, all the border castles were built in the same style. In truth, they were not castles at all, but war fortresses.

Because the Dawn Kingdom had no habit of keeping detailed historical records, it was impossible to verify when it had been built. However, based on Arcane Law’s analysis of the stones, the castles were at least several hundred years old.

“At last we’re here. Let me have a look.” Emma got out of the vehicle with her usual easygoing air, and Orina followed right behind her.

“Tsk. I thought it would be some grand castle, but it turns out to be just this little shabby shack.”

The moment Emma saw the castle, the eager expression on her face collapsed, and she immediately lost interest.

Orina scratched her head. “Somehow I feel like you’re insulting me.”

Qin Le glanced at the disappointed Emma, pounding her chest, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

“What are you smiling at?” Emma asked, a little guilty.

Had this fellow noticed something?

Qin Le shook his head. “Nothing.”

That bratty elf had heard that the town they had taken today had a castle, and that it belonged to a viscount. She had immediately insisted on coming along. At a glance, it was obvious she had something up her sleeve.

At that moment, the door of an armored vehicle behind their jeep opened, and a man in uniform stepped out. His face was solemn, his bearing upright and just, the very picture of steadfast principle.

He looked exactly like the sort of comrade with unwavering will.

In his hand he carried a silver-white metal case, its surface decorated with lines of patterning that gave it a mysterious look.

After exchanging a few words with an officer, the man walked toward an open area not far outside the castle, which had been cleared on the spot and was now surrounded by countless armed soldiers.

Qin Le withdrew his gaze. A faint light flickered in his eyes.

“Let’s go. We’ll take a look inside.”

The three of them, escorted by several soldiers, entered the castle transformed from that war fortress.

After they went in, a blood-red portal slowly opened in the surrounded area.

...

The tour of the castle was brief. There was honestly not much worth seeing. The only thing that merited attention was the bloodstained bed in one of the rooms.

Emma kept looking around the whole time, touching everything in sight like a child.

When they reached the cellar, they found all kinds of food and barrels of wine laid out inside, a very ordinary noble’s cellar.

Emma frowned, pinched her nose, and turned to leave. “Come on, what’s there to see here? Let’s go somewhere else. Why are you still standing there?”

Qin Le stood where he was, smiling at Emma. That smile made her suddenly feel a bad premonition.

“What are you staring at? Did my beauty enchant you? I’ll give you some credit for having decent taste, but I’m not interested in little brats under a hundred years old like you,” Emma said.

Qin Le did not trade jabs with her as usual. Instead, he instructed the soldiers behind him, “Search every corner of this place and see if there are any hidden compartments or the like.”