novelraw #199 - Section 199
#199 - Section 199
The price doesn't seem high on the surface, but considering the population of the great powers, the cost of using the Elysian Dreamscape to improve the "happiness" of their people would be enormous over the long term.
Moreover, the "monthly subscription" is just the beginning, merely a toll collected from the great powers.
As the internal services of the Elysian Dreamscape expand and the scythe to harvest the wealth of their citizens descends, that's when the real韭菜 (jǐu cài - chives, slang for being exploited) cutting begins.
This price is twice as expensive as the Soul-Mimic Bracelet, and its functions are inferior, but the great powers still grit their teeth and bear it.
The Soul-Mimic Bracelet is good, but you can't buy it!
After surrounding countries began to imitate it, understanding the possibilities brought by the Fearless Space, the Night Watch comprehensively restricted the outflow of Soul-Mimic Bracelets.
The only mass-produced similar product on the market is the Totem Bracelet of the Terra Kingdom. Whether it's the price or the subsequent service fees, the great powers have no choice.
Because after a cost calculation, the Elysian Dreamscape reduces peasant uprisings and stabilizes public sentiment. As long as it achieves this, allowing the people to work honestly, the cost can be quickly recovered.
Using this kind of virtual mental space to control public sentiment is definitely a "epoch-making" invention. Those imperials are so insidious!
The great powers are all sensitive to crises and very afraid of comparisons. If the Empire uses this technology and they don't, then they will worry about being shown up by the Empire's superiority.
So, after confirming that the Terra Kingdom really possesses this kind of technology, the surrounding great powers immediately sent merchant groups to purchase Totem Bracelets and intentionally establish closer cooperative relationships with the Terra Kingdom:
Feel free to fleece the Azure Vine Empire, Tasha. We'll back you up!
Of course, if the Totem Bracelets could be sold a little cheaper, our friendship would definitely last longer. Wouldn't you agree?
Representatives from various countries gathered in Selene City to negotiate Totem Bracelet purchase contracts with Tasha, customize the content of the Elysian Dreamscape, and discuss possible military cooperation between the two sides.
On the border of the Terra Kingdom, the Azure Vine Empire's army quickly assembled, ready to launch a righteous war because they had copied the Empire's core technology.
Suddenly, the Terra Kingdom became the focus of countless eyes in the Eternal Night World.
Whether it was the Azure Vine Empire or the surrounding great powers, they all began to "re-evaluate" this new country re-integrated from orc tribes.
Tasha, with the promises and support of the great powers, also behaved very toughly, stating that orcs have never been afraid of war in response to the Empire's war threats:
"The Empire's Soul-Mimic Bracelet technology was originally plundered from orc tribes through illegal invasion. We are simply taking back what belongs to us. If the Azure Vine Empire insists on war, then so be it!"
Such remarks infuriated the mages of the Arcana Council who didn't know Tasha's true identity.
The Soul-Mimic Bracelet they had painstakingly researched, the Fearless Space they had cultivated from scratch, was technology that the Terra Kingdom already possessed?
Have some shame!
How could shamans, those backward practitioners, compare to us mages in terms of innovation balabala...
If it was your technology, how could the final product be worse than us thieves?
Outrageous, it's just very outrageous!
Screw the War Goddess's ass! I'm buying a hundred Goddess Pigs to vent my anger!
The War Goddess is as shameless as ever, and her followers are the same bitches!
Tibella, who was fighting in a distant plane, sneezed violently: Who is cursing me again? What a grudge!
This was truly an undeserved disaster. She had clearly done nothing, but because she had done too many bad things in the past, as a deity, she had to pay for the actions of her followers.
But actually, there was nothing unjust about it. If it weren't for her indulgence, and the image of War Goddess's followers leaving others with unscrupulous and reckless behavior, everyone wouldn't have pinned the blame on the War Goddess directly when Tasha did something bad.
The great powers were naturally happy to see the Terra Kingdom's tough stance. Even the Holy Maiden of the Naga Sea Country publicly expressed her support for Tasha, believing that she was simply taking back what belonged to her.
A group of elite warriors from the Naga Sea Country had already arrived in Selene City through the teleportation array.
Nicole said that as long as you say the word, Tasha, I must personally lead the Naga priests to support you to the end!
Relying on their equipment advantages, the Nagas' battle against the mermaids was a triumphant advance, completely overwhelming the Mermaid Sea Country.
The mermaids couldn't understand how the Naga Sea Country suddenly had so many steel weapons, and their magical equipment had also greatly improved...
The magical equipment and alchemical items in this world are all hand-crafted by mages, requiring a long period of time and the accumulation of generations.
The Mermaid Sea Country has existed for ten thousand years, and was originally absolutely leading the Nagas in this regard.
But suddenly, the number of magical equipment in the Naga Empire increased by a large margin. This was simply unbelievable, violating the general rules of military growth!
Because of this, Nicole was able to successfully seize the landing point she needed, and still had the capacity to pay attention to the international situation and provide assistance to Tasha.
Tasha, seeing the support sent by this new bestie, felt even more sorry for her...
What a kind and righteous good girl. If this wasn't a great performance with Lord Charles, she would really be moved.
But right now, she could only politely refuse Nicole's help, saying that everything was still under her control.
Tasha wasn't boasting. Although countless mages from the Empire requested to fight, and the Arcana Council was willing to support the border guards with the latest equipment, she had also received the greatest support from the great powers.
Because the Totem Bracelets everyone bought were just orders, not actual products yet, the Terra Kingdom needed a safe and stable environment to produce the goods they needed.
This also shows the strong demand for Totem Bracelets from the great powers. To get them as soon as possible, they were willing to accept advance payments and use real money to queue up.
Of course, it was also related to Tasha's negotiation strategy. The higher the proportion of the advance payment, the more she was willing to give up on the price.
On the surface, it was just a product worth two gold coins, but it couldn't withstand the large quantity needed. This was destined to become a national product, and a 1% price fluctuation could save a lot of expenses.
At this time, the rulers didn't have the concept of cash being king. They just felt that this money would have to be spent sooner or later. The higher the proportion of the advance payment, the less the total price they would pay in the end, and they could also get their orders more quickly. Why not?
So many countries, even if they had to wait in line for three months, paid 50% of the advance payment, instead of the usual 10% to 30%.
This was the advantage of a seller's market.
Moreover, it was inconvenient to transport large amounts of gold coins. Various factors led everyone to not realize that because of the sunk costs they had invested, they had all become supporters of the Terra Kingdom, ensuring the interests of the Terra Kingdom in order to protect their own interests.
Although the enemy of my enemy is my friend by default, theoretically it wouldn't be the turn of the Terra Kingdom, this emerging force, to lead the opposition to the Azure Vine Empire.
But fate is a fickle thing. Under Roger's arrangement, the small Totem Bracelet really pulled all the great powers onto the bus, with Tasha as the experienced driver holding the steering wheel.
And because there were enough orders sold, the cash in the Terra Kingdom's hands reached a very considerable number.
"Lord Charles, I'm really uneasy with so much money..." Tasha was calm on the surface, always showing her subordinates that she had the situation under control, but in reality, she hadn't slept soundly for days.
She thought that Roger was just joking at first, but who knew that the situation he predicted would actually come true.
Those rich countries and chambers of commerce were really waving gold coins to find her, and they couldn't refuse to sell even if they wanted to.
Roger had been in Selene City these days in order to communicate with Tasha in a timely manner and put on this great show.
The situation developed faster than he expected, indicating that the rulers of the great powers were also very smart, and had long understood the possible applications of the Fearless Space, seeing the benefits it could bring.
But the smarter they were, the more they would fall into Roger's calculations.
"It's okay, just build factories step by step. The focus of the next war is our performance, so that the great powers continue to relax their vigilance against the Empire," Roger paused, "and then you can start the second step of your money-grabbing plan."
Tasha was dumbfounded: "Lord, you're not telling me that this is just the beginning, are you?"
Thinking of the mountains of money stored in the national treasury that she had never seen in her life, Tasha was already neurasthenic, thinking about spending the money as soon as possible and completing the orders...
As a result, there would be even more money in the future?
She really couldn't imagine that one day, as queen, she would not be able to sleep because she had too much money.
Roger comforted her: "If you owe them 100,000 gold coins, they are debt-collecting villains. If you owe them 100 million gold coins, they are filial sons serving you. Don't worry, you and your kingdom will only become safer, richer, and stronger."
Those great powers have already gotten on the bus, so don't think about getting off. Just wait to empty their pockets to build the great Terra!
Besides, you haven't even used leverage yet, what are you nervous about?
Today, you are Tasha Printing, and sooner or later you will detonate the weak prosperity of the great powers!
Chapter 176: Eternal Night Actress Tasha
Several lines of text appeared on the Superdimensional Drawing Board in turn:
Shana: Tasha is mighty! I'm walking in the City of Mysteries, and nine out of ten people are scolding you. This is too glorious!
Nicole: The imperials are too shameless, stealing Her Majesty the Queen's things and daring to scold people!
Josta: Black is also red. This shows that our Majesty has stepped on the enemy's pain points, that's why they're scolding so fiercely.
Shana: Yes, that's what I think too. Tasha, if you have anything like this in the future, call me. I'll make that Roger feel the pain (^_–)☆!
Tasha: ...Okay.
Shana even winked at her, so she couldn't pretend not to see it and had to reply.
There are now five users on the Superdimensional Drawing Board, and the most active is Shana, who posts a lot of inconsequential feelings every day.
Probably because her life is the most leisurely, the only one without a serious career, she just feeds cats and explores the Fearless Space every day.
Writing and drawing on the Superdimensional Drawing Board, enlivening the atmosphere, and boosting everyone's anti-Azure morale is considered a day's work.
So now Tasha's impression of Shana is: Your group's anti-Azure little assistant is online, reminding Her Majesty the Queen that there is still a lot of work that hasn't been completed, and you can't rest yet~
This leads to Tasha being inexplicably annoyed by this guy, completely unaware of what Lord Charles was doing by pulling such a free person into the group.
She secretly glanced at Lord Charles, who was working on another table in her study, and found that he was calmly cursing Roger for being inhumane with Shana.
Tasha: ???
Why can someone be so energetic when they are being scolded?
Could it be that Lord has some strange M hobby...
Suddenly, a certain Tasha got excited.
"Lord, what are you doing now?" Tasha asked, not understanding.
"This is preserving evidence. The harsher she says it now, the more fiercely she will cry when she discovers the final truth," Roger said with an expression that he understood this very well.
Which group doesn't have a few cute people with flags all over their bodies, whose chat records are dug up on Judgment Day and humiliated?
"I see, don't throw away the saved chat records, the little kids next door are scared to tears."
Tasha suddenly understood, realizing that there were still many things she needed to learn.
This multiple undercover identity is not that simple. Her ability to withstand pressure and adapt to changes must keep up with Lord Charles's progress as soon as possible.
Whether it was dealing with the great powers in reality or maintaining the anti-Azure Vine alliance online, Tasha was a little exhausted.
It wasn't the triviality, but because the hero she had always admired seemed to have a very dark heart exposed...
In some ways, this was a shameless, bottomless liar...
Although there weren't many good people among the great powers, there were also little saints like Nicole who sincerely sought happiness for the vast majority of the people.
As a result, they were all being played by Lord Charles.
She sighed softly and took the initiative to lead the topic to the upcoming war.
As the first batch of Totem Bracelets had been shipped, the relationship between the Terra Kingdom and the Azure Vine Empire naturally became more and more tense, and the war was on the verge of breaking out.
A large number of mages from the Arcana Council joined the border guards, bringing a large number of their proud equipment, and they themselves would also join the battlefield, coming menacingly, posing as if they would definitely sweep the Terra Kingdom this time.
Naturally, the orcs had to respond to the battle, but how to fight this battle, and to what extent, Tasha still had to listen to Lord Charles's arrangements.
"Oh, your role arrangement in the war?" Roger narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but smile. "Your job is very simple, just cry, cry to the great powers about being poor, cry about being miserable, cry about insufficient firepower, anyway, just cry for as much support as possible."
"Ah, this... Lord, is it really necessary to do this?" Tasha couldn't help but frown.
Always acting like this is not as happy as fighting a battle upright...
"Do you want countless orcs to die, or sit back and reap the benefits?" Roger asked in return.
Tasha immediately sat up straight and said seriously: "I understand, let the great powers die, not the orcs, yay!"
The orcs have been bleeding and crying, living in the dire straits of resisting the Azure Vine Empire. Now it was finally the turn of the great powers to take the lead, how could she push her own people into the fire pit because of a momentary impulse?
Under Roger's guidance, she understood!
Since ancient times, the way of great powers has been about who is more of a rogue, who is more shameless, and who can deceive the whole world...
Then they must win big.
Roger expressed his satisfaction with Tassika's growth today: "That's right, we just want to spend their money, kill their people, and fulfill our dreams. Think about whether this is double the happiness?"
"That's right, double the happiness!"
Tassika clenched her fists, understanding her career and direction of effort.
The once kind Agave Princess was thus taught by someone through words and deeds, and led onto the dark path of cunning from which there is no return.
......
......
The western border of the Empire, the city of Neto, closest to the Kumbusak Desert.
There was no city here originally. It was built as a fortress to defend against the annual invasions of the Orcish tribes, and later gradually developed into a city.