152. Yielding 2

In an instant, rows of mages dressed in immaculate white robes stood upon the enormous square beside the Imperial City of the Death Empire.

Mo Fei led Vivian and Eileen up onto the reviewing platform before the imperial palace. The moment the capital guards outside the city saw His Majesty take his place, they dropped to their knees in perfect unison, calling out, “Your Majesty!”

Even the imperial citizens gathered to watch knelt down in a great mass.

Mo Fei found it deeply troublesome. He had abolished the practice of kneeling long ago. Aside from the Empire’s highest-ranking officials, the imperial guards—including the berserkers—did not normally kneel. Yet whenever Mo Fei appeared at a formal gathering, the custom somehow returned.

Seeing that the six thousand mages merely lowered their heads and laid their right hands flat against their chests, performing the standard mage’s salute of the Imperial Continent, Mo Fei could not help smiling.

It seemed they did not harbor any particular resentment. Once they had witnessed the prowess of the sixty mages from the Bear Clan, they would surely settle down and serve the Empire obediently. He had never expected this voyage to produce such a gain.

The fleet commander, Xilin, and his deputy, Duoge, stood behind him and could not see Mo Fei’s expression. When Mo Fei remained silent for so long, they assumed he was dissatisfied with their actions. The two immediately fell to their knees behind him.

“Young Master, we…”

They stammered, unable to find the right words.

“Get up. I never said you had done anything wrong.” Mo Fei turned around. “You performed very well this time. You have laid an excellent foundation for the Empire and acquired a powerful force. With their allegiance, the Empire’s military strength will be even greater. You did well. Get up.”

Only then did the two men breathe a sigh of relief and rise to their feet. When they exchanged glances, they discovered that both their foreheads were covered in sweat.

“During a conquest, unless there is no alternative, we should do as you did. Those who can be subdued should be brought into the service of the Empire whenever possible. That way, we will not need to station troops everywhere.”

“We understand, Young Master.”

Now that they knew they had not made a mistake, the two finally relaxed.

“Make arrangements for their camp. Tell them that the Empire’s magic instructors will come later to teach them magic. Also ask whether they have any special requests. Do not treat them as prisoners of war. Since their elders have agreed to join the Death Empire, they are now citizens of the Empire. Is that clear?”

“Understood. We will see to it at once.”

Neither man had made things difficult for the mages, who had been forced to come under the pressure of the circumstances.

“There is one more thing…”

Duoge hesitated, repeating himself several times.

“Go ahead, Duoge.” Mo Fei glanced at him.

“Young Master, should we send troops to the island on the other side? Or perhaps build a city there?”

Duoge had been worried that something might happen on the Magic Continent.

“You are right.” Mo Fei lowered his head and thought for a moment. “Their weakness is obvious. Just as during your landing operation this time, all we need do is attack from beyond their range, and they will have no choice but to die. We should go there and teach them how to defend themselves. If they are wiped out before imperial reinforcements arrive, that would be unfortunate.

“Duoge, leave the fleet for now. Do not concern yourself with its affairs. Focus on this task first. Build a city there when the time comes, but do not send imperial troops to garrison it. We must trust them. Besides, if they dare cause trouble, we can always launch another landing operation.

“Once the city is complete, hand it over to them and let them send their own people to occupy and defend it. Also remember to construct a magic array inside the city. Later, select some of the mages trained here and send them back to teach the other mages on their continent.”

“Yes, Young Master. I will make the arrangements at once.”

Duoge was delighted that Mo Fei approved of his suggestion.

“Very well, go. If you need anything, ask Elder Auf and Elder Wade. If you are going to build a city on the Magic Continent, Elder Auf will probably fight to go there himself. Ha-ha!”

Elder Auf was indeed obsessed with construction. Whenever circumstances allowed, he would build a tall, sturdy fortress in the shortest time possible.

“Big Brother, Deldo sent back another report yesterday. You are not truly planning to lead the army yourself and attack the Dark Continent, are you?”

The previous day, Eileen had received the message Deldo had sent through Wade. Deldo had already confirmed the name of the enemy continent and the strength of its forces. In short, everything was ready. All that remained was for Mo Fei to issue the order to counterattack.

“I don’t think I will go after all. Deldo is doing very well. He has destroyed all the enemy warships and conquered all the surrounding islands. Kane has already sent a large army to take control of them. This landing operation can be left to Deldo.

“I am tired of running back and forth. Once Deldo conquers the Dark Continent, we will hold our wedding. We can invite everyone from across the continents here and have a proper celebration together. What do you think?”

“Mm. We will do whatever you think is best, Big Brother.”

Eileen’s face flushed with shyness, though unlike before, she did not bury herself in Mo Fei’s arms.

“That is wonderful!”

The two were still immersed in their happiness when Elder Auf appeared behind them without their noticing. Upon hearing their conversation, he cried out joyfully, “I will immediately have Kane order that fool Deldo to conquer the Dark Continent within ten days. If he delays the Young Master’s great occasion, Kane will skin him alive!”

Laughing loudly, Elder Auf strode away without even pausing to attend to any other business.

All across the Empire, including the Imperial City, the people were eagerly awaiting news of when His Majesty would hold his wedding. They greatly loved Eileen, the gentle and kind princess, and they revered Mo Fei even more for bringing an end to the turmoil that had once plagued their lives. Everything they now enjoyed was the result of His Majesty’s wisdom, and so they had begun to concern themselves with the major event in his personal life as well.

The affairs of the Magic Continent had finally come to a temporary conclusion. Mo Fei was extremely satisfied with the result. He even made a special visit to the elders of the Berserker Council to claim credit for Xilin and Duoge.

Although the Empire would honor the two men as well, receiving the acknowledgment of the elders meant even more to them. It proved that they had not brought shame upon their clan, but had instead won it glory. They would consequently receive the approval and commendation of their entire people. To them, such recognition from their clan was no less precious than Mo Fei’s personal approval.

Though they normally lived in the same city, the berserker and dwarf elders rarely appeared in public and did not enter the imperial palace to work. Yet it was through the concern and support of these respected berserker and dwarf elders that the Death Empire had reached its present state.

No place in the Empire was forbidden to them. Even within the imperial palace, the guards were not permitted to obstruct them in the slightest when they appeared. They were the most extraordinary figures in the Empire.

The affairs within the Empire had more or less been dealt with, and the reports from the Doma Empire also pleased Li Tian. By now, nearly all the commercial institutions in the Imperial City had established offices or branches there.

In order to develop Doma Garden into a major commercial center and attract even more businesses to establish themselves in Aima Garden, the region had adopted lower taxes and relaxed restrictions on merchants. Meanwhile, the Death Empire had begun collecting ordinary commercial taxes again. The several-year grace period had ended, and normal taxation was being restored.

Strangely, however, commerce in the Imperial City had not suffered any blow. On the contrary, it seemed to be growing even stronger. Although these commercial institutions had opened branches in Doma Garden, their headquarters in the Death Empire appeared to have expanded instead.

The unexpected result left Mo Fei deeply puzzled. The taxes had been restored for the sake of Doma Garden—so why had the outcome been the opposite of what he expected?

Once again, Elder Auf was the one to reveal the truth.

“After several years of development, and after enduring repeated wars, the Death Empire has gradually become the political and commercial center of the Imperial Continent. Although the Empire encourages merchants to develop in Doma Garden, as the heart of the continent, there is no place that can compare with the Imperial City when it comes to receiving news or learning about imperial policies.

“The Empire’s low-tax policy has allowed these commercial institutions to grow over the past several years. The restored taxes are no burden to them at all. On the contrary, the Death Empire’s apparent lack of secrecy allows them to obtain the information they need more quickly and formulate favorable responses in time.

“Thus, although they will establish branches elsewhere, their headquarters here in the Empire will only become stronger.”

Elder Auf’s words gave Mo Fei pause. It seemed that everything had to develop according to its own natural laws. Outside forces might have some effect, but excessive interference could easily provoke a backlash.

Mo Fei sighed. He did not know what else he could do. In the end, he had Wade organize the matter and send someone to deliver it to the prince of Doma Garden. As for how to proceed, the Empire would not interfere with the prince’s decisions, but neither could it offer any better advice or assistance. Everything would have to depend on the united efforts of the prince and the people of his territory.

It seemed that the larger the territory one acquired, the more difficult its governance became. Mo Fei now had to consider the Demon Continent, the Diamond Continent, and the newly acquired Magic Continent.

The Magic Continent in particular represented the submission of an entire continent. The Empire could not simply disregard their future lives and affairs. A single careless decision or policy error could bring consequences far more serious than ordinary mistakes.

Fortunately, men had already been sent there to construct a city, so he did not need to deal with the matter immediately. For now, his concern was whether Deldo’s fleet could conquer the Dark Continent.

The Dark Continent had once been able to mobilize nearly five million troops at a time, along with an enormous naval force capable of transporting that army. The thought worried Mo Fei.

Although their naval strength had been destroyed, they still possessed their forces on land. Mo Fei had no idea whether the newly trained imperial troops alone would be enough.

All he could do was wait and see how events unfolded.