Chapter 62: Future
Inspector Lowell stood barefoot on the roof of the Town Hall, silently watching the undead "brawl" two streets away.
Tireless and relentless, these undead were equally noisy both during the day and at night.
Well… perhaps it was more than just noisy…
After being around them for a few days, Lowell could no longer judge these undead to be monsters that had to be eradicated. However, he couldn't exactly consider them friendly either.
As far as it seemed, these special undead displayed extremely high aggression, but it appeared to be directed mainly toward other monsters and themselves. Toward living humans, they still seemed relatively safe. However, if Exile Town wasn't situated in an isolated area but close to the Duchy of Shiga, Lowell was certain he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night.
Lowell believed that no settlement of intelligent races would willingly be neighbors with these undead.
Even if they weren't attacked, the constant activity day and night was enough to drive anyone insane.
This was also something Lowell found extremely hard to comprehend—what exactly was Black Mage Yang's purpose in summoning these undead?
If it was to create an undead calamity, then these "Taranthan Undead" weren't chaotic or aggressive enough.
But if he wished to establish a territory, then these "Taranthan Undead" were far too chaotic and disordered, and a tad too aggressive.
Considering his observations along the way and what he had seen and heard upon arriving in Exile Town, Lowell came to the conclusion that Black Mage Yang, who was surely up to something, had gathered a batch of special undead, a group of dubious characters with unclear origins, and a batch of the elderly, weak, and disabled abandoned by human society to play house in the lawless no-man's-land of Taranthan.
…This conjecture was incredibly absurd, but no matter how much thought Lowell put into it, he couldn't find a more reasonable explanation.
But even if he reluctantly accepted this conjecture, there were still many parts that didn't make sense.
Firstly, this excessively extravagant "game of house" required a large amount of resources to sustain.
Not to mention the exquisitely crafted all-metal three-wheeled carts that were freely run by the undead, there was food for the living and piles of building materials all over Exile Town. With a rough estimate, Lowell could deduce that these resources could easily deplete the wealth of a baron.
For Yang, a high-level black mage, to invest such a vast amount of financial and material resources just to play a game of kingdom building in the desolate wasteland of Taranthan was simply inconceivable!
It just didn't make sense!
Furthermore, based on what Lowell knew, he didn't believe that the Inquisition of the Radiant Sun Church would give up their pursuit of the "Nightmare Butcher."
Sixty years ago, this deranged fellow didn't just assassinate four cardinal bishops of the Radiant Sun Church but also destroyed their holy repository, causing multiple seals to fail.
A repository was the foundation of a church.
Seals were required when priests advanced, and these acted as protection, similar to the magic potions necessary for spellcasters' advancement but more reliable due to their stability.
The kind of hatred it caused wasn't something that could be resolved.
The noblemen of Camore were loyal followers of the Goddess of Prosperity, but if they couldn't accept the reconciliation between the Holy Legion cavalry and their "enemy," there would be quite a high likelihood of them informing the Radiant Sun Church. Lowell certainly didn't believe that Yang hadn't considered such a straightforward causality.
When that time came, how would Yang protect this immovable little town against the fury of the Radiant Sun Church?
Just relying on these undead? Impossible. These undead were too weak.
Lowell saw this all too clearly. Even though these undead understood and used the techniques of professional fighters, they were still far inferior to true professionals.
If not for the fear of Yang, a high-level black mage, even without Lowell intervening, his cavalry unit could exterminate all these undead with a single charge.
There was no way Yang could protect the fortune he invested in this place just depending solely on these undead.
Unless… Yang still had other means.
Then came another question—since Yang wasn't afraid of the Radiant Sun Church's wrath and was confident of safeguarding his immovable property, why would he specifically play this inexplicable game of kingdom-building in this godforsaken land of Taranthan?!
Wouldn't a high-level mage easily obtain a ready-made territory and subjects by establishing a mage tower in a settlement?
If all it took were a few villages, settlements, and towns to gain a high-level mage, the nobility of any country would never refuse such an opportunity.
Any place with a mage tower was extremely attractive to gather a population—the establishment of Brook City-State was due to the concentrated construction of mage towers by members of the spellcaster organization, "Mage Tower," which attracted masses of common folk.
Lowell really racked his brains, but he just couldn't understand.
Creak…
Yang Qiu pushed open the Town Hall's door and stepped out, then turned around and raised his head to look at the black-robed inspector who had climbed high up at night.
Lowell: "…"
"Evening." Yang Qiu nodded.
"Evening," Lowell returned the pleasantries, then squatted down and jumped off the roof.
Devout ascetics of the faith possessed good physical fitness and abilities, unlike spellcasters who relied on mental power. Their strength was honed by themselves, and if magic was banned, three mages standing shoulder-to-shoulder wouldn't be enough to deal with a devout ascetic.
Alfred Lowell was one of the top ascetics of the Goddess of Prosperity's faith. Despite having a young face, the body beneath the ragged black robe was well-trained and perfectly sculpted. Jumping down from a three-meter-high rooftop was effortless for him as if he was just descending a staircase.
"Even as night descends, our undead friends can dispel the darkness and its gloom," Yang Qiu said with a smile. "Of course, there may be some disturbing side effects, but in a place like Taranthan, such liveliness is necessary."
Lowell: "…"
In the three days spent with this black mage, the most important lesson Lowell learned was not to let Yang control the pace of the conversation, or he would be led astray by his endless, twisted arguments and theories.
"I might not be an expert on black mages, but I do have some understanding of undead creatures and their habits," Lowell interrupted Yang Qiu and took a more assertive tone. "I'm just curious; this little town looks like one indeed."
Yang Qiu couldn't help but smile.
Evidently, this black-robed inspector didn't have a high opinion of Exile Town. He only said it looked like a town, but he didn't view it as a genuine one.
"Inspector Lowell, what do you think a real town should look like?" Yang Qiu didn't rush to explain and instead asked calmly.
Lowell was silent for a moment before replying, "I believe that a true town should be able to see its future."
"'Town' is just a noun, revered inspector," Yang Qiu smiled and said. "A non-agricultural population-based, moderately-sized industrial and commercial population settlement is a town.
"It refers not to specific individuals or groups of people, but rather a settlement distinct from a village. To discuss whether a certain town can endure and grow requires more than rational discourse.
"What kind of future can a town have? That is what some self-proclaimed town masters who impose their personal anxieties about the future on others."
Lowell's brows became furrowed. "Even if you say that, whether a settlement can endure and grow depends on whether the population residing there is able to do so. Only then can the future be touched upon."
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"When an inevitable disaster befalls a small town, will the people choose to flee or stay and perish with the town?" Yang Qiu posed a question calmly.
"Um…"
"When there are good times, people talk about ideals and the future; when bad times arrive, they seek a way out. Making a fuss about a town's future even with such a realistic standpoint and attempting to bind all the residents to obey a group's will doesn't seem very appropriate," Yang Qiu continued. "Let's suppose we are talking about Camore. When Camore faces a crisis and might be wiped out, how many of the town's dignified figures who usually represent and symbolize Camore would be willing to protect it at all costs, even at the expense of their lives?"
Lowell fell silent…
YangQiu went on, "Of course, having an emotional stance when theorizing isn't entirely unfeasible. So, let's continue our hypothesis on Camore. For Camore, what is its best future? Without a doubt, it's making great fortunes from its main industry of textiles.
"Over a century ago, when I first visited Camore, there had only been one weaver guild with roughly four thousand weavers. Now, a century later, there are two weaver guilds with more than ten thousand weavers. When I visited the town's mayor, I asked to review the previous year's cotton cloth trading volume. The quantity sold in just the past year was fivefold more than what I saw when I first visited Camore."
Yang Qiu paused for a moment, and his smile got even warmer. "Many grand buildings have since been added to the main street, and the mansions of the noblemen have become more luxurious. Many families now raise beautiful purebred horses and expensive Kenyan hunting dogs. Their clothing is more exquisite and refined, and even the uniforms of maids in such households are made of silk and lace. It really can be seen that Camore indeed has a… very 'promising future.'"
Lowell's face started to twitch.
"But this 'future' seems to only be limited to the main street." Yang Qiu's calm statement gave Lowell a vague sense of foreboding. "Over ninety percent of the population living in the back alleys and weavers' districts haven't seen much difference in living standards compared to a century ago besides it being more crowded. Since more than ninety percent of Camore's residents don't benefit from the town's 'future,' how much value is there really in discussing this 'future'?"
Lowell: "…"
He was well aware that this black mage was once again spouting his twisted theories and arguments, yet the reasoning seemed so logical that Lowell couldn't refute it.
After struggling internally for a bit, Lowell, who was still unwilling to concede, decided to risk it all. "So, in your opinion, what is worth discussing then?"
"The future," said Yang Qiu with a smile.
Lowell: "??"
"Not the so-called 'town's future,' but the future of the people living here. A town is lifeless, but people are alive. Towns emerge out of convenience to accommodate people and serve the residents. This is the primary causal relationship, and it cannot be reversed."
Yang Qiu chuckled. "I can understand your doubts, Inspector Lowell. You believe that a group of elderly and weak individuals abandoned by Carmore have no way of living in Taranthan long-term, and you don't see any hope for them. Indeed, as you have observed, how could this group of elderly and weak commoners find hope or a future here? It's simply impossible, isn't it?"
"That's right," Lowell finally found an opportunity to speak. "Without the supplies you provide, these commoners wouldn't last more than a few days. You can't possibly keep supporting them indefinitely."
Yang Qiu's smile remained etched on his face, but he didn't speak.
Lowell stiffened up. Without an explanation from Yang Qiu, he realized that he had misspoken.
The black mage before him was a madman who had dared to confront the Radiant Sun Church over something completely unrelated to himself. Moreover, he had been opposing them successfully for decades. Supporting these commoners for a few decades, even until they died of old age, was definitely something this fellow could do.
"Of course, I cannot support them forever," Yang Qiu denied Lowell's conjecture. "Or rather, I don't think these people, who have worked extremely hard for low wages their entire lives, need me to support them. All I have to do is provide them an opportunity to sustain themselves."
Players wouldn't be satisfied with just having Exile Town and Desolate Strongholds as the only "main cities." A game that couldn't continuously introduce new maps wouldn't be able to prolong its lifespan.
Establishing more "main cities" required extensive construction of these said "cities."
However, there was a limit to players' patience toward repetitive manual labor quests. Novelty could make players persist for half a month, a month, or a couple of months at best, but beyond that, players would definitely revolt.
Before that happened, it was imperative to find enough "NPCs" to take over the repetitive manual labor tasks.
The first group of "civilian NPCs" received by Taranthan had a purpose beyond subtly instilling the notion that "NPCs need players' protection." It was also a strategy to attract talent.
If a group of elderly and weak individuals abandoned by human society could be generously supported and nurtured by Taranthan to the point where they could live self-sufficiently with guaranteed livelihoods, then wouldn't healthy commoners be unable to resist the allure of Taranthan?"
As for the problem of the Radiant Sun Church… It still wasn't really a big deal.
If they were slow and only came knocking after Yang Qiu had ascended to a Grand Mage, this issue could easily be swept aside.
And if they came too early before Yang Qiu ascended, at most, a magic array could be set up, and Yang Qiu could turn himself into a battery for the players, enabling them to enjoy limitless resurrection mode, and sweep aside all the same…
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