In the Name of Empress

Standing at the window of the Governor's Mansion, watching the surging crowd in the square across the street, Roland was expressionless.

Today is the day of public execution.

Unlike the indiscriminate slaughter of other countries, none of the captured Samaritans were innocent.

Being hanged on the gallows, dying once was already a leniency for them.

After more than three months of interrogation, the evidence of their crimes was finally gathered, giving them the most impartial trial.

Roland was of course not concerned about them, but about the merchants from other countries.

Arresting and killing them might be satisfying, but it would only make the other merchants fearful.

If they could execute Samaritan merchants today, who would be next tomorrow?

This public trial was also a warning to everyone.

If you dare to trample on the law in his jurisdiction, the consequence is legal punishment and property confiscation.

Every time the judge announced someone's crimes, the crowd would erupt into a mountain-crashing and tsunami-like outcry.

In the past few days, quite a few ordinary people were sent to the seabed by the Fourth Fleet, but they chose the wrong employer, and could only meet the same fate.

Roland did not want to incite hatred, but hatred certainly existed.

Ordinary people's painful lives always need a way to vent; it can't be the Emperor and nobility taking the blame, right?

Thinking about the progress of civilization still being a long journey, Roland sighed lightly, returned to his chair, and closed his eyes for a moment of rest.

This hunting operation indeed earned a great deal.

It united the team's spirit, acquired substantial funds, and improved the business environment.

To earn so much of course comes with a price, which is becoming a deadly enemy of the Samaritans.

Roland was indifferent to this.

Compared to the likes of Sofia and the Goddess of Light, Samaritans were nothing.

Watching the enthusiastic crowd outside the window, Roland sighed inwardly; no wonder the descendants of the Magic Empire called them barbarians, Rodinians were still too far from civilization.

Not to mention compared to the Age of Gods, they were far inferior even compared to the peak of the Magic Empire.

Roland had seen civilization, but he wouldn't be arrogant enough to think he could change the course of civilization by himself; he would only quietly push for the end of the barbaric era sooner.

While pondering the world and life philosophy, the door gently opened, and Lisa walked in with cut fruits and freshly squeezed Solano Juice.

"These are the first batch of ripe Solano Fruits, try them quickly."

Lisa said with a cheerful smile, "The teacher said this batch of Solano Fruits grew very well, almost reaching the average yield of the Magic Empire era."

"Reaching average yield isn't considered high."

Roland grabbed a fresh apple and took a bite. It was tender and juicy with a good texture, but the taste was average, slightly sour.

Before the breeding technology boosted agricultural progress, agricultural products were indeed original and natural but tasted hard to describe.

It would take a long time for fruits to taste delicious.

Fortunately, the Solano Juice tasted great, lifting his mood considerably.

Seeing Lisa standing by waiting, Roland smiled and teased, "Sister, please sit, I dare not let Master Anthony's disciple stand while talking to me."

"Roland, I'm not anyone's disciple, I'm just... Lisa."

"Then you should sit even more, making sister stand is even more unreasonable."

Lisa liked hearing these words; she sat opposite Roland and shared the fruits with him.

"Roland, is there going to be a war?"

Since studying magic with Anthony, Lisa's time was completely consumed, so she resigned from the position of Chief Logistics Officer and focused on researching magic.

In her leisure time, she would thoughtfully study cooking.

Over the past few months, she gradually collected Five Star Approval Cards from Roland, Sif, Alina, Christine, Anthony, and others, and the background color of her Soul Card gradually turned golden.

Once she completed her strength accumulation, she could successfully advance.

After the baptism of life and death in volcanic lava, Lisa's physique had undergone a significant change.

The Phoenix Blood in her ring merged into her body, allowing her to completely transform.

If not for the merged Phoenix Blood, she definitely wouldn't have survived the volcanic eruption.

This made learning fire magic come easily to her.

Anthony felt she was somewhat specialized, not versatile enough, but she didn't care.

Being specialized is just specialized; not everyone needs to pursue versatility. Excelling in one thing can also lead to transcendence.

For instance, in culinary arts.

Lisa devoted quite a bit of time every day to researching cooking, which caused Anthony deep distress.

Though he had advised her many times, her stubbornness made Anthony more troubled.

With the Old Mage sighing, Lisa continued advancing further on the path of specializing in the fire element.

Facing Lisa's casual question, Roland smiled and nodded, "Yes, the Continental Pact has expired, it seems not many want to renew it."

"Four months ago, the Vladimir Empire invaded the Boli Khanate; two months ago, your homeland Talia erupted in civil war; last month, a conflict broke out between the Prudon Kingdom and the Wende Empire; half a month ago, factional strife erupted in the Jin Yuan Republic; a few days ago, large-scale unrest occurred in the Weimar Federation. And this is only the beginning."

Roland stood up, held a slender stick, and pointed out the locations of outbreak conflicts on the map.

Lisa watched for a while and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh no, they're fighting all around us."

"It's not that bad."

Roland said with a smile, "Fighting is good, when we clean up the Oden Kingdom no one will interfere."

Lisa's gaze shifted towards the north of the map, noticing the Oden Kingdom, a trace of confusion in her eyes.

"Are they our enemies?"

"Not really, but there is a conflict of interest." Roland said smiling.

He pondered how to explain it to Lisa in simple terms, but Lisa took the initiative to let it go.