Chapter 78: The Military Headquarters

“Hmmm... Xiao Li, how old are you this year?”
To ease the unnecessary awkwardness, Mo Fangyuan finally spoke up.
He glanced around and, seeing a young-looking soldier, smiled and asked him.
“Your... Your Majesty, I’m sixteen this year. I’m already a... a strong man!”
Xiao Li hadn’t expected the great king to address him directly. Excited and nervous, he stammered as he spoke.
“Sixteen, huh...”
Mo Fangyuan was taken aback. The people of the Block World were generally good-looking, and he had thought this young soldier simply looked a bit youthful—not that he actually was.
In his previous life, sixteen was still the age of an adolescent, not yet an adult, someone who should have been under the care of the nation, the love of family, and the concern of society, living a beautiful and fulfilling childhood.
But here, sixteen was already the age of adulthood. These youths had to struggle to survive, anxiously facing dangerous monsters even as they toiled for their livelihoods.
Often, the age of maturity and marriage reflects the stability of a society.
The younger the age, the harsher the environment and the lower the productivity; the older, the better.
In the Block World, girls could marry and become mothers at fourteen.
Boys, too, would begin working to support their families after fourteen, and those with talent would become warriors, using their slender bodies to protect the village and fight monsters to safeguard their people.
“...”
Mo Fangyuan regretted asking such a clumsy question, now feeling awkward himself.
“Ah! Young man, you’re truly promising!”
He reached out and patted Xiao Li on the shoulder, encouraging him.
“Keep it up, you have talent. I believe in you!”
Xiao Li was both flattered and overwhelmed by the king’s gesture, excitement welling up inside him.
“Your Majesty! I will become an excellent warrior and defend the kingdom!”
This time, Xiao Li spoke without a stutter, a newfound determination in his voice.
For some reason, encouragement from someone of high status is often more effective than support among equals.
“Hahaha, then I’ll wait for that day to come!”
Sensing a livelier atmosphere, Mo Fangyuan stood and walked to the center, addressing the warriors seated on the ground.
“Boys, let me tell you a story...”
Though the combined ages of Mo Fangyuan’s two lifetimes might not exceed that of some present, the Field Army warriors did not interrupt. They watched him with respect, waiting for him to speak.
In their eyes, the king’s wisdom was as vast as the oldest sage’s, his strength as formidable as the finest veteran’s.
It was only natural to regard themselves as his juniors.
“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘breaking the cocoon to become a butterfly’?”

The group exchanged glances and shook their heads. Clearly, with different worldviews, how could they know such a thing?
“Ahem...”
Clearing his throat, Mo Fangyuan organized his thoughts about the phrase and began.
“In the Block World, there is a beautiful creature called the butterfly.
Its wings are stunning, iridescent, with every color imaginable, as if crafted by the Mother Sun herself...”
“They are enchanting... the very embodiment of beauty.”
Mo Fangyuan depicted the butterfly’s elegance to the warriors, using gestures when needed.
But since none of them had ever seen a butterfly, they used the information he gave them to imagine every beautiful color on its wings.
“It has gorgeous wings and can fly freely in the sky...”
“It has a slender form and moves gracefully through the air...”
In their minds, the butterfly became a petite, winged girl dressed in splendid clothes, no bigger than the palm of a hand...
If Mo Fangyuan knew this, he would surely be dumbfounded.
He was talking about butterflies, yet they pictured fairies?
“But do you know? In their youth, butterflies are weak—even rather ugly!”
Mo Fangyuan mimed the shape in the air.
“Their bodies are plump and hard to move...”
“They are pale all over...”
“In such a state, they’re easy targets for monsters!”
Standing in the middle, Mo Fangyuan pictured a fat, white grub in his mind.
But the soldiers around him, listening intently, imagined a frail, beautiful girl in a loose dress, with lovely silver hair and fair skin—delicate, without wings...
“As children, they are easily harmed by monsters, unable to escape—helpless before their attackers...”
“So they run! They can only keep running!”
At this point, the Field Army warriors grew silent, for the story mirrored their own lives.
Ironically, the Block People had always been oppressed by monsters, even facing extinction in some eras.
“They must survive through hardship. With every step, companions fall behind, leaving mountains of corpses and seas of blood...”
Indeed, a butterfly’s eggs are laid in clusters, and if birds find the hatchlings, there truly will be carnage...
The early bird catches the worm—Lu Xun’s words weren’t just idle talk.
“But! They never give up! They challenge adversity! They face hardship head-on, growing stronger through their trials!”
Mo Fangyuan’s tone rose passionately.

“Obstacles trap the butterflies inside a prison, tougher than stone, trying to suffocate them! This prison is called a cocoon!”
“The butterflies struggle fiercely! With resilience and unwavering faith, they break free from their cocoons!”
“In the end, all who overcome adversity are reborn through fire! They grow wings and become children of the sun!”
The crowd fell silent, an unusual emotion flickering in their eyes.
Never before had the Block People heard a story.
Mo Fangyuan had never told one in the Block Kingdom before, and now he began with one of the most inspiring tales, catching these unprepared Block People completely off guard.
Butterflies: What? Am I really that amazing? Why didn’t anyone tell me?
“And right now, we are the butterflies—juvenile butterflies!”
Mo Fangyuan raised his hand above his head, striking a classic pose reminiscent of a certain mustachioed figure from World War II.
“For we possess noble character and boundless potential!”
“They envy us! They fear us! Afraid of our strength once we grow, they want to destroy us now!”
“But butterflies have never truly been defeated!”
Because, after all, butterflies are insects!
Of course, Mo Fangyuan didn’t say that aloud; he simply told the crowd that butterflies have never been conquered.
“As long as we survive adversity, we will become giants! Then, under our iron fists, the evil monsters will tremble in fear!”
“My friends, we are all butterflies... waiting for the day we break the cocoon and become butterflies!”
Unconsciously, Mo Fangyuan’s story had turned into a speech.
“Break the cocoon and become butterflies! Break the cocoon and become butterflies!”
“Break the cocoon and become butterflies! Break the cocoon and become butterflies!”
The crowd shouted, their eyes burning with fervor.
“We, the Block People, are the noblest race in this world! Possessing the highest character and deepest wisdom!”
“And monsters, they are savage and evil, the lowest of all races!”
Under Mo Fangyuan’s speech, these seven warriors became seeds.
Centuries later, these seeds would grow into towering trees, shaking the entire monster faction and becoming the most feared presence among the intelligent monsters.
Together with the Association of Creative Technologies and the Kingdom Association, they would become the unchanging shadow of monsters.
They would be known as—the Military Department!