Chapter 82: Rules

“Setting rules?”

Jon asked, slightly taken aback.

“Yes,” Jonathan nodded.

He continued, “First, objectively speaking, you possess the strength to disregard all of them. Second, logically, you are the Frontline Vice-Generalissimo of the Demon Subjugation Campaign — regardless of whether it is a titular role or not, you currently hold the authority to temporarily command the entire Thousand River Province.

Third, emotionally, you hold the account books provided by the City Lord of Rosy City, which contain information on almost every noble official in the Thousand River Province.”

“While Princess Margaret remains in seclusion, you are the nominal supreme commander of the Thousand River Province. All we need to do is go door-to-door and turn this ‘nominal’ status into a reality.”

“What should I do?”

Jon rubbed his hands together, eager to start.

He had long been dissatisfied with those local nobles who occupied their positions without doing any work.

“Teacher, please just say it.”

“Visit the home of every city lord and hold them accountable for their failure to suppress the demons. Say that this disaster is a residual scheme left by Demon Lord Ria. If they ignore it, ask if they intend to collude with the enemy as traitors. Intimidate them first, then win them over, and finally, make your demands.”

Jon paused.

“But Demon Lord Ria is already dead.”

He felt it was a bit absurd.

“Exactly. Because he is dead, we can use his name however we wish. A dead demon lord is far more useful than a living one,” Jonathan said, repeating the words written on the wooden board.

“I see…”

Jon said thoughtfully.

“What? Is there a problem?”

Jonathan saw Jon’s expression turn strange and, fearing his clever student’s mind was wandering, he immediately pressed further.

“It’s nothing. I just suddenly feel that life isn’t easy for Demon Lord Ria. It seems everyone is making him the scapegoat,” Jon chuckled.

Jonathan laughed loudly.

“It can’t be helped. Who told him to be the demon lord?”

“True… Who told him to be the demon lord?”

Jon lowered his head, stifling his laughter.

—

Meanwhile.

A certain “heinous” pink Pupu demon lord was currently commanding her army of 100,000 to surround and eliminate low-tier magic beasts stranded in the flood.

After expanding her chain of command, she no longer relied on clever tactics — instead, she could use human-wave tactics to fairly and justly drown her opponents.

Even so, Lia kept in mind The Way of Survival principles, which were even more cautious than being “cautiously brave.”

She resolutely avoided provoking magic beasts above the third rank, never touched “cheating” species, and immediately dragged the corpses away to retreat once successful, never lingering.

Soon… a pile of low-tier magic beast corpses grew before Lia.

One part was used for her [Devour] skill, analyzing and obtaining various new skills for future needs.

The other part had their magic crystals extracted to raise the overall rank of the “Queen Pupus,” strengthening the stability of the command chain as much as possible.

However, during the hunt, Lia soon realized the limitations of the normal Pupu tribe structure — the casualty ratio was simply too high.

Objectively speaking, Pupus strengthened by a Queen Pupu’s [Conscription] skill were only slightly stronger than magic beasts of the same rank.

Although there was an improvement, the strength was limited.

While they could rely on tactical commands and outnumbering the enemy to reduce casualties, once the absorption loss of the magic crystals was factored in, the income could only barely be maintained at a “small profit” level.

To turn the magical energy balance from a “small profit” to a “huge profit” and help the Pupu swarm grow rapidly, she had to increase income and reduce expenditure.

Increasing income naturally meant capturing succubi to integrate into the “power grid” to produce pure yellow clean energy.

As for reducing expenditure, it was crucial to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Pupu soldiers through external armaments as soon as possible to lower casualties.

Lia jumped onto Pika’s back, thinking to herself:

‘If Jonathan didn’t mess up my arrangements, the Hero should be on his way to “set rules” for the nobles of the Thousand River Province. I’ll take this chance to borrow his prestige to scavenge some high-tier magic crystals and technical data.’

Regarding steelmaking, unfortunately, although she generally understood the principle and structure of modern steel furnaces, as a layman, she had no idea about the raw material ratios for common alloys.

However, the Empire’s metallurgical technology was well-developed.

Stealing some technical data from here… tsk, no, in terms of development, how could it be called stealing? That was a “technical exchange!” A one-way exchange was still an exchange!

The Empire would just have to suffer a bit more; the Hero would take the blame.

Lia left the main force of the Pupu swarm in the flooded area to continue hunting, while she took four “elite generals” to rendezvous with the Hero.

Besides Pika and Little Black, who had clearly grown a size larger due to the abundance of magic crystals lately, the other two were “natural athletes” among the Pupus who had performed exceptionally during the hunt and were also granted magic crystals.

Lia had only discovered today that there were actually differences in talent among Pupus! Some Pupus seemed to have stronger combat instincts after [Conscription].

They could react on their own without needing orders from the Queen.

‘It’s like they didn’t finish their soup before reincarnating.’

Lia gave them domineering names: one was called Guan Yu, and the other was called Zhang Fei!

The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the sky turned clear and bright.

When the Demon Lord and her newly promoted Four Heavenly Kings arrived before Jon with a series of guji, guji sounds, Jon was already prepared to set out.

Seeing his little girl return, Jon’s eyes curved into a smile, and he couldn’t help but grin.

“You’re back? Lili, your friend is going out to fight. Do you want to come along?”

“A fight! Yes, yes!”

Lia laughed innocently and brightly.

When she was being bullied by the Hero, Lia felt extremely aggrieved; but standing on the Hero’s shoulder and watching him bully others from a first-person perspective made her feel incredibly satisfied.

‘Fight, fight! The more people in the Hero’s Victim Association, the better.’

‘Lest everyone thinks this King is weak!’

‘Sooner or later, you will all understand the value of this King’s ability to survive three time-stops under the Hero’s hand!’

Lia complained secretly in her heart.

By this time, Jon had taken off his armor and changed into a suit of proper brocade clothes.

Clothes make the man; dressed in standard noble attire, he indeed looked even more handsome and extraordinary.

He pushed open the door and twisted his neck uncomfortably.

The fresh morning dew and the rising sun met him, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

It seemed the weather had cleared since the early morning.

Beneath his feet was a muddy road, winding toward the distance, forcing one to leave deep or shallow footprints.

Regardless of whether the path was easy or difficult, it was a road he had to travel.

Fortunately, what made Jon feel deeply comforted… was that Lili always sat on his shoulder, leaning against his ear, humming a cheerful and nameless tune.

With this little one accompanying him, it felt as though he no longer feared anything.

He mounted his horse — still that pure-blooded Imperial Storm Horse, though its barding had been removed, revealing its majestic head.

The sound of hooves wound into the distance.

They pointed directly toward the prosperous, fortified city nearest to the flooded area.

At this moment.

The ordinary citizens within the city were in a state of panic due to the dam breach and the once-in-a-millennium flood.

The major cathedrals, which were usually busy, were now packed to capacity.

The common citizens were throwing money into donation boxes, fearing that if they were a step late, the gods would doubt their piety and no longer protect them.

The people’s misfortune was the “priests'” fortune.

The chubby old priest smiled so widely his eyes were nearly closed, and the graceful nuns beside him thanked the believers one by one, their eyes flickering with lingering affection.

Next door to the church, in the solemn and towering municipal building, officials were yawning.

Despite the crowds outside, they continued to handle official business sluggishly.

They had only just started work, but their minds were already on the hot soup waiting for them at home.

Further back, in the quieter inner city area, continuous green manors were scattered about.

They didn’t grow grain or fruit in the gardens; instead, they were planted with elegant, yellow-and-white Windbell Flowers.

Magic had been cast upon the trees, ensuring the flowers bloomed in all seasons with vibrant colors.

When the wind blew, the scent mingled with the rustling of the swaying branches, making one feel as if they were in a fairyland.

The manors were naturally not lacking in Baroque-style buildings modeled after the Imperial Capital, housing the dozen or so most noble families in the city.

With the sky clearing this morning, elegant noblewomen had already set up silver tea tables, chatting about the latest fashions and gossip.

Upstairs, refined men with gold-inlaid pipes spoke loudly and with grand gestures, discussing Imperial policy.

Downstairs, children who were young but had already developed an air of nobility were bored with today’s private magic lessons, their thoughts already drifting to the white clouds outside the window.

And yet, only twenty kilometers away on the riverbanks, there were starving disaster victims who could only chant sutras and pray to the gods, along with bloated, pale corpses pushed onto the mudflats by the current.