"Those are the troubles the Western Pioneer Corps faced, aberrant wasps turned into humanoid figures, each averaging two meters tall, with extremely sharp mandibles and abdomens with venomous stingers. Before the age of widespread firearms, these wasp people were the greatest obstacle to reclaiming the Western regions, but now they’ve almost become rare creatures." Through Sage Sima’s introduction, Malin understood that these wasp people were no longer a problem. The Thananians even discovered some smaller wasp people, only about a meter tall or less. Although they are smaller in size, they prefer peace, feeding on honey from giant fruit trees during bloom and migrating seasonally. Humans only need to avoid invading their territory to avoid issues. Some queens in these hives even choose to trade with humans—via spiritual energy dialogue. These smaller wasp people are likely the result of aberrant domesticated bees, with large wasp people as their natural enemies. Human assistance in eliminating these large wasp people is a boon for them. "It makes me a bit sad, as if humans are no longer the rulers of the planet beneath our feet," Malin lamented. Sage Sima nodded with empathy: "Since the Great Catastrophe, we humans have no longer been the elevated rulers once on this planet. That humanity, once taking from this planet as they pleased, is long extinct." At this point, Sage Sima looked at Malin with bright eyes, saying: "But, Mr. Malin, we successors are reconquering this world. Perhaps we have to world with subsequent races, but we believe that the value of humanity will ultimately be the common value for all intelligent life on this planet, regardless of how difficult the future is, or how terrifying the upcoming Chaos invasion may be. I believe that my successors and I will continue to fight, and we will never give up, whether it’s the great attempt to unite the globe before the Great Catastrophe or reigniting the flame of civilization in this world... What do you think?" "Well said, I feel the conviction and sincerity in your words, we must rekindle the flame of civilization," Malin extended his hand, and Sage Sima extended his as well. "Right, I am in charge of the Western regions. Once the mundane issues here are resolved, please come visit the Western provinces. Although it’s not as prosperous as the southeastern provinces, it still has endless fields and beautiful homes." Sage Sima’s invitation was noted by Malin, and after agreeing, Malin reached out to hold the large tree falling towards them with spiritual energy. Nearby, a big-headed soldier was getting reprimanded as Malin set the tree aside. "By the way, Mr. Malin, I’ve always been curious about how you view having faith," Sage Sima’s question made Malin pause for a moment, then he smiled wryly: "Speaking of which, I’m actually an atheist. In the past, this was a very materialistic view, because no one has witnessed a miracle, nor has a deity come to save anything." At that, Malin and Sage Sima shared a knowing laugh. After laughing enough, Malin shook his head: "If possible, I wish I wasn’t god and this world hadn’t experienced the Great Catastrophe. It would be great if everything was as it used to be." "Unfortunately, your thoughts nowadays are the true idealistic view. In the eyes of materialists, destruction exists, Chaos exists, faith exists, even deities exist," Sage Sima responded. Malin did not outright deny this, indeed, as Sage Sima said, in this world, former materialistic warriors have become idealists, and former idealists have turned into the most loyal materialistic warriors. "What a despairing reality," Malin said while taking out a pack of cigarettes—Sage Sima, being a middle-aged man, likely smoked. Sage Sima smiled and took out a small bag and a piece of paper, rolling himself a hand-rolled cigarette: "I’m still more used to smoking my own." "You should trade one with me, sometimes trying something new isn’t a bad thing." With that, Malin exchanged his cigarette with his, then laughed at Sage Sima’s confusion: "Let me also experience the taste nurtured by this land." "Hmm, alright, as you wish, Sir." Sage Sima took out a lighter and lit Malin’s cigarette. The cigarette had a strong taste, harsh even, but Malin still enjoyed it, as this was the joy of national cigarettes he had not experienced in years. Sage Sima praised Malin’s cigarette and expressed curiosity about the trade: "Compared to it, my cigarette is just a particularly strong weed, Sir." "But at least it’s still tobacco." Malin replied, biting the cigarette between his lips while extending his hand with spiritual energy to stop another large tree from falling on the crowd. The responsible sergeant anxiously looked this way while furiously spitting at the face of the trouble-causing big-headed soldier. Malin set the large tree aside and motioned for Sage Sima to follow him. "Sir, I’m very sorry. These soldiers aren’t familiar with lumberjacking; they’re just some new recruits from affluent provinces." The sergeant’s visible worry was apparent on his face as he saw Malin bringing Sage Sima over. Despite being a spitting demon, his care for his soldiers was equally visible. "No worries. Have your soldiers gather around; I’ll demonstrate what advanced logging experience looks like." Malin, having seen lumberjacks handle trees in Carterburg before, knew these soldiers chopped absurdly because they had never seen or eaten a Sharo beast. The soldiers gathered, and Malin, holding the Blood Roar, approached a giant tree: "Trees always fall towards the direction of the cut. For example, if I stand on the east side to chop a tree, this tree will eventually fall east due to gravity after the eastern trunk is cut. Watch closely." Then Malin raised his axe, slashing it against the trunk with a sonic boom. Like cutting butter, the Blood Roar left a huge wound in the trunk. The giant tree began to fall uncontrollably. The big-headed soldier and the sergeant watched Malin as if seeing a prehistoric monster. "Sir, your axe is too sharp," Sage Sima’s face was about to burst into laughter, seeing Malin holding an axe in one hand and lifting the falling giant tree in the other. "Yes, it’s too sharp, but you should understand now. Just follow my lead, and trees won’t fall chaotically." Malin tossed the tree aside and put away the Blood Roar. Darn it, nearly messed up my reputation here. With a hint of lingering fear, Malin stepped aside as a messenger approached Sage Sima. After confirming the news brought by the messenger, Sage Sima informed Malin: "The rear Sage Lin has matters for me, I’ll see what assistance I can offer." No problem with that, after sending off Sage Sima, Malin supervised the big-headed soldiers’ work while utilizing his presence as a deterrent against potential attacks. Feeling a bit bored, Malin called over little Spotty—this little one had grown big now, getting hot upon arrival. After Malin cast a temperature-controlling spell on him, the comforted big leopard sat beside Malin, curiously watching the terrifying bipedal apes chopping trees and occasionally pouncing to chase silly deer drawn by curiosity—creatures frequent in Semi-Planes. Although they seemed small, they were surely edible, so Spotty quickly went after the deer and eventually captured its prey. The young one began to enjoy the meal right there. "Your leopard is really good." The sergeant approached, seemingly understanding Malin’s temperament now. "Yes, he’s a good child who struggles to survive," Malin nodded. At the same time, he handed a cigarette to the sergeant. People who do good work, always reap rewards.