It doesn't matter what the lord is.

……

Lingwu territory.

The high giants Coens and Siberion stood in the snow outside the city. The younger Coens yawned and said to his brother:

"I want to go to the south, too... I'm here as a human, but I can only stay in the coldest Lingwu. It's really uninspiring. What's so good about this place? I feel it's almost as cold as our place."

Siberion smiled and replied:

"Just bear with it. Being here has its advantages. Besides, someone will always stay."

Coens folded his hands behind his head, looked at the towering walls of Lingwu Territory, and said:

"But that human named Lid really worked in vain. After so much trouble, in the end, most of the benefits were picked up by that woman. Sigh... I thought he was quite interesting at first. He dared to come to our giant palace alone, and came twice. How brave he is! But after returning to the human side, he still has to follow those rules and regulations. I don't know what he thinks."

Siberion put away the smile on his face, pulled his brother to sit on a flat rock, and said:

"Don't underestimate humans...Cornes. This game is more complicated than you think. This is the result of compromises among many parties."

Siberion paused and continued:

"First of all, the giants and humans have fought too many times. We have killed too many Lingwu soldiers, and Lingwu has also killed too many of our people. Even if we stay in Lingwu, there will definitely be all kinds of friction in our future work, and we may face the risk of a breakdown in cooperation if we are not careful. So you and I stay here, and let Taisis go to the safe south. This is what my elder brother thought."

Cohens nodded, and Siberion continued:

"For that woman called Lingwu Lord, although she really wanted to detain all of our people and use them for her own use, that was impossible. This place is too close to our territory, and she had to consider the risk of us tearing up the agreement and colluding with her. So after talking to each of us, she confirmed that Taisis was the person we valued the most, and sent her to the south as a hostage."

Cohens thought for a moment and then nodded.

Siberion sighed, looked at the lower giants who were busy moving things in the snow, and said:

"Finally, it's Lid's idea. He should be very clear about how the situation will develop, so he doesn't mind leaving us in Lingwu territory. He is very confident...even though he only took Taishis and three hundred low-level giants with him, in his territory, these people will play a greater role than us. Taishis has a soft personality and a simple mind. He will help him complete the work wholeheartedly, unlike us who have many ideas of our own. So in fact, he has already got what he wanted, and the rest can be thrown away at will."

Cohens curled his lips and said:

"Indeed. After all, he killed Clenus, so he did us a favor. And Lingwu Territory has been fighting with us for so many years. I feel uncomfortable when I think about helping them. Look at those so-called princes and ministers. They look at us like slaves. They don't take us seriously at all!"

Siberion smiled slightly and said calmly:

"Then work slower. After all, only we ourselves know our efficiency. With the time saved, find an opportunity to learn more about human culture. Look at their military formations, their training methods... They will be useful one day. Cohens, remember, there are no eternal strong people or eternal weak people in the world. We giants are born with powerful talents, but we have always relied too much on our innate strength. This is not good..."

He looked into the distance, where there were farmers waving hoes and working hard, there were trackers walking barefoot on the ice, shouting slogans and pulling ropes, there were merchants wiping their sweat and shivering in the biting north wind... They lived on this land, and there seemed to be infinite energy in their small bodies.

Siberion narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice:

"Lid said that he would give us the giants a path that we have never imagined. I have been thinking about it over and over again these days, and I feel that what he said may not be just signing a covenant. In places that we cannot see, humans have already built a great civilization of their own. Since we are here, we must learn, learn it ourselves... so that one day, we can completely defeat them."

1. Mind your own business

The south is damp and cold.

Many trees do not wither in the winter, but begin to shed their leaves when the spring comes.

The return of the master of Yuxi City was not a big deal, but it still caused quite a stir in this small world that seemed to be completely isolated from the surroundings. It was very different from the obscurity two years ago. The various things that happened in the past two years made many people around miss this city that had been expanded many times, and also missed the city lord who was idle all day but could still enjoy the fruits of others' labor.

Fang Yuan heard about Lid's return during the battle. The fat hands held the letter filled with information, and with a complicated look, he said to the maid Xi Que beside him:

"The boss is back. It's really... unexpected. When people from other territories came back, I specifically asked about the boss's whereabouts. Everyone said he was dead. I didn't believe it at the time, but after so long without any news, I thought maybe it was true. Not to mention me, I heard that the people in Yuxi City have started discussing who the next city lord will be. I didn't expect that he would come back..."

Fang Yuan tore the letter into pieces, letting them drift in the wind. After a while, he added the last sentence:

"Yunyang, you are finally not all useless. Magpie, do you know? Tigers and sheep cannot coexist, especially when sheep have more resources than tigers... Let alone tigers, even a fat pig like me will bite people when he gets angry."

The magpie stood aside and did not respond, just listened silently.

In fact, Fang Yuan is not as weak as he jokes about himself. He already has a new nickname, "White Tiger".

This winter, Fang Yuan, the ninth son of Lord Zhaochen, did not interfere with the northward movement. Instead, he took advantage of the happy and relaxing time in Zhaochen Territory preparing for the Spring Festival to expand his power further north. Ever since Lide transferred Fang Lita's original power to Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan has actually formed a situation where he can attack or defend. This time, he caught his father and brothers by surprise, which is a great victory for him.

He first occupied nine cities in one go to the north, and then signed a truce agreement with the Fifth Prince of Zhaochen. Just when the entire Zhaochen thought that this rebellious little fat man would take several months to digest the cities he had just taken, only five days later Fangyuan immediately tore up the truce agreement and headed north, occupying another twelve cities, directly destroying the power of the Fifth Prince of Zhaochen.

The five young masters are all dead, so the armistice agreement is naturally invalid. This is called getting on the bus first and buying the ticket later.

This process is simple to say, but it is bloody. For example, after occupying nine cities, the soldiers wanted to enjoy the New Year, and their morale was low and they had no desire to fight. Fang Yuan brought the eight thousand captives that were originally to be returned to the Fifth Master out of the prison, made them kneel in the square, and then drew his sword and killed them one by one, killing them until their bodies, which were already weak due to obesity, were splattered with blood and the fat on their faces trembled. Then he said to his soldiers in a low voice:

"See? This is the fate of the loser. Some of you followed me to save your lives, and some followed me for wealth and glory. I don't care about that. But I am the rebel against the orthodoxy of Zhaochen. You are all traitors and scums of Zhaochen territory, just like me! If you lose, you will be worse off than them. You will be buried alive, tortured to death, and burned with fire - so we must win. Until we chop off the head of the Lord of Zhaochen, we will be the masters of this land!"

Fang Yuan, who was covered in blood, looked coldly at the frosty-faced soldier and said:

"Pick up your knives now and kill them all. See blood and wake up. We have no way out! Rest for a night and leave the city tomorrow and continue northward. Do you understand?"

The iron-clad army began to move again.

That night, the entire square was covered in blood, which formed a sharp contrast with the lingering fragrance of elixir from Lord Zhaochen's mansion.

Such a perverse act naturally caused dissatisfaction from Lord Zhaochen, so even on the Spring Festival, Fang Yuan wore armor and personally took charge of the front line. He has not rested until today. Although the news of Lid's return is important to him, his top priority is still the life-and-death battle at hand.

He knew that Reed would not cause trouble for him at this time.

Because Yuxi City has a more obvious opponent.

Fang Yuan knew very well that Lid would eventually follow the same path as him, even if not for the same cause.

Yunhai.

Bai Feng, the second son of Yunhai, heard about Lide's return to Yuxi City from his staff. He still smiled softly, full of gentlemanly demeanor, and expressed his happiness sincerely. However, he showed more concern for the giants that Lide brought back, and thought about the relationship between Lide and the Lingwu Lord.

Bai Feng said to the chief counselor, the old man Hualong:

"It's embarrassing to say this. We in Yunhai have always been famous for business, but Lid is better at doing business than us. He can do business with us, the royal family, Lingwu, Xiqin and Nanchu... and even with the demons and giants. He is very capable, but unfortunately we didn't have a good chat about business last time due to limited time."

Old man Hualong just smiled.

At the auction, the old man insisted on killing Reed, but was stopped by Bai Huang.

He could actually kill her now, but Elder Hualong could see that neither the Lord of Yunhai nor the two sons of Yunhai were focusing on this. And no matter what, the eldest daughter was still in Yuxi City, so it was inappropriate to break up with her now.

Bai Feng just sighed, drank a sip of tea, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said softly:

"Yuxi City was just a dilapidated little city two years ago. The reason it has grown to this size now is mainly due to tolerance. Whether it's evil people or aliens, as long as they abide by the rules of Yuxi City, they can live there. This is hard for us to imagine... Sir, what is my brother doing now?"

Old Man Hualong bowed his head and replied:

“Still looking at the sea.”

Bai Feng nodded calmly and said nothing.

At the southernmost part of the sea of ​​clouds, the eldest son Bai Ye sat cross-legged on the beach. Seagulls flew in the blue sky, and the clear sea water washed the soft beach. A small crab passed by Bai Ye with its claws raised, and stayed there for a moment, as if wondering what this motionless guy was thinking.

Bai Ye closed his eyes and clenched his fists on his knees.

He could hear the howling of wind and thunder in his ears, as if he was still in the cold and icy wilderness outside the Great Wall. He did not understand power struggles, and had spent most of his time practicing martial arts since he was born. He was promoted to the ninth level of perfection early on, but he stopped there.

Now, after traveling north and seeing the scene where the sword energy spanned 30,000 miles, a long-unseen ripple of emotion rose in his heart of martial arts.

Just like the sea surface wrinkled by the wind.

2. I'm back

Yuxi City, City Lord's Mansion.

"Sure, Xiao He. I haven't seen you for a few days and you've got your hair cut short. You look really cool. I'm fine."

"Thirteen, you are not allowed to go to the military camp this afternoon. Stay home and sleep all afternoon. I will tell you a story. Don't worry about anything. Just listen. Your mental state is not very good now. You are excited, but it is not good for your heart to maintain this state when you are young. Do you understand?"

"Shuang, you did a good job during my absence. This time when I went north, I got to see the Anbu organization of Lingwu. It is indeed not simple. They follow the path of three guards working together. We don't have so many elite guards, but in terms of organizational advancement, we are still better than them. Work hard. I will take you to meet the commander-in-chief of the Hidden Guards again when I have the chance. By then, I hope you can be... on equal terms."

"Master Yun! I've heard a lot of stories about you on my way back. Many young girls asked me for your contact information. Do you think I should give it to them or not? I'll deal with it myself when I get back. It's not a big problem, but I'm a little jealous. A bunch of young girls surrounded me, and I was having a great time, but suddenly I realized they weren't looking for me, and I started crying."

"Xiao Huang, I won't comment any more. Not causing any trouble is the greatest kindness you can do. Seeing you being so well-behaved and sensible, I felt like I saw my own daughter finally growing up - it hurts, it hurts, don't hit my head!!"

Sitting on a chair, Reed assumed a Wing Chun stance and blocked Bai Huang's set of turtle punches. However, Huang was a girl after all, and Reed could neither cut her upper three routes nor her lower three routes. He could only passively defend, and as a result, he was hit on the head and got several bumps.

After Bai Huang vented his anger, Lid touched his nose, pointed his thumb at the giantess Taisis standing behind him, and said:

"Let me introduce you. The high giant, Taisis, will be one of our family members from now on. There's no need to avoid talking to her. She's here to help build Yuxi City, so we have to let her know the direction of the construction first."

He Yue raised her head and looked at Taishisi. Taishisi was also looking at her, with his hands hanging in front of him, bowing to the people present.

He Yue smiled kindly and said:

"This is the first time that we in Yuxi City have received giants. If there is any impoliteness, feel free to come to me and I will help you teach those unruly guys a lesson. As for work, you can put it off for a while. You have come a long way to Yuxi City, which is more than ten thousand miles away from your hometown. I think it is normal to feel homesick and sad. I will give you a copy of the basic government affairs first. Once you have a general understanding of Yuxi City, it will not be too late to do anything."

Lid turned around and said with the same smile:

"Cherish your last leisure time, because you may not be so free in the future. Look at my family's Prime Minister of the Interior, he can only take a few days off throughout the year. Being a contractor is not that easy either. When you go to the construction site every day, exposed to the wind and sun, you will start to miss the free time you have now."

Bai Huang walked forward and carefully observed the tall and strong Taisis. From time to time, he reached out and gently patted her skin and touched the golden ornaments, saying:

"Yes, there is only one lazy fellow among us who is not afraid of being sick from idleness, and he is sitting in front of you."

Lid pretended not to hear and continued to ask Thesis:

"The low-level giants will be stationed outside the city first. Can you stay in the city lord's mansion? In addition to you, we have a distinguished guest from the Middle Six Clan, who is also a member of the royal family. Perhaps you can talk to her when you have time."

Tethis nodded slightly, feeling a little relieved.

On the one hand, the people present were very friendly to her. Although it was not at all worship or respect, Taixisi had never dealt with other races before, so she did not feel it was too inappropriate. She liked the atmosphere here very much, which was much freer than the experience when she stayed in Lingwu. At least there were not many scary people staring at her all the time.

On the other hand, she secretly looked around and found that the realms and cultivation levels of the people present were far different from hers. In addition to Lid who killed Clenus, who made her a little confused, the physical fitness of other humans was still not on the same level as hers. If she wanted to run, she could easily escape from this city, which also made Taisis feel much more at ease.

He Yue said to Lid:

"The lower giants will have to be brought back to the city sooner or later, but not yet. The people need time to adapt, and we also need time to prepare. Although Miss Taisis is tall, some humans in the North can reach this height, and it will not cause too much unrest. But once the lower giants come in, the road surface may not be able to bear the weight, not to mention the many things."

Lid thought about it and answered:

"We need to expand... at least we need to work on transportation. I didn't bring these giants here to do odd jobs outside the city. They will eventually participate in the construction of Yuxi City. When more high-rise buildings are built, they will have to come in. There is no reason to let them live outside forever."

He Yue spread out his hands and said:

"Don't worry. I'll go back and write a plan and give it to you in three days at the latest. You're right, they should also be subject to the Alien Management Law and basic human rights should be guaranteed. But we didn't know you could bring the giants back before, so many things need to be prepared now, so it may be slow. But temporary shelters can be built on the outskirts of the city first."

Tethis listened quietly, she knew that many of these words were actually spoken to her.

The Alien Management Law... something I had never heard of. Taisis was a little curious, but he didn't ask. He thought to himself that he would study it carefully when the kind-hearted Minister of Internal Affairs handed the information to him.

Lid asked:

"Where's the food and grass?"

He Yue did some calculations and replied:

"I'm not sure how much the giants eat, but it should be enough. There are also a lot of horned rabbits being raised in the East Mountain. If we are running low on food, we can eat them first. It's just that the taste will be a little worse. I don't know if the lower giants mind."

Lid looked back at Thesis, who suddenly woke up from his dream, shook his head hastily, and said:

"I don't mind... As long as everyone has food to eat and can survive..."

He Yue sighed. Perhaps the fact that the giants had been hungry for years reminded her of the Tiancheng Territory where she once lived. She felt a little emotional for a moment and whispered:

"If I had known, I would not have sold the extra food and fodder shipped from the demons last year... It's too late to regret it now. Fortunately, the next batch of food and fodder will arrive in half a year at the latest. I'm sorry to trouble the giant workers to bear with the injustice during this period."

He bowed to Thesis, who hurriedly thought that he should return the greeting, but didn't know what to do at this time, so he also bowed quickly. The two of them looked like they were in a wedding ceremony.

Lid smiled and waved his hand, saying:

"We'll talk about this later. Fang Shisan, you take a few days off first, and then take our army to meet those giants. There's no need for drills or exercises, just take them over and tell them that there's an army in the world that's been fighting against thousands of such opponents for years. Let them know that they're not the best in the world and that they still have a lot to learn. If the students in the military academy have time, they can also think about what to do if they run into such an opponent."

Fang Shisan, sitting in a wheelchair, closed his eyes and nodded slightly.

Lid took a cup of tea from Alayya, held it in his hand, and said helplessly:

"I wanted to say a few words about what I saw and heard outside the Great Wall, but I didn't expect to get sidetracked into business. But from the looks of you, you really do want to talk to me about these things. So let's finish it all in one go, starting with the Northern Industrial Base... I want to know if there's any new progress there while I was away?"

3. This is the next goal

"Northern Industrial Base..."

He Yue sorted out his thoughts a little and replied:

"The school has officially been separated from the base and is now called Yuxi Academy. The subjects taught include science, military affairs, political economy, and literature. We plan to open law and medical courses in the future, but we have not recruited suitable teachers for these two areas. In addition, while you were away, the gunpowder test was successful, and incendiary bombs were separated from the devil's blood."

Fang Shisan took over the conversation and added:

"The new weapons are already being used in training soldiers. They can be deployed on the battlefield initially, but it will take some time to master their use. The effect is very good, especially in ambushes and city defenses. They are much better than the traditional rolling rocks and falling trees."

At present, gunpowder is still not as convenient as magic, because the research on guns and artillery is still very backward. But the number of magicians is very small after all, and it is impossible to place one in every city. Gunpowder and incendiary bombs can be used by ordinary people, and they are much more popular than magic.

Fang Shisan saw these advantages very clearly, so she paid great attention to the inventions and creations of the northern industrial base, and would go there every now and then to ask if there was any new progress.

However, objectively speaking, both magic and sword skills raise the upper limit of personal strength to a considerable extent. It is unrealistic to want to sweep the world by developing a little black technology. Therefore, Lid's view has always been to cultivate both inside and outside, and develop comprehensively, and to grasp both technology and magic.