Chapter 62: Bugle Call of Freedom
Night fell.
It was time for William to take a comfortable bath and lie in his bed.
He started to recall his memories.
Freedom.
In any world and in any era, there were always some people who would make a bugle call of freedom. They used this to revolt against the societal system they were living in...
They felt that their lives at that time were unfair compared to some others.
They felt that kind of life should not be lived and should be overturned instead. Everyone should be equal, and aristocrats should not exist.
In version 1.0, Goethe Nasis had appealed for freedom. Not only did he have orating skills that could brainwash people, but also he had the most power in that version.
The Iron Nation and the Black Laval Nation, as well as the small towns along the boundaries that belonged to his seniors, fell and were destroyed under his plans. In the end, he had become the controller of that area. Without any politeness, he was the main character of version 1.0.
The king of the Iron Nation had simply been his puppet. Under his control, aristocrats in the Iron Nation got into accidents one after another. Their authority was also continuously weakened.
Internal ministers, army generals, and regional officials had appeared in quick succession. They assumed authority and implemented many changes to the system.
But...
When the aristocrats in the Iron Nation fell, and after the Black Lava Nation was eliminated, what happened? What did this freedom represent?
This freedom without order only served to turn the crazy civilians and slaves into violent ruffians.
In version 1.0, the legendary continent was something that brought the players regret.
They had reformed the aristocratic system to achieve freedom. They had abolished the slave system in the Iron Nation and had stripped the aristocrats of their nobility. Soon, they attracted too many players.
It was self-explanatory. It was a system of freedom after all.
When the players had just entered the game, they were not used to the aristocratic system. They were willing to fight for freedom. Many players who were bound to morals were willing to spread the benefits of freedom on the forum endlessly.
Thus, with the help of an army of players who could revive countless times, the Iron Nation successfully defeated the Black Iron Nation.
But this victory did not make the players happy. They didn't think that this new system was good.
Instead, their hearts were filled with disgust towards it.
When the aristocratic system was abolished, the slaves and civilians, having no standards, went wild. They acted like demons and cruelly tortured and killed those who had been in power.
Pretty girls from the aristocrat families were trampled to death by countless people.
Back then, Black Lava Nation had become hell. Massacres, rapes, robbery...
The mansions belonging to aristocrats, in particular, were paid attention to by the slaves. They were often filled with slaves. And everywhere the slaves went, what followed were pitiful shouts and mournful wails...
Countless slaves surged in. The women could only commit suicide to prevent the fate of being tortured.
If they didn't, they would be tortured again and again. They could even be locked up.
Some slaves had even lined up for a few beautiful women, even when they had been tortured to death...
What was this mayhem? Who was at fault?
Were they the civilians, who had been forced?
Were they the slaves, who had been enslaved?
No. According to the way of the aristocrats in this world, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the release of the civilians and the slaves.
The only one at fault was Goethe Nasis.
He could have chosen to stop this, and let those aristocrats die calmly!
But he ignored everything.
He waited for the slaves and the civilians to be released.
After the aristocratic system had been destroyed by the slaves and completely collapsed, the internal ministers who controlled the armies took charge of suppressing the mobs.
The civilians were still civilians.
Slave system?
According to Goethe, it was no longer present. But he turned those who raped and killed the aristocrats into slaves, justifying that they had committed a crime.
Was this true freedom and equality?
No.
It all had been a simple plan for him to obtain power. He had used the overall situation and fueled the flames of war to become stronger.
But actually, what say did the civilians have?
None.
Goethe had successfully abolished the aristocratic system and gave them their "freedom". As for the criminals who had raped and stolen, they should become slaves, right?
After all, according to the rules they were used to, since those guys had committed a crime, they should become slaves...
It was good. As long as they themselves did not become slaves...
At least it was somewhat different from the previous slave system.
But very few civilians realized that Goethe had allowed these slaves to commit crimes.
Goethe was the controller and had supreme authority. His subordinates who had followed him since early on became internal ministers and military leaders. They had formed the new generation of aristocrats. Freedom had been attained, but only in name...
Equality and freedom had only changed an aristocratic system to another kind of power system. People could not be equal, it was impossible to be.
"The current system is not very good, and the aristocrats are not very kind. But it is precisely because the aristocratic system exists, that the world is peaceful. Fewer people are dying than in other scenarios."
"Do you really want to change the societal system of a continent?"
"How many people in the legendary continent will die in the process?"
"Furthermore, this is a world where strength commands respect..."
"Freedom can't be achieved, even in the 23rd century on Earth."
"It can be even said that an organization with freedom as their bugle call are evil cults." William laughed coldly.
If one wanted to change a system, one would have to wait untill the system was at the end of its lifespan. The aristocratic system had not reached that point. How could they change it?
It was impossible.
"I had just wanted to wait patiently and attract players as a Lord. I only wanted to advance slowly and fight beasts while watching the battle between the two nations. But, you have stepped into my moral boundaries." William thought to himself. Then, he went to sleep.
The next day, he arrived at a fortune-telling hut.
It was rare to see a fortune-telling hut that was still open in the afternoon. Moses was petting his black cat, which he carried in his arms. He used his hands to spread open the front paws of the cat. Then, he sunk his face into the chest of the black cat with perfection and took a deep breath. A look of satisfaction appeared on his face. But then, a scratch happened...
Meow!
The black cat had seen William. Its nervousness and embarrassment were apparent as it meowed.
However, Moses did not care as he continued to sniff the cat. He did not pay attention to his Lord's arrival and did not greet him. After all, William had come many times and Moses had become too lazy to deal with him.
Meow...
Meow-meow...
The black cat struggled. It took a lot of effort and energy, but it finally broke free from Moses' hands. It jumped on the table and glanced at Moses. Then, it ran away angrily.
Moses licked his lips for an aftertaste. Only then did he look at William. "What would the Lord like to know about the fortune this time?"
Evidently, he realized that William had advanced to a middle-level professional. It was fast, but this speed of advancement was nothing compared to Moses.
He was the true genius.
He had started to train in magic when he was 13 years old. He spent just eight years in training before he advanced to Enchanter (Epic status).
He became an Enchanter when he was only 21 years old.
As for the current him,
He was only over 30 years old. There was no difference between him and a young person.
If he had not been cursed and his speed of advancement had not been delayed, he had absolute confidence that he would have been able to become a true legend at the age of 25.
William was helpless and couldn't do anything about this rate of training...
There were many NPCs who had Legendary bloodline. It could be said that Legends were like dogs, and Epics could be found everywhere.
This was just their natural talent and did not represent their level.
A majority of the NPCs with legendary bloodline did not have the opportunity to become legends. Many people would drop out in the early or middle period. Even if they manage to become legends, it would have taken decades or even centuries.
NPCs who possessed both bizarre talents and fast training speed were very rare.
William had always wondered whether Moses Holyvein had the endowment of a "Saint Mage".
Although he had never seen it before, he could still sense that Moses possessed something.
"I'm not here for divination. I'm here to chat~"
"Just get to the point!"
"Can you help me enchant..."
Moses tilted his head and stretched it in helplessness. "Weapon or equipment? Take it all out!"
Clap clap!
With a couple of claps, William turned and shouted through the door, "Come inside, come, come. Take out all your equipment."
500 elves came through the door and happily blocked the entrance of the fortune-telling hut. They held silver quality armor and weapons in their hands. A complete suit of equipment.
A complete set had about five to eight items.
The 500 Elfin guards under William's wing all had advanced to middle levels. They were the ones who needed to have their equipment replaced the most quickly.
The suit of equipment was of silver quality, and it even had set attributes.
It could be even said that.
These suits had been made from money!
If William did not have rare materials...
He would not have been able to play.
But because he had Mithril and high-leveled blacksmiths, he was able to produce so many silver sets.
Moses was in a daze. He had been caught off-guard by William.
He was dumbstruck as he looked at William. He stretched out his hand and pointed at him, but could not utter any words for a long while.
"Momo, I know that you're the best. Enchant my equipment too while you're at it." William giggled and took his gold quality equipment from the subordinate behind him, and gave it to Moses.
Moses fell into a trance for two seconds. "Who are you? Where am I? I want to sleep. Help me close the door. Thank you."