Chapter 1104 - 654: Nobility Is Not Innate, but Bestowed by the People
Heinrich saw Sivier’s face, pale with despair, and inexplicably felt a surge of anger. Even as this overwhelming Haki suffocated him, a sense of unease arose.
"Even if we are destroyed, Hyrule’s 1.1 million citizens will not capitulate! We will resist, fighting in every corner..."
His words were cut short by Sivier’s trembling and tears.
Heinrich stared blankly at Sivier, his mind empty.
Since meeting the Saintess, he had never seen her weep. Yet even in her tears, there was an overwhelming sense of insignificance and helplessness, palpable to the eye.
In his memory, the Saintess was a symbol of strength, resolve, gentleness, and wisdom, always either solving problems or on the path to solving them, no matter the danger.
Never had he witnessed such a loss of composure, which simultaneously tensed a string deep within Heinrich, alerting him to something. Shocked, he turned to look at the white-haired man grinning sinisterly.
Destruction... doesn’t refer to destroying them?!
"1.1 million? Quite a lot. But it’s a pity they can’t become my subjects..."
The Sage put down his spoon and picked up the wooden cup beside him, taking a large gulp of wine, "What bad luck."
Upon hearing this, Moriah’s lips curled in amusement, Urouge cracked a bizarre smile, making a gesture of passing over, and Hawkins shrugged and said blandly:
"This is destiny’s choice."
"How can you..."
Even Heinrich, one of the few strong people in the Kingdom, felt an intense, desolate, and sorrowful impotence.
The sense of powerless stemmed from the man before him; he felt... this guy could do what he said! That was the truly terrifying thing!
"I’m a pirate, after all, so what can’t I do? I’ve destroyed nations before, and this time might take some effort, but I’d destroy the nation without destroying the island."
The Sage waved his hand to brush the dust off the wooden table and said with a smile, "After all, to step over ants without crushing them is a difficult force to control. Coincidentally, this kind of force isn’t very hard for me."
A mid-air explosion would be enough.
There was no need to completely hurl enhanced artillery shells into the island. Just an explosion in mid-air in the right distance could preserve the territory and still kill the island’s inhabitants.
He was indeed short on population, but not so urgently as to matter.
With the world being so vast, it’s not only here that has people; the sea is vast.
Were it not for the strategic position of this island, he wouldn’t even bother keeping it. Once his subordinates were withdrawn, a single decisive strike would avoid delaying his plans.
The Sage didn’t care, but for Sivier, who first realized the true meaning behind the Sage’s words and was filled with hopelessness and impotence, she silently lowered her head. Her fists tightly clenched on her thighs, her solid armor felt like just a layer of mud, directly facing the world-ending wave named Sage, which not only could not protect her but would also swallow her whole.
"We surrender!"
Sivier took a few deep breaths, raised her head directly facing the Sage, "We surrender! Please do not destroy us! I am willing to lead by example, persuading the local citizens to integrate all Hyrule citizens under your command! Just hope... no, I beg you not to destroy us!"
"Saintess..."
Heinrich instinctively reached out, particularly wanting to say why not just be loyal unto death for Hyrule and retain their spirit of resistance.
But in the face of the fact of total destruction, that retention seemed to lose its meaning.
The Saintess aimed to resist for all Hyrule citizens, but if she lost the entity she fights for, perhaps she...
The extended hand now lowered again.
Heinrich dropped his head, wanting to fight back but not knowing where to start, that absurd sense of impotence gradually drug him into despair.
"I say, can you not wear that look of having your wife violated by me while you stand watching with helplessness?"
The Sage clicked his tongue, "I never engage in meaningless destruction. A population of over a million could create so much economy, stimulate domestic demand, drive employment. Do you know how much prosperity that brings me?"
"Previously, my entire domain had just over four million. Your adding a quarter of that would give me a 25% growth effect. I don’t understand why you’d risk everything for the aristocrats, did you take that much money from them? Did they give you their entire fortune?"
"No, not at all, we..."
Sivier was stunned, just about to speak when the Sage waved his hand. "Whether you did or not doesn’t matter. You pose no threat to my rule. Since you’d surrender, you need to offer a pledge. You handle it; bring me the heads of local aristocrats, and with that, I’ll permit your surrender. That’s it, eat up the stew, don’t waste it, and then go handle your business."
Sivier pressed her lips, picked up the stew, and silently withdrew.
"Oh? Sage, I thought you’d preach one of your theories."
Moriah chuckled, "That woman is a typical example of someone who hasn’t sailed the seas. Once she experiences sailing, she’ll understand the essence of things; working together will naturally go smoothly."
"Who has the time to explain it to her, she’ll see for herself."
The Sage said: "Isn’t it said that a villager’s view naturally broadens after seeing the world, and naturally will come to understand our ways?"