Game World: I Can Share Talents

Chapter 351 - 3: World’s #1 Foreign Aid, Proven Track Record

To completely cleanse these remnants would require a thorough purification technique and years of continuous maintenance.

Mephit: "Yes, the Witches under you are certainly busy. But the contributions and assistance they bring my lord are quite tangible. I imagine that once this Province is rebuilt, it will also fall under your command!"

The blue-haired girl’s smile was quite gentle, but it was rare to hear her speak well of her colleagues.

Even her assessment of the Qinghui Guard was merely, "They were just lucky enough to be born as Purity People, the same race as my lord." In terms of ability, she believed they were inferior to the Yonglan Knights.

However, her high opinion of the Ring of Clear Skies Witches, a group of Casters who were originally societal outcasts, was simply because they were so incredibly useful.

The Expeditionary Army could easily crush the Chaos Forces, but how were they to build an anti-Chaos system afterward?

After all, the reason the Little Holy Tree had suffered corruption was the collapse of the anti-Chaos system.

The former Realms of Order had all relied on the protection of the Divine Ancestor’s Law. Their entire anti-Chaos system consisted of only that, with almost no backup plans—because no one ever thought to worry about it.

’The Divine Ancestor no longer protecting the realm? How is that possible?! I ask you, how is that possible?!’

’If the Divine Ancestor won’t protect the realm, then what’s the difference between that and our nation being destroyed! Forget rebuilding an anti-Chaos system, we might as well just slit our own throats!’

But this thing that should have been absolutely impossible actually happened, and everyone was left completely clueless, without any foundation to build an anti-Chaos system.

Developing one from scratch was also a considerable burden for the Imperial Provinces, which were struggling to rebuild.

The "selfless" Duke Qinghui would, of course, help the locals re-establish their anti-Chaos system. Furthermore, he would use the most mature and effective method, the Circle of Clear Skies, to allow the rebuilt Province to recover its vitality as quickly as possible.

After all, the Circle of Clear Skies was a top-tier Anti-Chaos Technique that used Sub-Deity Power and had been proven in practice. It was the entire basis for the Ring of Clear Skies’s value.

However... to maintain the Technique’s operation, the Qinghui Territory had to provide continuous maintenance. And if they couldn’t pay, the Qinghui Territory could also offer plenty of interest-free loans.

In this way, Westheid indeed forced no one to sign any unequal treaties, nor did he annex a single piece of territory. Yet, through these means, he had in fact already exerted immense influence over these liberated regions.

This was the very trick the Ring of Clear Skies had used to become a dominant power in the Borderland. It was their specialty. They just never expected that after all this time, this "unorthodox path" reliant on Demon Power would turn out to be the most effective method.

Of course, Westheid would never publicly admit this was Demon Power. All the Witches of the Ring of Clear Skies held only the position of "Courtier," serving merely as advisors.

Some might have seen through the ruse, but no one dared to speak of it, and no one dared to ask.

’Otherwise, how would you know there was a problem with this Technique? Did you study it in secret? Besides, if you anger Duke Qinghui, who else will fight the enemy?!’

Leading his Personal Guard, Westheid returned to their rear base.

It was an Imperial Province in the midst of reconstruction. After the remnants of the Corrupted Holy Tree were purged, a town was established on the ruins of the original capital, taking in all the displaced people from the surrounding area.

As Westheid led his army through the city gates, he was met with a storm of fervent praise and cheers.

"Duke Qinghui has returned triumphant!"

"His Majesty the Knight King!"

"Lord Westheid has thoroughly humiliated the Chaos Corruption!"

Thanks to the example set by the large numbers of Yonglan Knights and Purity People, many Imperial Citizens were also swept up in the fanatical fervor.

Perhaps it was due to personal experience, the bandwagon effect, or the result of propaganda. In any case, they all began to act this way.

Basking in the cheers, Westheid made his way to the central manor of the rebuilt capital. Serving as the Expeditionary Army’s forward base, it was also a command post dedicated to receiving distress calls from various regions and coordinating the army’s deployment.

What surprised Westheid slightly was that even Reiya and Mivana returned here over the next few days.

Prior to this, the three of them had been operating separately.

"Is the campaign on your end finished as well?"

Hearing Westheid’s question, the Wolf-eared Maiden with purplish-black hair nodded emphatically.

"Yep! We’ve basically been to every place we could go."

Reiya pushed aside the silver hair by her ear and said coolly,

"There are still some Corrupted Holy Trees within the Empire, but they are all at a level that local legions can handle. Within the areas we’re responsible for, there are indeed no more corrupted zones."

’It seems the Plague of Corruption is coming to an end,’ Westheid sighed to himself. In the Age of Strife, the disaster that befell the Radiant Holy Tree Empire, the Plague of Corruption, was supposed to have destroyed half of the vast Mortal Realm’s Domain and foundation, making the Imperial resistance struggle greatly when the Return of the Dragons occurred later.

But now, because the Expeditionary Army had swiftly eliminated the threat, the Empire’s strength was well-preserved. The future Dragon Group shouldn’t be so devastatingly unstoppable.

’The Empire really is plagued by disasters.’

Seeing Westheid remain silent for a long time, only letting out a soft sigh, Mivana tilted her head and asked,

"West, what should we do next?"

"I don’t know either. What is the right thing to do?"

Reiya frowned. "The Thousand Laws Royal Court still hasn’t given a response. Will they really pin their hopes on us?"

Westheid shook his head. "We wait. If our efforts and management over this period have truly been effective, we should see a result soon."

The Thousand Laws Royal Court wouldn’t be able to hold out. Westheid had been gathering intelligence on the Land of Rhythm, which had now officially entered the stage of the Demon’s Frenzy Banquet. Demons, having broken free from their cages, were carving up and dominating large swathes of the City in the Lake. The grand concert of the Land of Rhythm had been completely disrupted—an absolutely intolerable blasphemy for the Royal Court.

Given the information Westheid had intentionally or unintentionally revealed, as long as the Royal Court’s intelligence department wasn’t completely useless, they would inevitably develop the desired inclination.

So, Westheid waited patiently for two months and finally, just as he’d wished, received some exciting news.

The Half-Elf Maid, Rozana, who was originally in Su Yue, had traveled a great distance to the forward base to meet with Westheid.

"The Yuanxi Palace invites you to be a guest."

Rozana conveyed the will of her mistress:

"She says it is time for you to fulfill your promise. This is an obligation you must honor."

"Is this about the debt?"

The Silver-haired Princess stood at Westheid’s side. She was very displeased with the demanding tone in Luyetan’s words and frowned.

"We can repay the aid the Yuanshi Territory provided in the past tenfold right now. Such arrogance and disrespect! Who does she think she is?"

Just as Mivana and Mephit didn’t quite get along, in Reiya’s eyes, that sly, fox-like woman Luyetan was utterly detestable.

"This isn’t a matter of debt, Reiya."

Westheid said with a wave of his hand. The White-haired Dragon Lady didn’t know about his private agreement with Luyetan, so it was only natural for her to be annoyed.

But Duke Qinghui was a sentimental and grateful person. He wouldn’t forget the favor Luyetan had shown him in the past just because he was well-off now. One could say that the aid from the Yuanshi Territory was the most critical factor in the Qinghui Territory’s ability to soar to its current heights.

"Let me guess. For them to ask me to fulfill my promise at this time, the Royal Court must have finally yielded... If I can’t enter the Land of Rhythm, fulfilling that promise would be impossible."

Rozana nodded. "As you say. The Yuanxi Palace recommended you to Lord Xavier, an Execution Officer of the Royal Court, hoping you would support the Land of Rhythm. However, the matter is not yet finalized. The details will be discussed after you arrive in the Yuanshi Territory."

Westheid smiled.

"Please relay to the Royal Court’s envoy that they need not worry. I will arrive soon."

"World’s number one mercenary, with a verifiable track record."