Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 289 Rise
Has life returned to its peaceful routine? It seems unlikely in the short term.

"Can't these spies be made more professional?"

Rean, this run-down place in the South Gate District, has virtually no supporting services, though it's not that they're underdeveloped.

Rean recognized the vendors around the residential area and often asked them to help him carry some goods (in an era of scarcity, ordering and picking up goods was common). But when the door opened, the familiar vendors were gone, replaced by a bunch of unfamiliar ones.

Looking around, there were two dessert stalls, a barbecue stand, three juggling boys glaring at each other, and two beggars already fighting each other.

In the past, there were only a few shops along the road in front of the house, but now there are at least thirty scattered around. They themselves can't keep up the pressure, and acrobats and beggars are starting to fight over the prime ecological niches for guarding Rean's doorstep.

"Who should be more professional? Each spy is backed by a different faction, maybe even several." That's how intelligence work is; if a piece of intelligence isn't sold to three or five different parties, even a low-level intelligence spy can't survive.

Sallyman glanced at the curtains and, confirming that most of them were noobs, simply drew the curtains, too lazy to bother with them anymore.

Having worked in intelligence, she could immediately tell that these spies were amateurs and new recruits. For Rean, this was actually a good thing.

This shows that even though many people have started paying attention to Rean, they haven't done a good job of gathering intelligence beforehand and don't know the strength of Rean's side.

In addition, "observation" is not a high priority, and the possibility of a real fight in the short term is unlikely.

"Just bear with it, it's normal. Your information is probably selling like hotcakes in the industry."

Naturally, all parties will attach great importance to the "new elites".

This emerging force, in particular, managed to carve out a district from Radiant City, and the city lord's faction even offered to take the initiative to say that it was fine and that they were welcome to come again.

"Has the appointment of the sheriff of the dock area been made?" Sallyman suddenly asked, as this matter was actually quite important.

The former head of security in the dock area has been held accountable for "mishandling the disaster" and has been dismissed and placed under house arrest.

"The official documents have been issued, and I plan to send Larry's cousin to take up the post." Larry is from the Labour family, a core member of the liberal faction that opposes the monarchists, which in a sense also serves as a check and balance.

"Is it credible?"

"That guy is just a figurehead; Larry is the one who actually does the work. Larry is too young and his rank is too low; it would be controversial if word got out. She'll bring a group of paladins from her church with her. This time there are no obstacles; she'll establish the Order of the Law Knights."

Simple words, yet they contain a wealth of information.

Rean appears to be merely a pioneering baron, having been confined to a frontline base of an underground ruin as a small town—a situation many consider an exile. However, Princess Dania, in a fit of rage, held the dock district officials and supervisors accountable, stripping a third of them of their titles.

This is actually plausible. The dock area not only experienced cult riots, but also suffered the most casualties and the most police reports. The losses at the slave market, in particular, were probably "astronomical." Reports demanding an investigation into the aftermath were piled up on Dania's desk.

Dania then took advantage of the situation and, under the pretext of "major losses in the dock area, especially the severe collapse of the slave market," directly held the main managers of the area accountable, and in particular, directly stripped those incompetent sheriffs who had hidden themselves during the crisis of their posts.

"What about the administrative side? Do you have any suitable candidates?" The administrative position of the district head is vacant, but a new candidate has not yet been decided.

"Saliman, do you have anyone here?" Rean didn't know many nobles, so he could only ask the Sudar family for help.

"Yes, but would you dare to use them?" Those large families, with their numerous distant relatives, branches, and divisions, often become managers of certain departments or large stores, serving as the main tentacles for the family's influence to extend outwards.

“Of course I dare to use them. Give me the list in the next couple of days, and I'll have Dania go through it. That'll be the final decision.” Rean naturally had no doubt about Sallyman.

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Suliman smiled happily.

The power vacuum naturally needs to be filled. This was clearly a deliberate move to clear out the high-ranking officials in the dock area, and many people could see that it was to make room for the "new elites".

After handing over the power of law enforcement and administration to the new elites, Rean was not only sealed off from that underground town, but also from that town to the entire dock area. The entire dock area was abandoned to Rean by Dania!
"We could never repay Princess Dania's kindness in our lifetime, and this is how you repay her?" Rean stated directly to Dania's confidante, Sallyman.

Upon hearing this, Sallyman frowned and said hesitantly.

“Why do I get the feeling that what you’re saying is, ‘If you can’t pay it back, then just don’t pay it back at all’?” Sallyman raised her snake hair and looked at Rean warily.

"That's all an illusion. I swear, I love cute little Dania the most, second only to Miss Suliman." Suliman was so easy to coax, and immediately started to wiggle shyly.

But that's how it is now. With the rise of the "Rean Force," he naturally attracted the attention of various forces.

Unbeknownst to many, Rean's side has become an emerging force that cannot be ignored, and the dock area is his de facto fiefdom, with his people taking over the highest administrative and security positions.

This is something that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances. If the monarchy could arbitrarily strip nobles of their hidden fiefdoms and powers, it would face pressure from the entire noble and feudal system.

But now, during the war, with a meritorious baron on one side and a useless baron who had messed things up on the other, plus the target being only the least valuable area in the city, the noble circles discussed it briefly and then moved on.

"Hmph, you know there are rumors that the dock area is owned by the Sudar family. Shouldn't we clarify that?"

This is the fundamental reason why there is not much resistance.

In most people's eyes, Rean Sudar and Suliman Sudar are one and the same; Rean is the head of Sudar's family, and her husband now probably has an additional head of the household.

Given Viscount Sudar's family background, his fiefdom and title are already low. Now, with the establishment of Dania's authority, she naturally wants to "appoint vassals" and "employ her cronies".

It's normal to carve out a piece of land in the city of Radiance, the focal point, and hand it over to the loyal Sudar family. That's what confidants do: help leaders and superiors delegate power and manage various specific affairs.

Ultimately, this was a power reorganization within a certain scope after the princess began to rule in her own right and establish her authority. Few fools would be willing to stand up to her for the sake of the dock area.

The rise of a pure nouveau riche naturally comes with pressure from the entire social class. You can only be allowed a piece of the pie if you can withstand it; otherwise, who would want to eat less?

However, if someone is already a member of a high-ranking noble family and begins to be valued by the princess in power, sending a member of their family (Rean) to specifically control a region, the overall structure remains unchanged; it's just that a new member has been added.

"There's no need to clarify, and even if I did, probably no one would believe me. I don't really care; with this cover, things will go much more smoothly for us."

To put it bluntly, if "Holy Knight Rean" takes control of the dock area, the slave market will probably have to prepare for a desperate fight.

However, if "Noble Rean" accepts the entrustment of his family and His Highness to take over the management and security of the dock area, it simply means there is one more person to share the pie. Let the backers of various forces negotiate. The core rule of the noble circle has always been compromise and exchange of interests.

Rean was happy to see such "misunderstandings"; borrowing a big name before having enough power was not necessarily a bad thing.

"I will find a cousin, a viscount, to serve as the administrative head of the dock area. The specifics will be handled by my subordinates."

The bureaucratic system in this world is quite subtle. The key personnel are all nobles and high-ranking nobles, but those who actually do the work and manage things are often unknown.

The administrative head (district chief) of the dock district would be a viscount, a cousin of a Sudar (a conservative member of the monarchy).

Meanwhile, the head of law enforcement was a cousin of the "liberal" Labour family, and a nominal balance was achieved between the two sides.

In reality, however, administration and security will be in Rean's hands, and this land will become Rean's property and territory.

"Isn't this a bit too hasty?" Sallyman knew that these things couldn't be kept secret for long; eventually, everyone would find out, which would cause new trouble.

"Time is running out; there's no time to waste on them and fight them at will."

Rean was quite open-minded. He figured he might have nothing left in two years, so he might as well be radical. If he was too late, he might have nothing left at all.

"Larry will massively expand the Law Knights, turning the dock area into an incubator for Paladins and Law Knights. I'll see how those slave traders will do business when the streets are full of patrolling Law Knights and Paladins."

Rean needs land to incubate combat power, to mass-produce equipment, and to cultivate reserve combat power and logistical chains. He doesn't have time to play games with those nobles and engage in various internal struggles for a little bit of existing interests.

The fastest change will probably be that the new Order of the Law Knights will gradually phase out those black sheriffs and police officers.

In a sense, Rean was also fulfilling the promise he made to Sue.

"The de facto head of the sheriff's office will be Larry, while the head of the gray forces will be her junior brother Dimon, and the mastermind behind the administration will be their senior brother, me. Why does it feel like we're the ones who have everything under the law and are the masterminds behind the scenes?"

(End of this chapter)