Super Righteous Player-Chapter 1263 - 293: Win-Win Means Winning Twice

Young people from Winter who were working across the world gradually gathered information and realized what was happening back in their homeland.

Although some were still waiting for work transitions or salary payments and hadn’t yet departed... their hearts had already returned to the Duchy of Winter alongside their fellow countrymen.

With this influx of labor, the reconstruction efforts in the Duchy of Winter after the thaw of spring were in full swing.

Farms, forests, hunting grounds, mines—once the endless blizzards cleared, the land seemed abundant with wealth, brimming with opportunities.

The decades-long winter hadn’t frozen these resources into desolation... after all, it wasn’t a true eternal winter, but the breath of the Mother of a Thousand Dragons.

As the frost and snow receded, the soil of Winter became even more fertile; the animals transformed from Frost Beasts into tangible "magical creatures," and the trees reborn through the frosty breath of the Ancestor became the finest hardwood and ritual materials free of curses.

Houses built with this wood... could remain cool even during the scorching summer by simply laying down a wooden floor.

Due to a faint residual dragon’s intimidation, these woods naturally repelled insects and snakes. In the humid southern regions... such as the United Kingdom or the shadowy Underground City, this had significant pest deterrence benefits.

Typically, they would use predator urine or rituals to repel pests, but that was far less sophisticated and convenient than relying on the natural fragrance of this wood.

Moreover, this wood wouldn’t get eaten by insects and could last for a very long time.

Similarly, the metal ores saturated with frosty breath underwent alterations in composition. Weapons forged from these ores, known as "Cold Iron Weapons," were not only incredibly durable but also carried unique effects.

Although Winter had lost the Frost Beasts’ blood and fur as its key specialty products, these were far from rare goods, and the existing stockpile was still considerable. With the temporary disappearance of Frost Beasts, these Frost Beast goods were bound to see skyrocketing prices.

At the same time, the blood of magical creatures would become a new export commodity.

The blood of these curse-tainted beings, while weaker in potency compared to Frost Beast blood, was even more commonly used in rituals. Therefore, it could be exported in large quantities.

Hundreds of years ago, magical creatures were rather abundant. These beasts, scientifically classified as "low-intensity erosion curse-bearing organisms," exhibited higher intelligence than ordinary animals and possessed quasi-Transcendent abilities, making them difficult for ordinary humans to combat without traps.

Their increased intelligence manifested primarily in their absolute obedience to Elves, behaving like domesticated pets. They recognized the Elves as superior beings, ones they could never defeat or harm.

—But if it were ordinary Aesirlanders, they could usually overpower them in most scenarios.

After the Elves’ era ended, however, many magical creatures grew increasingly bold. Some even dared to attack humans.

...Thus, nowadays, the only remaining regions with magical creatures are the Underground City. That’s the domain protected by the Black Widow, who is the patron of all venomous creatures and arthropods. In areas humans haven’t yet ventured into, many magical creatures still thrive.

Because of these abundant materials, it can be said that in Winter—whether they are miners, farmers, fishers, hunters, or loggers—they earn significantly more than people in analogous professions in other nations and regions.

Traditionally, at the onset of spring, Winter’s reflex has been to exploit resources to the fullest—digging, logging, hunting to exhaustion. Over just a few decades, by exporting these "renewable resources," they’ve accumulated wealth that other nations could scarcely amass in centuries—turning into nouveau riche, indulging in rampant luxuries, and reckless spending.

During spring in Winter, even an old farmer could be richer than a Noah nobleman. That’s because his home might hold several sets of magical creature hides or even furniture and crafts made from Frostwood.

But because of Annan’s presence, this spring was unlike any other.

Under the newly added legal provisions by Grand Duke Annan, even during the spring season, the quantity of Cold Iron ore and Frostwood permitted for extraction annually was highly restricted.

This limitation wasn’t because these resources were supremely scarce, but to regulate their market supply, ensuring they remained perpetually rare and thus commanding higher prices.

Furthermore, magical creatures were no longer subjected to indiscriminate and unrestricted hunting as in previous years.

These magical creatures, transformed from wild Frost Beasts, were incredibly valuable resources—because they could reproduce naturally!

The previous insights of the Eldest Princess of Noah had also inspired Annan.

Annan directly dispatched two Legions to establish long-term garrisons: one in the northern territories near the Amber Sea and the other in the dense southeastern forests close to The Holy Nation. Their primary duties were to protect neighboring areas while attempting to capture, tame, and breed magical creatures.

In the past, magical creatures would inherently obey the Elves without taming, demonstrating intelligence that made them relatively easy to domesticate... Moreover, the various byproducts of magical creatures held extremely high value.

Yet the people of that era, influenced by the fact that "magical creatures serving the Elves often attacked humans," interpreted this as magical creatures retaliating against humanity. After all, in the Aesirland history books, it was recorded that the Elves were "defeated" by humans—Winter was no exception, though the narratives in the Underground City and the United Kingdom were even more exaggerated.

Only The Holy Nation’s textbooks hinted at snippets of truth... even then, it was merely the line "The Elves self-destructed." No mention was ever made of curses, The Worm, or the Great Calamity Curio.

With the manipulation of historical records, people’s logic naturally became flawed.

—If the Elves were "defeated," and magical creatures were inherently submissive to the Elves, then it was logical for people to believe that these creatures were seeking revenge against humanity due to the overthrow of the Elven Empire... that conclusion seemed entirely reasonable.

Thus, these magical creatures transformed from neutral entities into "remnants of a former dynasty"—even though the current generation hadn’t participated in the overthrow of the Elven Empire, exterminating these remnants seemed rational, if not necessary.

With these thoughts in mind, regional militias with little cultural or historical awareness enthusiastically launched punitive, targeted exterminations of magical creatures across various nations and locales.

This wasn’t hunting or culling—it was pure slaughter. From the start, they believed these creatures to be the "last army of the Elven Empire."

Only after magical creatures were nearly wiped out, and Winter itself underwent a winter-spring transformation under human rule, did scholars deduce the truth about the dual-aspect transformation between Frost Beasts and magical creatures.

But it was already too late.

Magical creatures had become critically endangered—and they were indispensable!

Because of their hefty market value, during each spring thaw in Winter, its people engaged in rampant hunting and selling of magical creatures. The quantity sold was so large that it sometimes drove the prices of magical creature goods down to one-tenth or even one-twentieth of their usual rates.

Winter’s populace operated under an entirely different logic.

They believed that the next time Winter entered the winter phase, these magical creatures would undoubtedly perish and revert to Frost Beasts.

Since they’d be Frost Beasts, that made them malicious creatures attacking humans.

—So the money earned this way could simultaneously reduce the chances of their descendants being attacked!

Truly a win-win scenario!