Chapter 758: This Empire Is So Different! (Part 2)

Tens of thousands of people marched in a vast column toward Ducheng, the capital of the Flame Empire.

This procession traveled along a straight road built from Ducheng to the western frontier.

This straight road stretched from the Flame Empire's western frontier all the way to Yan Province, and in the future would run straight through the endless desert, linking thirteen provinces in the northeast.

To build this road, the Flame Empire mobilized vast numbers of magicians and several powerful Temple Knights.

Additionally, many orcs joined in as well.

With the cooperation of these magicians and Temple Knights, the Flame Empire carved through mountains and laid bridges over rivers; after mobilizing a million civilians to construct it, the road was completed in just a few months.

Such speed was unimaginable even in Lin Yan's previous world.

This was the power of magic.

For large boulders, in Lin Yan's previous world, specialized explosives would be required—but here, a single Sixth-Rank Temple Knight could simply slice them in half and toss them aside.

Small hills were moved with earth magic, or burned away entirely with fire magic.

When encountering large mountains requiring tunnels, Meng Ying herself intervened, using flame blasts to carve tunnels directly through the mountains.

The efficiency was simply too fast.

Of course, the western region of the Flame Empire was relatively flat, so few sections required special treatment.

This straight road was also built exceptionally wide—over sixty meters across.

Along the road, caravans flowed continuously—these were caravans organized by the Flame Empire's nobility, presenting a scene of great prosperity.

On the elegant carriage, Empress Tina was still processing Meng Ying's words.

What astonished her was not only the Flame Empire's rapid expansion.

But also the methods of the Flame Lord.

Across such a vast territory, the Flame Lord's own blessings alone enabled crops to grow swiftly without pests—no temple magicians were needed to accelerate growth or eliminate harm.

Such a method was beyond even her sister, the Eternal Night Goddess, who stood at the peak of the Third Tier.

Along the journey, Empress Tina paid close attention.

Across the endless lands, she saw not a single magician casting spells.

This suggested the Flame Lord's strength might be even greater than she had imagined.

Moreover, certain ideas of the Flame Lord revealed to Empress Tina something entirely different.

For instance, Empress Tina had assumed all this land belonged to the imperial family or major nobles.

But later she learned these lands had been reclaimed by countless commoners.

Every commoner in the Flame Empire owned vast tracts of land, making Flame Empire commoners somewhat wealthier than those of the Eternal Night Empire.

Those commoners working the fields regularly prayed to the Flame Lord, praising his greatness and generosity.

Such scenes were rare even in the Eternal Night Empire.

The Eternal Night Empire remained a standard empire on the Continent of Gods—nobles were the foundation of the state; under the demands of the imperial house and the church, nobles did not overly oppress commoners, who lived fairly well.

But compared to Flame Empire commoners, they fell far short.

The gap at the commoner level was already immense.

At the noble level, a gap existed as well.

Although Flame Empire nobles, as a whole, were not as wealthy as those of the Eternal Night Empire, their spiritual demeanor was completely different.

On that smooth straight road, Empress Tina had seen many mid- and low-ranking nobles personally leading their caravans; from their speech, admiration for the Flame Lord was common.

These nobles clearly held devout faith in the Flame Lord!

As an empress of a great empire, Empress Tina understood nobles better than anyone.

Nobles were not as easily fooled as commoners; their faith was often less sincere than that of commoners.

Yet in the Flame Empire, the nobles' faith was as devout as that of the commoners.

This was astonishing.

Only when one fully embraced a deity in heart—not out of fear of divine authority or power—could faith become as sincere as that of the Flame Empire's nobles and commoners.

Such sincerity was rare even for Empress Tina.

At the very least, neither commoners nor nobles of the Eternal Night Empire reached such devotion!

"This Flame Lord is truly extraordinary."

Empress Tina thought.

Over the next half-month, the large delegation continued deeper into Flame Empire territory.

Accompanied by Meng Ying, Empress Tina visited every city she passed through, entering each to experience it firsthand.

All cities in the Flame Empire's western four provinces had been renovated; their sewage and sanitation systems were excellent—every city was spotless and immaculate!

Even commoners rarely littered the city streets.

And it wasn't just one or two cities like this.

Most cities were the same.

Such self-discipline was uncommon even in the Eternal Night Empire.

Additionally, in the cities appeared something called newspapers—these sold in huge quantities, loved by many nobles and literate commoners, reporting major recent events in the Flame Empire.

In every newspaper, at least a quarter of the pages were devoted to tales of miraculous deeds by devout believers.

These were, in effect, disguised advertisements.

Empress Tina had her people collect many newspapers and read them with great interest.

Beyond this, Empress Tina noticed one more thing.

That every city in the Flame Empire had schools.

These schools did not teach advanced knowledge.

They taught the simplest things.

Learn to read!

Most crucially, these schools are completely free!

Whether commoners or noble children, all may enter these schools to study at no cost.

Meanwhile, the rapidly expanding Flame Empire required a vast number of officials, and unlike other empires, it did not select officials directly from among those recommended by the nobility.

Instead, it adopted a special examination and recommendation system.