Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

Chapter 545: Chapter 312: Really, the ‘Ghost’ is Shouting_2
 

The most efficient solution is to resolve the issue once and for all. Plus, it was Wusu who badgered her with the refugees first, forcing her to step in. As long as she’s fighting under the banner of ‘rescuing the refugees’, she will have the moral high ground. No one can condemn her.

She grits her teeth and decides to do it.

After thorough deliberation with Anthony, Misha agrees to summon her troops in two days and then begins her preparations.

Once Misha left, Negris flies over. He bends his short claws and nudges Anthony with his elbow, “What are you up to? Don’t tell me that you’re really doing this out of kindness, to help the displaced farmers in Wusu.”

Anthony shrugs: “Of course, I’m just that kind-hearted a person, what else?”

After his little jest, Anthony puts on a serious face. “On one hand, I want to solidify my place in the Western District, the geographical locations of both Wusu and Luosha are critical. On the other hand, I despise Wusu’s tactics. They’re deliberately causing land acquisitions. If everyone starts doing it, the common people of the Western Region will have no way to survive, they’ll either be slaves or starve”.

“Ah, you’re fearing the domino effect. Everyone following suit will be troublesome.” Negris understands, he also now knows why Anthony, amidst all the busyness, summoned him to the Kingdom of Luosha specifically after hearing about this incident.

It was inconvenient for Anthony to get over here. First, he had to teleport to the Resting Abyss and then take the stairway to heaven. From there he used the portal in heaven to finally arrive here. Back and forth, he had to spend a lot of resources.

“The whole realm is like an activated Magic Egg right now, a ticking time bomb. If the news about Wusu’s actions becomes public, it might set a terrible example. The unscrupulous landlords and aristocrats may see this and think, ‘Ah! So, we can do this? Not only can we remove surplus population but also take over their lands. We can gain a lot of cheap labor by forcing the refugees onto our competition and having them drain their resources.’

“I’m already seeing such symptoms in my district. I’ve killed three Grand Dukes and a King, no one else dares to pull such moves now. But when the time comes, help me get through to the Lord. I’m running low on grain.”

Negris turns his nose: “You go speak to him.”

Anthony walks over to speak with Ange. After he said a few words, Ange suddenly stands up, excitedly howling a few times and starts to gather Little Angel and Little Zombie etc.

Negris was left dumbfounded. When Anthony came back, he couldn’t resist asking in a low voice, “What did you tell him? Wasn’t he supposed to be farming? Why is he looking so excited?”

Anthony shrugs: “I told the Lord about a large salt lake in Wusu Kingdom, the composition of that lake’s salt is different from the salt we eat. With the druid’s knowledge, he can use it as a fertiliser, a substitute for wood ash.”

“Pff…,” Negris spits out in general, looking Anthony up and down in shock, “So I see, you intentionally played the fool back there. If you had mentioned this potassium salt lake, Ange wouldn’t have refused. But you didn’t, you intentionally made a fool out of yourself. Even though it was utterly embarrassing, it allowed you to blend in with everyone else, even Luther Lightning felt comfortable joking with you, I’m starting to understand how you climbed to the top position after every Rebirth.”

Anthony smirks enigmatically, “An insightful person once said, ‘Even when accomplishing great deeds, one must do so as ‘one of our own”.”

“Which wise person said it? How come I’ve never heard of it?” Negris frowns, Is there a wise saying even he, the God of Knowledge, has not heard of?

Anthony smirks triumphantly, “That wise person is named Piero.”

“Kvada, that’s you!” Negris gets angry.

Anthony is actually in a dangerous position, distanced from the core circle. Plus, his identity is very sensitive, creating a barrier between him and everyone else. If this continues, it will cause a rift.

It’s only because the circle revolves around Ange and everyone in it isn’t a bunch of petty people, that this hasn’t happened yet. His relationship with Ange is solid, rooted in unwavering faith. Otherwise, he would have been flooded with rumors and slander. He’s seen that too many times in his millennium-long life. Life is most comfortable here with Ange.

But that’s not to say he shouldn’t work on maintaining a better rapport. Sometimes, making a fool of oneself can help build camaraderie. He prided himself on his networking skills.

But by the evening Anthony’s pride had vanished.

“What? The Lord invaded the Wusu Kingdom and defeated their army? He only had three people with him? Little Angel, Little Zombie and Lightning? Plus a potted sapling? Was… was my plan too complicated?”

…

The Grand Duke Lainate of Wusu led his troops, driving the refugees onward. When they came across any dead bodies on the road, they simply used their swords to flick the bodies into roadside ditches or into the grass and trees, too lazy to bother collecting them.

The Duke’s deputy hesitates, “Isn’t it a bad idea to just leave the bodies like this? What if they turn into Undead and start attacking?”

Lainate dismissively waves his hand, “There’s no need to worry, we fear nothing living, why should we fear the dead? They’re just Undead, we can kill them again if need be.”

The deputy who must have read one too many knight novels doesn’t seem to agree. But instead of arguing, he changes the subject, “Can we really push these many people into Luosha? What if Luosha shuts down their borders? We’re all cavalry, we can’t defeat infantry in mountainous regions.”

Lainate smirks, “Do you think your Grand Duke is a clueless noble, who only knows how to steal pretty women?”