Game of the World Tree

The square of the city of Mannia, the announcement area.

In front of the usually deserted bulletin board, it was crowded with people at this moment.

However, their expressions were either helpless, dissatisfied, or angry.

"What? Taxes will be levied again? Isn't it time to collect taxes this year? When will it be early?"

Looking at the parchment paper just pasted on the bulletin board, a citizen who looked a little hunchback couldn't help asking.

He looked very dissatisfied.

"Look, man, it's a jihad tax and a poll tax, and everyone has to pay it."

Someone reminded from the side with a complicated face.

"Jihad tax? But hasn't it been paid before? Why is it charged again now?"

The person asking the question was a little confused.

"Hey, that was before. The Holy War fought so many defeats, and they were all defeated by the nobles. Of course they have to retake it again..."

Someone shook his head with a look of sarcasm.

"Are you crazy?! One person pays fifty silver coins and gold pounds? Our family only earns 5 gold pounds a year! I have three children and a sick mother, doesn't this make our family pay 3 gold pounds?! With only 2 gold pounds left, how can I live in a year?!"

The citizens looked absurd and shocked, as if they did not expect that the first edict issued by the new queen after her coronation turned out to be such an order.

"Not only... If there are men of the right age in the family, they must also accept the conscription and join the jihad coalition, otherwise... you have to pay another 3 gold pounds as the conscription exemption tax..."

Someone shook his head and let out a long sigh.

"3 gold pounds? Why don't you grab it?"

"Crazy! They're crazy! The nobles are crazy! Her Majesty is crazy too! My brother has already died in the southern lead, and now we have to force our family to participate in the recruitment?! I'm the only labor force left in our family. It's gone!"

A citizen said in disbelief.

"I heard that His Majesty personally approved the decree. If you refuse to participate in the recruitment and do not pay the exempt tax, you will be forced to impose a huge fine..."

"Didn't you say that Your Majesty Teresa is a kind and beautiful majesty? How can... how can it be so tyrannical?!"

"Hey, do you really believe the propaganda of the church and the nobles? There is no good thing for the nobles and the royal family!"

"Ridiculous! This is really ridiculous! His Majesty was so tyrannical just after his coronation, how will we live in the future?! The nobles are corrupt, the church is incompetent, can this world still allow people to live?"

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh now the whole city is chasing the Life Cultists, complain again, be careful the city guards treat you as an alien

The believers are arrested! "

"Isn't it enough to complain? Is this to force people to die? The nobles are so rich and have so many private soldiers, why not let them contribute?!"

"They are high-ranking aristocrats. Except for their lords, who would dare to collect taxes from them... Besides, every time the tax is collected from them, it still falls on us..."

"Yeah... In name, everyone collects it together. In the end, all the taxes of the nobles were returned, but all our taxes went into the pockets of them and the great lord."

"Hmph, and the royal family! The royal family's pockets! I heard that a dinner for His Majesty the Emperor alone is worth several hundred gold pounds!"

"Bah! Shit! The Tres family is shit! The nobles are shit! The Eternal Church is shit too! I think the Church of Life is right, they bastards should be swept into the garbage heap of history and be People overthrow!"

"Are you crazy?! How dare you say such a thing? If you say such a crazy thing, you will be arrested by the city guards and sent to Doloria Castle Prison! If you go in that kind of ghost place, don't think about it! In the end, it's not locked up. To die of illness is to be burned at the stake!"

"How about that? It's a death anyway, it's better to die a little more vigorously!"

The crowd of onlookers was excited.

If it weren't for the fact that the bulletin board was protected by a magical barrier, ordinary people couldn't destroy it, and there were soldiers staring at it from afar, otherwise, I'm afraid it would have been cut into pieces by this time.

With the word of mouth of the announcement, more and more people knew it, and more and more people were dissatisfied.

Not only Mania City, as the new announcement spread throughout the Empire, the people of the Empire everywhere fell into strong dissatisfaction.

In some cities where the Church of Life has a greater influence, there have even been incidents of angry people attacking the nobles and the city lord's mansion, smashing and venting...

"Mob! These abominable mob! What time is it, they are still rioting! Your Majesty, we must give these mob the most severe suppression, otherwise, we can only make more speculators ready to move! Especially those pagans of the Church of Life. People, they're the best at stupid commoners!"

In the noble council, watching the riots reported by the locals, one of the ministers in the regent cabinet, the Duke of Corrence, who has not left since returning to the imperial capital, said angrily.

And around him, other nobles also condemned and expressed their support for him.

"Hmph, it's only 50 silver coins for one person, even the poorest afternoon tea is enough. These untouchables just don't want to pay!"

"I have the strength to attack the noble mansion, but I am unwilling to accept the call. It is still too idle and lazy!"

"After all, they are ordinary people who are useless and have received extraordinary education. They have no idea that they can have such a stable life today. We are working hard behind the scenes to support the prosperity of the human world!"

"Your Majesty! It must be punished! Those riot participants who are caught must be severely punished!"

"There are also people who vent their dissatisfaction everywhere in Mannia! They are also potential threats, and they must be arrested too!"

The nobles were full of rage and righteous indignation.

And Teresa, who was already the queen, was wearing a crown and holding a scepter, sitting cautiously on the throne, seemingly at a loss.

"Your Majesty! Please make a decision as soon as possible! The pressure of war is increasing, we must raise enough funds and troops as soon as possible to counterattack back! Otherwise, those infidels may invade the remaining land of our empire! "

The representative of the Elector Family of Berencia stood up and said with a serious expression.

"Your Majesty! Please give your order to severely punish these riot participants!"

The other nobles also joined in.

Being shouted in unison by hundreds of nobles, Teresa II clenched her fists, her fingertips turning white.

Her expression was blank and nervous, she pursed her lips tightly, and couldn't help asking:

"Ladies...is this...is it really beneficial for us to win the war?"

"Of course! Although it will be cruel, it is indeed the fastest way to gather strength! Your Majesty, in a holy war, only you will live and die. In order to survive, we must be the winning side! And the victors will naturally get everything, what they paid for. , and will be recovered in the loot!"

The representative of the Berencia family spoke enthusiastically.

Theresa II's expression was still a little hesitant.

She timidly glanced at the emotional nobles, and asked a little nervously:

"So... what do civilians get from war?"

The nobles were slightly taken aback.

"Peace, Peace and Tranquility..."

An old voice answered the Queen's question.

The Duke of Corrence.

He smiled slightly and said solemnly:

"Your Majesty, when the war is won, we naturally have peace, and the civilians do not need to continue to participate in the recruitment, they can go home with the spoils obtained in the war and live happily..."

Theresa II was silent.

She thought about it for a while, and couldn't help turning her head to look at the three electors of the church who had been silent on the other side, especially Archbishop Winster, the first Chancellor of Regents:

"His Excellency, you...what do you think?"

As soon as these words came out, the eyes of all the nobles stayed on Bishop Wenster.

Those eyes were sneering, proud, disdainful, and warning.

Feeling the various sights, Bishop Winster shook his head slightly in his heart.

He took a deep breath and sighed:

"Your Majesty, this war... the Empire has no way to stop."

"Is that so..."

Teresa nodded in understanding.

After pondering for a moment, she tried to sit up straight and said to the nobles:

"If that's the case, then just follow what you said! I hope this war can end as soon as possible, and I hope everyone can live a happy life!"

"Follow your will, Sun of the Empire, Your Majesty the Great Queen!"

The nobles saluted happily.

After the meeting ended and the nobles left, Teresa II breathed a sigh of relief.

Her back was soaked with a layer of tense sweat.

I saw that she could not wait to take off the heavy crown on her head, and then seemed to remember something, hesitated and put it on again seriously, and then turned around and looked at the only remaining Minister of the Regent, Wen. Bishop Stein:

"Your Excellency Bishop, you said... when will the war end?"

Bishop Winster was slightly taken aback.

He lowered his eyelids and smiled:

"Yes, Your Majesty, the war will end sooner or later."

Teresa II does not seem satisfied with this slightly sly answer.

She frowned her beautiful brows, but soon she was no longer tangled. Instead, she stroked the scepter in her hand and murmured:

"I will work hard... I will work hard to become a queen who makes the people happy..."

"I will work hard and study hard!"

she said firmly.

Listening to the young queen's words, Bishop Winster's eyes were a little complicated.

He lowered his head slightly, hiding the trace of guilt in the depths of his eyes.

...

at the same time.

In the west and east, in a solemn noble castle.

Demacia sat on the throne of the city lord, playing with the exquisite loot that she had just captured, while swiping at various continental information in the game system.

That is the conclusion of the players scattered all over the mainland. Since the war, the players of the whole server have been doing it spontaneously, and many of them are provided by the Amway Chamber of Commerce.

It is precisely because of this that although he has been leading troops in the west to attack cities and fight guerrillas recently, Demacia knows a lot about what happens on the mainland.

"Tsk... The queen of the Holy Mania Empire has passed away. The new emperor is a little girl who is less than fifteen years old. Just after taking office, a series of tax and conscription laws have been issued. The civilians of the empire are really miserable. "

Not far away, several other players from the Heart of Nature also looked at the "news" from the Seggs Continent and shook their heads slightly.

Demacia's movements paused slightly.

I saw him put away the gorgeous noble jewelry in his hand, pondered for a moment, and stood up from his seat.

"Jasmine, where are you? Come here and help me take the group off."

He messaged in the friend bar.

After a while, the Valkyrie player in gorgeous armor pushed open the gate of the castle.

She frowned slightly, a little puzzled:

"Dema, you don't have it? Are you going offline?"

"Do not."

Demacia shook her head.

While packing up his equipment, he said:

"I'm going to go to Mannia, I have something to do."

"Mannia City? Now? What are you doing there now?"

Moonlight Jasmine frowned, very puzzled.

Demacia smiled slightly:

"To fulfill a friend's wish, to fulfill a promise of mine."

After speaking, he walked out of the castle.

Outside the castle, he whistled.

After a while, a two-legged flying dragon flew in front of him.

Without any hesitation, Demacia turned over and stepped on the dragon's back.

...

Not many players noticed Demacia's departure.

After Demacia left the Western Territory, Teresa II's will was also sent to all parts of the empire.

As the new will was issued from the Holy Mannia Palace, the imperial nobles justly launched a severe suppression and pursuit of the rioters.

For a time, the people who were angered and revolted by the issuance of the new tax decree and the conscription decree were easily suppressed.

No way, ordinary and unorganized people have limited power after all.

Facing the nobles with extraordinary power, they are weak like children.

Even if these nobles lost their strength due to the holy war, they still had their prestige.

However, in the process of the suppression, not many nobles noticed that the guards who sent the suppression did not seem to be as enthusiastic about the suppression as usual.

Guards are human too.

And many of the professionals who became guards were born from civilians only.

In the face of such a strict decree, even the guards serving the nobles were not as supportive as they seemed.

However, this calm did not last long.

With the official implementation of the decree, as the frequency of hunting down rioters and resisters has become higher and higher, the backlog of dissatisfaction among the people has become more and more intense...

A very subtle and gunpowder-smelling atmosphere began to spread in the city of Mania and in the cities of the empire.

At the same time, the preaching of the Church of Life began to develop rapidly at a more rapid rate in the places where the nobles and priests were hard to see under the imperial cities.

This naturally aroused stronger repression pressure from the nobles and the church, but the stronger repression pressure brought about a stronger will to resist.

And this will to resist, after all, with the passage of time, with the suppression of the nobles and the church again and again, it has reached a critical point of outbreak...