Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

 

Pope Anthony’s chariot was set up in the disaster-stricken area, in front of the temporary shelter for the survivors. At least 300,000 victims were located at the junction between the River Valley Plain and the forest. More survivors heard this and uprooted their families to make their way here.

Some say that Anthony has gone mad. A substitute Pope, coming to such a messy and dirty place, with poor standard of living, a lot of messy work to do, where nothing is elegant, with foul smells everywhere, not to mention the lack of good sleep at night.

Such comments come from people in Anthony’s Guard Corps. Although most of the Guard Corps are carefully selected, loyal men chosen by Anthony, many of them are in fact noble landlords, brought up in luxury. They have no problem giving orders, but when it comes to getting their hands dirty, complaints are sure to be heard.

But Anthony was busy all day long, unable to hear such complaints.

Over the past thousand years, every now and then, an Archbishop who cared for the people would emerge in the Eastern Diocese, some named Anxini, or Anbeini etc. They had similar mannerisms.

With these examples, while people still complained, they did not dare to shirk from their work.

In famine relief, the most important thing is to maintain food supply, stabilize public sentiment, and ensure fair distribution. As long as these three aspects were done well, even large numbers of victims won’t cause chaos.

Food supply can fluctuate. After all, you can survive either on two meals a day or just one. But distribution must be fair; you can’t have one person eating two bowls and the one behind eating one. That would certainly cause trouble.

At the same time, everyone must be reassured that people are cared for and efforts are being made to provide relief. A bit more patience, and we can get through this crisis.

The best way to reassure the victims is to see the Archbishop, or the Substitute Pope in his crown and regalia, continue to deliver more food on-site.

So whenever Anthony had time, he would rush to the relocation site. It is not just for show; after all, he is also an Archbishop. He has the support of the Master God who regards divine power as expendable. As such, he could use Purification and Face Purification Technique as much as he wished.

So he wandered around, treating the wounded victims personally.

The incessant Holy Light, the wounds healing at a visible speed under the Face Purification Technique, the dirty, clotted drinking water turning clear and transparent under Purification, the scratches, burns, and blemishes on the faces restoring to their original state under the Face Purification Blemish Removing Technique, even rejuvenating them by several years – all spoke of miracles.

What divine grace!

Every day, prayers were constantly offered to Anthony, as though at a grand prayer meeting. Of course, these Soul Flames were all diverted to Ange.

If the Gods of Light were still alive, they would surely wonder: Business seems good, why am I not profiting?

As long as Ange ensured a stable food supply, Anthony could ensure the smooth running of the entire relief operation. Once winter is over and next year’s planting season arrives, these hundreds of thousands of people would become a precious labor force, no longer a burden.

At that time, he could make use of the various means of production that he bought cheaply in the disaster years, such as plows and fields, to reap profits. After paying off various debts with the grain produced, dividends could be distributed.

If there were any surplus, it would be given to the survivors. With the preparation of various living supplies, and having money in their hands from the leftovers, the survivors would be able to make purchases, so a wide variety of businesses would flourish.

The hundreds of thousands of people would constitute a large consumer market. Whoever invested the most this year would get an even larger share next year.

Under this operation, merchants would gain wealth, nobles would get grain, victims would receive relief, and the local economy would revive. A win-win situation for everyone while gaining a large amount of production materials at a low cost.

Negris often criticized Anthony for benefiting from both sides, while for Anthony, it was nothing more than a usual occurrence.

However, these plans all depended on Ange’s stable food supply, and the absence of other unforeseen circumstances.

But when someone brought a sickly looking patient to him, and the patient vomited a substantial amount of bright red phlegm in front of him, and he noticed the unnatural pallor on the faces of many of the victims who brought the patient to him, Anthony knew that trouble was at hand. ṟ𝓪₦Ο₿ƐS

“Save me, save us, Lord Bishop, Your Holiness the Pope, please save us.” The survivors fell to their knees, crawling over to clutch Anthony’s leg.

‘Clang’, the loyal guards around him had already drawn their longswords, keeping the survivors at bay. At the same time, they shouted harshly, “It’s the plague, protect His Holiness! Everyone step back or die on the spot!”

“Priest, Purify!”

“Mage, Dispel, Shield, Maintain air pressure!”

“Knights, hold your breath, Holy Light Guardian, drive them away.”

The usually calm guards instantly transformed into bristling hedgehogs, quickly making defensive arrangements as if facing an assassination attempt.

It was indeed like an assassination, even worse because they were dealing with a plague.

Anthony didn’t even try to stop the harsh actions of the guards, instead, he just weakly said, “Do not hurt anyone.”

When he saw the patients excrete a ball of red mucus, Anthony knew he couldn’t help them. In his thousand years, he had dealt with countless epidemics, but he had never seen this one before.

Something he hadn’t seen before signified it was new. New, signified that there was no existing treatment. No treatment, signified that everyone had a chance of getting infected.

He was under the protection of the Undead God, capable of resurrection, worst-case scenario, he becomes the Black Warrior again, but the people under his command can’t do that.

In this situation, he couldn’t expect his men to be gentle with the survivors. It was already quite good that they didn’t hurt anyone.

However, the reaction of the guards only panicked the survivors even more. Hearing the word “plague”, they clung to Anthony like drowning people grabbing a life buoy.

Soon, more survivors from nearby rushed over, unknowing victims from afar also started to gather. Along with Anthony’s order of ‘do not hurt anyone’, they were soon ringed in, unable to escape.

This drove the guards mad. Each second they stayed put them at risk of infection by this unseen plague. But as Anthony had instructed them not to hurt anyone, they could not fight their way out.

All they could do was let the mages erect a protective shield, while the priests continuously performed purification spells; at the same time maintaining the air pressure inside the shield, making sure no outside air seeped in.

But this was not sustainable. The head guard anxiously turned to Anthony, hoping he would authorize a way out. But Anthony seemed lost in thought, as if listening to something.

The guard captain tensed, he swallowed his words and made a silence gesture to everyone else, saying in a low voice, “Quiet, His Holiness is receiving a divine message.”

It was as if a mute spell had been cast. The word ‘divine message’ was whispered repeatedly. It spread afar causing even the surging crowd to fall silent.

Receiving a divine message? This was a divine miracle not witnessed in anyone’s lifetime.

Unfortunately, although it was a divine message, it was unclear from which god.

After what felt like an eternity, Anthony finally opened his eyes, met with the gaze of countless desperate eyes.

Anthony smiled slightly, appearing calm and composed before saying, “The Gods have heard our suffering, help will arrive soon.”

Anthony’s words immediately calmed the agitated crowd. Not long afterward, from the distant sky, a figure flew toward them, its back adorned with two large black light wings.

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