People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"Fremont, as the scribe of the current Lich King's Court... that is, the ruler of the court, is not actually the strongest. The Lich King's Court is a special case. Due to their unique life form, many old liches are still alive, but they rarely pay attention to outside affairs. Among these liches, there are many who harbor extreme malice towards the ancient people and the gods. We must not be careless. If you want to ensure your safety, please remember that any royal court is extremely dangerous! Be extremely cautious when contacting them!"

After Kal'tsit finished speaking, she paused slightly, then immediately continued:

"Also, Ernst, are you serious about establishing an official body to manage the Sarkaz?"

Ernst nodded: "Of course. The number of Sarkaz in Sherag is gradually increasing. As you said, the Sarkaz are a particularly special race. I think it is necessary to establish an institution for communication and management."

Kal'tsit's heart tightened. She took several deep breaths, her lips trembling slightly as she asked:

Is it really that necessary?

Ernst perked up. He couldn't really get a word in edgewise about the information about liches, but this topic was definitely outside his area of ​​expertise.

"Of course it's necessary!"

“Kal'tsit, we've known each other for a long time. To be honest, I've been asking Hedley for help in recruiting some talented Sarkaz from various places to Sherag, and it's been quite successful so far. A few days ago, I received news that a Sarkaz of the [Children of Earth and Wood] race has already arrived at the invitation. According to her, a [Scavenger] should also be arriving in a while…”

"Ho~"

"Eh, Kal'tsit?"

Ernst jumped up and rushed over to Kal'tsit, supporting the old lynx's body as it was about to collapse, and pinched her philtrum.

That's just how it is with older people; they're prone to illness if you're not careful. Ernst used to think that characters in fantasy settings like the "Eternal Ones" wouldn't have these kinds of troubles, but it turns out that Terra is a fantasy that's quite realistic. Kal'tsit is old, and although she can't die, judging from her appearance, she hasn't lost any of her underlying health conditions.

Putting everything else aside, this problem—whether it's a stroke, a cerebral infarction, or epilepsy—has happened twice already, and I haven't seen her treat it herself. Can Rhodes Island really be a medical company?

Ernst was truly afraid that one day, while he and Kal'tsit were chatting, Kal'tsit would suddenly collapse and never get up again. He'd have to be bewildered and ask, "Hey, Kal'tsit, how did you die?" and then be saddled with a compensation claim. Wouldn't that be extortion?!

After about a minute of downtime, Kal'tsit finally restarted.

She looked at Ernst with a look and an expression so fragile, like the Ragdoll cat that Ernst's neighbor had in his past life, making one want to cherish it.

It's time to love cats.

cough cough.

Ernst silently took out his terminal, turned on the camera, and was about to record the precious moment when Kelsey readjusted her expression with astonishing speed, coldly watching Ernst's actions.

"I need to call an ambulance."

Ernst quickly explained.

Kal'tsit stared at him with a deathly gaze for a moment before nodding:

"Thank you, but no need, I'm fine."

"Are you really alright? I don't think this is the first time you've had an attack..." Ernst was still a little worried.

But Kal'tsit couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Who do you think killed him? Who do you think killed him? Who do you think killed him?!

Ignoring Ernst's concern, she corrected him:

"If you're referring to the race that excels at communicating with the earth and manipulating soil and stone, then they are the [Children of Earth and Stone], not the [Children of Earth and Wood]. Or, if you want a better distinction, you can call them [Stonewing Demons]."

“Stonewing Demons?” Ernst nodded. “Is this also one of the Sarkaz royal courts?”

Kal'tsit nodded: "Yes, but they've almost disappeared over the years, I never expected..."

I didn't expect you to find it.

Kelsey had intended to say that, but it seemed to imply praise Ernst, and she couldn't let Ernst get away with it!

And Hedley, when did you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, get so blinded by Ernst's sweet talk that you secretly dragged the Sarkaz to Shelag? Did you even report this to the Tower of Babel? Do you even consider yourself a Babel person anymore?

I'll deal with you later!

Having been betrayed by her former colleague, Kal'tsit grew increasingly depressed, yet she had no choice but to continue asking:

How do you plan to set up this organization?

The organization, naturally, refers to the body that manages Sakaz, namely the Shelag Sakaz Residents' Committee.

Ernst had already prepared his plan, and he proceeded to elaborate:

"Well, we must first learn from past successes, combine them with modern management knowledge, reform and innovate the bureaucratic system, build a strong and effective leadership team, and manage the Sarkaz in a refined, grid-based, and systematic way. The key is to address the most critical issues of the Sarkaz race. In general, we should use basic needs as the standard and a moderately prosperous society as the goal, to create a new, cohesive community."

Kelsey nodded.

Do you understand?

She understood.

The general idea is to learn from the past experiences and lessons of the Sarkaz royal court, and to manage each Sarkaz clan separately based on their respective areas of expertise, customs, and cultural traditions. Corresponding bureaucrats would be appointed to replace the position of the royal court head, implementing modern, task-oriented management rather than personal bias, establishing a mature bureaucratic system, enhancing the authority of the neighborhood committees as leaders, and recruiting more Sarkaz by offering them basic necessities…

To sum it up simply—you little bastard, you really do want to establish your own kingdom!

Perhaps because she had already anticipated it, Kal'tsit was not too shocked this time. She was somewhat calm and even moved.

She had anticipated Ernst's thoughts.

What a magnificent beginning!

Kal'tsit's assessment of this was:

"Ernst, we're friends, aren't we?"

Ernst paused slightly, seemingly not quite understanding why Kal'tsit would suddenly say such a thing, but still nodded:

"Of course, Rhodes Island and Seraphim help each other out, and you've helped me a lot too, so we're definitely friends."

"Well then, I have a request. Can you grant it?"

Kal'tsit raised her head, her large eyes fixed on Ernst, gleaming with a pleading light:

"Please, I'm begging you, let me be an advisor to this neighborhood committee, I'll do anything!"

Ernst leaned back slightly, somewhat hesitant:

Do you realize the weight of what you just said?

Ernst didn't know much about Kelsey's record, but he did know that she had refused when he last invited her to take a sinecure in Sherag.

Why did you suddenly change your mind?

Kal'tsit gritted her teeth, as if she had made up her mind, and nodded heavily.

She made this decision after careful consideration, of course. In fact, to ensure this decision wouldn't implicate Rhodes Island, she had already prepared her resignation letter from Rhodes Island. If anything happened, she would submit it at lightning speed, have it approved by herself, and sever all ties in a flash!

As for being afraid? What's there to be afraid of? A year ago, she was working for Theresa in the exact same position. Just because she did it then doesn't mean she can't do it this time.

With Amiya above and the Demon King Black Crown beside her, and the remnants of the Tower of Babel at her side, this all-star lineup is playing in the revival match. Their situation is far better than when they fought Theresis back then; at least this time, Theresis doesn't dare directly attack Kjerag. And she has already entrusted Ascalon to keep an eye on Ernst while she's away.

With her around, could the assassin come back again?

Of course, this is a last resort.

If possible, Kal'tsit didn't want Ernst to get too deeply involved with the Sarkaz; the waters there were too deep and murky, not suitable for Ernst to wade into at this time. Kal'tsit was already satisfied that he had successfully completed his plan for the World Summit.

As for resolving the Sarkaz problem, the crux of the matter lies not entirely in the kingdoms of the First Men, but also in the Sarkaz themselves, and in Theresis of Londinium.

She just wants to reserve this spot for now; what kind of cat litter she'll use later is something to discuss!

Ernst finally gave his standard reply, "I'll consider it," and the two tacitly moved on from the topic.

After all, this is still just a concept. While there are many Sarkaz in Sherag, even including Mostima, the fallen angel, there are fewer than two. It's a beautiful idea, but the timing and effectiveness of its implementation remain unknown.

In addition to that, Kal'tsit has another problem.

She had secretly infiltrated the Grand Knights' territory for so long without Ernst's knowledge, and had even released Ascalon, the master assassin; naturally, she couldn't have come away empty-handed.

She had confirmed Chongyue's identity, and just as she had least wanted to see, Chongyue was indeed the same Chongyue, not just someone with the same name.

The strongest beast in Yan Kingdom, perhaps even the strongest beast on this land, [Sui], has actually come to Kazimierz to participate in a competition. This is truly hard to judge. Kal'tsit would never believe that the people of Yan Kingdom have no ulterior motives.

Moreover, for some reason, Kal'tsit's intuition told her that the Yan people's schemes were most likely related to the snow leopard in front of her.

Although she didn't have high hopes, she still asked:

"Ernst, did you make some kind of deal with the Yan people?"

Ernst blinked in surprise: "Why do you say that?"

"Because... Chongyue..."

Kal'tsit was still hesitating whether to reveal Ernst Shigeyuki's identity when Ernst burst out laughing:

"So you do know who Chongyue is."

“That’s right, a high-ranking official from Yan Kingdom and I have reached an agreement. Kelago may be dealing with the agents of [Year] in the future. What, you also have information about them? Tell me quickly...hey...Kal'tsit!”

Ernst quickly stood up, while on the other side, Kelsey had already covered her chest twice.

The power furnace is in so much pain!

"Ho-"

Chapter 420 Jeragand: Everything is up to the Holy Son; how could I refuse?

Kal'tsit eventually regained her senses.

It's not that she wants to wake up, it's that she really can't die.

Since people can't die, they have to find something to do, and what about Sherag's business is no exception.

The problem of the Sui Beast in Yan Kingdom has a long history. Although Ernst did not explicitly say which high-ranking official made a deal with him, which brought the Sui Beast and Sherag together, it is not difficult to make the connection.

Ernst had never been to Yan Kingdom, and the only high-ranking officials he had ever met were Wei Yanwu, the governor of Longmen, and the Grand Tutor, one of the Three Dukes.

Wei Yanwu can be ruled out directly. His identity is too sensitive. Do you think he has any influence over the politics of the Great Yan Dynasty? Of course he does, but if he were to use that influence, it would undoubtedly be the beginning of a turmoil.

As for the Grand Tutor, it was entirely predictable that Ernst would come into contact with him as the representative of Yan Kingdom who participated in the World Expo. Considering the timing of Chongyue's departure from Yan Kingdom and arrival in Kazimierz, the possibility that the Grand Tutor was the mastermind behind this matter was far higher than that of Wei Yanwu.

But why would the Grand Tutor do this?

Kal'tsit could vaguely guess some of Yan's thoughts. Having traveled all over this land, she had naturally stayed in Yan before.

Thousands of years ago, when the Yan people established their nation, the only two issues that were debated in that simple little court were how to feed the millions of people on the Yan land and how to deal with the giant beasts that occupied the Yan land.

The Great Yan Emperor made a very bold decision: he allied with the giant beast Sui to launch a war against it, using the full strength of the nation to clear obstacles in Yan's path and seize vast tracts of arable land. He then killed Sui, eliminating the final obstacle.

Kal'tsit offered no comment. Just as she didn't comment on Seraphim's faith in Jeragund, there's no such thing as the optimal choice, only choices that suit one's own needs.

A thousand years later, when Kal'tsit returned to that land, they were still discussing these two questions.

How to feed the unique population of hundreds of millions on Terra, and how to solve the problem of the Year Beast.

Is Yan not developing? The answer is of course no. Yan is developing, and developing quite well. Compared to other crazy countries, such as Iberia, which rose to prominence by consuming Agor technology, Letania, which took the magic route to its limit, Laterano, where Kal'tsit is mysterious and cannot speak, and Columbia, which is both a hope and a hidden danger, Yan is one of the few countries on Terra with a "relatively normal style".

So why are they still discussing these two issues?

Because these are the only two issues that can be argued about indefinitely.

Just as Ernst analyzed, Kal'tsit also understood that the so-called problem of the behemoth "Sui" was merely a facade; the core issue remained the inherent contradictions of the Yan Kingdom itself. Everyone needed a universally accepted outlet for their frustrations, and since their ancestors had established a national policy called "Man Will Conquer Nature," naturally, opposing "Sui" became a form of political correctness.

However, the essence of "political correctness" was originally a kind of adhesive used to alleviate conflicts, but it went too far and evolved into what it is today.

To some extent, Kal'tsit should also commend the courage of the current rulers and ministers of Yan. Whether they were willing or not, they finally decided to abandon the target that they had carried on their backs for thousands of years and were unwilling to put down, a target whose "corpse" had already rotted. They should face their country and this land with a new attitude. This can be considered a good start.

But then again, why was Sherag chosen?

"To be honest, I can't really tell you the truth about this."

Ernst sounded somewhat embarrassed.

The agreement with Yan Kingdom and the establishment of the giant beast re-education base were both classified information. From Kal'tsit's perspective, Ernst really had no reason or need to tell her.

Yes, Kal'tsit knows a great deal, practically an encyclopedia and a search engine. Ernst has hardly found a single question that would make Kal'tsit say, "I don't know." But people don't use Baidu to search all the time, do they?

Ernst remembered a brilliant person from his past life who stored confidential documents on a cloud drive, only to have them all stolen. If even an inanimate object like a cloud drive could be at risk, how much more so when Kal'tsit was a living person?

Only the dead can keep secrets.

Kelsey understood Ernst's predicament, so she simply asked:

Are you still looking for consultants?

Ernst pursed his lips but did not answer.

Kal'tsit added, "It's free. I don't want either of them."

Ernst was somewhat tempted, but still didn't speak.

Kal'tsit frowned, pondered for a moment, and then spoke again: