As the final battle in another world has come to an end, tens of thousands of players have ended their hunting in the far north, bringing all the valuables they can bring back to the Floating City of Plantia.
.
Right now, this city floating in the sky is once again overcrowded.
You can see them gathering together in various hotels, pubs, squares, and shops to chat, brag, and sell or buy weapons and equipment.
Ever since the elites of the first echelon were recruited by Shah En VII, everyone knew that a brand new world would soon be open to them.
Therefore, everyone is in high spirits and looking forward to a more tense, exciting and exciting adventure.
After all, in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, they have already tasted the taste of power and control over the lives and deaths of others, and have experienced the joy of being able to change the world at will and reshape social structures, laws, and rules.
In reality, this is almost impossible to achieve unless the entire country collapses.
The most important thing is that for the first time, they, who were originally ordinary, got the opportunity to control their own destiny and that of others, and no longer became the objects of fate.
As we all know, human happiness is based on the pain of others, and happiness is a sense of superiority obtained by comparing with those who are worse than oneself.
Although these so-called "players" are just tools created by Zuo Si to serve certain plans.
But they themselves don’t know this.
On the contrary, he believes that he is completely superior to the indigenous people in terms of status and power.
Compared with those fragile natives, players have the ability to infinitely resurrect and become stronger and a lot of modern knowledge and technology.
As long as we unite together, we are as powerful as gods.
Coupled with the continuous psychological suggestions and strong sense of superiority that create an addiction that can't be stopped, they will eventually devote almost all their time and energy to it.
Coupled with the rich reward mechanism and sense of achievement, Zuo Si has always believed that the player base will one day grow into his own ace in the face of powerful enemies.
At this moment, he was standing in the brain pool of the shell ship inside the floating city, holding a planeswalker's spark in his hand, and asked the mastermind in the pool who had expanded countless times: "How are you, are you ready?"
?"
"Yes, I have been ready for this day."
The mastermind gave a straightforward affirmative answer.
As an absolutely rational super-intelligent creature, she is far less excited than Shane VII about getting a spark and becoming a planeswalker. On the contrary, she is very calm.
The reason is simple!
From the moment he got the promise, the mastermind knew very well that Zuo Si would not lie to him, so he started making preparations long ago.
At present, she has transformed the entire shell ship into a part of her body by building a series of tentacles and psychic transmission systems.
The modified and upgraded mind flayers around them are more like cells, parasites or beneficial bacteria in the body.
As long as you lie down in a special cabin and mentally integrate with the master brain, you can use the power of sparks to complete the transmission across time and space.
Of course, in addition to the mind flayers, the shell ship can also carry the player's soul and clone body training device, causing the fourth natural disaster in any time, space and even the universe.
"In that case, let's get started."
Having said that, Zuo Si decisively activated the planeswalker spark in his hand through resonance, slowly controlled it to enter the central nervous system of the main brain, and then tightly bound it to the soul inside.
Because he had an experience before, he could be said to be familiar with it now, and he completed the "transplantation" of Spark in a short time.
The reason why this word is used is because unlike the born planeswalkers, these planeswalkers who acquire sparks seem to have some kind of flaw.
You may not be able to see it at ordinary times, but after entering the dark void, the sparks will become very unstable.
In other words, a man-made planeswalker cannot stay in the dark void for a period of time with the protection of sparks like a natural planeswalker.
Zuo Si hasn't figured out what's going on yet. Maybe Kahn, who once lost the spark that Urza gave him before his death during the process of repairing the time rift, will know something.
After all, this Silver Golem is the most well-known acquired planeswalker.
The mastermind waves its tentacles to feel the power of the sparks, and continuously converts spiritual energy and magic power into corresponding mana.
During this process, you can clearly see that the pipelines on the ground used for conduction are constantly emitting a silver or blue light.
There is no doubt that she has stored a huge amount of energy before extracting it.
As a hub connecting hundreds of thousands of players, the mastermind usually intercepts and stores about half of the magic, life, and spiritual energy obtained from player killings.
On the one hand, it is indeed cutting leeks and using players to strengthen itself;
On the other hand, it is also used as a reserve for emergency situations to prevent players from dying one after another in a short period of time if a large-scale war breaks out.
After all, every time a cloned body dies and energy is transferred, there will inevitably be some loss.
Although this part of the loss has been converted into a game rule called "Death Punishment".
But the real situation is much more complicated.
For example, if the body is eroded by negative energy and has a "negative level", then if the player dies at this time, the master brain can only recycle and transfer a small part of the life energy into the new body, which is far below the category of "death punishment". At this moment, the reserve energy needs to be used to make up for the intermediate losses.
Otherwise, players may suffer from psychological imbalance due to losing too much at once, or even give up on themselves and lose the motivation to work hard.
The entire interior of the shell ship is actually a huge biological energy storage based on psychic technology.
Now, the main brain undoubtedly wants to extract part of it to strengthen the spark it just obtained.
About ten minutes later, after she had achieved her intended goal, she said in a slightly ups and downs voice: "It turns out that this is the source of the planeswalker's power - the spark. It feels like it has penetrated through a layer of viscous
The colloid is connected to infinite time, space and the universe."
Zuo Si sighed slightly: "Yes!
That layer of sticky gel is the dark void, the fault that separates different worlds in space and time.
It is like an impenetrable physical wall to most people.
Only with the spark of the planeswalker can the wall turn into a sticky gel that is barely passable.
In my opinion, the spark is like a key.
It may not bring power as powerful as a god at once, but it can open up a future to infinite possibilities for the planeswalkers.
And this infinite possibility is the most important thing."
"Completely agree. But what I don't quite understand is... why do you want to give the power of sparks to others? Isn't it good for one person to monopolize it?"
There was strong uncertainty in the mastermind's tone.
Because in her opinion, giving sparks to others will greatly increase various risks.
Especially Xia En VII, although he is a good ally now, there is no guarantee that as he visits more and more time and space, his horizons become wider and wider, and he will not have his own ideas.
Zuo Si smiled and shook his head: "No, you are wrong.
Regardless of anything, the premise of exclusivity is that you are strong enough to defeat all snoopers.
But the problem is, I obviously don’t have such power yet, and I also urgently need many allies.
After all, all I paid was a few planeswalker sparks.
This is nothing compared to replacing Nicol Bolas and winning the War of the Spark to gain the power of the ancient planeswalker.
You must understand that our greatest enemy today is Nicol Bolas.
And he is the most powerful among all existing planeswalkers. He has the power to control, brainwash and transform gods, and can destroy ancient dragons like Niv-Mizzet like crushing an ant.
In front of this guy, the only thing I can do is to win over as many allies as possible and prepare trump cards that may threaten him.
As long as the goal can be achieved, I am willing to cooperate with even suspicious guys like Spirit Dragon Wujin, let alone other people.
Whether it's Shining Oil and Mirrodin's New Phyrexia, or the demon army in the ninth level of Baator Hell, or the player group cultivated in the floating city world, and the cooperation with the gods of Faerûn...
All these preparations are ultimately aimed at replacing Nicol Bolas and completing the War of the Spark.
In fact, if your other half, Isadora, wasn't so crazy, I would even give her a spark to become a planeswalker too."
"Is Nicol Bolas really as powerful as you say?"
The mastermind obviously doesn’t believe it.
Zuo Si explained patiently: "Believe me, he is a thousand times, ten thousand times more terrifying than you think.
So far, I know of no fewer than two to three hundred planes and spaces that have been destroyed or destroyed by Nicol Bolas to the point of collapse.
There are many worlds that gave birth to powerful gods.
If we want to compare it with the universe where Toril is located, I think that except for a very small number of gods that cannot be described in specific words, the Will of the Abyss, there may only be the most powerful divine power that can compare with it.
At least in Faerûn, I have not seen any god who can brainwash and control other gods for a long time, and can transform into a mummy undead form after death.
Coupled with more than 24,000 years of accumulation of knowledge, strength, and experience, as well as the innate power of the elder dragons and the spark of the first-generation planeswalkers, Nicol Bolas is definitely the most dangerous enemy.
Otherwise, why do you think I have made so many plans to explore and invade other time and space?
Just for fun?
No!
All the worlds on these lists may pose a threat to the old dragon, or they may greatly increase my power.
Taking the time and space where Shane VII currently lives, the so-called origin magic is most likely some kind of authority and key to control the core power of the world.
If we assume that all the players who have traveled through time and the world props they possess were created by the Dragon Emperor through Origin Magic, then wouldn’t it become much more reasonable that the two can cancel each other out?
Therefore, I believe that Origin Magic is equivalent to the authority given to individuals by the will of the entire world to change the rules.
This is not much different from how the awakened will of the planet chose to grant authority to the elf planeswalker Nissa in the time and space of Zendikar.
Perhaps the Dragon Emperor keeps creating players because he hopes to kill all other similar people who may have mastery of the origin of magic, so that he can monopolize this power and eventually become an unrivaled god.
If I can figure out the secret, I can use the authority brought by the land card to put some restrictions and weaken Nicol Bolas with Origin Magic in the final battle.
If it doesn’t work, trying to swallow the entire world’s mana is also a good choice.”
"Okay, I think I understand what you mean."
After understanding the danger of Nicol Bolas, the Mastermind quickly realized that one can never be too cautious when dealing with such an enemy.
After all, just having a powerful divine power that is not limited by space or belief and can instantly reach wherever you want is already quite terrifying.
"I will be keeping an eye on the Son of Baal's movements in Faerun recently, and I'll leave it to you in the New World. Remember to keep your diary and don't let him do anything too outrageous."
After saying that, Zuo Si used teleportation magic and disappeared.
As soon as he walked away with his front legs, Isadora caught the scent and chased after him. She stood next to the brain pool and asked, "Did Soth come here just now?"
"Well, yes, he gave me a spark. Now, like him, I am a planeswalker who can travel in different time and space at will."
The mastermind didn't try to hide anything and told the truth openly.
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After all, they are all different personality fragments split from one consciousness, and they still retain some kind of indescribable spiritual link with each other.
"What? Here it is! What about mine?"
Isadora pointed to her nose with an unconvinced look.
In her opinion, if you want to give something, you should give it to yourself first. How can you give it to the mastermind, a guy who doesn't even have a "human appearance"?
Could it be that Zuo Si has some unknown XP and likes this kind of weird-looking alternative non-human creature?
Isn’t that right?
According to several previous tests, Zuo Si obviously likes Furikong who combines humans and animals.
The girl frowned and fell into deep thought.
As an absolutely rational side, the mastermind ignored Isadora's nonsense and jealousy, and replied in a tone without any emotion: "Because in Soth's view, I who inherited the rational part are better than acting entirely on emotion.
You are much more reliable.
He cannot judge or predict what you will do after getting the spark, so he will naturally not choose you.
If you also want to get your own spark, you must learn self-restraint from now on.
Especially those crazy thoughts in the mind that are completely opposite to normal people.
If you maintain a stable mental state for a period of time, then he will naturally take you into consideration."
"Damn it! Don't tell me that you chose to become the mastermind just for this day."
Isadora glared at the other party angrily.
She can even be jealous of the fragments of her separated personality. It is estimated that only someone with abnormal brain circuits and mental state like her can do it.
The mastermind responded casually: "I said that I would become the most useful tool around Soth and help him until the end of his life. This was also what you had in mind at the time. Now that I have done it, you should be happy.
Right."
Instantly!
Isadora was speechless, with an annoyed expression on her face, and immediately turned around and left without looking back.
Because she knows that with the loss of her absolutely rational personality, it is almost impossible for her to maintain self-restraint.
In other words, her self-control has long since completely disappeared as her rational personality was stripped away.
Now whenever I have any thoughts or ideas in my mind, my first reaction is to put them into practical action, and I can't control myself at all.
When the girl returned to her own room, the first thing she saw was dozens of dolls and pillows of various sizes filled the room, created with psychic powers.
Of course, as expected, these dolls and pillows all have portraits or cartoon-like patterns of Zuo Si.
Isadora jumped directly and jumped into the dolls and pillows placed on the bed. She kept rubbing them here and there, acting coquettishly, mumbling in a language that no one else could understand, as if she was venting her emotions.
But soon, she got rid of her previous state, stood up and stared at herself in the huge mirror, and began to talk to herself like a madman and a psychopath.
I guess if someone who doesn’t know the inside story happened to see it, they would be scared to death.
But for a psychic, this is obviously nothing. He is just debating with the fragments of his new personality, and then better exploring the spiritual power contained in his self-awareness.
……
At the same time, Zuo Si, who had just returned to the Calimport Palace, happened to hear several cabinet members arguing about universal basic education.
As the prime minister, Shaud Tarovan has no opinions of his own and is just a ruthless execution machine.
No matter what order the emperor gives, he will execute it without hesitation.
In contrast, Vera, who was appointed as Finance Minister, believes that universal basic education is a complete waste of money, time and energy.
Rich people will naturally send their children to receive education. Even if poor people without money receive basic education, it will be of little use. It will be difficult for them to complete a class jump with that little knowledge.
If we have the time, we might as well build more water conservancy and irrigation facilities and build a few roads.
The most important thing is that this thing is too expensive.
Just the free textbooks, lunch and salary paid to the teachers made Vera feel extremely painful.
Taking the opposite attitude is the Minister of Culture and Education, who was born in a local college in Calimport. He feels that free compulsory education will definitely bring more benefits than disadvantages to the entire empire.
Although you won’t see any results in a short period of time, as long as you persist, sooner or later, quantitative changes will lead to qualitative changes.
Several other ministers who were qualified to attend also stood in line to express their views.
If you observe carefully, you will find that this kind of political alignment is actually very interesting.
Most of the senior bureaucrats from Amn in the north chose to support Vera, while those from the Kalingshan civil service system in the south supported the Minister of Culture and Education.
The former represents the way of thinking of typical capital and businessman groups, which is the pursuit of short-term and quick investment returns.
In their eyes, plans like education that attract money like crazy but have yet to see any benefits are purely money-losing products and are not worth throwing a gold coin into.
The latter represents the typical way of thinking of professional scholars. They do not care about the benefits, but analyze the pros and cons from the perspective of whether it is beneficial to the development of the entire country.
As long as the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, they will choose to support it, no matter how much money they spend.
There is no doubt that although the West Coast Empire was only established recently, it already has two political factions.
As for the generation from Baldur's Gate to Dragon Coast, because it was too fragmented and had been purged before, it could not form any political force in a short period of time.
The nobles of the Kingdom of Tethyr also suffered a devastating disaster, and their political voice was completely blank.
As for the military, it is not qualified to participate in internal affairs discussions.
As a modern man, Zuo Si had a very clear understanding of the fact that the army was not allowed to do business or interfere in politics.
When he walked into the conference hall from outside, the two groups of people arguing fiercely finally stopped.
Shaud Talovan immediately took the lead and stood up, bowed, and said with a slightly wry smile: "Your Majesty, you came just in time. Just now, the cabinet members were arguing over whether to popularize basic education on a large scale. Please come and get it in person.
Just an idea."
"What's so controversial about this? Don't you understand why I want to universalize basic education? Or what do you think education is?"
Zuo Si glanced at everyone present calmly.
"Um... Isn't it to give those poor people who cannot afford to study a chance to receive education, and at the same time open up access to the middle and upper class society?" Vera asked cautiously.
Zuo Si nodded first, then shook his head: "Yes, and no.
You don’t think I would be so kind as to throw in millions of gold coins every year for no reason just to give the poor a better future, right?
Education is actually a tool of governance, and it is also the glue that condenses social consensus, values and identity.
In my opinion, all the people in this world are like trees.
If you don't take care of it under normal circumstances, it will grow freely and wildly.
It may be luxuriant, or it may be thin and yellow due to insufficient water and soil fertility, and it may be infested by diseases and insect pests.
Just like a person may become a serf, a herdsman, a hunter, a logger, a criminal, a cultist, or simply die suddenly.
Many accidental factors will play an important role.
And education is like a gardener, who will prune off excess branches, fertilize and water regularly to eliminate pests and diseases, so that all trees tend to be close to each other.
To put it simply, it is to minimize the role of accidental factors.
If you still don’t understand, then please stand up and look out the window at the neat and pleasing gardens in the palace garden.
That is for the purpose of popularizing basic education.
As a powerful empire that will cover the entire west coast of Faerûn in the future, our rule will inevitably accommodate different races, cultures, thoughts, and values.
These things are all potential factors that create division, unrest and hatred.
In order to eliminate these effects, education has become the only means.
Think about it, when the next generation of the entire country has received free compulsory education and established common values, thoughts and identity in the learning process, who else can shake the foundation of the empire?
In addition, we can also list in the textbook some places where the empire is superior to other countries, such as its huge territory, developed transportation system and most prosperous commerce, as well as its clean and efficient bureaucracy.
In this way, after students graduate, they will be proud of their status as citizens of the empire and proud of the empire's achievements.
They will subconsciously spread and influence more people.
This spiritual aspect will create strong cohesion over time.
After everyone within the territory accepts this value, the entire West Coast will be completely condensed into a complete entity.
Even if the empire is destroyed hundreds or even thousands of years later, countless people will still stand up and try to restore its glory.
And we who have established this education system and consensus will surely be remembered by history and future generations.
Therefore, investing in education is not just to make more people literate, able to do simple mathematical calculations, and learn various professional knowledge by themselves when needed.
Its real intention is to create a soul that is different from any other city-state or even country in Faerûn.
What's more, we can also set up professional education on the basis of basic education to provide scarce talents for all walks of life."
As these words blurted out, everyone present widened their eyes in shock.
Especially Vera, who had strongly opposed it before, her eyes were filled with admiration and fanatical worship.
Because she understands that if she can do this by investing several million gold coins every year, then this investment will definitely make a lot of money.
The Minister of Culture and Education, who looked to be in his sixties or seventies, even bent down and bowed deeply, saying in an excited voice: "Your Majesty the Supreme Emperor!
Please allow me to applaud your vision and planning that transcends the times!
You are undoubtedly the best ruler in the world!
Under your leadership, the West Coast Empire will surely usher in unprecedented prosperity and glory!
I am willing to devote the rest of my life to education, hoping to see a little dawn before I die."
"Thanks for the compliment, I also hope that this day can come soon."
Zuo Si patted the old man's shoulder encouragingly.
He has always been very fond of this kind of pure scholar who has no interests and only wants to realize his own self-worth.
In today's bureaucracy, the proportion of such people is not low.
Vera also came back to her senses at this moment, with a look of shame on her face, and she lowered her head proactively: "Sorry, Your Majesty, I am too superficial and stupid to understand the profound meaning of your investment in education." p>
Zuo Si smiled and waved his hand: "No, you don't have to apologize.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, it is your duty to resist every unnecessary expense.
I don't think you have done anything wrong, but I think you are quite conscientious.
Well, that ends the debate about universal basic education.
If there is nothing else, you can continue your work."
Watching Zuo Si's figure disappear at the end of the corridor leading to the depths of the palace, Shawde Tarovin relaxed his tense nerves and joked in a half-joking tone: "Everyone, I believe you all should know by now that we are loyal
What a great monarch, right?
If you don’t want to lose your current position, you’d better be serious about your work and don’t play tricks.
After all, there are countless people behind you staring at every possible vacant chair in the cabinet.
Now, let us discuss in detail the plan to build public schools in various towns.
This is not an easy job.
Although we have established one or two schools in many cities."
"In terms of finance, based on the current tax scale, we can allocate a special fund of almost 3.6 million gold coins."
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Vera glanced at the account book in her hand and quickly gave an accurate number.
The Minister of Culture and Education hurriedly checked the number of towns and immediately nodded with a smile: "Thank you very much! As the starting capital for the first phase, I think this money is enough."
"First of all, I have to send someone to verify the whereabouts of every copper in this money. You'd better keep a close eye on the people under you. If there is corruption or you don't know where it is spent, you should know the consequences best.
."
Vera raised her head and issued a serious warning.
"Don't worry! If someone dares to stretch out his hand, I will be the first to spare him."
……
Just when the senior cabinet officials were meeting to decide on all matters of the entire empire, Zuo Si had already returned to the Mage Tower in Ascaltra through the portal.
The succubus Loli Atona, who had been waiting here for a long time, immediately jumped up and hugged his neck, kissed him hard on the cheek, and then reported enthusiastically: "Master! Viconia just came with information, saying that Ai
Renikas is about to complete all the experiments. She asked me to ask you if you can move on to the next stage?"
"Of course! Just tell Viconia to get Aberdare and his party directly to Ascaltra through the portal."
Zuo Si casually put the little one in his arms on the ground and gently stroked her long, silky hair and the curved horns on her forehead.
The succubus loli obviously liked this kind of intimate interaction very much. She squinted her eyes and put on an expression of great enjoyment. At the same time, she did not forget to continue reporting: "In addition to Viconia, the blazing god's servant Nimedona...
I came back two days ago.
She has sorted out the Druid sects in most of the forests in the empire.
None of the extremist sects who believed in Silvanus were spared, and the rest basically either chose to convert or were expelled.
Now there is only the Wildas Forest, where elves are entrenched, and it is not convenient to do anything."
"How did the nature deity sects react?"
Zuo Si touched his chin and asked thoughtfully.
"No response at the moment.
After all, the Druids' concept of restricting the development of towns and villages to protect nature is not in the interest of most people.
After hearing the news, many people clapped their hands.
Especially for professions such as hunters, woodcutters, and lumberjacks, they wish all the druids would die.
Because of the disappearance of these Druids, the logging industry in many towns became prosperous again.
After all, since the invention of the propeller magic thruster, the shipyard's orders have almost been scheduled until two years later.
So they urgently need a lot of wood and steel to build new ships."
Succubus Loli shook out all the information she had collected.
You must know that she has countless "licking dogs" in the city of Ascatla, and she can easily obtain all kinds of information from each other's mouths.
This information network does not require money to maintain at all, and can in turn provide a variety of luxurious enjoyment and valuable gifts.
"Well, it seems that I have overestimated the power of those natural gods and their churches in the mortal world."
Zuo Si shrugged his shoulders with a relaxed expression.
He originally thought that his behavior would trigger a series of chain reactions.
But who would have thought that Silvanus, the father of the oak tree, would completely ignore it and allow his faith to disappear completely in the southern part of the west coast.
In this case, we can then carry out drastic and large-scale transformation of the climate, natural environment and terrain.
After all, looking at the continent of Faerûn from a modern perspective, there is no need to protect any nonsense nature in this place.
After leaving the towns and villages, all you can see at a glance are endless forests, grasslands, mountains and wilderness. Those monsters that cannot be killed no matter how hard they are, the beasts are the best proof.
Zuo Si's goal is simple, first eradicate the Cloak Forest near Baldur's Gate, the Sharptooth Forest and the Viper Forest in the south of the Green Field.
As a result, a large and continuous fertile plain will appear north of the Yunwu Mountains.
As long as you make good use of the Chongsa River and the rivers and lakes in the Amn region, this place will become a huge granary.
Standing on the high tower, Zuo Si and Succubus Loli condescendingly admired the completely new scenery of the entire Gold Coin City.
With the proposal of urban planning and reconstruction plans, Ascaltra has now demolished its original city walls and begun to expand and extend outwards.
The original urban areas are also undergoing intensive construction. Old buildings are constantly being demolished, and new and taller buildings are rising from the ground. At a glance, it looks like a huge construction site.
Through these demolitions and reconstructions, the originally narrow roads in the city have been significantly widened, and there are also green belts on both sides and street lights blessed with eternal fireworks.
When night falls, the whole city is shrouded in ample light.
Those small vendors who had to close their stalls and go home after dark now gather in groups under street lights to sell their goods and snacks to pedestrians.
Many civilians who have no nightlife habit are now beginning to enjoy the life changes brought about by the spread of magic and technology.
The prosperous terminal has adopted a new management method, which is not only efficient but can also accommodate more ships.
Sailors from all over the world gathered in taverns and special service venues, loudly praising this port city, which in their opinion is the most prosperous, lively, safest and most opportunity-rich port city in the world.
Workers in the shipyard also worked three shifts to ensure that the ships in each dock were being built at full capacity. For this reason, the owner of the shipyard did not hesitate to significantly increase the workers' wages.
There is no way, there are only so many orders now, the faster we make them, the more we make.
Not to mention raising wages for workers, some bosses even spend a lot of money to hire magicians for help, just to dehydrate the wood and dry it faster.
Although with the intervention of the Church of Gond, the God of Craftsmen, and the Inventors' Association, several shipyards in the empire have the technology to use steel frames to build keels.
But the hull still needs to continue to use traditional wooden boards.
The only thing that makes the shipyard bosses feel lucky is that the great Emperor Soth cleared the druids from the two forests near Baldur's Gate and also opened permission for destructive logging.
Therefore, there is no shortage of wood supply for the time being.
And since the introduction of steel frame keel technology, the size and length of ships have also increased significantly.
In the past, ships of two to three hundred tons could be considered large ships, and only a handful of shipyards that mastered key technologies could build them.
But now, after expanding the dock, one can easily build a thousand-ton shipping vessel.
This was simply unimaginable before.
In addition to the shipyard, a large number of workshops, mills, blacksmith shops, oil presses, etc. in the city's industrial areas also use hydraulic machinery, and their output can surpass their counterparts in other places by several times.
There is no doubt that Askatra is the first city in Faerûn that is developing in the modern direction of Earth.
In some places, tall chimneys were even erected, and a large amount of black smoke came out from them.
Although some of the physical and chemical rules of this world are very different from those of the earth, the fact that coal can be used to boil water to provide power is still the same.
Inspired by Gond, the god of craftsmen and crafts, the primitive steam engine had apparently been invented.
However, due to its high cost and frequent failure, it can only be used as an experimental toy for the time being and is still far from being put into mass production.
"Master, are you really a big devil?"
Succubus Loli suddenly raised her head and asked.
Zuo Si raised his eyebrows and asked, "What makes you doubt my identity?"
Atona pointed to the prosperous scene outside and said: "Because you are making the lives of these mortals better and better. This does not seem like what an evil devil should do."
Hearing this sentence, Zuo Si couldn't help laughing immediately: "Hahahaha! No, my little cutie, you seem to have misunderstood something. Why do you think I have to spend all my efforts to improve the quality of life of these mortals and make them produce
Strong expectations for the future?"
"Hmm - I don't know."
Succubus Loli thought for a moment and then shook her head.
"Then you should know that the number of souls born in a world depends on the total population, right?
For devils in hell, the soul is the most important resource and source of power.
Therefore, the better mortals live, the more children they have, and the population density of this world is maximized, the more beneficial it is to me.
Moreover, the higher the quality of life, the more rewards can be obtained through labor, and the easier it is for mortals to be tempted by instinct and desire to fall.
Therefore, whether it is to provide a better living environment to increase the population, or to allow mortals to obtain more rewards and continue to fall under the temptation, it is ultimately to achieve the goal of obtaining souls.
You can understand that I am playing the long game to catch the big fish.
In addition, population growth is also a good thing for many gods, who can enhance their divine power through faith.
This also means that I have also won some powerful allies through this process.
Real evil is not as bloody, cruel and terrifying as you imagine.
Rather, it should be like the gentle breeze blowing in spring, quietly changing a person's thoughts, consciousness and cognition.
In this process, mortals should not be in pain, but should be happy.
Only in this way can this evil penetrate into their bone marrow and even their souls and continue to exist."
Zuo Si taught the succubus loli a lesson in a persuasive way.
"That's it!"
Atona's eyes burst out with bright light, and she seemed to have an epiphany, frantically digesting this information.
Although she is essentially a devil, she gradually develops into a lawful evil devil under Zuo Si's training.
In this way, after instilling some thoughts and concepts into the succubus Loli, Zuo Si returned to his room and began to prepare to welcome Aberdare and his party.
Because he knew that once this group of people escaped, they would definitely choose to come to him as soon as possible.