Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 791 - 20

Even though Perfikot prepared an Ancestral Spirit as fuel, a massive amount of Spiritual Power was still needed to activate the alchemical array she had set up, a gap too large to be filled by draining individual spirits dry.

Thus, borrowing the Spiritual Power from the collective dream of Beloburg's residents was necessary.

After all, no matter how powerful an individual's strength, it isn't enough to counter a vast collective. This is not a high-magic world where an Extraordinary can fight against thousands.

Though Divine Power is indeed strong and surpasses limits reachable by mortals, it is not unattainable by them.

By harnessing the power of Beloburg's collective dream, Perfikot might also experience Divine Power.

Connecting the alchemical array to Beloburg's Dream Summoning Bell, this alchemical device channels the vast Spiritual Power gathered by Beloburg's citizens into the alchemical array. Although Perfikot was prepared, she was nonetheless astounded by the abundance and magnitude of the collective dream's Spiritual Power.

Even though this is her creation, her research achievement, Perfikot herself had never measured how vast the Spiritual Power could be when a city gathered it.

This isn't the power of a few people or dozens of people; it is the Spiritual Power of tens of thousands gathered from a city.

If these tens of thousands all believed in something, it would be enough to form a Divine Spirit.

The Ancestral Spirits of the indigenous tribes in the Northern Territory are but the gathering of beliefs from thousands, with only a few major tribes having tens of thousands worship a single Ancestral Spirit.

Yet, even so, the power gathered through belief is still not as potent as the Spiritual Power Perfikot extracted from the collective dream at this moment.

"Is this the power of humanity?" Perfikot sighed in amazement at how small sands form a pagoda and streams become a sea, while channeling this vast power into the alchemical array.

And the other alchemists nearby could only watch as Perfikot demonstrated what seemed like a miracle in their eyes, entirely unable to intervene.

It was like the situation in Chernobyl, where the alchemists gathered by Perfikot could only serve as live batteries, unable to play any other role.

Perfikot suddenly recalled that back in Chernobyl, she could have used the same method to extract the Spiritual Power of the city's residents.

She wouldn't have needed to push herself to the brink of exhaustion.

But upon second thought, without the experience gained then, she might not have been able to handle such vast Spiritual Power now, potentially leading to disaster.

Also, even for her, controlling the Spiritual Power of a city's entire population is exceedingly difficult.

She could only perform relatively broad operations, far from capable of precise manipulation.

Just like now, she could only channel the Spiritual Power extracted from Beloburg's collective dream into the prepared large-scale alchemical array, unable to control this power to create a weather controller through alchemy.

Despite everything, after infusing the vast energy into the alchemical array and activating it, the effect was still enough to dissipate the wind and snow raging over Beloburg.

The snow finally stopped.

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Although the alchemical array Perfikot activated was a one-time use and couldn't continually disperse Beloburg's wind and snow, when the wind and snow were simultaneously dissipated in both Beloburg and Chernobyl, it reduced the Northern Territory's snowstorm by at least two-thirds.

Though the dissipation in Beloburg and Chernobyl mainly focused within the city limits, it significantly impacted the Northern Territory's snowstorm, breaking its continuity.

Given these effects, the snowstorm from Chernobyl to Beloburg mostly retreated.

With the snowstorm reduced by two-thirds, the storm ravaging the Northern Territory could no longer persist.

Though the snow continues, it's much weaker now, no longer in a state that disrupts transportation.

Trains across the region resumed service, and the Flying Airship loaded emergency supplies headed to the most remote settlements, delivering provisions and aid.

The entire Northern Territory finally resumed operations.

Empress Annie continued presiding over state affairs, personally handling the cabinet's various tasks, turning the prime minister and the cabinet into mere tools assisting her, rather than an autonomously operating government.

Some people voiced discontent, viewing Empress Annie's moves as a reversion to feudalism and a setback to democracy.

However, others felt a monarch should act like a monarch, questioning how subjects could replace the ruler in managing the country.

Thus, many began to miss Perfikot, for although a regent, she was the one who established the democratic systems including the National Assembly and Cabinet, even whose election systems and relevant legal texts she personally perfected.

In many people's eyes, Perfikot, despite her dominant control, was the founder of democratic constitutionalism.

Importantly, even when becoming Regent and holding power, Perfikot seldom displayed authoritarianism, often allowing the cabinet to operate independently rather than wielding power whimsically.

Beyond comparison, most people are akin to foolish donkeys compared to a genius capable of handling affairs intricately like Perfikot, whose governance skill surpassed most in the world.

Thus, some people attempted to persuade Perfikot to return to governance.

Compared to Perfikot, Empress Annie still had much to learn, and although the cabinet was experienced, they evidently needed an enlightened leader.

Yet regarding this matter, Perfikot consistently displayed her indifference to power, choosing to return to Chernobyl instead.

This puzzled many, questioning why Perfikot, disliking authority, chose to become Regent, seemingly unnecessarily bearing the name of a power-driven official.

Facing such public speculation, Perfikot, by and large, was unbothered, as words couldn't shake her rule in the Northern Territory. So, why care?

As long as nobody incited unrest, allowing the people an outlet for dissatisfaction was beneficial to social stability.

Nonetheless, while Perfikot was unconcerned, others found it unfavorable, spreading a rumor across the Northern Territory while everyone was focused on post-disaster reconstruction.

The previous Empress, during her lifetime, left a mandate appointing the Northern Territory's Count to assist the current Empress, delegating Perfikot to manage the state until Empress Annie was ready to assume responsibility, then handing governance back to her.