Tales of the Reincarnated Lord
Prologue
Sigwa hung high in the sky, spreading its warmth over the streets and alleys just as it always had.
The colossal statue of Sigwa—Sun God, God of Light, God of War—gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight, and the magnificent Temple of Sigwa shone ever more resplendent in gold and jade.
This was
It held more temples than any other city on the Galentea Continent, housing the statues of countless deities, and was known as the City of Temples.
It boasted more academies than any other city on the Galentea Continent. Seven of the continent's top ten academies were situated here, earning it yet another epithet—the City of Academies.
It was the most populous metropolis on the Galentea Continent, with nearly eight hundred thousand permanent residents.
Commerce thrived here, with people and carriages coming and going in an endless stream. Every day, nearly a million gold coins of every denomination changed hands in the marketplace. Countless mercenaries, swordsmen, adventurers, artisans, traveling merchants, and common folk—slaves and free alike—all converged here with their own purposes, then departed once more…
In the ballads of wandering bards, this was the land favored by the gods, a bountiful haven where wealth flowed together…
The Silver River, the second largest waterway on the Galentea Continent, flowed quietly across the Mana Hill Plains before emptying into the sea west of Morant City. The tranquil Silver River brought prosperity to Morant in the form of the Hidden Gold Bay, and a formidable naval fleet.
The vast and fertile Mana Hill Plains lay bathed in sunlight, drenched in honeyed abundance. Year after year of bountiful harvests supported Morant City's ceaseless expansion and growth.
One hundred and sixty-seven years ago, Grand Duke Forde Morant of the former Mana Hill Duchy abruptly declared a system reform, abolishing the hereditary feudal lordship and replacing it with a citizen representative assembly. He emancipated the serfs, freeing nearly four hundred thousand of them into free citizens. The move stunned every nation on the continent.
Grand Duke Forde Morant further declared that the new state would be built on commerce. He allied with the six largest trading houses on the Galentea Continent to establish the Forde Commercial Alliance, using the Mana Hill Plains as a base to conduct trade with all nations. This was the famous Morant Reform in the annals of history.
The fledgling Forde Commercial Alliance was renowned across the Galentea Continent for its freedom and openness. It drew a ceaseless tide of people yearning for liberty and the pursuit of wealth, while also attracting the covetous gaze of powerful neighbors.
The Krisen Empire, first among the three great empires of the Galentea Continent and situated north of the Mana Hill Plains, declared Grand Duke Forde Morant's reforms illegitimate and launched a brazen invasion of the plains, pulling back the curtain on over a century of blood and fire.
The newborn Forde Commercial Alliance did not yield. Under the banner of fighting for freedom, countless people who refused to be slaves marched onto the battlefield, one wave falling as the next pressed forward. For over a hundred years, blood dyed the Mana Hill Plains red.
On the Mana Hill Plains, along the Silver River, beneath the walls of Morant City, two emperors of the Krisen Empire fell, along with more than a dozen dukes and countless elite soldiers and commanders. Yet the blue banner of the Forde Commercial Alliance still flew high above the walls of Morant City.
Through those long years of war, the Forde Commercial Alliance grew ever stronger with each battle. In the final great battle involving over a hundred thousand troops, it devised a brilliant stratagem that brought about the fall of the Krisen Empire's sole Sword Saint on the field. This victory earned the Alliance nearly two decades of peace to recuperate, and simultaneously set the Krisen Empire upon its path of decline.
As the Krisen Empire's last elderly emperor languished on his deathbed, three princes began their open and covert struggle for the throne. At last, the Forde Commercial Alliance shook free of the threat from the north and surged forward in rapid growth. Twenty years of peace transformed the Alliance into the foremost power in northern Galentea—a commercial colossus whose reach extended across the entire continent.
This was Morant City—the unyielding city-state, the free alliance. Morant City had originally been called Lookout Sea Fortress, but was later renamed in honor of Grand Duke Forde Morant, who had sacrificed his life in the war of resistance against the Krisen Empire's invasion. The city had originally contained only twelve districts, but twenty years of peace had spurred explosive growth. To accommodate the needs of expanding commerce, the Forde Commercial Alliance invested enormous sums to add thirty-six new districts beyond the city walls and erected an entirely new wall to encircle them. From then on, Morant City was divided into the Inner City and the Outer City.
The people of Morant, however, did not call it that. They referred to the Inner City as the Upper District and the Central District. The western portion of the Outer City was called the Academy District, where nearly twenty academies of varying size were clustered together. To the northwest lay the Fleet District and the Dock District, followed by the sprawling Commercial District—the largest of all. Next came the Shanty District, home to the greatest concentration of outsiders, then the Military Garrison District in the northeast. Only the remaining southern and eastern areas served as residential neighborhoods.
Although Morant City was the capital of the Forde Commercial Alliance, the Alliance's supreme governing body, the Joint Council, did not oversee the city's day-to-day management. Administrative affairs were handled by the City Hall located in the Central District. Its chief administrator was appointed by the Joint Council for a five-year term. At the end of each term, a City Council composed of representatives elected from every district conducted an evaluation, then reported its findings to the Joint Council, which decided whether the administrator would be retained or dismissed.
The City Hall also received assistance from underground organizations operating in neighboring districts.
When this policy was first implemented, no one thought highly of it. Two years later, people realized how ingeniously it worked. Not only had public order improved dramatically, with violent crimes becoming rare, but the City Hall had also secured substantial tax revenue. This gave it the means to invest in more public services, further improving the city's living conditions.
The result left those who had once mocked the Forde Commercial Alliance for not understanding city governance utterly astonished. Several kingdoms and duchies even sent delegations to study the model firsthand. One Grand Duke, after completing his inspection, sighed: "The noble officials of a kingdom are less honest and efficient than members of underground criminal organizations. It is deeply shameful."
This was Morant City—a merchant's city, a place brimming with vitality and wild imagination. Some regarded it as a paradise in their hearts, while others condemned it as a den of corruption where the devil lured mankind to ruin.
By day, the cries of street vendors and the prayers from temples intertwined in the air. By night, the glow of lanterns, the taste of fine wine, the song of songbirds, and the stir of emotions filled the city with their intoxicating allure. This was Morant—the city that never slept.