LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 556
Not everyone responded positively to Uzoma Idowu declaring himself leader of New Eclea. However, the entire council was dead along with most of the Archmages. The only thing that could pose a threat were the spread out armies still in New Eclea and the navies that were closer to Cruonia than New Eclea. With Admiral Mavuto controlling the coast and thus the supplies going to the rest of the navy, they had no choice but to capitulate.
Uzoma Idowu- President Idowu didn’t just use threats to make people accept him. He also styled himself as a savior. He had taken out the corrupt leaders, and calling off the war would save many New Eclean lives. Many people appreciated that, but he also made sure to promise every soldier would receive the pay they had already earned- plus a bonus. In addition, he paid off the debts the council owed instead of trying to absolve them as he hadn’t owed that money.
Though New Eclea was wealthy, wars were expensive. The treasury wasn’t particularly full, thus all of the debts owed. However, payments were made on time every month, and the influx of workers leaving the military sector helped stabilize the economy. President Idowu didn’t mention how much of the council’s possessions he had to sell to help pay off the debts, nor did he let on how close they were to not making the payments.
Even with his best efforts going to rally support for his position, there were still many people unsatisfied with how he became president. There were murmurs of discontent, but Uzoma- with the help of advisors- came up with a plan to help settle things further. In six years, he would step down as president. Not everyone believed his words, but a majority of the population was satisfied as long as he appeared to be taking steps toward that end.
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William carefully watched New Eclea’s progress. He wondered if he made the right decision with Uzoma Idowu. He was almost too effective. On the other hand, he really seemed sincere about stepping down after a half-dozen years. After all, he had never really wanted to be in the spotlight. Being the president of a nation- in this case a fancy word for dictator- made him exactly what he didn’t want to be.
Personally, William didn’t much care if he kept his promise about stepping down. As long as he ran the country decently… he was fine. It was better to keep promises, of course, but as long as he didn’t intentionally start any wars or destroy any souls and generally avoided killing his own people, then he was tolerable enough.
Of course, Uzoma owed Cruonia much for his position. Not only did William himself help get him instated in his position, but Cruonia was part of what kept New Eclea from complete economic collapse. Trade coming from and to Cruonia, specifically. New Eclea wasn’t ready for such a drastic change immediately, of course. The war was over, but that didn’t mean they would associate with demons. Uzoma seemed to be subtly working on that perception, but it wasn’t something that could be changed in a day. Regardless, trade still happened- if only from New Eclea to ‘old’ Eclea. The difference was that trade went from ‘old’ Eclea to everywhere else now. They’d had more years to consider it, and hadn’t been as hostile towards outsiders to begin with.
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As years passed, William noticed a change in diplomatic meetings. The people he met with were still cordial and even helpful, but they were no longer friendly. Not that all of them had been friendly to begin with, but there had been some. Now, all meetings were formal and while that might have made them more efficient in some ways, William felt like their countries were drifting apart from Cruonia… or maybe just from him.
Many people who met with him seemed afraid. While not everything he had done was well known, the general idea was. In a world where most of the diplomats and leaders were untrained or at most the level of an elite soldier, a Demon King was frightening. Of course, everyone knew gevai weren’t demons… but William couldn’t deny he could kill anyone he met, or destroy their soul if he really wanted to. Not that he would actually say he could do any of those things if asked, instead brushing off the questions.
At least New Eclea eventually joined in negotiations between countries. As Uzoma promised, it had returned to a council sort of system- though one with many more members and restrictions on individual power. Uzoma was actually elected to the council for the first term, but retired after another half dozen years. William wasn’t sure where he went, except he was told it was “anywhere nobody will shoot at me”. He still had a number of diehard supporters from his surprising charisma, but also a number of enemies. Perhaps he made the best choice.
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Within a dozen years, computers were beginning to form. Their development was rapid, helped along by Theo’s knowledge and cooperation between countries. Then, just a few dozen years after that came the internet. While there had been methods of instantaneous communication for some time, including text… it wasn’t as widely available, and was mostly between specific points. While there was a phone system, the variety of possibilities available with computers and the internet were astounding. William found computers almost alien, given how many years it had been since he’d actually used anything like it, and the differences in development, including input methods.
Unlike on Earth, the development of space travel and satellites were actually a bit behind computers, but that was partially because they were less necessary. They weren’t required to transmit information around the world, and while they could have other uses they were deemed less important. While some communication still transmitted through wires or through the air, there were also point-to-point hubs that data passed through which functioned regardless of distance or other interference. Overall, William thought the increased communication helped increase human empathy and connectivity, though he also knew it would allow vocal minorities to cause significantly more uproar than they would have otherwise.