Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Scattering Seeds
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
The Underground City Chrometaxo, probably the underground city closest to Sulfur Mountain City. Though it is not a route that merchants must pass through to head to other underground cities, but quite a handful of merchants would choose to head out from there to stock up on subsistence, or purchase some mining products, jewels, slaves and other special products.
70% of its citizens are Dwarves and Underground Beastman, and the original city lord is the king of the Pig Tribe, Underground Beast Man Hng Hng. The land here is infertile and after the army raided a few merchants, it caused the infamy of the greediness of these pigs to spread afar. Nowadays, they have no other choice than to rely on their mining industry and slavery trade.
When the news of the death of City Lord Hng Hng spread out, it wasn’t surprising that the entire Chrome City plunged into chaos.
There is reason why the entire underground world is viewed as a land of Chaos by the Order faction. At least, in most of the underground cities, what they believe in is the primitive survival of the fittest, and the city lord together with the nobles are the ones with the strongest fist.
The outstanding reproductive ability of the Pig Tribe resulted in their massive population and in previous days, it was only through balancing of power that allowed a certain level of stability within the tribe. However, Hng Hng died too suddenly this time and he even brought along the number 1 elite army of the tribe, the Blackwater army, down with him on this operation, causing his son and successor, Haha, to not have enough influence and power to stabilize the situation, so the powerful figures in line for the throne started wavering.
TL: Powerful figures mean influential figures/ powerful people (may be individually or as a group), can’t really find a suitable word for this and this phrase appears quite a lot in the novel.
Or rather, using the word ‘wavering’ to describe these pigheads are a bit too merciful. After news spread out that afternoon, all restraints are cut and the internal strife started.
The 2nd biggest tribe Gray Wood Lizards and Gray Dwarves teamed up together, intending to enthrone themselves. Also, the peasants couldn’t live on in the city anymore and the miners who intended to flee for their lives... Chaos is contagious and fights started breaking out everywhere. Chrome City’s 700 thousand population immediately cuts by a tenth.
Alright, it was already a picture of disaster when Lilith and her team arrived at Chrome City. If she delayed her schedule and arrived 2 days later, Chrome City’s population would have probably cut by a half.
Of course... When the situation has settled, the victors get to reap the rewards. Very quickly, there will be new city lord and nobles in Chrome City, then it would go into another relatively stable period. As for the slaves and peasants who died in the chaos? No one cares.
The underground world that is formed by exiled is this kind of world. The strongest fist, the winner eats it all while the weak dies...
But looking at the smoke rising throughout the city, the guards and armed Beastmen are actually casually slaughtering the citizens they should have been protecting, Lilith and the other enforcers of Sulfur Mountain City went into a rage.
Thus, Lilith activated the God Equipment Scattered Page of Codex, letting the God Equipment of Law sending the entire city into the Great Judgement.
Of course, to do it like what I did the previous time, directly judging the entire city through the laws, is impossible. But this scattered page of a God Equipment is still a God Equipment, and has the power to back it up.
TL: Through the laws -> Actually here he means the law of the world. Just like how Holy Light is the law of the world, the Power of Law, after being recognized, can be considered the law of the world as well.
Scattered Page of the Codex (God Equipment)
Faith in Law: 367/999 (The belief from 1000 people in a week allows it to increase by 1 point every week, and the cap is 50 points every month. When the points reach the maximum, it will automatically replicate another Scattered Page)
In every period of time, when the God Equipment Origin of Codex collects sufficient Faith in Law, it will create a piece of Scattered Page. It is a part of the God Equipment of Law Origin of Codex, and is a manifestation of its will and power. — There is a line of words on the Scattered Page (The Indefatigable One never rests, the gaze of his intangible eyes is always on you)
Effect 1: The Land of Law (Passive): In the heart of the city where it is placed, the entire city will become a Land of Law and in the area where its effect is active, Enforcers can wield the Power of Law.
Effect 2: Great Judgement (Active): Requires 100 Faith in Law to activate, and consumes 1 point every minute after activation. After the user activates it, everyone in the city will be cast with a Legend-rank level Judgement Spell and be judged on their actions in the last 3 hours. If guilty, their freedom will be restricted and debuffs such as intangible cuffs and weapon seal will be inflicted on them. In the Great Judgement, the effects of the enforcer’s Incantation of Law will be multiplied several folds and their power ranking will be increased by 1. (The requirements for usage: The laws in the city are in chaos, criminals are doing as they please and the city is on the verge of destruction)
Effect 3: Unknown
TL: For those who forgot, Wumianzhe -> Indefatigable one.
God Equipment are God Equipment after all. When they are utilized, they have the potential to change the flow of a battle. The number of God Equipment that changed history are numerous. Even if, the Scattered Page of the Codex is just a replica.
After the Great Judgement, all of the criminals are judged and inflicted with a bunch of debuffs while the enforcer’s power ranking went up by 1... A Gold-rank like Lilith becomes a Legend-rank and expecting the chaos in Chrome City, her ‘logistics department’ known as the Hall of Legislation obviously lack firepower. So, to stabilize the situation, I sent the strongest Hall of Law over.
The Hall of Law is filled with old fellows that are well-versed with the law. Normally, they are the judges of the Supreme Court and most of them have a job in the legal system. Then, the weakest of them all is a Gold-rank.
TL: Can’t exactly remember, but one of the requirement to change your job to one in the Law seems to be a minimum of gold-rank.
This time, almost the entire of the Hall of Law was sent out, that is over 200 Gold-ranks and 7 legend-rank. That is to say, during the 5 hours of Great Judgement, there are 200 Legend-rank and 6 World Saints...
But it is a pity that Head of Hall of Law Kale is still recuperating at home. If the World Saint were to go up another rank, that would be Epic, just a step away from SemiGod. If he tries out the power in advance, it could do him some good for his advancement in the future.
But even so, 200 Legends and 6 World Saints, this is already outrageous enough. Even the previous City Lord Hng Hng was only at Legend pinnacle...
What happen afterwards is simple, in the 5 hours before the Faith in Law is fully expended, all of the murderers and thugs were cleared and when the red light of sin is bright to a certain extent, it means that the crime warrants a death penalty and the experts of the Hall of Law, towards these ugly crimes, don’t know the meaning of the word mercy. Thus, the Great Judgement becomes a Great Execution... After the incident, the smell of blood in Chrome City didn’t dissipate for 10 days.
As for those who were rescued in the catastrophe, a large portion of the citizens of Chrome City started regarding these outsiders as their saviors. Capturing the weakness of their heart after the incident, the Judgementors tried their best to spread the ideas of Law and Order and the withered God Equipment Scattered Page of Codex also starts recovering under the faith of the citizens who were rescued, even if the next time it could be used is 3 months later...
This movement to take over the city is bound to shock the entire underground world. Its effects would be far greater than the setback faced by the two Underground Autarchs...
After all, the opponents that the 2 Underground Autarch was facing were the almighty SemiGods and the Forbidden Spell that judged all of the criminals and destroyed the armies of the invaders could be explained as a prepared Forbidden Spell trap. But this sudden appearance of a powerful army, over 200 Legends and 6 World Saints, this can no longer be explained by saying that they were prepared. This only shows the power and the peculiarity of this new Power of Law.
I can already start imagining what would happen afterwards. Very quickly, the information of Power of Law and the Law Jobs would spread across the entire underground world.
Perhaps, my Justice Knights created by the Power of Law wouldn’t be able to explore around like the Holy Knights and are unable to fight and tank to make a huge difference in an offensive war. But, as protectors of the Order and Law, when they are protecting citizens for villains, they can easily exert a battle power several times stronger.
My Judgementors don’t need to go around like Priests to spread their teachings, sing praises about the greatness of Holy Light and the purity of the Order Gods. He only needs to spread around the Codex of Law, understand and analyze the cases and create a simple court one after another, punishing the evil-doers and redressing the grievances of the weak. Then, the normal people who benefited from it and achieved a peaceful life would naturally start believing in the law and provide the Power of Faith.
TL: The Power of Faith is the main power source of the Order Gods Chp33.
My Law Incantationers will study the integration of the legislation with the power of the rules, creating new Incantation of Law, making the Power of Law and the fighting ability of Law Jobs to become even greater.
TL: Power of Law is acknowledged by the Origin of Order and so its spells must go by the concept of laws.
Power of Law? It is a purely defensive and targeted power. Very quickly, the underground city lords will end up with this kind of conclusion and their heart will start to waver. After all, who wouldn’t wish the land they govern to become more peaceful and prosperous.
Mass producing security officers using the Power of Law to provide support to the internal security of their land, one would know just by thinking about it that it is a beneficial act.
Simply producing these kind of Law-class experts wouldn’t bring the world to them (If they join in the army of invaders, the sin of starting a war would cause them to lose their Law Job identity and their Power of Law), however they can use the manpower who are originally used to maintain peace in the city to fight the war, leaving behind these Law-class experts to protect their homeland (Law Jobs are allowed to join in the fight to protect a city), wouldn’t it also improve their total fighting power in the end?
The underground world’s pursuit of strength is never-ending. Very soon, those who came up with this conclusion would send people over to learn, steal and even snatch... As for me, I intend to give out the Codex of Law for free and not mentioning the secrets to practicing the arts, I will even give out the God Equipment Scattered Pages of Codex to relatively friendly cities.
TL: Btw Codex of Law refers to a plain book on law.
“Hehe, whoever who wants it can go ahead to take it. I will first say it beforehand, it is a defensive Power of Order that targets sinners. That is to say, if the opponent is not a sinner or if their sins aren’t as heavy, then it is far from matching up to the almost omnipotent Holy Light.”
Of course, these underground lords will not give up just because of my warnings and instead, they will go mad over the limited stocks on the God Equipment... Hehe, I will look forward to the day that they, who are full of sins, are brought up to the execution platform by their citizens. Will they remember the words that I said to them the day I passed the Power of Law over to them?
If everything goes on successfully, the Power of Law will spread to every single corner of the underground world very quickly... Maybe, in a short period of time, a decade of two, its effects may not be plain to see. But when a new generation who wields the Power of Law arises, hehe, the entire underground world would gradually go through a massive change.
Furthermore, the underground world isn’t the end of the road for the Power of Law... The Holy Church who have long received the Codex from me should be trying it out on the surface and achieving good results.
As people who respects the Order, they would be even more obsessed with the advantages the Power of Law has for maintaining security and the judgement of crimes. Maybe, in 3 or 4 decades later, there would be existence of Law Jobs in every city.
This is my wish and also the most important part of my plan, is let the seeds fly along with the wind. I’m not hasty about this and rather, I am willing to take my time...
Perhaps, someone would see through my scheme, oh, no, since it is all exposed on the outside, calling it a project would be much more suitable. Even if they see through my project, this gigantic benefit that I offer will make them happily swallow this sweet poison. Afterwards, as the roots of the Power of Law stretch deep and the grows healthily, the intangible executioner’s blade will land on the heads of the underground city lords.
But the current me didn’t have the leisure to think so far ahead. Only yesterday did the ambassador team and the construction workers arrive Chrome City. ƒ𝑟𝙚e𝔀𝗲𝒃n𝒐𝘷𝗲Ɩ.c𝗼𝚖
Looking at this pile of wreckage, the faces of the citizens were still filled with smiles and hope for the future. Indubitably, it means that our takeover has already won the support of the citizens. Thus, even though I already find her very trustworthy, in this instant, my satisfaction bar with Lilith shot through the roof.
In just a few short days, she managed to reorganize the entire government structure and judiciary system and wield the authority of the city lord temporarily in her hands. When everything starts to settle down, she will pass the power on to the Public Council that about to be created.
As for the authority to write the legislation? Of course it belongs to the hands of Sulfur Mountain City Supreme Court’s Chrome Branch, converting this city into a Land of Law.
Indeed, if we don’t consider the unspeakable private problems that she has, she is the hard-to-come-by ‘normal person’ in the top brass of the judiciary system. Even more so, she is the head of logistics of the entire judiciary system, so her efficiency in getting things done is top-notch.
“You bear with it for the moment and stay as the city lord before the Council elections are completed. Then, are you interested in becoming the Branch Head?”
The moment I said these words, the faces of the others who was with her hardens and shakes their head vehemently behind her back. They weren’t worrying about the ‘young’ Lilith catching up with them, but...
“Lord, please reconsider. If I were to become the Branch Head here, I’m afraid that problems would occur in the Sulfur Mountain City Headquarters. After all, the other Heads are...”
There wasn’t any need to say any further. As a disciple-in-name of the Saint Margaret, even if Kale isn’t injured, he would have been obsessed in books and scrolls, combining theory together with experiments to create new Incantation of Law. As for Kelvin, his presence is too weak and his leadership ability can almost be entirely ignored. As for the last of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Judiciary, the Guardian of Steel Hall Head... Looking around me, I don’t see any Guardian of Steel, only a pervert who was currently discussing his experiences in nude running with Eaglestorm!
“Yes, just like how you can’t leave Lord Silver Rose, the 4 Halls 1 Court can’t do without me for now.” There was a tinge of pride within these words that Lilith said. She has seen her previous accomplishments in her job as the pride of her life.
Indeed, if Elisa is my private head of logistics and my outer conscience, constantly reminding me not to go too far, then Lilith is the head of logistics and only conscience of the entire Sulfur Mountain City’s 4 Halls 1 Court, allowing the humongous system to operate healthily. If she wasn’t here, big problems would probably arise.
“Un, then let Kelvin transfer here. You find him a helper from your Hall of Legislation to help him deal with his work. Are the ambassadors from Kajah and Ainsterna here yet?”
TL: The other 2 Underground Autarchs if you don’t remember
“Kajah’s ambassador is already here. Ainsterna’s ambassador should be here in a few more days.”
I nodded my head satisfied. This is also one of the reason why I must stop at Chrome City. Since I have already offended 2 of the Underground Autarch, then naturally, I should try to get along with the other two and they have decisively stretched out their hand of ‘friendship’ to me.
Joining the Underground Alliance would, needless to say, require an invitation letter. I would be lowering our value if I knock on their door. Right now, these ambassadors are definitely bringing me the invitation letter that I want.
“Just like how the surface Elves and Beastmen’s relationship forged by blood and hatred, the Dark Elves and underground Beastmen are deep-rooted enemies and the agent of the Devils and the agent of the Demons and even more so, destined to be mutual enemies. The Beastman Sovereign Shou’s relationship with Kajah and Ainsterna were destined to be fractured and Molly is an unreliable 2-faced ally. Even if the enemy of an enemy cannot be considered an ally, but they can form an alliance built on benefits.”
But if you believe the Dark Elves who believes that betraying and murder is a value, and really treat the cunning and evil Devils as an alliance, that is equal to tying a knot on your own knot and handing over the knot to the other party... Not a single one of the Underground Autarchs is easy to deal with.
“Has the news of that Eternal Night Scepter is about to appear spread out?” As I predicted, the other party gave his confirmation and I turned my attention to the field.
There, 16 gigantic Gnome robots were nervously testing out their weapons. The engineers from Sulfur Mountain City were currently working their hardest to rush these robots out and Chrome City’s outstanding Gray Dwarves Blacksmith with a history of mining would become a steady pillar of support for these engineers. At least, with the city’s rich mined reserves, the metal used for these big fellows are much better than the original, much firmer and long-lasting.
“No one listens to the words of the weak in the underground world. If the weak has a treasure that no one steals, that can only mean the treasure is a fake. Then, if we want to play out a show, we should go all the way through. Before Ainsterna’s ambassador arrives, let’s finish building our ‘Treasure-protecting army’. Right, are these toys really safe?”
“This is the 3rd time you have asked today. Roren has already done 17 edits on the blueprint to refine it to perfection, it is definitely safe. Un, from theory.”
“Theory again. I was afraid that they would edit it to be too perfect. They are always unsatisfied with the blueprint and try to incorporate some of their unique skills and secret techniques into the product their making and call it perfection... The last time, a Gnome did some refinement to a shaver and destroyed the entire barber shop. 2 days ago, when I asked those trouble-causing bastards again, I realized that I overlooked a blind spot.”
“Un?”
“At that time, even though the giant robot is surrounded, but in the end, everyone was fighting their own battle and no one bothered with the big fellow.”
“Then how was it destroyed... I get it, I will immediately get Roren and Miheuer to do an 18th edit.”
Yes, that giant robot wasn’t destroyed by external attacks but rather, from what I expected from the start, suicide explosion... That being said, I am starting to feel that these bastards who were punished deserved it. While getting engrossed in fighting, you all actually forgot your primary objective...
“Right, can you change the name? The name makes me panic.”
A string of words could be seen from the front, Roland No.3, Roland No.4... all the way to Roland No.18... These Rolands who could explode anytime, how was it possible for me, Lich Roland, to not panic?
“That, I have already said it many times but the Gnomes and Dwarves insisted on using their creator’s name and said that this was a tradition. In fact, their pilots were also very adamant, making it impossible to change it.”
“The pilots? You mean those pilots we chose from the Dark Elves? They shouldn’t have a reason to insist on it though? I thought they hated Lich Roland to the guts?”
“Yes, they really hate him very much. But they said, sitting in Roland Number makes them feel like they are sitting inside the body of their enemies. Looking at the painted name of Roland, it reminds them of their treasures and dowry that was destroyed twice, giving them infinite motivation. This way, they will not forget their vows to catch that bastard, no matter where he escapes to and what he disguises as... Lord, why are you squatting there, are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I just feel like I should reduce my size a little bit. They are so tall there, so they shouldn’t be able to see my clearly right...”