A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 44: Chapter 32 Entry_1

As Duanmu Huai currently hasn’t unlocked the Tribunal Library, he can’t yet analyze the Antimatter Energy Core. Therefore, he chose to send the Antimatter Energy Core back to the warehouse in the Core Cabin using a teleport beacon. After all, he can’t just walk around with such a thing in his hands.

Although the technology of the ancient saints was not problematic, this was an energy core. If it exploded, the consequences would be far more dangerous than a nuclear power plant leakage. There was even an incident where a player’s careless actions caused the destruction of an entire galaxy. Even though the danger level of the Antimatter Energy Core was not as high as the Dark Matter Energy Core, if it exploded… Well, considering Duanmu Huai’s current 22nd level, he would probably be obliterated in a blink of an eye.

The dwarves didn’t know what Duanmu Huai had acquired, but that didn’t bother them. Dwarves are naturally straightforward. In the fight, Duanmu Huai drew most of the enemy’s attention and even killed the Ratman hero. To the dwarves, that proved that Duanmu Huai was reliable and always ready for action.

Things then went smoothly. The dwarves not only agreed to let Duanmu Huai and his team traverse the Gray Mountains to Bartonilla, they also provided them with ample supplies and even a cart. Brock slapped Duanmu Huai’s leg (he couldn’t reach his knee) loudly declaring him a lifelong friend of the dwarves and gave him a token. With it, Duanmu Huai could access the Gray Mountains whenever he pleased.

Brock originally intended to give Duanmu Huai a weapon. It’s a dwarf custom to express friendship by gifting weapons. For example, one of the early emperors of the empire had a deep friendship with the dwarves and received a War Hammer from the Dwarf King which became a symbol of the human-dwarf alliance.

However, Duanmu Huai was too tall, and the weapons made by dwarves would look like toys in his hands; hence, Brock had to abandon this idea.

From Brock, Duanmu Huai also received some information about the outside world.

The empire was in a state of chaos, the Three Emperors in constant conflict, and elsewhere people trembled in the face of the aggressive and filthy armies of the God’s followers. The dwarves hadn’t received any requests for help from their imperial allies–well, no surprise there, given that even the question of who the emperor is hasn’t been decided yet.

As for Bartonilla, there wasn’t much of a crisis. Bartonilla was generally a peaceful country, with the biggest threat being the Green Orcs from the north.

However, Brock did point out another potential threat to Duanmu Huai.

“You should be careful of those skinny Aessolon wood elves! They’re quite dangerous!”

“Don’t worry, I understand.”

Hearing Brock’s warning, Duanmu Huai nodded gravely. As a seasoned player, he knew that Brock’s warning wasn’t just out of the general dwarf-elf rivalry.

Originally, dwarves and elves were quite friendly, but after various issues, they ended up fighting and reconciling multiple times, giving rise to some troublesome situations.

One of these was the wood elves, who were originally members of the High Elves race. They joined the High Elves army during the Great Expedition to fight the dwarves. However, in the middle of the war, when the High Elves’ homeland was invaded by the Chaos Evil God, the High Elves panicked and demanded that the expedition army immediately retreat to protect the homeland.

A portion of the High Elves didn’t take this well. They had been driven from their island home to mount an expedition and now they were expected to just retreat in the middle of a battle? They thought it was an insult to their dignity.

So, they left the main army, hiding in the forest and eventually becoming a branch of the High Elves, the Wood Elves.

There is a legend that when the High Elves were once attacked by a Chaotic Demon, the High Elf queen asked the Spirit of the Forest to save her two children. The spirit agreed, but on the condition that half of the elf race would be his in the future. According to this story, the wood elves were essentially paying off the old High Elf queen’s debt.

But that’s not important.

What’s important is the danger posed by the wood elves.

Wood elves are pure “extreme environmentalists”, but this isn’t about protesting construction projects or lecturing world leaders on sustainability. They operate in the forest, killing anyone who dares to approach too closely, then drag their bodies back to be buried beneath trees as fertilizer.

See? That’s what you call extreme environmentalism! (tactically leans back).

In addition to that, the wood elves also capture and brainwash lost human children found wandering around the edges of the forest, turning them into loyal servants. They sometimes use other means as bait–such as welcoming a group of adventurers into the forest with a feast, enjoying fine wine and food while listening to the beautiful songs of the wood elves.

And then, once they fall asleep, they’re dragged off to become fertilizer.

So, even though the wood elves aren’t followers of Chaos, they’re just as dangerous to humans. That’s why Brock warned Duanmu Huai in order to prevent him from falling into their trap.

Duanmu Huai trusts the dwarves, as among all the races on the Novice Planet, the dwarves have the highest resistance to Chaos. To be honest, if you’re fighting Chaos, having dwarves covering your back is the safest method. After all, the dwarves were originally created by the ancient saints to resist the threat of Chaos, with their resistance to Chaos being extremely high. But the ancient saints eventually abandoned them after realizing that dwarves were too rigid. In the end, they created a new species – powerful and resistant to Chaos, capable of both magic and physical combat, possessing a high reproduction rate, and excellent at resisting Chaos.

Oh, someone’s asking, what’s this species?

Well, ogres.

Duanmu Huai would have to be crazy to form an alliance with them.

Have you ever seen a chicken on a dinner plate trying to make friends with you?

Tutu is so cute, wouldn’t it taste even better with some hot sauce?

“Phew……I’m finally free……..!!”

After crossing the Gray Mountains and arriving on the land of Bartonilla, the elf scout was the first to jump up. She stretched lazily with her arms high in the air, not at all concerned with exposing her comely figure. Not only her, even the old knight, along with Elisa and Miss Kristin, now also merrily relaxed their expressions.

It was understandable. Since they left The City of Silver, they had been in danger constantly, first being chased by the Corrupted Believers and then stepping into the Land of Dead Silence. Although they didn’t encounter any threats, thanks to Duanmu Huai’s strong “anti-evil” abilities, the dominion of the undead was still detrimental to their mental health.

In the land of the dwarves, they did breathe a sigh of relief but were understandably still slightly edgy.

It wasn’t until they stepped onto the land of Bartonilla that they truly let their guards down.

At the very least, this was a kingdom under the protection of the Lake Goddess, without too many troublesome issues.

The reason why everyone thought this way was because out of all the countries on the continent, although Bartonilla wasn’t big, it held a great reputation. It was an idyllic oasis, where nobles upheld the chivalrous knight spirit, safeguarding knightly virtues. The state of the nation was peaceful and tranquil, simply a paradise on earth. Of course, to the players, this held a tinge of irony.

Indeed, everything above is true.

But there’s a caveat – farmers.

To the players, being a farmer in Bartonilla was worse than being a lackey to the Evil God Cultists.

Take taxes, for instance.

Most of the countries on this planet adopted the well-known concept of tithes, where they collected a tenth of the produce, but in Bartonilla, the farmers faced not tithes but nine-tenths taxes – a staggering 90% of their produce had to be handed over to the state, leaving only 10% for themselves.

Even the infamous townee landlord would be forced to admire their audacity.

Furthermore, during wartime, farmers would be conscripted to fight on the front lines, essentially serving as cannon fodder. In Bartonilla, not only were farmers the lowest in the societal hierarchy and subjected to exploitation, but they would also be used as cannon fodder by the noble knights by sending them to their deaths on the front lines.

Many players found this ironic, and numerous players have criticized the hypocrisy of Bartonilla on the forums. After all, these noble knights, while preaching their knightly virtues, send their sworn citizens to their deaths, which seemed like a grimly humorous spectacle.

However, in Duanmu Huai’s view, this was actually quite normal.

Because this has been how things always were throughout history.

Consider the Ancient Roman Republic, where citizens could elect their leader, while slaves were tossed into the amphitheater for everyone’s amusement.

Not to mention that today, the right to vote for leaders is definitely not given to the farmers subjected to serfdom outside the city walls.

In modern times, the British gentlemen wearing tailcoats, puffing cigars, sipping champagne, certainly did not care about the lives of serfs in distant colonies.

How do you think the British Imperium, with its sun-never-setting fleet, was built? It was through colonization and the slave trade, not by magically generating resources. Weren’t those on the military ships, who appeared so majestic, filled with gentlemanly demeanor and naval spirit, relying on the forced labor of these lowly serfs?

It did not prevent them from shouting “For Britannia!”, heroically fighting to the death, did it?

Therefore, Bartonilla, which modern people might find a bit absurd, is not really strange upon closer inspection.

For example, in Western films that glorify cowboys defeating invading Indian tribes, don’t forget it was the white-skinned people who first arrived on the Indian’s lands, carrying out the plundering and killing.

Movies praising Caesar would never mention that his achievements came at the cost of exploiting countless slaves.

The bottom line is, one must pay the price to look impressive, and Bartonilla, with its medieval civilization standard, was no exception.

Speaking of which, a medieval civilization… well, was simply that.

Of course, Elisa and the others had not travelled all the way here to be peasants. Their intention was to go to Calcas, settle down there, and sustain their livelihood by doing some small business. In Bartonilla, being a merchant was a good choice.

As long as they didn’t become farmers, it would be fine.

It must be admitted that strolling along the country path in Bartonilla was truly refreshing. With lush trees and grasslands on the sides, birds singing, and small animals running around, it seemed like paradise, especially after experiencing the filth of the curse and the desolated wilderness filled with the scent of death.

However, they quickly encountered some unexpected events.

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