Chapter 2044

Chapter 2044

The Overgeared Empire had always been rich, so rich that it was hard to find a poor person in the empire. This was because the first thing Lauel had done after politically subjugating the Saharan Empire was to secure distribution channels by clearing roads and expanding warehouses.

This way, the large quantities of food harvested by Piaro and the farmers were quickly transported to various parts of the country without wasting anything. This resulted in a thorough reduction in food prices.

The empire had made it too easy for the people of this era to live comfortable lives. Their only goal had been not to starve. This had been done through the joint efforts of Lauel, who had modern knowledge, and Piaro, the God of Farming. Thanks to their efforts, the population of the empire had grown rapidly.

However, this had many side effects. People started avoiding hard work. Those who could eat their fill with minimal labor didn’t feel the need to work hard. The population was increasing, but the labor force was decreasing.

In other words, the burden on the empire had increased. This was a very serious situation, especially considering that the level of education in the Overgeared Empire was very high. Education was free and academies had been established in every region. People had been honing their skills smoothly, but they were standing locked in a corner of their houses, playing around and sleeping.

Peak Sword frowned and clicked his tongue before focusing on a section of the papers. “In any case, young people these days have bulging full stomachs. This is a problem... Huh? The application rate for enlistment has actually increased? Forget what I just said. There are so many great young people in the empire! They are genuine patriots who avoid trivial things and are full of devotion to serve their nation!”

“Nothing in the world is trivial,” Rabbit replied coldly. “Hey, can’t you check the statistics properly? Don’t just skim through the papers.”

Surprised, Peak Sword reviewed the papers once again. The sharp increase in the enlistment application rates had occurred in the last month. Prior to that, there had actually been a decline compared to the previous year.

“...This happened right after the public realized that eradicating the cultivators was certain.”

“On top of that, it happened after His Excellency the prime minister announced that new soldiers won’t be sent to war against the cultivators.”

“That’s because new recruits wouldn’t have been effective against the cultivators... Wait, then what is this? Are you saying that these people volunteered in the army to only suck up the benefits?”

“They probably thought the war would be over once the cultivators disappeared. Who would oppose the Overgeared Empire, which has become even stronger than before?”

Peak Sword wailed. “After teaching them so much, they are only good at being lazy. In any case, young people these days don’t have any conviction. Absolutely no conviction. They are just trying to earn money. So we have to be careful when increasing the people’s welfare, don’t we?”

Taking South Korean society as an example, Peak Sword argued that people should be pressured by adopting a more resolute and harsh policy.

Pon clicked his tongue. “Are you sure you’re not from North Korea?”

“...What? North Korea? You bastard...!”

Peak Sword was the president of the Korean Patriotic Association. He hated the Kim family in the north more than anyone else. It was hard for him to dismiss Pon’s words as a joke. His face turned so red, he was about to raise his voice.

Lauel interrupted him. “I don’t like saying this, but I agree with Peak Sword. It’s true that I gave too many benefits because I was focused on raising the standard of living and the education of the people. This is clearly my fault. I will swing a scalpel and operate on the comfort of the people, making their lives more difficult so that they can regain the passion they have lost.”

“Uhm... I know what you mean, but is this the right thing to do? Does it make sense to deliberately ruin the lives of our people?”

“I never said this would be devastating for them. I am saying that I will give them appropriate ordeals so that it will be hard for them to live without working.”

“Isn’t that the same thing...?”

There were many Overgeared members who protested to Lauel’s extreme and unconventional strategy. Lauel covered half his face with the arm tattooed with the black flame dragon and sneered.

“Is there a way to save the people other than the method I suggested? How are you going to drive them to work while maintaining the current state of welfare? If you can do it in any other way then go ahead. I think it’s impossible for all of you to pull this off since you don’t know anything about politics.”

“......”

The veins on the temples of the Overgeared members bulged. They were veterans who had navigated this ruthless and competitive world, so they sensed that Lauel was taunting them. This was an obvious challenge. Unlike the usual confrontation between everyone’s armed forces and resourcefulness, this was a confrontation meant to determine who was better at politics.

“......”

However, the other members of the Overgeared Guild seemed to have forgotten their original purpose. All of them were excited as they left except for Euphemina and a few others. Rabbit was silent and bewildered.

Lauel began laughing eerily.

“The future of the empire is bright because the high-ranking nobles are so dedicated to the nation. Isn’t that right?”

“Ah, yes... That’s right...”

Today, Rabbit learned a lesson from Lauel today. He was truly impressed.

Euphemina shook her head. “Is it appropriate to use Kraugel and Yura to trick everyone else?”

“Hahaha.”

Starting that day, financial reconstruction plans were implemented in various parts of the empire, which had been devastated by the weakening competitiveness of its people and a series of wars. No one cared that Grid hadn’t returned from Asgard. Everyone was focused solely on their own work.

The role of the Overgeared Guild changed depending on the situation. It was the strongest collective in the whole world.

***

Grid’s clone joined him in Asgard. Together with Hexetia, the God of Blacksmithing, and Khan, he carefully crafted a new set of armor.

"How reassuring.”

Grid’s expression brightened as he grasped what everyone was doing on the surface based on what the clone told him. There wasn’t a single cultivator left on the surface and his wives were safe and sound. His colleagues had also returned to their respective territories and were committed to managing internal affairs.

Thanks to the thorough performance of the Overgeared members, Grid was able to focus on the future without worrying.

“Do you like the new armor?” the clone asked cautiously.

“Yes,” Grid replied without hesitation. He happened to be checking the information of the boots. “Asura will no longer be able to strike my Achilles tendon.”

The new set of equipment created by the clone focused on injury immunity. He determined that Grid’s defense and sustainability were sufficient on their own without acquiring any further improvements.

Grid was able to adjust his Stamina stat freely by using the stats redistribution function. Of course, there were a number of injury-suppressing effects on his original armor set, but they weren’t perfect. Why? Because the opponents Grid had fought one after another wielded the power of light and also copied the Annihilation energy. Armor was useless in the face of an all-destroying force.

However, the newly created equipment was designed to be used by infusing Grid’s Annihilation energy. It referenced Yura’s magic engineering, which allowed her to observe the flow of the jade magic power with her own eyes. Grid’s equipment itself possessed Annihilation energy circuits.

Once Grid injected Annihilation energy into these circuits, the target item itself would become infused with Annihilation energy. For example, the moment an enemy struck Grid’s ankle, Grid could inject Annihilation energy into his boots to cancel the impact. Even if Asura wielded the annihilation energy, the item would still destroy it.

‘Very efficient.’

Grid could use the Annihilation energy defensively by emitting it. However, he couldn’t use it in this way hastily because it consumed a large amount. But now things were different. The cost of injecting the Annihilation energy into these circuits was fixed at a small amount. He could now use Annihilation energy defensively as much as he wanted.

Raphael suddenly spoke nervously from the front of the group. “We will arrive soon.”

They were close to the center of Asgard where the temple of the gods were. This place should have fallen into Asura’s clutches by now.