Man on the ark, forced to become king

"After all, it's food, so it shouldn't be allowed."

"I think we should cut one open and see? Xiao Chen only broke off a corner; maybe the hard part is just the outer shell, and the inside is soft?"

The group looked at each other in silence for a long while before Melina finally offered her opinion.

She figured that bread is probably soft inside, so you can just remove the crust and eat it. Even if you still can't finish it, it's much better than throwing it away.

"Then I'll try."

Lin Lu nodded, raised her arm, and a faint blue light floated, from which a semi-transparent, slender short sword extended from the gathered magical radiance.

They had no usable tools here, so the Royal Magic Kalia Swift Sword was just the right choice. With its sharpness, it could easily slice through a loaf of bread.

Surely this thing can't be so hard that it can block even magic, right?

If that's the case, what shields will Ursus's army have left? Giving everyone a large loaf of bread would be enough to withstand all attacks, and they can even dismantle it and eat it as rations when they're hungry.

"I mean, you guys don't need to do this, do you?"

A group of people sat around the table, staring at each other. Theresa, who had followed from behind, felt that it was time for her to make her move.

She may not be the most powerful in terms of strength, but when it comes to her understanding of the world and the countries around the world, she can proudly say that no one present has a deeper understanding than her!

Chen was just a child and didn't have much experience.

Lin Lu had some knowledge of it, mostly from books; she had some, but not much.

Lani and Melina were completely clueless and could only guess, so it was time for her, the 'local,' to come in handy!

"Actually, rye bread has a long history in Ursus and is the staple food for most of the poor people in Ursus. It is also widely used in the army."

Reaching out to pick up a large loaf of bread, Theresa explained with a smile, "The land of Ursus is not suitable for growing normal crops, so bread baked with wheat from here is inevitably harder. In addition, the people of Ursus mix in other coarse grains and sugar, which further amplifies this characteristic. Bread like this can be stored for a long time and is very suitable as a food reserve."

"When needed, just cut off a few slices, soak them, and you can fill your stomach. I've eaten it before. Don't be fooled by its hard appearance; it actually tastes pretty good. It's one of Ursus's signature specialties."

"So this thing is indeed eaten after being cut up, right? And you have to soak it in water first?"

Lin Lu looked thoughtful, then suddenly realized.

He said, "How could this kind of thing be something you could just bite into and eat? It's supposed to be soaked, so that makes perfect sense."

"No, there are many ways to eat rye bread. The most common way is to slice it and soak it in water. But sometimes when conditions are not right, you can eat it directly."

Holding a bread the size of a washbasin, and under the stunned gazes of the others, Theresa smiled and took a bite.

Click~

Click~

The chilling sound of chewing filled the room. Chen Qing couldn't help but swallow hard, took a few steps back, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Chapter 57 The Chernobog Plot

"Um, are you sure you're okay?"

Amidst the awe-inspiring gazes of the crowd, Theresa easily devoured half of an Ursus rye bread, seemingly quite enjoying it.

Her appearance was truly frightening to Lin Lu, and the crunching sound of her chewing seemed to still echo in her ears.

Those who know the truth will think they're eating bread, but those who don't might think they're chewing bricks.

While the Golden Tree's enhancements are undeniably powerful, swallowing something whole is still...

"This is indeed bread, just a little hard, but the taste is still quite good."

Theresa took a napkin and elegantly wiped her hands, her pale pink eyes filled with obvious confusion, as if to say, 'What's going on with you?'

It's clear that in her mind, Ursus bread is probably a normal food, and there's absolutely no problem eating it.

Well, it's unlikely that anything will actually go wrong.

After all, according to the introduction, most of the civilians in Ursus eat this.

"...If you like this, then you can have it all. I'll just eat the red sausage."

Lin Lu calmly sat back down in her chair, grabbed a sausage and stuffed it into her mouth, pretending not to see Theresa's gaze.

As expected of the Demon King?

He can easily do things that others can't; an ordinary person like him should just eat some normal food.

Not only him, but everyone, including Lani, silently grabbed their own sausage and ate quickly with stiff expressions. Except for Theresa, no one could swallow it.

"Give it a try, it's really delicious..."

"Forget it, I'm not worthy of it."

Lin Lu hurriedly waved her hand and began to change the subject.

"Let's get down to business. Can you permanently change someone's mindset?"

"Permanently change one's mindset?"

No one was willing to share the Ursus bread with her, and Theresa was a little discouraged, but after thinking for a moment, she replied, "I haven't tried it. Theoretically, it's possible, but it would take some time."

"If it's a temporary change, that's easy. Before the Demon King's power is exhausted, it can continuously influence a person's mind."

"For something to be permanent, it would involve operational memory. Only by completely altering the memory itself can that effect be achieved."

Whose mind do you want to change?

"Who else could it be but the master of this city, Marquis Boris of Ursus, and other high-ranking officials who wield real power?"

"Marquis Boris?"

Theresa has an instinctive aversion to directly changing other people's thoughts; she doesn't like using her abilities in this way.

But if it's Lin Lu's request...

Changing the mindset of a city's ruler should mean wanting to change the city's existing atmosphere, right?

That doesn't seem like a bad idea.

The current situation in Chernobog alone reveals what kind of person the Marquis Boris is.

Greed, tyranny, arrogance... all the vices of the nobility were vividly displayed in him, plunging the entire city into darkness and leaving the people in constant fear.

Under his laws, the military and police, who should have been maintainers of order, became a purely violent structure, disregarding the law and resorting to any means necessary.

Theresa didn't feel much pressure to take action against such people; if it could change the city, then she was willing to do it.

The only thing to consider is what consequences this will have?

Admittedly, Chernobog was his territory during the Marquis Boris's lifetime, but that did not mean he was absolutely free in the city.

Patrol teams from the upper echelons of Ursus and the military will still remain in the city; the power of the Demon King is not without its risks.

A person's thoughts gradually change with their experiences. The power of the Demon King can only change them once, but cannot maintain them indefinitely.

The hidden dangers still exist.

“If you can change Boris’s mind, then the Golden Tree Blessing can be used to completely bind him, and Chernobog will fall into our hands.”

After putting down the sausage in her hand, Lin Lu pondered for a moment and proposed a preliminary plan.

“If it takes a long time, then we can only make our move at night. There won’t be a suitable opportunity during the day. I will infiltrate the Marquis’s mansion later to look for an opportunity and then inform you.”

"After we succeeded with Boris, the rest became much simpler. We can completely control Boris to summon those powerful officials and change them one by one. Once the upper echelons of the city are all our people, Chernobog will operate under our will."

"It's as simple and brutal as ever."

Theresa was not surprised by the plan at all, nor did she object to it.

Simple and straightforward doesn't mean it's ineffective; on the contrary, the more meticulous the plan, the more likely it is to run into problems. The simplest approach is often the most effective.

In folk tales and stories, political and business struggles are often filled with deceit and intrigue, as if everyone has become a layered cake, competing with each other in acting skills and tactics.

But in fact, the truth is much simpler than many people think.

—The ultimate goal of all methods is to defeat the opponent, so as long as you just kill the person, you can solve most of the problems directly.

Planning, maneuvering, setting traps, and waiting for the enemy to fall into the trap.

This process is full of surprises and uncertainties, while killing a person only requires an ordinary fruit knife. It's obvious which is simpler.

This is especially true in a world where individuals wield immense military power.

Sometimes, painstaking planning is less reliable and efficient than simply hiring a hitman from the black market.

A mistake in any part of the plan can lead to complete failure, but an assassin's blade can solve everything once it pierces the heart.

"As long as it works."

Lin Lu shrugged, indicating that it didn't matter if it was a black cat or a white cat, as long as it caught mice, it was a good cat.

He believed in the principle of taking action rather than talking, and that it was more practical to just charge in than to engage in mind-bending schemes.

How many experts could a mere lord of a small city possibly have around him?

With time meticulously planned, the five Marquises of Boris were all dead.

"Wait, didn't we come here for the music festival and to find Talulah? Why are we suddenly going to attack Chernobog?"

With a sausage in his mouth, Chen was completely stunned by the sudden shock.

That's clearly not how it works!