Time flowed steadily onward. By the next day, all four Clans except Dave's had migrated to the Northern Territory. However, Dave's Clan was both the largest and the farthest away, taking a full week to gradually relocate.
When Dave finally saw Hysilens again, he exclaimed, "It takes a week to travel that distance on land, yet you can cover it underwater in less than a minute! That's unbelievably fast!"
Having experienced it firsthand, he knew it was swift, but he never imagined it could be this fast.
With this influx of fresh blood, construction in the heart of the Northern Territory Empire surged into full swing. Every morning, one could see Barbarians carrying building materials nearly as tall as themselves, crisscrossing the area.
Now, Cerydra no longer needed to personally supervise the construction. The initial cohort from the North Wind Clan had become skilled "brick-perts," now guiding other Barbarians in house-building techniques.
If two words could capture the essence of this nascent city, they would undoubtedly be "vibrant" and "bustling." Though... Cerydra glanced down at the icy ground beneath her feet—not a blade of grass in sight, hardly vibrant. She then sensed the surrounding temperature—far from bustlingly warm. Still, the overall impression was roughly accurate.
During this time, the search for other clans never ceased. Aria and her group brought several Clan Leaders back to Cerydra almost daily. After a thorough and reasoned "persuasion" by Cerydra, they were successfully "convinced" to join the Northern Territory Empire, swearing their loyalty to her.
Furthermore, because the Barbarians were generally straightforward and the clans within the Northern Territory Empire had previously been separate entities now forcibly united, minor conflicts inevitably arose. These disputes were then brought to Cerydra, the Clan Leader, to mediate and determine who was right or wrong.
Though most cases involved trivial matters, Cerydra consistently resolved them flawlessly, leaving both parties completely satisfied. This wasn't due to any Law Authority—such authority lacked this specific function—but rather... overwhelming intellectual superiority.
The Barbarians were dim-witted, easily getting stuck in rigid thinking and unable to see alternative perspectives. Cerydra's intelligence, which was merely at the level of an "average person," was more than sufficient to dominate them, allowing her to guide and persuade them effortlessly.
The Barbarians, however, remained unaware of these complexities. Gradually, the saying "The God of Law, Boss Imperator, is fair and just" spread throughout the clans. Many Barbarians even equated "Law" and "Fairness" with a simple, direct equivalence.
In short, these were Cerydra's daily routines of late—days filled to the brim, one might even say frantically busy. Fortunately, her years of management experience under Tribios allowed her to handle these responsibilities with remarkable ease.
In contrast, Hysilens and Cipher led far more relaxed lives. Let's start with Hysilens. Initially, she would dive underwater to help locate other clans by tracking fish schools.
However, as more clans joined the Empire, it wasn't just the original four—Dirk and his companions—who could now decipher tracks on the ice. This meant that with over a dozen, even hundreds, of search parties already deployed, Hysilens's contribution was no longer essential.
Thus, Hysilens's daily routine now consisted of... swimming and playing. She would wake up, eat breakfast, and then, after everyone else had gone to work, she would melt an Ice Cave beneath her feet, jump in, and soak in the water all day long.
Even without swimming, simply being immersed in the water was incredibly refreshing for both body and mind.
However, the Barbarians saw things completely differently. Even without actively using her Authority, Hysilens was deeply beloved by the fish. Every time she returned from her swims, a large school of fish would follow her. Some would even leap out of the water as she emerged from the Ice Cave.
To the Barbarians, Hysilens's daily routine—departing early in the morning and returning at dusk, always accompanied by a swarm of fish—looked exactly like a hunting expedition for food.
The God of Law, Her Majesty the Empress, handled their trivial daily affairs, while the God of the Ocean personally sought out food for them every day, working tirelessly from dawn till dusk. For the Barbarians, whose loyalty was already unwavering, their devotion surged even higher!
Hysilens, though she didn't quite understand the Barbarians' way of thinking, figured... this had to be a good thing, right?
As for her own routine, after her daily swim and dinner, she would retreat to Feidric's Magnificent Mansion Spell for a relaxing soak in a fish broth... well, a Hot Spring. Finally, she'd end her perfect day by cuddling the soft, fragrant Cerydra to sleep.
If Cerydra, as Cerydra, worked tirelessly day after day, always busy with her duties, what was wrong with Hysilens taking some time each day to play with fish?
Cipher's work wasn't particularly strenuous either. She still ventured out with Dirk daily, spending most of her time traveling and chatting. After locating other Clans, she'd step in and seize their Boss.
In the evenings, she'd pet the Little Owlbear and Half, then sleep with Aria—a very laid-back routine.
Another full month passed. Thanks to everyone's tireless efforts, the Northern Territory Empire's total population surpassed the 100,000 mark. Even across the entire Northern Territory, very few Clans could boast such numbers.
However, because the vast majority of surrounding clans had already been assimilated, sending out search parties to find more clans at this point would be extremely difficult due to the great distances involved.
If someone possessed a "full map perspective," they would see that, under normal circumstances, the clans of the Northern Territory should be evenly distributed across the land, with a "red dot" representing each clan at roughly equal intervals.
But now, the central region of the Northern Territory was densely clustered with red dots, while a vacuum-like zone had emerged around this concentration.
Though Cerydra lacked full map perspective, she could deduce the current situation. Consequently, she adjusted her strategy, shifting her focus from assimilating more clans to strengthening internal affairs:
This included planned, large-scale construction of housing. Unlike Tribios's development of Okhema, which had distinct residential, commercial, and industrial districts, the Northern Territory only needed to consider residential areas. The other two were simply impossible to establish here, making the overall task relatively straightforward.
Next was establishing a legal code unique to the Northern Territory, one that all the Barbarians would respect and obey. While Okhema had its own laws, they couldn't be directly applied to the Northern Territory's distinct circumstances and would need to be completely rewritten.
Furthermore, the Northern Territory Empire's administrative system was woefully inefficient. Cerydra's orders were relayed through layers of command: from her to the Clan Bosses, and then from the Bosses to their subordinates. This cumbersome chain of command needed to be streamlined.
Then there was the food supply. The Northern Territory's seas teemed with fish, more than enough to feed the entire population of one hundred thousand. Yet Cerydra wondered if relying solely on fish would become monotonous. Could they diversify their diet?
While Okhema could easily transport vast quantities of food, the Northern Territory Empire couldn't remain perpetually dependent on Okhema. Self-sufficiency was the ultimate goal.
Thus, Cerydra devised two strategies: first, she tasked Anaxa with researching crops that could thrive even on ice; second, she instructed Cipher to begin her deception, exploiting the Barbarians' naiveté. After all, the Authority of Trickery suited Cipher perfectly.
In the end, Cerydra chose to have it all!
Anaxa began his research, while Cipher transformed into Cerydra's likeness. Gathering a crowd of Barbarians, she produced a seemingly ordinary bag of grass seeds—devoid of any special properties—and proclaimed in a booming voice, "These are special seeds I recently obtained! Simply scatter them on the ice, and they'll take root within a day, sprout in three, and blossom and bear fruit within a week!"
"They'll grow a crop called potatoes, which can be cooked into all sorts of dishes you can't even imagine. Abundant and filling!"
"From now on, everyone come to me to collect a bag and plant them in the pre-designated planting areas!"
Cipher's lie was undeniably absurd. Even she struggled to keep a straight face after blurting it out.
As the Barbarians lined up to receive their seeds, many whispered among themselves:
"Can crops really grow on ice? Could Boss Imperator be deceiving us?"
"Hey, why wouldn't it be possible? You're new here, aren't you? Forget crops—even stone can grow on the ice! Where do you think the building materials for these houses came from?"
"Huh? No way, buddy! These stones actually grow out of the ice?! I thought you guys went south and looted them from the southern kingdoms."
"Ha! As if! Do you know how far it is to the south and back? These stones just grow here! I saw it with my own eyes... uh, wait, my buddy saw it! He told me about it!"
The Barbarians were simple and honest, rarely telling lies. This "fact" quickly spread like wildfire, and everyone wholeheartedly believed Cerydra's claims.
At that moment, Cipher, disguised as Cerydra, felt her invisible cat ears twitch atop her head as she listened to the Barbarians' conversation. She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the corners of her mouth from twitching upward.
If I lose it now and accidentally let my tail slip out, my life will be over.
Soon, the seeds were distributed, and the Barbarians eagerly set out to try farming for the first time in their lives.
It's worth noting that before publicly fabricating the story, Cerydra deliberately sent Aria, Douglas, and Feidric on a long-term mission that would take several days to complete.
Three days later, when the trio returned to the heart of the Northern Territory after finishing their task, they were still some distance away when they spotted lush green plants sprouting across the ice.
Feidric was utterly dumbfounded. He felt as if his brain had been run over by something heavy. The normally composed Feidric now stood with wide eyes and an open mouth, stammering, "N-no... this... uh...?"
With the Lie now in effect, countless Barbarians firmly believed in this "reality." Even Feidric's doubts couldn't shake Cipher's fabricated truth.
Unless someone could convince all the Barbarians that plants couldn't grow on ice, completely disproving the Lie, the falsehood would persist. But such a feat was nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, Aria, who was traveling with the group, showed no signs of doubt. Instead, she exclaimed in amazement, "Wow! That's incredible! You can actually grow things on ice? What are these plants?"
A Barbarian nearby overheard Aria's question and replied cheerfully, "It's something called a potato. They say it's really filling and delicious, and it grows super fast! In just three or four more days, it'll be ripe and ready to eat!"
Feidric blinked, confused. "What in the world...?"
In truth, Cipher had been overly cautious. Even if she'd claimed the potatoes sprouted and fruited in a single day, these Barbarians would probably have believed her. But she'd settled on seven days to avoid sounding too outlandish.
Aria had already struck up a conversation with the Barbarian. "Potatoes—are these the Okhema potatoes? I've eaten those before, they're so delicious! But I never knew they grew from flowers! This is the first time I've heard that."
The Barbarian scratched his head sheepishly. "Heh, I'm not really sure myself. But Boss Imperator said so, so it must be true!"
Feidric opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. He turned to Douglas, who stood silently beside him. "What do you make of this?"
Douglas, however, wore a thoughtful expression. After a moment, he clenched his fist and slammed it into his palm, declaring, "If Boss Imperator says so, there must be a good reason. We just need to trust her!"
Feidric remained silent.
Finally, Feidric quietly cast a protective Abjuration School spell on himself: Mental Barrier. Seeing this, Douglas asked, puzzled, "What are you doing?"
Feidric replied, "I don't know. I just feel like this might make me feel a little better."
Truth be told, Feidric had already pieced together what had happened. Why else would Imperator send him, Aria, and Douglas out at this specific time, while keeping Cipher behind?
And then, as soon as they returned, this bizarre scene unfolded. It had to be Cipher's doing!
Yet, after figuring it out, he actually felt much better. He certainly wouldn't expose anything. Instead, he murmured to himself, "So, Cipher's Authority as a Demigod must be related to Lies. Perhaps... the ability to make Lies Come True?"