Chapter 9: We Only Talk About Ideals (Extra)
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In a rickety temporary venue,
the wooden chairs were uneven, the ceiling had gaps where sunlight peeked through, the ground was bumpy, and there was even a shallow puddle in the corner.
Yet, amidst this shabby place that drew scoffs from the crowd, when Cold Moon in her light cyan gown began to speak, people found themselves subtly entranced by her calm tone, momentarily forgetting their surroundings.
“To be born as a monster is quite unfortunate.
From the moment many Little Demons gained consciousness, they were treated as slaves in the Monster Race’s caves, toiling away day and night without rest.
Smaller caves are conquered by the stronger ones, and every month, the Little Demons wracked their brains to fulfill their offering tasks, working from the beginning to the end of the month, barely managing to fill their bellies while gaining nothing else.
Moreover, during this process, they had to constantly endure bullying and exploitation from superior monsters, with every day being a struggle on the verge of life and d*ath for these bottom-tier Little Demons.
This has been the miserable reality for the Monster Race for thousands of years.
Many Great Demons, including myself, once suffered greatly as Little Demons.
But ironically, when many Little Demons finally managed to rise up and become Great Demons, they resorted to even harsher exploitation of their former peers, as if only by doing so could they secure their acquired identity and status.
Thus, the Monster Race falls into this vicious cycle, never able to turn the tide for generations.”
……
Not just in Firefly’s live streaming room, but also Strong Brother and Cold Little Rain directed their cameras at the Second Great King of Cold Wind City, who was speaking confidently.
As the audience listened, they couldn’t help but chuckle at the familiarity of it all.
Suddenly, a player claiming to be a high school history teacher jumped in, with a glint in his eyes.
“The current societal structure of the Monster Race should be centered around a slave system with a feudal lord governance.
Under giant caves there are smaller caves, and beneath those even smaller caves, where along with nominally supporting the larger caves and providing offerings on time, they are basically in a state of autonomy.
In other words, the lord of White Feather City, Great King of the Split Land, is a big slave owner who wants to maintain the old order.
From the tone of Cold Moon, the Second Great King of Cold Wind City, it seems she’s given the dangers of slavery quite a bit of thought.
Cold Wind City represents the reformist faction within the Monster Race.
According to the basic ideas of historical materialism: the ultimate cause and driving force behind all significant historical events is social economic development. It changes production and exchange methods, dividing societies into different classes, which in turn engage in a struggle against each other.
The clash between Cold Wind City and White Feather City is indeed a confrontation between emerging and old forces.
Breaking the shackles of slavery is neither too difficult nor too easy.
In ancient times, when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty and split the land, there were numerous petty kingdoms. Even a small city-state of a few square kilometers considered itself a nation, marking the Spring and Autumn period.
After centuries of these small kingdoms devouring each other through wars, seven major states gradually formed during the Warring States period—Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han.
It was precisely due to territorial expansion that these major countries subsequently established a county system, abolishing slavery to strengthen central authority.
Thus, at this stage, we simply need to compare the political operation mechanisms of Cold Wind City and White Feather City to determine which represents advanced productive forces and who will guide the future historical development.
For those puzzled by this, let’s wait until Second Great King Cold Moon finishes speaking, then we can do a more detailed analysis.”
“Wow, so professional!”
“If I had a history teacher like you back in the day, I might have done better in humanities!”
“Ha! What good is analysis? The power comparison between White Feather City and Cold Wind City is right there; even if they talk forever, a loss is a loss!”
“Let’s capture a White Feather City player and give them a real beating!”
“What’s wrong with White Feather City? I’ll tell you, Great King of the Split Land is seriously wealthy; he throws money around without a second thought, don’t be jealous!”
“You old supporters of the old forces will sooner or later be buried in piles of old papers and scorned by everyone!”
“Dude, you’re way too into it! Players only act when they see evidence; what’s the use of just painting a big picture?”
……
Cold Moon’s gaze slowly swept over everyone, and after a brief pause, her eyes suddenly lit up.
“Just when I thought that nothing would ever change for the Monster Race in my lifetime and felt utterly disheartened, the Great King appeared.
Initially, Cold Wind Cave only had a little over a hundred Little Demons, which should be considered the weakest cave in Chaos Forest.
But the Great King’s ambition was set from the very beginning, to lead us in establishing a new world where all monsters are equal.
Yes, only by completely shattering this old world can we gain rebirth.
Under the Great King’s command, we, with merely a hundred people, defeated the army of Tiger Wolf Cave and the Evil Merman coalition, and just a few days ago, we even took down the Evil Merman’s den, claiming the surrounding territory of a hundred miles as Cold Wind City.
All these actions that disrupt the existing order have made the big boss of White Feather City see us as a thorn in their side, wishing to eradicate us before we can even sprout.
Luckily, at such a critical moment, brave warriors from the Human Race chose to join us in the fight to guard our ideals.
Although Cold Wind City may not be as wealthy as White Feather City, we promise that if one day Cold Wind City becomes the ruler of the Chaos Forest, you will be our everlasting friends!
The doors of Cold Wind City will always be open for you!
You will receive the most sincere friendship from Cold Wind City!”
The players were quickly caught up in Cold Moon’s impassioned words, and as soon as she finished, they spontaneously began to applaud.
“Clap, clap, clap…”
One office worker instinctively clapped, yet he found Cold Moon’s rhetoric deeply familiar.
Darn, wasn’t that what the company president said last year when he couldn’t afford to give out year-end bonuses?
Something about the company’s vast future, that it was merely encountering a temporary predicament, and if everyone worked together through tough times, the company’s tomorrow would surely be brighter.
Talk about money?
How cringe!
Talking about ideals, now that’s the real corporate culture!
How did he not notice he was falling for it again?
Ah…
Tears of compliant resignation streamed down the office worker’s face.
……
The high school history teacher slammed the table, exclaiming, “Just as I expected!
The reason Cold Wind City was able to quickly awaken and become an anti-slavery new force is indeed related to their leader.
According to the idealist view of history, the fundamental cause of social and historical development is people’s motivations, the subjective will of outstanding individuals, or some supernatural mystical forces.
If Cold Wind City didn’t have an exceptionally visionary leader, they wouldn’t have been able to develop into a power capable of standing against White Feather City in just three months.
Though to this day, this mysterious Great King hiding behind Cold Wind City hasn’t met us players,
I still find myself filled with interest regarding this spiritual leader of Cold Wind City. This person even proposed a theory of equality for the Monster Race—such brilliant ideology and profound thought! If it wasn’t deliberately interfered with by the game system but instead emerged naturally,
then I can honestly say this person deserves to be called the first ideological pioneer in the history of the world!”
……
P.S. Writing was tough, but thankfully, I finally completed it before 8 PM. Please cast your votes to soothe this lonely author.
