The Survival Rules of NPCs

Chapter 16: The Rules of the Noble System!

When this guy dressed up, he actually had that kind of air about him. He said he was entrusted by the city lord, and none of the stewards present questioned him, even though they had never seen this unfamiliar face before.

Bright straightened his sleeves, looking calm. He was pleased but not surprised that the butlers didn't question him. The prompt on the panel clearly stated that the attribute of [Mental Strength] was not only the key to mobilizing extraordinary spirituality, but also could be spread outward to launch will attacks according to one's own will.

Specifically, this manifests as someone whose words make it difficult for those with weak mental strength to rationally resist, and they will almost unconditionally believe them without evidence. This is what is known as mental pressure. There are supernatural professions that specifically enhance this attribute, with prosecutors and judges being prime examples.

"Doesn't the city lord have a personal doctor?" an old steward managed to voice his doubts.

"There are too many infected people, and we need more doctors. Not only Dr. Jack, but we've also invited Dr. Mundo and Dr. Alice. The city lord's injuries from the assassination attempt haven't healed yet, and now there's this flu. We must take precautions to prevent danger. For the city lord's safety, I don't think anyone would deliberately compete with Lord Martin for doctors, right?"

The group of stewards fell silent. It was a fact that the city lord had been assassinated, and the reason for inviting more doctors was perfectly legitimate. At this time, if they tried to forcibly take the doctors from the city lord, it would be an open provocation. The city lord had every right to expel them, even if they were public officials of the empire, such as prosecutors!

The group of butlers fell silent, while Bright smiled and invited, "Please come in, Dr. Jack... oh, and Sir Elsie, the Lady of the City is also looking for you."

Elsie frowned, but didn't dare to expose him in public. After all, the Blood Cult's envoy was still in his hands, and his biggest weakness was being held by the other party. He couldn't act rashly.

After leaving the clinic, the group headed straight for Elsie's villa.

"What exactly do you want to do?" Elsie couldn't help but ask.

Her husband was still studying at Milan Dil, but their two children were being cared for at home by a nanny, and she had no desire for this mysterious person to come near her home.

"Isn't the child sick?" Bright said casually. "Didn't we find you a doctor?"

"You're so kind..." Elsie said through gritted teeth.

"My profession is a bit somber, but I've always been a kind-hearted person," Brett grinned.

Under the snowy wind, the boy, not yet twenty, smiled brightly. Coupled with his expensive attire, it was indeed hard to associate him with the corpse collector in the north of the city.

Elsie led the two into the house with a gloomy expression. Dr. Jack looked conflicted, but before he could speak, Bright spoke up first: "Dr. Jack, since you're treating a child, you should take out that dangerous thing from your medical kit first, lest the child accidentally knocks it over and it causes trouble."

Dr. Jack's eyes widened, his face turning deathly pale.

"Dangerous things?" Elsie's expression changed, and Jack immediately knelt down: "I was forced, and I'm not the only one. All the doctors have been forced. My four-year-old daughter and my pregnant wife are in their hands!"

"What exactly happened?" Elsie realized that the situation seemed to be more serious than usual.

Bright carefully took the green vial from the other person's first-aid kit and briefly explained the situation.

"The Heart of the Forest Cult..." Elsie's expression turned solemn as she recalled the familiar name. She had known about it for a long time; such a cult was popular in the refugee areas of the northern part of the city. In fact, not only in Holy Stone City, but in the refugee areas of many cities, the wilderness was the best place for cults to spread their teachings.

In such situations, local sheriffs usually turn a blind eye. The reason is simple: local nobles want enough refugees to fill vacant jobs, but they are unwilling to spend too much resources to support this group of unemployed people who cannot produce.

Religions that want to convert people usually use food and medicinal herbs to attract refugees. With them around, at least there won't be a large number of starvation deaths, and the pressure on the nobles can be greatly reduced.

When refugees are selected to become professionals, very few actually continue to follow their previous sect. Even if they do, they only secretly contribute a portion of their income to support it. Most so-called sects are actually just businessmen pulling strings behind the scenes, and it's just an investment deal. Very few are truly cults.

The Forest Heart has been in Holy Stone City for decades without causing any trouble. The local nobles have almost all tacitly accepted it, assuming that it's just some unscrupulous merchants who treat religion as a business, so basically no one cares.

I never expected to encounter the real deal this time!

"And you? What is your purpose? You shouldn't be Lord Allen's subordinate, right? Who exactly are you?" Elsie asked curiously.

She had witnessed Allen's behavior with the guy who had infiltrated that day. After careful observation, she concluded that she had probably been deceived. The female assassin was most likely not Allen's person. What was the background of this corpse collector?

"My goal? Of course, it's to prevent such a terrible thing from happening," Bright laughed.

"Do you think I'd believe that? If you want to stop it, why don't you just report it? The Rhine Empire has zero tolerance for cults."

"But the nobles have been infected in the last couple of days. What will happen if I report it?" Bright whispered. "If almost all the nobles are controlled by a cult, what will become of Holy Stone City? You should know, right?"

Elsie remained silent. All the nobles of Holy Stone City would face a purge, and she and her knights would also be investigated. And she... could not withstand the investigation!

"You can't withstand scrutiny, and neither can I..." Bright shrugged. "I don't want to leave Holy Stone City, and I'm sure you don't want to either, do you?"

Elsie took a deep breath. Of course she didn't want to. She had built an excellent reputation in Holy Stone City over the years. Her husband was studying in Milandil and relied almost entirely on her income as a knight and sheriff. If she fled Holy Stone City, she and her two children would become undocumented refugees. This kind of change was unacceptable to her!

"What are you planning to do?"

"I don't have any ideas right now, so that's why I came to discuss it with you." Seeing that the other party had relented, Bright felt relieved. It seemed that the Blood Cult's messenger hadn't lied. Elsie wasn't exactly a fanatical believer, but she couldn't bear to give up all her weaknesses. That's why the Blood Cult would bestow divine blood upon her this time, making her even more closely bound to the cult.

Such a person would not easily abandon everything and run away.

"You want to discuss this with me?" Elsie frowned. "Dr. Jack just said that all the security guards on Rose Avenue have had their families taken into custody. I have no power left to help you, and even if I persuade my men, it probably won't be enough."

"So we need allies," Bright said directly. "In your opinion, what kind of allies are safest in this situation?"

"If it's about fighting a cult, Prosecutor Lady Lady is probably the most suitable," Elsie said after a moment's thought. "But you didn't go to him directly, so you're not trying to go through me, are you?"

"Prosecutor Lady knows about the cult's plans." Bright dropped another bombshell, leaving Elsie shocked: "Lady's in cahoots with the cult? Are you sure?"

The Imperial Prosecutor's Office is the least susceptible organization to cult infiltration because it is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Imperial religious institutions.

"Whether they're in cahoots is uncertain, but cooperation is certain." Bright looked at the other person seriously. "That day he suddenly visited your house, and coincidentally, an envoy from the Blood Cult almost came to your place as well. Do you think it was a coincidence?"

Elsie remained silent. In fact, she had her doubts that day as well. After all, it didn't seem very plausible that someone as unruly as Will would come to learn from her how to be a good sheriff. Moreover, it was indeed too much of a coincidence.

"Assuming your statement is true, what is his purpose?"

purpose?

Recalling the intelligence update that had just been posted before his arrival, Bright slowly said, "I have new information: his nephew Will has gone to Saint-Thias to request reinforcements!"

"What?!" Elsie jumped to her feet in shock. "Santais? Is he requesting support from the Imperial Judicial Headquarters? What is he planning to do?"

Bright tapped the table calmly and said, "He deliberately allowed the nobles here to get infected and then secretly requested support from the Imperial Ministry of Justice. There's only one reason: he deliberately wants to eliminate the nobles here!"

"But... what's the benefit of doing this?" Elsie asked, puzzled.

That's a good question, I'd like to know too...

Bright: "If the nobles here are eliminated, he'll be the right candidate to be the city's lord, won't he?"

"That's true, but that would ruin his reputation among the nobles." Elsie frowned. "Holy Stone City has a population of 100,000. It can't be supported without enough nobles. Even if he obtains the Lord's Seal, without the support of other nobles, he doesn't have enough professional appointments to maintain such a city. If his reputation is ruined, who would dare to cooperate with him?"

Bright was taken aback. Oh right, there's such a saying!

As someone from the lower rungs of society, Bright was naturally not very clear about the cooperation between noble lords. He had always wondered why there weren't many nobles with public office in Holy Stone City, yet there were still quite a few nobles gathered there. There seemed to be four or five Viscounts, not to mention the baron families. What was the purpose of their existence?

Now he roughly understood. A city needs a large enough population to survive, and in this world, a large enough number of low-level professions are needed to keep it running. For example, to maintain food self-sufficiency, a certain amount of farmland is needed; to ensure the operation of a factory, workers are needed; and to trade, a large enough number of merchants are needed. All these professions require the power of the seal.

The city lord's seal obviously cannot appoint tens of thousands of professions, which means that the professions in Holy Stone City are a collection of professions created by many nobles!

This is the significance of the existence of those nobles without official positions. The noble circle in a city is equivalent to an alliance. The nobles who join invest in your city, and then a portion of the taxes are handed over to the imperial central government, while the majority are used to distribute profits. This is the basic operating rule of the noble system in this world today.

Actually, it's not much different from a listed company in the previous life. Shareholders raise funds, and the city lord is equivalent to the chairman of the board!

No wonder Gou Dan wanted to be a nobleman. In this world, as long as you have the seal of authority, it's equivalent to having real means of production. The strength of these means of production far surpasses that of capitalists in his previous life. This thing is the foundation of one's life!

No, I have to make one myself, no matter what!

Returning to the topic, as Elsie said, if Lady succeeds in doing this, she will certainly become the city lord, but if her reputation is ruined, who will be willing to cooperate with her to build this city? The Empire?

does it worth?