boyutpedia Chapter 34 Kingdom
Chapter 34 Kingdom
The reduction in taxes was enough to make the entire Blackrock City celebrate. At first, Karl had considered whether he should never tax them again, but then he thought that although he came from the Holy Alliance and was naturally friendly with the Church of Light, he had not actually joined the Church. This would mean that once his territory developed to a certain extent, it would be enough to threaten the foundation of the Holy Alliance's rule, and it would be only a matter of time before he turned against the Holy Alliance.
After all, an ordinary peak Saint Realm power is considered top-tier in the Holy Alliance, but the Holy See of Light has at least five experts of the same level, not to mention the support from within the Holy See. However, if it is a top-tier peak Saint Realm or even a Saint Realm limit expert, then unless the Holy See of Light intervenes personally, no kingdom in the Holy Alliance can be Karl's match.
The Holy See of Light personally intervened to deal with the top Saint-level experts within its territory.
This is tantamount to digging up one's own roots. If this continues, will future Holy Domain powerhouses only have two choices: join the Holy Light Church or leave the Holy Alliance? If that happens, the Holy Alliance will never grow stronger.
Blackrock City.
A powerful Saint-level leader, high military pay, and extremely low taxes—Karl even promised tax exemptions for residents of the Skywind Kingdom for three years. These three factors quickly fostered a sense of unity among the people of Blackrock City. They all hoped to live under this leader's rule forever, because the high military pay brought with it a powerful army.
A powerful army and a powerful leader would bring peace to the kingdom, and no one would bully them at will. This alone is enough to make the residents of the chaotic territory, who have suffered from war for many years, yearn for such a life.
Meanwhile, many civilians around Blackrock City also chose to migrate after these changes in Blackrock City.
Half a month after the Blackrock City changed its city wall banner.
The steward, Luo, chosen by the majority of the people, was reporting everything about Blackrock City to the imposing leader before him.
Although Karl established the current Skywind Kingdom, its territory currently consists of only Blackrock City. It is far from being a kingdom or duchy, let alone a prefecture under a province.
"My lord, the population of Blackrock City now numbers 130,000. Including the numerous towns and villages surrounding Blackrock City, the total population under Blackrock City's rule is over 700,000. The army is also expanding rapidly, with five battalions now at the highest level, each with a total of 9,000 men," Luo said respectfully.
Karl, sitting above, listened to these words, nodded slightly, waved to them, and began to ponder.
Karl didn't have any loyal followers in Blackrock City. The people he had recruited were all temporary recruits. For example, the previous head steward was only used because he was of decent character, had lived in Blackrock City for a long time, and was one of the former city lord's advisors.
"We still need to recruit some trustworthy managers."
Carl had some experience in management, after all, he was also in a position of power, even though he often delegated authority.
"First, select a few outstanding individuals from the army to train as future generals. Once the territory reaches level three, Blackrock City will become my foundation."
When Karl returned to the Chaotic Realm, he had considered the matter carefully. As a Saint-level expert, as long as he did not truly offend other experts of the same level, everyone would be at peace. Even though the Chaotic Realm had been in chaos for thousands of years, the intensity of the war could not affect those Saint-level experts.
"As long as missionary work isn't completely restricted, the Vatican will take away some of the slots, but it won't have much impact on me. In the early stages, it's best not to offend the two major Vatican councils."
Completely restricting missionary work would be tantamount to offending the two major papal courts, which would fundamentally reject them, making them enemies rather than friends.
Unlike Linley, Karl only needs to impose certain restrictions, such as limiting more than 30% of a city's residents to the Church. In this way, even if the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness spread their faith to Karl's territory, it would only be a matter of competition between the two sides.
This is equivalent to saying, "I know you're coming, so I'm giving you face by letting you preach, but you also have to give me face by only allowing me 30%." As for whether the Vatican approves of 30% of the faith, that's their business. Karl gave face, and the two major Vatican councils also have to give Karl face.
After all, only the God of War and the High Priest can completely eliminate the power within the empire that forbids others from having faith in them.
A few days later, Karl carefully selected five captains. Their strength was only average, around level four or five. Those who reached level six were capable of holding important positions in some county cities, and those who reached level seven were qualified to serve as city lords. Karl naturally understood this.
Five people: three level four warriors and two level five warriors. The two level five warriors were also the former captain of the Blackrock City City Guard and the captain of the Royal Guard.
After selecting five people, Karl first chose five low-ranking level three warriors from the registered residents of the system's territory, canceled their territory benefits, and gave these five slots to a few people.
Karl didn't care too much about the personalities or character of these five people, after all, he had his own rules: first offenses were punished, repeat offenses were punished, and those who did not repent would lose their heads. That was Karl's requirement for them.
While being strict, they also provided adequate treatment.
After the five men left, Karl did not stay in Blackrock City for long. These five men were Karl's military force in Blackrock City, while Luo was carrying out the strategy that Karl had instructed him to implement.
Outside Blackrock City, to the northeast, about a hundred miles away, lies a valley whose name is unknown. There are no other cities within a hundred and fifty miles of it, and Karl settled there.
The Law of Wind is vast and boundless. After improving his talent, Karl has always longed to spend a lot of time immersing himself in it, to properly understand and absorb it.
Blackrock City is not far from the Dark Forest, which is the main reason why many powerful experts are unwilling to occupy these cities. After all, every few to a dozen years, a beast tide will come, and those who are truly powerful are not worth risking their lives for mere enjoyment.
In a valley a thousand meters wide, Karl sat cross-legged atop a large tree canopy. A gentle breeze caressed his face, causing the canopy to sway and Karl to move as lightly as a leaf.
Behind him was a three-foot-long, two-finger-wide longsword. To many warriors, such a weapon might just be a small dagger, but it was the quasi-divine artifact [Phoenix Cry] that Karl had purchased from the shop.