Chapter 359 Loyalty and Recognition Are the Key
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[200 powerstone chapter]
In the lord's manor, located roughly halfway up the mountain, Hobert saw the great fire on the mountainside.
The fire was indeed large enough to turn Full Moon Lake red, as if burning away the sins and miseries of this fiefdom.
Hobert estimated that not only could Baron Teuton across the lake see it, but so could half of Southern Colson.
The bigger the fire, the better the effect!
Then Hobert began to consider his next actions. The 'Theosophy Order' had been silent, which made Hobert cautious and vigilant.
To this end, he took out the 'Cursed Jade Stone' blessed by the 'Mother Tree of Desire' from the 'Nation of Disorder'. If the 'Theosophy Order' wanted to play rough, he wouldn't mind giving them a 'blessing'.
At the same time, with the lord's power firmly in his hands, the next step was to implement his rule.
However, Hobert had not been able to find any household registration or population records for the lord's manor. Upon inquiry, he learned that in this mountainous area, there was no custom of registering households.
So the next step was definitely to register households. Only by knowing how many people were in the territory, how the population was distributed, and the age ratios could Hobert carry out the next stage of governance, and in future projects, he could always keep the utilization of human resources within controllable limits.
He 'activated' the oil painting, and Hobert fell asleep while pondering.
...
In the Teuton baronet's mansion across the lake, the thirty-something, prime-of-life Baron Teuton watched the great fire across the lake without saying a word.
Finally, a sweat-drenched subordinate ran in to report: "My Lord, I've found out that the new Baron on the other side killed the original two lords. It is said that he even killed more than twenty bandits with his bare hands. This fire is burning the bandits' corpses."
Baron Teuton asked, "Bare hands?"
The scout hesitated for a moment before saying, "I heard it from the new Baron's manservant, so it may not be entirely accurate."
The manservant's original words were even more exaggerated than "bare hands," something about a "favored one of the gods" who had received the blessing of the Earth Goddess, and that even a mouthful of saliva could kill a bandit. Something about the "Great Lord" begging for mercy, but the Baron still announced his crimes and executed him.
Baron Teuton did not continue to dwell on these details. He looked across the lake and said, "This Baron has some tricks up his sleeve. This isn't just a fire; it's a complete declaration of his sovereignty."
Then he smiled and said, "I hope he can still have a proper response when the people from the 'Theosophy Order' come knocking."
Baron Teuton thought to himself: But there are only two paths in front of that Baron. One is to get out or lose his life here, and the other is to be a dog of the 'Theosophy Order'.
...
On a mountain dozens of miles away from Jeffrey Town, a stunningly beautiful lady stood there, watching the distant firelight and smiling, "His name is Hobert, right?"
A lady behind her, equally beautiful, replied, "Yes."
"His strength should not be weak. Go talk to him tomorrow and see if you can become his Baroness."
"Wouldn't it be more convenient for us to just kill him?"
The stunningly beautiful lady smiled and said, "I just learned some new information from the outside world a few days ago. You can't kill him, and it's best not to kill him. Cooperation is the best option."
"Yes."
...
Waking up from his dream, Hobert stared at the roof for a while, sighing that life as a Baron was truly fulfilling. In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday.
He "closed" the oil painting, and Hobert suddenly realized that the effect of yesterday's fire exceeded Hobert's imagination, and it had digested nearly a third of the potion in one fell swoop!
Hobert felt that something was wrong. If it was just to make the people recognize his identity as lord, the potion could not have been digested so quickly.
This was a Sequence 6 potion! It was inherently difficult to digest.
With questions in his mind, Hobert still prayed to 'The Fool', hoping to arrange with 'Hanged Man' to explore the elven ruins tomorrow.
He quickly received a reply from 'Hanged Man': "No problem."
Arriving in the front yard, the renovation of the lord's manor had already begun. At this time, forty or fifty people were busy inside the manor.
Hobert saw submission and... fear in their eyes!
Yes, that look was undoubtedly fear! Some people were even trembling with fright.
This made Hobert reflect on whether he had gone too far yesterday?
But he soon felt that this was also a good thing, as it could establish his rule in the fastest possible way.
While eating breakfast, Hobert suddenly understood why he had digested a third of the potion so quickly!
It was precisely because of the fear of the people!
He finally understood the inherent meanings of "Corruption" and "Baron."
First of all, he had already figured out "Baron" before, which was that the people in the fiefdom recognized his identity as lord.
This recognition was not a one-time thing. For example, Hobert's punishment of York could make the people recognize his identity as lord, and the fire could make the people recognize his identity as lord again.
Hobert showed the authority of the lord time and time again, and the people recognized his identity as lord time and time again. This was the process of acting.
And "Corruption" does not simply refer to "corroding" the hearts of those around him. Hobert believes that it is the loyalty shown to him by the people of the territory because of fear, which is the essence of "Corruption."
"Baron" is just a title, and "Corruption" is just a process. The ultimate goal is to constantly make the people recognize Hobert's identity as lord, and to constantly make the people show loyalty to Hobert, even loyalty generated out of fear.
No matter what the purpose, whether it's buying people's hearts or making the people fear, as long as they can show a certain degree of loyalty, the acting of the lord, or rather the "Baron of Corruption", is completed in another aspect.
And the reason why it is called "Baron of Corruption" is because after Sequence 6, there is the ability to "corrode", so "corrupting" the hearts of those around him, making them greedy and dark, and then using their desires to control them and make subordinates show enough loyalty is the simplest process.
So the potion name is "Baron of Corruption", not "Loyal Baron".
Hobert smiled and sighed: This pathway is really the "Shadow of Order", and so many loopholes can be found in the name and digestion method of the potion.
Then he breathed a sigh of relief. He had tried it yesterday and found that he was really not the material to "corrupt" others.
Obviously, if Seel indulged in women, he would be more likely to achieve the goal of corrupting the other party's heart, but Hobert still reminded him, because he believed that his subordinates could not be lechers, which seemed to be the most basic moral requirement for subordinates.
After finishing breakfast, Hobert was about to call Philip to give new instructions.
Philip came himself: "My Lord, there is a beautiful lady outside the door requesting to meet with you."
Since it was a "pretty lady," she was probably from the "Theosophy Order"!
Hobert said, "Please invite her in."
After a while, a tall lady, although not gorgeously dressed, but very beautiful, entered the door.
Seel's eyes immediately went straight.
Hobert cleared his throat.
Seel suddenly felt a chill in his crotch, quickly turned his face away, and dared not look again.
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