Then on the second day after he took office, he heard that the previous city lord's family had met with an accident. Most of them were attacked while out relaxing, and no one came back alive.
He had been afraid and regretted before, but the ideals in his heart and the power in his hands gave him courage, allowing him to continue walking on this rugged road as firmly as possible.
When did it start to deteriorate?
Bosch himself didn't know.
He wanted to make everything better, to push through bills, to enlighten the people, and even to provide free education opportunities to the lower classes, but the amount of resistance he encountered was beyond his expectations.
The nobles of Senling were unwilling to do such a good deed. Their reason was: Senling's geographical transportation was inconvenient, and the main source of tax revenue was local farmers and those terraced fields. If free education was provided to farmers, it would open their eyes and increase their knowledge... The transportation of goods was very difficult, but people had legs and they could choose to leave on their own.
Where would they collect taxes? Senling City might continue to decline, and eventually there would be no one left to keep it running, and their power and wealth would naturally be gone.
Bosch wanted to rebuke them and say they were short-sighted, because he himself was born in a merchant family and he knew very well that this was just an investment.
Indeed, if he did that, many people would leave. But as long as there was a small number of people willing to come back, he would definitely make a profit from the deal.
What’s the use of having more country bumpkins who only know how to farm?
If the roads are still not repaired, they will still live on smelly streets.
But having seen the world, there is a possibility of transformation. He can recruit more capable helpers and begin to truly try to make Senling a better place.
He even fantasized about clearing the surrounding forests after this winter. This time they would not grow food, but more improved tobacco.
There are not many goods of the same weight that are more expensive than tobacco. In this way, the income can be raised first, and then the extra money can be used to continue to invest in road construction.
After five or eight years, when the road conditions improve, more caravans will be willing to come here to sell goods. Those high-quality agricultural products and wild game can also be sold at a good price, which may also attract more adventurers and hunters to settle here - why would they still worry about collecting taxes?
This is how he planned it and how he explained it to others, but none of his fellow nobles supported him.
There are too many variables.
Five or eight years? Senling City had never made a plan that lasted more than half a year. In their eyes, this was a gamble, and no one was willing to get on board.
It was during these repeated setbacks and setbacks that Bosch's blood began to run cold.
He experienced what is called "growth" and began to become more "sensible".
When he once again explained his ideas to a family elder and was severely rebuked by the other party, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and cut his throat with a dinner knife.
That's an amazing feeling.
It's not evil, it's not a curse, and it's not an awakening... He didn't gain any extraordinary magical powers and was still a weak mortal.
But he knew very well that everything was different from the past.
Just like opening a door, he had the thought "it can be so simple". His past self now seemed to be just an ignorant fool with nothing but passion. Yes - he could use violence to promote his ideas.
He has the support of the Undead Party behind him, so his words should be final.
He is the real master of this city!
After figuring everything out, Bosch began to delegate power to the Undead Party.
He began to allow the Undead Party to place people in some positions that he had hesitated about in the past and vaguely felt were "not a good idea."
They were indeed professionals. In less than a week, they had found sixteen spies from other families around him and made them die in the most tragic way in front of him.
Bosch didn't think this was wrong.
Someone has done something wrong... and must be punished. Neither the gray fog nor the nightmare could inspire awe in them, so he would do it. He, Bos-Lias, was now death itself.
He began to completely integrate into the Deathly Hallows Party.
This is definitely different from what he originally thought. For example, now he is no longer afraid of them, and what supports him to keep going is no longer pure ideals. He begins to appreciate the beauty of power.
But he had no choice. His background determined that this was the only way for him to have a chance to achieve his goal. He still firmly believed that all this was for the better of Senling.
Everything came to an end tonight... When he came to the study to meet the "envoy" despite his sleepiness, he never expected to be given such an order.
"'Give up Senling, take your assets and follow me. We will find another place to compensate you.'"
Across from him sat a man with a goatee wearing a dark brown suit and a black felt hat. He grinned at Bosch and said, "I didn't read the letter, but I think that's what he wrote."
"That's true, but——"
"Any questions?" Goatee raised his eyebrows.
"You want to realize your ambitions, and we will help you."
"If you want to clean up the dissidents, we will help you."
"He even promised to find you another place to be a lord. You haven't lost anything. You still have a chance to realize your dream after giving up Senling."
"Or maybe it will be realized directly!" Goatbeard couldn't help laughing when he said this.
After all, even in Talignan, there are not many places more remote and backward than Senling.
Giving up this useless piece of mud in exchange for a chance to eliminate the threat is a good deal.
"How can this be the same!"
Hearing this, Bosch's anger flared up again.
"You want everyone to die..."
"That's our business, Mr. Lias." The goateed man interrupted him calmly, "Didn't we agree on that at the beginning? When necessary, we will take over all the authority here and give you sufficient compensation... Remember? You signed it."
"I know, but-"
"Think positively, Lias." The man with the goatee curled his lips, "I've been to many places, but none of them gave me the feeling of Senling."
"It's rotten, old, and outdated... A lot of people should have died long ago. If he hadn't thought highly of you and wanted to nurture you, this city probably wouldn't have survived until today."
"Can……"
"You are different from these people, so why should you feel sad for them? To put it bluntly, being a lord somewhere else would definitely be much more comfortable than it is now... There wouldn't be so many corrupt voices, and they would respect you as the local king..."
Bosch began to waver.
He was not willing to be a king.
Power feels wonderful, but if one is born with everything directly, missing the process of obtaining it, he will find it meaningless.
But the other party's description is indeed tempting.
At the very least, if he could get more companions and more resources, he might be able to try to... expand that ideal vision a little bit.
Recalling the hard work over the years, he suddenly looked up.
"What about the hired detective?"
The goatee finally smiled again.
He knew that with this issue, Bosch had been relieved of his moral burden.
"Leave it to us, Mr. Lias."
"It's just a minor character, not worth discussing separately."
At the same time, on the other side of the city, a gathering team began to break out in the dark.
They must escape from Senling before dawn.
It would be best to get close to the Winden River - only water can help escape the pursuers.
Chapter 50: Forest Ridge Epidemic 3
"what--!"
Walking in the center of the team, Sixus screamed again.
"If I had known I would have to go back to the river, I wouldn't have sunk the boat!!!"
"..." The others stared at her speechlessly, feeling that she was really asking for trouble.
Really... Although this is indeed a very serious and fatal problem, is this what they should consider now?
They are still in the city! They haven't escaped yet... They are still surrounded by a large number of evil monsters. The most urgent thing is to escape to the river without caring about anything... Even if there is no boat, they can just jump in~
But Sixus had a different opinion. She kept urging the team to find a way to solve this "future difficulty", and even Hitzfeld couldn't stand her.
"Kante." The girl came up to her and asked her in a low voice that everyone in the team could hear: "Tell me the truth, can you swim?"
The mixed-haired loli suddenly widened her eyes: "I didn't!... Stop slandering me! Don't forget how long I have lived... I... I look like I can't swim?"
"Like." Hitzfeld closed his eyes and sighed.
It didn't seem like it... For example, she certainly couldn't have imagined that at least a hundred-year-old loli had so much time and never tried to learn how to swim.
"Really? Are you kidding?" Xia Yibing was also surprised. She leaned over and joked with her in a whisper: "Aisun said you won't die. Are you afraid of that? You should be able to stay in the water for a year."
Xia is really good at joking.
Hitzfeld continued to sigh, and a scene emerged in his mind: Sisyphus in a swimsuit was locked in a super huge fish tank. The fish tank was placed next to the living room wall of Iris 221. Every time guests came, she would proudly introduce it to them...
What a mess this is.
Shaking her head to throw them away, the girl looked toward the gloomy night, and faintly smelled the scent of blood again.
Although they seem to be aimless, like headless flies running around the city, they do have a list of phased goals.
It is definitely not possible to break out directly. The Undead Party gave up Senling City to get rid of them, which shows their determination. Those irrational and deformed monsters are just appetizers. The real threat is the survivors.
No one knows whether there are any Necron members hiding among them, and what if they are shot when they are about to leave the city... This is the reason why they have never accepted any companions.
So their plan at this stage is... to go to the Chamber of Commerce branch with Russell first.
Yes, the branch - The Thornbirds Merchant Alliance actually has a base in Forest Ridge City. Although Hitzfeld had expected this because Russell was able to find them quickly and it was obvious that there was an organization behind them, she was still a little surprised to actually confirm this.
If I remember correctly, the Thorn Birds' main business focus is still on Sarah. It should not have deployed that many people in Talignan.
But they even opened a branch in Senling City. Doesn’t this seem like they don’t take it seriously?
The girl couldn't help but think of the legends about the aristocratic families she had read in her two lifetimes. It was said that those wealthy families would always have two preparations when making a choice. Even if they decided to take the left path, they would deliberately send some family bloodlines to take the right path.
In this way, no matter who succeeds or fails, at least the family can be passed down. That's why there is a saying that there are centuries-old dynasties and millennia-old families. She thinks the Igor family might be doing something similar.
These branches in Talignan were their backup. If the coup d'état they had followed with the old royal party had failed, they would have considered escaping from Sarah and continuing their business in Talignan.
But they probably didn't expect that someone like Russell would appear.
He was born into a merchant family but he holds on to the ideals of justice... It's like a flower blooming in filth, a low-probability event among low-probability events.
"boom!"
Russell shot down a frost dragon that was rushing towards him with one shot. He sensed the sight behind him and turned around to see Hitzfell.
"Be alert." He couldn't help but remind her, "There are too many of them. I may not be able to take care of them all."
Those polluted and deformed humans were temporarily called Frost Dragons.
Strictly speaking, this was Moore's insistence - he firmly believed that it was the Simurg family who betrayed the covenant, completely turned to the Undead Party, and sold the family bloodline to the other party for research, which led to the creation of these things.
It cannot be said that he is talking nonsense, because they have seen that the height of these monsters after deformation is generally more than meters. Their feet are not much elongated, but their hands are greatly extended. Not only do they grow two thick claws, but there are also flesh membranes connecting their arms to the waist and abdomen.
This looks like... well, a more rudimentary dragon wing structure. In addition, their skin surface is dark blue, and the openings in their mouths and back spines spew out cold air. It is no problem to say that they are frost dragons.
Fortunately, they are not as strong as they look.
The pollution took away their sanity and made them start to act instinctively, but their bodies had been greatly modified. The movement habits they had accumulated over the years when they were humans were not suitable for this new body. Many frost dragons would fall down when running fast.
Their contradictory actions and clumsy attacks made them vulnerable to professional hunters. They would die if shot in the vitals. With Xia Yibing's powerful weapon against evil monsters, the team's progress efficiency was not slow.
Another group of frost dragons passed by, and Hitzfell stepped over the stacked corpses, covering his mouth and nose, his brows never relaxed.
The monsters are adapting to their new bodies with unprecedented efficiency.
It was not an illusion, she had counted - in previous battles, Russell had fired an average of three bullets at each frost dragon, but after two consecutive waves of battles, the average had exceeded four.
It may seem like a small increase, but it is a dangerous signal. They must speed up the process.
After rejecting another wave of mercenary hunters who wanted to go with them, they continued to move forward. Eugenie suddenly said, "They didn't go far, they just hung behind them."
There is no shortage of speculators everywhere.
Compared to clearing a path for yourself, the success rate of forming a group is definitely higher.
But they refuse to stick together...then just follow them from a distance.
They can't even not allow me to follow you, right?
Even if they are not allowed, what can they do to them?
"Ignore them." Russell shook his head.
