Chapter 10: Hope
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhao Hai only calmed down when the sun rose from the ground. Yes, this was the first sunrise he had seen in the other world. The magnificent scenery made him feel relaxed and heroic, so he could not help but say those words.
When Zhao Hai turned around, he realized that Grimm and the others were standing under the wall with the hundred slaves behind them. It could be seen that these slaves had been carefully selected. There were equal numbers of male and female, and they all looked healthy and strong. They were also clean and wore clean clothes. However, there was a mark on the faces of the men. That mark was on their foreheads. It was a ferocious dragon baring its fangs. It was the emblem of the Buda family. It was made according to the name of their family’s battle aura.
When Grimm saw that Zhao Hai had noticed them, he immediately bowed to Zhao Hai and said loudly, “Young Master, the glory of the Buda family will definitely shine on the entire land. Please guide us.” After he finished speaking, the slaves behind him all knelt down and kowtowed. No one dared to raise their heads to look at Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai was just an ordinary otaku in his previous life. He had never seen such a scene before. He was stunned and at a loss for words.
It took a while for him to calm down. Seeing that Grimm and the others were still bent over, he quickly said, “Grandpa Grimm, everyone, get up. We’ve arrived at a place where there’s nothing. The land cannot be cultivated and there are no ores in the mountains. We only have this abandoned castle as a place to stay. And you people have already been branded by the Buda family’s mark, you belong to the Buda family whether you are willing or not. As long as the Buda family exists, you have a need to exist. If the Buda family disappears, you will also disappear. This is an immutable fact. Yes, we have nothing now, but we have a pair of capable hands. Everything in this world is created by the hands of humans. Every one of us has a pair of hands, so we won’t starve to death. We will work to make our lives better. Most of you are slaves, and so you might think that the beauty of life has nothing to do with you because no matter how good life is, you are still slaves. But today, I will announce that as long as you work hard and contribute to the Buda family’s development, I will remove your slave identity. You will become civilians, and your children will also be free. They also might one day join the Buda family’s army and become a glorious warrior. If their performance is good, they might become a knight and even a noble. I ask you to give your best and I will also give you what you deserve. As long as you work hard, I, Adam Buda, swear by the name of my family’s honor that I shall fulfill my promises!”
A slight commotion occurred among the slaves. Before being sold, those slaves had been professionally trained. They were not allowed to move when their masters were lecturing them. Even if they wanted to fart, they had to endure it. Such a commotion should not have happened.
However, Zhao Hai’s words were really shocking. There had never been a noble on the continent who would turn slaves into commoners. Once you became a slave, you would be a slave for all eternity, and your descendants would also be slaves. This could not be changed.
If Zhao Hai had just said that, these slaves would not have believed him, but Zhao Hai had sworn on the honor of the Buda family. The nobles on the Ark Continent did not easily make an oath. Even if they swore, they would not swear on their family’s honor. That was what all the nobles valued the most. But as long as they swore on their family’s honor, they would definitely fulfill their promises. In other words, what Zhao Hai had said was all true!
What was the greatest wish of a slave? It was to one day become a commoner, to restore their freedom, to prevent their descendants from suffering the pain of slavery. For this, many slaves resisted. They rebelled and revolted, but they were quickly suppressed by those nobles. They were only slaves, they had no weapons, no armor, and no battle aura. They could not defeat the noble army that was armed to the teeth.
Now, Zhao Hai was telling them that as long as they worked hard and contributed to the Buda family, they could obtain the status of commoners. This was like a dream to these slaves.
Working hard was compulsory for the slaves. If they did not work hard and were discovered to be slacking, they would be executed or punished severely. Therefore, no one dared to slack off. Now, someone told them that as long as they continued working hard, their dream would be fulfilled. This was too shocking for them.
Grimm and the others were also stunned. They did not expect Zhao Hai to say such a thing. Grimm did not agree with Zhao Hai’s words, because it was normal for those slaves to work hard. Moreover, no noble on the continent would turn a slave into a commoner. There were too many things involved in this.
But now that Zhao Hai had already said it, he could not retort. He could only wait until they returned to the castle to tell Zhao Hai about the situation.
Looking at the reactions of the slaves, Zhao Hai knew that his words had achieved its purpose. From Adam’s memories, he already knew the status of these slaves. It was because he knew this that he used what these slaves wanted the most to lure them.
Human’s creativity was endless. As long as they were given hope, the energy they could erupt with was unimaginable. Now, Zhao Hai needed them to erupt with this energy, so he did this.
Zhao Hai was very satisfied with their reaction, so he continued, “You can think of various ways to make contributions. As long as you can let the Buda family gain benefits or make things that can improve our lives, you can show them to Supervisor Grimm. As long as I believe that the things you make are useful, I will record your contributions. As long as your contributions reach a certain level, you can become a civilian of our Buda family and this Black Soil Territory. Even if you don’t do anything creative, as long as you work hard and perform well, you can obtain contribution points.”
The slaves were even more excited. They were almost treating Zhao Hai as a god because only a god would be so benevolent. An aura erupted from all the slaves. This aura actually made Grimm, who was already a level-eight warrior, feel a little shocked.
Grimm turned to look at the slaves and realized that there seemed to be something new on them. In the past, when he saw these slaves, he would feel that they were lifeless, like a rock. But now, they were like a living human. They showed vitality and strength.
Grimm was shaken. He suddenly understood Zhao Hai’s actions. If the Buda family wanted to develop, it was impossible to rely on just a hundred lifeless slaves. But if it were a hundred people filled with vigor, it would be completely different. Grimm did not know what a hundred hardworking people could do, but he knew what a hundred slaves could do. Grimm heaved a sigh of relief and smiled sincerely. At the same time, there was a trace of determination in his face. He believed that the opportunity for the Buda family to start anew was coming.
Zhao Hai also felt the changes in the slaves. He smiled and knew that his words were effective, so he immediately said, “Alright, go and work. Arrange these supplies first. There will be a new mission for you tomorrow.” The slaves responded and quickly walked towards the supplies. Their footsteps were much livelier than before, and their bodies were filled with energy.
Zhao Hai nodded in satisfaction and got down from the wall. He slowly walked to Grimm and said, “Grandpa Grimm, let’s go back. I have something to ask you.”
Grimm nodded and led Merlyn and the others into the castle. Looking at Zhao Hai’s back, Grimm knew that Zhao Hai had really changed. He was no longer the young master who only knew how to cause trouble. He was now the head of the Buda family, a true head.
The few of them quickly arrived at the dining room. After sitting down, Zhao Hai flipped his hand and the remaining half of the radish which he had eaten appeared in his hand. He placed the radish on the table and said to Grimm, “Grandpa Grimm, look at this.”
Grimm did not say anything. Zhao Hai looked at Grimm strangely and realized that Grimm was looking at his hand in a daze. He knew why Grimm had such an expression, it was because he had taken out the radish out of nowhere.
On this continent, there was space magic. However, space magic was very difficult to learn, and the requirements were very harsh, so not many people learned it. Although there were spatial equipment that could be used to store things, it required energy like magic energy or battle aura to open those equipment. As for him, who had drunk the Void Water, even if he had such equipment, he could not open it.
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Grandpa Grimm, what do you think this is?”
Grimm came to his senses and stood up excitedly. “Young Master, you just? You just…”
Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing. It’s an ability I accidentally obtained. It’s okay if you guys know of it, don’t tell others. Alright, look at what this is.”