Cthulhu Gonfalon

Chapter 903: Deliberation of the Great War (Part 1)

“From the hot southern frontier to the cold northern countries, from the winding and precipitous shore of the East Coast to the broad and flat coast of the West Sea, from the summit of the Mountain of Broken Clouds that overlooks the penitentiary of the clouds to the dark mines in the Kingdom of Eagle basin… an iron curtain that stretched across the entire Main Plane is lowering. Behind this iron curtain is a whole civilized world, regardless of race and country. And now, everything is going to fall under the influence of the human gods, more or less under the control of the City of Light (i.e. the capital of the Kingdom of Light), and the degree of control it has is constantly increasing.”

Standing amidst the clouds in the sky, watching the busy and orderly crowd, Sui Xiong muttered to himself.

Wall was not as sentimental as Sui Xiong. He merely looked at the crowd for a while, then said, “Their work efficiency is so high that it can be compared with the factory of the Republic.”

This might sound arrogant if one were to hear it for the first time, but in truth, it was a compliment. The factory of the Republic of Northwest was where skilled workers were specially trained. Every work component had been studied and deliberated by master craftsmen. The layout of the whole factory and the industrial process had all been carefully studied as well. So their workers could produce the best products in the world with the highest efficiency and receive the highest remuneration among their peers in the industry—and this amount left those in second place far behind them at that.

Of course, these workers of the Kingdom of Light could not possibly receive such a level of training. Their factory layout and industrial process were far inferior to that of the Republic of Northwest. But it was highly commendable how they could actually achieve a work efficiency that was similar to that of the factory of the Republic of Northwest under such obviously backward conditions.

This was the same as the study of hydrogen bombs. By recruiting and assembling a most luxurious lineup of the world’s top-notch scientists, and then relying on the research and industrial level of the world’s superpower to make a hydrogen bomb, this was undoubtedly very impressive. But relying on a group of researchers who did not seem to have a full understanding and who could barely be considered adept professionals, relying on an industrial level where even their cars had to be imported, with only the data on atomic bombs obtained from their teachers that had been heavily and deliberately modified … it was truly admirable how a hydrogen bomb could still be created under such conditions!

But Sui Xiong laughed.

“If we do things the way they do, the productivity of our Republic of Northwest will at least be doubled from its current efficiency rate!”

“What?”

“You pay attention to their cafeteria. Look carefully.”

Wall froze a little and shifted his gaze to the inside of the factory cafeteria.

Then he noticed that some people who looked like clergymen, were casting spells on the food and water in the cafeteria.

“They mix drugs that can stimulate physical strength and use magic to boost the workers’ spirits. With such means, of course, their work efficiency is high,” Sui Xiong sneered. “But using such a method, how long can those workers live like that?

“Most of the workers of our Republic of Northwest, with the exception of those who were injured on the job, are able to lead stable lives till they retire. Upon retirement, they get their pensions and lead their lives peacefully into their old age. They can probably enjoy life for another 10 to 15 years or so. And finally, they die peacefully surrounded by their children and grandchildren. But the workers here… Haha, if I’m not wrong, they’ll probably live to about 40 years old and their bodies will collapse.”

Sui Xiong thought for a moment and very maliciously, he added another line, “But there is one thing good about them. That is, the process where their bodies collapse is very, very fast. From the onset of collapse to death, a safe estimate of duration is at most six to seven days, so it doesn’t bring much medical burden to the family.”

After hearing this, Wall first showed a blank look, then he felt anger rising. He hurriedly used his Divine Power to take in a small portion of food and water from the cafeteria. Then he carefully analyzed the samples and found that it was just as what Sui Xiong had said.

Though he was an immortal god, at that moment, he could really feel a bone-piercing cold that almost made him shiver. After the cold, it was a rage that rose right deep within him. He could not help wanting to charge right over and utterly destroy this factory that devoured human lives like a monster!

Sui Xiong stopped him.

“Stay out of this. These are things we should not be poking our noses into.”

“But…”

“At least, we can’t do anything about it until this war has an outcome,” Sui Xiong said with a gentle sigh. “Although this form of practice is harmful to the workers’ health, if it is not being implemented for too long, it won’t be a big problem either. It won’t be long before this war commences. There’s still time to stop this when there is an outcome of this war.”

“When there is an outcome?” Wall asked. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Your Majesty, who do you think will win?”

Sui Xiong cast a confused look at him, then said, “Of course the humans. It’s impossible for the Orcs to win this at all. The difference in population, I’m afraid, is probably four to five times.

“In truth, all wars of humans are secondary. The key lies in the war of gods,” Wall said.

“That’s right. But even for a war of gods, the humans are still the ones with an absolute advantage,” Sui Xiong said. “The human gods, be it in quantity or quality, are much stronger than the Orc gods.”

“But the Orcs have many allies,” Wall lamented. “This time, the humans don’t have many allies.”

“Allies and such are, in fact, just like that. Do you mean to say you expect these allies to risk their lives to help you?” Sui Xiong questioned. He shook his head and said, “They can do nothing more than provide some help from the side, wave some flags and shout loudly, or they could help in absorbing some of the burdens of firepower. That’s all. Other than that, which ally would help Lefon deal with Wuther?”

The more he said, the happier Sui Xiong felt. He went on to say, “We can look at the number of gods on both sides. The Orc God System currently has about 30 gods, plus the few gods who were just demigods, they can probably make up about 40 die-hard fighters—the ones who will put up the most courageous fight and are willing to put their lives on the line. As for the Human God System, there are about 40 gods from their own God System itself, and adding on those who became gods from humans, there will be more than 200 of them participating in the morale-building rally this time. Forty against 200, will the Orc God System win?

“Of course, as we all know, in a war of the gods, it’s a fight at the level of a great Divine Power that truly determines the outcome. In this regard, the Human God System has four great Divine Powers, and there’s the God of Light among them who is possibly the most powerful of the four. What about the Orc God System? There’s only one great Divine Power, the Sky Devourer Canine. And at most, there is the addition of the Iron Mask Ferocious Spirit. Even if they can rouse a few sleeping ancestor Orcs, they still won’t have any advantage to speak of.”

“How can the Orcs possibly win a war where their top-rated martial skills can’t win them the upper-hand, where their middle and lower-end martial skills are simply going to get them crushed, and where they had a human population that was of a four to five times difference from their opponent? What are they going to depend on to win?”

Wall was silent for a long time. Then he sighed deeply.

“Recently, I’ve been having a bad feeling. I keep thinking that the humans are going to lose, and it will be a crushing defeat at that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the God of Knowledge, not the God of War,” Sui Xiong said with a hearty laugh. Then he said, “The God of War, Wenner, is inclined to think that the Human God System will win. Comparing your level of professionalism against him? You’re a far cry!”

Wall could not help smiling as well. It was a bitter smile though.

“I know that too. The God of War’s judgement in this aspect is definitely more accurate than mine. But… this feeling is so intense that I just can’t help worrying…”

Sui Xiong frowned and looked at Wall carefully.

After a while, he asked, “Are you certain that this feeling is very strong?”

“Yes, very strong.”

“And you often feel like that?”

“Often, just now, I felt it again.”

Sui Xiong frowned deeply. Then he was silent for a while again before saying, “Let’s go. We shall go find the Goddess of Fortune!”