Volume 4 Chapter 17: The Colorless Empire of Natural Disasters and Man-made Calamities (Part 1)

  When the capital of the Spirit Kingdom, Lushipa, was struggling in blood and fire, on the other side of the war, the new capital of the Nazerielle Empire, Nazerielle City, continued its daily life as usual.

  Due to its northern location, the snow in Nasiriel City is much thicker than that of Lushepa, which is closer to the south. However, the lack of manpower caused by the war is not yet evident here, as most streets are swept clean every day and public carriages run normally. When night falls, the luxurious magical street lamps on the bustling streets light up, illuminating the entire area with a dazzling brightness, making it seem like daytime.

  However, the city was in the midst of war and famine. On the streets of the capital, one could see citizens with dull, waxy yellow faces everywhere, as well as people suffering from edema due to malnutrition. In dark alleys where magic streetlights couldn't reach, one could often find corpses lying in snow piles, each dressed in tattered clothes, and thin as a skeleton. Survivors with numb expressions would strip the dead of their clothing, hoping to add some warmth for themselves, only to follow in the footsteps of the deceased the next day, closing their eyes forever in the snowy wind.

  Since last autumn, countless refugees have been pouring into the capital from all directions, wandering on every road in the city, begging passersby for anything that can fill their stomachs. Although the government has set up some relief stations, they can only let them drink a few bowls of thin porridge that can reflect people's faces. With the arrival of severe winter, these poor guys have no clothes or food, and hundreds and thousands of them freeze to death or starve to death, or take the path of harming society for their own lives. Robbery, theft, murder, crimes that occur every second make the capital's police force exhausted, while the rising grain prices every day make more people join the ranks of criminals.

  "Every time I come to the imperial capital, the situation on the streets gets worse. When will such days end?" The old man sighed heavily, his eyes filled with worry.

  Erminester's head was completely out of the car window, his white hair and nearly pure white beard trembling slightly in the cold wind. He gazed at the street full of vagrants and the security guards chasing thieves, then looked at the state-run cheap grain station with a long queue before it even opened, finally putting down the carriage's curtain, unable to bear looking at the desolate scene outside anymore.

  Although Erlminster, as the Chosen of Mystra and a great sage respected by all, was unable to resolve the current predicament. Powerful magic could kill tens of thousands of people in an instant, but there was no way to conjure up enough food to fill the bellies of just a few people, he could only slightly alleviate the suffocating feeling in his head by fiercely puffing on his beloved sea-foam pipe.

  This war with the Spirit Kingdom has only been going on for a year so far, but the entire empire's logistics supply has already reached the point of collapse, and the successive victories at the front line have formed a sharp contrast.

  As for war and famine, the inhabitants of the Ferelden mainland are far more experienced and resilient than those of the thirteen states of New Thedas that have known peace for so long. After all, even in the days when the old kingdoms were at war, people on this land persisted and did quite well. Although the empire has always been divided and its governance has not been smooth, and this year's climate is also very abnormal. But it shouldn't be the case that they don't even have this bit of endurance.

  But in this wonderful world, there are so many unreasonable people and things.

  "For a green and clean world!"

  A group of men in black suddenly appeared out of nowhere, shouting and rushing towards the crowd gathered in front of the grain station. Before the security guards maintaining order could react, they had already lit the fuse on their bodies. In the flashing flames, the crowd waiting to buy cheap food scattered in terror, pushing aside the security guards trying to stop the perpetrators, watching as these human bombs were about to explode.

  Erlinster furrowed his brow. He leaned out of the car window and made a gesture, and an invisible force field wall immediately rose in front of the black-clad men, separating them from the grain station. One of the black-clad men who failed to react in time crashed into the force field wall. Instantly, he was bleeding profusely, and several townspeople took advantage of the opportunity to pin him to the ground, extinguishing the fuse on his body.

  But the other attackers, seeing that their first target was unreachable, immediately switched targets and rushed into a nearby store. Before Ilminster could think of a countermeasure, the blast wave shattered the glass windows of the store, sending out fragments of human organs and charred, deformed debris.

  The consequences of the terrorist attack did not stop there. Probably due to the explosion damaging the load-bearing structure, less than half a minute later, the five-story building began to shake and tilt, eventually collapsing with a loud noise, accompanied by rising smoke and debris, crushing pedestrians who had not run far into meat patties. Even the carriage driven by Ilmuster was hit by flying debris, making a cracking sound. Fortunately, the horses pulling the carriage were actually metal magic puppets made by alchemists, which did not understand fear, and did not get frightened and pull the carriage into the river.

  "Damn Harpist Alliance!" Looking at the tragic scene in front of him caused by a suicidal terrorist attack, Ilmyster couldn't help but spit out the sea-foam pipe from his mouth, spitting out smoke rings and cursing this organization he had created with his own hands. "They shout slogans of justice so loudly, yet their actions are more evil than even demons, these brats really want to bring down the world..."

  "Are you satisfied now?"

  "In the eyes of your good students, this is the best way to save the world." The great wizard Ravock sat in the opposite seat, not without sarcasm, "That slogan is really loud, for a green and clean world? Isn't that what you, the great sage, taught them?"

  As it was not a public occasion, the thousand-year-old witch Lavoque did not use his transformation technique to turn himself into a dignified middle-aged man, but instead maintained his original appearance as a skeleton, wrapped in a pale yellow great wizard's robe. The jaw of the skull trembled with each word, making him look even more terrifying.

  However, the people in the carriage were not intimidated by his majestic appearance.

  "Just as I never thought I'd be having a conversation with a lich in a carriage, I also never thought the Harpers would stoop to using such a tacky slogan, and they were stodgy enough back then." Ilminster glared at Llawyn, blowing a stream of smoke in his direction.

  "Cough, cough, Irmgard, can't you cut down on the smoking a bit? Don't you know how to take care of a lady?" Lavoque, who didn't have a physical body, wasn't bothered by the smoke, but the person dozing off next to the witch was awakened by the smell. It was a young woman wearing a light blue long shirt, with leather gloves and holding a thick book, looking like a university professor. She adjusted her single-lens glasses on her right eye, yawned, and glared at Irmgard.

  "You think you're a woman? Karlssa, don't be ridiculous! You're just occupying a female body, that's all. What's the biological term for this situation again? Ah yes, 'transgender'. Well, when you're ready to go to Mermaid Bar and pole dance, I'll definitely be there to cheer you on."

  "Erminster! Don't forget whose carriage you're in, or I'll have you thrown out!"

  In the distant past, there existed two major secret groups in opposition to each other among the nations of Faerun. One was a group representing good forces (Harper). They were a secret organization composed of human and elven bards and rangers. Their members operated secretly in cities and wilderness alike. Their mission (as they saw it) was to maintain balance in the world and thwart evil schemes. The great sage Elminster was one of the important founders of this organization.

  Another secret society is the evil organization Zenrim, mainly active in Santir, Zanghei Town and Crow Fortress. They are also known as the Dark Intelligence Network, with most members being evil priests, warriors, thieves and powerful mages. The main goal of Zenrim is to control the trade channels of major prosperous areas around the world, seeking economic benefits and controlling countries through trade. Therefore, they often conflict with the Lute Hand Alliance in secret.

  Although in the eyes of the people, there is a distinction between justice and evil, in the eyes of the rulers, both the Harp Hand Alliance and the Sand Tower Association are black societies that threaten social order, challenging the law and threatening national security. Therefore, shortly after the establishment of the Second Empire of Niseral, the human nations and the gods who held state power joined forces to destroy the Sand Tower Association, turning Santir Castle into a ruin. At the same time, the Harp Hand Alliance also received an ultimatum, demanding that they abandon their actions and guarantee that they would only operate within the scope permitted by law, otherwise they would be treated as a black society and surrounded by various countries.

  As the sworn enemy, the Scarlet Hand, had been eradicated, the vast majority of Harpist Alliance members, including the most renowned Sage Irenicus, believed that their organization's mission was accomplished and accepted the advice of the government and the church. These former Harpist Alliance members legitimized themselves, forming numerous large and small political parties in Narshe Second Empire and other countries, generally playing the role of radicals in politics, thus owning greater power and prestige under the sun than they had during their secret activities in the past.

  However, there are also some stubbornly conservative harpists who refuse to accept the government's ultimatum. These "neurotic idealists" (evaluation of a certain bronze dragon) insist that contemporary powers such as Narsil and Sel are evil countries ruled by witches and vampires, which are more terrifying enemies than the scattered Talingard. They believe that for justice, they must fight to the end against these nations. The Ilmirest "traitors" are even more fallen dark traitors who are objects that the organization must eliminate.

  Under the auspices of anti-government forces existing in any country, the new Harpist Alliance has become an international mercenary and assassin group to some extent, replacing the position of the past Splinter Cell. If that's all, it would be fine. Any society can't completely eliminate crime, as long as it doesn't get out of hand, having a few black organizations is harmless.

  But what's worse, the Church of Sylvanus, also known as the Oak Father, soon took control of the Harpist Alliance. These radical nature preservationists quickly spread out across the continent with their self-proclaimed righteous actions after gaining the intelligence and connections of the Harpist Alliance, as well as the weapons and financial support from the Kingdom of the Elves. Now, the troubles for each country's government have just begun.