"Power is a seductive thing. It can confuse people's hearts." Laing held Veronica's hand as they strolled through the Black Forest of Midentstanger. Their fingers were intertwined, and Veronica felt her legs go weak. However, having her lover by her side gave her endless strength. Coupled with the fact that her body was almost overflowing with Mana, the female council leader moved her beautiful long legs wrapped in black stockings and quietly listened to Laing's personal guidance.
This was a rare opportunity. Ever since Laing ascended the throne, the two had actually spent very little time together. Veronica was busy with the reconstruction of the sorceress gathering, the establishment of a channel for magical girls, and the restoration of the entire magic education system. Veronica had almost exhausted all of her energy.
It was a rare opportunity for the two of them to go out for a stroll, so Veronica naturally wanted to have a good chat with Laing.
"Just like you, as a captain, standing on the command platform and issuing all kinds of orders. You also have to know that everyone has to listen to your opinions unconditionally because their fates are all in your hands. And even when you're not on the command platform, this kind of power will distort your life, "Laing said calmly.
"What does this mean?" Veronica followed Laing's words. She was listening carefully.
"For example, it's like at a banquet. Everyone will pay attention to my every move." Laing said gently, "As soon as I appear, they will immediately gather around. They will cater to my every move, laugh at my jokes, figure out my every possible thought, praise the king's virtue, praise the king's bravery, and sponsor the king's pride. The reason everyone does this is because they know that their status and prospects of promotion all depend on me, the Knight King. The Knight King's evaluation of them will completely affect their fates. Such is the powerful charm of power. "
"Just like Berliat? That guy is really, always trying to figure out your thoughts and test your intentions. "Veronica agreed.
"Yes." Laing laughed out loud, "So guys like Berliat and Talleyrand are double-edged swords. It depends on how you use them, how you suppress them, and at the same time let them show their abilities. This is very important. If they're not good enough, then it's better not to use them than to abuse them. My dear, you don't have this ability. You have to think about how to make Aurora and Teresa obey your orders first. Don't mention me every time."
"Hmm … But it's not convenient to bring you out …" Veronica said in distress. However, the sweet and lovely chairwoman also understood what Ryan meant. "I know. I'll change my way of doing things in the future. But what if the other party doesn't like me? Less than half in the assembly now..... the other half, more than half, there are neutral and Aurora's..... "
"Why, are you afraid of offending people?" Laing looked around and saw that there was a dense Dark Forest nearby. The trees were growing wildly under the distortion of Chaos pollution. The knight indicated that this was the place. He smiled, "Do you think that it's easy to offend those old female councilors by using tough means and cold orders?"
"… They're all senators from Margarita's generation." Veronica sighed, "They're not easy to deal with."
"If you want to use your power and do something for the kingdom, you'll definitely offend people. Otherwise, you can only be a rubber stamp or a hands-off boss." Laing laughed, "Do you know how many knights and old nobles hate me? Do you know how many people want me to fail in my several great expeditions? "
"When I return to Brittany after this expedition, I'll continue to deepen my reforms. In the past, all titles and fiefs would be confiscated if there were no knights in the fourth generation. This time, I'm going to change it to three generations. I can foresee that at least a thousand knights' families will suffer. My dear, do you think my reputation among the old nobles will be good?" Laing continued, pointing at the direction of the town.
"You're going to continue to change?" Veronica was surprised by Laing's dissatisfaction. "My dear, do you know how many people will hate you if you do this?"
"But this is necessary. I have to redistribute social resources to those who need it more and are more useful. I want the free people and serfs to see hope. I want the kingdom to be rejuvenated. I want Brittany to be great again. I have to continue to take away the land, titles, and resources of those rotten nobles and redistribute them to others. Do you think your pressure is greater than mine?" Laing laughed loudly. The king said slowly, "If you want the kingdom's people to live a good life, you have to increase the circulation of wealth. There are only two ways to do this: increase the income and reduce the expenditure. Me? I want all of them. "
Ryan's fists slowly clenched. He held Veronica's little hand that was wrapped in black lace and taught Veronica carefully.
If he snatched food from the nobles' bowls and benefits from those who had vested interests, he was destined to have a bad reputation. This was unavoidable. It was very simple for him to gain the praise of all the knights and nobles across the country. He just had to compromise and compromise constantly.
Was there a chestnut? Yes, there was. For example, in Laing's previous life, there was an emperor who was praised to the heavens.
The scholar-officials liked him, flattered him, and praised him. They did everything they could.
Then how good was this emperor?
He was a good man! During his reign, he did several important things.
The first was to implement the law of leniency. In the past, the landlord had to pay with his life for killing the tenant farmer. He very mercifully abolished it. From then on, the landlord would symbolically criticize the tenant farmer and fine him. At the same time, the death of a thousand cuts was officially used to deal with the wicked.
Good! The scholar-officials were full of smiles and applauded!
The second was to further liberalize the rationing system. This system was very complicated. To put it simply, the scholar-officials could spend the public money at will. It was all borne by the court. If it was not enough, more money would be given to you.
Good! The scholar-officials were jubilant and praised him!
The third was to allow the scholar-officials to annex land. The price of rice skyrocketed from 300 copper coins per stone to 2,900 copper coins per stone later on. He allowed the bureaucratic system to expand without restraint. All the children of the scholar-officials were officials. No matter what the scholar-officials said, he was "Garner". He acquiesced in the integration of officials and gentry. If there was anything, he would be rewarded.
Good! The scholar-officials simply loved this kind of emperor! He was simply an angel!
What about the commoners? In fact, it was not too bad. Because basically, as long as they could not survive and encountered natural disasters, the emperor would order the conscription of the prefectural army. In the end, the government would give them food to eat. As for the price, the number of soldiers skyrocketed from 910,000 to 1,400,000. Most of them were slackers who had no fighting ability. Those who could fight did not exceed 200,000. The military expenditure accounted for 70% to 80% of the budget.
It was said that under the golden age, what was left was a dynasty on the verge of collapse. The finances were a complete mess.
In the end, after blowing back and forth, he could only boast about his personal morality and a few stories of frugality. This emperor was beyond reproach. His personal morality was almost perfect. Another thing was that he had a good relationship with the scholar-officials. He treated them so well that the elite scholar-officials were also willing to do their best for the emperor.
If Laing did the same, the Knight King could be sure that he would also enjoy the best reputation in Brittany history. However, it was not beneficial to the country.
Benevolent government, benevolent government, who was benevolent? The king and the nobles were good, and everyone was good, but who was the one who was hurt in the end?
What Leon wanted was a kingdom of knights that was strong and prosperous enough to live and work in peace and contentment, so that they could prepare for the coming final moments. He had to withstand the pressure. Since he had chosen this path, he was destined to go through trials and tribulations. Only by eliminating the useless knights and nobles, stimulating their vitality, redistributing social resources internally, and expanding the cake to the outside could he maximize the rebirth of Brittania, a kingdom of knights that had existed for thousands of years.
This was the real Knight King, the Knight King that the people needed.
This was the destiny that belonged to Laing Macado!
Now that the Knight King was the ruler of the world, the most difficult time was over.
The destiny was clear!
After finally convincing Veronica to let go of her hands and feet, and that he would be behind her, Laing began to experiment with his new abilities.
After advancing to the peak of the Sanctuary-level, Laing had obtained two new abilities.
The first ability was "Psionic Collapse Black Hole," which was the Supreme Emperor's ultimate skill. The Lord of Mankind had once used this move in the Battle of Goron in the broken world to banish the Green Skin's plasma core, which was about to explode — a device that was enough to blow up an entire planet — into the aether domain, buying a lot of time for retreat.
Naturally, Laing could not achieve the power of the Supreme Emperor, but when Laing threw out the Psionic Collapse Black Hole released by him, Veronica, who was beside him, was already trembling in fear.
The Psionic Collapse Black Hole, which was several meters in diameter, was thrown out from Laing's hand. It moved in a straight line wherever it passed, pulling everything within a radius of more than ten meters toward the center.
The "mortal world" collapsed inwards strangely, as if the universe had finally lifted its veil of warmth, revealing its absurd and ominous true appearance. On the other side of the distorted shore, the terrifying abyss was filled with creeping chaos and countless hidden mysteries. In front of the roaring void that was raging on the other side, all the living beings in the mortal world were like tiny specks of dust floating in the storm.
On the other side, there were countless creatures of chaos and twisted existences peeping at everything here. Their gazes were isolated by the bright point of view matrix formed by Laing, and the emotions and desires of the mortals were twisted and entangled in it. The pustules with black bubbles and colorful spots squirmed and jumped, constantly sucking in all kinds of emotions and breeding some new terrifying existences.
The Psionic Collapse Black Hole disappeared after flying for dozens of meters. Everywhere it passed, there was only nothingness. The trees, creatures, soil, and air were all gone. It was as if they had never existed from the beginning to the end. Only a long ravine in the forest was left, coldly explaining everything.
Leon's face was a little pale. The Gray Knight's original body realized that this move consumed a lot of his psionic energy and stamina, and it also required a long channeling time. He gasped for air, and beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. "Phew, as expected of Father's Divine Skill. I remember that Father used most of his strength when he used this move."
"My dear, are you all right?" Veronica held Laing worriedly.
"I'm fine." Laing nodded. This was a big move, and he would not use it until the last moment. And the long casting time and huge consumption made Laing very cautious. Back then, the Supreme Emperor also took a while to cast it under the protection of Horus.
This move could be used to deal with enemies that could not be dealt with in a short time, or enemies in large numbers. It was an extremely lethal move.
Laing panted for a while, and then he was ready to test the second move he had just learned.
Time Stop.
Laing's soul could resonate with the subspace. After activating this ability, for about a few seconds, Laing could temporarily stop the time nearby, and he could travel freely in it.
Veronica was very interested in Laing's ability, and the female president tried it herself.
Laing signaled her to attack, and Veronica did not think much. She drew the magic flame sword from her waist, and gently wiped the blade with a black lace glove, and fiery red flames enveloped the whole sword. She took a step to the side in her high-heeled boots, and directly rushed towards Laing.
Laing was not in a hurry. He was still adapting to his ability. Veronica thought to herself, I will let you have a taste of my power today.
The moment she attacked Laing, she felt as if she had entered a strange realm.
It was a whole new world shrouded in silver light.
In this realm, time became intermittent, and the flow of time was extremely slow. Veronica's power and body were bound in Laing's House of Wonders, and she could not move. The flame sword was about to reach Laing's wrist, but it could not move an inch. Veronica wanted to open her mouth, but her voice was stuck in her throat.
"Ugh …" Veronica did not want to be outdone. She tried to use her most powerful ability.
That was the power she had gained from entering Tzeentch's Crystal Maze. That trip allowed Veronica to touch upon the essence of the subspace, and she also gained a little bit of knowledge about Tzeentch's sea of magic, which was already very useful to Veronica.
The torrent of arcane spells gushed out of Veronica's body and finally took effect. As if she was shackled with a thousand pounds of weight, the chairwoman could finally move her body under the immense pressure. She immediately chanted an incantation and let the Flame of Inception envelop her body.
“！！！” Laing was surprised to see that Veronica could move and recite spells under his Time Stop. Veronica was indeed different from before after entering Tzeentch's Crystal Maze, coming into contact with the essence of the subspace, and gaining knowledge.
But it was too late. Laing smiled and extended his finger, and quickly approached.
Clang! The flame sword collided with Laing's finger, and the Spiritual Fire bounced off Veronica's blade. Laing then found his target and poked lightly.
"Ugh!" When Time Freeze ended, Veronica covered her chest in embarrassment and anger. She squatted on the ground with tears in her eyes. "My dear, you bastard. Is this the power you use to do this kind of thing?"
"Heh heh heh …" Laing reached out and pulled Veronica up. The Knight King simply hugged his chief minister by the waist. "How is it? Do you know how powerful I am now?"
"Okay, I've always known that my dear is very powerful, in every sense of the word." Veronica turned her head and kissed Laing on the lips. The female president said sweetly, "Speaking of which, we haven't hunted for a long time. Are you going to hunt with me today? Use your new ultimate skill? "
"I'll call it the Time of the Witch."
… I'm the dividing line of the Time of the Witch …
At the same time, the eight thousand remaining soldiers of Auster, Nord, Ostmark, and Kislöw finally saw the famous castle at the foot of the mountains southeast of the Central Mountains — Wolfenburg.
This was the last and strongest fortress of Auster's territory.
They would resist the tide of Black Iron Motekin's Chaos army here!
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