Since Vincent returned to Silver Dragon Castle from the Temple of the Craftsman God, his mood has been getting better and better.
However, the situation in the territory under his rule was getting worse and worse visibly to the naked eye.
As the ruling class, the demons, no matter how harmless they are, are still not welcome.
The hatred and prejudice accumulated between races for hundreds of years are difficult to eliminate in a short time.
The previous lord's unsustainable fishing has put the coastal territory on the road of decline.
The conflicts that already existed were severely intensified by this vampire, and even a small group of human elites who should have been won over chose to abandon the lord.
Within the territory, except for the hired city police, all officials and advisors, large and small, have resigned, making it more difficult for the lord to govern.
The guard did not leave, only because they were owed too much salary and had to ask for it from the next lord.
All the human servants in the lord's mansion had left before the lord arrived. The reason was that blood-sucking was bearable, but being eaten by a Chaos Demon was unacceptable.
These people who had cooperated with the demons for a long time either actively or passively did not choose to be loyal, even if their treatment was not bad.
Among the people, many businessmen have already withdrawn from Silver Dragon Castle. The remaining ones are not unwilling to leave, but are really unwilling to pay back the debts owed by the previous lord.
The citizens in the castle were panic-stricken. News of the lord's assassination on the dock and the massacre of the assassins were rampant. The bards made up a story with added spices and spread it fissively in the city.
Every night, the creepy screams of monsters come from the lord's castle, filling the hearts of the people with fear.
News of various nocturnal monsters snatching away children began to spread.
On the contrary, the past of the former lord flying around and attacking women at night has gradually been selectively forgotten.
In fact, since the new lord Vincent took office, he only went out once and never left his territory again. It was impossible for him to go out and attack children.
How could a person who loves toys attack the audience for his products?
In addition to guarding the castle, the lord's monsters will not act recklessly on the streets.
In order to save money, the Lich would take some skeletons out to buy supplies, or go to nearby private farms to collect them.
In fact, the monster's nocturnal habits are not entirely without benefits for the city.
Many people have noticed that after closing the city gate, the night patrols of monsters have restrained petty thieves a lot.
Objectively speaking, the new lord who prefers to stay at home is much gentler than the previous lord who raped his bones and sucked out his marrow.
However, even if this was true, rumors continued to spread, and the distrust of the lords among the people continued to grow.
What is even more disturbing is that peasant tax resistance and rebellion in the Maritime Territory have become increasingly fierce.
Four villages declared autonomy. The farmers used farm tools as weapons and refused to accept the rule of the demons.
There is no other reason. Without the support of officials and tax collectors, Vincent's benevolent 20% tax reduction policy has not been conveyed to the grassroots at all, and the income from exploiting farmers cannot go into the pockets of the lords.
Except for the 80,000 citizens of Silver Dragon Castle and the nearby rural areas, which are still relatively stable, the order in other places is slowly getting out of control.
The lord's brain trust Lich and the hired mercenary leader couldn't stand all these dangerous signals. They had made repeated requests for Vincent to take action.
"Everyone, how should we act?" Vincent sat on the lord's throne and glanced at the few subordinates below, "Captain Essen, you are familiar with the local situation, please speak first."
A strong, burly man with a scar on his face strode from one side to the carpet in the center, looking up at the lord who was fiddling with a piece of white paper, with a complicated expression.
This person is the city's guard captain Essen Lage, a mercenary captain who is good at swordsmanship and has been serving as a local city guard for three years.
"Lord, we must now suppress the rebellion with an iron fist." Captain Essen said loudly, "Find a group of weak rebels to start with, scare other rebels, and let them restore food and material supplies."
It would definitely be uncomfortable to be surrounded by the countryside and the city. Vincent could understand the captain's feeling of not wanting to be surrounded from all sides, but he also had difficulties.
"Mr. Captain, we need money to fight the war. Where does the money come from?" Vincent spread his hands and said, "Paying off your salary arrears has made me cash-strapped."
After receiving the favor, Essen saw that the lord was in trouble, so he stopped insisting.
Maybe normal people can choose to complete two of the three goals of maintaining fiscal abundance, orderly stability, and a strong and loyal army, but demons are extremely talented and may mess up three things at the same time.
"Your Highness, we should collect taxes in the city to ease the financial strain." The Lich leader's idea was very feasible and very devilish. "The people of Silver Dragon Castle are suffering and getting a bad name..."
"Let me carry it, right?" Vincent asked with a wry smile, "This is how wise and knowledgeable you are?"
"Let the Skeleton Tax Collector take the blame," the Lich leader seemed to have a countermeasure. "You can destroy these skeletons afterwards. There are plenty of substitutes in the wild."
"My skeletons are not temporary workers, they are prepared skeletons that have been with me for many years." Vincent snorted coldly, "Doesn't it cost money for a necromancer to summon skeletons?"
"Master, whoever causes trouble will die." The giant scythe also expressed his opinion, "That... that something... set up a happy stage."
"How can I be as knowledgeable as those brainless farmers! If someone tricks them into killing me, I will kill them?"
Vincent said angrily, startling Niniya who was standing aside.
"We must deal with the mastermind first!"
Of course, the lord's serious words spread quickly and became a joke among the people.
After all, the lord's harsh words were just words and he did not go on a killing spree.
This show of neglect did not affect the loyalty of the monsters, but it gradually changed the attitude of the people towards the lord from fear to contempt.
This lord was destroyed immediately after his assassination. He probably won't be able to stay here for long, right?
I hope it doesn’t change to a more vicious one...
What was Vincent doing at this time?
I have to say that he seemed to have done the job, but he didn't seem to have done it completely.
What is certain is that he asked his subordinates to buy a lot of paper...
In the first few days of Ye Yue, Miss Bones, who took care of the lord's life affairs, often heard strange conversations outside the lord's room.
Day one.
"Master, I can't do it, I really can't do it..."
"Have you never done any of these things before?"
"Master, no one has taught me, I don't know what to do next..."
"Open this part and let me see the situation... No, it's not there. Didn't you learn everything last time?"
"I'm sorry, Master, I'm a little tired..."
the next day.
"Master, if you do this repeatedly, this place has been damaged and cannot be used..."
"This is not enough! Remember, not only do you have to train repeatedly, but you also have to draw inferences from one example. You also have to teach others..."
"I'm worried that I can't do it..."
"Even if you dare to kill me, what else can you not dare to do? Niniya, there is a beast in your heart..."
"Ah, flying, I'm flying!"
The third day.
"Master, I gradually discovered that these things are quite interesting..."
"Look, you really know the taste of the marrow, right? I can't finish what I'm doing now, so I'll continue tonight..."
"Master, I can hold on for a while..."
"Pay attention to the balance between work and rest, and any interest must be moderate..."
Day four.
"Ah! Master, why did you fall?"
"It's okay. I'm exhausted. I can recover in half a day."
"I'll help you to the bed..."
A knowing smile appeared on the half of Miss Bone's face that still retained her human appearance.
"Four days and three nights... It seems that His Highness the Prince must eat more nutritious food and then use magic stones to recuperate." Miss Bone thought for a moment and ordered the skeletons under her, "Be careful, you may need extra meals.
"
Finally, one morning, Vincent, who had disappeared for some time, suddenly appeared in the ceremony hall in high spirits.
After not seeing him for a few days, his whole spirit was completely renewed.
Next to him was Niniya, whose eyes were a little dark and her fingers were trembling slightly.
Today, she put on a new suit that fit her perfectly, and she looked even more graceful. Compared with her lost look before, she looked completely different.
"Everyone, we need to be ready for action," Vincent said confidently, "it's time to have fun!"