Chapter 1194
Chapter 1194 - 1180: The King’s Choice
1,337 words
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7 min read
Lu Ping’an wasn’t in a hurry, some things indeed couldn’t be rushed.
His team had already begun their work, still on the regular "Commercial Circuit".
In this new round of support teams, Lu Ping’an’s "Rebirth Commerce" was the most anticipated, but it seemed he was truly intent on handling logistics and doing business, leaving quite a few people taken aback.
But in fact, only a very few at the high level knew that what Lu Ping’an was doing now was probably the real deal and moreover, a big task that only he could accomplish.
".....Another batch of Long Hand Clan ’goods’ has been shipped out, we need new recruits, which city do we attack next? Or should we directly buy from the Fishmen?"
"Better to target suburban cities, the purchased... if we really make it a long-term bounty, making Fishmen and Long Hand Clan into sworn enemies might not be a good thing in the current situation."
What Lu Ping’an was doing, in a sense, was "human trafficking", or say a clearance sale of "Mercenary Army".
He trained a large number of Long Hand Clan warriors, and after they were road-ready, he would sell them off..... Sailors, Soldiers, and Spear Throwers from these three pathways of the Long Hand Clan were perpetually in short supply in this Ocean World.
How much did he earn? A considerable amount, considering that Lu Ping’an’s training in "combat power" was even stronger than a Quasi-God.... This was something the Quasi-God stated himself.
Low cost, low consumption, and even letting rookies self-learn and mature in the "market" enabled them to develop rapidly, a Trait that others couldn’t replicate, even if they wanted to.
Gymnasium, Botanic Garden (Magical Potion), Taboo Library, Holy Fire Church, Beastification Eikon, Acceleration Stele..... going through this whole process, as long as you are willing to pay and brave enough to risk your life, you could achieve combat power.
And in this training cycle, they naturally assimilated "human" culture along with humanity itself.
This was the process Lu Ping’an had come up with after experimentation, and those "movies" weren’t just for something as intangible as cultural invasion.....
"This is how people are meant to live."
"Our current state is a form of sickness."
"Is change really possible..."
Lu Ping’an felt somewhat thankful to the deceased No. 177; in fact, his actions had reminded Lu Ping’an of something vitally important.
The "slaves" including Lu from 313 that he harvested there generally had a strong sense of self-consciousness and initiative, whereas the Long Hand Clan he collected or saved from other places, even if they were free citizens or contract workers, lacked such enthusiasm.
Having a lax mindset was normal, and even if there was a desire for advancement and a better life, there was an absence of the courage to fight for it.
"Their difference? Perhaps, it lies in having had hope, having seen the light....."
Lu Ping’an never believed in any innate nobility in the bloodline of nobles; he was certain that a person’s abilities were often a combination of innate talents and life experiences. If a life had been spent in an animal-like existence from birth to now, raised as an animal, surrounded by people who also called you an animal..... then perhaps, you’d really start believing you were just an animal.
Feeling inherently inferior as a given, thinking that just being well-fed is a grace and bliss, such people naturally wouldn’t strive for anything beyond their basic needs.
At this time, that small movie played a remarkable role.
It was visual, it was real, it was indisputable (in the eyes of the locals).
Its impact on the locals was unimaginable to Earthlings.
In their eyes, there was indeed another way to live in this world, without enslavement or displacement, free from melee or war, acquiring life necessities through merely "simple labor".
For them, to merely survive required a desperate fight, let alone supporting another person – that’s just a pipe dream.
When you are injured or sick, better to end it yourself, don’t become a burden to others, then die painfully and ignobly.
Naturally, when they saw on the movie that there were "hospitals" and "schools", the concepts were so hard to grasp, so shocking.....
"Their children, they can actually live to become adults!"
This statement left Lu Ping’an, who was watching, utterly stunned.
Only then did Lu Ping’an notice that the average age of the Long Hand Clan they had collected was shockingly low... After all, slaves were consumable goods, and the long-term laborers weren’t much better in wearing themselves out.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I’m thinking about your people..."
Most of the Long Hand Clan were coming and going in the courtyard, quickly becoming mercenaries heading to the battlefield to fight for their own and their ethnic group’s "survival."
Yet, Lu had always stayed by Lu Ping’an’s side.
Not only did she learn from Lu Ping’an, but he also gained a deeper understanding of these struggling ethnic groups and this overly tragic and helpless world through her.
"...They’re doing well, they’ve learned to write letters, and they’ve sent me two. Although they’re full of typos and phonetic annotations, it’s clear they’re happy and grateful to you all."
"Even though I’ve turned you into this?"
"You’re joking, I am only grateful. If this is the price for gaining strength, then it is truly too cheap."
Previously, Lu was considered an elegant beauty by human standards.
But now, if you look at her appearance, she’s clearly non-human.
Half of her body has undergone "Abyss Transformation"; her fringe covers half her face, and her remaining eye is a dim beast pupil, clearly eroded as well.
Her right hand is a somewhat deformed claw, her right foot resembles a beast’s hoof, and behind her right side, there are bone-like small wings, making her look like a demon.
Add to that her naturally large size as a member of the Long Hand Clan, and she resembles a slender War Demon.
As a woman, she was essentially ruined.
But at that moment, she was only grateful.
Lu Ping’an nodded his head, sensing that she was serious, but some things still needed to be looked after, as gratitude could inadvertently turn into hatred, which would be rather troublesome... If it were to come to that, Lu Ping’an would just have to find someone else to accelerate investment.
In fact, Lu Ping’an had invested in four or five "Saviors", but except for the two who were still learning, the rest had already graduated and "started their jobs."
Lu kept staying because she indeed had value to continue cultivating.
"Let’s begin, the sixth battlefield training. If you pass this time, you can graduate and ’start working’ like your junior brothers. However, I have an extra little mission here that you can consider whether to accept..."
"I’ll go."
And the girl’s immediate answer left Lu Ping’an at a loss for how to respond.
"The Abyssal Insect Race... they were once the masters of this world, and after being expelled, they fell into the Abyss. Now they are probably half back for vengeance and half to erode this land."
Normally, common races encountering Abyss Species have no other choice but to fight to the death, but letting Lu undergo the contamination and erosion of Abyss Transformation was also considered from the start.
However, now that she was fully cultivated and her value confirmed, Lu Ping’an felt somewhat reluctant to let her go—it was too dangerous...
"I’ll go... I understand. From the beginning, only a ’middleman’ like me could possibly gain the trust of the Abyssal Insect Race. I will serve as an envoy and visit them."
If there had to be a rebellion, one company alone would hardly be enough...
— End of Chapter 1194 —