What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

If you want to get the final answers to these questions, it seems that you can only go to the Demon Temple.

Arthas sighed deeply, and then slowly said: "Lord Fran, I chose the wrong way and did the wrong thing. I am sorry to the Feruman people and my teacher. I admit all of this and will no longer make any excuses for myself. But..."

Arthas looked at Fran with a piercing gaze and said, "Lord Fran! There is nothing wrong with this path! This ideal should not be destroyed! Please kill those high gods for us and free us mortals from our bondage."

After saying this, Arthas bit his back teeth hard, and then his face began to turn blue and his eyes began to dim.

"Arthas! Arthas!"

Fran felt something was wrong and walked over immediately, but by then Arthas was already dead.

"He had already prepared poison for himself." Christina said, "It's just a pity that he didn't tell us how to use the Undead Array in the end.

"If you just want to learn necromancy, just ask those captured necromancers. It's not difficult to depict the undead formation." Fran said

"Don't you want to learn? I heard you tell me how to use the undead just now, and I thought you were eager to try it." Christina said.

"Just talking." Fran said, "I already have a steam engine, and I'll develop an internal combustion engine in due time. Well, sister, don't worry about what it is, it's also a machine... When the time comes, their production efficiency will be much higher than that of the undead."

"But your machine consumes resources. The Undead, other than pulling up the dead, doesn't consume any resources."

"Nothing consumes resources! It's just out of sight." Fran said, "And I don't like corpses... It's an insult to the dead. It would be great if we could generate skeletons out of thin air. At least we wouldn't have any psychological burden! But since necromancy is a power beyond the gods,

We don’t have to rush to destroy it. Whether it is useful or not is left to everyone to judge. I cannot deny it based on my personal preference.”

"At least, in the next few decades, people will not accept this way of childbirth." Christina said: "After the father dies, the child pulls up his body and uses it as a tool. It sounds like a picture of hell! And in this way, people will even hope that the seriously ill elders will die sooner. This is not good.

As soon as Christina finished speaking, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

Don't have too much malice towards life, but don't have too much kindness towards life either.

"Alas!" Looking at Arthas's body, Fran said to Catherine, "Spread the news of Arthas's death. This war should come to an end."

Chapter 209: Picking Peaches?

The news of Arthas' death quickly spread throughout the main plane.

At this time, the pace of various countries' attacks on the Feruman Empire began to gradually slow down.

Of course, this was not entirely because they learned of Arthas' death and felt that their hopes of obtaining necromancy were dashed. It was really because they had basically divided up the land on the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River. If they continued to attack, they would have to steal food from others, or they would have to cross the Soul-Guiding River directly.

Considering that the Vienna Alliance was the number one contributor to the victory of this war, and because several river crossings were occupied by Fran's troops, they did not dare to attack the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River. After all, if a war really broke out, Fran had the advantage of fighting on its home ground, and it was uncertain who would win or lose once the war started.

Ai’alendil was defeated by Fran, so everyone else has to think carefully before making any move.

So these forces tacitly stopped attacking and just ordered their soldiers to firmly guard the land they occupied, waiting for the next move of the Vienna Alliance, or more precisely, waiting for the next move of Fran.

Fran also knew that with her own strength and size, it was impossible for her to occupy the entire Feruman Empire, and there was no way that she could get the other side to give up the land they had occupied.

So Fran told these countries that the war was over and everyone could sit down and negotiate to discuss how to deal with (divide) the Feruman Empire.

After hearing what Fran said, all the forces couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. They didn't want to get stuck too deep in the quagmire of the Feruman Empire.

Then the dwarves held a grand meeting in Gondolin in the name of the Holy Alliance. Various forces responded positively and sent envoys and negotiation experts to participate.

What's interesting is that before the war started, the Holy Alliance had been silent, not even saying a word! Christina went to the Holy Alliance to request several times but was rejected. But now the Holy Alliance actually dominated the entire meeting as the host and the number one hero of the war.

Politics is really an interesting thing.

Naturally, the generals in the city of Orila were extremely unhappy with the Holy Alliance's blatant attempt to steal credit.

"Humph! These villains!" Huang Shang said disdainfully, "They ran away without a trace at the critical moment. When it came time to divide up the profits, they showed up faster than the other!"

"Yes! What Holy Alliance? I think it's better to call it a False Alliance." Feuerbach said angrily.

"Alright, alright..." Fran waved her hand to quiet everyone down, then said, "Elves and dwarves both call themselves the beacon of civilization. Let them call themselves that... Compared to them, we are a weak country, we don't have a say, and we are much smaller. We are weak in public opinion, so let them be stubborn. We just need to

Just strive for tangible benefits.”

"The city lord is right." Zhu Zhongba said, "Let's not argue with them! Since they say we are barbarians, we should just call ourselves barbarians! If we can't compete with them in strength, it will be useless no matter how much we brag... We should think about how to protect our existing interests."

Fran said: "We have now occupied the land west of the Soul-Guiding River, which is almost a quarter of the land of the Feruman Empire. Of course, this is what we deserve, so we should try to get more benefits on the basis of what we already have."

"But the Soul-Guiding River is a boundary, and we have to rule by the river." Feuerbach said, "If we go one step further and try to gain more land, I'm afraid the other forces in the Holy Alliance will not agree."

"Who said we want land?" Fran said, "If we get the land but don't have time to operate it, it's the same as having nothing. What we want is the market!!"

"Market?" Feuerbach said, "But Lord, the area east of the Soul-Guiding River is a wasteland with few people. The market is negligible. Didn't you say it before? Only those who can afford it are called demand, and those who can't afford it are not called demand."

"There really isn't much of a market east of the Soul Guiding River, but don't forget their backers." Fran said, "As long as we can convince them to open up tariffs in the east of the Soul Guiding River, we will definitely be able to attract a large number of chambers of commerce to come and buy."

"What's the point of lowering tariffs only in the east of the Soul-Guiding River?" Christina asked. "When these merchants bring these goods back to their own countries, won't they still have to pay taxes?"

"That's their business." Fran said, "Smuggling and the like... is not a problem for these chambers of commerce, right? Many chambers of commerce are colluding with the nobles, and are even the industries of the nobles. Do you think they will collect tariffs from themselves?"

"Your Excellency the City Lord is right!" Feuerbach said, "It may even be possible to open the economic door of the Elf Empire. We have always wanted to sell clothes and cloth to the Elf Empire, but their economy is independent and they basically do not buy materials from outside. In this way, we may be able to pry open the door of the Elf Empire.

"Recently, with the end of the war, a large number of people from the Feruman Empire and the Habsburg Principality have settled near Vienna. We can just expand our factory!" Fran said.

Everyone talked at once and soon worked out the details of the agreement.

The meeting led by the dwarves was held as scheduled in Gondolin. Almost all the forces, whether they participated in the war or not, sent envoys. The Dwarf Empire also came up with a special event - a military parade!

This activity was immediately unanimously agreed upon by the Northern Alliance and the Chinese Alliance.

On the one hand, they also wanted to see what the Orila army that could defeat the undead army looked like. Of course, more importantly, the Huameng also wanted to use this opportunity to show the world its strength. We are not not coming to support because we can't defeat the undead! There is a special reason. In terms of combat effectiveness, we are much better than those weaklings in Orila City who don't even know divine arts.

In contrast, the Northern Alliance, led by the elves, could only suffer a setback. Who made them fight so ugly? First, the army was besieged by Fran, and then it was wiped out by the undead. The other armies of the Northern Alliance were even worse.

Of course, the dwarves were naturally arrogant in their hearts, but on the surface they still had to respect the Vienna Alliance, the greatest contributor, so in the arrangement of the military parade, the troops of the Vienna Alliance were placed as the finale!

Of course, Fran readily agreed to this!

Let’s have a military parade, let’s have a military parade, let’s compete in military posture and appearance, they in the city of Orila have never been afraid of anyone.

But everyone knows that the military parade is just an extra for the whole meeting. The real distribution of benefits is quietly carried out in invisible places.

Chapter 210: East-West Division

The struggle for interests has always been undercurrent.

However, since Fran had sent her troops in early and occupied the entire area west of the Soul-Guiding River, they had the momentum to say "don't come and snatch it from me". Seeing this, other forces also acquiesced to the behavior of the Aurora City. So Fran stayed out of it early and watched the envoys of other forces quarreling and arguing, making the land dispute so intense that even the difference between a city and a piece of land would take a long time to calculate. Therefore, the meeting to divide the spoils was particularly long.

While everyone was still arguing with each other, Fran had already started her next deployment.

She first issued a series of decrees, first exempting the people in the western part of the Feruman Empire from taxes for three years, and then started large-scale construction near Minsk and began to build the prototype of the factory.

There is not much else around Minsk now, but there are many refugees. When they heard that there were job openings near the capital, they all flocked here.

The city of Orila had already been very flexible in using work-for-relief. Coupled with various advanced management experiences, the chaos around Minsk was quickly quelled. The people had hope of survival, so they naturally would not join the ranks of bandits.

Of course, in addition to work-for-relief, Fran also plans to promote a food called yam from the Indo-Asia continent.

This is a kind of plant bulb, rich in starch, which can satisfy people's hunger to a minimum. This reminded Fran of potatoes in her memory! It was the large-scale promotion of this crop that caused a leap in human population.

So when Fran learned about the jade potato, she immediately introduced it here and wanted to promote it in Orila City first.

But things were not as simple as Fran imagined.

The first batch of imported yam tasted bitter and unpalatable, and was said to contain a slight toxin. According to merchants from the Inya continent, they would only choose to eat yam during famines. On weekdays, even the poor people rarely ate it. So they didn't quite understand why Fran favored this food.

Under such circumstances, the residents of Orila City naturally have a resistance to yam and would rather grow mushrooms with low grain yields than grow yam.

Of course, Fulan could use administrative orders to get everyone to plant yam, or even ask the Construction Corps to help with construction. But she knew that this approach would not last long. In the end, she temporarily gave up the idea of ​​large-scale planting and instead asked scholars at the research institute to try to cultivate and optimize new varieties.

Not only that, she also invited many relevant scholars from the Indo-Asia continent. Among them were scholars who studied yam. Although these people were few in number, they were experienced anyway! With their help, the institute quickly improved a yam without bitterness.

However, at this time, the bad reputation of the sweet potato had already been deeply rooted in people's minds, so even if new varieties came out, people were still unwilling to plant them.

Originally, Fran was planning to have the Construction Corps start reclaiming the land for planting, but the war broke out at this time, so the matter was left unresolved.

Now a lot of land in the Feruman Empire is barren, crop seeds are becoming increasingly scarce, and a large number of them are cut off. This is a good opportunity to promote the yam.

Naturally, the Ferumans were very reluctant at first regarding this new crop, but it seemed that there was nothing else they could grow except this crop. In addition, Fran promised that if the results were not satisfactory, she would be willing to exchange them for grains.

After having Fran's assurance, the Ferumans began to plant reluctantly.

Two months passed in a flash.

The cold winter has completely descended upon the entire continent of Calradia.

The war was followed by a severe cold spell. If this had happened in the past, it would have been an unprecedented famine. However, under Fran's active governance, there were no large numbers of disaster victims west of the Soul-Guiding River. Not only that, the area around Minsk was actually prosperous, which was rare.

Compared to the west bank, the situation on the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River is much worse.

The focus of several forces is on arguing with each other and snatching land from each other, so naturally they have no intention of helping the people within their sphere of influence to overcome difficulties.

As a result, a large number of bandits and robbers appeared on the west bank of the Soul-Guiding River. However, if bandits and robbers wanted to rob, they had to rob the rich! But the nobles of Feruman were either killed in the war or left their country early. Now all those who were still in Feruman were poor and had no money at all.

In desperation, these bandits and robbers had to turn their attention to these outsiders.

The division meeting is far from over, and there is no trust between the various forces at all. If you are not careful, the forces you have already occupied may be snatched away by others.

This is not alarmist, this is an established fact.

The Winter People once used the excuse that one of their soldiers was missing to search the city, and then openly occupied a city occupied by a city-state of the Lombardy Federation until now.

With this precedent, in order to occupy the land they have already occupied, each force has to continue to increase reinforcements, so as not to be swallowed up by the enemy if they send too few troops. If they send too many troops, they naturally have to maintain the supply line.

This gave the bandits and mountain bandits an opportunity to take advantage of. They were already desperate, so they fought desperately, and even the regular army had to retreat. After several successes, more bandits set their sights on the armies of various countries.

Bandits may feel a little morally guilty for attacking villages. After all, they are all farmers. But attacking foreign armies is a psychological exercise, and they can even portray themselves as patriotic heroes fighting against foreign enemies.

As a result, within just two months, the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River was infested with bandits and roving robbers, in stark contrast to the west bank under Fran's rule.

Without food and security, and with the arrival of winter, the people on the east coast were suddenly living in dire straits.

In this situation, the compassionate Fran naturally wanted to help. She ordered people to spread various news on the east bank of the Soul-Guiding River, telling them the real situation on the west bank, which soon attracted a large number of people on the east bank to seek refuge on the west bank. So every day, a large number of people were seen gathering together and heading towards Minsk.

Every day, a large number of people were leaving the land they occupied. These forces saw it and were anxious, but they could do nothing about it. Finally, they had no choice but to transfer a large amount of supplies from the country to appease the people and fight against the bandits, paying a huge price for it.

It can be said that there are not many benefits from occupying land, but a huge price has been paid before that.

Chapter 211 Celebration Banquet

"cheers!"

While the various factions were still arguing over the dispute over land interests, the New Year arrived unnoticed. This gave the Calradia continent, which had suffered from the baptism of a year of war, a chance to breathe. The people cheered for the New Year celebrations, feeling lucky that they had survived this chaotic world.

However, the members of the Holy Alliance may not be able to enjoy this banquet. Every day, the envoys argue with each other, and no one knows when the result will be reached.

In comparison, Fran's side was much more harmonious, and she took advantage of the New Year to hold a grand celebration banquet in Orila City.

Those who attended the celebration banquet were naturally all the forces that participated in the battle of Olilagler!

"Cheers! Cheers!"

Aurora City, Holy Roll Empire, Orcs, Elves, Heroic Empire, Trolls...

These leaders from various forces and races raised their glasses high at this moment, encouraging and blessing each other.

The joyful scene at the banquet formed a sharp contrast with the situation within the Holy Alliance.

I have to say that alcohol is a good thing that can bring life closer to life. Not long after, Fran saw the trolls and elves talking to each other with red faces, and the orcs and the Pampas people were arm in arm.

Halfway through the banquet, the attendees began to chat with each other, some to keep in touch with each other, and some to discuss cooperation.

The most popular among them is naturally Fran.

"Lord Fran..." Tazdingo came to Fran and said, "We came here this time because we have something to discuss with you."

As he was speaking, the general of the Heroic Empire and the orc Kagraz also gathered around.

"We are all comrades fighting side by side. If you have anything to say, just tell me!"

Tazdin paused for a moment, then said, "In fact, this is what our leader, Lord Jinzaka, wants to ask you if you can allow the Troll Empire to join the Vienna Alliance."

"Join the Vienna Alliance?" Upon hearing this, Fran's eyes widened immediately.

"Not just the Troll Empire, but also our Orc Empire."

"And our Eagle Empire."

Kagraz said: "The city lord has had a lot of contact with the Northern Alliance and the Chinese Alliance during this period of time. You should have seen their true colors! The elves and dwarves are too domineering. Any force that does not unite with them will be oppressed by them! Our forces have suffered a lot from them, so we want to form an alliance to resist them.

hegemony."

"Of course, Lord Mayor, I heard that the nominal leadership of the Vienna Alliance does not lie with you, but with Her Majesty Margaret." Tazdin Gou said in a low voice: "We respect you, not Margaret. If the Lord Mayor finds it inconvenient, he can reorganize a new alliance! We will follow you anyway.

After listening to what several people said, Fran immediately understood what they meant.

Fran has long wanted to organize such an alliance. Isn't this like someone sending you a pillow when you are sleepy?