The Jackal Tribe wasn’t stupid.
They weren’t the pig-brained War Pigs.
They had a wolf’s cunning. Hucli knew from the very beginning that he was already tied to the humans, and he never even thought about betrayal.
After all, the fact that his entire family had sworn allegiance to the Church was backed up on a Memory Scroll. Just for that reason alone, there was no place for him in the Beastman Royal Court.
So he wouldn’t try to please both sides.
He would only stand more firmly on the humans’ side.
Hucli’s original thought was that if he could squeeze a few more benefits from the humans, that would be good enough.
But he never expected that the humans… no, that this Saintess would play it so big. She actually wanted to help him establish a kingdom and become the Wolf King.
“S-Sain… Saintess, your immense kindness…”
“Alright, cut that act. Let’s talk about something more practical.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Do you think we can stop the northern Royal Court of the Beastmen when they come south?”
Hucli finally stopped his foolish grin and instead wore an extremely grave expression.
“Nine tribes of Beastmen are attached to us Jackals, with a total population of about six hundred thousand. At maximum, we can pull out a hundred thousand troops. May I ask how many your Saintess’s side can contribute?”
“It’s not just us humans. There are also the War Pigs and the Elves. We humans will field a hundred thousand troops, the War Pigs another hundred thousand, and the Elves about fifty thousand. Adding yours, that makes three hundred and fifty thousand. If we tighten things up a bit, we might be able to scrape together four hundred thousand.”
“There’s a chance to fight, but it’s still tough. Plus, because of our Beastmen’s loyalty issues toward the Royal Court, our actual combat effectiveness would probably be halved. So that four hundred thousand you mentioned would be, at most, three hundred thousand when you count it.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Sainess, once the Beastman Royal Court decides to move south, it will be the entire clan moving south. Their military strength might exceed a million.”
“I told you, don’t worry.”
Aililan stood up, walked over to a map, and pointed at the location of the Beastman Royal Court.
“The Northern Great Plain ends at the sea.”
“Our fleet will land behind their backs.”
“Fleet?” Hucli’s eyes widened.
“You don’t think only the Fifth Wing is fighting, do you? There are six more regions like the Fifth Wing in the Church, and they’re all areas with longer history and deeper foundations.”
“Holy shit… I knew following you, Saintess, was the right call.”
“Alright, stop your nonsense. Go back immediately and start working on building the city. The day your city is completed will be the day you establish your kingdom.”
“Yes, yes, yes, Saintess, you can rest assured. As for the Silver Mine and the Golden Sand River, even if it’s just a single grain of gold, if anyone dares embezzle it and delays my becoming the Wolf King, I’ll be the first to kill them.”
After Hucli left.
Aililan rubbed her tired face.
The greatest benefits given to the Jackal Tribe this time were the Silver Mine and the Golden Sand River.
And they had to be given to them alone, because if these resources entered the financial accounts, it would be incredibly difficult to take them out again to support the Jackal Tribe’s kingdom-building.
So they had to be given to the Jackals, and then the Jackals would trade them with the humans.
In short, to summarize, through trade, the money would ultimately flow back into Aililan’s pocket anyway.
Besides, money sitting in a warehouse doesn’t generate money.
Only by letting money circulate could all aspects of society flourish.
She stayed on the plains for a few more days.
After everything was on track, Aililan led the army back to Atester.
The victory banquet went without saying, and Aililan specifically promoted a batch of young officers.
She then dispatched these officers to the Second Wing City, which had close ties with Atester, under the guise of “study and exchange programs.”
It was a signal.
A signal that was not particularly friendly to the nobles of other cities.
Looking at the energetic young officers, Aililan said with a serious tone:
“You are all the most outstanding youth of Atester. When you go to the Second Wing City, you must not disgrace the reputation of Atester.”
“Especially you, Ilibir. Don’t lose face for your father, Gareyas.”
Then, looking at another group, a strange light flickered in Aililan’s eyes.
“Are you the monks who came from the Holy Land?”
One of them gave a slight bow and said, “To answer the Saintess, it doesn’t matter where we monks come from. What matters is that we can serve you.”
Aililan laughed heartily upon hearing this.
She had to admit that in terms of education and vision, those educated by the great families and nobles of the Holy Land were indeed far above ordinary people.
They were all Military Friars who had volunteered. Their motivation was much higher than that of ordinary monks, and their abilities were beyond what ordinary monks could compete with.
“How will you serve me?”
“We can guarantee that the combat effectiveness and ideological awareness of the Second Wing Corps soldiers will not be inferior to those of Atester.”
“Very good.”
Aililan looked at the others and said, “You must work even harder. The Fifth Wing still needs your selfless dedication in many places. And not just me—my sister, and even the great Seven Regents, are watching your performance.”
The monks were extremely excited to hear this.
Aililan’s words hinted at everything.
Your starting point might be this border city called Atester, but your destination will not stop at the Fifth Wing. It might even encompass all the territories ruled by the Church.
For those who understood the Church’s power structure, they immediately guessed that if the Military Priest system could be implemented, it would create at least seven positions with power no less than that of an Archbishop, and dozens or even hundreds of Bishop positions.
And all of them would be real power.
Military power, the hardest kind of real power.
After the officers and monks left, Aililan called over Flora, who had been compiling the Civil Code.
“Miss Flora, have you been well lately?”
“Thanks to your care, Saintess, I’m doing very well now. I’m satisfied with my life.”
“The part of the Civil Code you compiled has received a very good response from the public.”
“You flatter me, Saintess. There are still many shortcomings, and we are doing our best to correct them. This is not the final version of the code.”
“The thing is…”
Aililan briefly explained her ideas about regulating commercial law.
Flora and her team had given her a preliminary version to use, but it was too rough.
“Saintess, we also want to do our best to serve you, but we really can’t spare the time.”
“No, no, no, you misunderstand. What I want to remind you is that as legal workers, especially as people who compile laws, you should also go to the front lines to verify them.”
“Saintess, is there something we did wrong? Please tell us.”
“Alright, alright.”
Aililan spread her hands helplessly and said:
“I’ll be honest with you. I lack relevant talent. I’ve sent the Chief of Justice to the Second Wing for business. I hope you can spare some people, especially if Miss Flora herself can take command and firmly establish the Commercial Act. I would be very happy.”
“Saintess, I really don’t have time.”
“Alright, this matter is decided. Within three days, the appointment letter naming you Deputy Minister of Justice will be delivered to your residence. So make preparations.”
“Sainess!”
“Why are you making that face? This is a big promotion for you. Give this Saintess a smile.”
Flora’s smile was uglier than a cry.
Although it was a promotion.
She just couldn’t be happy about it.
After all, compiling a code that would be passed down through the ages was her lifelong pursuit.
“Sainess, can I still go back to compiling the code?”
“Yes, you will always be the editor-in-chief of the code compilation. The day you finish the Commercial Act for me is the day I’ll let you come back.”
As for talent?
You just have to use one person for two people’s work.