Chapter 22

Bak stared at Tang En, licked his lips, and said, "If you don't want her to die, drop your weapon, kneel down, and I'll cut off your head. I'll naturally let her go."

Tang En raised an eyebrow, "Do I look like a fool to you?"

"What do you mean?" Bak was furious, "Do you want her to die?"

"Idiot."

Tang En smirked and said to Fiona, "The scroll of the fourth-level spell, Flame Storm, right? Tear it open, let's all die together."

Fiona, Elsa, Broken Finger, Bak, and everyone else around them were stunned.

Bak took a deep breath and shouted, "You're crazy!?"

"I'm not crazy, it's just a life, who's afraid of who?"

Tang En looked like he was ready to go all out.

Fiona was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood Tang En's meaning. Her eyes lit up, and she fiercely tore open the piece of leather paper she had casually rolled up.

Seeing Fiona's action, Broken Finger was terrified and forgot to stop her.

Bak let out a cry and turned to run!

He used all his strength to escape!

However...

Tang En's lips curled, and he lightly stomped his foot...

"Boom!"

A loud explosion, flames soared into the sky!

When the flames dissipated, there was no sign of Bak and his group on the streets of Ellington.

They had all turned to ashes.

"My head!"

Bryan howled, "Damn it! He got off easy!"

Tang En gave the still-shocked Fiona a thumbs up, his teeth gleaming, "No wonder it's a fourth-level spell scroll, the power is extraordinary!"

"Um... um..."

What could Fiona say? She could only hold back her tears and continue the act with Tang En.

"By the gods..."

Elsa was stunned, "Is this the power of a spell scroll?"

Uncle Depp corrected Elsa, "It's a fourth-level spell scroll, Flame Storm, a fourth-level spell!"

Uncle Depp felt that one mention wasn't enough to emphasize it, so he added, "That's a fourth-level spell scroll! When I was an adventurer, I once saw a first-level Fireball spell scroll, which was worth a hundred gold coins! This fourth-level spell scroll is probably even more expensive."

As he spoke, Uncle Depp was amazed, clearly realizing how valuable the item Fiona had just used was.

"It's nothing."

Since it was just an act and not a real spell scroll, Fiona seemed very relaxed, "It's just a spell scroll, we have plenty of them in the Golden Rose family. I can get as many as I want, right? Lord...?"

Tang En chuckled and walked to the center of the square, announcing loudly.

"I am Tang En! The lord of Ellington!"

His voice, amplified by the wind, spread throughout Ellington, and everyone heard it clearly.

"Bak and all his followers have been eliminated!"

The residents of Ellington, who had been hiding, were all a bit disbelieving when they heard this good news, because it was too hard to believe!

The new lord solved the problem of the bandits on his first day in office?

"I hereby announce that the Ellington Militia will be renamed the Ellington Guard. The former captain, Ronnie, is dismissed, and Elsa will be the new captain of the Guard!"

"Upon investigation, the former captain of the Ellington Militia, Ronnie, was an insider in Ellington. He colluded with the bandit Bak to harm his fellow citizens and attempted to assassinate the lord today. He has been killed! If anyone has objections, they can be verified by Captain Elsa and other members of the Guard!"

Hearing this news, the residents of Ellington were all stunned!

The militia captain Ronnie was an insider!?

He actually colluded with the bandits!?

If the lord said so, and Elsa and others could verify it, it must be true, right?

No wonder the militia couldn't eliminate the bandits, that Ronnie was a traitor!

"Damn it, Ronnie has been in Ellington for ten years. How could he betray everyone? We even entrusted the security to him!"

"Maybe he was with Hog from the beginning..."

Many people whispered, but no matter what they said, the result wouldn't change.

"From today on! The residents of Ellington, you are safe!"

You are safe!

Safe?

Peace has come so quickly?

Many people still couldn't believe what they heard. It wasn't their fault; they had become accustomed to being robbed every now and then.

Leave?

Outside Ellington, it's not safe at all. Ordinary people would die on the road if they left!

Hog had gradually worn them down, making them stay here and work for him.

But now, Tang En's arrival has changed everything!

Ellington is safe!

There will be no more bandits, no more danger!

Now, they only hope that Tang En can be a competent lord. As for other things, like reducing taxes, they don't even dare to think about it.

Reduce taxes?

Taxes are the main source of income for the lord. If taxes are reduced, how will the lord earn gold coins? There might be even more terrifying methods.

So, compared to other options, they would rather accept the heavy taxes.

People emerged from their hiding places, walking onto the streets, looking at each other, and realizing that everyone had heard the same thing.

"Long live Lord Tang En! May the gods protect Ellington!"

"Long live Lord Tang En! Ellington will rise!"

No one knew who shouted first, but the voices grew louder, gradually converging into a wave of sound that gathered in the square.

People rushed to the square, hoping to see Tang En, as if only then would they feel at ease.

Thus, Tang En stood there, accepting the admiration, until dusk, when everyone gradually dispersed.

"Phew, I'm exhausted."

Back at the lord's residence, Tang En lay down on the sofa.

On Earth, Tang En had never experienced such a moment of being the center of attention.

"Lord, you scared me today."

Fiona sat opposite Tang En, her elegant posture impeccable, which Tang En found regrettable.

"I was negligent. I should have left you some means of self-defense."

Tang En smiled, paused for a moment, and suddenly a stack of scrolls appeared in his hand. He flipped through them, muttering, "These are Meteor Shower scrolls, these are Prayer scrolls, these are Lava Hell... Eternal Frost..."

Hearing the names of the spells, even though Fiona already knew Tang En was very powerful, she was still shocked.

She didn't know what level those spells were, but just the names sounded very powerful.

"Probably... at least fifth-level spells, right?"

Fiona tried to think of the highest level, but no matter how boldly she guessed, she wouldn't have thought these were ninth-level spells.

That's right, the stack in front of Tang En were all ninth-level spell scrolls, and even a few legendary spell scrolls were mixed in, their brilliant light visible even to ordinary people.

"No... there's nothing suitable for you."

Tang En helplessly tossed the stack of scrolls, and they all fell to the ground, scaring Fiona so much that she instinctively hugged her head and jumped onto the sofa.

"Uh..."

Tang En looked at Fiona in surprise, and it took her a while to come to her senses, blushing and sitting back down.

"If the scroll really exploded, hugging your head wouldn't help..."

Tang En said, laughing and crying, and casually put away the scrolls.

Fiona tried to cover her embarrassment, her eyes darting around, "You were looking for something for me?"

Tang En said nonchalantly, "Yes, I was preparing some self-defense items for you, but I don't have any ready-made ones. If I find the materials, I'll make some for you."

Fiona was speechless again. Spell scrolls were highly sought after. Although high-level spell scrolls could only be used by mages, low-level spell scrolls could be used by ordinary people, and many mercenaries and adventurers were happy to carry a few for emergencies.

However, few mages were willing to make spell scrolls, and the success rate was not high, so the price of spell scrolls remained high.

Seeing Tang En's attitude, it seemed he could easily make many, which naturally surprised Fiona.

"By the way, how did the statistics you were working on today go?"

"I have a general idea."

Hearing Tang En mention the matter, Fiona perked up, "The problems in Ellington are even worse than I imagined."

"Oh?"

"Due to Hog's years of exploitation, the average monthly income of the residents here is less than fifty silver coins, and the disposable income is less than ten silver coins. Do you know what that means?"

Seeing Tang En shake his head, Fiona continued, "This is below the poverty line in the entire empire! No wonder when people mention Ellington, they all shake their heads, and no one wants to come here."

Fiona sighed. If she had known the situation in Ellington earlier, she wouldn't have chosen to pass through here.

But if she hadn't chosen to pass through here, she wouldn't have met Tang En.

"Besides the average income, the grain production here is also very low. The land is fertile, but for some reason, the yield is so low."

Fiona was puzzled.

"Isn't that simple?"

Tang En shrugged, "The bandits come every now and then. How can people have the heart to tend to their fields? The harvest is naturally poor. I believe the situation will improve a lot after the bandits are dealt with."

Fiona was stunned, "I was negligent, I forgot about that... Also, there's another very important point, which is the various taxes set by Hog."

Tang En perked up, "What do you mean?"

Fiona said, "In addition to the basic taxes of the empire, Hog also set many private taxes. With over a dozen miscellaneous taxes, the tax rate in Ellington is as high as seventy percent."