Chapter 125: The Noble Fairy

One week later, following the capture of Lev City by Xuanlu, the onion-layered defensive network that interconnected the entire territory was completely severed.

Under the combined pincer movements of armored divisions and mechanized infantry, towns large and small quickly collapsed, raising white flags one after another. The remaining two major cities were also terrified; just as Xuanlu prepared to strike, two viscounts took their families and went to Lev City in person to surrender.

Faced with the surrender of these two nobles, the think tank engaged in a fierce overnight discussion and ultimately decided to accept it. The handling of these nobles involved stripping them of their noble status and reclassifying them as city lords with limited autonomy. The sole condition was absolute obedience to Xuanlu’s orders and full cooperation with the Eastern Territory Infrastructure Plan. Failure to comply would result in immediate removal from office. In short, they were stripped of their noble titles, but otherwise, things would continue as before—provided they answered to Xuanlu.

Initially, Xuanlu had intended to conduct a thorough purge, completely eliminating the noble class to abolish hierarchies and unite everyone under a single collective will. In this world, labor costs nothing; as long as they have food to eat, the vast majority of people will work themselves to the bone. Twelve hours a day is nothing to them. As long as they are fed, the lower classes will work desperately for Xuanlu. To Xuanlu, this cheap and high-quality labor force was the greatest benefit gained in the New World, aside from arcane knowledge.

Ideally, if Xuanlu provided them with two or three meals a day, combined with ideological education, the millions of people in the territory would become the cornerstone of Xuanlu’s foundation in the New World.

However, this was an ideal; the reality was far more complex. First, Xuanlu lacked the manpower to manage such a vast area. With current personnel, they could control at most four major cities and their surrounding towns; other areas had to be left to their own devices. Especially with the lack of functional roads, Xuanlu’s control over remote regions was virtually non-existent. Without intervention, areas beyond the major cities would fall into chaos, descending into a brutal state of law-of-the-jungle. Xuanlu’s commands could not reach the towns and villages, meaning they could not mobilize the majority of the grassroots population.

While the four major cities had large populations, they were few compared to the vast number of towns and villages. In the ancient social structure of this New World, the vast majority of the population was distributed across these smaller settlements. It would be foolish and irrational to completely destroy the old order before having the capacity to establish a new one.

Considering various factors, the think tank decided to temporarily retain noble rule, allowing them to continue managing the lower classes. At the very least, these nobles could understand Xuanlu’s orders and mobilize the populace for the Great Infrastructure Plan. Based on these considerations, the think tank decided to maintain the existing order, letting the nobles burn out their final embers. Once the roads were built, they would be useless.

This decision would surely be met with condemnation back home. After all, Xuanlu had occupied this region, and allowing nobles to continue oppressing the people clearly violated Xuanlu’s political correctness. Nobles deserved to die. The think tank had no other choice; this was the only way to maximize Xuanlu’s interests for now. If they were criticized later, so be it—some things simply had to be done.

Within the General Staff, the think tank bid farewell to the two viscounts and various lesser lords who had signed the surrender treaty. A staff officer leaned back in his chair and smiled bitterly, "Gentlemen, we’ve given others leverage with this. We might be labeled as collaborators with the nobility."

Although their decision had not been opposed by their superiors, they had violated Xuanlu's political correctness. Compromising with the noble class was an undeniable fact. If someone wanted to target them later, they could easily use this to crush them. The others wore bitter expressions; they resisted this approach, but their reason told them it was the correct course of action.

"It won't come to that, will it? We did it for the Republic, after all," some of the younger members said, clearly disbelieving.

"It’s possible, though the odds are low. If this is handled well, the label won't stick, and the chances of promotion and a raise are even higher."

"Don't worry, the most we'll get is some criticism from a few writers and intellectuals."

The group joked among themselves, and the tense atmosphere gradually eased. Just then, an untimely voice spoke up.

"By the way, how are we handling Colonel Qin Le’s situation? The Colonel seems very angry."

The head of the think tank coughed and said, "Compile the sequence of events and send it all to the Colonel. Either way, these matters have nothing to do with us."

The incident involving the frontline soldier using chemical weapons implicated various parties and the personal intent of that frontline commander. If one were to truly investigate how the gas weapons were smuggled in, it would drag a whole group of people down with them. Interests were at stake, and the water was very deep; they dared not get involved.

...

Lev City, inside the magnificent castle built against the mountain.

After the soldiers conducted a rough inspection of the castle, they quickly discovered Count Lev’s secret room—or, more accurately, his treasure vault. A massive stone door, fully five meters high, stood exposed in a grand hall. Clearly, for a noble of Count Lev’s standing, a cramped secret room was insufficient to house his treasures.

Qin Le stood before the stone door, looking up at the dense patterns covering it. It was clearly some form of sealing magic—in simple terms, a New World safe. A large number of researchers and soldiers were busy recording data, replicating the patterns to see if they could be used later.

Aemoya took the lead in arriving at the stone door, the golden light flickering in her beautiful eyes as if she could already see the endless treasures behind the door.

"What are you staring at?" Qin Le reached out and tapped her, urging her to get to work.

In truth, Qin Le was also a bit excited, looking forward to what treasures lay inside. Even though the vast majority of items would have to be turned over to the state, it didn't dampen his anticipation. It was a bit like playing a gacha or unboxing game in his previous life—he enjoyed the process of drawing the card, regardless of what he actually got. Moreover, if there really were good items that could enhance his strength, they would eventually end up in his hands. As the saying goes: what is mine is the state’s, and what is the state’s is mine.

"Qin Le, you don't understand," Aemoya turned back and said with self-satisfaction. "Based on my years of professional experience, opening a noble’s vault is like a lottery—there are good ones and bad ones. If your luck is bad, it’s full of disgusting things; if your luck is good, it’s treasure everywhere."

*Years of professional experience...* This was the first time he had seen someone so shameless, dressing up theft in such high-sounding terms. This scummy elf hadn't learned anything good from Xuanlu, but she had certainly picked up plenty of bad habits.

Qin Le said, deadpan, "Enough, no more nonsense. Hurry up and open the door."

"What’s the rush? I’ve even visited the sacred vaults of the major churches. A mere count's vault? I’ll break it in under ten seconds." Aemoya turned back confidently, stepped forward, and placed her hand on the stone door.

The dense corridors on the stone door began to glow, and spiritual energy flowed through the circuits. It entered the standard process; one by one, magical circuits that Qin Le couldn't understand detached from the door and floated in mid-air.

As time ticked by, the expectant looks of the crowd began to fade, replaced by a hint of confusion. *Why is it taking so long?*

Qin Le checked his mechanical watch; ten minutes had passed, and the door still wouldn't open. Just as he was about to ask, the magical circuits floating before the stone door suddenly dimmed and dissipated into the air. Qin Le looked at the patterns on the stone door; the luster remained, and a faint spiritual energy radiated from it. Clearly, the experienced elf lady had failed.

"Ms. Aemoya, your extensive professional experience doesn't seem to be working."

Aemoya stepped back, looking embarrassed. She had just bragged, only to have it break down immediately. "Give me a few more hours. This sealing technique is a bit unfamiliar; I didn't quite grasp it at first."

Qin Le turned to the soldiers beside him and ordered, "Go bring a 203mm artillery piece and blow this thing open."

Over the past few days, he had consulted Aemoya about sealing techniques. Simply put, they were a variation of defensive magic, just with a few extra passwords. It could be viewed as an otherworldly safe; it wasn't as mysterious as it seemed—brute force could break it. There was nothing an artillery shell couldn't solve, and if there was, you just doubled the payload. He didn't have time to waste here; after checking this, he had to return to the base to attend the fireworks trial.

Ten minutes later, a 203mm artillery piece mounted on two wheels was dragged with great difficulty to the front of the door by a dozen soldiers. They calculated the safe distance, loaded a non-explosive armor-piercing shell, and adjusted the aim toward the stone door.

Qin Le and Aemoya retreated from the hall. Before long, they heard a violent tremor from within. Aemoya felt very dejected; it seemed she was about to be unemployed. The violent impact lasted for over ten minutes, followed by a massive explosion from inside, after which a soldier ran out.

He gave a military salute and said, "Reporting, sir, the door has been successfully breached."

A bombardment lasting over ten minutes was something even a Legion Knight's battle formation might not be able to withstand, let alone this door. Qin Le returned to the hall. The stone door had already collapsed, with fragments scattered on the ground. Judging by the marks, it had clearly been blown open by a bomb, and it had been handled quite precisely, causing no damage to the surrounding structure.

Qin Le gazed into the space inside. The vault was small enough to see to the end at a glance. Inside were boxes, various weapons, wooden shelves filled with scrolls, and at the far end, an oval object covered by a black cloth.

"Are there any traps?" Qin Le asked.

Aemoya waved her hand and replied, "No traps. Generally, there aren't traps inside a vault; after all, those noble lords have to enter and exit this place frequently, and traps would be very troublesome."

As she spoke, Aemoya ran into the vault first, excitedly opening one of the boxes.

Golden coins filled the entire box, making the elf lady drool. She dove into the coins, wishing she could bury herself in the box. "Money! Money! It’s all money! Qin Le, we’re rich!"

The elf lady had been conquered by the thrill of raiding a house. Previously, when she "borrowed" things, she only dared to take a little; she had never experienced walking in and carrying it all away like this.

Seeing that there were no issues, Qin Le walked in, protected by several two-meter-tall frontline soldiers. The researchers and soldiers followed, beginning to carefully inspect everything in the vault. Qin Le came up behind Aemoya and grabbed her by the hood, pulling her out.

"This all belongs to the Republic."

Aemoya struggled for a moment, but this time she didn't teleport away as she usually did. Instead, she turned to look at him, her beautiful face filled with seriousness.

"What belongs to the Republic is yours, and what is yours is mine, so all of this is mine."

Over the past few days, the good things collected by Xuanlu from various places had basically ended up in this person’s mouth. Aemoya had basically assumed that most of the good things the Republic obtained would be given to him. Since the money of this big softy Qin Le was so easy to earn, she believed she would have all this money in her pocket within a few days. Xuanlu gave it to Qin Le, Qin Le gave it to her—calculated that way, wasn't it basically hers?

Qin Le reached out and flicked her fair forehead. The elf hurriedly covered her forehead, her exquisite features twisted in a pout. "What are you doing?"

"Not everything that belongs to the Republic is mine; I only get what I’m entitled to." Qin Le corrected her thinking, then pointed to the black cloth at the end. "Do you know what that thing is back there?"

Everything in the vault was exposed, except for that one object covered by a cloth; it looked suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

"Just pull it off and see. But I can sense a very astonishing spiritual energy inside." Aemoya reached into the inner pocket of her cloak and, as usual, began pulling things out. After rummaging for a few seconds, under Qin Le’s curious gaze, the elf lady pulled out a blue glove.

The glove was very exquisite, sky blue overall, with golden patterns dotted across it.

"And what is this?" Qin Le was long accustomed to the elf pulling out gear.

"A telekinesis glove, a little gadget made by the Arcane Society. It doesn't have much power, but it has many uses, so I 'borrowed' it." Aemoya explained while putting on the glove. "Its main function is to manipulate objects. It’s a bit like a mage hand, but the essence is different. It allows objects to move according to my will, rather than just grabbing them like a mage hand. I often use it to pick up money that others have dropped."

Aemoya aimed at the front and gave a light pinch, then pulled back slowly. A miraculous scene occurred: the black cloth in front suddenly flew up.

Without the covering of the black cloth, a golden cage appeared before them. It was 1.5 meters high, made entirely of gold, with magical circuits suspended on the surface. From the transparent barrier, it was clear that this was a defensive spell. Through the barrier, one could see a small figure inside.

Humanoid, with earthy yellow hair, the size of a palm, wrapped only in a layer of cloth, with several small, transparent wings on its back. It sat huddled with its knees pulled to its chest, making it impossible to see its face. The small person in the cage noticed the change outside, raised its head to reveal refined features, and looked at them with watery eyes, appearing very shy. From the appearance, it leaned slightly toward being male.

"What is this? A little person? A dwarf?" Qin Le looked at the little person with some confusion, inwardly sighing that this world with supernatural power really had every variety of creature. However, it was as good-looking as ever, quite refined, and had that kind of "cute puppy" vibe. Tsk, tsk, tsk—if this were in his previous life, the daily salary would start at over a million.

"This is a..." Aemoya was just about to act as his personal search engine when she was immediately interrupted by a voice.

"Your whole family is a little person! Your grandpa here is a fairy!" The little person in the cage spoke with a deep, sonorous voice, like a middle-aged, greasy uncle. This voice didn't match its cute puppy appearance at all; the contrast left people stunned.

"A noble and holy fairy, understand? Now kneel down and apologize to me, and maybe I’ll spare you!"