Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Alice said, "Liang'er, let me test you. How long would the stone transported from the Laminaria to Liyue Harbor last for the residents of Liyue Harbor in a week?"

"It must have been at least a year," Shen Liang said without thinking.

"Idiot!" Mistylin smacked him on the head.

Alice looked at him and said, "Liang'er, you've really been living a life of luxury in the Castle Keep for too long. You actually know very little about the lifestyles of ordinary people."

Shen Liang hesitated for a moment, "Two years?"

He was thinking that he had forgotten about the construction time of the buildings. Even if building a single building or a street required a lot of stone, the construction itself would take a year or two. During that time, the stone could be supplied gradually; there was no need to send it all over in a week. So, 10,000 tons could probably last for more than a year?

Alice smiled and continued to shake her head.

"We can't use 10,000 tons of stone for five years, that would slow down Liyue Harbor's development too much. Or are you going to use cement? Or sand as a material? Well, stone isn't exactly the best material to use..."

Alice said, "It's just one week."

Shen Liang was stunned.

In fact, Rosalyn was also stunned. Only these two young children present could not understand it, as they were both inexperienced in the ways of the world.

“It takes a week to transport these stones, but they only need to be used for a week. Liyue Harbor alone has a population of over a million, which is very dense. One cubic meter of bluestone weighs two and a half tons. Stone bricks need to be laid, and columns, beams, and floor slabs, including the foundation, even without considering gravel, sand, beams, steel, tiles, and cement, a single-story wooden house with an area of ​​800 square meters would require 500 square meters, which is more than a thousand tons. If you were to build it in Liyue Harbor where land is extremely valuable, you would have to consider adding floors. Three- or four-story buildings are not uncommon in Yujingtai. A single household could potentially use five or six thousand tons,” Yingda said. “It’s very simple, you can do the math yourselves.”

Shen Liang quickly did the mental calculation and realized it was true.

"The Abyssal Layer only produces 10,000 tons a week, but a single household might need 5,000 or 6,000 tons? How can we possibly supply that?"

"So now all construction sites in Liyue Harbor have stopped, it's been stopped for half a year. There will be no more construction, no more new houses." Iris and Yingda took turns talking. "These stones are just a microcosm of the predicament Liyue is currently facing. Every day, the stones we mine could pile up into a mountain in Liyue Harbor, not just a few meters high, but a real mountain. But the expansion of the city is even greater than a mountain, even more overwhelming. It frantically wants to become magnificent and beautiful. But all this magnificence and beauty requires the war to stop and the mines to resume operation. Every moment, there are Liyue people who want to build new houses and have new homes on this land, but Liyue is no longer able to provide them."

Shen Liang looked at the destroyed cowsheds and didn't know what to say for a long time.

“These past few days we’ve been setting up radio stations everywhere, and I can tell you’re a bit tired, Liang’er. You feel this job is just like working for us, tedious and meaningless. So I’ve been wanting you to see what ending the war really brings,” Yingda said. “It’s just stone, but there’s much more collapsing behind your back, Your Highness. The Laminarge is gone, houses can’t be built, Mora has no raw materials to produce, the economy is tilting towards military production, and prices are rising. With military forces concentrated in the Laminarge, they can’t maintain Liyue Harbor in the east, so they can only reduce population movement. No one goes out to sea, and there’s a shortage of goods to sell in the market. The more goods are scarce, the more people want to hoard them in preparation for war, so oil and salt are in short supply.”

Yingda looked into the distance: "This is the loss of a mine. We have to supply 10,000 tons of stone to the city to the east every week. If we can't do that, people will have no oil, no salt, no meat, and not even rice. You feel like you've been doing something meaningless, but that's not right. Everything is interconnected. Look at these two kilometers of cowsheds, even a fool would understand this."

"Are you calling me an idiot?" Shen Liang, unusually, did not refute.

“No, Liang’er is so cute, of course he’s not a fool.” Alice stroked his face and chuckled. “But Liang’er, this is what your mother wants you to learn.”

"Yeah."

"You are the crown prince of Inazuma, you must understand what reality is. Whether you want to become a supreme god ruling the world or live a carefree life away from strife, you must have this in your heart."

"what?"

“Responsibility,” Alice tapped his chest and smiled slightly, “or pity.”

Chapter Ninety-Two: A god of beasts is nothing but a beast.

The pseudo-history states:

Four years before the ascension of the King of the Ninja Kingdom, in the summer.

In Liyue's western territory, the Laminar Plains have been invaded by beasts. The Thousand Rock Army has amassed over 100,000 troops to defend the Laminar Plains, evacuating settlements and villages within an 800-mile radius and halting mining operations nationwide. Previously, the Geo Archon Morax had already traveled to the Kingdom of Kanria to exert pressure, leaving only the Ascendant and Human factions to defend Liyue.

Before the riot in the Great Abyss, Wakamiya had gone there to support the army's construction. This is inconsistent with Wakamiya's usual arrogant and willful nature in historical records, so some people say that the young Wakamiya was just going to the battlefield to gain experience, because if he stayed in Inazuma to gain military merit, there were too many people in his own country, and he would not be able to deceive those who were always watching the crown prince.

However, this doesn't explain why Wakami nearly lost his life in the Liyue Abyss. Furthermore, it's common knowledge that almost all of Inazuma's high-ranking military officers are Wakami's supporters. Even without military merit, Grand Marshal Mikoto Chiyo of the Shogunate would not dare disobey the Son of God. Although there is little historical information about Wakami, the details reveal extremely ambiguous connections between him and many powerful figures, including Mikoto Chiyo, Kosai-no-miya, and even Reisenbo.

However, the most striking aspect of the Great Abyss Riot was not Liyue's actions, but rather the wrath of the god Rhodesund. The young god-child, enraged during the war, declared a formal alliance with Liyue. In nearly two thousand years since the end of the Demon God War, this was the first time Liyue had formed a military alliance with a powerful ruling nation.

Almost simultaneously, Inazuma unconditionally supported this verbal alliance. Despite the desperate pleas of numerous Shogunate officials, Wakanaru's mother, Mitake no Narukami, unusually disregarded human opinions and unilaterally relinquished power to her son in Liyue. Furthermore, she declared war on Kanriya, simultaneously with Liyue. Inazuma's army expanded rapidly, the power of civil officials was significantly reduced, and after many years, youkai and warriors once again controlled the entire government.

Surprisingly, Sumeru soon also declared war, although it did not ally with Liyue and Inazuma, it opened the Jetavana Palace to invite Wakana to reside there. Following this, war declarations from the seven kingdoms were launched one after another.

The gods of the seven kingdoms all had a vague premonition of the approaching thunderstorm, and their war preparations were being heightened.

but--

Many years later, even "Kanria" was no longer mentioned. This world war, named "The Dark Calamity," was only of interest to a few scholars.

This child, known as "Wakahi Narukami," is said to be the short-lived emperor of Inazuma, the beloved son of the Thunder God who died young. After his death, the Thunder God regained power and has held it ever since. However, many scholars believe that the records about "Wakahi Narukami" are fabricated, invented by a group of bards or storytellers to satirize the affairs of men and women within the Inazuma palace. He seems to have existed in every event five hundred years ago, yet he leaves no trace in the real world and remains completely unknown.

For example, there are rumors that Narukami was a philanderer and had indulged in debauchery in front of the Kosai Palace. He also had affairs with many innocent shrine maidens, so much so that every shrine maiden at Narukami Taisha Shrine is his descendant.

This makes some sense. After all, shrine maidens were originally "divine servants." If it weren't for the fact that Mitakenari was a woman, they might even have been "divine prostitutes." As shrine maidens, offering their bodies and souls to the gods was a necessary duty. Therefore, this rumor has been widely discussed. However, those who have observed shrine maiden families today have discovered that their family lineages are complete, with records dating back even a thousand years. Moreover, not all shrine maiden families consist of beautiful young women; rather, there are many more ordinary-looking women.

But how could the daughters of the God of Thunder be ordinary women? A god whose appearance is described in divine records as "the young emperor, not yet of age, possessing a beautiful appearance, radiant as spring blossoms, bright as the autumn moon, pure and flawless, peerless and independent," would not have ordinary daughters in his bloodline, let alone five hundred years, or even a thousand. Therefore, rather than believing in such a romantic figure in history, it's better to believe it's a fabrication. Otherwise, how could the Thunder God, who lost her beloved son, still stand in the castle tower, her deeply cherished child simply turned to ashes?

----------

Outside the black tent, roars filled the air; inside, Kanria's scouts and alchemists sat on the ground, whispering amongst themselves.

This war is unlike any other war in history. In the past, wars were battles between armies, between extraordinary races, and between gods in unseen places. Apart from wars like the Demon God War, which swept the entire world and even the gods could not remain uninvolved, most wars were contests between mortals.

Because if a powerful force intervenes, it will often be met with equal retaliation. Mortals are powerless to withstand the slaughter of extraordinary beings such as immortals, great demons, or even gods, so it has become a convention for soldiers to fight soldiers and generals to fight generals.

However, Kanria has slightly broken this tradition. This time, Kanria's method of warfare is a complete covert operation. The army wasn't deployed to any single country; instead, those sent to other countries were mostly "ordinary people"—scouts skilled in infiltration and intelligence gathering, as well as alchemists capable of adjusting and controlling autonomous machinery. The warfare wasn't a full-scale, widespread war, but rather sabotage operations behind enemy lines, tearing open the gates of the Beast Realm and the rifts of the Abyss, causing chaos among the monsters of the Beast Realm and the black mud of the Abyss on the enemy's homeland.

This eliminates the need to worry about how the population of a single nation like Kanria could cope with the military operations of all the nations of Teyvat. A small number of agents are enough to overwhelm each nation with its own problems. This is the astonishing plan of Kanria's Prime Minister, "Golden" Rhinedoth. The liberation of the Beast Realm, a feat even gods struggle to achieve, was accomplished by Rhinedoth, a mere mortal.

She was the role model for all alchemists in Kanria, single-handedly invoking divine retribution; her knowledge and power even surpassed that of the Seven Gods. Kanria's ability to become a realm beyond the gods was precisely because of mortals like Rhinedoth.

It is precisely because of the existence of such mortals that every Kanria person is proud to be mortal. Even though this war will overturn the continent, even though they, as soldiers dispatched to other countries, have almost no chance of survival, they still fanatically believe in their country and maintain Kanria's grand plan with their lives.

The alchemist glanced at his colleagues. Scouts rarely came to his tent because he was surrounded by the most beast-like monsters, who were extremely bloodthirsty and whose mission was to kill and destroy all "civilized" things. Although Rhinedot's technology allowed these monsters to ignore the flesh and blood of the Kanria warriors as much as possible, it wasn't always effective, and coming to the alchemist's camp was risky.

But today is different. Today marks the third day since the Thousand Rock Army planted their flag outside the Great Abyss. The entire surface mining area has been completely subdued by the military camp. The scouts have been discussing this in fear and trepidation for two whole days in the sunless depths, wondering if Liyue intends to completely wipe them out. Therefore, they have been waiting for the alchemists to summon them for a meeting; they desperately want to know what to do next.

Alchemists are typically at the highest level in the Kanriyan infiltration forces dispatched to various countries. This is because alchemists hold the key to controlling the hounds, wolves, and various monsters of the Beast Realm, and are also the main force in creating autonomous machines. Most importantly, alchemists often receive knowledge of military formations and tactics forcibly implanted into their brains, making each alchemist a potential junior commander.

Only sorcerers who worshipped Rhinedoth would willingly accept the extreme punishment of having their brains implanted. Most of the soldiers of Kanria were unwilling to let those sorcerers who modified monsters modify their heads.

The alchemist understood the scouts' anxiety, but his silence wasn't to appear profound; he simply hadn't figured out what to say. Unlike the soldiers, who were full of enthusiasm, the alchemist was more intelligent and thoughtful. In the days since learning that the Liyue army was at the city gates, he had been pondering many seemingly unrelated matters.

For example, the Kanriyans have always proclaimed themselves a nation where humans surpass gods, free from divine exploitation, and where no one dares to be superior. These words have won over the unruly and passionate soldiers, but after being in Liyue for so long, he felt that the people of Liyue weren't as despotic, as sinister, or as barbaric as they seemed. King Ilmin of Kanriyan said that those who still relied on begging the gods for peace were a bunch of uncivilized monkeys, foolish to rely on gods instead of creating civilization with their own hands. "Do you think you would genuinely love a group of ants?" he asked. But the sorcerer felt that the people of Liyue didn't seem like barbaric ants, and that the gods of Liyue still hovered over Kanriyan to exert pressure for the sake of their people, which didn't seem like gods who didn't care about their people.

Often, even when sorcerers believe their nation is more powerful, it doesn't necessarily mean it's more civilized. No matter how you look at it, Kanria was the one who initiated the invasion and started the war. But can they really justify their invasion with a simple statement like, "We are oppressed by the laws of nature, so naturally we must rebel against those ruled by them"?

This seems uncivilized.

But even the sorcerer knew that civilization was a good thing, but surviving on it was incredibly difficult. In a continent where every nation was "barbaric," what people feared and praised was never civilization, but raw power. Only those with power could talk about salvation and destruction; if fate decreed their demise, they would destroy the continent. Only those wielding the power to destroy could survive.

"Gentlemen," the alchemist began, gesturing for the scouts to quiet down, "you've worked hard. I'm sure you all understand why I've called this meeting today. The Liyue army has cleared out all the surface units, and they've encamped to surround the Laminar Abyss. You could even say their warhorses could reach the mouth of the abyss in a single charge. They haven't issued a declaration of war yet, but we all know they can't tolerate us being underground for long. The final assault is imminent."

The scouts exchanged glances but remained silent.

The alchemist glanced at everyone. "David, you've been lurking on the surface for years. Tell me about the situation in the military camp outside. At least tell me how many people, how many horses, and what weapons the Thousand Rock Army has brought in over the past six months."

"I went out to check, and the commander is General Yingda of the Fire Rat. I haven't seen the Grand Marshal of Liyue for two months, and he might be dead. There are at least 150,000 men in sight, of which 120,000 are young men, all infantry, each carrying at least one spear and two swords, and about half of them carry bows and arrows. The people of Liyue are rich, richer than other countries, so their weapons are all top-notch, and their armor is also excellent, made of solid metal. You could say they've invested heavily. But their horses are not good. They used to have the Ironclad Cavalry, so they raised horses, but now the horses of the people of Liyue are all managed by the Sumeru people. They haven't trained their own horse farms for too long."

How many cavalry?

“Thirty thousand, of which twenty-five thousand are for logistics. The Liyue cavalry are always supported by five men for each man. The other five thousand cavalry are the Crimson Cloud Cavalry of the Fire Yaksha, all light cavalry, and female generals handpicked from among thousands.” David answered succinctly.

"I heard that the Crown Prince of Inazuma has also arrived, bringing with him Inazuma's telegraph technology. Since the wolf beasts on the ground have been dealt with, it means that the telegraph system has been deployed throughout the entire war zone, right?"

David pondered for a moment, "More or less, and Raiden's movements are very elusive. He's a demon god, and he's surrounded by powerful figures. I simply can't keep up with the speed at which they're laying telegraph lines. So I don't know how the lines go, but it's also possible there aren't any lines at all..."

"No wiring?" The alchemist was taken aback.

"According to Inazuma's intelligence, telegraph systems only require cables when the distance is far. If it's just a war zone, with radio stations several miles apart, it's very likely that they can communicate without cables... using waves."

"That means we can't destroy their telegraph system."

The sorcerer surveyed the crowd. "The terrifying power of the telegraph has been known in Kanria for many years. Even the Grand Master believed that Baal's research, given time, might be an achievement even more terrifying than her creations. Now we are about to face such an enemy. Gentlemen, are you prepared?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, but then they all raised their heads, their eyes burning with anger.

No one flinched, even though they knew that a mere few people and the liberated Beast Realm were no match for Liyue. This was Liyue's homeland, and they wouldn't offer any assistance, but their willingness to come meant they were prepared to die.

"If we fight a real battle with the Liyue people, we'll all die, but the Liyue people will die far more than me. Our wolves, our beasts, our tractors look down on their weak and feeble soldiers. They're only there to insult us." A scout sneered. "Captain, I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of a pointless existence. If they dare to come down, I'll admire their courage, but I'll watch with these eyes as our wolves devour them clean—yes, right here on Liyue's soil, openly and honestly eating people!"

The sorcerer narrowed his eyes slightly. "Charco, you're quite fierce."

"Captain, you may think that cannibalism is a violation of civilized norms, but that's not necessarily true. If our wolves didn't eat them, would that barbaric nation destroy us? Preemptive strikes may seem cruel, but aren't we forced into this situation?" Charco said coldly. "Liyue, Inazuma, all the nations are so barbaric, only we, the Kanria, are determined to advance. But barbarism always wants to devour civilization, barbarism always wants to conquer civilization, so we, as pioneers, are going to use our lives to sweep away barbarism and clean up the waste. Of course, I have to be fierce, because what I'm doing is causing the collapse of backward beliefs that worship gods, it's about truly enlightening humanity and making it civilized! Our wolves aren't eating people, they're just a bunch of barbaric beasts."

He was so fanatical that even the sorcerer couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking the wrong thing. Indeed, Kanria possessed a physique far superior to any other nation, a physique where the advanced could crush the backward. He felt that his invasions were likely just pointless sentimentality, and in war, such sentimentality was the most undesirable thing!

Having blood on your hands is not ugly; it's just the blood of trashy beasts!

What we must do is wage war! Civilization triumphs over barbarism through war—that is what civilization should do! Destroy the beliefs of all nations on the continent, along with their gods, and embrace the future that belongs to humanity—that is the right path! Those beastly gods, whether it be the Rock King Emperor or that young Wakatsuki-no-Ming God, are nothing but beasts!

"We will not escape," the sorcerer whispered.

"Kanria will never perish!" everyone said in unison.

"I would rather die honorably than live with savages. Only cowards would hand over this beautiful continent to beasts that depend on the gods!" The alchemist said firmly, and strode away.

Chapter Ninety-Three: My mother can make me obey, but she can't make you obey.

In late June, the weather gets hot very quickly, even early in the morning.

Shen Liang reluctantly lay on the cold coffin. The tent was quite stuffy, and sleeping with the coffin radiating cold air was much more comfortable than sleeping on a bed.

He had done a lot these past few days. First, he set up radio stations in all the military camps, which was his job. Incidentally, he also couldn't resist the pleas of the two beautiful girls, Yi Shui and Huo, and used healing techniques to help Fu She recover his health.

So-called karmic obstacles are essentially the lingering resentment of demons and gods; these are external influences. Shen Liang's secret method can only heal internal things in the body, such as illnesses and injuries. These external factors that linger on the physical body are generally only treated as symptoms, not the root cause.

For example, if someone is poisoned, Shen Liang can alleviate or even eliminate some of the poison from the body. However, if the poison remains in the body, such treatment is essentially meaningless. Karma is something like that; Shen Liang cannot expel it. And it is constantly eroding the Yaksha's mind, while "mental problems" are precisely the kind of issues that Shen Liang's healing methods cannot resolve.

So, aside from reducing headaches and dizziness in the Yakshas, ​​or physical illnesses caused by karmic obstacles entering their bodies, Shen Liang's healing power isn't effective for everything.

However, this only applies to those Yakshas whose karmic burdens have penetrated too deeply and whose minds are even somewhat confused. For the other Yakshas who are still relatively clear-headed, Shen Liang's healing power is sufficient to clear away the remaining poison. He can extend the lifespan of the Yakshas by at least several decades or even several hundred years, and if the Yakshas sense that their time is coming to an end, they can seek him out for further treatment.