Chapter 1684: Chapter 99: Vampire (Part 3)
Seeing the atmosphere change, Hudson decisively announced the end of the meeting.
The internal grievances and grudges within the kingdom were like a tangled mass, impossible to unravel by human effort.
When destined not to succeed, the best choice is to steer clear.
The task of mediating the disputes between the two factions was successfully completed; both the emerging nobility and the king were dissatisfied, but there was no helping it.
The bitter fruit they planted, they must swallow themselves.
At the last court meeting, when they decisively abandoned the reformists, they should have anticipated this day would come.
If they had resolutely supported the reformists back then, even if the reform failed, they could have persisted a few more days.
...
The Human World is in turmoil, and the Alien World is no more peaceful.
Any effective reform inevitably encroaches on vested interest groups. Where there’s interest involved, disputes are bound to arise.
As summer turns to autumn, the joy of harvest fills the land; however, the spring breeze of reform has turned into a tornado.
The Orc Empire, naturally, suffers the most impact, as many species play reform to survive together, creating quite a lively scene.
In this rapidly changing era, the ancient tribal systems have clearly become shackles restricting the growth of each species’ strength.
Knowing is one thing, changing is another.
The production capacity of nomadic tribes is too weak, with a very low utilization rate of land, making it hard to sustain a large population, let alone professional soldiers.
In the wars against the Human Race, they have been continually defeated. It may seem like they were unlucky to meet the Devil King Hudson, but it was actually a failure in the contest of civilization levels.
The explosion of Magic Technology is steadily enhancing the Human Race’s comprehensive strength, and Hudson’s emergence only accelerated the victory timeline.
When Magical Beast Knights, Magic Crystal Cannons, and Magic Crossbows appear on a large scale in wars, the power gap between the Human Race and other races gradually widens.
Though other races are now choosing to reform and catch up, in the end, they are still a step too slow.
Often, the difference of one step is worlds apart.
Compared to other different races, the multi-ethnic Orc Empire faces more troubles.
The talent pool doesn’t exist, with over ninety percent of species lacking a complete knowledge inheritance, many tribal chieftains are illiterate.
Climbing the technology tree, a meticulous task, is clearly unsuitable for these rough-hewn Orcs.
Without a shortcut to take, they can only start from the basics, first completing the transformation from a nomadic to an agrarian civilization.
The Orc Empire has attempted similar operations in the past.
Many farmlands by the Lakeside of the Snow Moon were left by the Orcs after their defeat and are still in use today.
However, a transformation in civilization does not equate to an increase in combat strength.
At the initial stage of an agrarian civilization, productivity has increased significantly, but military conversion rates are not high.
Cases of barbarism defeating civilization are not uncommon on the Continent of Aslante.
Seeing the diverse reform attempts of each race, the Dark Elf Queen felt helpless.
Everyone is reforming, but they haven’t made a move; this is seen as antisocial behavior.
For an outsider race, being "antisocial" is a sin in itself.
If they want to integrate into the Orc family, they must align some of their behaviors and habits.
"All of you are the wise ones of the clan, where do you think we should start if we were to reform?"
The Dark Elf Queen asked expectantly.
Looking across the entire Continent of Aslante, the prairie is certainly not a wealth of resources, but compared to the Earth Core World, it is a rare land of material abundance.
With the talents inherited from the elves, after establishing themselves on the prairie, they planted a large number of trees.
After being magically nurtured, the saplings quickly grew. The land, once lush with water and grass, has now become dense forests.
Perhaps after being starved for so long in the Earth Core World, the Dark Elves, who inherited the talent for planting trees, now have a race full of fruit trees.
If they keep up the current speed for another two years, these orchards alone can sustain them.
This is how traditional elves live, gathering fruits to fill everyone’s bellies, supplemented by honey and forest delicacies for their daily meals.
The Dark Elves have slightly heavier tastes, and they can’t do without wine and meat.
Of course, these bad habits have been gradually corrected during their life in the Earth Core World.
Being able to fill their stomachs is the greatest happiness, wine and meat are luxuries, and they even learned agriculture passively.
Since returning to the Continent of Aslante and through trade with various races, the clan’s living materials have become increasingly ample, and things have returned to how they were before.
"Your Majesty, we Dark Elf Clan are different from other races; they are riddled with issues, with countless areas needing change.
But our situation is different!
Even though the clansmen are striving to reproduce, our population growth rate remains at the bottom of the Orc Empire.
Under the current production model, we can already meet the daily needs of our people, with just a few more pastures to raise livestock if needed.
To develop other industries, we must first address the Earth Core Passage.
We have dispatched exploration teams to preliminarily screen the resources of our territory, finding it significantly less rich in mineral resources than the Earth Core World’s territory.
With our smelting technology, even if we extract the ores, it’s unlikely we can refine high-quality metal meeting the standards.
Regarding other political system reforms, I believe we shouldn’t mess around for the time being.
After all, since everyone is following the tribal system, continuing it won’t make us stand out.
..."
After the elder elf finished speaking, the elves present all chimed in to agree.
Unlike other races with numerous social contradictions, the Dark Elves had just relocated, and their original social structure was disrupted and reconstructed.
The clansmen had just emerged from the "famine" days, where being able to fill their stomachs was the greatest happiness, and they really weren’t in the mood to cause trouble.
Without demand, there is no drive for reform.
Compared to reforming for strength, they believe the best choice is to quickly utilize the Earth Core World’s resources.
But the Earth Core Passage is on someone else’s territory, and the tax official from Snow Moon Territory has already set eyes on them, demanding taxes on all goods from the Earth Core World.
"The issue with the Earth Core Passage can’t be rushed for now.
However, we can begin to utilize the resources from the Earth Core World first.
I’ll send someone to discuss matters with that vampire Hudson, the seventy percent tax rate in goods is unreasonably high. If we can’t negotiate the rate down, we might as well sever ties!"
Every time Hudson is mentioned, the Dark Elf Queen’s anger surfaces uncontrollably.
Since stepping out of the Earth Core World, the Dark Elf Clan has been continuously exploited.
Setting aside battlefield matters, Hudson’s deeds post-war have tormented the Dark Elf Clan to the point of tears.
From outrageously priced living materials to the current seventy percent tax rate in goods, it seems they intend to bleed them dry.