Hail the King

After a moment of silence, the pub got noisy again.

The alcohol could make these farmers forget about their worries temporarily. Even though they were concerned about the news that Mr. Babel might bring them, and they only had a few copper coins in their pockets, they didn’t mind drinking one pint of beer to relax.

The only waitress, Jenny, and the fat female owner of the pub walked around and served these people with the low-quality ale. As these two average-looking women with fat butts were walking around, a man reached out and lightly squeezed Jenny’s butt, and this chubby girl with freckles on her face screamed exaggeratedly, causing everyone to laugh.

This was a standard pub in a farmers’ town, and this was a typical day here.

Some people couldn’t hold back their curiosity and peeked at the five strangers; Of course, they wanted to see the beautiful and pure girl who came with them. This girl was so gorgeous that she looked like a goddess, and these men who are in their 40s and 50s would blush when peeking at her. Her beauty was beyond their imagination, and they didn’t even dare to have any dirty thoughts when looking at her.

Compared with her, the wife of Mr. Babel, who was the dream woman for a lot of the men in this town, looked ugly as ever.
People were chatting among themselves and wondering about these five people’s statuses, but they didn’t dare to walk up and strike a conversation.

“Eh, interesting. I like this atmosphere.” Fei sat down beside the window and looked out to the nightly sky where stars shone. The slight chaotic atmosphere reminded him of his previous life. When he was in university, after playing games in the internet café, he and his friends would go to some roadside BBQ restaurants at 12 in the midnight to chill.
For some reason, Fei felt like he was becoming more and more nostalgic.

Perhaps it was because he was gradually becoming a part of this world, and his memory from his previous life was fading away; he instinctively wanted to keep some.

Angela had never been in such an environment before. However, she didn’t hate it. The two things that were repelling her was the thick smell of the tobacco and the stinky feet. She leaned against Fei tighter, and she winked her noise instinctively.

Her charm was undeniable.

Her subconscious movement instantly made the men sitting close to them put out their cigarettes and put their feet back into their old boots.

Torres set to the left of Fei. He sat a little further behind, and he observed everyone in the pub, judging if they were dangerous or not. Even the thin, poor prostitutes who only had a few pieces of clothes on and were trying to get customers were inspected.

Even though Torres knew that the king was mighty, and probably no one in this town could threaten him. However, as a guard, his instinct and habit made him highly aware.

Jessie and Alan were sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Jessie was born in a poor neighborhood, and his life in Black-Cloth Shrine was simple and ascetic. Therefore, he got used to this little pub really quick. He saw there quietly and even called over the chubby waitress Jenny to order a plate of salt water-boiled beans, a pint of bitter ale, and a few pieces of local whole-wheat bread.

Bam!

At this moment, the wooden door of the pub was kicked open.

Everyone turned their heads and saw an arrogant figure. He was more than two meters tall, bald, and wearing two metal bracelets.

After he glanced around viciously, a proud smile on his face. It was clear that he was pleased with the fact that everyone in the pub stopped talking when he made his appearance.
Then, he turned around and put on a flattering smile, bending his back and making a respectful gesture.

Then, a thin, pale mid-aged man walked in; he was wearing a fancy robe. Beside him, there was a mid-aged woman who was hanging onto his arms. This woman was wearing a ton of makeup; she wasn’t bad-looking and had a voluptuous body, but her age made her look a little bloated. Also, she was wearing a ton of jewelry; even though it was fancy, it felt a little vulgar.

As soon as these two people stepped into the pub, a disgusted look appeared on their face. They both took out a white cloth to cover their noses, clearing displeased with the air quality there.

This thin, pale mid-aged man was Mr. Babel, the ruler of the town and the only noble around; he could determine the fate of every person in the town. He was a little noble in the former Blackstone Kingdom, and his title got kept after the kingdom was rewarded to Chambord. The woman beside him was his wife, Kelly, and the vicious bald man was his guard, Derek.

“I’m sure you all know the reason why you are here. The spring is about to arrive, so according to the tradition of our town, we will distribute the land rental agreement tomorrow and sale the seeds as well. As you know, the entire Blackstone Kingdom is rewarded to King Alexander His Majesty of Chambord! Therefore, the previous rules are changing.”

After he slowly walked into the table at the center of the pub, which looked the cleanest, Waitress Jenny quickly rushed over and cleaned this table even more. Then, the lady, Kelly, pinched her nose and sat down.

However, Mr. Babel continued to stand. In a calm yet determinate tone, he looked around and announced, “According to the new laws created by King Alexander His Majesty, the tax is going to increase for the coming year. There is the seed tax, justice tax, and the war tax. Each tax is one silver coin, and will be based on head counts……”

Before Babel could finish, the people in the hub started to shout.

“God! Three more taxes? Can we still live?”

“One silver coin per tax per person? After working hard for a full year, I can only make five to six silver coins. That isn’t enough for the taxes! What should we eat? What can we wear then?”
“Damn! King Alexander of Chambord! Is he trying to kill us?”

“Damn! We can’t live anymore! Justice tax? War Tax? There is no justice! There are no wars around here! We wouldn’t be able to afford food, but we need to pay for wars?”
“Just let the enemies of Jax come here! By then, we might be able to have some money left over for food!”

“Tyrant Alexander! I hate you!”

Although these farmers were used to being disappointed once every year and knew that the nobles wouldn’t stop getting wealth from them, the new taxes placed a heavy burden on their minds, and they couldn’t hold back their anger.

Instantly, the pub got chaotic, and the farmers were enraged.

When Angela and other looked at him with surprise, Fei shrugged and said, “Don’t look at me; I never gave such order. I don’t think Uncle Bast and Brook would do something like this.”

“Quiet down! Quiet!” Mr. Babel knocked the table forcefully.

That tough, bald guard looked around viciously, and his knuckles made a series of popping noises. Then, he smashed his fist against a wooden beam, causing the dust on the ceiling to fell off.

His ferocious presence instantly scared the farmers, making them very quiet.

They had no power and influence. Except for getting angry, they couldn’t do anything else.

“You need to know that King Alexander His Majesty is fighting with the enemies of Jax in the frontline! He is protecting the empire! We need to contribute as much as we can! If the military doesn’t get enough funds, the empire might get conquered! The Sand Ghosts’ blades aren’t easy to talk to! They will kill all the men and assault all women! This town would be turned into a living hell! Therefore, you need to pay the taxes!” Babel paused for a second after seeing that his words scared these farmers and extinguished their will for rebellion. He nodded and continued, “Except for the taxes, the rental cost will increase three times. Also, the price for the seeds will increase three times as well. You all need to pay up in ten days. If you can’t, you won’t get seeds and lands this year……”

Before he could finish, the pub got noisy again.

“What? That is impossible! We don’t have that much money!”

“How? None of us can! Tyrant! That Tyrant! Who is going to come and save us?”

“We would rather be ruled by the royal family of the Blackstone Kingdom! This damn king of Chambord! He doesn’t care about our lives! Kick the people of Chambord out! Alexander is a vampire! He is a greedy devil!”

“Chambordians! Get out of Kelun and the Blackstone Kingdom!”

The angry people knocked the tables, and some of them even broke the metal cups. The cussing and shouts almost destroyed the roof!

The atmosphere in the pub was intense; anything might trigger an explosion!

What Babel said went through the bottom line. If everything was calculated according to what he said, then no one in this town could afford growing crops for the next year.

“I’m empathic about the situation, but I couldn’t do anything. These are the orders from King Alexander of Chambord. No one can go against it.”

Mr. Babel intentionally threw all the blames onto Chambord, and the angry crowd started to chant things like, “Alexander is a devil.”

Torres instantly stood up and grabbed onto his bow. However, Fei nodded and signaled his guard to sit down. It was clear that the king realized something.

At this moment, a young man suddenly stood up and refuted, “You are lying! King Alexander His Majesty never gave out such orders!”