Game Invasion: 100x Evolution, From Weak to God

Shengjing, the capital of the Grand Concord Dynasty, lay thousands of li from the northern frontier.

Lucan had been ordered by the emperor to travel to Newhaven City as an envoy. Even though he pushed the journey as hard as he could, it still took more than a month.

He was a civil official. Expecting him to ride day and night like an emergency courier and cross a thousand li in only a few days was simply impossible.

If he tried, he would die from exhaustion before ever reaching Newhaven.

Even though he spent the entire journey inside a carriage, the constant jolting had already left him miserable.

His whole body felt ready to fall apart.

At last, without realizing it, he arrived at Newhaven.

Before even entering the city, Lucan saw rows of buildings rising outside the walls.

Some were built from brick, steel, and cement.

The area bustled with noise and activity, and civilians filled his view in every direction.

Their numbers were no less impressive than those in Shengjing.

He looked toward the distant gate and outer wall with confusion.

"Is Valdren being expanded?"

Ever since Caelum issued the decree establishing the academies, large numbers of civilians had poured into Newhaven City.

They came for one reason.

Once they finished literacy training, they could enter one of the academies.

The common people did not think much further than that.

Three free meals a day already sounded like the greatest luxury imaginable.

Because of this, the accelerated learning effect of the technology tree quickly produced a large number of literate residents throughout Newhaven City.

These people then entered the various academies and received further education.

Once they encountered new fields of knowledge, an entirely new world opened before them.

The transformation of the age had quietly begun.

Caelum provided food, housing, and education free of charge.

Naturally, he had no intention of introducing a system where graduates were free to seek whatever work they pleased.

Once these students completed their education, they would be assigned to different trades and fields according to their talents and knowledge.

They would be supported by the state and work for the state.

After all the basic disciplines were unlocked, the advanced disciplines followed.

Caelum distributed those fields among the various academies as well.

Only students who completed basic education could qualify for advanced studies.

These highly trained people would become the backbone of every major field in the future.

Meanwhile, after more than a month of training, the new recruits of the Wardens had largely mastered volley fire.

Caelum produced more than two thousand additional flintlock muskets.

This allowed every Warden to be fully armed.

Now, all three thousand Wardens in Newhaven City carried firearms.

Combined with several hundred light and heavy cannons, their combat strength was formidable.

As for Newhaven, the settlement had been completely transformed into Caelum’s mining base.

Iron ore was extracted there, refined into pig iron inside the town, then transported to Newhaven City as military material.

Only a little over a month had passed.

Under Caelum’s policies and reforms, Newhaven City was developing at incredible speed.

It seemed to change every single day.

Only after entering the city did Lucan learn that Valdren had been renamed Newhaven City.

On the way toward the palace, he watched the prosperous streets with growing amazement.

What surprised him most was that people could be seen reading and studying everywhere.

Peddlers, laborers, young men, children, and girls in their prime all carried books or practiced their letters.

Lucan had never seen such a strong atmosphere of learning in his life.

When he learned about the literacy decree issued by the lord of Newhaven City, he became even more astonished by the man’s ambition.

If everyone learned to read, the minds of the people would inevitably open.

"This man possesses extraordinary vision and ambition."

Lucan did not even need to meet Caelum in person.

The decree alone revealed the scale of the plan in his heart.

Without immense ambition and daring, no ruler would ever issue such a policy.

Under feudal rule, keeping the population obedient relied on several crucial methods.

Keeping the people ignorant was among the most important.

Without that, once ordinary people learned to think for themselves, they would begin searching for ways out of their suffering.

They might even unite and overthrow those who ruled them.

In Lucan’s eyes, the decision to educate the entire population was extremely dangerous.

He could not help wondering how this city lord intended to control a population once it became so knowledgeable.

Then realization struck.

Lucan reached a firm conclusion.

"This man will never remain content with ruling only one corner of the world."

The thought filled him with even greater concern.

If Newhaven City continued developing like this, it would soon become a major threat to the Grand Concord Dynasty.

That was a deeply troubling prospect.

After passing through the streets, markets, and inner city gate, the Grand Concord envoy stopped outside the palace.

Lucan stepped down from the carriage and presented the official documents of the Grand Concord Dynasty.

"I am Lucan, envoy of the Grand Concord Dynasty. By command of His Majesty, I have brought this delegation and valuable gifts to visit the lord of Newhaven City."

A long while passed.

Then a group emerged from the palace.

The Wardens said nothing.

They simply carried away the gold, silver, jewels, and other gifts brought by the delegation, leaving Lucan and the others standing to the side.

Lucan thought little of it and prepared to follow them inside.

To his surprise, a Warden turned and raised a hand, blocking him outside the gate.

Lucan stared in confusion.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"His Lordship has given his order. The gifts may stay. The people may leave."

"What?"

Lucan froze.

He could only watch as the palace gates closed in front of him, leaving his entire delegation shut outside.

Once he recovered, anger surged through him.

As an envoy of the Grand Concord Dynasty, he had actually been treated this way.

It was outrageous.

Lucan let out a slow breath.

He was a cultivated man and only cursed inwardly.

His face remained calm.

Then he turned and led the delegation away to find lodging.

In truth, the Grand Concord delegation was not the only group treated this way.

The Thalric delegation had arrived even earlier and received the same response.

Caelum accepted every gift but refused to meet a single envoy.

It made no difference whether they came from the Grand Concord Dynasty or Thalric.

Meeting both sides and meeting neither side achieved the same result.

Later, Lucan sent men to investigate.

When he learned that the Thalric delegation had also been denied entry, he immediately relaxed.

"Good."

The treatment had been insulting, but the attitude of Newhaven City’s lord was now perfectly clear.

He favored neither the Grand Concord Dynasty nor Thalric.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

"There is no need to worry. This is good news."

Faced with the concern of the other envoys, Lucan remained composed.

"As long as the city lord refuses to meet the Thalric delegation as well, there is no problem. Since we have already come this far, the journey must not be wasted. Let us take a careful look at Newhaven City first."

Caelum was completely focused on developing Newhaven City and had no interest in dealing with either the Grand Concord Dynasty or Thalric.

Once firearms, gunpowder, and education had all been addressed, his attention shifted to commerce.

Newhaven City stood on the border between the Grand Concord Dynasty and Thalric.

Its prosperity had grown from its unique political and geographic position.

But a closer look revealed that commerce in Newhaven City had developed without any real structure.

It was a completely open market and thoroughly chaotic.

Merchants and caravans from every direction came here to trade, yet the movement of goods and exchange of resources were extremely inefficient.

This severely limited the city’s commercial growth.

Caelum believed Newhaven City’s trade still had enormous room to expand.