This giant who calls himself "Hades" is a very powerful psychic.
Mortarion realized.
He stood beside Hades, watching him chatting and laughing with a numb face. The puppet army fleeing in the distance fell to the ground one after another, like kites with broken strings.
Mortarion slowly raised his eyes and saw a flock of scavenger vultures circling in the sky falling directly without even a wail - scavenger vultures have always been Nakre's killer weapon. On this planet where firearms are not very accurate and there is a lack of air forces, a capable air force is such an oppressive existence.
But now, in front of Mortarion, those monsters were like being plucked from the sky by a giant hand... They were smashed to death like stones. This is really... unimaginable...
Mortarion's pupils dilated as he looked at the remnants of the defeated army. It was as if their souls had been wiped out. What kind of existence were they...
In his ears, Hades's chatter continued.
"... Oh, I've already thought about it. The first crop of white corn has just ripened in the two villages in the east of the hinterland. Let's go and exchange some... If it doesn't work, we can ask for some... I've also investigated wasteland suitable for mining, etc..."
Is this a spell
Mortarion thought, but was there really such a spell
But if it wasn't for... the killing spell that couldn't be chanted or cast instantly... Mortarion's soul trembled. This man who could make Nakre feel like a formidable enemy and successfully kill him was not just dangerous.
But it is quite dangerous!
He might have the ability to kill all of Barbarus—No! Hasn't he already purged all of the ruling class in Barbarus? !
Mortarion's pupils trembled, and he followed Hades in a trance and continued to walk towards the foot of the mountain.
"… Mortarion?!"
Shocked by the power of Hades, Mortarion suddenly lost his focus. In front of him, Hades was looking at him seriously.
When did Hades come from beside him to in front of him? !
Even the strong reaction ability that Mortarion had always been proud of was at a disadvantage!
Hades looked at Mortarion who was in a trance. Sigh... He knew it would be like this... Hades patted Mortarion's shoulder earnestly.
"I know you may not like tilling the land, but it is necessary, otherwise we - No, you eat too much. Barbarus is at least half an agricultural planet. You can't forget the old skills."
arable land
Just now, Mortarion didn't listen to Hades's mumbling at all, he was just immersed in the fact that Nakre's army was easily destroyed.
[Plow,] Mortarion tried to keep his voice as steady as possible. Although he just had a fantasy that Hades might be of the same kind as him, now it seems that Mortarion is more worried about what will happen to him next.
The Primarch's fight-or-flight response was ingrained in him in the face of a powerful being.
I till the land.
Hades seemed to have not expected Mortarion to be so decisive. He was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Okay! I'll make some simple tillers... But can the efficiency of the machines really be faster than the original..."
Hades' voice trailed off again.
He could add points to the mechanical tree of Barbarus, but Barbarus was not a mineral planet. If he wanted to climb the machinery, materials with sufficient strength were necessary. Judging from the types of minerals on Barbarus now...
Hades quickly figured out the highest technology that Barbarus could reach.
It seems that it is indeed impossible to build a tilling machine that is more efficient than the original one.
Then let Mortarion come.
Hades laughed awkwardly and sold out the Primarch decisively. Go and farm the land, Mortarion!
Anyway, in his memory, the original Mortarion would just run away on the pretext of speeding up productivity whenever he didn't want to work.
The fog around the two men gradually faded, and in the distance, the outline of the village appeared vaguely. Mortarion glanced at Hades inconspicuously, but saw that Hades still looked "optimistic by nature" and walked straight towards the village.
He has not yet been to the village, Mortarion thought.
But where did he go... probably to farmland.
He wanted to become stronger, wanted to learn the spells Hades used, Mortarion thought... But
Should he ask Hades directly? No, if it was Knak're, Mortarion would have been kicked off the cliff by now.
… It’s better to be cautious now.
———————
[One month later]
He was wrong, so wrong.
Mortarion looked like he had lost all hope in life, looking at Hades who was plowing madly in the distance.
He let out a loud roar, then kicked the ox that was plowing the field away and ran away holding the plow.
This person simply has a mental disorder and is not dangerous.
Beside the Primarch, there gathered a group of villagers carrying farm tools to modify them. Mortarion squatted in front of a huge reversible plow, teaching people step by step how to modify them.
There wasn't much to teach about this simple tool, so Mortarion finished quickly, let the villagers try it out themselves, and answered some of their questions.
Next time, I'll just teach them how to make an engine, Mortarion thought. Pick out three people from each village who are interested in machinery... and people who are interested in potions. The update of the antidote should be put on the agenda.
Seeing that there was nothing to do, the villagers who had gathered together did not disperse. They either stood or squatted beside Mortarion, staring at the surging figure on the wasteland.
Mortarion had already noticed that some of the people here were not here to learn technology, and some were here simply to see Hades. A bunch of young people were staring at the giant in the distance with starry eyes - the news of this king conquering the beast and liberating Barbarus single-handedly had already spread.
"Lord Mortarion, what are your plans next?"
A mature-looking man squatted beside Mortarion and asked tentatively. Mortarion recognized him as Heim, the mayor of a nearby village.
[You don't have to call me sir,] Mortarion said calmly, [Also - his plan is to first develop productivity to a level where he won't starve to death.]
“What is productivity?”
Heim asked immediately, and Mortarion felt people's eyes shifted to him again.
[The ability to create wealth - you can understand it as the ability to farm and the ability to weave. ]
The people around me made sounds of sudden realization.
"This lord..." Heim said carefully, "He does have a good appetite. We were also troubled by this problem at the time."
Heim saw Mortarion suddenly turn his head and look directly at him, which surprised the mortal. Under the gaze of Mortarion's sharp yellow pupils, Heim almost trembled.
[No,] Mortarion said solemnly, [You have already taken the initiative to prepare food for us before this - I am grateful for this, and so is Hades.]
Just because Hades killed the beast himself, the villagers who benefited from his behavior would spontaneously prepare food for Hades... Mortarion was almost shocked. This was a virtue that would never be seen on the alien lord.
This is humanity, Mortarion thought, Hades told him, they are all humans, and Mortarion is glad that he is of this race.
They looked similar - but Mortarion didn't know why he and Hades were so big - were they two different subspecies
In response, Hades, who knew nothing about biology, laughed and said, "They eat a lot, so they grow big!"
Mortarion conceded that this was nonsense.
According to his summary, two-thirds of what Hades said in a day was nonsense, and one-third was very useful.
He always said something wonderful, like "Just wait, Mortarion. In a few decades, a hundred thousand soldiers and generals will come from heaven to crown you king! You will wear a green robe and have descendants for generations!"
What "Old Huang! Cold-blooded capitalist! Why are you asking me to work overtime again?!"
"Mortarion! I want to drink Coke - you must be better than that idiot Trazyn, right? Do you know how to make Coke? I tell you, the ingredients are syrup and carbon dioxide - where can I get syrup! Everything on Barbarus is bitter! Nurgle! Damn it!!!"
This doesn't sound like something a sane creature would say.
Sometimes, Mortarion would feel sad for no apparent reason.
He knew that powerful psychics were usually insane. This was the inevitable result of having their sanity eroded by the warp. Could Hades be in this situation as well
This symptom is very similar to Knakre... No... He doesn't want Hades to become like Knakre.
However, Mortarion did not observe other symptoms in Hades that would normally appear in a psychic, so he began to suspect that this was pathological, but there were only two branches of medicine on Barbarus: treating trauma and detoxification.
Also for the sake of... Mortarion looked around at the villagers who were just as shocked as he was by the figure in the distance. Also for the sake of delaying their death.
He was not averse to what Hades said about the proposal to build Barbarus.
After coming down the mountain that day, they exchanged some food from a nearby village. In the evening, Hades found a wasteland near the village, made a fire and told him the next plan.
That doesn't look like a crazy person...
Mortarion sighed silently again.
Behind the flickering campfire, Hades picked up a dry branch and quite seriously discussed the subsequent plan with Mortarion - Mortarion felt a little amused, was he discussing with him
The strong can decide everything on their own.
But he didn't say this out loud.
"First," Hades said seriously. Mortarion had never seen Hades so serious since then. Hades said,
"We need to go to the hinterland - the soil here is the most fertile," he drew a map on the ground and circled it.
"Before, due to the presence of various carnivorous animals, this place was not well utilized, but now it can be used. We quickly planted white corn. Now the first crop of corn is ripe, just in time for the second crop."
Hades said solemnly,
"We must harvest the first batch of food before all of Nakre's troops are eaten."
Mortarion's right eyelid twitched suddenly.
[What to eat?]
Hades looked at him with a miserable expression, "Nakre's army, isn't that all meat?"
[poisonous.]
"Will you be poisoned to death?" [No.]
[…]
Mortarion was silent for a long time, then he spoke again amid the crackling of the fire.
[We can use Nakre's weapons to exchange food with the villagers. ]
Hades smiled bitterly and waved his hand.
“People can barely grow enough food to sustain themselves. If we replace their food, what will they eat?”
This is the hellish difficulty of Barbarus. In other Dragon Aotian scripts, the characters enjoy life after killing the dragon, but Hades goes to farm after killing the dragon.
This planet is so barren! So poor that there is nothing!
Perhaps Hades and Mortarion could take the remaining food after killing the alien lord, but Hades didn't intend to do that... Let civilization develop on its own first.
It’s not like those weird things are inedible anyway.
Hades could starve... He might be able to survive until the Empire came without food or water - but Hades couldn't guarantee his mental state by then.
Here, Hades once again sighed that he was fortunately a defender with maxed out poison resistance.
Mortarion thought about it, and he wanted to say that some people could die - but he didn't want them to die from the bottom of his heart. He looked at Hades, and Hades didn't seem to have thought of this either - the Primarch didn't intend to remind Hades.
So Mortarion nodded, and he watched Hades eat a corn in one mouthful, realizing the urgency of the matter.
Hades continued,
"We also need to share technology with the villagers. I have summarized six technologies. I will draw the blueprints and hand them over to the villagers later. The transport planes at the bottom of the Nakre Territory can also be distributed to the villagers, but don't share weapons."
[Not sharing weapons?]
"They don't need it right now."
Hades said that in a turbulent situation, it is inevitable that some people will have evil intentions, but in a place like Barbaros, you must have sufficient productivity to support the hedonistic class. Fighting... What are you fighting for? Fighting for the corn warehouse at the east end of the village
But this is Hades's opinion. For the people living here... if they get guns, they might really fight for the corn warehouse at the east end of the village.
The external enemies have been eliminated, and the village itself has certain defensive means. There is no need to waste energy on military affairs at this stage. Let's focus on agriculture and population first!
Hades thought about it and decided to speak seriously.
"Do you desire war, Mortarion?"
[No desire.]
Mortarion answered almost instantly.
Hades laughed, "I don't want that either. Now you and I are the highest military force on the planet - so, we will do everything we can to prevent war."
Mortarion stared at Hades with a hint of disbelief in his eyes. The Primarch asked hesitantly, [Dictatorship?]
Hades thought about it and said, "Maybe in the future, but we don't even have a decent administrative agency, so how can we say that? Your civilization progress is too fast."
"Besides..." Hades said, "If you want to be a dictator, you should be the one. I don't want to work."
Mortarion's pupils trembled.
"But," Hades said fiercely, "if you don't want war, then strive to become the side with the highest military power, and then you won't want war anymore, that's for sure!"
Without waiting for Mortarion's reply, Hades continued,
"Once productivity increases, we will find a base to develop, build a city-state, and develop technology... By then, you will be able to see bustling crowds on the cobblestone road, and there will be small vendors - that is free trade, people can break free from the subsistence line and do what they want..."
[Then what?]
Mortarion suddenly asked, as if such a picture appeared in front of his eyes, but strangely, he had never been exposed to these before.
Really good...
He imagined a prosperous scene, with neatly arranged stone houses and a high castle protecting the settlement. The flag on the castle was hanging down, and on the green flag there was a skull with six spikes.
Mortarion suddenly woke up.
[What are you going to do then, dictatorship? ]
Hades rolled his eyes. He was just promising Mortarion something, but why didn't the kid eat it
“This is your job!”
Hades said righteously, "The new human civilization needs a leader—that person is you!"
Mortarion looked at Hades in confusion, and the Primarch asked cautiously, as if he didn't believe that there was such a good thing in the world.
[You... shouldn't it be you? ]
Hades sighed. What was the point of him being the supreme ruler? He didn't want to get the coarse earthen cloth on the barbarus, or the white corn. Responsibility always comes with power. He had seen enough and taken enough in his previous life. Now he just wanted to find a beautiful place to retire.
Hades said solemnly, "Because I... um... because I was observing the stars at night and saw an imperial star flashing across the south! It told me it was you!"
Hades raised his hand.
"Well," he said helplessly, "Motarion, don't you think you are gifted, your bones are amazing, and your Ren and Du meridians are different from those of ordinary people?"
[Not as good as you.]
Mortarion told the truth.
The cold reality slapped Hades in the face. After thinking about it, it seemed that Mortarion would never be able to catch up with him in this lifetime.
"You still need experience."
Hades finally said, "I have already mastered my magical power and am invincible, but you haven't yet - you need to experience and hone yourself, not only in combat power, but also in leadership - and when you have mastered it, heavenly soldiers and generals will descend from the sky to take you to a greater battlefield."
It was on that day that Mortarion thought Hades was sick.
He might have a pinched nerve somewhere in his brain, or worse, dead.
Mortarion stared at Hades calmly, with a half-mechanical head... or maybe it was the machinery that made him crazy.
(End of this chapter)