"Lord Allen, won't hanging the Yoma's head in plain sight provoke retaliation?" the fat, middle-aged man asked cautiously, looking through the window at the bustling square outside.
A merchant by trade, he was instinctively opposed to such ostentatious behavior that could so easily offend others.
In his view, killing the invading "Yoma" was enough to demonstrate their strength. There was no need to risk offending more Yoma by hanging Ricarudo's head up for public display.
Unfortunately, the true power in this city lay not with this fat, middle-aged man, but with Allen.
He was merely responsible for handling the tedious daily affairs when Allen was away.
After all, in this world, violence determined who controlled every resource and held every right. Wealthy merchants often could not even protect their own lives and fortunes, let alone buy their way into power.
Seeing how cautious his subordinate was, Allen replied casually, "Don't worry. I'll take care of the aftermath. After this incident, I doubt any Yoma will dare approach the Western Lands for a long time. You'd better seize this opportunity to bring all the surrounding villages and towns together into a unified whole."
"Understood! I've been working on that lately. So far, forty villages and two small towns have agreed to accept our governance and protection. If nothing unexpected happens, once word spreads of your glorious victory over these powerful Yoma, more villages that are still on the fence will join us. After all, few people in this world have the power to slay Yoma. Compared with those half-human, half-Yoma silver-eyed witches, you're the one who truly deserves to be called a hero." The fat, middle-aged man hurriedly bowed, offering his praise with a fawning expression.
"Forty villages and two small towns? You haven't been using any underhanded methods, have you?"