Chapter 1376: Chapter 1356: Mother of All Things Chapter 1376: Chapter 1356: Mother of All Things “Roger, you still claim you haven’t betrayed us, yet you’ve already advised us to surrender to the Demon King.”

“I haven’t, I’m not…” The young man’s emotions suddenly flared up, having witnessed the daily lives of the commoners under the so-called rule of the Demon King’s legion, his will to resist had long since wavered.

He didn’t think confronting those powerful beings was a good choice. Instead, he felt that submitting to their rule was better and safer.

Moreover, those powerful beings didn’t intend to enslave them; they only wanted to overturn their religious faith, which, in the young man’s eyes, was nothing significant.

Those high and mighty deities were just being replaced by another batch, and the newcomers seemed even better than the predecessors. If that was the case, why not accept it? Why adamantly resist, even at the cost of one’s own life?

“Roger, tell us in detail, what exactly did you see that made your attitude change so drastically?”

An elder stopped the agitated villagers, looking kindly at the young man who had gone out to scout.

“Village chief, I sneaked into…”

Seeing an elder step forward, the young man’s emotions stabilized significantly, and he began to recount what he had observed on his reconnaissance mission. As he spoke, the atmosphere in the cave grew tense, and the listeners exchanged uneasy glances, noting the stirring in each other’s eyes.

Only when they could no longer endure, when there was no way to retreat, would creatures long accustomed to peace choose to fight to the death, to resist at the cost of their lives. If there were any other choice, they would not opt for such a desperate gamble.

Thus, after hearing the young man’s story, the villagers exchanged looks and began a vote to determine the future direction of their refugee group…

“Your Majesty, you are too kind!”

Floating above the sky, a Floating City more conspicuous than the sun and the moon, dragons in human form wore fawning smiles as they complimented the young man seated in the city lord’s chair.

“Without spending a single soldier, you’ve made those remnants of the mortal things willingly emerge from the wastelands to accept our governance and rule. Your Majesty, you are truly wise.”

“Indeed, the resources consumed are negligible compared to the cost of leveling a Domain.”

“It’s just a strategy, nothing to boast about.”

Although flattery filled his ears, Aeolus remained quite calm, well aware of why his first battle had gone so smoothly.

It was simply because he had effortlessly suppressed the strongest in this Domain. Once the upper echelons of power were taken out in one fell swoop, the middle and lower classes could only make futile struggles, even if they had the will to resist.

And with absolute force suppressing the entire Domain, the completion of the Conquest was merely a matter of time and resources spent; the outcome was already decided.

Moreover, the policy of appeasement was his specialty as the second-generation emperor. He knew very well how powerful a policy of appeasement could be for regions ravaged by war and yearning for peace.

For the lower-tier creatures, regardless of race, apart from a minority blinded by faith and beyond reason, the vast majority lived for the sake of filling their stomachs. As long as their basic needs were met, maintaining rule was not difficult for a Conqueror.

Thus, he had transported large quantities of food through his channels and had even employed the Mountain Giant Legion to rebuild cities for those indigenous people willing to submit.

It was these actions that had coaxed the indigenous people, who had been guerrilla fighting in the Wilderness, unable to resist the temptation and leaving their hiding places to come forward.

“Your Majesty, there have been multiple incidents of malice and insults towards the Legion in our governed territories,” an incongruent voice suddenly interrupted the flattery filling the hall, chilling the air and silencing the previously warm atmosphere.

“How should these be dealt with?”

“Kill! Hang their bodies high as a warning to those ignorant natives, to make them appreciate the hard-earned peace and our kindness.”

Aeolus gave an extremely rational yet cold-hearted order with a smile. Although he was a ruler in peaceful times, he was not lacking in the decisiveness required of an emperor.

“Yes.”

…

Golden sunlight bathed the unusually clean streets, where pedestrians hurried along, some with leisurely expressions that differed from the rest.

The more relaxed ones were indigenous people who had lived in the city built by the giants for some time, whereas those in a rush had succumbed to temptation, choosing to surrender and embrace peace.

“Hey, good morning, Tom.”

“Mmm, good morning.”

Familiar locals met on the street and struck up a conversation, their eyes drifting to their hurried fellow people before they began to criticize,
“Jerry, look at that guy; no one wants to get close to him. Probably hasn’t bathed in ages, reeking.”

“Yeah, I bet he’s a scout sent by the resistance to gather intelligence. Do you have any different opinions? If so, we can bet on it.”

“No, but if we’re betting, we could wager on how many days it’ll take for this guy to defect or how many he’ll persuade to flee with him.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read