A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 198 Extraterrestrial Visitors

Jiang Shuzhou returned once again to his loyal Hamlet.

A year had passed since his first visit, and Hamlet had changed drastically.

Hamlet in early winter was not as desolate as in previous years, but rather more vibrant.

Perhaps it was because under Jiang Shuzhou's rule that winter did not represent hunger, but rather the end of the year and a hard-won rest.

The cattle and horses finally got a break during the winter.

Due to the cold winter and low work efficiency, Jiang Shuzhou made a sweeping decision to give all non-essential positions a holiday.

After all, these people usually work 12-hour shifts a day and don't get a single day off a month. They've just moved their holidays to winter.

Of course, the alchemy workshop couldn't be shut down, but Jiang Shuzhou kindly changed the shifts from two to three, keeping the wages the same while increasing the number of employees—considered a benefit.

Hamlet's compulsory education work was still useful; otherwise, Jiang Shuzhou wouldn't have been able to hire enough workers for the alchemy workshop.

Although he could build fully automated workshop production lines, that would be pointless.

First, there's the cost; building a fully automated production line costs much more than hiring workers.

Secondly, we need to give full play to the role of leaders. After all, if they don't do any work, are we supposed to let Jiang Shuzhou support them?

The reason Hamlet's territory needs investment is because it needs development, not because Jiang Shuzhou wants to support these people.

Besides, didn't Jiang Shuzhou already generously distribute a small portion of the workshop's profits as wages?

"My lord! We love and respect you!"

"Long live Lord Navis!"

"Lord Navis's kindness can never be repaid!"

Upon arriving in the territory, Jiang Shuzhou joined in the fun with the people and had a friendly and cordial exchange with them, who had already been instructed on the standards of conduct.

The streets and alleys were filled with volunteers who came to welcome them.

It was truly voluntary. After all, Jiang Shuzhou not only gave them a holiday but also a high salary, which was much better than those peasants in other territories.

I work every day of the year, but I'm so stingy with even my meals. I feel like I'd be better off working for Hamlet for a month.

Jiang Shuzhou felt that coming here occasionally was quite nice.

Having finished reading Hamlet's D-class civilians, Jiang Shuzhou was going to check on the situation in the army he was loyal to.

After all, we'll need them to facilitate our friendly interaction with the native inhabitants of the underground world.

We can't afford to slack off and become a laughing stock.

"Salute to Lord Navis!"

"loyalty!"

With the officer's shout, the soldiers saluted Jiang Shuzhou in unison.

"Good, keep practicing like this."

Jiang Shuzhou nodded. Some of the rules and regulations of the lord's guard, including military salutes, were personally set by Jiang Shuzhou, and he was also the one who made him shout the word "loyalty".

This is not modern society on Earth, so there is no such thing as equality here, only relative equality. The only role of the army is to extend Jiang Shuzhou's will.

Therefore, the military must maintain absolute loyalty to Jiang Shuzhou personally; otherwise, it would have no reason to exist.

"My lord, what shall we do next..."

Hayes asked tentatively.

"Next, we will prepare for battle and head to the underground world."

Regardless of whether the native inhabitants of the underworld are friendly or not, Jiang Shuzhou must be prepared for war.

However, what Jiang Shuzhou fears least is war.

Twenty kilometers underground, a place never before set foot on Earth by humankind.

A three-meter-tall tree sways in the wind; this is the mother tree of flesh and blood.

Despite Jiang Shuzhou's efforts to suppress its growth, the flesh and blood mother tree still grew to this extent.

It was surrounded by a jungle of flesh and blood.

There is a clear hierarchy here.

The lowest rank consists of uncontrollable cowards, who fall from the Mother Tree of Flesh and are subsequently hunted down by the man-eating trees. Even if they are not, the hounds will turn them into a pool of pus.

Secondly, there are the chunks of flesh covering the ground. The sole purpose of these chunks is to absorb the abyssal pus, grow, and eventually be eaten by other fleshy creatures.

The hounds fought each other, the man-eating trees took advantage of the chaos to plunder, and the burrowing worms relied on their size advantage to firmly maintain their dominant position.

This place has already become a small ecosystem.

This is what Jiang Shuzhou hoped to see, since the strength of the hunting dogs has increased by at least 20% since these creatures started fighting each other.

However, Jiang Shuzhou never had time to design and fill the food chain, so there weren't many creations involved, after all, his time was too tight.

This problem will be solved in the underground world.

At that time, the Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood will have more room to maneuver, and Jiang Shuzhou will try his best to create a complete flesh and blood biosphere so that the fittest can survive in countless battles and naturally evolve into a more perfect creation.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The underground construction site was bustling with activity, as the beastmen working on the mortar reinforced the surrounding area with stone bricks and concrete.

They need to build a safe and reliable road as quickly as possible and repair the tunnel.

After all, without reinforcement, this tunnel is at risk of collapsing at any time.

Jiang Shuzhou wanted to establish a connection between Hamlet and the underworld, so naturally he couldn't send his army on a dangerous expedition.

"Hurry up, get to work!"

It's still the same three brothers, but they're not doing live streams anymore because Jiang Shuzhou doesn't allow it.

Perhaps because of the novelty of the experience, the three brothers have almost become fascinated with the job of supervising the construction.

"This tunnel is so deep, who knows where it will eventually lead?"

"Who knows? I feel like I'm about to suffocate here. Luckily, I have all-powerful magic, otherwise I would have suffocated here sooner or later."

They were 166 kilometers underground, where air would normally be unable to enter. But this was a magical world, and Jiang Shuzhou easily solved the problem using some magic arrays.

"How much longer will it take to fix? I want to go play Mage cards on the ground."

"Now that you mention it, I'm also tempted to have a big drinking session with that Dvalin."

"Just bear with it, guys. It'll only be a short while. We'll get it done in two or three days."

Jiang Shuzhou would never entrust important sections of the road to outsiders. The closer he got to the eighth underground level, the more cautious he became.

Even the last dozen or so kilometers were filled with death row inmates, either arrested for being thieves or for having rebellious intentions.

In any case, their ultimate value lies in repairing the last tunnel for Hamlet and Jiang Shuzhou.

Then they can go peacefully.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jim walked alone in the pitch-black countryside.

He was surrounded by complete darkness, where he could not see his own hand in front of his face.

He looked up at the sky, where there were twinkling lights.

His mother once told him that those were stars in the sky, twinkling and shining.

But Ailan told him that it was nothing more than gemstones and some sunstones set in the dome.

The real sky is above the dome; all he sees is another piece of land.

However, Ailan died; she died at the hands of the elves.

Jim held Ailan's last possession, the family crest, in his hand, his eyes resolute.

"Visitors from outer space? They should be visitors from the Earth's surface."