Chapter 656 Rise of the Alliance 1
Silence lingered in the room for a few seconds while both the mother and daughter looked at the King with extreme confusion on their faces.
Stomping down on other organizations? A prime location which each and every settlement would want to migrate to?
What were they missing? Why was the King bringing up all this?
Realizing that he had spoken out of context and that he possibly sounded like a power-hungry madman, Daneel chuckled as he was in an extremely good mood.
Indeed, he had never expected the pyramid scheme to pay off so well, and most of the credit had to go to the one who was responsible for it all.
Jordan.
He had underestimated the level of talent that was required to run a shadowy organization on the scale of some of the largest trade families present in the continent, and Jordan had shown it in full in the way he had perfectly executed all of Daneel's orders.
Eking out each and every single Ether Block possible from those families who trusted that he was one of them, he had proven that there was so much more wealth in Angaria than Daneel could ever have imagined.
Mostly, it could be attributed to the greed of those who were already rich. In fact, it could be said that anyone could have fallen into this trap. After all, if one saw the money they put into something increasing and even almost doubling, wouldn't they want to repeatedly put in as much as possible so that they could quickly increase their fortune?
It was almost like gambling. When one got addicted to the feeling of seeing their earnings quickly grow, they would keep pumping in as much as they could as it was almost like a drug that they would not be able to resist.
Indeed, Jordan still had to deliver those Network Trinkets, as promised, but that wasn't the problem. He was selling them at an inflated price, and after they were sold, they would just be sitting in the warehouses of those who had paid all the money as they had severely underestimated the actual demand that was there for the product.
Ruminating on the fact that ideas like these when carried over still worked pretty well as basic human nature was still the same, Daneel opened his mouth to explain to the family in front of him why he had just said the statement that was still echoing in the room.
"I'll be honest with you two. Right now, it is a major priority of mine that the settlements which lie outside of Lanthanor should all be enticed into coming into our Alliance. All these people have no allegiance to any force, and although the settlements have various reasons why they chose to establish themselves in such areas which are not within the borders of any Kingdon, I want to give them enough reasons to uproot themselves and move. For that, this is only one of the steps that I will be taking. You see, employment is one of the most important factors that are considered when someone is considering moving to a different place. Just think about it. If you wanted to go to the Black Raven Kingdom, wouldn't you check whether you could easily get a job and earn a living there?"
Although it was true that the two people in this room right now were some of the richest in the entire kingdom, they hadn't forgotten their roots, and that was partially the reason why their success continued instead of halting like it would have for many others.
Unlike typical people who would start spending and showing their wealth as soon as it began accumulating, these two always remembered the time when they had had nothing to eat. That was why only a very little portion of their earnings went into spending for themselves, and the rest was spent on adopting children whom they treated like their own family.
Daneel deeply admired such people, and once again, he felt glad that he had supported them.
Seeing them nod, he continued.
"Good. The two of you, right now, are role models in the society. So, there is no one better to helm this project. First of all, let me make it clear to you that such an organization, when run by those with greed, can wreak a lot of havoc because of the power it will possess. I've seen… Cough, heard of many tales where such organizations exploit people and even governments with their power or monopoly in order to generate as much wealth as possible for themselves. I know your characters, so I know that this won't be a problem. Your priority will be to generate as much employment as possible so that so many more people will not have to go to bed with the worry that their future is not secured. At the end of the day, this is something that weighs heavily on anyone's mind, right? So, we will be implementing a lot of stuff to this end. What do you say?"
More than Danlia, it was Helena who was affected by these words.
In this age, stability of employment was not something that was assured almost anywhere. It was different for government jobs, but even in that case, in other Kingdoms, there was always a possibility that someone with more background or power could usurp one's positions and throw them onto the street. As for typical jobs like farming, mining, or other industries that were related to these two major occupations, they were also not stable as one never knew when there might be an oversupply, resulting in losses, or some sort of problem that could result in one having to depend on their savings, or even take loans in order to survive.
This was how it had been for a long time, and people had gotten used to it. But now, according to the King, it could change?
Helena couldn't believe it, and it seemed more like a pipe dream than anything.
However, if anyone could accomplish it, then it was the man in front of her who was responsible for more marvels than anyone could count.
She, herself, had spoken to many seamstresses who always kept wishing that their business would continue to be as flourishing as it was at the moment, as that would mean that they would not have to worry about the future. These were all people who supported multiple family members with their own income, and although education was currently free, food and living were not at all cheap.
And as for generating more employment… What else could she desire rather than to help others achieve and grow in the same way that they had?
So, with hope shining in her eyes, she nodded and said, "My king, we owe everything we have to you. No matter what you ask of us, we will always be ready to comply, and this is even something that resonates with us, so I can promise you that we are ready to do everything that is required of us to make your dream a reality. I must admit that it really does sound like a dream, and if it really is possible for it to become reality, then no one will be happier than me."
Daneel had expected this response, but hearing it made him smile.
For a long time, he had been focusing completely on satisfaction level and implementing schemes to increase it quickly, but he had not done something basic like this for the people that would drastically change their living conditions.
What better way could be there to make those who believed in him know that their decision was right?
With this thought, more and more ideas began popping up in Daneel's head, and he listed all of them down.
The most crucial thing was that he was from Earth, where many, many types of developmental schemes had been tested and verified. Taking inspiration from them, Daneel began forming his master plan, which would encompass a lot of things he had seen on Earth.
It had been quite some time since Angaria had experienced a storm.
So… It was high time he changed that.
…
In the Kingdom of Eldinor, Katerina and Eldra were staring at the missive from their alliance leader that had just arrived.
It had been transmitted and recorded in a data trinket which was lying in front of them, and they had already played it twice.
Still, Katerina played it one more time after which a few seconds of silence lingered in the room.
Finally, Eldra was the one who spoke up.
"I always knew that he was a man of tall ambitions, but I wouldn't have expected that he would move in this method. Isn't the Church still a threat?"
Katerina had gone into deep thought regarding the same topic.
But, after analyzing it from all angles, a flash of realization passed across her face.
"You're mistaken, Eldra. I suspect that this whole thing is in fact in preparation for the Church. Think about it. Which is better, a united people who have a sense of belonging to each other and will hence fight together, or a fractured continent where each Kingdom's interest might be different? He has the opportunity to do this, and although it appears on the surface as if he's just exploiting his position for no valid reason, there is a lot of sense in what he's doing. I support him wholeheartedly."
Eldra ruminated on these words for a few seconds and then said, "I see your point, but there are still other ways. Still, it's not like I don't believe in him. Let's do it."
Immediately, orders were sent to the communication wing of the palace where the personal records of each and every army mage living were present.
Due to the loose nature of the army of the Kingdom of Eldinor, there was no specific barracks except for the special forces such as the ones which had made their name known across the continent during the incident before.
Right now, those forces were still recuperating, so the rest were called.
Initially, many mages ignored these calls as they normally would, and continued whatever they were doing. Some were researching strange topics, others were honing their skills, and still others were casually enjoying the privileged life that their power had earned them.
However, when each mage saw the message, expressions of shock appeared on their faces as they immediately teleported to the palace in order to find out whether it was real.
Seeing them appearing one by one, Katerina couldn't help but chuckle and say, "As always, he was right about this. Being part of something historic is definitely something that would entice any elf. Let's go. I can't wait to see the end product."
…
To the east of the Black Raven Kingdom, there was a village that was situated right outside of the border.
This was a settlement that hadn't been targeted by any Kingdom so far, so they were still an independent entity who always kept a careful watch on the surroundings.
Hence, when a large bunch of mages appeared in the air a few meters away from them, they spotted them immediately, which caused alarm bells to ring throughout the village.
As one, each and every villager picked up pitchforks, knives or whatever weapons that were nearby and headed outside of the shabby wall that they had constructed to protect themselves from wild beasts and weak bandits as the strong ones wouldn't target them anyway as they had nothing too valuable.
BOOOOMMMM!!!!
That was when they all screamed and almost fell to the ground, as the earth shook as if there was some creature moving underneath them.
With horror, they looked forward to see that each and every mage had begun to blast the earth below them, causing large craters to appear out of which soil was lifted out and thrown to the side.
Right about this scene, unknown to them, the most powerful individual on the continent who had recently shown his power and awed the High Council of Angaria was standing along with the person who had set what was happening in motion.
"There won't be a problem, right? I'm just marking my territory, and those inside can choose to leave at any time."
Seeing the beginnings of a project the likes of which hadn't been undertaken on this continent in a long, long time, the Head said, "Due to the recent fight, they are still pretty cowed, so it's alright. Even if there is a little resistance, I'll take care of it. You've proven your worth in the legacy battle, so I can't wait to see what you do in the next sect. When is your next trip, by the way? I still believe that although this is impressive, it doesn't help your power in any manner. Although I do believe that all these plans might help Angaria on the whole, your personal power is still what is most important."
Hearing the answer that he wanted to hear, Daneel grinned and said, "Two months. In two months, I will transform this continent, and then, I will be able to focus wholeheartedly on my own power. Thank you, Head, for placing your trust in me. Again, you won't be disappointed."