Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game

Chapter 98.1: Terrible Hal

At that moment, Inspector Lowell wanted to laugh.

Nightmare Butcher Yang was already notorious across the continent long before he was hunted by the Radiant Sun Church. This was a wicked black mage, wanted in many countries, and he had the audacity to claim that he never used violence?

Inspector Lowell found this rather ludicrous and nearly burst into laughter. But then… he suddenly realized something was amiss.

He and Yang were contemporaries, both rising to prominence over a century ago. Even if they had never met in person and only heard rumors about each other, Inspector Lowell obviously understood Yang better than most people from the continent of Navalon.

Thus, the black-robed inspector, who nearly laughed, gradually became horrified.

Yang Qiu maintained his smile, though he didn't say anything.

Inspector Lowell mulled for a moment, seemingly reaching a conclusion. He shook his head and said, "No… this is just sophistry. Your terrifying actions can by no means be called maintaining justice and order. What you did is just spreading fear."

Yang Qiu remained unperturbed. "Revered Inspector, justice and order are not the same as righteousness and cannot be easily defined. In my view, justice and order are constants; they are the civilized rules that uphold the basic human rights and interests of the majority. Anything conflicting with this fundamental law is in the wrong."

Inspector Lowell: "…"

He had known that this guy would definitely use sophistry to defend his previous sophistry, yet he never imagined that Yang would even pull out the term "civilized rules"…

The black-robed inspector frowned in thought and, after a while, said, "Since you believe that justice and order cannot be easily defined, what right do you have from your standpoint to define justice and order?"

"Because it was never defined by me; rather, it's a fundamental law that exists on material planes," Yang Qiu said calmly. "The birth of any civilization must be founded upon justice and order. When the order is disrupted, and the majority of people within this civilized system can't live stably, no matter how powerful that civilization may be in terms of military might, it will inevitably lead to turmoil, conflicts, and ultimately its downfall.

"When order is maintained, even if the civilization isn't particularly strong, it will gradually flourish and prosper.

"The Kenyan Empire has a population of three billion, while the Outer Continents have over several tens of billions. Despite the Outer Continent's immense size, there is a lack of order, leading to wars and internal conflicts. In the early days of the Age of Discovery, slaves from foreign lands, even those who tied themselves up and boarded the Kenyan Empire's slave ships, exceeded the population of the Kenyan Empire itself.

"Thus, I believe that when a systemic civilization cannot provide a just order to ensure the stable livelihood of the majority, that civilization has strayed from the right path."

This time, Inspector Lowell remained silent for a very long time…

He realized that he still couldn't understand Yang. Wasn't this guy a crazed black mage that wreaked havoc across the continent without any restraint? How could he say this sort of thing and be so concerned about why the Outer Continent became a slave estate of the Kenyan Empire?!

The Goddess of Prosperity was a recluse, and Church of Prosperity followers didn't like to leave their homeland. Inspector Lowell had never been to the Kenyan Empire in his lifetime and indeed had no grounds to participate in this discussion.

Feeling somewhat annoyed, Inspector Lowell shifted to a topic he could relate to. "Even if you're right, your actions are, in fact, disrupting order. If you truly respect order as you claim, then you should respect the laws of the various nations in the continent of Navalon. Even if they are criminals, these people ought to be tried by their respective countries, and you aren't supposed to take the law into your own hands."

Yang Qiu couldn't help smiling. "Revered Inspector, please believe me, I completely agree with you on this point. I've once studied the laws of many countries, including the Duchy of Shiga. I have to say, the laws documented on paper do adhere to the fundamental principles of justice and order, and some of the regulations indeed originate from the standpoint of protecting the law-abiding citizens, who make up the vast majority…"

After a brief pause, Yang Qiu continued, "Unfortunately, these regulations only exist on paper. On the other hand, laws that don't prioritize the interests of law-abiding citizens aren't effectively implemented."

Inspector Lowell's face paled, then very quickly turned red.

Yang Qiu gave a pitiful look to the ascetic that couldn't accept the realities of the world and went on, "Sir Hans of Camore abused several children that weren't even 10 years of age. According to the Duchy of Shiga's constitution, if enough evidence is collected and willing witnesses are found to charge him in court, a judge can sentence him to 10 years or more in prison. But all he has to do is pay a bail of a hundred gold coins a year to step down from the defendant's seat. And if he forks out a thousand gold coins, he can go home. Without any delays, he might even have made it home in time for dinner that day.

"Revered Inspector, do you consider this to be justice and order as well?"

Inspector Lowell had no response.

"When unable to establish a new order, it's best not to rush to destroy the old one," Yang Qiu went on. "I can't make the Duchy of Shiga discontinue their system of bail for the wealthy, so I could only start from where I can, like breaking Sir Hans's limbs in front of many others. This way, Sir Hans's ilk will know that the same fate might befall them if they do the same and fall into my hands. And, in doing so, such individuals would be apprehensive whenever they contemplate undoing their belts."

Inspector Lowell: "…"

"I have to admit that these crude methods aren't clever," Yang Qiu shrugged, "but it's better than doing nothing. Don't you think so?"

Inspector Lowell rubbed his temples. Being rendered speechless by the words of a madman was just too embarrassing!

"But this… is still a form of destruction," Inspector Lowell asserted. "Public acts of violence and punishment like this, in the open, can cause unease among the people."

Yang Qiu's expression turned peculiar. "What kind of person would feel uneasy upon learning that wrongdoers faced severe punishment?"

Inspector Lowell was momentarily stunned.

"People who have never entertained thoughts of harming young boys can't possibly feel fear when they hear that the man who abused young boys was punished, right?" Yang Qiu said with a wry smile. "The response of an ordinary person would be to applaud, isn't it?"

"But—"

"I understand what you mean, Inspector," Yang Qiu raised his hand to cut the visibly distressed Lowell off. "What you really want to say is that I, an outsider, overstepped the Duchy of Shiga's constitution to punish a Shiga knight and made the common folk lose respect for the constitution."

Inspector Lowell appeared frustrated, but he couldn't admit or deny that.

"This brings us back to our previous discussion. A nation's constitution, which doesn't consider the perspective of protecting the law-abiding citizens but intentionally provides a means of escape for a tiny minority, even if they break the law… Should such a constitution be respected?" Yang Qiu continued, still smiling.

"But the existence of laws ensures some degree of order," Inspector Lowell said grimly. "As you said yourself, when a new order can't be established, you shouldn't rush to destroy the old one."

"Not intentionally destroying the old order is quite different from adhering to justice and order, don't you think?" Yang Qiu chuckled. "Wouldn't the right approach be to start changing, bit by bit, to the best of one's ability?"

Inspector Lowell once more fell silent for a long time…

Yang Qiu was almost finished with his cup of tea by the time the black-robed inspector spoke again, "I still think you're too optimistic. People who carry a sharp blade would undoubtedly use it. Your mistaken belief and blind pursuit of power will only harm yourself."

Strangely, Yang Qiu fell silent.

He suddenly realized that the black-robed inspector wasn't prying into his background this time; instead, it seemed like he was genuinely concerned, afraid that Yang Qiu would ruin himself….

He couldn't help but admire this ascetic for having a conscience. It was refreshing compared to the bunch of bandits that only ate and drank his stuff but didn't wish him well!

"Thank you, Lowell. There's no need to worry; the path I'm taking isn't one I've carved out on my own. I have a point of reference, and I'm just following the route of others who have succeeded," said Yang Qiu.

Lowell was taken aback. "Others? Who?"

"A group of… remarkable people." Yang Qiu just smiled but didn't explain further.

He grew up in modern China and, since childhood, had been influenced by the deeds of that powerful army.

This was a world where the strong would lose themselves in immense power, but Yang Qiu definitely wouldn't because he knew where power should be used—not just as idealism, but as a successful theory that had been proven to work!

Yang Qiu was convinced that it wasn't just him, and any normal Chinese citizen who had gone through education would know what to do—when playing strategy games, any Chinese would know that the land should be cultivated as best as possible to preserve effective strength and make sure as many people as possible, so how could he, as a person who came over, go astray!