LOL: Summoner of Goddess Janna

November 23, 6879 Shurima Calendar, Belgun.

This is the first day of commissioning.

From the day when Myra, whom I trusted, stabbed me in the back, robbed me and abandoned me in the desert, I learned the most important survival rule of Shurima——

Do not trust anyone.

There are no good people in Shurima.

There is only sand in this vast desert, and no soil for human nature and morality to survive.

The flower of ideals may bloom anywhere in the world, but in Shurima, it can only dry up and die.

So I don’t believe in the leaders or their high-sounding slogans.

I think they must have other intentions, just like the Piltover merchants and the Noxian invaders who came to Shurima one after another in the past hundreds of years.

I am vocal about this and hope to expose the hypocrisy of these leaders.

But Taliyah said she could understand me.

She also said that this journey will definitely make me change my view of the leader.

Really? I do not believe.

.....................

November 24, Bergün.

These leaders are really free.

They finished measuring the flow of the river yesterday and surveyed the surrounding topography. Today they started looking for people to chat with throughout the city.

Beggars on the street, wandering orphans, bonded workers at the dock, slaves in manors outside the city... No matter how lowly the status of the conversation partner is, they can have a lively conversation with each other.

I yawned while listening to it.

What’s the point of these people’s stories? A bitter taste of despair.

Hey, this is Shurima. What is so new about this tragic story?

I'm tired of watching it.

Fortunately, we agreed that the commission would be calculated on a daily basis.

They like to chat, and I enjoy my leisure time.

.....................

November 27, Bergün.

Three days have passed, and these leaders still have no intention of leaving for other cities.

They are still chatting with all kinds of people, and the content of their conversations is becoming more and more in-depth, and the information they have is becoming more and more comprehensive.

I followed Taliyah all the time, and I saw many details that I ignored.

I have to say, these leaders did change some of my ideas.

For example, my opinion of Bergün.

In my original understanding, or in the impression of most Shuriman people, the life of the Berguen people was already a "good day like heaven."

For nothing else, just because there is water here and it is close to the sea.

With water, the land here can grow food, fruits and vegetables.

There is no need to be like those desert tribes who regard water as their life, fighting each other day after day for such a pitifully small oasis and an almost dry underground river like wild beasts competing for food.

Being close to the sea and facing the continent of Valoran across the sea, it is destined that there will be prosperous commerce here.

Treasures looted by desert bandits, cultural relics unearthed by ancient tomb thieves, animal skins produced by nomadic tribes in the central region, and various rare minerals mined by hilly tribes in the south——

These people came and went in the sand and the wind, and the good things they exchanged for their lives eventually had to cross the vast desert and converge on the northern shore of Shurima.

As for north coast city-states like Bergün, they only need to ship these good things and sell them, and then lie down comfortably and count the money.

Just because it is close to the sea, has a port, and is closer to the continent of Valoran, the destination for commodity exports.

In short, compared to other areas of Shurima, this place already has enviable natural conditions.

So I think that no matter how bad the life of the Berguen people is, it cannot be worse than the tribesmen I saw in the desert.

What's more, I have been a wandering orphan in a desert city since I was a child. No one understands this miserable world better than me.

The sufferings of the people of Bergün used to be like fly bites in my eyes, not worth mentioning at all.

But Leader's social investigation seemed to reveal another side of this prosperous city-state for me.

.....................

November 30, Bergün.

The social investigation of Bergün is gradually coming to an end.

Although I have been following Taliyah and seen many things.

But Taliyah's investigation results alone are not enough to explain anything.

I really want to know how detailed and realistic the information collected by so many investigative team members can be in the end to describe the situation in Bergün.

So, out of curiosity, I took the initiative to ask Taliyah this question for the first time.

Taliyah was glad I asked her.

She also told me the real situation in Bergün in detail.

"Be it Belgun or the other port cities on the north shore of Shurima, they are just a straw inserted by the Noxus Empire on the continent of Shurima."

"These straws are continuously pumping out the blood of the Shurima continent. The trace of Shurima blood and sweat remaining on the wall of the straws has created the superficial prosperity of Belgun."

Taliyah summed it up this way.

And that's exactly what happened.

Taliyah mentioned before that because the water vapor here is relatively abundant, the agriculture in the Bergune area is relatively developed.

And because it is not far from Zaun and Piltover, but only a one-day and one-night flight away, it has become an important fruit and vegetable supply base in the twin cities.

Just the export of the most basic agricultural products can bring extremely huge profits to Bergun every year.

Not to mention, the gold, jade, rare minerals, and ancient cultural relics brought by desert caravans will eventually be gathered here and exported.

It can be said that Berguen is indeed rich.

But where did all the money go? Have such huge profits really benefited the majority of the people in Bergüen?

The answer is obviously no.

I can imagine this too.

As the leader of a medium-sized mercenary group, I usually get the bulk of the commission for myself and the backbone of the team, and the rest will be distributed to the lower-level mercenaries.

People in the upper class eat meat and people in the lower class drink soup. This is natural.

But what I didn’t expect was that the situation in Bergün was:

"The Noxians eat meat, the Shurima compradors eat soup. And the ordinary Belguuns...in fact, they are the meat and soup shared by the imperial emperor and comprador merchants."

Taliyah told me so.

Bergün's exports were indeed valuable enough. But all exported goods need to go through the "Shurima North Shore Trading Company" operated by the Noxus Empire in order to be successfully sold to the outside world.

In other words, most of the profits from Bergun's foreign trade were actually taken by the Noxians.

After the city-state council of Bergun surrendered its economic sovereignty, all it received was an annual profit share of 10% from the Shurima North Shore Trading Company.

90% of it belongs to the Noxians, and the merchants of Bergun can only get 10%.

And this 10% is not something anyone can get if they want to. Only Shurima merchants who cooperate with the Noxus Empire and have colonial officers as shareholders are eligible to participate in this foreign trade, which is completely dominated by Noxus.

“The export from Bergün was completely controlled by the colonists and comprador merchants.”

"And when it comes to imports, the situation in Bergün is no better."

"The Noxians don't even need to produce their own goods. They just need to buy boatloads of cheap industrial products in Zaun, and then they can make a lot of money by changing hands in the city-states on the north coast of Shurima such as Bergun. Full."

"Exports cannot retain profits, and imports are dumped in a predatory manner. No matter how close Berguen is to Zaun and Piltover, it is impossible to start the road to industrialization and move towards prosperity and progress."

This sustainable method of plundering has actually seriously harmed the interests of the Bergün merchant class.

Even if they work hard as compradors, in the end they can only drink a little bit of the soup and water left by the Noxians.

So why don't they resist?

Faced with the invasion and colonization of the Noxus Empire, these coastal city-states never organized a decent resistance.

Why are the desert tribes closer to the North Shore colonies often the ones who resist the Noxus Empire, rather than the North Shore merchants who directly suffered colonial rule and suffered the most severe losses in their interests?

I raised this question at the time.

Taliyah's answer was:

"Because compared to the colonists of Noxus, the merchants of the coastal city-states on the north coast of Shurima are actually more afraid of their theoretical compatriots, the desert tribes in the south."

All the desert tribes knew that the north shore of Shurima was a good place.

If you can occupy the city-state on the north coast and make money by lying down on the coastal area with abundant water, who would want to stay in the desert and eat sand?

So, in the nearly 3,000 years since the fall of the Shurima Empire...

The history of Shurima can almost be seen as the history of the powerful desert tribes from the south constantly invading the coastal city-states on the north coast.

Powerful desert tribes emerged from the long sands and occupied the colorful world on the north shore of Shurima. Then, a hundred years later, they were replaced by the next tribe that came out of the southern desert.

History is like this endless cycle, and no owner of the North Shore city-state has been able to maintain their wealth and status for a long time.

Until the colonists of the Twin Cities three hundred years ago, and later the arrival of the Noxian Empire.

Taliyah thought that the Noxian Empire should be evil in the eyes of the Shuriman people.

But in fact, those merchants from the north coast city-state who had been bitter desert tribes for a long time were just eating pots of milk to welcome the king's army and hurriedly begged Noxus to garrison here.

"They would rather be dogs for the Noxians than to maintain their own status."

"They can still drink soup with the Noxians. Without the Noxians, they may be replaced at any time."

"So, they betrayed Shurima."

Even comprador businessmen are willing to be dogs and can only eat scraps.

There is no need to think about the situation of ordinary Belguans.

"Berguen's industry and commerce have long been completely monopolized by Noxian colonists and comprador merchants. Ordinary people have almost no other options except working for them."

How well does Berguen treat its employees?

There is no need to discuss this issue.

For there were almost no free laborers in Bergün, only slave laborers.

Don't forget, this is Shurima.

"Those desert tribes are attacking each other all the time, and the war spreads disorderly in the yellow sand of Shurima every day."

This means that tribes will perish every day in the desert, and countless tribesmen will become slaves every day.

And these slaves will be regarded as a hot commodity by the desert tribes, and they will be continuously sold to the city-states on the north coast of Shurima.

"Not to mention, the Noxus Empire itself is the largest slave trader in Runeterra."

"They couldn't use up the slaves they captured all over the world, so a large part of them were treated as worthless consumables and thrown away in their colonial plantation on the north coast of Shurima."

With the desert tribes and the Noxus Empire as two stable and large sources of high-quality supply, it is natural to imagine how cheap a human life can be here.

"Not to mention, it's not far from Zaun." Taliyah also mentioned this.

Because it is not far from Zaun, the manor owners of Bergün also learned the "advanced" slave management experience of the alchemy barons from old Zaun, which greatly improved the work efficiency of the slaves.

In addition, lives here are cheaper than in old Zaun, so they consume slaves even more unscrupulously.

"Slaves are cheap, easy to use, and the supply is stable and plentiful."

"This means that an ordinary Belguin who does not have a family inheritance or special skills often has only two choices:"

"One, escape from here and find a way to make a living."

“Second, they have been unemployed for a long time because their jobs were replaced by slaves. They are burdened with debt due to the high cost of living and eventually become slaves.”

Most people will choose the former. After all, no one wants to be a slave.

But the former may not be a good choice.

Because city-states on the north coast like Belgun are already the richest areas in Shurima.

If they escape from here, where can they go?

Escape into the vast desert? The desert tribes themselves are too poor to eat, so how can they find enough food to support outsiders?

So when things develop in the end, there is often only one choice:

"Escape to Piltover."

No one does not yearn for this city of civilization and progress. The city-state on the north shore of Shurima is not far from the Twin Cities and has close trade relations with the Twin Cities. The residents here naturally yearn for the infinite prosperity of the legendary Piltover.

So in the past many years, countless desperate people on the northern shore of Shurima, with illusions about a better future, embarked on the sea ship to Piltover without hesitation.

And after these people go to this dream city, can they really get the life they dream of?

No.

"As outsiders without legal status, they will only receive the same treatment as apprentices in Zaun."

What are the benefits of being an apprentice in Zaun?

Come to Piltover to work for a pitiful apprentice-level salary, and then return to Zaun when you're done.

In short, there are 10,000 ways in Piltover that you can't take root or stand here, and you can only come naked and leave naked.

This was the fate of most of Zaun's apprentices.

And the people of Zaun will be driven back to Zaun, and where will the Shurima people be driven?

Of course it’s also Zu An.

Piltover's marshals would not be kind enough to pay for their passage back to Shurima.

What's more, these Shurima people can't go back. Because even if they go back, the city-states on the north coast will have no place for them.

They can only go to Zaun, sell their last remaining value to those alchemy barons, and then die without dignity.

And this is why the Alchemy Barons squandered human lives so much, and the population of Zaun has remained stable without declining.

Because outside the Twin Cities, there are too many desperate places like the North Shore of Shurima.

People came to the "paradise" of Piltover with their last glimmer of hope, and then their illusions were shattered and they fell into Zaun's hell on earth.

"This is how many comrades in our investigation team came to Zaun."

Taliyah pointed to the members of the investigation team around her and said to me:

"They are Shurima, apprentices from Piltover, and workers from Zaun."

"Now there are no so-called apprentices in Piltover, and the workers in Zaun have also stood up. But the Shurima people are still sinking in this endless pain."

"So, Sivir - do you understand why we came back?"

.....................

December 1, Bergün.

After listening to the social survey results summarized by Taliyah yesterday, I felt a little angry for no reason.

Where this anger comes from, I can't tell myself.

I had never cared about the fate of Shurima, nor the fate of the Shuriman people.

I'm doing well on my own, and that's enough. The machinations of Noxus and the comprador merchants have not affected my business.

In fact, I made a lot of gold coins in the past because of the business brought by those Noxusqua elders.

But after this social survey and seeing the suffering they have brought to this land, I still instinctively feel angry.

My instinct was to change all that.

Taliyah seemed to read my thoughts.

She didn't say much, but just sent me a Shurima version of "A Brief Account of Janna's Thoughts."

She said that there was an answer to the question hidden in it. As long as I understand it, I can know what the leader is doing, why he is doing it, and why only the leader can do it.

Well...

I politely accepted it.

But I don’t like reading books.

.....................

December 2, Bergün.

The social investigation into Bergün was finally concluded.

But the worst thing is that Taliyah and others' previous actions to inquire about information and investigate the situation still attracted the attention of the Noxian colonists.

A group of Noxian soldiers came to the inn where we were staying.

I expected a fierce battle. In order to be worthy of the commission given by the leader, I followed Taliyah for more than a week, and I took the initiative to stand up very dedicatedly.

I didn't expect...

After the group of Noxians learned that Taliyah and others were indeed the leaders of Zaun, they immediately laid down their weapons and expressed their willingness to surrender and accept transformation.

I:"....."

Later I learned that the former commander of the Noxian Army of the South was General Du Couture.

Ever since the news of General Du Cecao's surrender of the Wind Leader in Ionia spread, the morale of the Noxian Southern Colonial Army has been almost completely shattered.

Not to mention, the northern shore of Shurima is so close to Zaun... No one knows when the Wind Leader will come.

Therefore, the capable nobles had long ago found ways to bring the huge wealth they had accumulated in the colonies back to the mainland of the empire.

The Noxians left here now are middle- and lower-level officers and soldiers with no means.

They spend almost every day in worry and fear, and have long since become frightened.

.....................

December 3, Bergün.

Bergune is really too close to Zaun.

I seem to have underestimated the influence of the Wind Leader in Bergün. Maybe Taliyah herself didn't expect that the name of the goddess Janna would be so useful here.

Their identities were just revealed yesterday, and today...

Noxian soldiers began lining up to surrender;

The estate owners of Bergün also began competing to free their slaves;

The comprador merchants were either so frightened that they took the money and ran away, or else they cried and donated their money on their own initiative, just to seek peace.

Taliyah originally planned to conduct a social survey, but she unexpectedly liberated a city-state.

Helpless, she could only dedicate part of her manpower to take over Bergune, and then pack her bags to continue the long journey.

This made me realize that the power of the Wind Leader is more terrifying than I imagined. The legend that the goddess Nagana controlled the hurricane to shake the twin cities is probably not an exaggeration at all.

These leaders seem to be truly capable of saving Shurima.

So, by some strange coincidence... I picked up the book "A Brief Introduction to Janna's Thoughts".