They Robbed Me!

Berg had told him before that all white text was referred to as Mortal Rank, while above Mortal Rank was Transcendent Rank, at which point the text above one's head would turn Emerald Green.

After reaching this rank, no matter one's profession, even a farmer could gain all kinds of wondrous, unbelievable abilities. Moreover, those of Transcendent Rank could hide their Profession Blessings.

The Clay Merchant they had ambushed earlier, whose head bore no Profession Blessing, was likely a Transcendent professional.

Fortunately, the man had been a merchant. If he had been a Transcendent knight like the one before them, Xian had no doubt that even together, he and Berg would not withstand a single slash.

The ranks of one's status and profession were separate. It was entirely possible for someone's Status Blessing to be white while their Profession Blessing was green.

Berg had always hoped to raise his Hunter Blessing to Transcendent Rank, but with no one to teach him and no knowledge of advancement, he had made no progress whatsoever for three whole years.

"That chainmail looks pretty good. If I wore it into battle and put on a helmet, taking on ten men alone would probably be easy."

Xian adjusted his straw hat and thought to himself.

At that moment, he wore an enormous round straw hat so large that it looked almost ridiculous. Though ugly, it concealed the label above his head quite well.

Without it, Xian would never have risked exposing his identity to the eyes of the nobility just to come watch.

Besides that, he wore a long linen robe that hid his modern clothes.

"Village chief of Fruit Basket Village, come see me at once!" Once the crowd around them stopped growing, the knight shouted.

A moment later, Robert, dressed in a sheepskin robe, stepped out from the crowd and slowly approached the knight.

"Honorable Sauron Knight, I am Robert, the village chief. On behalf of all the villagers, I welcome your arrival."

Robert bent at the waist and spoke respectfully.

"Is everyone here?" Sauron asked coldly.

His expression was stern, and his voice was like cold iron striking cold iron.

"My lord, every villager of Fruit Basket Village is present."

After sweeping his gaze around, Robert bowed again.

"According to the decree of my lord, your great lord, Viscount Hughes, the Agricultural Tax and Hunting Tax your village owes this year amount to twenty-one Silver Sol and seventy-four Copper Sol. Have you prepared them all?" Sauron asked in a deep voice.

"My lord, they have all been prepared," Robert said with a beaming smile.

He gestured behind him, and a villager carrying a bulging money bag walked over beneath the Old Oak Tree.

"You. Go count it."

Sauron casually pointed at one of his attendants and gave the order.

The attendant dismounted and lowered his head, carefully counting the coins in the bag.

The sound of coins being rubbed together rang out continuously, while the surrounding villagers watched with tense eyes.

After all, the result would determine their fate.

Would they continue living peacefully as farmers, or be reduced to slaves, spending the rest of their lives slowly waiting to die amid endless humiliation and crushing labor? "Lord Sauron, the count is complete. There are twenty-one Silver Sol and eighty Copper Sol in total."

After a long while, the attendant raised his head, a trace of delight on his face.

"Well done. You have perfectly fulfilled your duties as subjects."

At those words, the tightly furrowed brows on Sauron Knight's face relaxed slightly. He praised Robert in an approving tone.

"It is our honor, my lord. May the gods bless the great Hughes Lord," Robert hurriedly replied with another bow.

He had no idea how many times he would have to bend over that day.

"Very good. If the other villages were all as loyal as yours, that would be wonderful." Sauron Knight nodded slightly.

"I don't know what happened this year. Several villages failed to pay their taxes in full, forcing me to personally haul them off and sell them to slave merchants."

"Clearly, the taxes set by my benevolent lord are already the lowest in the entire Sossia Kingdom, yet those serfs still cannot scrape them together. They are truly too stupid to reason with, completely wasting my lord's good intentions!"

Thinking of how he had failed to complete his lord's assignment, Sauron Knight could not help complaining indignantly.

"Yes, yes, those people are truly ungrateful."

Though Robert wore a broad smile on the surface, inwardly he felt deep pity and sorrow for those villagers who would be sent to the Slave Capital.

If their village had not encountered a noble and generous prince, they would likely have ended up on the same path.

"Enough. I still need to collect taxes from the next village. Since you have paid your taxes in full, I will ask my lord to grant you some spiritual commendation."

After ordering his attendants to put the money bag into the carriage, Sauron Knight turned his horse around and prepared to leave.

"Wait! Wait!"

Just as Sauron Knight was about to depart with his attendants, a merchant came galloping over from the distance, shouting loudly.

The sight made Xian and Berg, standing among the crowd, tense up.

That man was Mills, the Clay Merchant they had ambushed a few days ago.

"Merchant, what is it?"

Looking at the panting Mills before him, Sauron Knight frowned slightly and questioned him while rubbing the hilt of his sword.

His time was precious. He did not wish to waste it on a merchant.

"I want to report them! The tax money these villagers paid was all stolen from me!" Mills shouted furiously.

Sauron Knight's gaze turned cold.

"Enough! Merchant, this is land under my lord's rule. If you dare slander his subjects without cause, I will cut out your tongue!"

Sauron drew the longsword at his waist. It was a Fine Steel Longsword gleaming beneath the sunlight, its sharp tip pointed directly at the merchant's head.

The sight drained Mills's face of color. He knew perfectly well that the man needed only one stroke to split him in two, and even the Illegitimate Protection granted by his Liar Merchant profession would not take effect.

Because if the knight killed him for the sake of the villagers, it would undoubtedly count as a legitimate act.

In that instant, Mills was so terrified of death that he wanted to retreat, but in the end, his desire to recover his money and the resentment in his heart kept him standing where he was.

"K-Knight... Lord Knight, I am the traveling merchant Mills. As you can see, this is my Profession Blessing."

Mills swallowed and spoke tremblingly.

Beside the commoner label above his head, another label appeared—the words "Liar Merchant," written in Emerald Green.

Upon seeing the green label, Sauron Knight's attitude immediately eased. He even returned his drawn longsword to its scabbard.

Because even though Mills was merely a merchant, since he had advanced to a Transcendent profession, Sauron had to show him the respect he deserved.

This was the unspoken understanding and consensus shared by nearly all Transcendents.

"Mills, what evidence do you have that the tax money paid by these villagers was the money stolen from you?" Sauron Knight asked coldly.

Happy New Year, dear readers~ May you become happier and happier in the new year, and may your lives be filled with ever more happiness! (^▽^)