Lord

A message appeared on Keosius's panel.

[You have conquered a city with a population of 10,000, earning the special achievement [Lord]] Achievement [Lord]

"This place will become my territory, and I will be the ruler of the world! — Conqueror Audick"

Acquired Trait: [Dictatorial Law]

Charisma +1, Rule Proficiency +6. You conquer cities with overwhelming force, your autocratic rule instills fear in all, and those considered "subjects" within your territory find it difficult to disobey your commands. Furthermore, your laws become the very laws governing this land.

(Note: All players belonging to your faction and located within your territory who attempt to break the law must pass a rigorous will check, or they will be sentenced to death. Based on the size of your territory and the number of your subjects, the laws you can currently enact are: 3) An invisible force envelops Keosius.

His charisma was further enhanced, reaching a terrifying 26 points—almost comparable to some ancient dragons who had lived for nearly a thousand years and had an incredibly deep connection with the world.

A special, Psionics -like power also appeared in Keosius's will, quietly waiting to be used.

"The Dictatorial Law, that's interesting."

"It has a remarkable effect on controlling players."

The players may seem like a chaotic bunch, but in reality they are bound by the greatest order—the system.

Everything they do, from fighting to leveling up, strictly follows the system's rules.

Now, with the [Dictatorial Law], Keosius can transform himself into a system administrator, exercising more precise and meticulous control over players' behavior, ultimately making them take it for granted and obediently serve the Ember Nest as laborers.

"Then let's give it a try."

With this in mind, Keosius used the invisible power attached to his will to promulgate the first "Dictatorial Law".

Knowing the players as well as Keosius does, they will definitely break this rule, and then we'll see how this new ability works.

Theft is prohibited in this area.

"Damn, this city is much bigger Bator City."

"Yes."

"I heard there are tens of thousands of people inside."

"The modeling is so realistic; the marks on the city wall really give it a sense of age."

The players stood at the city gate, gazing up at the towering city walls of Troluo City that had stood for centuries, and marveled at them.

"In such a big city, there must be so many things to scavenge."

"The player with the ID ' Black Night Poem ' sighed."

Everyone turned their heads and looked at the man warily, keeping their distance.

"Black Night Poem" is a player with the Rogue subclass "Thief" who has reached level three. He is a notorious pickpocket and is known as Mine Cave Twin Dogs " along with "Lang Li Bai Tiao ". They steal money and equipment from countless new players in the dark mines.

His professional characteristics of Nimble Hands and cunning, as well as Rooftop Gentleman, allow him to escape unscathed every time he steals, leaving his victims furious and helpless, only able to post his name on forums in a fit of impotent rage.

"Get out of here, you black beast!"

"Don't come into town with us!"

Players were disgusted, after all, he had hundreds of victims.

The Black Night Poem protested, "I was just making a comment; I didn't do anything, and I didn't steal anything from you. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

After the players left, he took out the ring he had just stolen, a dark and lewd smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

The Jewel Ring

Quality: Average

Description: This is a very precious ring; it can be sold for five Gold Coin in a jewelry store.

"Hehe, good stuff."

The Black Night Poem skillfully employs the characteristics of a "Rooftop Gentleman," silently leaping onto the roof of a building.

Several minutes later, the player realized something was wrong, touched his empty fingers, and let out a gasp.

"Wait... my ring is gone!"

"Damn, it's a black beast!"

When he turned around angrily, the Black Night Poem had already vanished.

"Come with me to ambush him next time!"

"That's outrageous! That bitch is a complete beast!"

"This reward took me more than ten days of working to earn!"

Just as the players were grieving and indignant about their losses, Black Night Poem had already pried open the complicated locks and sneaked into a magnificent mansion.

"Heh heh, there's nothing good in that poor place called Bator City, and there's also a troublesome sheriff."

"This is paradise for us thief players!"

The interior was exquisitely decorated, with many precious gold and silver jewels displayed in mahogany cabinets.

The Black Night Poem rubbed its hands together eagerly, its eyes shining with excitement.

"This necklace is worth fifteen Gold Coin, this bracelet is worth eleven Gold Coin, this pendant is worth twenty-one gold coins, and these earrings are worth six gold coins."

"Hey-hey."

"My darlings, I'm here—"

Suddenly, Black Night Poem's body froze.

Information kept refreshing on the panel.

[You have violated the first Dictatorial Law —theft is prohibited here] [You need to make a willpower check] [The target score is 20, your current score is 2] [Willpower check failed] [You are now in the state of: Death] Black Night Poem only had time to say two words: "Damn it."

Immediately afterwards, his brain was squeezed by a powerful, invisible force.

"Bang!"

The entire head exploded open, like a shattered watermelon, leaving red and white patches on the ground.

The next day, rumors circulated that several mysterious headless corpses had appeared in different locations at Viscount Burton's mansion, and that the locks on nearby doors had been pried open.

These men were said to be confidants of Earl Dawson, whose aim was to assassinate Viscount Burton, who had surrendered to the Ember Nest, but they fell into a trap that Viscount Burton had anticipated.

Meanwhile, several posts also appeared on Player Forum.

"We strongly protest the official targeting of Rogue players!"

Is there a bug in the game?

"What kind of crazy rule is this?!"

"Theft is a part of the world, and banning theft is not conducive to the normal conduct of the game."

However, the comments under those posts were mostly sarcastic, especially the comments section of the "Night Chapter," which practically became a carnival for the victims.

"Good and evil will be rewarded in the end; the way of Heaven is a cycle."

"Look up and see, who does the government spare?"

"Black guy: I stole your money. Official: I stole your head."

"Strongly support! It is recommended that the authorities extend this law to the Bator City."

"It seems like they've updated to the same time over there. Now the sheriffs can't catch the thief players anymore; they can only catch the native pickpockets."

"This is truly gratifying! This is truly gratifying!"

"Good job, you dog of an official!"

"Why hasn't the theft attempt in North Wind Fortress Keep triggered yet? Is it because the update hasn't been completed?"

"Lang Chu, why aren't you dead yet—"

Keosius browsed through the players' posts and nodded slightly.

This attempt to make an example of them seems to have been very successful. These guys have already started to treat their own rules as the rules of the system. Once this door is opened, they can be made to accept even stricter regulations in the future.

However, we need to proceed gradually. If we harvest too much of the players' Leeks, it might force them out of the Ember Nest, which would be bad.