Picking Up Attributes From Today - Chapter 90
Chapter 90: The World Changed, The Beast Tide Ended
The cruelty of the Kingdom’s laws toward ordinary civilians was most vividly reflected at the outbreak of wars or beast tides.
If the soldiers died out, the civilians would become reserve troops. If the situation was even graver, even experts without titles would be included in the conscription.
If the army ran out of food, they had the right to collect army rations from civilians.
This meant that once war broke out, civilians had to not only serve as reserve troops and prepare to go onto the battlefield any time, but they also had to provide food for the army!
In comparison, nobles, who were powerful and wealthier, were neither listed for troops nor required to provide army rations. Nevertheless, they were protected by the law and the army.
The inequality in the treatment of different social groups was cruel.
This was a mixed society with severely twisted social systems, formed by the coupling of feudalism and slavery. The working masses, who accounted for 99% of the population, enjoyed less than 1% of society’s resources yet had to bear 100% of the social responsibilities.
Twisted was too mild of a word to describe this society—brutal was its true description!
Meng Lei felt a fire burning in his chest. He didn’t think of himself as any kind of savior, much less the kind of benevolent, selfless person that worried for the whole world but took no part in its joys.
He only had one goal from the beginning: to live better, freely, splendidly, and liberally!
But now, Meng Lei felt very unhappy.
Why is this world ruled by a group of Colossal Dragons that enjoy vast amounts of resources yet do no work? Why can the human race only be appendages to be stepped upon!?
This f*cked-up world, wait for it! One day, I will turn this world upside down!
If not, then I will… Break this sky and smash this earth! Give this world back its cleanliness!
“Boy, what are you thinking?” Ol’ Amos’ voice suddenly sounded by his ears, waking Meng Lei from his contemplation.
Meng Lei looked at the deserted town and said quietly, “When all these prosper, the people suffer. When all these are in ruin, the people still suffer! I’ve finally understood this point!”
“When all these prosper, the people suffer. When all these are in ruin, the people still suffer!” the old man mumbled and then immediately fell silent, with shock and contemplation in his eyes.
After a long time, he finally sighed and said, “You can see this point? It’s rare!”
“Ol’ President, you can understand?” Meng Lei raised his eyebrows. “You are a Saint Domain of a noble background, you can relate to such like us…”
“Meng Lei, you are wrong!” The old man shook his head slightly. “It’s true that I came from nobility, but that doesn’t mean I’m not aware of the masses’ suffering. Did you know that my father was a human and a slave?”
(⊙o⊙)
Meng Lei was stunned as he knew nothing about this.
“Back then, my father was allocated to my mother as a slave. But, my father was very lucky because he met my kind Mother.”
The old man’s eyes were gentle as he recalled distant memories. “Although Mother was a noble lady, she was very kind to Father. She not only treated him as family, but she also taught him to cultivate.”
“And then?” asked Meng Lei.
“Haha, my father was a natural talent!” Ol’ Amos said proudly, “In just a few years, he finished cultivating Battle Aura and became the kingdom’s youngest Ninth-Grade Warrior. He also successfully reached Saint Domain!”
“So talented?” Meng Lei blinked.
“Naturally! Father’s talent in cultivating Battle Aura was rare in the world. My younger sister inherited his talent in cultivating Battle Aura and broke into Saint Domain at the age of 70. Of course, I’m not bad, either!”
The old man snorted softly. “I’m telling you all these to let you know that the blood of humans, slaves, also runs through my body. I understand the underclass masses’ suffering better than you!”
“Ol’ President, it seems that I know too little about you.” Meng Lei shook his head and smiled bitterly. “In the future, maybe you can tell me more about your heroic past, haha. Three Saint Domains in one family… It’s amazing, Ol’ President!”
“Alright, enough! Stop flattering me here.” The old man shook his hand. “If you have so much free time, you may as well cultivate hard, achieve Saint Domain soon, and restore the glory of our Kroc clan!”
Kroc clan? I’m afraid you may never see that happen. In the future, there would only be Meng Clan, Meng Kingdom, Meng Empire… Haha!
Meng Lei laughed loudly and then led the villagers out of the town.
“Meng Lei, where are we going now?”
“Magical Beast Town isn’t safe. In case all the soldiers die fighting, the villagers can easily become conscription targets. We need to find a hiding place.”
Meng Lei controlled the magic flying carpet and soon found a remote canyon. It was inaccessible for people, and the water source was abundant. It was very suitable for resettling the villagers.
“Everyone, you may settle here for now.”
“Captain Hudders, Village Chief, here are the 50 tents I just bought, and staples and meat enough for everyone to eat for three days.”
“Everyone, you may rest here with peace of mind. With Teddy on guard, safety isn’t a problem. When the ant tide subsides, I will come back again to send you guys home.”
“Thank you, Meng Lei!”
…
After settling the villagers, Meng Lei left the canyon and flew toward the Great Dragon Blood Wall. He wasn’t there to contribute to the defense forces but to find the ant tide!
Others feared the ant tide, but Meng Lei didn’t. It may be an all-destructive ant in others’ eyes, but to Meng Lei, it was a good opportunity to make a fortune.
Just think about it—an ocean of Magical Beasts was no different than moving mountains of gold with an ocean of dropped items awaiting to be picked up!
Where else could he go to find such a golden opportunity to simultaneously get rich and strong?
“The ant tide is coming!”
“Hurry up and meet the enemy!”
“The ant tide is coming!”
At the moment Meng Lei ascended the watchtower, a piercing alarm and exclamations of panic reverberated throughout the Great Dragon Blood Wall.
The crowd moved hastily as groups of armored, well-equipped soldiers climbed up the city wall and flooded the wall.
Magicians, archers, arbalists, and cannon shooters rapidly got into position and waited intently. They were ready to attack at any time!
“The ant tide is here?”
Meng Lei came to the space above the city wall and looked far in the Magical Beast Forest’s direction. He saw that the distant horizon was already covered by lifted yellow dust.
He couldn’t see a single ant nor a single Magical Beast, only flying dust.
“An ant tide?” Meng Lei’s eyes widened.
“It’s an ant tide!” Ol’ Amos had a solemn expression. “They rushed out of the Magical Beast Forest in less than one day. The Bloodthirsty Iron-Crystal Ants Tide this time is historically unprecedented!”
“That serious?” Meng Lei’s whole body shriveled.
“Uncommonly serious!” The old man said in a deep voice, “Among the few historical ant tides, they had spent at least three days to get out of the Magical Beast Forest. But this time, it took them less than one day. You can imagine it!”
“Which means the Magical Beasts in the Magical Beast Forest have pretty much been devoured already?” Meng Lei drew a cold breath. “Given this ant tide’s scale, can the Great Dragon Blood Wall hold?”
“It has to be held regardless.”
The old man said with a decisive voice, “The Great Dragon Blood Wall is the last line of defense. If the ant tide crosses the Great Dragon Blood Wall, the entire Fire Dragon Kingdom will suffer.
“Nobles with rich family backgrounds have the ability to escape, so only the civilians will suffer. They have no time to escape at all!”
“I understand now!” Meng Lei nodded silently.
The cloud of yellow sand is getting near. It is approaching at breakneck speed.
Gradually… the ground started shaking as though thousands of horses were galloping their way there.
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground shook faster and faster while the booming sounds filled the sky.
The ferocious red ants were finally visible through the cloud of yellow sand!
