If the Dark Magic Spring, the Fairy Fruit, and the Giant Fruit had already caused the temple to feel apprehensive, then the Night Prince's subsequent actions made the temple feel even more suffocated. The temple side had not yet figured out a countermeasure, and the opponent further launched an attack, doing so brilliantly, leaving the temple with no grounds for accusation or defamation.
People from the temple side dared to say that the things like the Dark Magic Spring were just the Night Prince's way of attracting the world's attention and were not his real purpose.
His Majesty William II announced in the court meeting that the Night Prince and the Camaron Empire would jointly create the world's first tuition-free magic martial arts academy, which meant it would be a civilian academy. The magic martial arts academy, funded by the Night Prince and built with land provided by the Camaron Empire and personnel dispatched, would admit young students from Camaron and all over the world for free. It would offer 25 subjects including literature, music, art, mathematics, philosophy, law, politics, magic, and knighthood. Even commoner youths without magical or fighting spirit talents could get good jobs after graduation, and the outstanding ones could even be directly appointed as officials, with limitless prospects.
The idea of establishing a civilian magic martial arts academy had been envisioned centuries ago.
Many people have dreamed of making a name for themselves worldwide, but this task is easier said than done.
Not to mention other aspects, the funding alone is enough to make the wealthiest kings shake their heads and sigh. If a thousand commoner students were to attend, a country could just about bear the cost. However, once the door to free admission is opened, millions of commoner children from all over the world would come from afar to study for a better future.
This free admission essentially opened the door of hope in the hearts of commoners.
Centuries ago, wise men estimated that to establish a completely free civilian magic martial arts academy with scholarships, at least three million gold coins were needed. If the response from the commoners is enthusiastic, this amount would need to be doubled.
No king in the world dared to do this, as allocating such funds, even for the largest empire, would mean draining the country's resources.
Thus, a free civilian academy remained a beautiful dream.
Nobody expected that the first person to establish a tuition-free civilian magic martial arts academy on the continent would be a prince from the dark underworld. Regardless of his motives, he deeply moved the commoners of the entire world. He truly opened the door of hope in the hearts of the commoners, allowing countless parents to see a glimmer of hope for their children's future survival.
There were many magic martial arts academies on the continent, but none for commoner children.
Unless they were exceptionally talented and outstanding commoner children, who received sponsorship from others or recognition from the state, they had no chance to enter a magic martial arts academy.
But how many such people were there among the commoner children? Not to mention among them, even the descendants of the nobility and knights, who boast of their superior lineage, are few and far between. Now, the establishment of such an academy, which does not discriminate based on talent or status and does not charge tuition, has truly moved millions of commoners worldwide.
Commoners do not need the Dark Magic Spring to regain their youth, nor do they need the Fairy Fruit to maintain their figure, nor the Giant Fruit to regain their heroic presence.
What they needed was help.
A kind of help they desperately needed, earnestly yearned for, and yet felt hopeless about...
If the myriad yearnings were gathered and then fulfilled one by one, this fulfilling sentiment would be called hope. Among the common people of the world, they needed this hope, and for centuries, they had been longing for such a miracle to happen, always praying. Unexpectedly, today, it was brought by a prince from the abyss of magic.
No matter where the Night Prince came from, no matter if his appearance imitated others, and even regardless of whether he was the legendary miraculous child, Rody.
As long as he could bring such a miraculous hope to everyone, then he was everyone's friend, everyone's kin.
The people of Camaron excitedly swarmed the streets and alleys. When His Majesty William II ordered the royal guards to escort gold bricks worth a million gold coins from the Night Prince's manor, parading throughout the city for the commoners to celebrate, the entire capital of Camaron was abuzz. The Night Prince was not a man of empty words; he donated gold bricks equivalent to a million gold coins, full carts of gold bricks, carrying the hopes of all the commoners of Camaron and the entire world... People ecstatically chased after the golden carriage, cheering along the way.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Countless people cried tears of joy, and many embraced strangers in celebration.
If previously the Night Prince was only a friend of the nobles, now the commoners could proudly say that the Night Prince was their kin, closer and more heartfelt to them than the nobles.
"You don't have to thank me, thank the miraculous child Rody! I hope to be as outstanding and popular as him. He is your miraculous child in your hearts, able to invent countless items with his wisdom. I don’t have this ability, but I also hope to be as popular as him! I hope that one day, when you see me, you will cheer for me just like you do for him. I like glory, and I like the smiles of humans..." The first time the magical newspaper published the Night Prince's sentiment, countless people looked at his photo and wept bitterly.
Everyone was moved by the Night Prince's generosity and also reminisced about the various benefits of the miraculous child Rody in the past.
If only the miraculous child Rody hadn't been imprisoned in the Desolate Hell... He was definitely not an evil undead magician, but a kind-hearted great sage, an inventor of countless benefits. But seeing him sent to the stake by the temple, not a single person dared to stand up and help him.
People remembered the sorrowful eyes of the miraculous child Rody on that day, remembered his prayers...
"Great God of Life Water, if you think my heart is as pure as a spring, then please let a spring emerge under my feet."
"Great God of Nature, if you think my kindness is as rich as the fertile soil of the earth, then please let the wood under my feet sprout tender buds and leaves."
Miracles appeared, and the blazing flames at his feet sprouted a fountain, and those charred woods really grew tender buds and branches...
A miraculous child for whom even the gods would descend miracles, a human son whom even the Prince of the Abyss admired and emulated, a war hero whom even his mortal enemies, the orcs and demons, were willing to recruit without past grudges, was sent to the stake by the temple as an evil undead magician and was secretly imprisoned in the Desolate Hell.
Remembering these, people's hearts were cut like a knife.
Only when lost do they know to cherish, only when lost do they understand the value, only when people watched the precious son of the earth given by the gods being destroyed by the temple did they know regret. Only now do they realize and awaken, but it's too late, too late...
...
Due to public opinion, His Majesty William II, with the consent of the Night Prince, decided to name the civilian magic martial arts academy as Rody Academy.
Everyone hoped that more talents like the miraculous child Rody would emerge from the earth.
When the Truth Newspaper, controlled by the temple, published a commentary accusing the Night Prince of using Rody's name to win people's hearts and alleging that the civilian magic martial arts academy was actually the precursor of the Dark Temple, it urged millions of people not to be deceived. The enraged public quickly gathered tens of thousands of people. They not only marched in protest on the streets, but also, unable to contain their fury when passing the Truth Newspaper building, stormed in and smashed everything inside, causing the editor-in-chief, a priest, to panic and escape by jumping out of a window.
People would not be fooled again, and the tragedy of the miraculous child must not be allowed to recur.
If the temple wanted to act against the Night Prince, then unless they dispatched the Holy Knights to trample over the bodies of millions of people, the people would no longer watch the temple's shameless attacks with their eyes open.
Everyone understood that the God of Light was certainly benevolent and great, but his servants were not necessarily so.
The ugly faces of those priests and cardinals in the temple had already been seen not for the first time. The various methods they used during the trial of the miraculous child had chilled everyone's hearts. At that time, the people did not have the courage to resist, and the miraculous child was tragically imprisoned in the Desolate Hell. This heartache became an eternal, unhealable scar of shame in people's hearts. Today, the Goddess of Night bestowed another prince to the world, just like the miraculous child Rody, as if the miraculous child had broken free from the chains of God in the Desolate Hell and returned... People would definitely not let him be sent to the stake by the schemers of the temple again; they cannot represent the will of the gods.
Because they are also human, not gods.
Countless poor people volunteered to participate in the construction of Rody Academy, without asking for payment, only needing enough food to fill their stomachs.
Of course, their eagerness to participate in the construction was not only due to the hardship of life but also the hope that their children could enter the academy as soon as possible. Because the regulations of the academy were already clear, children over the age of six could enroll, which greatly relieved numerous poor people.
The poor did not want their sons to be as impoverished as themselves, nor did they want them to become despised thieves and pickpockets.
They hoped to build Rody Academy as quickly as possible, to free their children from suffering sooner.
However, the first institution to be built was not Rody Academy, but a civilian vocational training academy. This academy, said to be for adults, was one of the future branches of Rody Academy. It was not as formal as Rody Academy, did not require full-day classes, and the content was focused on training certain vocational skills rather than studying knowledge.
The only advantage of this vocational training academy was that after graduation, regardless of their status, everyone could get a job.
Of course, these jobs were also provided by the Night Prince.
The Night Prince, in cooperation with the Camaron Chamber of Commerce and various guilds, set up numerous large and small factories, some for food processing, some for planting magic flower seeds, and others for processing animal skins and wool. In short, these factories were unified workshops for producing daily necessities. With countless workers working uniformly and producing quickly.
The opening of these factories urgently required numerous workers, which excited the civilians and the poor of Camaron immensely. Their employment was secured, and their lives had found a direction... However, before they could start working, they needed to be trained to work correctly. Thus, the vocational training academy, with tens of thousands of poor people working day and night, quickly rose.
The rapid economic prosperity of Camaron drove the growth of all industries.
Mercenaries no longer idly drank in melancholy and harassed tavern women. Their hunted animal skins were now bought at high prices, and the usually discarded meat could be processed into food, significantly increasing their income. The arduous jobs like logging and quarrying became popular professions, as no one knew how much more wood and stone would be needed for construction.
The slaves from the slave trading posts were purchased in large numbers by the Night Prince and began to plant magical flowers and trees that could survive on human land.
It wasn’t just Camaron; merchants from countries around the world came upon hearing the news, and various goods rapidly circulated in the capital of Camaron.
“This is a new historical moment. We have endured tough times and have re-entered a golden age. If we have a sense of gratitude, we should thank three people. The first is the King of Camaron, for his enlightened policies and bold reforms have made Camaron what it is today; the second, we should deeply thank the Night Prince. Without His Highness’s generosity and good deeds, Camaron would not have the free civilian academy, the free vocational training, or anything we see today. The third person, before I write about his greatness, I want to pray for him first, with the most devout heart in my life, hoping that my tears can move the gods to rescue him from the Desolate Hell… Yes, the third person we should be grateful for is Rody. Without him, there would be no Night Prince, no golden age for Camaron, no dawn for Camaron, no awakening of the people’s hearts… We should erect a giant statue of the miraculous child Rody in the center of Camaron's city, for everyone to come and thank him, to admire him, for all of us to pray for him, and at the same time, to be proud of him…”
Historian De Luren Jefstol Oli the Sage, wrote down this passage excitedly in his magical notebook.
He hoped that no matter how many years passed, even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, future generations would know the true history through his records.