There are many ruthless bosses living in my territory

That's it!

Yahiko suddenly understood Liszt's intention.

Humans and orcs in the United States are two groups with obvious status, which easily leads to hostility.

Lister looks like a nobleman because of his dress. Bringing the two orcs in the team with him can effectively reduce the hostility of other orcs.

After all, the fleeing refugees have been stimulated by the sudden attack. If they are exposed to new stimulation, it is likely to cause panic and increase the difficulty of communication.

Sure enough! You have to carefully appreciate every step that Teacher Liszt takes.

Lister waved his hand and asked Yahiko and Konan to come forward, while asking everyone else to wait outside.

He also temporarily handed the sword of kingship to Muzan beside him, which made Muzan feel much better.

Now, anyone who opens the cave will only see a human noble, two orcs and two children.

Then there is no problem.

After Elsa formed a seal, she slapped the ground, and the entrance to the cave opened instantly, allowing bright sunlight to shine into the underground cave.

In the cave where many supplies were hidden, ragged humans and orcs huddled in two distinct corners.

Now they raised their heads at the same time and saw Lister and his four companions at the entrance of the cave.

Just as Lister expected, although these people looked wary, their expressions became noticeably more relaxed after they saw that there were both humans and orcs, and even children among them.

"I'm Baron Red Maple. Are all the people here seeking refuge? Is there any representative I can talk to?"

baron?!

Noble title!

A middle-aged man dressed rather elegantly immediately jumped out from the human side.

"My Lord Baron! My father is the Baron of Beimu Territory!"

"There are alien races and scary skeletons everywhere outside. I am applying for noble asylum!"

Liszt frowned slightly.

"Okay, but you have to go to my territory."

The middle-aged collateral noble asked happily.

"May I ask where your territory is located..."

"It's inside the Winter Mountains, and you can reach it by crossing the North Wind Snowfield."

The collateral nobles' faces suddenly froze.

Crossing the snowfield? Just relying on your legs? Isn't that courting death?!

Liszt ignored him and spoke to others.

"I can protect everyone. The only condition is that you follow me across the snowfield to the territory."

The people in the cave looked at each other and talked in low voices.

Without having to listen, Liszt knew that they were discussing the absolute impossibility of crossing the snowfield.

It is winter now, and the temperature in the north wind snowfield is very low, so low that water will freeze into ice. Although they are wearing thick clothes, they still feel cold on the snowfield.

Besides, it would definitely take a lot of time to cross the snowfield. What about food during that time?

There are still supplies and survival here, but following this baron is obviously a life-and-death situation.

After hearing the discussion, Melv was about to rush out but was stopped by Lister who raised his hand.

"No one here? Since I can find this place, are you sure that the aliens and the undead won't find it?"

Suddenly, many people's faces changed drastically, but no one came out yet.

"no, I can not!"

Then a human shouted.

"Since you can find it, there must be other nobles who can find it! The people in the temple can also find us, and they will save us!"

After saying this, he and the people around him made a prayer gesture together.

Liszt's eyes became even colder.

At this time, two young orcs with dog ears, a man and a woman, suddenly stood up. In the man's arms was a three or four-year-old girl who looked uncomfortable.

"Can you provide some food for our daughter? She has been hungry for almost a day."

"As long as you are willing, we will follow you!"

Lister looked at the various dry food and water placed deep in the cave, and then glanced at the humans who were wearing ordinary aristocratic costumes.

madness!

The reason why there has not been a riot yet is simply because time is still short and the stubborn ideas that remain in the hearts of the people have not yet been eradicated.

"can."

The two orcs knelt down and kowtowed to Lister, then walked towards the cave entrance holding their daughter.

Seeing this, some of the orcs came out again and offered to leave as long as they were provided with food.

Later, even a few humans in tattered clothes came out and begged Lister to take them in.

Gradually, a total of thirty-five humans and orcs came out and expressed their willingness to follow Lister. The remaining fifty or so humans and orcs in the cave blessed them and left.

The noble who had just begged Liszt for asylum said nothing.

After waiting for another three minutes, no one came out, so Liszt asked Elsa to seal part of the cave entrance and cover it with branches and snow.

Yahiko looked at this scene and felt indescribable discomfort in his heart.

"Teacher Liszt, do you really want to give up on them?"

Lister took a deep breath and looked at Melv and Chris behind him. They both looked reluctant.

"You must remember that as a leader, your first responsibility is to the people of the territory, and then to everyone else."

"This is no longer a peaceful time for the United States. In troubled times, the only way to survive is to save yourself."

"My territory does not need trash who can't even fight and instead beg for help from others."

"Yahiko, Konan, sometimes foolish kindness can lead to extremely bad consequences. You must learn to analyze who can be saved and who cannot be saved."

"Sister, Chris, there will be more times in the future when the territory will need your strength, and I hope you understand the same."

Melv subconsciously tightened her grip on the hilt of the sword; her upbringing made it difficult for her to abandon her subjects.

Chris also lowered his head and clenched his fists. He still remembered the virtues of chivalry, but he thought Lister was right.

We can’t allow those lazy nobles to pollute the environment of Red Maple Territory.

Lister was silent for a moment, rubbed Yahiko and Konan's heads, and then spoke to the others.

"Let's go. We will move towards Red Maple Territory and look for more people."

There was enough food in his [King's Treasure] to cross the snowfield.

Yahiko was immediately confused: "Teacher Lister, are you still going to make them suffer?"

"..."

"Yahiko, for most people, they don't value things that are easily available."

Liszt sighed deeply.

Only happiness gained through suffering will be cherished.

And he would ride them out.

This process will also be a practical lesson for you.

Chapter 71 A beacon of hope

Three days later, when Lister led a team of more than 700 people to cross the snowfield, Yahiko finally understood why these people had to walk to the Red Maple Territory.

Since they accepted thirty-five refugees on the first day, Lister took them to travel to villages and towns along the border to look for other survivors.

At the beginning they encountered many enemies, but thanks to everyone's combined efforts they were not in danger. The villages and towns they visited were basically destroyed, and survivors could only be found in the wilderness.

The further you get toward the border, the less influence there is from aliens and the undead.

They also encountered a village that had not been attacked. Lister used the example of the refugees around him to persuade the people in the village to follow him across the snowfield, but most people were unwilling to leave the village.

These people believe that the holy land will eliminate all dangers and that the holy light will protect them.

Only a small number of people were willing to abandon most of their property and follow Lister and others to seek refuge deep in the Winter Mountains.

The more people he met, the more clearly Yahiko felt the influence of the holy land on the people.

For the sake of order and stability, the "Code" and "Ritual System" suppressed the hearts of the people, and everyone seemed to be cast in the same mold.

Orcs are humble in attitude. When they meet nobles, they will kneel on their knees to salute, and they will accept everything submissively. They will hardly resist and will only do hard labor.

Ordinary people are very simple and honest. They believe very much in what is written in "The Book of Rites": "The ruler should be the ruler, the minister should be the minister, the father should be the father, and the son should be the son." As commoners, they should honestly engage in production work and live like this all their lives.

The titled nobles and collateral nobles who served as managers were also very rule-abiding. Although they tried every means to find loopholes in the law to have fun, they would never dare to violate the "Code" set by the Holy Land.

If it were just about stability and order, this would be the holy land that others describe, where everyone does their job and never oversteps the boundaries.

But...Yahiko felt terrified.

Confucianism uses literature to disrupt the law, so the Holy Land deprives people of their thoughts and requires everyone to believe in the teachings of the Holy Light and study the "Rites".

Knights break the law with force, so the holy land strictly controls cultivation. All nobles who practice cultivation must be registered, and their cultivation is not complete. If they want to learn anything above the ninth level, they must go to the holy land for seclusion and cultivation.

If achieving lasting peace requires the annihilation of most people's individuality, what is the difference between that and killing their future?

Faced with this sudden external crisis, once the Holy Land is involved, the United States will be so vulnerable.

No one stood up to organize everyone to resist, and no one had a strong enough force to resist.

Each country does not even have a Palace Knight or Tallinn Mage above the ninth level, while the blood warriors and wizards of the alien races are out in full force.

How to resist this?!

Is this the consequence of strict control of order?

The powerful controls everything, and everyone grows within the designated framework and then becomes a screw.

Thinking of this, Yahiko shuddered and tightened his plush coat.

If we take in people who hold such thoughts, I am afraid that Red Maple Territory will become a pool of stagnant water.

That's why Teacher Lister needs to screen people and break their rigid thinking through this trip across the snowfield!

"Everyone, come forward and get some food. Don't worry about not having enough food. There's enough for everyone!"

“Those distributing food eat last, ensuring everyone gets hot food!”

Somewhere under a tall cliff, Lister kept shouting.

"Those of you who are responsible for holding up the windshield, please work harder. Someone will be there to relieve you soon."

At noon, the heavy snow and strong wind were howling together, forcing people to stop.

Dozens of people held up a windshield made of tough fur to keep the biting north wind out.

Inside the tent, Liszt's four maids were instructing others to cook. Pots of steaming potato and vegetable soup were placed on the stone stove.

Melv, Chris and the strong young men selected from the crowd were distributing food. Each person in line held a wooden bowl and a wooden spoon in their hands.

When the potato and vegetable soup was poured into the bowls, many people's eyes widened because there were a few small pieces of meat in it.

It’s not that they have never eaten meat, but it’s really a blessing to be able to eat a little bit of meat every day!

"Okay."

Yahiko scooped a spoonful of potato and vegetable soup and poured it into the bowl of a little orc girl.

The little girl smiled happily and then suddenly pouted.

"Why are you in charge of distributing food? You're just a child like me."

Yahiko pointed at himself with his thumb.

"Of course it's because I'm awesome."