In this crossover anime, many ruthless and powerful figures reside in my territory.

This is indeed the case.

Lister was deep in thought, looking at the map on the table.

The two infiltrators who had previously infiltrated White Moon Territory have sent back very important information.

First, a detailed map of the northern border of the United States.

Secondly, there are two targeted plans implemented by the alien races against Red Maple Territory.

Lister tapped his fingers lightly on the table and murmured.

"This has really given me a difficult problem."

"It seems the orcs suddenly growing heads must have been orchestrated by someone, otherwise they wouldn't have sent so many refugees here."

"To kill or to spare is the question."

"Based on their previous performance, neither the White Bear Clan nor the Undead Clan exhibits any scheming behavior. The former prefers to be straightforward, while the latter lacks reverence for life."

"Are they from the Dark Court or the Annihilation Cult?"

"Or perhaps it was an idea from orcs or elves in other regions?"

"There are both gains and risks; this may also be an opportunity."

Chapter 106 New Obstacles and Hopes

In his bright new office, Lister was alone, deep in thought.

Muzan and Nakime should have been there too, but they both went back to their own worlds to do their routine charity work.

Regarding the fact that the alien race pushed out a large number of refugees and pointed them in the direction of Red Maple Territory, Muzan's attitude was to intercept them on the way. She could take action herself, so that people who might cause chaos would not be allowed into Red Maple Territory.

Moreover, having her do the work can keep it a secret from others; she can do any dirty work.

Lister expressed his deep emotion and told Muzan to put the idea aside for the time being, as everything has two sides and we should not only see the negative aspects of this matter.

For example, although this wave of refugees is a low-quality population that may impact the mindset of Red Maple Town and cause chaos, they are also a group of laborers.

As winter turns to spring, Hongfengling needs more labor to develop the Hongfeng Basin.

After all, Epsilon still needs to build their Antarctic base, and they prefer to provide technology and methods to guide the development of Red Maple Territory.

Once Red Maple Territory absorbs this wave of refugees, the labor shortage will be greatly alleviated, and more manpower will be available to nurse the large number of babies about to be born.

If the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and the drawbacks can be effectively mitigated, then it is acceptable.

Moreover, if he were to choose to ambush them halfway, it would not align with his governing philosophy.

That's why Liszt spent the whole night thinking about how to mitigate the drawbacks or turn them into advantages in this situation.

"Um……"

After much deliberation, Lister summoned the two people living in Red Maple Castle via telepathic communication.

Less than a minute later, Melf, dressed in a knight's uniform, and Pauline, dressed as an assassin, walked in through the side door of the office.

"Little brother, why don't you just tell us about the mission via telepathy?"

"...It's not a very urgent mission, it would be good to meet before the mission."

Upon hearing this, Melf's lips curled into a smile.

"That's true. If I were given a task and all I got was a single instruction, I would be very unhappy."

Lister coughed.

"Alright, let me tell you about this mission first."

"I have just shared the information I obtained with you through a deep mental connection."

“This group of refugees numbers around two thousand. I hope the two of you can observe the refugee tide secretly and decide for yourselves when to report to me.”

Melf and Pauline nodded. They knew Lister's intention in doing so: to observe the refugee crisis beforehand and see if there were any enemy spies or eccentric individuals among them.

It is essential to understand before deciding how to do something.

"Brother, you still haven't told us why the alien race is doing this?"

"Isn't this an act of aiding the enemy?"

Melf was confused, and Pauline was equally puzzled.

Seeing this, Lister prepared to offer an explanation.

"Because they see the benefits outweigh the drawbacks."

"The most important thing for a territory is order."

"For them, losing this group of refugees should allow them to better manage the territories they have conquered."

"For their enemies, if I accept these refugees, according to their estimates, my territory will inevitably have to consume a lot of food and manpower to stabilize them. The resource-scarce North is not easy to survive in, which will shake the foundation of Red Maple Territory."

"Moreover, there are probably a lot of morally corrupt people among these refugees. Once they are absorbed, there is a high probability that criminals will emerge in Red Maple Territory."

Melf immediately frowned.

"Then why accept them?"

She was well aware of how destructive a rising crime rate could be to her territory. The simple and unpretentious cultural environment of Red Maple Town was created through layers of screening and guidance, and she would never allow anyone to destroy it!

At this moment, Pauline said the same thing.

"My lord, scum will never change. I've seen too many hopeless people in the sewers of White Moon City. Taking them in will only disgust the other citizens!"

Upon seeing the two men who were determined to advise him, Lister couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"Why are you all taking the same stance as Muzan?"

"Don't worry, I won't lose the most important thing in Red Maple Territory—the hearts of its people—for the sake of development."

"Hasn't this always been the home we all value most?"

Upon hearing this, their expressions softened slightly.

Lister truly hadn't expected that even Melf and Pauline had developed hawkish mindsets, demanding the execution of the refugees who had been driven there as soon as they heard that the special atmosphere of Red Maple Territory might be destroyed.

They weren't like this before.

"It's my fault for not explaining things clearly to you."

"The purpose of sending you to observe this group of refugees is to eliminate those who are not qualified to come to Red Maple Territory."

Liszt interlaced his fingers and rested his elbows on the table.

"You need to keep a few extremely hated scumbags and a few guys who might commit crimes."

Both Melf and Pauline looked on with curiosity.

"why?"

"Because... I need to borrow their heads."

Liszt responded with a smile.

"During the month-long journey across the snowfield, there will inevitably be dirty incidents of fighting for the right to food, and you will see the true colors of most of them."

"The whole process will cause everyone to accumulate a considerable amount of resentment. The heads of some hateful scum will be the punching bags for most people to vent their anger, and also a means to get them closer to Red Maple Territory."

Melf and Pauline suddenly realized.

Melf praised him even more directly.

"No wonder he's my brother, a natural manipulator. Why don't I have a brain like yours?"

"At least use some positive words..."

Lister sighed.

At that moment, Melf suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, little brother, did you get a detailed map of the United States?"

"Yes, it's just a detailed map of the Perloren Empire."

"Are there large lakes or seas in the eastern part of our Red Maple Territory, which crosses the Frosty Winter Mountains?"

Ok?

Lister immediately recalled having Melf investigate the situation at both ends of the Red Maple River a month earlier.

He opened the map and observed that the eastern part of the Winter Mountains was blank, and to the south of that blank area was another neighboring kingdom, which, like the Kingdom of Renn, belonged to the Perloren Empire.

"You mean this empty space is the ocean?"

“Indeed… there are several ports on the border of the Kingdom of Mut.”

Melf replied.

"It's just a guess. I sent two teams of five ninjas to either side of the Red Maple River. The team heading northwest climbed the mountain, while the team heading east discovered a huge underground river."

"This underground river is hidden inside the Frosty Winter Mountains. After receiving the news, I speculated whether the underground river was connected to lakes and oceans outside. However, the investigation team was too small and the internal passages of the cave were very complicated, so we have not yet found out the truth."

Lister looked at the map in front of him and suddenly slapped it on with one hand in excitement.

"Sister! This is a major discovery! I will send Nadia and the others to investigate further!"

"If we can truly connect with the sea, then the blockade imposed on us by the alien races will no longer be effective, and we will even have many options, able to advance or retreat as we wish!"

Lister got up and paced back and forth.

There's no need to rush right now; it's best to investigate thoroughly first.

“Sister, I’ll let Prie go with you again. You can focus your energy on the refugees. I’ll consider the rest.”

Melfie and Pauline nodded, then left the office to meet Prie, who had come to join them.

Lister, on the other hand, looked at the entire map with great excitement.

"Eastward... If only we could open up a trade route by heading east."

"In that case, we need someone in charge."

"Haytson Kenway, you've come at just the right time."