Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

Seeing Wang Kai's expression, Zhang Lan knew perfectly well what he was thinking without even having to guess.

Ignoring these matters for the time being, Zhang Lan put on an engrossed expression and, seeing that the soldiers' discussion was nearing its end, seized every opportunity to ask them questions.

"The soldiers' discussion was so lively, which was both shocking and fantastical to me and the novice adventurer next to me who came from a small mountain village. But at the same time, a bold and curious idea arose spontaneously."

If the heroes are currently in the same situation as you describe, they all have their own territories and castles, and even private armed forces...

After defeating the Demon King's army, why didn't the four heroes seize the opportunity to dominate the entire continent? Instead, they each established their own 'autonomous regions' and chose a life of 'retirement'?

When this question was posed, several soldiers who admired strength found it hard to believe, feeling it was somewhat rebellious.

However, considering that the question was raised under the premise of "hypothesis," and given Zhang Lan's innocent and curious expression, they quickly put aside their "incongruous" anger and began to analyze the situation in their minds. No one spoke for a long time.

After all, who would casually imagine that those heroes summoned by the gods to defeat the demon army, save the empire and even the entire continent, and bring nearly ten years of peace, would choose to dominate the entire continent...

Isn't it like sending away one fierce tiger only to have four coyotes arrive? No, it's four evil dragons!

However, Duli, as the captain, first waved his hand and gave a look to his subordinates.

This means that tonight's discussion was purely hypothetical and carried no "disrespect." Everything said was like water drunk – once you take a piss, you forget everything…

After the other soldiers exchanged glances and agreed, Doolittle slowly began to speak.

"Indeed, heroes with the strength to annihilate the Demon King's army could choose to dominate the continent and establish themselves as kings. I remember that after the news of their annihilation of the Demon King came ten years ago, many people publicly called for them to establish a new empire... Of course, these people all met a tragic end, but that's another story."

Another younger soldier began to be added.

"Although these people were 'suppressed,' the 'voice of the people' expressed through their will gradually spread. The consequence was a situation of mutual suspicion between the various empires on the continent and the Four Heroes. As for why, in terms of achievements, they were great heroes; in terms of enemies, after the Demon King was defeated, they were the greatest enemies, but later…"

"Let me add something."

As the team leader, Duli should be careful when discussing these sensitive topics.

"Later, for reasons unknown, the four heroes reached an agreement with the Empire. Each was granted the title of 'Hero' and received several territories bestowed by the Empire, which are now known as 'Autonomous Regions.' They were given a certain degree of autonomy, such as the ability to enact laws that did not conflict with the Empire, to appropriately develop the economy of their 'Autonomous Regions,' and to have a certain number of citizens. However, they were absolutely not allowed to participate in politics or have any dealings with any friendly or hostile forces within the Empire. As the 'agreement' took effect and was implemented for decades, the previous suspicions vanished."

Zhang Lan had already read about these "historical" things in a book a few nights ago. Seeing that the topic had come to this point, it was clear that Du Li and the others were still wary, so she thought for a few seconds and then continued to ask.

"Uncle Duli is right. Since the heroes with the title of hero have been able to live in peace with the empire for more than ten years, they generally wouldn't have such wild imaginations and assumptions as I just made."

Now that I've heard all this, I'd like to share my own thoughts...

The Four Heroes are indeed very strong; their ability to annihilate the Demon King's army demonstrates that they far surpass humanity. However, they are merely 'four beings'...

Think about it: if they wanted to dominate the continent, how could they possibly fight against all the forces on the continent with just the strength of four people? Let alone their chances of winning, they couldn't even find a reason or motivation to do so.

To give an analogy, it's like the older generation planting trees so the younger generation can enjoy their shade, only for them to chop down the trees with an axe and then expect the younger generation to thank them... It's simply unbelievable.

As Zhang Lan spoke, he nodded repeatedly, perfectly embodying the attitude of "ignorance is bliss." After drawing the attention of the soldiers, he paused for a moment before continuing.

"The 'suspicion' from ten years ago seems to have ended, but how much binding force does a single 'agreement' have on four heroes with absolute power?"

They didn't consider the future at all before they destroyed the Demon King's army. Although some people were grateful and supported them, the rulers of the former empire on the continent could not think that way.

These seemingly peaceful decades were actually filled with mutual suspicion between the heroes and the rulers of the empire, who feared each other breaking the 'agreement' every year and even every day.

In my view, the 'agreement' will eventually crumble under certain circumstances, and that circumstance will be—when one of the 'hero' and the 'imperial ruler' possesses the power to absolutely defeat and annihilate the other.

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other. If they hadn't heard it with their own ears, no one would have imagined that these seemingly plausible deductions came from the mouth of a female adventurer who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Du touched his chin, and the other soldiers also used their brains, which they didn't usually use, to digest what he had to say.

Although all of these are based on various assumptions, if we follow these assumptions, the "developments" that Zhang Lan mentioned are not necessarily impossible, but rather highly likely to happen.

Wang Kai understood the situation the fastest and wanted to express his opinion, but Zhang Lan stopped him again because she needed the reactions of ordinary people in the world...

After a long pause, Duli cautiously asked another question...

"If one day the 'agreement' is nullified, is there a way to avoid war and the loss of life?"

Yes, everyone longs for a peaceful era. In the past, we could unite to fight against the Demon King's army, but in order to compete for land resources and the right to survive, we will fall into endless wars. At that time, let alone an empire, we will not even be able to protect our families.

Compared to the "empire" and the "heroes," ordinary people are so insignificant, even smaller than ants...

"There are two methods. The first is to hope that the conflict between the 'Empire' and the 'Heroes' ends quickly with the elimination of one side, which would greatly reduce the harm to ordinary people. The second method is the most effective, as it can quickly nip all the disasters of war in the bud, even at the moment the 'agreement' is torn apart... That is, the Demon King's army reappears!"

This line of reasoning was beyond the comprehension of the soldiers, and they certainly couldn't understand it in a short time.

Zhang Lan wasn't in a hurry. He pulled a branch from the fire, blew out the flames, broke it into three small sticks, and then used the sticks to form a triangle on the ground before continuing.

“These three wooden sticks are like the ‘Empire,’ the ‘Four Heroes,’ and the ‘Demon King’s Army’ from over a decade ago, and the space between the sticks represents the living space for us. Now, the ‘Demon King’s Army’ has been destroyed, and with only two sticks remaining, the structure can no longer be supported, and then…”

As they were talking, Zhang Lan removed one of the small sticks and placed the remaining two sticks side by side.

"And then it became like this: there was no gap between the two sticks, which meant that we ordinary people had no living space left. At this point, the only solution was to remove one more stick, or to rearrange the sticks into a triangle again, for the order of the entire continent to be stable. And the 'peaceful era' we are currently in is actually in the process of the remaining two sticks gradually closing in on each other..."

With explanation and easy-to-understand methods, the soldiers finally fully understood.

Duli's gaze towards Zhang Lan gradually shifted from disbelief to admiration. After slowly absorbing this "hypothesis," he let out a long sigh and replied.

"Lan-mei... no, Miss Lan, your thinking is truly remarkable. Your step-by-step guidance and deduction have even made me, a mere warrior, start thinking about the future of the empire and even the entire continent. Hmm, how about this: once we reach Merk Town, I'll ask my superiors to recommend you for a civilian position in the army. Given your knowledge and talent, you might even be promoted and ennobled in the future, perhaps even becoming a nobleman..."