Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Chapter 69 Surrender of the Unexpected Foe

Feeling his hostility suddenly subside, Henry bit his lip.

"They didn't do this out of consideration for us," he thought bitterly. "They probably just changed it because they didn't like how dirty their own land looked."

Yes, it was definitely not money spent for the commoners. It was only because the lord considered it his own land. As Henry tried to keep his resentment alive, another thought crept in.

"...If it wasn't their own land, who would spend so much money to change the territory? And could they have even managed to earn forty thousand magic stones in the first place?"

The lord changed this territory because it was his own. He had leveled up enough to earn forty thousand magic stones because he prioritized leveling. All of that had ultimately led to the current situation.

If they had taken part of what they earned to spend on the commoners, would something like this have been possible? Definitely not. Even if each of them enjoyed good meals, none of them would have thought to pool their money to invest in the territory. Who would invest such precious magic stones in something that didn't solely benefit themselves?

"Long live the lord!"

Someone shouted next to Henry, breaking his train of thought. It was a young man, a commoner about Henry's age, whom he saw frequently. The young man shouted enthusiastically.

"Long live the lord! Long live the lord!"

"Y-Yes, long live the lord!"

"Long live the lord! Long live!"

Hearing the shouts, more and more commoners began to follow suit. The reason was obvious—half of them were trying to please the lord, while the other half hoped that doing so might bring more benefits.

Watching those commoners with disdain, Henry clenched his teeth before suddenly shouting at the top of his lungs.

"...Long live the lord! Long live!"

This was definitely not surrender. It was merely an attempt to speed up the redistribution of wealth. If, as a result, the lord felt satisfied and increased his investment in the territory, wouldn't that be a form of wealth redistribution?

With that self-justification, Henry shouted as loudly as he could. It was a way to hide his own unwillingness to return to the way things were, instead of achieving equality.

"Now, this looks much better."

Justin smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the drastically changed village. It had once looked like a grim medieval village from the witch-hunting days, but now, after the changes, it felt like a village straight out of a fantasy movie.

"This is how a village should be. It was worth the effort."

"But we did pour a lot of gold into it," Derek grumbled as he returned from delivering the announcement to the commoners.

"Twenty thousand gold coins gone in an instant. How can so much gold disappear in just ten minutes? Even now, I get chills thinking about it."

"That's with a half-price discount from defeating the field boss. If we hadn't gotten the discount, it would've been forty thousand gold."

"That makes it feel even worse. Forty thousand gold could have been used for something far more useful."

"What could be more useful than this? Don't tell me you're upset because I didn't build entertainment facilities."

"Cough! Cough!"

At Justin's words, Derek turned his head, coughing repeatedly. This guy, he was definitely interested in frivolous things.

"Leave that for later. Who would even be able to use those facilities right now?"

"Ahem! Who said anything? I'm just saying that it was a lot of money, that's all."

If only he could keep quiet.

As Justin glared at Derek, who avoided his gaze, Nathan spoke to him.

"Improving the village is great, but wouldn't it have been better to invest in other things as well? There were options like building walls for territory development."

Nathan seemed anxious about the growing conflicts among the pioneers. Having experienced war once while being powerless, it seemed to affect him more.

"Indeed, walls could be useful. They limit the routes of attack and make it easier for a small force to hold off a larger one."

"Right?"

"But sometimes, walls give the impression of being trapped to those inside."

Nathan, who had been smiling, suddenly froze at Justin's words. It seemed he hadn't thought of that.

"Ah, but wouldn't it also provide a sense of security? After all, it's a solid defense."

"That sense of security might apply to us, but not to the commoners. Let's be honest, this territory has never really been invaded before, has it?"

"..."

Nathan fell silent. The battle with the previous leader, Chad, had taken place away from the commoners' sight. Even the current fights between pioneers had never been witnessed firsthand by the commoners, so it was hard for them to feel any real sense of threat from an invasion.

"More importantly, from the commoners' perspective, battles are something that happens between pioneers, not their problem. They already see themselves as being ruled anyway."

"What? But they could become slaves as a result of an invasion!"

"They've never experienced anything like that before, so how could they understand?"

In reality, it was impossible to know if anyone had successfully invaded another territory and implemented slavery. In such a situation, talking about slavery would only seem like fearmongering. Building walls would also seem like a move solely to solidify one's own control.

"Instead, it's much better to invest in the entire territory like we're doing now. The results are visible, and it gives the impression that I care about the commoners' lives."

Most importantly, the biggest effect is making the commoners feel attracted to my territory. Soon enough, information about the locations, leaders, and social atmospheres of other territories will start to spread. At that time, to prevent the commoners from feeling deprived or wanting to leave, it was necessary to improve the territory itself.

If the territory improved, it would give them the belief that "even though we have a class system, our territory is still better than others."

"If things go well, we might even get people from other territories wanting to move here."

A land where they could live a better life than in territories that pursued equality despite the class system. Justin's current goal was to create a place where they couldn't bear to turn their backs and had no choice but to stay.

Of course, to achieve that goal, Justin had to immediately work on the dungeon. After all, what was needed for territory development were magic stones and gold.

"Boss! Boss! Something big happened!"

Just as Justin's companions were nodding in agreement with his explanation, Rachel, who had gone to check on the situation in the territory, came running in.

Her urgent voice made all of them, including Justin, spring to their feet.

"What happened? Is Aaron attacking?"

"He's here! That man is here!"

"What? Really?"

What was Aaron thinking? At this point, he didn't even match them in the quality or quantity of pioneers. Was he trying to raid an empty village but ran into them by accident?

Either way, there was no reason to let it slide.

"Everyone, prepare for battle! We're going to deal with him right now—"

"No, he's not here to fight!"

Justin paused mid-command as Rachel's words continued. If he wasn't here to fight, then what was he here for?

Justin looked at Rachel, demanding an explanation, and she spoke in a trembling voice.

"He said he's here to surrender. He'll do anything, just please spare him."

"...!?"

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