“Of course, allowing Torch Town to be the leader is just my opinion! Lord Sylvan can deliberate on who will be the border’s leader. He can, for example, make decisions on all aspects of the town. That way, even if Torch Town fails, I will be convinced.”
Lubin added humbly after he made that audacious statement.
He did not believe there was another town that could be compared to Torch Town. What about Fairy Town?
There was no need to compare because Fairy Town was Sylvan’s property. The Scarlet Town had no visitors, and the only town that could be compared to it was Monte Town. He had seen everything in Monte Town. They only had silver-tier equipment, and they looked gorgeous. However, they paled in comparison to gold-tier tools.
As for Blackmoon Castle…
He cocked his head and took a look around. He discovered a plethora of gleaming trees and fruits that could emit light in his surroundings. He was unfamiliar with any of those trees and fruits. He cursed inwardly. Did someone from Blackmoon Castle discover some light-emitting ores and purposefully carved them into the shapes of trees and fruits before placing them there as decorations?
He was pretty knowledgeable as one of the border town’s mayors. If he did not know anything about it, it was probably not a valuable item. As a result, he only gave it a cursory glance before averting his gaze.
“Lubin, you said that you need to consider all aspects of the town to choose a leader. What are the specific elements?” Sylvan asked with a strange expression.
As if he was waiting for Sylvan to ask that question, Lubin hurriedly said, “Of course, it’s the economy. Lord Sylvan, that’s how we gauge a town’s prosperity. The most important thing is how much money they have.”
As he spoke, he stood up and walked to the group from Torch Town. He pointed at the blazing chariot that was galloping with a gold-tier item.
“According to the kingdom’s law, 50% of the items produced in the town every year must be handed to the kingdom as tax, and 30% must be handed to the border count. The winter has yet to end, so I’ll settle the accounts in advance! That chariot is a gold-tier item. Its value is at least a few thousand gold coins. There are several similarly valued gold-tier items on it. Adding to the ten boxes of gold coins that I have prepared, the total value is more than 100,000 gold coins. That is the tax that Torch Town will have to pay this year.”
The two town mayors, Gerant and Andre, as well as the people behind them, could not help but click their tongues when they heard his words.
Those were 100,000 gold coins; it was equivalent to all their savings, and Lubin was willing to give it away.
They did not believe Lubin when he said that Torch Town’s tax revenue that year was more than 100,000 gold coins. The standards in those towns were roughly the same. Their town’s previous 80% tax revenue only amounted to tens of thousands of gold coins. Where did Sylvan get that 100,000 thousand gold coins? Did that mean Torch Town had hundreds of thousands of gold coins?
They understood that Lubin wanted to curry favor with Sylvan. Even if they knew about that, they would still like to see if he had done that to demonstrate Torch Town’s strength. They had only brought gifts that were worth a few thousand gold coins. They could not be compared to Lubin in any way.
Lubin revealed a smug expression as he observed the two town mayors’ expressions deteriorate. He motioned to a few of his subordinates to open the chariot door and show it to Sylvan.
“Lord Sylvan, please take a look. This is Torch Town’s contribution to you this year. As long as you choose to let me be the ruler of the border, that number will only double, or even ten times more!”
There was complete silence as everyone stared blankly at the carriage behind him. No one cried out in surprise. Instead, their expressions became strange. That made Lubin feel somewhat puzzled.
“Are you sure that those are the taxes Torch Town will have to pay?”
Sylvan’s words broke the silence, and Lubin could not help but turn around to look.
He was taken aback by that look. He noticed that the Galloping Vulcan Chariot was empty. All the gold items and coins were gone; there was not a single hair in the carriage. It was not only that; there were also holes in the gold-tier chariot.
The walls that had been smeared with red paint were peeled off. A few pillars that supported the roof had been gnawed away. Even the carpet on the floor of the carriage, made from top-quality magical beast fur, had not been spared. From the outside, the chariot had looked entirely intact, but from the inside, it had already become an empty shell of scrap metal.
“How could this be?!”
Lubin’s face paled instantly. He rushed into the carriage, lifted the tattered magical beast skin carpet on the ground, and searched every inch under the tattered floor and chairs. “No… still no… it’s impossible!”
It was one thing to destroy the Vulcan chariot. He vividly remembered bringing a slew of gold-tier items, including the enigmatic Holy Grail, which would continue to have water in it. They were locked in ten separate boxes. However, aside from the gold, even the boxes had vanished.
“Lubin, what is the matter with you? That is the tax you said you would pay in advance to Lord Sylvan. I am curious if those items would add up to 1,000 gold coins. Did Torch Town have a small harvest this year?” Gerant teased him from the sidelines.
Lubin, he reasoned, had to have brought a lot of stuff when he arrived, or he would not be so confident about it. However, the items were gone. He suspected Moriarty, who had sneaked into the carriage, had done something to them.
He turned around to see Moriarty circling a tree more than a hundred meters tall in the distance, gleaming with the luster of diamonds. He tried to open his mouth and eat the bark. The diamond tree was very hard, and he chewed for a long time, but he could not bite a piece off.
Gerant could see why Moriarty would steal treasures. After all, magical beasts feed to grow stronger, but why would it gnaw on the bark? Was it because the bark was a treasure more valuable than a gold-tier item? Perhaps Moriarty had devoured so many treasures that he was full? He simply chose a random location to grind his teeth.
Gerant was puzzled. He did not have much time to think before someone grabbed his collar. It was Lubin. His face was flushed red as he questioned him furiously. “Do not be sarcastic, Gerant. Tell me, did you take anything from my carriage?”
“Mayor Lubin, when you speak, you must pay attention to the evidence. What gives you the right to say that? Lord Sylvan is watching from the side. If you don’t have proof, then it is just slander. A casual slander doesn’t demonstrate the grace of a noble.”
Gerant spoke indifferently as he patted Lubin’s arm. Lubin’s expression changed as a result of his words. Lubin decided to let it go because he did not want to humiliate Sylvan.
“My carriage has at least 100,000 gold coins as well as a few valuable gold-tier items. When I got out of the carriage, I double-checked that everything was still there. Then, those things vanished in such a short period. Someone must have stolen them, and that person is still here. If it’s not Gerant or someone from Blackmoon Castle, then I will search everyone!”
Despite the lack of evidence, his belongings were indeed lost there. There was no problem with his suspicions.
“Mayor Lubin, you have to understand that this is Blackmoon Castle and not Torch Town. You should follow our rules and not do whatever you want,” Watson said with a smile, but his tone was solemn.
“I don’t care. I’ve lost my things here, so you have to give me an explanation! If you did not steal it, you must let me search you. If you don’t dare to let me search for you, then it shows that you have a guilty conscience.”
Lubin snorted coldly. He knew that such words would damage the dignity of the nobles, but he had no choice. That was a huge sum of money—more than 100,000 gold coins. It had pained him to take them out. It was almost equivalent to all his savings. How could he let things go when he had lost them?
“Mayor Lubin, look at Blackmoon Town. We’re so rich. Why would we covet your assets? And you only brought a gold-tier item. Even a platinum-tier item is not worthy of our attention.”
Zeke, who had just returned home, interjected. Watson had already told him that the gift was a platinum-tier ring, and everyone in the family had one, which was equivalent to more than 100,000 platinum-tier items.
Meanwhile, some of the trees inside the city wall were diamond-tier items. With so many platinum and diamond-tier items, who would covet a few gold-tier items?
“Don’t be ridiculous. What do you mean platinum-tier items? Do you know how many platinum-tier items there are in the entire kingdom? Also, you said there are so many assets in Blackmoon Town that no one would covet my property. I admit that Blackmoon Town does have a lot of assets, but who knows where those assets came from? Perhaps they were obtained through robbery.”
“What did you say?”
Zeke’s rage grew as Lubin’s tone refuted him. He took a step forward, but Watson stopped him.
“How about this, Mayor Lubin? I am willing to help you with a body search. If you find something that belongs to you, I’ll apologize and compensate you for twice the amount you lost. But what if you don’t find anything on me?”
Lubin snorted coldly. “If I don’t find anything, I’ll kneel and apologize to you.”
“If you say so.”
The smile on Watson’s face grew wider. He patted Zeke’s shoulder and signaled his brother to relax. He walked toward Lubin, opened his arms, and said, “Mayor Lubin, you can search me now.”
Lubin pouted. He did not stand in the ceremony and immediately searched Watson’s body. Then, he saw Watson’s hands. “What are those on your hands?”
Lubin grabbed the ten glowing rings on Watson’s finger. His eyes went blank. He did not know what those rings were, but with his years of experience as a mayor, he knew that those rings were not simple. They were at least peak gold-tier items, which made him less suspicious of Watson as a thief.
However, he had already started to search his body and could not retreat.
“Those are Blackmoon Castle’s wishing rings. They are not uncommon. Everyone here owns one.”
Watson simply took the ring off so that Lubin could examine them. Lubin took the rings and felt a violent fluctuation on his palm. It was as if he was not holding the rings but ten mountains. His knees immediately buckled.
Plop!
He had knelt on the ground.
“What… What’s going on?”
Lubin looked at the rings in his hand in horror.
“Oh, right! I forgot to tell you. Those rings are all platinum-tier items. They might be a little heavy for people who have not reached the gold tier.” Watson’s calm explanation made Lubin even more terrified. Those were platinum-tier items, and there were ten of them. How was that possible?
He did not want to believe it, but the real feeling in his hand reminded him that he had to accept it.
