Chapter 1434: Treating Symptoms and Root Causes, Forest Hike

Jibu has grown this old, yet he has never experienced the feeling of flying!

But he can imagine that feeling of freedom, and now hearing that the Lord can equip them with flight tools is simply fulfilling a dream he has had for decades, and fulfilling it over and over again!

This scenario, which hardly seems like reality, is truly happening in reality, making it almost hard for Jibu to believe:

"My Lord, is this true? Are you really going to equip us with flight tools?"

"Of course it is true!"

Xia Duo said with absolute certainty.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that airships and flying warships are still difficult to simplify, coupled with the lack of long-range attack weapons capable of sustained combat, equipping them directly with airships might have been more appropriate.

However, it is not difficult to first equip them with a piece of individual flight gear for use on airships, similar to a life jacket.

What he is considering now is just what form the equipment should take; as combat gear, small items like rings and amulets would be more durable, while armor, belts, and even weapons are more prone to damage.

But the cost of the former would be higher, even several times that of the latter.

If it were just to simply equip a batch of security officers, it wouldn't matter, as no matter how high the cost, there is a limit to it.

But if it is to be used as standard equipment for the future Territory, then the cost issue must be considered.

Besides the Independent Arcane Fire Device, what Xia Duo wants most now is a Mithril Mine; although there is now the David String, a material that can replace Mithril, it cannot fully replace it yet.

If there were a Mithril Mine, perhaps many problems would no longer be problems.

Considering costs is actually more because he is not yet wealthy enough.

……

Next, Xia Duo gave Jibu another big surprise—

"Besides flight tools, there are also protection and attack equipment, and even restraint tools; I will equip you with everything at once."

The reason for doing this is also considering that there are more and more Spellcasters active in the Territory; although there have been no cases of Spellcaster crimes so far, as time goes on, that is almost bound to happen.

Therefore, enabling the Security Office to have a certain ability to restrain and deter Spellcasters has become an imminent objective requirement.

Otherwise, if he had to come forward for everything, wouldn't the Security Office just be for show!

Of course, while taking care of the Security Office, Xia Duo did not forget others, "I will have someone send you a batch of Amulets later; every person in an important position will have one."

They are actually Demon-Slaying Amulets; although they are specifically for dealing with demons, they are essentially mind amulets, which have strong resistance to mind spells.

Of course, more importantly, they have already achieved mass production at the Tower of Time, and the cost can be kept very low, so even if everyone is issued one, it is not a big deal.

However, this is also just a passive protective measure; unless Xia Duo gives everyone, or even their relatives and friends, an invincible protective shield, there will always be loopholes to exploit.

The truly fundamental method is to start from the system.

For example, standardizing administrative processes to reduce the role of personal will within them; focusing on the pursuit and punishment of those who threaten Territory officials, and increasing penalties for the corruption of officials themselves, and so on.

Supplemented by a sound supervision and regulatory mechanism, the problems that Territory officials might have, whether active or passive, can be largely avoided.

What Xia Duo wants is to create a civilization, not to be an eternal ruler; in this regard, he is very generous and open-minded.

Civilization has never been created by any one person, but by the collective, by the people.

If one tries to ride above the masses, one must be prepared to be overthrown by the masses at any time.

Accepting being superior at this moment means accepting being inferior at that moment; this is logically consistent, one cannot have it both ways!

If one does not want to be inferior at that moment, then there is no need to insist on being superior at this moment.

Insisting on the equality of all living beings has a natural righteousness when resisting oppression, and the need for justice is something that exists in the subconscious of every intelligent life.

The wheels of history roll forward; even if evil occupies the upper hand for a time, it will inevitably be overturned by the justice that is suppressed and waiting to erupt at any time.

Within a certain range, evil cannot last forever, while justice has the opportunity to last forever.

Even if it is a utilitarian choice, the benefits brought by being good, being righteous, and being public are more long-term.

Not to mention that Xia Duo is a young man with four virtues who has already initially achieved longevity!

If one cannot consider the long term, what qualifications does one have to claim to come from one's hometown, and what qualifications does one have to possess such a long lifespan!

……

After leaving the Government Hall, Xia Duo took Niya into the depths of the Green Pearl Forest; besides being a rare autumn hike, it also carried the purpose of surveying the geological conditions in the forest.

The exploration tasks issued by the Tower of Time Task Management Office only involved areas near Daxia Territory and Savile Territory, while the depths of the forest were almost never involved.

After all, even for an Official Mage, entering the forest for field exploration does not mean they can return safely every time, let alone a group of Apprentices!

The more times people go, the probability of accidents will naturally continue to expand.

Xia Duo is not the kind of cold-blooded mentor who does not take the lives of Apprentices seriously; they are Apprentices now, but in the future, they may be the builders of magical civilization.

When they are weak, they must be provided with sufficient protection.

……

In the forest.

Xia Duo and Niya rode on the backs of Pegasus, moving slowly toward the east; compared to their masters, the two Pegasus were more accustomed to this rugged, sometimes soft and sometimes hard forest ground.

Far from the traces of human activity, there is almost no road to speak of in the forest; vines, fallen leaves, gravel, and even animal skeletons—anything one can imagine that exists in the forest might be encountered in the next moment.

It is not known whether it is because the Elf's Pegasus are born with supernatural abilities to bypass the beasts in the forest, or whether the sensitive beasts sensed that the sudden intruders were not to be trifled with; along the way, Xia Duo hardly saw any large beasts.

The only one was a lone wolf encountered when just entering the wilderness, but it also quickly disappeared into the depths of the forest, leaving no trace at all.

Not knowing how long they had walked, Niya suddenly brought up a topic:

"Xia Duo, when do you think we will finally be able to expand here? Do you think we humans are born enemies of the forest?"

"Why would you think that?"

Xia Duo looked at Niya in surprise, only to see her face filled with sadness, as if she were awed by this endless forest, which made Xia Duo give up the words he originally wanted to use to refute, and instead comforted her:

"Death is our final outcome, so can we choose death now? No, it is precisely because of the existence of death that we need to cherish the present even more, strive to live every day well, and make every day full of meaning!"

These words avoided the debate between enemy and self, but also provided side support for human expansion; Xia Duo believed that Niya could understand the true meaning of his words.

"I know, the Doctrine of the Lord of Death, right! Don't think I can't tell just because you adjusted the word order!"

Niya suddenly winked at Xia Duo playfully, and the sad mood just now dissipated quite a bit; clearly, she understood Xia Duo's intentions.