Chapter 273: Clear Sky

This world is not very good.

This kingdom is not worth saving.

"Then let's make it a little more bearable—for those around me, and for my own comfort."

Sometimes, Li En wanted to curse; he knew he had been manipulated.

And the self that manipulated him also knew he would realize it—though it was a bit convoluted, it was clearly an open strategy: you, Li Ensu, simply cannot stand this rotten world.

I, Li Ensu, know that you, this "obsessive cleaner," cannot tolerate the garbage around you—you'll take action yourself to sweep it away.

Give you power, and you will act, because you are Li Ensu—you are the one who cannot tolerate filth surrounding you.

"I'll do a little. I'll change a little. I'll make what I see just a little cleaner."

Li En always believed he was a chameleon, an ordinary person who could adapt to his environment.

But reality told him that his past ability to adapt and endure was only because the night wasn't dark enough, and the environment hadn't yet sunk to the level of a living hell.

Li En thought himself generous and indifferent, simply because he had never witnessed an era where monsters and scum ran rampant.

"Give me power, and I'll change the world? Ha, do you take me for some naive fool? How can one person reverse an era or alter the tide of history? I'm just an ordinary coward—I only want to live comfortably."

Without power, Li En could still mock himself.

"Hmm, I guess I really am a fool."

With power, Li En still mocked himself.

"I don't need to change much—I'll just make the people around me a little more comfortable. Just a little."

Li En still told himself this, even though he knew his greedy self, if he truly achieved this "small goal," would soon generate a new "small goal."

"No rush, no rush. Gently guide the natural force—we must hatch it into a land of nature."

While the temporary rescue team fought, another team was even busier.

Their work was equally grueling: the "Ulda Bull Demon" was dead, but the World Tree's "sapling" had not been utterly destroyed.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle."

The half-converted, half-decaying World Tree sapling pulsed continuously—it was half like a heart, half like a plant, its form grotesquely twisted.

Around it grew countless mushrooms.

The mushrooms, along with the psychic energy of over a hundred Mushroom People, were catalyzing the "Heart of the World Tree" into the source of this natural realm.

These "Alchemical Druids" were connecting with this natural force.

The ground here had already begun to transform: once-dangerous corrupted plants became harmless grasses and trees, and the surging natural energy would make the soil fertile.

Meanwhile, another group of Mushroom People were transplanting "glow-moss" from the Underworld onto the walls and ceiling.

These special plants, thriving in this fertile natural zone, were growing rapidly, casting light upon this underground space like daylight above.

"With 'sunlight,' 'fertile soil,' and 'water,' life can survive and endure."

The only seemingly lacking basic survival element here was water—but the group had arrived along an underground river.

A slight redirection and modification of the riverbed, creating a looping tributary stream, would provide enough water for a thousand-person town.

This had been Gugu's suggestion to Li En: kill the Ulda Bull Demon, and a land of life could be established here underground.

Li En had believed him, and built his entire plan on this premise.

"I've already made a deal with Dai Niya and the Lord Mayor: if this land of life is established, it will become my fief."

Li En was merely a knight—he had no right to a fief.

But if he rescued the hostages and earned great merit, he could be granted the title of baron.

This land was his to claim; when the time came, he would invoke the Open-Knight clause to demand ownership of this wasteland, and Dai Niya and the others would naturally not refuse.

"Then, if the escaped slaves cannot survive in the Dock District, they can be relocated here."

This was, in fact, exploiting a legal loophole: theoretically, the entire city belonged to the Lord Mayor's family, and no other house could claim any portion as a fief.

But this is the "Underworld," outside the city—when this land, as a newly conquered territory by Li En the Open-Knight (not part of the kingdom's core territory), is incorporated into the kingdom's domain, he naturally gains priority rights to the fief.