Chapter 145: The Collective

Water River Kingdom, Brave Kingdom, Leaf Kingdom, Meat Kingdom...

“Greetings, Your Majesty, King of Water River! I represent His Majesty the King of the Block Kingdom in conveying our highest respects!”

Standing in the vast, empty hall, Iron Nose felt a faint sense of absurdity.

Was this really their place of work? Why was it so enormous? Where were the desks? The documents? Did they not divide up their duties?

As he faced the officials standing along the passageways, each apparently occupied with nothing in particular, the doubts in Iron Nose’s mind only deepened.

There were probably more officials standing here than half the entire workforce of the Block Kingdom. Just how difficult was their kingdom to govern that it required so many “high-ranking officials”?

Iron Nose did not know that, in this most primitive of eras, bloated administrations and bureaucratic systems were the norm. Without centuries or even millennia of political development and intellectual refinement, it was impossible to create an advanced political system like that of the Block Kingdom.

“Your Majesty, he is from the Block Kingdom, a nation beyond the distant southern regions...”

Up to this point, Iron Nose had revealed nothing except that he came from a country in the south called the Block Kingdom. By contrast, he had already compiled the information of the Water River Kingdom into stacks of data files, along with a considerable amount of information on the other six nations.

“Hmm... Greetings, friends who have come from afar.”

The diplomat reported the situation to the middle-aged king seated above them. Upon hearing it, the king revealed a faint smile.

“As the hosts of this land, we shall entertain you warmly.”

“Thank you for your generosity. We have also brought gifts from the Block Kingdom...”

Iron Nose was somewhat surprised. Ever since he had seen his unfortunate countrymen confined to live outside the city walls, he had assumed that the king ruling this place must be either a fool or a tyrant. But now, this king did not seem to fit either description.

“There must be something hidden here that I do not yet know about...” Iron Nose thought to himself. He then waved to Little Li behind him, signaling him to bring out the goods.

His Majesty the King was truly extraordinary. As though he had foreseen that Iron Nose’s party would inevitably discover the Block Kingdoms to the north, he had specially prepared several gifts to promote friendship before their departure.

Little Li nodded, stepped forward, and brought out the gift.

A green radiance shone over the heads of everyone present, turning them all green.

When the light faded, the object appeared before everyone’s eyes.

It was a block of emeralds!

To people of the twenty-first-century Chinese world, it was roughly equivalent to a suitcase filled with banknotes bearing Chairman Mao’s image.

Vulgar, crude, yet remarkably effective.

No ordinary Block Person would refuse emeralds once they were within reach. It was an instinct engraved in their genes.

Knowing this trait, Mo Fangyuan had acted decisively and combined every emerald in the Block Kingdom into emerald blocks, sending them north with Iron Nose to serve as diplomatic tools.

As a staunch “pragmatist,” Mo Fangyuan’s attitude toward emeralds was: “Having them gives them no flavor; throwing them away would be a waste.” If these useless ornaments could be transformed into diplomatic goodwill, then so much the better.

Among all the Block People, Mo Fangyuan was probably the only one who regarded emeralds as worthless junk.

“This is a small gift from our king to your noble country. We hope the Water River King will not find it beneath his notice...”

Following Iron Nose’s instructions, Little Li handed the priceless piece of rubbish to a guard beside the king, who then delivered it into the hands of the Water River King.

“Now that is a fine thing!”

Everyone present was stunned by Iron Nose’s generosity. The moment the Water River King received the emerald block, his favorable impression of Iron Nose and the Block Kingdom began climbing rapidly.

Exchanging a worthless mineral for diplomatic goodwill was clearly a profitable transaction for the Block Kingdom.

“Then, envoys from the Block Kingdom, what is it that you desire?”

Gifts were meant to be reciprocated, and the Water River King understood this. He therefore asked in a solemn tone.

“Your Majesty, King of Water River, gifts are symbols of friendship. Our Block Kingdom has cherished friendship since ancient times and seeks no repayment...”

“If possible, we would merely ask for a map of your kingdom, some records of its history, and a supply of carrots and rabbits.”

Iron Nose spoke without hesitation.

“Agreed!”

Apart from the map, the other items were plentiful in the Water River Kingdom and could not possibly compare with the value of an emerald block. The Water River King agreed without the slightest hesitation.

“Thank you for your generosity...”

Not long afterward, this historic event for the Block Kingdom came to an end. Through his eloquence and quick wit, Iron Nose had secured a wealth of information about the region and obtained several new supplies for the Block Kingdom.

“Sir Envoy, the items you requested are all here.”

A wooden crate filled with carrots and documents, a group of little rabbits led by ropes, and freshly replenished provisions—these were the first spoils of the field army’s journey north.

Spreading out the map of the Water River Kingdom, Iron Nose stared intently at the drawings upon it as he held a quill in his hand, wishing he could force every detail into his mind.

“The Water River Kingdom, where I am now, lies in the far east, near the Black Mountains. Farther back, the connected cluster of city buildings is the city of the Meat Kingdom...”

The Meat Kingdom had the smallest territory and weakest military strength among the seven nations. It possessed only slightly more advanced herding techniques than the others. Since it could produce a little meat after barely satisfying domestic demand, it had gradually come to be known as the Meat Kingdom.

These records contained a rough account of the Meat Kingdom’s circumstances, but the rest of the information was exceedingly vague.

There was no record of its population, the identity of its king, or the state of its society...

The Water River Kingdom was separated from the Meat Kingdom by only a wall, and the two had coexisted for so long—yet it had not even mastered the most basic information about its neighbor.

“We will remain in the Water River Kingdom for one more day tomorrow. The day after that, we will visit the other nations.”

According to the map of the kingdom, if the seven kingdoms were treated as a single city—and if Mo Fangyuan’s words were used as a reference—then:

The Water River Kingdom lay in the northeastern district.

The Meat Kingdom lay in the northern district.

The Brave Kingdom lay in the northwestern district.

The Carrot Kingdom lay in the southeastern district.

The Trading Kingdom lay in the central-southeastern district.

The Copper-Iron Kingdom lay in the central-southwestern district.

The Leaf Kingdom lay in the southwestern district...

“So this is the giant city of ten thousand people His Majesty spoke of...”

Iron Nose finally understood.

The so-called city of ten thousand people was actually a conglomeration of seven Block People kingdoms. For some unknown reason, the seven kingdoms had been built beside one another, eventually forming this enormous “aggregate city” with its vast population.

Of course, Iron Nose did not dare conclude whether the combined population of these kingdoms truly exceeded ten thousand. He would need to conduct further visits and observations the following day.