Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 47: Equality in Exchange for Loyalty
Brothers Vaughn and Duff climbed out of bed at dawn.

The two men quickly lit a fire in the fireplace, heated up the wild boar soup left over from last night, and wolfed it down with the daily barley bread.

"Vaughn, I heard from Uncle Rooney yesterday that after this month, the lord will no longer provide us with free food."

Although the new house was simply furnished with tables and chairs, the two people, who had long been accustomed to squatting to eat, still maintained the habit of squatting in front of the fireplace to eat and drink.

Vaughan used the last of his bread to smear the soup bowl with all the grease.

"Before, we built the main fort and the wall for the lord, so we could get free food. Now that the work is done and there is no work to do, why should we let you eat and drink for free?"

Dave frowned with some worry. "The newly relocated civilians have been assigned to open up the fields. I heard they're getting paid. The lord also promised to give us money before. Do you think..."

Vaughn wiped his mouth, stood up, and waved his hand to interrupt Duff.

"Don't always wait for others to give you charity, Duff. We are no longer slaves, we are free people."

"I'll go to the main castle square in a while and see if I can find some work."

Vaughn had already figured it out. Even if there were no free rations, the two of them would not go hungry if they went to the mountains to hunt some prey.

After saying that, the two of them quickly packed up and strode barefoot towards the main castle square.

Apart from Harvey's lord's castle and several nearby warehouses for storing supplies, the territory now only has a dense cluster of houses along the river.

Most of the other open spaces enclosed by walls are simply cleared of trees and piled with miscellaneous construction materials.

So there is no need to worry about getting lost, the lord's main castle is the tallest and most conspicuous building in the territory.

The spacious open space in front of the main castle was paved with gravel, which was repeatedly compacted by the extremely heavy alchemical camel beast dragging the stone roller.

A tall, eye-catching notice board was erected in the square, but no document was posted on it.

Considering the tragic reality that almost all the people in the territory are illiterate, Harvey chose to fix the phonograph magic stone on the notice board and play it repeatedly until the magic power is exhausted.

So whenever there was new news to be released, a striking red circle would be drawn on the notice board to inform the public that the lord's order would be issued at noon that day.

Vaughan clearly remembered the contents of the first two announcements.

The first time was something he seemed to understand vaguely, something called the "Basic Law of Territory".

In short, you cannot do bad things. If you are caught, you will be punished. If the case is serious, you will be executed and then hung in the square to dry.

He also arrived on time to listen to the second announcement. The lord was recruiting people to develop farmland, but the requirement was that only farmers who were familiar with fields and planting could apply, which really disappointed Vaughn.

He pulled Duff and squeezed to the front of the crowd, relying on the orc's strong physical fitness to occupy a front position.

I hope that this announcement will lead to new jobs suitable for myself and Duff.

Vaughn prayed silently in his heart.

……

The midday sun in early summer was not too scorching. Harvey stood on the second floor of the main castle and looked at the densely packed crowd in the square.

The number of civilians who have now moved into the territory has reached nearly a thousand. This is all thanks to Pierce and his alchemy beasts who have repeatedly searched and patrolled the glacial valley area, rescuing several groups of refugees who have fled here.

This also directly led to a shortage of residential housing, and Harvey had to let single people live in pairs in the same house.

Reiner walked to the square holding a phonograph magic stone and hung it in front of the public notice board.

As the magic power was stimulated, the Voice Stone began to release clear and loud voices.

"Starting today, we will recruit 50 people to form the territory militia. The lord will provide them with free food, standard weapons, and monthly salaries."

"Application requirements: Male, aged 18 or above and under 35, in good health with no disabilities. Applicants with past experience in hunting, fishing, climbing, or gathering will be given priority."

Vaughn's heart skipped a beat, and the words that those who were good at hunting would be given priority kept playing in his mind.

Isn't this just me and Duff?
He still remembered being praised by the lord in person for his good stone throwing accuracy and ability to control the force.

Dave, who was standing by, had already jumped up in ecstasy, pulling Vaughn and shouting.

"Vaughn, good guy! We can enlist in the militia!" He had already begun to imagine himself wearing the same shiny armor as those evil orc leaders, and parading through the city with a sharp spear in his hand.

"Awesome! So awesome! Um..." Vaughn quickly covered Duff's mouth to stop him from making a fool of himself in public.

Turning to look at the crowd, I found that many young and middle-aged people looked eager to try.

After the announcement, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving behind seventy or eighty people eagerly awaiting the enlistment. They appeared to be interested applicants. "It seems the military is quite popular among civilians," Harvey nodded in satisfaction.

Reiner stood in the square, looking at the crowd gradually gathering towards him. He glanced around and found that there was no one who obviously did not meet the requirements. Then he led everyone to the back of the warehouse complex without saying a word.

When they arrived at an open space with the ground obviously compacted and hardened, he asked everyone to wait there while he went to notify Pierce, who was in charge of the territory's security, to come for an interview.

With Reiner's departure, the applicants who were originally afraid to speak relaxed a lot. They gathered into several groups according to their relationships and started talking.

This made Vaughn and Duff, two orcs whose appearances were obviously different from others, feel a little embarrassed.

This group of new residents were different from the dozen or so people who had arrived before. They were completely unfamiliar with them and kept turning their heads to look at the two of them with slightly strange eyes.

Soon the crowd dispersed and a group of people walked towards Vaughn and Duff.

The leader was a man in his early thirties. He walked up to the two people squatting on the ground and glanced down at them condescendingly.

"Heh, two half-human, half-beast hybrids, you dare to apply to be the lord's guard?"

Dave was furious and jumped up without even trying to stop Vaughn. "What guards? The lord is recruiting the militia. Anyone who is a resident of the lord can come!"

The man spat fiercely on the ground. "So what? Whether it's the Guards or the Militia, they're all recruited from the human race. What does it have to do with you two bastards?"

He glanced at his companions who were surrounding him and shouted loudly to the other onlookers.

"Who of you is willing to enlist with the bastards? Who of you is willing to fight alongside the bastards?"

Every time he asked a question, his companions around him would start to jeer, and some other onlookers would agree with him, but most of the remaining civilians remained silent. However, they were unwilling to stand up for the orcs and offend their own people.

Vaughn and Duff's faces flushed red, and Duff even clenched his fists, ready to swing at that hateful face in the next second.

Vaughn gritted his teeth and squeezed out a weak excuse from his trembling mouth.

"But...but, the Lord clearly said that we should..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a clear voice behind him.

"Yes, I did say that within my territory, all citizens are equal."

Harvey strode towards the crowd with Reiner and Pierce. The noisy crowd immediately fell silent. Everyone lowered their heads in fear and dared not say anything more.

"Didn't you hear the first decree I issued?" Harvey asked everyone indifferently.

Reiner immediately stepped forward and repeated with a blank expression: "In Lord Harvey's territory, all citizens are equal and must not discriminate against one another!"

The man who had been the first to provoke the orcs suddenly raised his head and argued unconvincedly, "Sir, these two guys are not of the same race as us. They are hybrids born from a different race..."

Harvey narrowed his eyes slightly and asked softly, "What's your name?"

The man lowered his head again and replied in a trembling voice, "My name is Wayne, sir."

Harvey hummed and nodded to Pierce. The hunter immediately walked quickly to Wayne and raised his hand to slap him twice hard and loudly, causing Wayne to fall to the ground.

Wayne only felt his ears buzzing and his cheeks burning with pain, and Pierce's cold words came to his ears.

"Who dares to question the Lord's orders? Who dares not to obey?"

Everyone lowered their heads even more, and some even took a few steps back in fear.

Harvey then slowly spoke, "Orcs are also half human, and are half your compatriots. You can be dissatisfied in your heart and look down on them secretly, but don't let me catch you in the act."

He paused, then continued, "If you're not convinced, become my territory's militia and we'll have a showdown to see who's unworthy."

After saying that, he turned around and left with Reiner. Everyone knelt on the ground and saluted. Vaughn even prostrated himself on the ground, his body trembling slightly with excitement, his eyes red and tears streaming.

He didn't want these people to see his ugly face crying, so he quietly grabbed a handful of dirt and smeared it on his face.

When he raised his head again and looked at Harvey's leaving back, his eyes were filled with determination and fanaticism.

Asdalen seemed to be deliberately lagging behind.

He half squatted down and leaned close to Wayne's ear, whispering in a sarcastic tone:

"They once saved more than a dozen civilians who were seriously injured by the evil orcs in the camp. If those people knew about your insults to them today, you can only pray that you will be more careful when you go out at night."

(End of this chapter)