173: Chapter 173 Salary

Hearing Arthur say this, France's spirits lifted, as there was no such talk about road construction before.

However, with France's intelligence, a little thought revealed that the roads built this way would be much better than before, though slightly more difficult. But for an Earth Element Master, it was a piece of cake.

France even added:

"If we encounter areas with many Demonic Beasts, I will clear them out to ensure road safety!"

Arthur saw that France could even infer other things from his statement and immediately felt that this arrangement was fine:

"Hmm, I can only offer some suggestions. The specific situation will depend on the actual conditions during construction.

For example, when building roads, you might encounter situations where residents need to be relocated, so there's no need to rush too much. If one month isn't enough, it's fine to postpone it!"

In reality, compared to Arthur's decisive statement that the roads would be completed in one month,

France, with her broader experience, truly understood how many difficulties road construction would entail, so she felt a bit pressed for time with the one-month deadline.

Now that Arthur said it could be postponed, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But it was just a sigh of relief; when it came to actual work, she was absolutely meticulous, so she immediately said:

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration. I will complete the kingdom's road construction as quickly as possible!"

"Mm! Then I'll leave it to you!"

After the arrangements were made, just as France was about to take the one hundred Earth Element Masters away,

Arthur suddenly thought of a problem: he had never paid his summoned subordinates before.

At most, he would give them a little money when they were first summoned, and then distribute weapons and armor.

For someone like Victor, who had been with him for a long time, he hadn't received a salary in nearly two years!

If this were an ordinary person, they would have rebelled long ago. It was only because France, Victor, and others were loyal to Arthur that they had no complaints.

However, Arthur knew this was wrong, but because his income wasn't sufficient before, he had always put the matter aside.

But now it was different; with the Lionheart Merchant Guild,

just yesterday, Arthur learned through his magic communicator that five branches and one headquarters brought him a profit of 3.2 billion.

This was the result of one day, and although there were special circumstances, Arthur estimated that in the future, it would not be less than this amount each month.

So, Arthur was now rich.

With money, he naturally couldn't mistreat his loyal subordinates anymore!

He was now ready to finalize this matter!

He couldn't help but call out to France:

"France, speaking of which, including you, many people I've summoned, I've never given you a salary. You've truly worked hard.

Before, funds were not very abundant, but now that the merchant guild has been established, I have the ability to give you appropriate salaries!

So, please arrange this as soon as possible!"

"Thank you for Your Majesty's concern. We will pledge our lives to Your Majesty!"

Hearing this, the moved France immediately knelt on one knee and swore an oath.

Truth be told, France genuinely didn't care about the salary issue, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be touched if Arthur gave them a salary.

Because there was an underlying meaning: Arthur cared about them, otherwise he wouldn't specifically mention giving them salaries.

What France truly cared about was this meaning.

On the other side, Arthur hadn't expected France's reaction to be so strong, even kneeling to swear an oath. He quickly walked to her and helped her up.

At the same time, a surge of emotion welled up in Arthur's heart. This was the nature of summoned people; if you just show them a little care, they will repay it tenfold.

"The salary issue is something I should have done. There's no need for such a big reaction. Alright, let's first discuss the specific amounts!"

Hearing this, France slowly stood up.

"Your Majesty, for us, money has no meaning, but for you, it can buy many items, so the salary doesn't need to be too much!"

Hearing France say this, Arthur sighed inwardly again, lamenting that France and the others were indeed thinking solely for his benefit!

He asked curiously:

"Oh, then if I hadn't discussed the specific salary issue with you and just told you to arrange it, how would you have decided the salaries?"

"In the Lionheart Kingdom, salaries are generally distributed according to strength.

On average, a normal Bronze Knight's monthly salary is about five gold coins, followed by a Silver Knight's fifty, and a Gold Knight's five hundred.

For an Earth Knight, it's a bit different. After a knight Breaks Through to the Earth Realm, their body undergoes a transformation, and their strength greatly increases, so their monthly salary is about twenty thousand gold coins.

A Sky Knight gets three hundred thousand.

There's no reference for a Legendary, as the Kate Kingdom only had Isaac before, and the entire country belonged to him.

If one were to be given, five million would be about right!

Additionally, salaries are usually the most basic, and there are typically other benefits!"

As France spoke about the salaries for each Rank, Arthur silently calculated the number of experts under his command.

First, there were six Legendary Experts: three merfolk, including France, two Water Element Dragons, including Joao, and finally, the Human Legend Elwin.

As for Sky Knights, including Victor, there were about eleven.

Among them, one in the navy, one in the northern Anti-Beast Legion, six stationed in the six major provinces, and three including Victor by his side, totaling eleven.

Then there were even more Earth Knights: the navy, the army, and the various city lord's mansions, roughly one hundred thirty people.

Of course, there were also one hundred ten Magisters of the same Rank.

Next were the Gold Knights, approximately seven hundred fifty people.

Following that were the most numerous Silver Knights, roughly nine thousand six hundred people.

If all were paid according to the salaries mentioned above, the six Legendary Experts would require thirty million gold coins per month.

The eleven Sky Knights would require three million three hundred thousand gold coins per month.

The one hundred thirty Earth Knights and one hundred ten Magisters would require four million eight hundred thousand gold coins per month.

The seven hundred fifty Gold Knights would require approximately three hundred seventy-five thousand gold coins per month, and the nine thousand six hundred Silver Knights would require four hundred eighty thousand gold coins per month.

In total, this would require thirty-eight million nine hundred fifty-five thousand gold coins per month.

Calculated this way, compared to the Lionheart Merchant Guild's several billion gold coins per month, it was a piece of cake!

Understanding this result, a thought suddenly popped into Arthur's mind: since France and the others were so loyal,

he couldn't treat them too poorly. Their salaries must be doubled on this basis.

Just as Arthur was thinking this, France's words suddenly took a turn:

"Your Majesty, what I mentioned above is the normal situation for the kingdom. We don't need that much salary, so I plan to distribute about one-fifth, and that should be enough!"

Hearing this, Arthur's pupils also constricted. He realized that his thought process was completely different from France's.

He quickly said:

"Absolutely not. I don't agree with your plan. You are so loyal to me, and I've never known how to reciprocate."