The First Magic World War-Chapter 232 - 227, Rumors of Hometown

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Charles, while not holding the highest position, had the Westwind Knights at his command and the Silver Pigeon Fortress Knights also obeyed him, and by representing Krel, he ensured that the local nobles of Strasbourg were quite submissive to him. His reputation, earned through consecutive battles, also played a crucial role in this.

Charles addressed the local nobles with a smile, "Unfortunately, Duke Joseph fell in the South Serif territory, losing such an excellent leader is a loss for each and every one of us."

"However..."

"Strasbourg is the city of all Strasbourgians, and the wealth of the city should rightly belong to every Strasbourgian."

His words were cleverly nuanced, luring in the attention of almost all Strasbourgians as Charles continued, "I have decided to divide the wealth left by the Duke equally among everyone."

This statement resonated with the nobility, even prompting some to cheer quietly.

With a smile, Charles said, "But Strasbourg is a large city with a population of over a hundred thousand, perhaps even more, making it impossible to divide the wealth directly among individuals. This requires the nobility to take on the responsibility."

Each noble’s heart quivered at these words, indescribably grateful for Charles’s wisdom, the words struck each noble’s heart like the most sagacious King.

Charles then subtly shifted the conversation, "There are just three criteria for this matter: fairness, fairness, and more fairness."

"However, some things can’t be evenly divided or cut, like this Duke’s Mansion! So I have a small request, which is to start with the Duke’s Mansion and conduct an auction. The cash from each auction will then be distributed equally among all the nobles present."

"What do you think, gentlemen?"

The Strasbourgians cheered in unison, fully endorsing the decision, their eyes clouded by the immense benefits, having completely forgotten to question the validity.

Charles immediately commenced the first auction, naming it the "Strasbourg War Tax Levy Assembly."

Before the auction began, he publicly declared that he would not touch a coin of the auction proceeds, asking the Strasbourg nobility to elect eighteen of the most virtuous and respected individuals to collectively oversee this significant sum of money.

This announcement served as a "reassurance pill" for the nobility, who quickly elected eighteen nobles, bringing their private knighthoods to watch over such a considerable amount of cash.

The first item auctioned off went very smoothly, with the Duke’s Mansion being particularly coveted by the Strasbourg nobility. Some thought that since the auction proceeds were to be shared among all, it absolutely shouldn’t be sold cheaply to benefit one sole individual. Consequently, nearly everyone was determined to "drive up the price," whether they intended to buy it or not.

In the end, the Duke’s Mansion was auctioned for the astonishing sum of 63,000 Aegeus.

Charles had once mortgaged Silver Pigeon Fort for several thousand Aegeus and dumped the debt onto Baron Fabolais, at which time he thought himself quite ruthless; the fort was certainly not worth that much. Residential areas in Strasbourg of similar size sold for only a few thousand Aegeus. How could the residential estate of Silver Pigeon Fort sell for the same price as a capital city property?

He had not anticipated that the Ducal Mansion would auction for such an exaggerated amount.

When the first "Strasbourg War Tax" from the auction of the Ducal Mansion was recorded, the diary indeed transmitted a thought: the maze-ification progress of Strasbourg is (1/18).

As one of the top-tier nobles of the Empire, the two Dukes obviously owned more than one residence. Charles put these properties up for sale one after another, experiencing for the first time the labyrinth transformation progress rapidly advancing.

After selling a residence in the eastern part of the city, the maze-ification progress of Strasbourg reached (18/18), achieving one full labyrinth transformation.

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The diary immediately sent out a wisp of thought: "Charles Meklen had obtained the position of temporary ruler of Mostar Castle and had already performed the taxation duties, meeting the requirements for setting up the seventh Labyrinth. Mostar Castle was about to initiate its second maze-ification. Please complete eighteen instances of taxation. During this period, you must not leave this place."

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Charles then began to auction off the estates, shops, and collections of the two dukes...

He soon completed the second maze-ification of Mostar Castle and obtained three passageways leading to Machu Picchu, Silver Pigeon Fort, and Cappadocia City.

To Charles’s surprise, the diary didn’t prompt a third maze-ification. Although he knew this thing was very "random," he still felt somewhat regretful.

After completing this "great auction," Charles announced that he was leaving the remaining matters to the local nobles of Mostar Castle. He wouldn’t interfere at all, and, to show enough "sincerity," he didn’t even stay at Mostar Castle. He took the Westwind Knights and Silver Pigeon Fortress Knights and left to gather two other Knighthoods.

As soon as Charles left, Mostar Castle became bustling...

For Charles, this was just a minor surprise. Having completed two mazes was already a harvest, and as for the other gains...

Well, there was no rush for now.

The three Knighthoods that had escaped back from the Southern Seraph Territory, aside from the Mostar Castle Knighthood, belonged to two barons who had both luckily survived. Although they had suffered heavy losses, they had at least saved their lives.

They also received orders from Strasbourg, instructing them to assist Krel in attacking South Serif again, but which of the barons was willing to gamble their last resources?

Both holed up in their own territories and even formed an alliance, preparing to resist Krel.

They didn’t expect that Krel didn’t even care about their pathetic few hundred soldiers and didn’t bother to come. Instead, it was Charles who came with the Westwind Knights and Silver Pigeon Fortress Knights in a mighty force.

In order to "avoid suspicion," Charles didn’t leave a single person behind in Mostar Castle. He left cleanly and spotlessly.

When they were close to their destination, Charles suggested to Anatasiya that he would go to Seagull City, and she should head to Ode Mountain City.

Anatasiya readily agreed and took the Maple Leaf Knighthood to Ode Mountain City.

Seagull City was the third-largest city of Behemoth Duchy and also Charles’s hometown where he had countless "romantic affairs." For instance, there was a baroness who was seductive and charming, mature yet glamorous, and a baroness’s daughter who was youthful and lively...

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Besides these, there were quite a few "old acquaintances."

Well, such as...

Well, such as...

Well, also such as...

Charles was quite worried that Anatasiya might hear some unsavory "rumors" in Seagull City.

As far as he knew, there were still quite a few "rumors" about Mister Mecklen in this small hometown city.