Cthulhu Gonfalon

The banging sounds were incessant. Pedestrians had to bypass the “No Entry” danger zone demarcated by white ash. They would rather take a longer route around it than go near it.

This was the southernmost end of the Republic of Northwest, where the Rye Fortress was located. In the past, anyone who wanted to travel from Commonwealth of Gold Coins to the Republic of Northwest had to pass through this fortress that had been built within the valley. Now, the fortress was still there. But the mountain next to it had inexplicably crooked to one side to reveal a wide road that could allow people to bypass the fortress. They could then proceed to Rye Town, which was located on the northern side of the fortress.

As for the fortress, it was completely enclosed within the circle marked out with white ash. There were many signboards stuck within the circle in a messy manner. There were words like “Danger” and “Stay Clear of Area” marked on the signs in various languages.

Not only that, if anyone who was illiterate wanted to get close, every step he took towards this circle, the panic he felt would increase by a little. The closer he got, the more panic he would feel. In the end, he could only turn back and leave to feel better.

Had it not been for these means, it would be impossible to stop those who were rude or curious by only relying on the white ash and warning signs.

This was, of course, Sui Xiong’s handwriting. As of now, he was in the fortress in contemplation. He intended to rebuild this originally dull and plain fortress into a tourist attraction with “fortress” as the theme. Naturally, he could not be disturbed by others.

As to whether it could still fulfill its role as a fortress after becoming a tourist attraction… did it mean that a blade which had been adorned with beautiful embellishments could no longer kill someone?

Of course, Sui Xiong did not feel that the role of this fortress was still required. At present, the population of the Republic of Northwest might not be large enough, but it had many masters. If there was really a conflict with Commonwealth of Gold Coins, and people from the Republic of Northwest did not take the initiative to strike first, the Commonwealth should be thankful. How could they possibly think of retaliating?

If there was really an attack in this valley, it would be a day where there was a need to depend on this fortress for defense. The degree of degeneration for this situation would be unthinkable!

However, just like the saying “Things don’t always go according to plan,” Sui Xiong wanted to work on creating this mega-sized model toy peacefully and steadily, but the Commonwealth of Gold Coins had already caused trouble.

The Great Migration had come to an end. Now, the Commonwealth of Gold Coins was still an ostensibly complete country. In truth, it had already been divided into two pieces, the North and the South. The South was dominated by the aristocrats as the core power of control with their large population. Their industry was based mainly on agricultural production. The North was dominated by the merchants as the core power of control. The population might be relatively small, but by virtue of well-developed businesses, they had a large amount of capital.

This plan of “Merchants to the North and Aristocrats to the South” might seem to be quite successful at first glance. But the problems soon arose.

The aristocrats in the South began to impose heavy taxes on merchants in their own territories.

By right, this matter was a logical consequence. The aristocrats had consolidated their domination, so the next step was naturally to weaken the merchants’ strength. It was just that their methods were too unrefined, and the way they did things was too brutal. It just felt as though they were focused on draining the rivers to get the fish right before them and simply did not consider the long-term consequences.

The merchants sought profits. So long as there were enough profits, it would not be a problem for them at all even if they had to cooperate with the aristocrats. But the aristocrats’ approach had greatly slashed the profits that the merchants within their own territories could gain all of a sudden. Many petty merchants were headed straight for bankruptcy, and even the big merchants were severely affected with an impaired vigor.

The merchants certainly did not agree, which immediately led to a dispute. But this time, the aristocrats did not yield at all. They expressed that they no longer needed to deal with despicable and malevolent merchants, so they got even more vicious in levying taxes.

There were even places where the aristocratic lords directly brought their troops to the Chamber of Commerce to launch a raid. They had every intention of uprooting the merchants.

In this way, the conflict was completely intensified.

The great merchants were so angry that they began summoning mercenaries. They were setting the stage for the use of force to defend their own interests. However, the aristocrats did not budge. They also began gathering people for their troop, and it seemed they were ready to fight big time.

Such a situation gave rise to mounting tension in the atmosphere of the bordering area between the North and the South. Soldiers from both sides had maintained combat-readiness and stayed alert at all times. They were ready to go to war at any time.

Fortunately, the Church of the Goddess of Wealth stepped in and intervened. They saw that the situation had reached a point where things would get out of hand. They could no longer be bothered about the means and directly used the toughest method. Sending out their Legendary Masters and Oracles, they apprehended the leaders of the aristocratic party and the merchant party by force. Then they set up a parliament hall at the border and ordered the two leaders to have an effective negotiation.

“I don’t care what conflict or resentment the both of you have. But I’m just going to say one thing, you are forbidden to wage war!” ordered the Goddess of Wealth as she personally descended as her clone. With a harsh tone and stern expression, she said, “Whoever dares to make a move, I’ll confine them right beneath this parliament hall where they will never ever be able to regain freedom!”

All these years, the Goddess of Wealth was always more inclined to using mild tactics. When it came to the differences between the merchant party and the aristocratic party, her church had been carrying out mediations time and again. There was never once where they had resorted to force. At that moment, as soon as she flew into a rage, the sudden outrage shocked both parties to instantly put their conflict on hold. Even if they had thousands of petty tactics in their minds, there was no way they could start a fight. So they were forced to negotiate honestly with each other.

As the talk went on, both sides felt that manpower was lacking, so they both gathered talents from the rear. All kinds of powerful aristocrats and mid-ranked Chambers of Commerce rushed to this temporarily constructed Parliament Hall to participate in this conference that the Goddess of Wealth had forcibly convened.

Seeing how this Parliament had finally started to make progress, the Goddess of Wealth felt as though a huge weight was lifted off her chest. Her face that was void of any trace of a smile finally showed signs of easing up.

It was just that… she also had to pay a hefty price.

Coercive means were contrary to her doctrines. In other words, forcing the merchant party and the aristocratic party to negotiate was tantamount to hurting herself. Regardless of whether the negotiation would be a success or not, her divinity was already seriously wounded.

It was also thanks to Sui Xiong’s help in recent years that her divinity was able to increase to such a great extent, allowing her a little more space of autonomy. Coupled with prior mental preparation, she was able to make such a resolute decision. On the contrary, if the same situation were to happen decades ago, even if she had thought of this idea, she would never be able to implement it. She would only watch the situation worsen to finally get hopelessly out of hand.

So when the aristocratic party and merchant party finally got started on negotiating with each other honestly, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief. And she went to extend her gratitude towards Sui Xiong.

“This time, I really have to thank you for your help all these years!” she said with utmost sincerity. “If it wasn’t for my increased divinity over these years acting as a buffer, this time around, I definitely wouldn’t be able to use such a method!”

“It’s also because you knew how to grasp the opportunity and let it accumulate,” said Sui Xiong who did not claim any credit for what he did. Laughing heartily, he said, “After all, we still need to know how to help ourselves. If you had not been accumulating diligently, this time around, no one could have helped you at all.”

“Well…” said the Goddess of Wealth as she nodded. Yet, her expression started to show signs of worry as she said, “I wonder if they’ll be able to reach a conclusion this time… This parliament consists only of the two parties, the merchants and aristocrats. There are no representatives from the clergymen and civilians. I have this constant feeling that that’s quite inappropriate.”

“Then why did you not mandate your participation in the talk between the two sides?” Sui Xiong asked

“Forcing them to negotiate is already my limit. I can’t go any further to force them,” said the Goddess of Wealth with a sigh, and she shook her head.

Sui Xiong smiled and said, “Don’t worry, leave this matter to me.”

“It’s just locking them up together to threaten them. I’ve used such a means not too long ago, so I’m quite skilled in it!”