Chapter 442: Digesting the Potion for the First Time
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Finally, Hobert thought about his deal with Farbauti again, and he still felt that the deal was full of doubts.
His suspicion started from the previous spirit channeling. It seemed that Farbauti or the high-level demons deliberately did not process those information, thus misleading him.
Moreover, Farbauti mentioned the concept of "transaction" many times during the conversation, which also aroused Hobert's vigilance. Whether in the stories of the Common Era or in the stories of this extraordinary world, people who have made deals with devils have never had a good ending.
There was another thing that Hobert thought of in his dream, but didn't say: Could the demons' sacrifices be affected by the "Mother Tree of Desire"? This might be the way the "Mother Tree of Desire" is looking for Farbauti.
Regarding this point, Hobert felt that Farbauti should have thought of it. Since this is the case, Farbauti still wants to kill those demons, which obviously means that Farbauti is hiding something on this issue.
In addition, Farbauti was able to recover the Beyonder characteristics of the two angels, "Bloody Archduke", before, but now he can't even recover the Beyonder characteristics of a demigod and several Sequence 5s?
Hobert guessed that the reason why Farbauti entrusted this matter to him was nothing more than three reasons. The first reason was that He had split himself once, and his condition should not be very good.
The second reason was that if He took action again, He might be detected by the "Mother Tree of Desire".
The third reason might be that He discovered the aura of the "Nation of Disorder" on Hobert, and used this transaction to set a trap for Hobert.
Hobert believed that Farbauti did this, and it should be related to all three reasons.
In the end, Hobert decided not to be influenced by Farbauti, and just do what he should do.
However, Hobert didn't intend to completely fall out with Farbauti. He planned to face Farbauti in a "fighting without breaking" manner.
After all, this is the mortal enemy of the "Mother Tree of Desire", and Hobert believes that if the Balk family wants to become bigger and stronger, there will definitely be a lot of conflicts with the "Rose School", and the "Mother Tree of Desire" is also a potential enemy of Hobert.
The enemy of the enemy is a force that can be used and united.
After figuring this out, Hobert left the "Nation of Disorder" and went back to his bedroom to sleep.
He deliberately did not bring the ring into the real world. If the oil painting is part of Farbauti's perception, this is a deterrent to Him.
...
A layer of water mist floated on the Taz River in the early morning, making the entire Feynapotter Port a bit hazy.
This morning, many people came to the port, looking at the downstream of the Taz River.
Most of them are from shipping companies or freight companies. They came here just because they heard a message: The Taz River shipping seems to be reopened.
"Here it comes! Here it comes!"
A huge "figure" broke through the mist and appeared in everyone's sight.
Its appearance gradually became clear, and finally slowly docked.
This is the "Nohar" which everyone originally expected to be severely overdue, but arrived in Feynapotter ahead of schedule.
The pier was already noisy with people talking.
Until Captain Dean and others disembarked, reporters and colleagues immediately surrounded them and asked questions.
But most of the reporters were asking: "Have you encountered any accidents along the way?"
"What are your thoughts now?"
Questions like this.
Among the crowd, a young man in his twenties, dressed as a reporter, shook his head: As expected, they were hired with money and didn't ask the key questions at all.
It's not as good as some of the questions asked by freight company colleagues: "How many days did you save on this voyage?"
Dean replied with a smile: "As you know, although we sailed cautiously along the way, it only took half the time."
"Are there any supply ports along the way?"
"Did you encounter any danger?"
"..."
The young reporter finally couldn't stand it anymore: "Captain Dean, how did you defeat those bandits?"
"It wasn't us who defeated them." Dean smiled and said, "It was Baron Hobert who defeated those bandits with his entourage very easily!"
The young reporter then asked: "Why did Baron Hobert help you?"
Dean pointed to the flag inserted at the bow of the ship: "This is the protection promised by Lord Hobert. As long as the flag of the Jeffery Territory is inserted at the bow of the ship, you can launch flares for help if you encounter any danger in the South Colson area! Lord Hobert's help will arrive in time."
Flag, help, protection! The reporters who were invited only then realized that all of this was full of legendary color, and it was indeed a news story worth reporting!
At this time, the reporters opened their shorthand notebooks and scribbled down notes.
Once they entered a professional state, the reporters asked the point: "Is this Baron Hobert the gentleman who was offered a reward of 10,000 pounds by the King of Loen?"
"After he went to the Jeffery Territory, have there been any new changes in that territory?"
"What? The waterway was opened by Baron Hobert?"
"Is it so chaotic there that bandits have become the rulers?"
"..."
There was no need for the young reporter to guide them anymore. The reporters asked about the current situation of South Colson and the Jeffery Territory bit by bit. The surrounding people showed enough surprise, which made the reporters even more convinced that this must be a report that would be attractive enough to readers.
The young reporter withdrew from the crowd and came to the corner. His appearance changed rapidly, and finally turned into Baron Hobert himself, who was being fiercely discussed on the pier.
Then, a phantom-like layer appeared around Hobert, causing everyone to unconsciously ignore him.
Soon, Hobert disappeared into the air, but the surrounding people didn't seem to notice this at all.
At this moment, a small warship docked, and Ethel, dressed in military uniform and looking heroic, came down from the warship and saw the bustling scene at the freight terminal.
Ethel was a little curious and called her adjutant: "Go and ask what's going on?"
Just as Ethel got into the carriage, the adjutant had already found out: "General, the waterway of the Taz River has been reopened."
"Oh?" Ethel smiled: "In that case, freight transportation will be much more convenient in the future."
She didn't take it too seriously, and thought that the royal family had reopened the waterway.
Ethel arrived at the palace smoothly and met Ferdinand II in the spacious and luxurious Cassia Hall.
Cassia Hall is part of Ferdinand II's bedroom. It is about the size of a conference hall and is where Ferdinand II summons confidants to discuss internal royal issues.
If it is routine official business, it is handled in his office.
The father and daughter first said some words of missing each other, and then Ethel reported on the process of going to commend the senior spy before.
However, she did not mention the crown prince's harm to her. She only said that the spies of the Intis Republic obtained relevant information, which exposed her whereabouts and the identity of the senior spy.
She had completely destroyed the intelligence network of the Intis Republic in the northern theater, and so on.
After talking about official business, the father and daughter chatted idly. Ethel had noticed just now that there was a map of Colson County hanging on the wall: "Father, I heard at the pier. The waterway of the Taz River has been reopened?"
"Yes." Ferdinand II said: "Hobert just submitted a related report a few days ago. I asked people to investigate it, and there is indeed news that a cargo ship docked this morning."
"Hobert? Hobert Jeffery? That traitor?" Ethel didn't have any good feelings for these traitors.
Ferdinand II suddenly smiled: "That fool George III, it's fine if Christian, who he has been suppressing, is a talent, but Christian's son is also very capable. He actually sealed the corruption of Full Moon Lake and dredged the waterway of the Taz River."
This surprised Ethel a little: "I remember that the corruption of Full Moon Lake seems to be able to erode even demigods, right?"
Ferdinand II nodded: "Hobert said in the report that he found inspiration from a sealing magic circle in the family's classics and tried to complete the seal."
The king paused and then said: "I am preparing to send someone to find out the specific situation."
He looked at the map of Colson County, took a deep breath and said: "Next, we have to find a way to take back the rule of these local nobles."
The Feynapotter Kingdom had many successful cases of this kind before, and it was not difficult for Ferdinand II.
"I don't know where Hobert got so much money?" Ferdinand II was very interested in talking about this: "I just received a report from Viscount Teuton this morning. Hobert seems to be expanding Jeffery Town into a small city."
Ethel smiled: "Then let him build it. When the fruit is ripe, it will be time to pick it.
"We can also invest in Viscount Teuton's territory and cultivate Viscount Teuton, using this excuse to send our people there to prepare for taking back the rule there."
Ferdinand II nodded: "Your two older brothers are not as good as you!"
...
Jeffery Territory.
Hobert, who had taken a "stroll" around Feynapotter Port early in the morning, drank a large bowl of hot porridge in the restaurant.
The Feynapotter Kingdom does not have the dietary habit of drinking porridge in the morning, but now Hobert doesn't care about the issue of fitting in, he just does what makes him comfortable.
After breakfast, Hobert came to the study and continued to teach Freya words.
After the learning process, Hobert asked: "What did you feel after going out for a walk yesterday?"
Freya suddenly had red eyes: "Teacher, why doesn't Backlund have an organization to protect the poor?
"I only remember that the patrolmen are terrible, they beat people at every turn, and whoever gives more money, they will make a judgment that is beneficial to them.
"No one cares about our life or death, no one gives us a little bit of the rich's money, not even a little bit, and people won't die every day."
Hobert smiled: "The situation in Backlund and the Jeffery Territory is different. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will tell you about the problems in Backlund.
"We will only talk about the problems in the Jeffery Territory today. Do you think that if I divide the land equally, the villagers' lives will be better? Will the bullies in the village disappear?"
Freya thought for a while: "It should be, I asked Miss Donna to help me translate and asked the villagers some questions.
"Everyone is forced to rely on the bullies because the bullies are fierce and the villagers owe the bullies some food.
"If the land is divided equally, the bullies will not have so much food source, and everyone will gradually not owe the bullies anything, and the bullies will not be fierce."
Hobert nodded in satisfaction: "You can take the initiative to investigate, which exceeded my expectations.
"Your approach is very correct, and you should do this in the future. Without investigation, there is no right to speak!
"The reason why many policies in the countries of the Northern Continent today will arouse huge contradictions is precisely because the government's investigation efforts are not enough, and the responses made are full of some officials' self-righteousness.
"But the analysis after the investigation is equally important. You must be good at finding the essence of the problem and the root of the contradiction!"
Hobert couldn't remember many of the original words in "On Contradiction", but he still remembered many of the theories in it.
He continued: "On the surface, there is a relationship of interest between the bullies and the villagers, but it also involves the issue of the right to handle civil disputes!
"The reason why the villagers rely on the village bullies is largely because the village bullies can resolve civil disputes in the village relatively fairly, and their solutions have timeliness and binding force.
"Because it is only 'relatively fair', the village bullies will naturally favor the party that is close to them, so everyone has to rely on him and try to become the party that the village bullies are close to.
"The so-called timeliness means that they can flexibly solve problems according to the situation on the spot.
"The so-called binding force means that after solving the problem, they can give both parties enough binding force so that both parties can implement his solution."
Freya thought for a long time before saying: "That is to say, the problem of the village bullies still cannot be completely solved, and the villagers still have to be bullied by them?"
"This is exactly what I want to say next, the third step after investigating clearly and sorting out the main contradictions." Hobert smiled and said: "Properly solve the problem!
"The main contradictions have been sorted out, so wouldn't it be good to take back the right to handle civil disputes?
"It's just that solving the problem requires attention to the way and method, and it is unrealistic for the villagers to come to the lord's mansion to handle disputes.
"Then the staff of the lord's mansion can go to the countryside. The previous publicity of simplified regulations with Corwin was a start.
"In the future, there will be a civil court in the town, and there will also be three patrol teams. Their task is to go to the villages every day to solve various disputes among the villagers.
"In up to three months, the last breeding ground for bullies will also disappear completely!"
The more Freya listened, the brighter her eyes became: "I knew that the teacher must have a solution!"
Hobert smiled and said: "Others can only learn the model of solving problems, but you have to learn the process of solving problems!"
Freya seemed to tremble all over, and suddenly understood a lot of things, then immediately stood up, said nothing, and bowed deeply to Hobert.
Hobert felt the signs of the potion being digested for the first time. Although not much was digested, probably only one-tenth or even one-fifteenth, it was a good sign that it had started to be digested.
Hobert asked Freya to continue practicing words, while he calmly considered this issue:
"This should be from the digestion of the 'mentor' aspect. Teaching a few words cannot be called a mentor. Teaching the laws of social operation or the way to conduct oneself is called a mentor.
"And the 'Mentor of Disorder' is not just that! I tried to teach Freya to define her position before, but the potion showed no signs of digestion at that time, but this time it did.
"The only difference is that this time, I presented a brand new solution to a grassroots problem that has plagued the Northern Continent government since ancient times... Well, copied from the Common Era, it's the first time it's being used in this era.
"In this regard, Roselle constructed a Western colonial system, bringing both its advantages and disadvantages to this era.
"The biggest logical problem with this system is that it advocates human rights but does not respect personality. The biggest problem in terms of government operation is that the central government cannot reach the grassroots level.
"Although some villages in the Northern Continent today have management organizations similar to village governments and village councils, there are no positions like 'village party secretaries,' and the central government has almost no control over these organizations.
"This kind of governance thinking may be the reason why they lack the idea of great unification, which is another issue. Now, the problem I have to consider is: I teach students new governance thinking and concepts, and the potion is digested.
"This is not only something that the 'mentor' aspect can encompass, but also an interaction and explanation of the signs of chaos appearing in the territory, and the proposal of a 'unique' solution.
"In other words, the 'Mentor of Disorder' cannot be split like the 'Baron of Corruption.' As far as digesting potions is concerned, the 'Mentor of Disorder' is mostly a whole!
"Telling students why this society is chaotic, or the root of the chaos, that is the 'mentor' of chaos!"
Hobert's thoughts became clearer and clearer. He continued to think: "It's not that the path of 'creating chaos' is impassable, but that chaos must be created purposefully, and there must be a certain degree of control over the chaos created.
"The 'Mentor of Disorder' is by no means as simple as a destroyer of rules. Chaos can promote the formation of new rules. Only by understanding the meaning and function of chaos can one be called a 'mentor'.
"Simply understanding is not enough. You also have to teach this knowledge to students, forming an interaction between the mentor and the student, or a collision in the spirit world, to truly complete a digestion process.
"The most direct evidence of these ideas is that more than 800 people throughout the territory have been mobilized to invest in the construction of the territory, and old people like Dophis have said that they have never seen so many people mobilized at once in their memory.
"This has caused no small amount of chaos in the territory, but this chaos has not loosened the potion, because this chaos is basically emotional chaos, not chaos in order.
"Reallocating land, although everyone is happy, has caused chaos in order. After my interaction with Freya, this chaos interacted with me, so the potion was digested.
"I estimate that the potion will be further digested after the right to handle grassroots civil disputes is completely recovered."
Thinking of this, a smile gradually crept onto his face, because he suddenly thought that killing the demons on the other side, even if he did nothing after that, would be equivalent to re-establishing a new ruling system, and the potion should be digested accordingly.
Just as Hobert finished considering this question and breathed a long sigh of relief, Hobert heard a commotion in the yard.
Freya looked outside, then at Hobert, then put down her pen and opened the door to the study.
It turned out that Allen and Dennis, who was on his first day of work, had a dispute, and the two were fighting.
When Allen saw the door open, he immediately let go of Dennis and respectfully stepped aside, while Dennis was still unwilling to give up and was about to grab Allen's collar.
Hobert stood at the door and asked, "What's going on?"
Allen reported: "It's time for the lord to have tea. I asked Dennis to go to the kitchen to get tea, but he refused, saying that I was insulting him, and he hit me. I had no choice but to fight him."
Dennis retorted unconvinced: "Why didn't you go?"
Allen very cleverly did not speak.
Hobert asked Dennis, "Didn't I make it clear to you before you came? Allen is the senior male servant, and you three brothers must listen to his commands."
Dennis was unconvinced: "Why?"
"I know you're not convinced." Hobert smiled instead of getting angry. "How about this, I'll give you a chance. Use the most powerful way you've learned to attack me. As long as you can touch my clothes, I'll admit defeat, and you three brothers don't have to be male servants anymore.
"And I will only use my right index finger to block your attack. Using one more finger will be considered my loss!"
Dennis smiled and said, "You said that!"
Allen shook his head and stepped aside.
"Of course I said it." Hobert smiled slightly. "Everyone in the yard is a witness."
"Okay! Then I won't be polite!" Dennis was still considered smart. He didn't expect to defeat Hobert head-on, but attacked with agile movements, aiming only to touch Hobert's clothes.
But when he rushed to Hobert's side, Hobert's hand suddenly appeared in front of him.
The index finger of this hand bent slightly, and then flicked, hitting Dennis's forehead directly, sending Dennis flying out.
The servants in the yard and Freya in the study were all stunned. Of course, they knew that Dennis was no match for Hobert, but they didn't expect that the lord could defeat Dennis so easily.
Hobert stood at the door of the study and waited for Dennis, whose forehead was red, to get up before asking, "Are you convinced?"
He had just pushed Dennis out, and did not concentrate all his strength on one point on his forehead, otherwise Dennis's forehead would have been shattered.
Dennis suddenly knelt on the ground with a "plop": "Lord, please teach me how to fight."
As the son of a knight, he had been learning how to fight with his father since he was a child, but just now, he knew that even if he learned with his father and older brothers for the rest of his life, he would not be able to beat Hobert.
Hobert smiled slightly: "Learn how to fight from me, and then defeat me?"
Dennis's face was flushed: "No, no."
Hobert smiled: "Little kid, your thoughts are all written on your face!
"I can teach you, but you have to clean the study spotless every day. As long as Allen is still the head male servant, you have to obey his orders."
Dennis nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay!"
Hobert finally said: "Also, pour my foot-washing water every night!"
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