Chapter 209
"You're making quite a scene..." the Sanguinarch said meaningfully as he looked at the various large warehouses beginning construction near the Babel station.
"It can't be helped. They've already transported the supplies over; I can't just watch those things rot in the ground, can I?" Theresa replied with a smile.
"Supplies?" The King of the Sarkaz Foragers' voice was deep. "Those who wish to take must first give."
There was never any such thing as getting something for nothing in this world. Every seemingly heaven-sent gift already had a price secretly marked on it.
"But I can't refuse it," Theresa shook her head upon hearing this. "This is enough food to allow all the Sarkaz to eat for an entire year without doing anything."
Hearing this, the King of the Sarkaz Foragers also fell silent.
Wait, was it really that generous?
A year might not sound like much, but this was completely free. The Sarkaz could also farm and produce on their own; this grain was enough to make the lives of the tightly-strapped Sarkaz a bit more comfortable for the next dozen years or so.
"As you can see, I am in dire need of manpower," Theresa said. "There are simply too many supplies. Rhodes Island can't hold them all, the new warehouses are too rushed, and Babel has too few people."
"Let's finish our talks quickly today, and then you all can bring Kazdel over. Once the city and its people are here, things will be easier for us in the future," she looked up at Theresis. "Isn't that right?"
"Why don't you return to Kazdel instead?" the Sanguinarch scoffed upon hearing this. "Starting up Kazdel consumes quite a lot of resources. Besides, we've lived there for so many years; we don't want to move."
"Furthermore, your Babel has wanted to return to Kazdel for a long time, right? Do you still remember how wretchedly you fled from that city—"
"A seemingly ordinary conflict that escalated," Theresa said softly. "And finally got completely out of hand."
"But Duqare, have you forgotten something?"
Her smile faded, and the benevolent Demon King said coldly, "What right does the defeated have to negotiate terms?"
From a practical standpoint, it would indeed save more resources for Babel to return to Kazdel. But from a political perspective, having Kazdel forced to accommodate Babel and drive straight over carried far more influence than Babel simply returning to Kazdel as the victor.
It would make the die-hards give up completely and tell them that Babel would not compromise.
Why should Babel be the one to accommodate them?
We are the victors.
Within the Sarkaz, might makes right.
Even the Sanguinarch couldn't refute this.
"Why must we be at each other's throats?" At this moment, the Banshee Lord, Ramalline, who was standing to the side, had to step in as a peacemaker. "Duqare, I have to say, given today's situation, it really is the Military Commission that should accommodate Babel."
As she spoke, she stared eagerly at the soft white hair atop the three-inch-tall Sanguinarch's head.
She and Theresa were close best friends. Before coming here, the latter had shared with her just how soft the Sanguinarch's hair felt.
"You!" The Sanguinarch sharply sensed her intentions, feeling incredibly aggrieved as he could only turn his head away.
He didn't even dare to speak loudly.
Who could blame him, considering he was now a three-inch weakling? In his prime, he wouldn't have feared Ramalline at all. To him, the Banshee Lord, who only grew into her role as one of the Six Heroes two hundred years ago, was someone he was confident he could defeat in battle; after all, she was just a junior.
But right now... a wise man knows when to retreat.
"So what are those people really after?" Theresis looked at his sister. "I don't believe anyone would extend a helping hand to an unfamiliar race for no reason at all."
"Didn't you tell them?" Theresa looked at the Sanguinarch with some surprise.
"...Tell them yourself," the latter kept a straight face and looked away.
Of course he knew that everything Theresa said to him that day was meant for him to pass along to the others.
But given the Sanguinarch's current condition... he was genuinely afraid that someone might take a desperate gamble and kill him off.
He dared to trust Theresa, but he absolutely did not dare to trust the others.
So after retreating that day, he immediately hid away, making no contact with anyone at all.
"It's like this..." Theresa began explaining to them helplessly.
"So you're saying that those people are only willing to help the Sarkaz out of respect for Kal'tsit?" After hearing her explanation, Theresis opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.
That Kal'tsit?
The Kal'tsit he had decapitated two hundred years ago, who somehow came back to life and stuck close to Theresa?
Though he knew this person was very capable, was she really this capable? Then how did he manage to kill her two hundred years ago?
If she was so capable, why didn't she call these people over two hundred years ago?
"Sleeping aboard Rhodes Island is an important figure from the First Civilization, someone equivalent to Kal'tsit's father," Theresa continued explaining. "Even in the First Civilization, he was a leader."
"So, waking up right in Sarkaz territory, coupled with Kal'tsit's connections, is it so hard to understand why they would be willing to lend us a hand?"
"After all, she isn't familiar with the other races of This vast land (Terra) either."
Theresa shrugged. "You also don't need to worry about them coveting anything from the Sarkaz. We don't even qualify for that."
At this point, the Black Crown (Civilight Aeterna) appeared above her head.
"Even this crown was made by the hands of the First Civilization. They call it Civilight Aeterna."
Speak of the devil.
Opposite them, Kal'tsit walked over carrying a pile of documents, with heavy dark circles under her eyes.
Behind her was the Doctor, who had resigned himself to his fate and was similarly carrying documents, as well as Xia Yu holding Amiya's hand.
"Allow me to introduce you. This is the Doctor," Theresa looked at the Doctor and extended her hand to introduce him. "A grand scholar of the First Civilization."
"This is Miss Firefly. Hmm, you should all be quite familiar with her by now."
Hearing this, Xia Yu looked down at the three-inch-tall Sanguinarch.
"Sanguinarch?"
"You may call me Duqare." Facing such a powerhouse, the Sanguinarch appeared very humble.
Then, he saw Firefly's undisguised look of disgust.
Great, this one hated bugs.
Heh.
Because of this, the Sanguinarch wasn't even allowed to participate in that great battle back then. It was mainly because they were afraid she wouldn't be able to hold back after seeing bugs and would kill all the Sanguinarchs.
Seeing the Sanguinarch acting so humbly, and even Theresis bowing his head in greeting, the King of the Sarkaz Foragers next to them also formed a guess about her identity.
Only Ramalline was still out of the loop.
"It seems I really missed a lot of things that day," she looked at Theresa resentfully. Why didn't her best friend invite her when making a move?
"This is the warrior who defeated the Military Commission five days ago," Theresa introduced, holding Xia Yu's hand.
"I didn't expect the legendary warrior to be so beautiful," Ramalline smiled reservedly upon hearing this, looking Xia Yu up and down curiously.
"Hello." Xia Yu's Firefly persona was characterized by being poor with words but skilled with her fists.
"So, do you have any other objections to Babel's plans?" Theresa held Xia Yu's hand and inspected the Royal Court lords in front of her one by one.
Her stance essentially meant that whoever disobeyed would be immediately convinced by force.
Aside from the Shapeshifter Cluster, who had no attachments and was thus stationed outside Kazdel city, the most powerful people in Kazdel were all gathered here now.
"I hope you know what you are doing, Your Highness the Demon King," the most senior King of the Sarkaz Foragers lowered his head.
Theresis and the Sanguinarch also bowed their heads in respect.
"Of course I know what I must do," Theresa's eyes erupted with a radiant light. "First, I want to ensure all the Sarkaz have enough to eat!"
"I can't do this anymore. I'm really going to die from overwork..."
The Doctor slumped completely over the table and said weakly, "Is this workload something a human can actually handle?"
"It can't be helped, Doctor," Kal'tsit consoled him gently from the side. "You've already seen Kazdel's average literacy level; they truly lack sufficient talent!"
Kal'tsit, who had not yet experienced unforgettable betrayal, was still quite agreeable right now.
"The most educated bunch are the elders of the various Royal Courts. Trying to get these people to cooperate with our policies is just a bit..."
"So we should focus on education first," the Doctor grabbed his head in frustration. "Managing Kazdel's ten million people without enough administrative talent is pure fantasy."
No matter how much of an unparalleled genius he was, it was impossible to deliver orders in real-time to every Enforcer at the very bottom. This required an entirely efficient administrative system to accomplish.
"Let's recruit more people," Theresa looked at Kal'tsit upon hearing this. "Babel's vision isn't just about giving the Sarkaz a home."
"There are so many races on Terra; there are bound to be people who share our ideals. Isn't that how we started back then?"
"I'll do my best." Kal'tsit also knew she could only rely on herself for this kind of thing. After all, considering the outside connections of everyone present here... heh.
With Theresa holding the title of Demon King, she could forget about it. The Doctor was completely unknown, and Miss Firefly wasn't here to do this either.
"Let me see. Tsk, the Sarkaz have maxed out their martial prowess but completely dropped the ball on internal affairs," the Doctor rubbed his temples with a headache. "If we want to truly rule Kazdel, it's impossible without a sufficiently efficient administrative team."
"The Military Commission's team can't be used right now. The timeframe has been too short; they still need to be reformed."
"We also need people in other areas. Education is the top priority, as well as research and development. If we want Kazdel to produce competitive export products, we can't just rely on me alone."
"So go, Kal'tsit. The kind of lives we lead from now on depends entirely on you!"
At this point, he looked at Kal'tsit's troubled expression, and then at Xia Yu, who was curled up on the sofa nearby.
"However, if someone were willing to lend a helping hand, then..."
"Impossible," Xia Yu interrupted him straightforwardly. "I've described to you how far the distance is between us. Even we can only drop a single public vessel."
"The resources consumed to drop anything that could help you would be astronomical. Furthermore, we have our rules; we cannot interfere too much with the development of local civilizations."
Xia Yu bluffed, "Providing you with supplies as a poverty alleviation project can still slip through some loopholes, but to drop other technologies... the Alliance will not allow such a thing to happen."
In reality, she was just making empty promises. Where would she even get talent to support Terra?
"Besides, I'm about to leave," she added. "You aren't the only pilot project on this planet. The Infected on the Snowfield are the pilot project chosen by Tarnished."
"I still have things to deliver to them next. Once I'm done, someone else will take over this vessel."
"The Snowfield? That's Buldrokas'tee," Theresa recalled the Wendigo who had left Kazdel back then upon hearing this. "The last Wendigo... sigh."
"The Snowfield is bitterly cold; it's a good thing the Infected can survive there."
"Then how should we contact you moving forward?" The Doctor looked at Xia Yu upon hearing this. "After all, the stellar computer you promised me hasn't been delivered yet."
"Contact? There's no need," Xia Yu shook her head. "If we have a mission, someone will naturally come looking for you."
"Uh, so you're just going to drop all this food here and then wash your hands of it?" Theresa didn't know what to say upon hearing this.
"Is it a lot?" Xia Yu tilted her head. "This batch of supplies was essentially sent to clear out some warehouses. To a true Interstellar Civilization, it's not even worth mentioning."
Hearing this, Theresa fell silent.
What an incredibly wealthy and imposing statement... Not even worth mentioning!
Enough food to feed ten million Sarkaz for a year was not even worth mentioning in their eyes!
She had been worried about being indebted to them, but as it turned out, they didn't care about it at all.
"Besides, if you're lacking talent, why don't you go dig some up?" Xia Yu tilted her head and looked at the Doctor in confusion. "Isn't that Preservationist project still running? From the records Bailu left behind, I saw there are at least fifty thousand of your compatriots frozen inside, right?"
"Wouldn't digging them up solve all your problems?"
Upon hearing this, Theresa immediately shot a look at the Doctor.
What? There were fifty thousand more people?!
My god, that was fifty thousand people! All of them elites from the First Civilization!
If she could gather all these people into Babel... why would she ever worry about a lack of manpower again!
"First of all, the location of the Preservationist project is in Columbia," the Doctor shrugged and said. "They won't just stand by and watch us dig them up. And... I'm guessing that according to your rules, you wouldn't go beat up Columbia for the Sarkaz, right?"
Facing his probe, Xia Yu simply nodded.
"Secondly, although those fifty thousand people are educated, they are fundamentally all scientific research personnel. The price required to unfreeze them is too great. On this planet, the only thing capable of achieving this is Originium."
"But Originium has already lost control. I must first figure out what happened to Originium before I can proceed with that step, otherwise..."
At this point, he shook his head.
"I cannot gamble with the lives of my last compatriots."
"Then we can only add more to Kal'tsit's burden," Theresa could only look at Kal'tsit upon hearing this.
The latter nodded, resigned to her fate.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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