Chapter 784 - 532: Let the Light Deity Smell the Stench of the Mortal World
Chapter 784: Chapter 532: Let the Light Deity Smell the Stench of the Mortal World
The two of them watched from the sidelines for a while.
Ed suddenly spoke up.
"Lord, there is one more thing I needed to report to you."
"Speak."
Raylo’s gaze remained on the Pegasus.
Ed frowned, looking somewhat troubled.
"It’s about that batch of prisoners of war."
"The ones from the Fiery Sun Kingdom?"
"Yes."
Ed sighed.
"We captured over eight thousand enemy soldiers this time, and most of them... are devout followers of the Light Deity."
Raylo pulled his gaze away and looked at him.
"Is there a problem?"
"A huge problem, Lord."
Ed’s expression was one of great distress.
"These people are as stubborn and foul as stones from a latrine pit. We try to make them do some work, like building roads or clearing farmland, but they just sit right down and start praying."
"Beating them doesn’t work, and cursing them is useless. They do nothing but consume our food every day. The men guarding them are full of complaints, completely at a loss with these worthless bastards."
The more Ed spoke, the angrier he became.
"These bastards are nothing but a bunch of useless mouths who only know how to eat and pray! Lord, if you ask me, we should just..."
He made a slicing gesture across his throat.
As a soldier, he hated waste, and he especially hated dealing with such thorny problems.
In his view, the best place for an enemy who could not be put to use was the grave.
Raylo fell silent.
He paced slowly, his fingers unconsciously stroking his chin.
Ed’s proposal was the simplest, most direct solution.
But he didn’t want to do that.
Massacring several thousand prisoners of war who had already surrendered would be a huge stain on his reputation.
He wanted to build a prosperous kingdom, not an empire of terror.
The reputation of a tyrant would do his future rule no good.
’Let them go?’
’Even more impossible.’
’That would be tantamount to aiding the enemy.’
’Keep them locked up?’
’Just as Ed said, it would be a pure waste of food and resources.’
’This really is a difficult problem.’
Raylo’s gaze drifted unconsciously toward the distance.
At the edge of his vision lay the endless Black Stone Mountain Range, coiled over the land like a great Black Dragon.
’Black Stone Mountain Range...’
’Mineral deposits...’
He turned to face Ed, whose expression was one of profound anguish.
"Ed."
"Here, Lord."
"You just said they were useless?"
"Yes, Lord! They don’t work, they don’t pledge allegiance—if that’s not useless, what is?"
Ed said indignantly.
Raylo said with a smile.
"No."
"There is no such thing as a truly useless person in this world, only people for whom the right method of use has not yet been found."
Ed was stunned, not understanding Raylo’s meaning at first.
"Lord?"
Raylo raised his hand and pointed toward the towering black mountain range.
"What’s over there?"
Ed followed his finger and answered with some uncertainty.
"Mountains... rocks... and the Black Dragon?"
"And mines."
Raylo added, the smile on his face growing wider.
"Endless mineral deposits. Iron mines, copper mines, Mithril mines... Those are all Gold Coins buried underground, waiting for us to dig them up."
"Now that the Black King has submitted, we already control the eastern part of the Black Stone Mountain Range. When the Hill Giants migrate here, I plan to settle them in the ’Giant’s Sleep’ valley in the central part of the mountains. That way, the central Black Stone Mountain Range will also fall under our control."
Raylo looked at Ed and continued:
"They’re followers of the Light Deity?"
"Excellent."
"Let them praise their god from the depths of a sunless mineshaft."
"They think labor is a disgrace and prayer is an honor?"
"Also excellent."
"Then let them pray while they swing their pickaxes. I’m sure their god will much prefer hearing hymns composed from the rhythm of shattered ore."
Raylo’s voice was like a Demon’s whisper.
"They refuse to pledge allegiance? No matter. In the mines, they won’t need to pledge allegiance to me, only to the pickaxes in their hands."
"They consume our food? No problem. From this day forward, every piece of ore they dig up will be a chip they can trade for food."
"As for the guards..."
Raylo’s smile turned mischievous.
"Whose territory is the Black Stone Mountain Range now?"
"It’s... It’s the Black King’s."
Ed answered instinctively.
"Then let the Black King be their Prison Warden. I imagine that when faced with a Domain Level Black Dragon and tens of thousands of Demons, no follower will be foolish enough to attempt a prison break, will they?"
Ed listened, dumbfounded.
But he still had one last question.
"Lord, those fanatics are harder than stones in an outhouse pit. I’m afraid that even if we whip them to death, some still won’t be willing to work in the mines."
Raylo said with a laugh.
"That’s because you’re whipping the wrong thing..."
"Have the craftsmen carve some statues of the Light Deity. If anyone refuses to obey and go into the mines, have the Kobolds whip the statues of their god until they submit!"
"Harder than stones in an outhouse pit, you say?"
"Divide them into squads of ten. Give each squad a statue of the Light Deity. If even one person in a squad tries to escape or refuses to work, throw the statue of their Divine Spirit into the latrine pit. Let their high and mighty Light Deity get a whiff of the stench of the mortal world!"
Ed’s mouth hung open, and for a long moment, he was speechless.
The "incredibly thorny" problem in his mind had not only been effortlessly resolved by his Lord in just a few words, but it had even... been transformed into an asset that would bring enormous profit to the domain!
’Useless?’
’No!’
’This isn’t useless!’
’This is a top-tier mining corps of eight thousand men who require no salary, can withstand high-intensity labor, and even come with their own "faith" as a pillar of spiritual support!’