Reborn: Imperial Officer Promotion Guide

The people present were all stunned when they looked at the golden giant.

They really wanted to resist.

However, the lord went straight into a battle stance, transforming into a golden giant and quietly looking down at all living beings.

Ling was so shocked that his mouth opened wide. He didn't expect that his teacher would actually plan to take action against these people.

There was a stiff expression on his face.

"Teacher! Are you... serious!?"

"...Oh, you're right, I almost forgot."

As Hull muttered to himself, a huge, complex and intricate magic circle appeared behind him, with nine colorful magic wands representing different attributes suspended in it.

A silver-white spear, emitting dazzling light like a falling star, flew to the side of the golden giant and rotated and hovered like a satellite.

"Ling, thank you for your reminder. This is my serious state."

"Ahhh... Teacher, what are you doing?!" Ling had never seen such a scene before.

If the person in front of her wasn't Hull, she would have probably run away immediately out of fear.

At this moment, he just cried out with a sad face: "Are you really going to attack those unarmed people?!"

“It is said that even a lion will do its best to fight a rabbit. To become a truly strong person, you must be strong when facing a strong opponent, and also strong when facing a weak opponent.”

Ling held her forehead, a little frustrated: "Not handsome at all, okay? The teacher really doesn't know anything."

Hull just laughed off this meaningless complaint.

Hull took a step forward with his right foot and cast a challenging glance at the people in the audience.

The state of the golden giant is actually just something similar to armor wrapped in magic and has no actual weight.

Even if it is broken, it will not harm Hel himself, at most it will only consume some of his magic power.

This [Taurus] magic wand is indeed very suitable for defense.

In terms of offense, it is enough to use the telekinesis of the [White Snake]. Even if he is outnumbered, Hull is confident of winning.

"What's wrong? If you have any objections, convince me with your strength!"

"Um...you...are you planning to use force to threaten ordinary people like us who are powerless to resist?!"

"Hehehe... I'm just entering a war state, and you guys are pretending to be powerless to resist? If I didn't bring my wand, and five hundred of you attacked me together, I might be the one to die. I'm just taking out an insurance policy for myself. I don't want to disappear from the face of the earth because of a mob on my first day in office."

"Ah...ah..."

Basil, the stout son of the town steward, drew back a few steps, his face pale with fear.

"Let me be frank. Even if you five hundred people come together, I will have no problem at all. I have faced an enemy force of thirty thousand on my own before. I am immune to such despicable acts as using numbers to bully the few."

"..."

What was this noble saying? Big Buzzard was sweating.

"Buzzed! Calm down!"

At this moment, Daryl, who was next to him, put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Mr. Town Manager, your son is just like a frightened wild dog now. He can only bark non-stop. You must pay attention to disciplining him in the future..."

"Yes... I'm sorry, Lord. It's true that the previous lord lowered the tax rate without authorization. However, we can't raise that much money now. Please look at my skinny body."

The old man looked like he was about to cry, revealing his slender arms, then took off his shirt. He was as thin as a dead tree, and every rib was clearly visible.

It's no accident that Daryl became the town mayor of the Kraken region.

He is a great negotiator and definitely not emotional.

He is particularly good at using his frail body and tragic appearance to win the sympathy of others.

With certain speaking skills, he achieved favorable results in every negotiation with every lord and brought practical benefits to the people of the Kraken region.

Sympathy is a feeling that everyone has.

As long as one is a human being, he or she will have emotions and will definitely have sympathy for the weak.

Too many examples have supported this conclusion, and this trick has been proven to be effective time and time again.

However, this time, this conclusion was challenged.

"lie."

The golden giant stared at Daryl with sharp eyes. The silver spear had stopped in front of his face, and the tip of the spear was as sharp as the sting of a wasp.

"I have studied medicine before and understand the structure of the human body. Considering your age, even if you are given the most delicious food, your body will not be able to absorb it. You relied on this stinky skin to win the sympathy of the kind previous lord, and now you are planning to continue to deceive me? I have to say, you are really very courageous..."

"... Even so, it is impossible to immediately ask for a 10% tax increase. Please be sure..."

"So, where did the taxes go? The previous lord emptied his own pockets. If you don't have extra property, will the taxes you paid less every year just disappear out of thin air? To put it bluntly, weren't the saved grain and money quietly hidden away?"

"No! There is absolutely no such thing! We only kept the minimum rations. The money and food have been handed over!"

Everything Daryl said was a lie.

As Hull points out, they pay only about 70 percent of their income each year; the rest is hidden.

They knew that the cowardly but kindhearted lord would never pursue the matter.

I just didn't expect to meet such an alternative lord today.

Daryl knew that his lie would definitely be exposed by the new lord, but he absolutely could not admit that he was lying.

Now we must grit our teeth and stand firm to the end and never reveal all the hidden money and food.

"Then why don't you just hand over the last of your rations?"

"This...this is not possible! If that happens, we will have nothing to eat starting tomorrow, not even black bread."

To this old man who was begging with tears in his eyes.

Hull's tone was very calm, as if he was talking about something that was a matter of course.

"If there's no bread, why not have cake?"

Hull's words once again aroused public anger.

"Are you kidding me!" "We will never agree to that!" "You are telling us to die!" "Is this the nature of a lord!?" "You let everyone starve to death, what kind of lord are you!" "Go to hell!" "Get out!" "What a rubbish!"

"...It's so noisy." Hull smiled.

[White Snake] made a buzzing shaking sound, and a crack appeared on the ground. Dozens of stubborn rocks weighing several tons were suspended above everyone's head like sharp swords, blocking the sunset sunlight.

“Wow…Wow…!!!”

"The magic wand [White Snake], like the giant hammer in my hand, was captured by me on the battlefield in the north. The opponent was the legion commander of the Principality of Diordo. They were both very tough, but I captured one alive and seriously injured the other. I wonder if you are more courageous than them?"

“Wow! This central square is where we rest… woooo… woooo… woooo…”

Daryl, the town manager, knelt on the ground with tears streaming down his face.

"Hehehe... In order to arouse sympathy, he actually honed his acting skills to this extent. Ling, this old man is just like you, a great performer. Unfortunately, this trick doesn't work on me. Besides, for the people in the barren land who can't even get enough food, a square like this for rest is a luxury. Lazy people don't need this luxury."

"Ah! Teacher, the entire square is going to be destroyed by you! This is too much no matter how you look at it," Ling said with a long face.

"Like I said, such a place is a luxury for them. Can't they just go back to their own homes to rest? It's just right to clear the land and build a reasonable building later."

"That's not what I'm talking about! I mean threatening these people with violence, don't you think that's too much!?"

"Too much? As a lord, restraining the people in your territory is the most basic thing. Do you intend to let them continue to live without any dignity as before?"

"I mean your approach is weird! Why can't you be more peaceful and implement some good policies first?"

"As you said, the previous lord emptied his own family to implement good governance, and these people you sympathized with cunningly trampled on that kindness. Ling, being weak does not mean you are a good person. Sometimes the weak are more cunning and more willful than the strong, and the weak are very good at using their weak status to gain sympathy."

Hull's argument was so shocking that the people present were speechless.

In contrast, the "unhappy life" up to now turned into a "happy yesterday" in the blink of an eye.

They now realize that they cannot possibly defy the will of this dictator.

"If you want to flee the Kraken region, please feel free to do so. I will distribute the property and land of those who escape to those who stay. I just hope that other regions will welcome everyone from the Kraken region."

This is very difficult. The Kraken region has long accumulated a bad reputation and has long been regarded as an ominous place by the surrounding areas.

The people who leave here cannot get better treatment, and they cannot even buy land. They can only hide their identities and do low-level jobs.

At this moment, Hull raised his hand, and the dozen or so huge stones flew into the distant forest, startling countless black crows.

They sang an annoying chorus with ominous voices.

"Change starts with correcting your laziness and putting away the disguise of a weak person. I know how to deceive better than you do. If you want to stay, I can guarantee that this Kraken region will be reborn soon."

At this moment, the people were so scared that they couldn't raise their heads.

The only ones still standing were the girl with glasses named Xino, the castle guard Rag, and the town mayor Daryl.

Others lay facing the ground, either praying or crying.

The only exceptions are Cersei and Goliath standing in the corner.

They seemed to have fallen asleep halfway through, one had bubbles coming out of his nose and the other had drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"Then... Lord, what do you want us to do?"

The girl named Xino adjusted her glasses and raised her right hand tremblingly.

"It's summer now. If you work hard, you can harvest again before winter. As long as you pay the three gold royals tax before the end of the year, I won't interfere too much with your normal life."

"In other words, regardless of the tax rate, you just need to pay three gold royals before the end of the year, right?"

"Yes, that's it."

"...I understand." Xino put down his right hand and frowned slightly as if he had made up his mind.

"I like your bravery." Hull nodded.

After a moment of silence, Hel lifted the Taurus' magic and its body returned to its normal size.

"Then today's meeting ends here. Thank you for your hard work, and good night."

After saying that, Hull walked towards Hanshi City on his own.

The remaining people looked at each other, and many of them showed bitter expressions when they thought about the difficult life they would face in the future.

At this moment, more than ten kilometers away, a caravan consisting of more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages entered the Kraken area.

The freight carriages were loaded with a variety of goods, mainly food and building materials.

On top of the carriage was the logo of the Nandal Chamber of Commerce.

The curtains of the carriage in the front suddenly opened, and a man with stubble sighed.

"Heer... he really knows how to choose a place. He spent so much money and came to such a place to become the lord." Nandar stuck his head out and scanned the surrounding scenery.

“This place took so much work to build…”