Chapter 32

After the construction of the port of Norasien was completed, Sakavi decided to appoint Su Lade, a candidate acceptable to all factions, as Viceroy of Norasien—a gateway to the outside world that must be perceived as safe and reliable to attract merchants.

Sakavi felt he also needed a monopoly company dedicated to bulk trade along the Bohe River. Smaller businesses could be left to ordinary traders, but bulk exports like coal, iron, tin ore, and salt were beyond the capacity of local merchants, and even if cultivated, they would become unstable elements.

After much deliberation, he finally selected the High-Grade Devil captured six years ago in the Loga Grand Canyon; after six years of relentless torture, this devil finally revealed his true name last month.

Looking at Rusco, now his slave, Sakavi decided to assign him to establish the Bohe River Shipping Company; this devil, from the Second Layer of Batuo Hell, was deeply familiar with regulations and commercial practices.

Grom, captured alongside him, was appointed Viceroy of Black Iron City—a coal transshipment hub where coal must be coked and iron and tin ores smelted; its status ranked second only to Norasien, where obsidian and forged iron goods from upstream would be loaded onto ships for global distribution.

Sakavi allowed them to freely choose any race from among his subjects, but they showed overwhelming interest in the Deep Dwarves, selecting large numbers of them for civil and administrative roles.

Suddenly, it was November, the harvest season for cassava—but the output of the Pig-Heads was unbearable. In their first cultivation season, the disciplined Lizardmen produced three times more than the Pig-Heads.

Seeing the cassava fields half-eaten mid-growth, Sakavi had no words—but the Pig-Heads’ enthusiasm for farming remained high. The environment here was far better than the wasteland, yet their ingrained chaos and disorder made them extremely inefficient.

Sakavi told them directly: next year’s farming policy would grant permanent cultivation rights to the top one thousand farmers, while the bottom fifty thousand would be expelled back to the wasteland. No sentient race is so foolish as to not understand incentives—only lack of guidance and structure.

In contrast, those building the port suffered far more; Sakavi had specifically assigned Drow Elves to select only the most manageable Pig-Heads for reclamation, meaning these construction workers were precisely the unruly ones.

Over the past year, Sakavi received countless complaints from Gray Dwarves, who said these Pig-Heads were infuriating to work with—laboring poorly but constantly brawling. Yet Sakavi believed they had improved: at least they now followed orders.

To better control their minds, Sakavi had the Elves compose numerous songs for them and made them sing regularly. He taught them to play easy-to-learn, durable instruments like bagpipes and xun—sound quality didn’t matter; their satisfaction did.

After more than a year of instruction, Sakavi deemed it insufficient, so he assigned them to construct the Mud Anchor and Giant Stone ports, and roads connecting the ports to each tribe. The endless black basalt from the wasteland’s Black Obsidian Mountain was the ideal material for bridges and roads.

After arranging the Pig-Heads, Sakavi visited Agorek’s school district, divided into two parts: schools training future grassroots administrators, and a centralized facility for Goblin and Pig-Head children. Last year, Sakavi ordered all Pig-Head children brought here; though the Pig-Heads resented it, they dared not protest after recalling the hundred thousand orc beheadings along the Bohe.

Since Agorek’s construction began, Goblins had been assigned to cleaning and waste removal, but their long history of chaos meant they made a mess unless constantly supervised by Drow Elves.

To solve this, Sakavi ordered all Goblin children sent to Agorek to be raised under Drow Elf discipline and obedience training. Once accustomed to order, they would avoid the vices of their elders if kept away from them.

After inspecting the schools, Sakavi went to Grap’s office; Grap had become Chief Administrator of the Interior Court. His main task was drafting and compiling territorial laws, political frameworks, etc. With Drow Elf assistance, he delivered results Sakavi found highly satisfactory.

Looking at Grap’s “Tribal City-State Transition Law,” Sakavi felt it must be implemented swiftly—but priorities must be weighed; the entire territory could not adopt it simultaneously.

Sakavi ordered all Lizardman tribes in the marshlands to establish municipal halls or town councils by January next year, with subordinate departments: Finance Office, Infrastructure Office, Production Office, and Security Office. Each department would execute tasks assigned by the Neizheng Force, under Drow Elf supervision.

Of course, forced enforcement would be ineffective; Sakavi decided to leverage the Bohe River shipping system. Lizardman tribes produced no ironware, endured bitterly cold winters requiring charcoal, and needed to sell their fish and grain.

When establishing municipal halls, Sakavi also decreed: no Lizardman fish or grain could be purchased without the Production Office seal; no bulk goods could enter Lizardman tribes without the Finance Office seal.

Assignments from the Interior Court were handled only through designated liaisons; Security Office personnel must train regularly under their commander’s leadership. Thus, even if chieftains wished to obstruct, they lacked sufficient opportunity.

Elsewhere, tribes supporting urbanization received greater benefits; if any tribe voluntarily implemented the “Tribal City-State Transition Law” without deception, they would enjoy tax exemptions.

After three years of implementation, Minotaurs, Harpies, and Kobolds voluntarily adopted it; Centaurs claimed their nomadic lifestyle made implementation impossible; Fish-People and Goblins said they couldn’t understand the law.

No matter—Sakavi helped them understand: he dispatched Lizardmen as on-site instructors and relocated Goblins out of the hills, settling them across the territory to collect trash, clean waste, and manage compost.

After five years of instruction, the first batch of trained Goblins graduated; they were assigned to Agorek’s civilian residential zones to maintain street cleanliness and identify fire hazards.

These Goblins perfectly matched Sakavi’s expectations for subjects: dressed in attire distinctive to the Black Dragon Duke’s Domain, literate in Common Script, knowledgeable of the domain’s basic geography and history. They themselves looked down on their elders who howled around leaves.

When every race in the domain embraced this new culture—crafted by the Elves, blending native traditions yet independent of any other world—Sakavi’s rule would be unshakable. Each race had been given a tailored culture, distinct yet non-conflicting.

Seeing this new culture work even among the most uncontrollable Goblins, Sakavi decided to export it via trade to all races, demonstrating that cities and people accepting it were more trustworthy trade partners—and indeed, far more civilized than before.

In two years, the first batch of Pig-Heads would graduate; once separated from the older generation, the new cohort would gradually dominate.

In Sakavi’s plan, only five thousand of the first Pig-Heads to settle would remain to farm; the rest would be gradually repatriated to the wasteland after the first generation of Pig-Head children graduated, continuing obsidian mining and establishing towns. Wasteland Pig-Heads and farming Pig-Heads would become two distinct peoples.

The same applied to Lizardmen, though they would not be repatriated—Sakavi would never allow any race to hold excessive power. Once stability was absolute, the Drow Elves would return to the newly formed Shadow Intelligence Bureau.

For years, Sakavi’s intelligence operations had been managed by Vilna, but her duties were numerous, causing frequent interruptions. She proposed forming an intelligence organization three years ago, but lacked qualified personnel—until this year, when it was finally completed.

Speaking of the Intelligence Bureau, Sakavi felt the last of his three pillars—the Security Bureau—must now be established. In recent years, Jackal-Man bandits, long suppressed by the War-Cry Tribe, had reemerged this year.

When Sakavi first arrived, he ordered each race to send representatives to a meeting; the Jackal-Men could not produce a single tribe exceeding a hundred members. Seeing their pitiful numbers, he ignored them—only to find them recovered this year.

Assuming Jackal-Men reached combat readiness at age four, these were young adults, at most seven years old. If so, capture them, train them for two or three years, and they’d become competent security personnel.

Thinking this, Sakavi immediately ordered Talie, Chief of the Garrison, to lead her Harpies and Centaurs in annihilating the Jackal-Men. During her map-drawing mission, Talie had felt manpower insufficient and seized the Screaming Cliffs on her own initiative.

Now a High-Grade Wind Mage in the Duke’s Domain, she effortlessly overcame a group of only Mid-Grade Harpies. Sakavi had no recourse against her preemptive action and appointed her Chief of the Garrison.

Logically, a Screaming Cliffs holding over sixty thousand Harpies should have had several Masters—but the Dragon Spine Mountains backed the Black Forest, and the Wood Elves forbade any Harpy above High-Grade from residing in their territory.

Talie, trained in professional military theory, found defeating unseasoned Jackal-Men effortless; within a week, not a single Jackal-Man remained in the Duke’s Domain.

Looking at the ten thousand captured Jackal-Men, their youthful faces, Sakavi felt his rule over this land grow ever more secure.