Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 481: Chapter 279: The Appearance of the New Count Pelast

Hill’s first day back home consisted of resolving minor disputes in the valley, after which he blissfully bathed and went to sleep.

He was sure he would get a good night’s rest.

Of course, Hill remembered to re-hang Agleya’s ice crystal in the study, lest the Little Sea God decide impulsively to come rushing down.

Her divine power should not be so carelessly depleted now.

While presenting Alice with a wedding gift, Hill had placed the ice crystal inside a pendant to prevent Agleya from causing trouble.

Even though Agleya has her own toys, she likely still felt jealous of Alice’s browband.

But as long as Agleya did not witness Hill putting it on Alice, knowing about it later wouldn’t cause any issues.

Her jealousy would only stem from the fact that Hill not only crafted it himself but also personally placed it on the cat.

He had just given Agleya a little package with many beautiful crystal browbands.

Although Hill did not understand why Agleya would be jealous, simply being aware of it was somewhat useful, given all the novels and dramas he had watched.

A person specialized in civil works would definitely have a strong sense of balance.

Hill slept soundly, rare for him, as he had no dreams this time.

Hill felt a cozy warmth all over, and it wasn’t from the soft sunshine brushing across his face.

He quietly opened his eyes, it was a natural bliss.

With the World Will regaining lost authority and becoming more perfect, Hill could sense that the Natural Consciousness was happy too.

It kept telling Hill that it became stronger and would no longer let him face danger.

But it was never as happy as now. Was it because something good had happened?

This joy was unrelated to strength, coming deeply from within the Natural Consciousness.

Hill subconsciously asked the Natural Consciousness, only to receive repetitive assurances of ”It’s going to be alright! It’s going to be alright!”

Was that concerning Teraxil, or the Earth Goddess?

The Natural Consciousness didn’t specify, it was simply rejoicing on its own.

World Will must have given it some information, or else the Natural Consciousness would have been clearer.

Hill got out of bed and stretched lazily; either way, it was good news.

Upon reaching his study, List had already prepared a stack of documents on the desk for him.

Lately, Hill had been away at Central City, completely unaware of the developments in Saral; he still wished to know what had occurred there.

Fortuitously, List understood Hill’s desire well, with the top documents detailing Saral’s recent conditions.

If there had been any great nobles who were reluctantly compliant before, they had now gone silent.

In these nobles’ hearts, William was powerful, but they had no clear concept of just how powerful.

However, the full surrender of the Forest of the Elves made it clear to these nobles, who grew up hearing stories of Elven strength, exactly what their king represented.

These Saral nobles, who had never encountered a Legendary Mage, were in some sense true bumpkins.

Yet for them, a Legendary Knight alone could defeat them all, to say nothing of a Legendary Mage.

And as for William, who stood above these, they couldn’t even begin to imagine his strength, nor was there any point in doing so since he was an untouchable presence anyway.

What they genuinely perceived was that Saral’s territory would only expand, giving the nobles new directions for advancement.

Although William had imposed various restrictions on their profit-making schemes, he hadn’t blocked their legitimate earning channels, and these great nobles were certainly not averse to legitimate methods.

Only, when crooked paths had easily yielded more money, naturally nobody wanted to endure hardships.

Now, it was simply a return to the right track.

As long as there was room for advancement, the families would not fall due to a lack of opportunities, and the nobles were quite willing to submit to a king who, though demanding, could provide a promising future.

Even following the stringent Zhu Yuanzhang wouldn’t be a problem, let alone following William, who merely cut off those invisible hands.

Their hesitation lingered only because they feared William might not remain in this world much longer.

Or that the Gods of Time and Space might fail against the Elves and Dwarves, which would spell disaster for their commitments.

But now it was different; the rural nobles of Saral were beginning to vigorously improve themselves.

Moreover, in the eyes of these nobles, the various policies of William had become assured; they wouldn’t fail because of a change in kingship.

That is, after William selected Belter as Deputy City Lord of Central City, the Saral nobles, always adept at hedging their bets, finally saw results and shifted their full attention to the Saral Royal Family.

Compared to the somewhat overly honest and rigidly managed Spencer Family, the nobles were more accustomed to dealing with the Saral Family.

Although this family always had its fools, it followed the traditional path of the great nobility, which was more familiar and acceptable to everyone.

According to the common knowledge of this world, as long as someone from Saral sat on the throne, as long as these Sarals didn’t foolishly change William’s various national laws and family rules, William would not neglect this kingdom.

Hill flipped through a few pages, his eyes pausing on the Perast Family.

This family, originally expelled from the country, was merely the direct Earl lineage, while several Barons actually stayed behind.

List drew a red line through one name; this Baron wanted to vie for the position of City Lord in the Western Border City.

This was directed at Hill.

Otherwise, in this situation where several cities had been allotted to Magicians, a normal noble absolutely would not choose wealth over life.

If anyone dared to say they believed in the self-control of the Magicians, even the Magicians would think he had gone mad.

They never dared to trust themselves.

Within the cities they inhabited, everywhere were anti-Magic constructions, all made by them. It was to prevent any High-level one from going mad one day, leaving the Low-Rank Sorcerers no place to hide.

That Border City, which needed nobles and Knights for garrison, was the only city not inhabited by Sorcerers. But with Sorcerers living on both sides, no nobles wanted to come.

Hill had originally thought that William would send a High-level Mage to take the position of City Lord. In that case, so long as one stayed inside the Magic Tower, there would be no problem in times of trouble.

But it seemed, the Mage did not want to come either.

Thus, the only noble who volunteered was directly promoted. He had become the new Count Pelast.

”I want to know his details, this new Earl Pelast,” Hill said coldly. ”If anyone asks, remember to tell them my surname is Polanio.”

List now revealed himself, ”Some Sorcerers have been asking recently. That’s what I told them, Polanio has nothing to do with Pelast.”

”I thought, after the Count Pelast was expelled, that surname wouldn’t appear anymore. Why would those people change it back to Pelast?

Isn’t it usually only beneficial to change to the main branch’s surname?” Hill felt baffled.

After Hill became a Legendary, no one would think that people related to him by some blood ties are worth fearing.

How a Mage treats disliked relatives can be understood by referring to The Legend of Carl, which is famous for disowning relatives.

The cruel consequences of threatening a Legendary, vividly demonstrated by The Legend of Carl through his brother’s entire family, were well known to all Human Nobles.

”Probably because, having the surname Pelast at least allows them to survive,” List pointed at a small note, ”Sir is thinking too much. He is afraid his small territory will be snatched. There are no new territories for nobles now, and those landless Nobles are eyeing these slightly better small Nobles.

What he needs is not an accomplice for wrongdoings but a lifeline.

As long as his surname is Pelast, if someone really kills him, he can at least take them down with him.”

Hill paused for a moment. If it was truly someone from the Pelast Family who was being plotted against, Hill thought, he indeed might help avenge them out of hand.

Not helping does not mean he’s willing to let people related to him be killed.

It’s human nature unless it becomes a hassle for Hill, then he might pretend not to know.

But for Saral Nobles, whether new or established, there would be none that Hill couldn’t afford to offend.

Hill looked down again, observing the Spencer Family, who had almost become isolationists.

After observing some of their actions, Hill sighed.

Though he didn’t feel much paternal love for his own child, Naven’s father had actually freed him.

Otherwise, what to do?

When the Spencer Family fully retracted, and all their external personnel returned to their own territories, Naven stood alone beside the King, appearing in a splendid light.

Even if the Spencer Family stuck together, it is unlikely that the young people would endure.

But to ask Naven to give up what he had achieved on his own since leaving his family as a child, his father also had a bit of a hard time with that, and probably couldn’t make such a request to William.

Eventually, Naven Spencer was completely relinquished; in exchange, he was given a path to freedom.

For Mages like Hill and Adrian, this was a good thing, but for Naven, who grew up under the education of a loyal noble Knight, it was probably painful.

It would always pass, after all, Hill was certain that between his family and William, Naven would indeed continue to follow William.

Regarding the Undead, Hill glanced at them several times, then discarded the information.

Apart from still eagerly catching rabbits, these Undead had shifted their focus to stockpiling medicines.

The fight at the Abyssal Gate must be fierce.

Or rather, they always wanted to break through that gate again. Hill had noticed while he listened to gossip there, these Undead were relentless, eager to see the Abyssal scenery once more.

They seemed to think the Abyss was a matter for the next version, and that it would inevitably open.

If the number of Undead was high enough, the number of Demons would definitely not be few.

But there is only one gate, so their battles are evenly matched, wanting to break through this completely stabilized gate is basically impossible.

Unless something happens to the Demons on the other side.

Or, more Undead arrive.

But William’s game is actually saturated.

No matter how fun a game is, it can’t entice those who rush about in Mechas to play Western fantasy.