A sneeze destroys a magical civilization

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 and returned to the floating city of Plantia with all the valuables they could bring.

Right now, this city floating in the sky is once again overcrowded.

You can see them gathering together in various hotels, taverns, squares, and shops to chat, brag, and sell or buy weapons and equipment.

Ever since the elites of the first echelon were recruited by Shane VII, everyone knew that a brand new world would soon be opened to them.

Therefore, everyone is in high spirits and looking forward to a more intense, exciting and exciting adventure.

After all, in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, they have already tasted power and control over the lives and deaths of others, and 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 suffering of others, and happiness is the 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 believed that he was completely superior to the natives 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, 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 invest almost all their time and energy in it.

Coupled with the rich reward mechanism and sense of achievement, Zuo Si has always believed that the player base can one day grow into a trump card that can unexpectedly win when encountering 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've been ready for this day."

The mastermind answered bluntly in the affirmative.

As an absolutely rational super-intelligent creature, she was far less excited and excited than Shane VII about getting a spark and becoming a planeswalker. On the contrary, she was 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 transformed 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 teleportation 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 the spark in a short time.

The reason why this word is used is that unlike the planeswalkers who are born, these planeswalkers who acquire the spark later in life 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, the man-made planeswalkers cannot stay in the dark void for a period of time with the protection of sparks like the natural planeswalkers.

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 up a huge amount of energy before extracting it.

As a hub that connects hundreds of thousands of players, the mastermind usually intercepts and stores about half of the magic, life, and spiritual energy obtained from players' 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 extraordinary times to prevent a large-scale war from causing players to die one after another in a short period of time.

After all, every time a cloned body dies and energy is transferred, there will inevitably be some loss.

Although this part of the loss was converted into a game rule called "Death Punishment".

But the reality is 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, it is necessary to call on reserve energy 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 undulating 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 seems like an impenetrable physical wall to most people.

Only with the planeswalker's spark can the walls turn into a slime that's barely passable.

To me, 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 what matters most. "

"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 all kinds of dangers.

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 and his horizons become wider and wider, 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 it is 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.

That's nothing compared to gaining the power of an ancient planeswalker by replacing Nicol Bolas and winning the War of the Spark.

You must understand that our greatest enemy today is Nicol Bolas.

And he is the most powerful of all existing planeswalkers. He has the power to control, brainwash and transform gods. He 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 others.

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 of this preparation is ultimately to replace Nicol Bolas and complete the War of the Spark.

In fact, if your other half Isadora wasn't so crazy, I'd even give her a spark to become a planeswalker too. "

"Is Nicol Bolas really as powerful as you say?"

The mastermind obviously didn't believe it.

Zuo Si explained patiently: "Believe me, he is a thousand or ten thousand times more terrifying than you think.

So far, I know of no fewer than two to three hundred planes that have been destroyed or damaged to the point of collapse by Nicol Bolas.

There are many worlds that gave birth to powerful gods.

If we want to compare it with the universe where Toril is located, I feel that except for a very small number of gods and the will of the abyss that cannot be described in specific words, perhaps only the most powerful divine power 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, power, and experience, as well as the innate power of the elder dragons and the spark of the first generation of 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 have things that may pose a threat to the old dragon, or can 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 players who have traveled through time and the world props they possess were created by the Dragon Emperor through Origin Magic, then does 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 the time and space of Zendikar, where the awakened will of the planet chose to grant authority to the elf planeswalker Nissa.

Perhaps the Dragon Emperor keeps creating players because he hopes to kill all others of his kind 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 use Origin Magic to restrict and weaken Nicol Bolas in the final battle.

If that doesn't work, trying to devour the entire world's mana is also a good option. "

"Okay, I think I understand what you mean."

After understanding the dangers of Nicol Bolas, the Elder Brain quickly realized that one could never be too cautious when dealing with such an enemy.

After all, just a powerful divine power that is not limited by space and belief and can reach wherever he wants to go instantly is quite terrifying.

"I will be keeping an eye on the movements of the Son of Baal in Faerun recently, and I will leave it to you in the New World. Remember to take good care of the diary and don't let him do anything too outrageous."

After saying that, Zuo Si used teleportation magic and disappeared.

As soon as he left, Isadora smelled the smell 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 at will in different time and space."

The mastermind didn't try to hide anything and told the truth openly.

After all, they are all different personality fragments split from one consciousness, and they still retain some kind of indescribable spiritual connection with each other.

"What? Here it is! What about mine?"

Isadora pointed to her nose with an unconvinced expression.

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?

its not right?

According to several previous tests, Zuo Siming should be a Furikong who likes the combination of 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 my mind that are completely opposite to normal people.

If you remain mentally stable 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 an abnormal brain circuit 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 beginning. Now that I have done it, you should be happy. right."

moment!

Isadora was speechless, with an annoyed expression on her face, and immediately turned around and left without looking back.

Because she knew that with the loss of her absolutely rational personality, it would be 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 room, the first thing she saw was dozens of dolls and pillows of various sizes that filled the room and were 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, and 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 started talking to herself like a madman and a psychopath.

I guess if someone who didn't know the inside story happened to see it, they would be scared to death.

But for a psychic, this is obviously nothing at all. He is just debating with the new personality fragments that he split off, 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 Chancellor, Shaud Tarovan has no point of view of his own and is just a ruthless execution machine.

No matter what order the emperor gave, he would execute it without hesitation.

In contrast, Vera, who was appointed Finance Minister, believed that universal basic education was 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 this 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.

On the opposite side of the spectrum 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 look closely, 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 fast 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 will contribute to the development of the entire country.

As long as the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, then 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 recently established, it already had two political factions.

As for the generation from Baldur's Gate to Dragon Coast, because it was too fragmented and cleaned before, it was impossible to form any political force in a short period of time.

The nobles of the Kingdom of Tethyr also suffered a devastating disaster and had no political voice.

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 the outside, the two groups of people arguing fiercely finally stopped.

Shaud Tarovin 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. 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 millions of gold coins in 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 lush and leafy, 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 in this.

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.

Simply put, it is to minimize the role of accidental factors.

If you still don’t understand, 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 are all potential sources of division, unrest and hatred.

In order to eliminate these effects, education becomes the only means.

Think about it, when the next generation of the entire country has received free and compulsory education and established common values, ideas 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 better than 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 the students graduate, they will be proud of their identity as citizens of the empire and feel proud of their achievements for the empire.

They will subconsciously spread and influence more people.

This spiritual aspect creates powerful 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, know simple mathematical calculations, and learn various professional knowledge by themselves when needed.

Its true 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 been strongly opposed before, her eyes were full of 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, and said 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 this 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 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."

Zuo Si smiled and waved his hand: "No, you don't have to apologize.

As chancellor, it is your duty to resist every unnecessary expenditure.

I don't think you did anything wrong, but I think you are very 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, it's best to be serious when working 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 revenue, we can allocate a special fund of almost 3.6 million gold coins."

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 coin of 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 anyone 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 Askatra 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 finish 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 Askatra 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 narrowed 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 Druids in most of the forests in the empire.

None of the extreme 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, which is not convenient to do anything about. "

“How did the cults of nature gods react?”

Zuo Si touched his chin and asked thoughtfully.

“Nothing has happened yet.

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 learning the news, many people clapped their hands.

Especially professions such as hunters, woodcutters, and lumberjacks, they wish all the druids would die.

With the disappearance of these Druids, lumbering in many towns once again flourished.

After all, ever since the invention of the propeller magic thruster, orders from shipyards have almost always been scheduled for two years.

So they desperately needed 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 nature 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 completely disappear in the southern part of the west coast.

In this case, then 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 person's perspective, there is no need to protect the nonsense nature in this place.

After leaving the towns and villages, all you can see are endless forests, grasslands, mountains and wilderness. The best proof is those monsters and beasts that cannot be killed no matter how hard they are.

Zuo Si's goal is simple. First, eradicate the Cloak Forest, Sharptooth Forest near Baldur's Gate, and the Viper Forest south of the Green Fields.

In this way, a large and continuous fertile plain will appear north of the Cloud and Mist Mountains.

As long as the Chongsa River and the rivers and lakes in the Amn region are well utilized, 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 and street lights with eternal fireworks on both sides.

When night falls, the entire 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 that they considered to be the most prosperous, lively, safest and most opportunities in the world.

Workers in the shipyard also worked in three shifts, striving to ensure that the ships in each shipyard 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 build, the more we make.

Not to mention raising wages for workers, some bosses even spend a lot of money to hire mages for help, just to dehydrate the wood and dry it faster.

Although with the intervention of the Gond Church and the Inventors' Association, several shipyards in the empire have the technology to use steel frames to build keels.

However, traditional wooden boards will continue to be used for the hull.

The only thing that makes the shipyard bosses feel lucky is that the great Emperor Soth cleared the two forests near Baldur's Gate of druids 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 shipyards, 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 be several times higher than that of their counterparts in other places.

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 large amounts of black smoke came out of 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.

The primitive steam engine was apparently invented under the inspiration of Gond, the god of craftsmen and crafts.

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 these words, 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 hell devils, the soul is the most important resource and source of power.

So the better off mortals are, the more offspring 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 and the greater the rewards that can be obtained through labor, the easier it is for mortals to be tempted by instinct and desire and lead to depravity.

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 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 of 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.

"I see!"

Atona's eyes burst out with bright light, and she seemed to have had an epiphany, frantically digesting the 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.