Starting with the defeated female knight

Even so, this chain reaction is not over yet.

After the first wave of factories made money, and seeing that there were still gaps in the market, the nobles naturally wanted to expand production.

More factories were built, more people were recruited into them, and in order to further reduce costs, not only were working conditions worse, but workers' wages were also declining.

Furthermore, blinded by self-interest, one thing went unnoticed, or rather, deliberately ignored.

If so many people work in the factory, who will farm the land?

This is the beginning of spring.

Even in a world where extraordinary powers and even extraordinary crops exist, spring is still an extremely important time for sowing.

However, due to the low price of grain, and especially since noble families often had their own private farmland and fields, they certainly did not have to worry about food.

As for ordinary people, most of them who dropped out of prenatal education don't think that far ahead. When they see that factories can make more money, they will definitely rush to work in factories.

And it's not just ordinary people; the church is also getting a little anxious.

As a conservative force that relies on miracles, they are not particularly fond of such large-scale changes.

Not to mention that in the various subsequent operations, they were the only one of the three cornerstones who did not profit, and even suffered losses.

Since the believers have all gone to work in factories, who will do the work for them?

As a result, various underhanded tactics were employed, including spreading rumors, collecting "faith taxes," and even outright claiming that the factory was the embodiment of evil...

But the nobles and mages who profited certainly couldn't let them get away with it, and they immediately retaliated, resulting in a lively and heated debate.

But is that all? Of course not.

In fact, apart from the church, tensions are escalating within the nobility and associations themselves.

After all, the various families within the nobility and the different schools of thought within the association were not a monolithic entity.

In fact, it could be said that compared to other forces, as long as they are not at the level of ancient gods, they would rather kill the 'friendly forces' within the unified force first, and then go to fight the enemy.

After all, whether the enemy lives or dies has little to do with them, but other families and schools of thought will definitely compete with them for resources.

However, because the empire had been stagnant before, although they disliked each other and often had conflicts and frictions, they never brought it up in public.

But after the steam engine, known as the factory, began to operate, all sorts of messy things started to emerge, along with the explosion and entanglement of interests.

Especially those with similar territories and factories producing similar goods, there is constant friction and the tension is escalating.

But what's worse is that instead of getting better, things have only gotten worse over time.

Not all families have members from the original investigation team, and not all families act so quickly.

It could even be said that those who were able to take action in the first wave and complete the construction and harvest were only a small group that had been guided by Green.

Once the factories started operating and the benefits and profits of this model were discovered, other families followed suit, and the monsters known as factories began to multiply rapidly.

This may sound similar to the nobles who expanded production for profit mentioned earlier, but the nature of it is completely different.

The simplest difference is that even when those nobles expand production, they still have some planning involved, and they usually receive guidance from Green through the nobles who were originally part of the investigation team. Although it's hard to say they're very formal, they can at least be considered a 'factory'.

However, this group that entered the field later received neither Green's help nor made contact with the school of thought. They lacked ideas, techniques, and experience, and their abilities and resources were also insufficient.

But they still want to earn the same amount of money as everyone else, or even more.

In that case, there is still this goal.

When the two are combined, a true monster is born.

To draw an analogy, it's like those factories that Green supervised. Although they also ate people, at least they would spit out a couple of bones after eating people so that the others could make some soup.

But these 'factories' that grew up through unorthodox means are completely ruthless, devouring people without spitting out the bones, even chewing up and swallowing the dregs.

Tempted by high wages? They'll come to your door and threaten you.

Don't want to work in the factory? We'll just confiscate your land.

Safety training and security measures? What good are those things? Once they've died enough, they'll be scared and naturally know what to do.

Forget about old people and children, they're just babbling incomprehensible gibberish. Get inside!

After the black factories were established one after another, the monster called the Factory finally completed its final form, opened its huge mouth, and began to feast on the behemoth called the Empire.

Needless to say, the workers, in this world that doesn't treat those of lower bloodlines as human beings, even those in factories that Green had supervised, only received simple training.

As for those illegal factories, they don't even provide any training; whether someone survives after being thrown in there is entirely a matter of luck.

As for ordinary people who are not workers, life has gradually become more difficult due to the rising cost of raw materials.

And even if you grit your teeth and decide to buy a product, you may find that the quality is much worse than before.

Churches that did not benefit from this incident are still causing trouble and slander, but even those that did benefit don't seem to be doing much better.

The infighting within the association is intensifying. Before, it was just a matter of fighting over piglets, but now it's all about real money.

Moreover, many technical aspects are difficult to explain, and everyone feels that the other side copied them, leading to increasingly serious conflicts.

But even such an association pales in comparison to the nobles next door.

While the association was still just talking about it, the increase in factories and the intensification of competition, especially the later emergence of a series of illegal factories, led to the situation where the industry was in turmoil.

The joy brought by high profits is fleeting, and because I have experienced that feeling before, I am now increasingly dissatisfied and disappointed.

In particular, the consequences of bloodline supremacy and inbreeding over the years have taken hold, turning nobles who were previously on the surface into powder kegs that are ready to explode at any moment, with bloodshed and conflict incidents becoming increasingly frequent.

As for the lower classes and the poor, it goes without saying.

After the brief period of bliss, what followed was not rebirth, but a deeper darkness.

After the heart called industry began to beat, along with the blood flowed the rich stench of decay that had been buried for many years, only to be unearthed because of death.

In addition, there was the old king's critical illness, the old pope's dementia, and the disappearance of the former association president.

Finally, the three thin threads holding up the empire snapped.

That long-suppressed malice finally burst forth along with the flow of blood.

boom--

Near the border, a factory collapsed.

Amidst the devastation and corpses, crimson eyes, like a curse in the darkness, heralded the beginning of everything.

Some say it was sabotage by rival families, others say it was lower bloodlines taking advantage of the situation, and still others keep trying to argue that it wasn't their area of ​​responsibility and they shouldn't bear the losses.

Dark clouds gradually enveloped the capital, leading to increasing chaos, and the atmosphere within the various noble families grew increasingly oppressive.

Take, for example, the Valencia family, located in a corner of the capital.

Although they were among the second wave of families to build factories, it was precisely because of this that they were stuck in the very middle.

Although they made some money, it wasn't as much as the first wave of factory builders. Moreover, because they discovered the potential for huge profits, they basically reinvested all the money they earned.

As a result, a third wave of illegal factories emerged, which, by exploiting costs without any means necessary, not only affected their profits but could even cause them to lose money.

As for withdrawing? You've invested so much money, bought so many things, and it concerns the interests of so many people in your family. Do you think you can just back out like that?

The adults frowned, and some even began to discuss in hushed tones whether they should resort to physical means to eliminate their competitors.

On the other hand, influenced by the adults, the children in the family also didn't seem very happy.

Take Cona Valencia, for example. Her parents have invested a lot of their wealth in her, which has already seriously affected her life as a 'high-blooded' person.

But what if we can't recoup our investment? Then what happens next...?

Boom, boom, boom.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who?"

"it's me."

Hearing that familiar voice, Kona frowned.

Jessie Valencia, her sister, is someone she quite despises.

Although he possessed noble blood, his bloodline was of lower or middle rank within the nobility, and his deformed and twisted body was so repulsive that it was difficult to regard him as a true nobleman.

As her older sister, Kona regarded it as a disgrace to the family. She would feel insulted even if others mentioned it, let alone take care of her.

She and that kind of inferior person are not sisters.

It's best for disgusting trash like that to just disappear.

That's what she really thought.

As for the other party's purpose, she felt she could roughly guess it.

Because of the recent factory construction, the family's financial situation is not very good. They already have less money to give to the children, so no one cares about a deformed child of low-class blood.

They're probably here to ask for money.

she thinks.

Although she didn't really want to get involved in this kind of thing, she didn't want her to stay outside her door, otherwise, if others saw her, it would be even more humiliating for her.

So she went over and opened the door, intending to tell the other person that the family was currently broke and that she should go back and stay there, and think more about the family's future.

but......

"Sister, I think I've discovered a treasure left behind by someone!"

Jessie's eyes gleamed as she pulled a few gold coins, still covered in dirt, from her pocket, her expression excited and ingratiating.

Kona was somewhat surprised, but she didn't suspect anything.

After all, as an inferior product, this child had tried countless times to please her and her parents in this way.

In a normal family, this child might be seen as sensible, but in their eyes, inferior goods are inferior goods. Such a humble attitude would be seen as an insult to the dignity of the nobility, and would be even more disliked by others.

Kona wanted to yell at her directly, but after glancing at the few gold coins in the woman's hand, she raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Where did you find it?"

"Over there..."

Jessie pointed in a direction and said excitedly.

"I found it when I was scavenging for scrap metal over there. There seem to be more around, but it's hard for me to find them all by myself, so I thought..."

"understood."

Kona took the few gold coins from her hand, put them in her pocket, and then asked her to lead the way to the place where the 'treasure' was found.

During the heyday of the nobility, it was quite normal for them to bury treasures for others to dig up, or simply to leave a few gold coins lying around.

Because of her family's poor situation, she could tolerate this deformed child standing beside her for the sake of the gold coins.

As for the subsequent allocation?

Giving the deformed child a gold coin would be enough; she should help out when the family is in trouble...

Kara -

As she got closer, Kona sensed something and was about to instinctively dodge, but a small hand reached out from behind and pressed her down.

Then, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking, excruciating pain came from her limbs, and in almost an instant, she became a cripple.

With a slight effort from her little hands, she was lifted up.

He saw the junk surrounding him and his sister's excited face.

"Jassie, you..."

"You're so beautiful, sister."

Jessie reached out and ran her fingers across her cheek, feeling the well-maintained skin and well-developed body that befitted a noblewoman, a hint of envy appearing in her eyes.

"If I were as beautiful as you, maybe the adults would be more willing to touch me..."

"Shh, don't talk, I don't want to cut off your pretty little tongue. And don't struggle, or I might end up leaving more wounds on you."

"Oh dear, it's not because she's my sister. You bunch of idiots, how many times have the adults told us that He prefers the complete version of himself?"

"And don't forget, we haven't returned the New Year's gifts the adults gave us yet."

"I have great confidence in my sister's looks. Even within the Valencia family, she's known for her beauty, and she also possesses this power..."