Chapter 155: Integration

"Given our current shortage of manpower, let us first concentrate our resources on accomplishing this task."

With these words, Victor concluded the first roundtable meeting following the ant disaster. During the meeting, Victor clearly defined everyone's responsibilities and assigned personnel accordingly.

Nelson remained in command of the guard force. In addition to the members of the War Bears and the surviving guards, some new recruits had been added, bringing the total to one hundred men. Compared to the alchemical militia, the combat effectiveness of these guards was utterly abysmal, but they shared a common trait: they were all ordinary people with families and homes. On the surface, they served as guards, but in reality, they were being nurtured as the backbone of the military. Aside from practicing martial arts and tempering their combat will, their primary focus was learning how to handle complex and ever-changing localized combat. Therefore, their sense of belonging and loyalty was of the utmost importance. Should the family ever go to war, Victor's alchemical militia would serve as the main force in battle, a fact of which Nelson was well aware.

Victor, however, assigned ten Simian Militia guards to Linda the Sheriff. This was done partly to protect Linda's safety and partly to dilute her influence. Had Linda's subordinates been ordinary people, they would inevitably have been influenced by their former superior, a scenario Victor wished to avoid. As the territory's population grew, the sheriff's authority would expand correspondingly, eventually even touching upon unsheltered and clandestine matters. Consequently, Victor began to consider reclaiming the judicial power.

Since Nelson and Lilia held lofty and influential positions, Victor needed figures to counterbalance them. This was not a matter of loyalty, but rather of organizational health. Once the territory's population reached a certain scale, sycophants and opportunists would inevitably gather around Nelson, abusing their power to bully others and even harming the interests of the territory. Victor would then need a buffer to sanction these petty villains, and the sheriff's office existed precisely for that purpose. This was also meant to safeguard the relationship between Victor and Nelson, which was why Linda had to step down. Linda was now a baroness, and she had an obligation to bear Nelson an heir; the moment she became pregnant, Victor would replace her. As for the candidate to succeed her as sheriff, Victor had not yet settled on anyone.

The seven village group leaders, each leading a hundred men, were responsible for clearing land, farming, and raising pigs. For now, they had to be concentrated at the Flat Lake Camp, but in the future, they would become the village chiefs or town mayors of the territory.

Then there was the drill instructor, Barrit, who was responsible for training the guards and the militia. Every adult male commoner was required to undergo militia training; when faced with monsters and invaders, they needed at least the basic ability to defend their homes.

On the surface, Barrit was Nelson's subordinate, but in reality, much like the scout Barol, he answered solely to Victor and belonged to the upper echelons of the chamber of commerce system. Victor valued Barrit greatly. The alchemical militia was also required to undergo Barrit's training; although their strength far exceeded that of the veteran mercenaries, joint training helped integrate the alchemical militia with ordinary people. Through Barrit, the alchemical militia would learn how to cooperate with ordinary people, including covering retreats, holding the rear, falling back, luring the enemy, transmitting signals, maintaining vigilance, and a series of other coordinated combat techniques. Meanwhile, the alchemical militia would impart wilderness survival skills—such as treating wounds, preparing herbal remedies, ambushing, and setting traps—to Barrit. In accordance with Victor's demands, Barrit was secretly compiling a mercenary corps combat manual.

After everyone else had left, Victor said to Lilia, "Lilia, do you find it strange that I have so many freemen among my subordinates?"

Lilia gave Victor a sweet smile and gently shook her head.

Victor continued, "The situation behind this is somewhat complicated. You only need to know that I inherited the legacy of a great figure, and those people are actually elite warriors cultivated by that person. Now, they take their orders from me."

"While I inherited the great figure's legacy, I may have also inherited his enemies. Even I am not entirely clear on the details, but there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Therefore, the fewer people who know about this, the better. For now, only Nelson and you know this secret."

"Victor, are you in danger?" Lilia asked first with a look of concern, before adding with a hint of melancholy, "Actually, you don't need to explain this to me."

A warmth stirred in Victor's heart. Lilia did not let her favored status make her arrogant or spoiled; instead, she strictly adhered to her duties as a personal maid, never asking what shouldn't be asked or speaking of what shouldn't be spoken. Yet Victor could neither seal the eyes of others nor stop their tongues. Once rumors spread, they would invite unnecessary trouble. Even though Victor no longer needed to fear the covetous gazes of other lords, that did not mean he welcomed trouble.

"I merely said there might be danger, but regardless of whether such enemies exist, we must make corresponding preparations. Therefore, I need your help," Victor said.

Lilia's eyes lit up as she asked, "Victor, can I help you? What do you want me to do?"

"It is very simple: remain composed and inconspicuous," Victor explained further. "A sheep that strays from the flock exposes itself to the ravenous wolves. The same applies to us. Only by blending these elite warriors among a larger populace can we avoid drawing the attention of others."

"The commoners are not blind. Over time, they will realize these individuals are extraordinary, but the commoners hold me in awe, so they will not come to me for verification. Instead, they will observe your actions and try to fathom your thoughts. As long as you remain nonchalant and unperturbed, they will feel at ease. For example, Kahn is a guard I assigned to protect you, but you treat him with excessive politeness. In the eyes of those with discerning minds, this will provoke unnecessary speculation and gossip. Similarly, even though those elite warriors are my people, you have subtly revealed an attitude of deference toward them, which is very bad! No member of the upper classes would ever be courteous to freemen."

"That is only because I did not know their relationship to you, and Kahn possesses formidable strength. I felt it was proper to show him respect, and I did not want to cause you trouble," Lilia said, sounding aggrieved.

"This is precisely why I am telling you this," Victor sighed and said. "Lilia, let me make it clear to you: your status is far superior to that of these soldiers. What you must do is treat them as ordinary freemen."

"Mm, I understand what to do now," Lilia said with a happy smile.

Victor nodded in satisfaction. What he had told Lilia was half true and half false. Regardless, the strategy of integrating the alchemical humans with the commoners was entirely beneficial and harmless. According to Victor's estimations, once the ant disaster concluded, he would possess at least a thousand alchemical humans, half of whom would remain in the mountainous regions to gather resources, while the remaining half would assist Victor in controlling the territory and the chamber of commerce. It was impossible to completely isolate these alchemical humans from the outside world—with the sole exception of the Hill Camp, which would remain a restricted zone of the territory.

"Lilia, I have set up many experimental workshops in the Hill Camp, and purple sugarcane syrup, raw sugar, and refined snow sugar will also be produced there. Pass down the word: without my permission, no one is permitted to pry around the Hill Camp. Anyone caught doing so will be dealt with as a spy," Victor instructed.

"Understood, I will go handle it right away," Lilia nodded in acknowledgment.

"Do not rush off just yet; there are two more matters to entrust to you," Victor pulled Lilia back and said. "You are to organize the women to engage in laundry, cooking, camp cleaning, and garment weaving. I authorize you to issue work points to them as remuneration, though the women's points will be credited under the names of their husbands. You may formulate the specific methods yourself, and you are also permitted to select a few assistants from among the women."

"Victor, are you... are you saying women should be included in the work-point system?" Lilia asked, stammering.

Ordinary peasant women performed no less farm labor than men, while also having to care for children and husbands. Yet in this world fraught with monsters, women lacking combat capability had to rely entirely on their men to secure social standing. One could say they were completely subordinate to males; lords granted ordinary women no independent status—if a husband was a vassal, they were vassals; if a husband was a freeman, they were freemen. They labored entirely for their households, and lords gave them no compensation whatsoever. Victor had no intention of elevating the social status of women, but he could not ignore the role women played within the household. Pillow talk, intelligence leaked through everyday gossip, the influence exerted on children to pledge loyalty to the lord, and the spreading of pro-lord rhetoric—the benefits to be reaped from all this were simply too vast. Elevating Lilia's influence among the women would greatly assist Victor in mastering the hearts of the common folk.

"It is not a matter of letting women join the work-point system on their own, but rather letting them earn points for their families. Of course, these are not the main points. You need to ponder the pros and cons yourself," Victor said, feigning an air of mystery.

Lilia nodded with a blank and hazy expression. Little did she know that over a decade later, a vassal-wife organization known as the Handkerchief Association would be born from her hands. Subsequently, many similar organizations would flourish across various territories, eventually becoming a tradition.

"The second matter." After a long silence, Victor's gaze grew deep and solemn as he finally spoke. "All children between the ages of six and eighteen must be gathered together and taught writing and arithmetic. This is mandatory and must be enforced."

Victor had finally resolved to promote universal education within his territory. This was the first step in his endeavor to transform human ideology, as well as a crucial link in his strategic vision. If Victor wished to fully utilize the strength of ordinary people, he had to unleash their potential, and implementing universal education was an inevitable choice. The benefits of education needed no elaboration, but spreading knowledge and values among ordinary humans would shake the existing social order and inevitably provoke a backlash. In particular, it was impossible to predict how a behemoth like the Church would react.

Victor could no longer afford to hesitate. From the very beginning of his transmigration, there had been numerous suspicious occurrences—first, the wizard's murder that led to his exile in this territory, which in turn unlocked the Alchemical Tower. Upon learning of the existence of demons and the God of Light, Victor had harbored wariness toward the Alchemical Tower and intended to use the legacy of the Alchemical Empire in a limited capacity. However, the ant disaster forced him to completely unleash the Alchemical Tower's capabilities, because failing to do so meant the ant-men would have slaughtered him with absolute certainty. This was no longer mere coincidence; Victor clearly sensed an unseen force pushing him forward.

Victor did not know what ultimate threat he would have to face. The worst-case scenario was the enemies of the Alchemical Empire—existences even more terrifying than demons. Therefore, Victor sought frantically to expand his power, even if it meant challenging the old order without regard for the cost. Had it not been for this reason, Victor would much rather have quietly lived as a small lord, enjoying fine food and beautiful women, hunting and fishing; any of that would have been far more comfortable than challenging the entire world.

Integrating human resources was already a consensus shared by the Church and the lords, but following their methods, it was doubtful whether a unified human empire could be established even in several centuries. Yet Victor knew that apart from warfare, trade could similarly integrate human resources, and in a far more covert and harmless manner. However, altering ideology was truly perilous; this could shake the very foundations of the Church, and the power of the Church was something Victor also wished to unite with.

Of course, the contradiction between enlightening the populace and keeping them ignorant was not entirely insoluble; joint educational ventures with the Church could resolve this dilemma. Nevertheless, the obstacles and difficulties involved would undoubtedly be immense, and for now, Victor had no concrete plan. Although the breakthrough had yet to be found, it could not halt Victor's progress. Heaven only knew when the crisis would descend.

Victor shook his head, casting his anxieties and worries aside. "Send an emissary to inform the Kingdom's Senate and the Church of our establishment of the Randal Family."