396: Chapter 383 (Anti-theft Chapter) (Main text will be updated in a few hours)

Legion Commander Domit had been stationed in the parliament building for his daily work recently.

Originally, he intended to handle official business directly within his military tent; after all, he was long accustomed to military life and didn't require a comfortable environment. However, the City Lord appointed by Zhang Mu had repeatedly requested that his office be established in the parliament hall.

Domit was quite puzzled, thinking to himself, could the location of one's office really hold such significance?

The City Lord remained tight-lipped when questioned, which only piqued Domit's curiosity further, leading him to press for answers until the City Lord finally offered an explanation.

He was the Legion Commander of the First Army and Zhang Mu's direct subordinate, representing Zhang Mu's prestige. In wartime, the location of the office wouldn't matter, but in this brief period of peace, one could not be careless.

Domit could certainly work anywhere he pleased, but the issue was what the people below him would think.

"Has the Marshal grown distant from the Legion Commander?"

Even the City Lord, who had just arrived in Keton City, dared to treat him with neglect by occupying the parliament hall, while Legion Commander Domit didn't even dare to voice his dissatisfaction.

After hearing this, Domit looked completely bewildered and asked, "Is it really that serious?"

The City Lord gave a bitter smile and said, "Managing the army of a kingdom is quite different from managing a village."

"Even in a remote village with a population of less than a hundred, the village chief is busy every day mediating conflicts among villagers. How much more so for a vast kingdom?"

Still skeptical, Domit ordered his adjutant to go among the Soldiers and investigate.

When the results came back, he was stunned to find that it was exactly as the City Lord had said; many rumors had been circulating within the legion recently.

Rumors such as "Is the Marshal planning to remove Legion Commander Domit from his post?" and "Lord Domit is clearly the supreme Legion Commander and should be staying in the parliament hall, yet he remains in the camp," and so on.

After much consideration, Domit finally decided with mixed emotions to move into the parliament building.

Waking up this morning, he walked into his office as usual and began reviewing the stack of official documents on his desk.

After a busy morning without a moment's rest, he picked up his teacup and drained it, remarking with some emotion, "No wonder the various Legion Commanders all promote their Professional level before taking office. It turns out that once you take the position, there's simply no time left to improve your Professional level."

The adjutant standing nearby thought about it and realized it was true.

Once the Legion Commanders of the various kingdoms took office, their strength rarely improved. Therefore, out of necessity, the kingdoms could only wait until a suitable candidate for the reserve Legion Commander reached a certain Professional level before appointing them to the position.

This was also why the top-tier Professionals of various kingdoms did not hold positions in the military, to avoid official duties interfering with their cultivation.

Therefore, strictly speaking, Legion Commanders were those who either believed themselves or were believed by the King to have reached their Professional potential limit, making a breakthrough difficult, before they joined the army.

Domit seemed to notice the adjutant's thoughts and smiled, "The First Army—no, all the legions of this kingdom—are different."

Zhang Mu's legion, or rather Lake's legion, naturally required Professionals. After all, they were the mainstream power of the Saul Continent and possessed an extremely high ceiling; there was no reason to discard them.

However, after the introduction of the Blue Star industrial system, the importance of Professionals would decrease somewhat.

It couldn't be denied that top-tier Professionals maintained a crushing advantage over most of the modern weapons in Zhang Mu's hands, but that was because those weapons were incomplete.

For example, missiles.

The disadvantage of missiles against High-tier Professionals was that they were difficult to lock onto, but with satellites, that trouble would be easily resolved.

The adjutant nodded: "I believe in the Marshal's miracles."

"That isn't... er, never mind."

Domit felt helpless; he had flipped through the Blue Star science textbooks Zhang Mu had given him and knew that as long as one had enough equipment, relevant knowledge, and materials, one could manufacture thermal weapons.

It was very different from miracles that could only be bestowed by gods—very different indeed.

"Let's go, it's time for lunch." Domit didn't bother to explain further, getting up and walking toward the door.

Just as he reached the door, a Soldier carrying a stack of documents walked into the office, nearly colliding with Domit.

The Soldier hurriedly stepped back: "Forgive me, Lord Legion Commander."

Domit didn't mind; he glanced at the documents in the man's hands and then looked back at the stack on his desk that had just begun to thin out, feeling a sense of sorrow in his heart.

"Put them on the desk, I'll... wait, what documents are these?"

"Oh, they're about the Rangers."

Domit walked back and sat behind the desk: "Bring them here."

"Go and fetch my lunch for me."

The adjutant took the order and left side-by-side with the Soldier who had set down the documents.

Domit's expression turned solemn as he opened the files the Soldier had delivered.

Recently, the public security in Keton City had been somewhat unstable.

The reason was likely inseparable from the city's rapid development and the lifting of certain bans.

Since Zhang Mu had built schools and factories in Keton City, renovated the old districts, and constructed modern buildings, the city's economy had developed rapidly. The population recovered quickly, and merchant caravans and tourists flocked to the city, creating a scene of prosperity.

But the more buildings were constructed, the wider the shadows they cast into the dark corners.

At some point, a group of Rangers had gathered in the city. These "Rangers" did not refer to those who traveled the world performing heroic deeds, but rather...

...scoundrels who loitered in old streets, making a living through deception and trickery.

This group had existed for a long time. Their primary daily business was to swindle money from passing tourists and merchant caravans. In the past, when the ban on "using force within the city" was still in place, they remained emboldened even if their victims came looking for them.

After the ban was lifted, the Rangers initially felt a sense of panic. They were all ordinary people without magic; in the future, if they committed fraud, they could easily be killed and their bodies dumped by the merchant Guards.

Tourists generally traveled alone, or at most in groups of two or three, appearing easy to deal with. The problem was, who would dare to travel all over the Saul Continent alone without having some skills?

The various Ranger organizations were once on the brink of dissolution.

Just then, a certain Ranger ran out of food at home. After starving for several days, he took a risk and robbed a grocery store, only to find to his surprise that no one came to arrest him.

He joyfully ran to report to his leader. That leader was also a clever fellow; he immediately ordered the recall of the organization's members to form groups and rob shops within the city.

Of course, they weren't stupid. They bypassed shops that hired their own Guards and specifically targeted mom-and-pop shops or small stores run by a single Shop Owner.

After this went on for a while, the various City Lords who noticed the situation began to crack down, sending out large numbers of Guard squads to patrol the city districts in shifts.

One must remember that this was not Blue Star; there was no emphasis on "law," "human rights," "the right of criminals to live," or "humane enforcement." Here, if caught in the act by a Guard, the end was a simple and crude beheading on the spot.

The Rangers saw this and realized it wouldn't work—if the beheadings continued, there would be no Rangers left. So, they gathered to deliberate on a solution.

After a short discussion, some "genius" came up with a suggestion.

He said he had observed carefully, even during robberies, and found that poor people usually weren't willing to report to the Guards after being robbed. He suggested they extort money from the poor, as they wouldn't have to worry about being beheaded by the Guards.

The leaders didn't quite understand and pressed for the reason.

He explained triumphantly that he had pretended to be a passerby to inquire, and it turned out the poor were afraid that if the Guards failed to catch the perpetrators and left, they would be retaliated against.

The leaders still had doubts, asking what if someone took the risk to report to the Guards?

The genius smiled faintly and said they could simply give the extortion a formal name, such as "borrowing money."

"We borrow money and write a promissory note. The Guards can't behead us just for borrowing money, can they?"

The Ranger leaders' eyes lit up; what a brilliant idea!

Afterward, the Rangers in one city were the first to launch the "money lending" business. Once it spread, other places followed suit, and for a time, it was quite the spectacle.

If someone tried to resist, they wouldn't hit or injure them; they would simply loiter in front of the shop. As soon as a customer arrived, they would immediately step forward and wail that the shop sold inferior goods, which had caused their family members to be bedridden with serious illness.

After a few such incidents, even the most stubborn Shop Owner could only grit their teeth and endure it.

As the business flourished, they were surprised to find that not only the poor, but even the slightly larger shops were vulnerable to this tactic.

Initially, the large shops were utterly dismissive when they encountered Rangers trying to "borrow money."

"You dare to cause trouble at my door? Just try it!"

As it turned out, the Rangers really did dare. Of course, it wasn't their own people, but rather orphans or beggars they had kidnapped and forced to cause a scene.

The large shops secretly killed the orphans a few times, but the situation didn't improve at all. This was because the Rangers had plenty of orphans; if you killed one today, I'd bring a new one tomorrow.

Instead, the large shops' own businesses were affected by the harassment. Customers felt the Shop Owner was incompetent for being unable to handle such a small matter and stopped coming.

After several months of struggle, the large shops eventually surrendered as well.

After Keton City became prosperous, Rangers gathered there like they were sniffing out prey. When Domit learned of this, he was very curious; many of the extorted shops were run by nobles. Given the nature of nobles, they would surely send people to directly eliminate the masterminds. How could the Rangers still be so rampant?

It was only after investigating the circumstances that he realized the reason wasn't complicated at all—the Rangers were endless.

Ultimately, the Rangers came from the bottom layer of society, the most numerous group in the population structure of the Saul Continent.

Even if you wiped out all the Rangers in the city today, another batch would emerge within three months. Although the nobles acted quickly, no matter how fast they were, the target had to appear before they could strike, right?

Therefore, the Rangers could cause trouble at least once, and the loss caused by that one time far exceeded the money they extorted.

The nobles were disgusted to no end and simply gave the money to be done with it, treating it as if they were dismissing beggars.

"Good grief, what is this? Retribution?" Domit shook his head and set down the documents.

The adjutant happened to walk into the room carrying a food tray. Hearing him mutter, he asked, "What's wrong, Legion Commander?"

"Didn't we catch a group of Rangers a while ago?"

"Yes, I personally led the squad for the arrest."

"Some of those Rangers came from nearby cities, and some were local poor people."

The two walked to the table set against the wall and sat down. After thinking for a moment while holding his soup spoon, the adjutant seemed to understand what Domit was troubled by and said with a solemn face: "Before becoming Rangers, they were indeed poor people, a group that should be cared for."

"But after becoming Rangers, they not only harass nobles but also oppress poor people just like themselves. That's not right."

"Well said!" This praise came from outside the room.

Domit was startled. He and the adjutant looked toward the door, where Zhang Mu was walking in while clapping his hands.

"Marshal!" The two quickly stood up to salute.

"Sit down and talk." Zhang Mu walked to the table and glanced at the food. "I haven't eaten yet; let's eat together."

"I'll go fetch a portion for you." The adjutant left quickly.

Zhang Mu rested his hands on his thighs. "What's the matter? Do you find the Rangers difficult to deal with?"

"A little..."

"Tell me why."

"I just feel... we shouldn't simply behead them so crudely."

"Are you trying to save them?"

"I want to try."

"There's no need."

Domit was stunned.

Zhang Mu leaned his arms on the table and tapped his index finger on the surface. "If it were peacetime and Lake had no external pressure, I would very much agree with your idea. We could invest resources to slowly manage these people and correct them from their crooked path."

"But now Lake is surrounded by danger. To be honest, it's not impossible for an Epic to come and wipe us out in the next second."

Domit was silent for a moment. "That is true."

"So, we don't have the time to waste on Rangers."

Zhang Mu picked up an overturned teacup and filled it. "Besides, they aren't the only poor people. Why can other poor people go to clear land and plant crops?"

"I believe... Princess Avril introduced a subsidy policy, didn't she?"

"Yes." Domit nodded and said as he recalled, "I remember it was... the ownership of the cleared land belongs to the person who cleared it, and the kingdom rewards them with Universal Currency based on the area."

"Not just that, there are also free bread distribution points in all major cities, ensuring that even in a disaster year, no one in a Farmer's household will starve to death."

The adjutant returned with a food tray and joined the conversation as he sat down. "Although the taste of Black Bread is hard to describe, it's still good enough to fill one's stomach."

Zhang Mu smiled. "It's not that I can't afford to distribute White Bread. As long as a city opens one bread factory, it would be enough to provide free White Bread for three meals a day to all the nearby Farmers."

The two looked surprised. "Really? Then why..."

Zhang Mu interrupted them. "The problem is... if the food distributed is too good, how can I ensure it definitely reaches the hands of those who need it?"

"Won't the middle class come to claim it under false pretenses? Who can guarantee the bread Shop Owner won't come to claim it?"

They fell into deep thought. After a while, Domit realized, "Indeed, only the poor who have trouble even getting three meals a day would go to collect Black Bread that is harder than a tree root."

The adjutant felt a bit troubled. "Marshal, you know I was a Farmer before I joined the First Army. I still hope all Farmers can eat White Bread. Er, is there no way to solve this?"

"There is, but it's for the same reason: we can't spare the time."

After Zhang Mu finished speaking, he looked down and saw that the adjutant had thoughtfully prepared a pair of wooden chopsticks for him. All the veterans of the First Army knew their Marshal liked to use two round sticks to eat.

Cheerfully picking up the wooden chopsticks, Zhang Mu said while eating, "There are many problems; we have to take them one by one, prioritizing the most urgent."

The adjutant asked curiously, "What is our most urgent task right now?"

"Killing the enemy."

"Uh... that feels like a goal that won't be completed anytime soon."

Zhang Mu laughed. "Trust me, it won't be too late."

Domit had no appetite and set his knife and fork down beside the tray. "Marshal, so about the Rangers... should we set them aside for now?"

"No." Zhang Mu finished the food on his tray in a few bites. "Problems can only be set aside on the premise that the situation is within our control and won't cause unacceptable consequences or form an unsolvable dilemma."

"I don't understand," the two said together.

"No rush. You'll understand in a moment. Come, change into some ordinary clothes and follow me onto the streets."