Chapter 44: The Cognitive Cage, Liberating Minds

Chapter 44: The Cognitive Cage, Liberating Minds

Time passed by so slowly.

After the Dwarves captured the capital of the Georgia Kingdom, they showed no desire to continue their expansion.

Naturally, some people breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, the threat of the Dwarves still loomed. As the current world hegemon, humanity couldn’t allow the Dwarves to take advantage of them so easily.

They were just tolerating it now because they feared the Dwarves’ new weapons.

After serving a stint on the southern border, Arthur received a secret letter from the high commanders of the Republic.

The letter requested him to spare no effort in obtaining the Dwarves’ new weapons for the Republic’s research.

In the view of the Republic’s high command, as long as humanity could acquire and utilize Dwarven technology, then the Dwarves would be no threat at all.

At that point, they could easily drive the Dwarves back to their mountain caves without breaking a sweat.

Moreover, humanity would also gain a new weapon, a rather powerful one.

After learning all of this from Arthur, Airael had to admit that the Republic’s leaders had some brains.

While stealing someone else’s technology was a tad shameful, there’s no such thing as patent protection between two races.

You swipe their tech, and then you use it.

Even if they find out, you’re stronger, so what can they do about it?

The Dwarves had no way to deal with humanity.

At the same time, Airael had her own little scheme brewing.

She thought she should bring back some firearms and cannons to the Elven Race so they could study the technology and apply it.

“Arthur, once this operation is completed, it will be a tremendous help for the Republic.”

Under Arthur’s gaze, Airael expressed her opinion on the operation.

Arthur smiled wryly, “I get that, Ailia, but what troubles me more is who to send for this task.”

He definitely couldn’t go himself.

He was too much in the spotlight.

As the commander defending the southern border, all his movements were being watched closely, influencing many.

It was possible that his absence might prompt the Dwarves, who had momentarily halted their attacks, to resume their offensive northward.

That was certainly a possibility—this wasn’t mere alarmism!

Thus, the person participating in this operation shouldn’t be too conspicuous.

Not just him; Airael and Cain couldn’t go either.

The three of them had become quite famous.

Their performance at Malong Fortress had spread like wildfire during this time.

Cain had even been promoted from his position as a personal guard leader to deputy legion commander, earning official recognition in military circles.

Airael and Arthur pondered together.

This was indeed quite a tricky situation.

Suddenly, Airael’s mind sparked, “Arthur, can you find a woman whose physique resembles that of Celia or Aurora?”

“That’s not much of an issue.”

Arthur looked puzzled at Airael.

“In that case, I could lend you Celia and Aurora, but I have a small request.”

Before Arthur could feel happy, he heard Airael’s next words, and his face fell into a wry smile, “What request?”

“I want a share of the Dwarven new weapons obtained during the operation.”

“Ailia, what do you want that for?”

“I also want to study it. Such a formidable weapon—if I don’t thoroughly understand it myself, it could be trouble later,” Airael replied.

“Moreover, Arthur, you should recruit some research-type talents so they can specialize in studying technology for you!”

“Aren’t you the one? Since you want to research it, I’ll rely on you.”

“…”

Airael felt utterly speechless.

Now he suddenly remembers me, huh!

“Arthur, there’s one thing I need to clarify.”

“What is it?”

“My main focus is on Magic; I study the Dwarven new weapons primarily to understand the opponents. The research-type talents I’m asking you to find should specialize in this area so that they can develop new technologies based on these principles in the future.”

“That sounds really troublesome.”

“Troublesome or not, the rewards will be amazing. Arthur, let me ask you: if the new weapons used by the Dwarves this time had been developed and used by humans first, would the Dwarves still be able to march out of the mountains and conquer the capital of the Georgia Kingdom?”

Arthur shook his head decisively.

“Ailia, you’re right, but one point you’re overlooking: in weapon research and manufacturing, the Dwarves truly have the upper hand, so it’s impossible for humans to develop new weapons before the Dwarves do.”

Hearing Arthur’s words, Airael almost choked in disbelief.

Seriously, what kind of thinking is this?

Is he really that lacking in confidence in his own race?

For a moment, Airael felt like she didn’t even want to continue the conversation with Arthur.

Though he wasn’t foolish, his thinking was still confined to a certain scope.

Like, people in this world generally believe that the strongest humanoid beings are either Giants or Orcs, that the best weapons are made by Dwarven craftsmen, and that Elven magic is the strongest in the world.

Meanwhile, humans have always relied on learning to grow stronger.

That’s a widely held belief in this world, influencing many people.

But in reality, this view isn’t entirely accurate.

There are many strong men among humans who aren’t any weaker than Orcs, and some craftsmen produce weapons that are equally good as those made by Dwarves. As for Magic, Airael can now confidently say that humanity has already surpassed Elves in some aspects.

“Ailia, am I wrong?”

Seeing Airael’s expression, Arthur innocently asked.

“Of course you’re wrong!”

Airael replied through gritted teeth.

She felt it was necessary to liberate Arthur’s mindset.

To get his thinking to flow more freely.

“The Dwarves indeed have a talent for researching and manufacturing weapons, but there’s no shortage of geniuses in humanity in this area as well. The weapons they create are not inferior to those from Dwarves—just like that blacksmith Anas we met in Nick Kingdom, do you remember him?”

“Remember.”

Arthur nodded.

“How do you evaluate his skills?”

“Excellent! No less than those of the Dwarves.”

As soon as Arthur finished, he froze for a moment.

“So, humanity’s ability to manufacture and research weapons isn’t weak; it’s just that the average level isn’t as good as the Dwarves! Magic operates on the same principle.”

After saying this, Airael felt utterly exhausted.

She’d said as much as she could; whether he could step out of that cognitive cage depended on Arthur himself.

She’d done her best to help him.

If it weren’t for their special relationship, she wouldn’t bother.

In fact, if humanity continued like this, it would be good for the Elves and for her.

But she just couldn’t stand Arthur being like this.

Unable to resist, she intervened.