Crusader Kingdoms Begins with the Black Beast

"Heh..." Maybe it's because she has been with Levi for too long. She hasn't felt so good in a long time. Queen Orica held the scepter in her hand. She showed a disdainful smile when facing an ant: "All the family leaders of the guild are here? Are you the mayor?"

"Yes, Your Majesty—"

"I didn't ask you to look up." She said lightly, not even letting the other person stand up to speak - at this time, Olika showed why she was so popular. The dark-skinned queen said softly: "Keep kneeling and talk, don't let me see your ugly faces."

"……Yes."

"I'm here to collect the debt and sign a new contract with you..." To be honest, Olika used to disdain to do such things. Rennes is completely closed, just like the Qing Dynasty, and it's a physical isolation. I don't want to go out, and I don't want you to come in. Don't be tempted by the kingdom of elves - it's just that this time we almost lost our country and our race, which sounded the alarm.

"In the past, I provided you with protection and asked you to provide mercenaries at critical moments - but the mercenaries you provided all ran away at the critical moment." Olika looked at the wealthy merchants in front of him and continued, "Then don't blame me from now on."

Their business intuition made them feel that the matter could still be negotiated.

The other side said they would renegotiate the contract, but they didn’t say they would kill, burn, and rob everyone—that’s right, the other side is just a demon, not the Japs.

"Your Majesty, we have provided enough mercenaries and gold coins, and those mercenaries themselves do not fight. We really have no other choice - of course, we hired the mercenaries, and we bear direct responsibility. We are willing... I personally am willing to provide 10 pounds of gold, please don't be angry."

10 pounds of gold is about 4.5 kilograms, and one gold coin is about 4.5 grams, which is about 1000 gold coins - and there is a complicated conversion method between gold coins.

"I am willing to do so, too..."

The merchants knelt on the ground, looking as if they accepted the punishment.

"It doesn't matter—"

Teacher, employee… …

Levi came over from behind.

In the minds of all the merchants kneeling on the ground, this dokidoki never stopped. On the one hand, he was afraid of the domineering queen, and on the other hand, he was afraid of the thousands of subspace demons below.

What was even more frightening was Levi in ​​front of him.

This time, in order to scare people, Levi specially found a set of medium-sized armor and modified it. It is more suitable for demons to wear, mainly because the tail and wings at the back must have a hole, and it is difficult to have a defensive function. Finally, it needs to be painted, and red represents combat effectiveness. Levi is about 11 meters tall, and wearing armor can increase his height by about 1 meters. He still felt it was not enough, and suddenly remembered the method of the people in District 4. In order to appear taller with a height of 11 meters, the generals of the Warring States Period in District 11 came up with a unique trick - to make a fuss about the helmet. Wearing height-increasing pads on shoes is not noticeable, so the generals of the Warring States Period in District have been thinking about helmets. A small person of meters, with a -meter-high lightning rod on top - doesn't this make him meters tall?

So Levi put two lightning rods on his helmet - that felt good.

We are getting closer and closer to Red Khan Khan (Khorne).

In addition, although Olika's magic power has not been fully restored, it is still possible to create some special effects. Just like the homemade mines in the workshop can't kill people, but they can be used as firecrackers.

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Yes, you can - Levi's whole body is now on fire, and his eyes under the helmet are shining with a captivating brilliance (physical).

The sound seems to come from the underworld - this is not a special effect, if you speak in a can-like helmet, you will also get this echo.

"Now, if it weren't for the soul contract signed between Olika and me." No, Levi was playing the good guy - the terrifying voice was like the fear that pierced my heart: "And you always suppress me with magic, I will chop off all your heads and use them as wine glasses! Kill you and your loved ones, and place your bodies next to my throne. Use the blood of your servants to smear your faces! Draw out your souls and make you enslaved all the time!"

Wow.

Olika glanced at Levi and thought, so you know how to do the devil's tricks - then why don't you do it?

"Levi!"

“Woo…” Levi pretended to be in pain, and then continued to play the good guy: “Pain… suffering… my hatred is burning in the abyss! If you can’t hand over the gold coins, the contract will not be completed. Hahaha, as long as you can’t hand over the gold coins… the world will tremble because of my torture, and the pitiful kingdom will collapse in my anger! In the end, the whole of Brittany will be destroyed! Under the shadow of my wings, the world will eventually turn to ashes! ! ! ! ! ——”

As he spoke, Levi looked "in great pain", as if he was restrained by something. He fell to the ground, then looked at Olika with hatred, said something cruel and left.

Wow.

Isn't this quite clever?

"I don't even want to deal with ants like you. I feel sick just breathing the same air with you." After "shouting" Levi away, Olika turned around and played the good cop: "But you can see that I need enough gold coins - I have taken out all the gold coins in the kingdom's treasury. Now, it's your turn. I have opened the Demon Gate, and I don't deny that I acted inappropriately. But your mercenaries... Tsk, these things wouldn't have happened if the kingdom hadn't been conquered. Now, you haven't sent any further reinforcements or provided any further support - I can only take it myself."

“Your Majesty…”

Not only the merchants kneeling on the ground, but also the ordinary people who were watching from afar in the rooms on the corners of the street were terrified by this scene. They closed the wooden windows and hid themselves. At this moment, even the sun in the sky hid miserably in the clouds, and the whole world fell into endless darkness...

No, it's just cloudy.

"I am not an unkind queen. Humph, on the contrary, I never bother to bargain with merchants like you." Olika saw that the situation was about right, mainly because Levi gave her a similar gesture. So she continued to be her ruthless line-reciting machine: "There are only two options before you: First, I don't bother to bargain with you. Go now, but this demon will lead an army to come to you in person later to ask for it - by then, I won't be able to control him."

"No, no, no, what about the second one? Your Majesty, we..."

"As for the second one... I still have my own private treasury. I will use the royal city as collateral to establish a central bank. Each of you will be a shareholder. Since all of you want Brittany and none of you want to give it to me, then I don't want it - but if the devil comes, I can't bear it alone. Each of you must put all your property in my central bank, and all your business transactions must be completed in my central bank. In this way, I can give the devil money at the critical moment - you don't have to die with your whole family, and theoretically you can still enjoy all the property... Oh, right. If you do well, I will reward you generously, just... give you 4% interest every year."

"……Um?"

The demonic financial system is established.

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Chapter 23: Bandits are our parents, thieves are our rice and money, and succubi are our chaste heroines

The banking system has actually existed for a long time, but as a foreigner, the first time banks came into existence was when negative interest rates appeared. You deposit your money with me, and I send someone to look after it - but you don't give me money and you want me to give you money? Is there still a law? Is there still law?

So…four percent interest per year is a lot.

Of course, the important thing is not the 4% - what is important is the money? It is your life! Although it is impossible to hand over all the property, it is obvious that this time you can't avoid losing money.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to give away all my property, but if I do that, I won't be able to do business anymore..."

"I will give you bills - for every gold coin. You can use my bills to trade with each other in the future. If you want to trade with foreign countries, come to my vault and use the bills to withdraw money. Of course, I will be a little tired, and the tax will be deducted directly for you. The tax of this king is very cheap, only one tenth."

Is 10% tax expensive? 10% business tax is almost the price of an angel. Originally, Levi wanted to learn from the Ming Dynasty and just use 30% tax. But then Olika couldn't stand it anymore. Do you look down on the cheap Europeans?

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Bones? Not charging them a 5% tax rate for business is already very respectful - we usually just rob them.

The most typical example is that the king ordered Jewish merchants in a certain area to leave by sunset or they would be put to death. The Jewish merchants saw that it was already noon and hurried to pack up their things, but it was too late. Many of them were left in the house and took with them precious metals - the king's fully armed soldiers went there halfway. (@菲力四世)

It’s so simple, why do business when you can rob?

“We’ll pay, we’ll pay—” Several guild leaders quickly bowed their heads to show that they were scared and said, “I was wrong, sir.” “But, but now in the vault…”

"Don't bother you, the devil will help you move it! - Oh, by the way, you have time to move it out by yourself before the sun goes down."

"Your Majesty, we..." Several merchants cried. It turns out that they still have to rob in the end?

"Cry!" Her Majesty the Queen suddenly felt relaxed physically and mentally: "Crying also counts as time!"

You see, 2000 licensed bandits, meeting a few bullies - how simple is that? It's not complicated at all.

In the end, Levi's demons did not take action - because they had estimated in advance how much money they could get. It is not a good thing to exhaust all the fish, but sustainable exhaustion is the best way. The benevolent rulers of Tongliao taught us that the key is not exhausting all the fish, but sustainability.

When the old guys in the guild really saw accountants one after another counting gold coins and issuing [Equivalent Currency Coupons] one by one - they realized that Levi was really planning to build a bank instead of robbing openly - he never had any trouble in robbing in the past.

"This is the first population tax census - we have collected the tithe first - the total amount here is 1125 pounds of gold. I will round off the zero and count it as 1000 pounds of gold for you."

You call this a tithe?

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This is indeed a tithe, and it is fair to everyone. In a commodity economy society, everyone is very accustomed to the emergence of equivalent currencies. The value of all commodities is expressed in monetary figures - this was not the case in ancient times.

Everything can be exchanged, and most of it still exists in the barter stage. Before the Industrial Revolution, it was impossible to change. It was normal for farmers to use grain as taxes and merchants to use goods as taxes. For example, spices are precious [currency]. To this day, some parts of Europe still call rich people spice bags, and robbery is called stealing a handful of spices. So in terms of conversion, this is a very low depreciation rate.

I said it’s light, and it’s very light.

"..." Levi looked at the 125 pounds of gold in front of him, which was about gold coins. He couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart: "Why steal when you can rob? Why cheat when you can steal? Why buy when you can cheat? Sure enough, the country is a violent institution. As a demon, it is normal for me to collect debts by force."

Levi looked at the golden words in front of him and felt a little dizzy.

If I exchange this much money for pancakes, I would eat them until I die.

"Hmph, you have no manners." Her Majesty the Queen didn't even bother to look at the money, with her aristocratic temperament: "Before my royal city was looted, these were just a few cents."

"Whose ancestors didn't have wealth? Don't rest on your laurels - if you were rich, how could I be so poor?" Levi looked at Olika with disdain. Her money was looted. The bandit group was annihilated, but the money could not be recovered - no one knew where the money went: "This is all my money! - Those merchants are really unreasonable. They took away 1125 pounds of 1000 pounds of gold and asked me to thank them for their kindness? This is all my money!"

"Are you...finally going to do something a demon should do?"

"Of course... No - I never rob." Why did the dynasties fall? Did they fall because of people's rebellion? Did they fall because of foreign invasion? No, as long as the country is large enough, they all fall because of the inability to collect taxes. Land annexation, redundant officials and salaries, and lack of military preparations are all symptoms. To put it bluntly, it is because of the inability to collect taxes (the EDG behavior of the emperor who gave away money one wave after another is also very rare and precious.) "I am at most an armed debt collector!"

Armed debt collection.

One of the Ansa traditions.

I am a demon, and I have learned a thing or two about the Anglo-Satan tradition. I shouldn't be considered too much of a supermodel, right?

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Levi put the "rescue" scene aside.

Saving a beautiful girl is not as exciting as armed debt collection. You are not Ayanami, nor Audrey Hepburn; not Asuka, nor Monroe. What do you think is so special about you that I would give up everything to save you? - So, as long as the final result is good, I can accept it.

"? Why don't you go directly to the Kingdom of the Knights of Nantes? That's where the enemy is entrenched, and that's what my intelligence says." Ashaji held a very inaccurate map in her hand and gestured a few times: "Here, here - they have divided their forces. Your forces are enough to crush them, now you just need to..."

“No hurry, no hurry.” I’m a demon. As long as the evil system doesn’t come out to accuse me, the demon identity is really great—no one will use morality to blackmail you: “I want to… I want to play a good trick on these adventurers.”

"? Master, these adventurers are not worth your teasing. The longer you wait, the more trouble you will have. It is better to leave as soon as possible..."

"No, if I don't play tricks on these adventurers, how can I get

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How can I take the money from the merchants? If I don't play with these adventurers, how can I take over the seven kingdoms? "Levi lamented that history is a circle and history is advancing in a spiral, so he couldn't help but be possessed by Wu Sangui: "The bandits are our parents of food and clothing, and the rebels are our rice and money. We have to fight them, but you have to follow my method."

"? Master...?" Of course, Ashaji, who had been thoroughly PUA'd, was not bad, but at least her favorability was +200. Even if he played a snuff on her, she might not mind: "You mean..."

"We must save the Seven Kingdoms." I am a demon, so I still have to complete the main quest of saving the Seven Kingdoms. However, quests are quests, and Earth Online is a game with a very high degree of openness: "How many adventurers are there?"

"After the surrender of the soldiers of the Nantes Knights and the Kingdom of Retz, there are about 1,500 of them. If they are given time, they can forcefully expand their army to 2,000 people - but it won't take long."

"Okay! Wait until my mercenaries recover their morale, and then attack them first! Make them confused! - Send a few people to keep an eye on the leader of the adventurers..."

"Are you ready to strike at any time?" Taimanin, assassination, infiltration, investigator...

Ashaji's eyes gleamed, after all, this was the job of a Taimanin! Assassination!

"Stupid." Levi tapped the other person's forehead lovingly, then said with a smile: "It's to protect the other person's safety! - This person can't die! If he dies, I will be in trouble!"

"……Eh?"

"It's getting late, the cats are no longer meowing, the dogs are no longer biting—"

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Then, Li Wei did not forget to plant spies on himself. There is no need to explain the reason. It is said by the Martial Saint. You should be close to spies, place more spies, and plant more spies. Spies should be omnipresent and meticulous.

With money, the system's price is fair. 1500 gold coins to hire a 1500-man demon mercenary group - all light infantry, the original "Sunshine" Corps. If these demon mercenaries cover the demon's face, it will give people the feeling that they are like mud brothers from primitive tribes. The name of this mercenary group is also very African, called [Crocodile Mercenary Group]. This is a one-time payment, and then you have to pay 150 gold coins for maintenance every month. Hmm... To be honest, it's quite expensive. But there is only one advantage: the mercenaries given by the system are a little expensive.

However, there are (mostly) no problems with loyalty. The biggest problem with medieval mercenaries: mutiny, will not occur.

Levi is now on his way to demand his wages armedly. A force of nearly 4000 people appeared in Brittany, (basically) = invincible.

What does 4000 people mean?

Brittany is half the size of Tongliao, and its population in the 21st century is only 4000 million, and many of them are due to the immigrants from Nige. In the Middle Ages, it was a blessing to have people - and that was after the magic change. You have a -man army with a population base of .

Please start your tyranny and oppression. If you scale it up, it means that in the Han Empire of 6000 million people, you have an armed force of million people - you can already build the Apang Palace.

Levi sent a lot of Taimanin to the Conqueror. Currently, the main purpose is to protect the other party. Of course, if the other party is no longer useful in the future, he will kill him.

But it just so happens that you think so, and they think so too. It's just that they just go one step further and send someone to assassinate Levi.

Assassination is a happy thing.

"Someone wants to assassinate you." On this day, Levi was collecting debts with his arms. He had just finished playing the role of the benevolent king of Tongliao, so he took off his helmet to get some fresh air. When he was about to count the gold coins he had collected from another city,

Mizuki Yukikaze sneaked up to Levi, tiptoed close to the devil's pointed ear and said these words.

"...What?" Although Levi had planted a spy on him, the spy was also well-known. The dark-skinned girl in front of him who looked 14... was too young, please finish high school first. So the other party said this in a sweet voice, and Levi felt like he fell into an ice cellar in an instant. "Someone wants to assassinate me? Who? - Isn't it just to collect some money? Is it necessary to be so..."

"No, not these businessmen - at least not yet." Shuicheng Xuefeng looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he very carefully... unbuttoned his shirt.

"Let's talk about something..."

Then a piece of parchment was revealed inside.

This piece of parchment contains a handwritten letter from Ashaji, which was sent to Shuicheng Xuefeng by sticking it on her body.

"Oh...I see." Levi nodded. So that's how it was. It was a completely sound thing. I had misunderstood it. So he nodded, took off the parchment and read the letter.

The letter said, "Today, a man who claims to be a slave trader will sell you a succubus. You must be careful."

As for why some words are not clear?

Because it was blocked.

"I see." Levi nodded and turned his face away from Xuefeng's body - ah? Parchment? Oh, that's to cover the words so they don't get rubbed by clothes. The words are on the upper body, and a few words were blocked by the pink object just now - Taimanin's way of conveying messages is really good

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Fun: "Uh, do you want help washing up?"