Cat Princess and Human Knight

After gagging, they wiped their mouths and continued walking along the path through the fields as if nothing had happened.

Yi Yin asked.

"I don't know the prices here, but judging from that old cat's reaction, five tons of corn seems quite valuable. Are you really going to give it away so easily?"

"That's what Princess Shorty Cat said."

"Five tons of corn is enough to feed the more than two hundred cats in the entire Huru Territory for a year, which is certainly not a small number."

But donating to the church of Mother Earth is not something that can be done casually; you have to be willing to do it.

Your ten tons of corn arrived just in time, perfectly solving my problem of how to integrate into the local aristocratic circle in the rocky hills.

You know, I sacrificed my dignity, conscience, and joy to summon you into this world.

My biggest problem right now is how to prove my noble bloodline. The nine tail rings are the mark of the nine-lived nobles and the most powerful evidence to prove my noble bloodline. They have already been sacrificed by the magic circle.

Without the tail ring, I could no longer convince outsiders of my noble status. Fortunately, the short-legged insignia of the Mankikan royal family was more conspicuous than the tail ring, otherwise I would not have been able to prove that I was myself.

Therefore, I need the church's help to verify my identity and gain the recognition of the Duke of Snowclaw.

Having accomplished this, with the dual approval of the Church and the Duke, at least within the noble circles of the Shattered Hills, no one will openly question my noble status anymore.

Yi Yin, not understanding, asked.

"The Church of the Earth Mother, and that Snowclaw Duke... do they really have that much power?"

"Princess Shorty Cat sighed."

"You don't understand the power structure of our cat society, the feudal system."

Emperor Mankik's conquests constructed the superstructure of aristocratic society. The Seven-Tailed Council, composed of the royal family, the seven royal families, and 108 feudal nobles, became the cornerstone of aristocratic co-governance.

However, in the local areas, there were still deeply entrenched noble territories, with countless small and medium-sized lords forming de facto vassal-lord relationships by pledging allegiance to the seven royal families and 108 fiefdom nobles.

On the contrary, after Emperor Manquik, the royal family was constantly excluded from this basic feudal contractual relationship, and the royal territory was continuously eroded and shrank, eventually becoming a mere stamp of parliament.

My father, the esteemed Emperor Mankik, could only marry a noblewoman from the Huru region, who came from a minor noble family.

Of course, thanks to my mother, I at least have a place to live now.

Shaking her head to shake off her resentment, Princess Shorty Cat said solemnly.

"Since the two gods and the otherworldly human king disappeared together on the battlefield of the end, the Earth Mother Goddess has become the only true god on the continent and has become the common faith of the cat race, with extremely great power."

The Shattered Hills are located between the Fallen Plains and the Endless Plateau. They have 8 to 12 hectares of arable land and an estimated 160 to 240 estates. This land can support about 10 cats.

The fiefdoms here are headed by the Duke of Snowclaw, whose directly controlled territories include more than twenty manors of various sizes. Most of the other marquises, earls, viscounts and barons in the Shattered Hills have fiefdoms associated with the Duke of Snowclaw.

Besides the feudal lords, the Shattered Hills parish and its subordinate churches also controlled the land of dozens of manors. The church's influence on the Shattered Hills through faith even surpassed that of the Snowclaw Duke.

If I want to gain a foothold in the Shattered Hills, I must cultivate good relations with the Duke of Snowclaw and the diocesan bishop and gain their approval.

Grandpa Milo was the mentor of the bishop of the Shattered Stone Diocese. It was through this relationship that I was able to donate to the church and get the bishop to speak on my behalf.

The church will not accept offerings from dubious sources. Five tons of corn is neither a lot nor a little. Without Grandpa Milo's connection, even if I wanted to donate, I would be like a headless fly trying to get in.

The current Duke of Snowclaw is a strong-willed man, but he is very devout to the church. He should be given face by the bishop.

Moreover, there is now an excellent opportunity to gain the approval of the nobles of the Shattered Hills.

"When I get back, I'll instruct Green to seal up the corn in the warehouse. Besides the five tons that will be donated to the church, I plan to donate the remaining five tons as well."

Yi Yin looked at the short-legged cat princess, who was calculating, with a start, and asked.

"More donations? To the nobles?"

Princess Munchkin nodded and said.

"I want to integrate into the aristocratic circle of the gravelly hills. I can't just follow the church route; I also need to contribute to the local aristocratic community."

I heard that the snow disaster on the Wubi Plateau last winter was more severe than in previous years. A large number of livestock froze to death in the heavy snow, and nomadic cats had to go south to Xingzhui Plain to snatch food, otherwise many cats would starve to death.

Generally speaking, nomadic cats are at their most powerful in the fall when they are fat and strong, but the White Cats are too ruthless, so they have no choice but to plunder southwards in the weakened spring.

The rocky hills nestled between the boundless plateau and the fallen star plain are about to face another test.

Although the nomadic cats' primary target is the prosperous Starfall Plains, the Rocky Hills are always affected, so they are on high alert, which involves military spending.

The terrain of the gravelly hills is fragmented, with plains interspersed among the hills, and many small and medium-sized territories are not wealthy.

If I were to provide some of the military provisions to the impoverished minor lords, they would surely be grateful, which would greatly benefit my integration into the noble circles of the Shattered Hills.

Yi Yin sighed.

"Bandits pass by like combs, soldiers pass by like hairpins, officials pass by like shavings. This place is truly not peaceful. Don't those representatives of that place called the Seven-Tailed Council do anything about it?"

Princess Shorty Cat sneered.

"Why shouldn't we take care of it?"

If a piece of broken stone is stolen from a certain place, the local representative will lodge a protest at the Seven-Tailed Council.

If the looting is too severe, and many cats die in the resistance, the local representatives will strongly protest.

"How did the Seven-Tails Council react?"

"The parliament naturally condemns, strongly condemns, the nomadic cats of the boundless plateau."

Yi Yin rolled his eyes.

"They've managed it really well."

Princess Shorty Cat sneered.

"The Seven-Tailed Council is just a bunch of useless trash who can only bully the fallen royal family. They each have their own demands, so how can they form a united force and have the ability to restrain the nomadic cats of the boundless plateau?"

If they could live well, nomadic cats wouldn't want to go south. But the wind and snow are merciless, and the white disaster is too severe. Nomadic cats are cats too, and they also want to survive, so they have no choice but to go south to plunder.

To prevent them from raiding southwards, sufficient relief food must be provided so that the nomadic cats can survive the food shortage period after winter.

Of all the nobles in the Seven-Tailed Council, who would be willing to provide food? Who would truly be willing to help the nomadic cats? Giving away large amounts of food to those filthy wild cats? It's simply a sin, how could that be possible?

So since we can't help or control it, all we can do is condemn it.

Yi Yin listened with a heavy heart and shook his head.

"We're all cats, why bother?"

The short-legged cat princess glanced at Yi Yin, her eyes filled with sarcasm.

"Perhaps in your human eyes, we are all cats, no different from each other."

But in our own eyes, cats are also divided into different classes; perhaps that's just the nature of a cat's life.

Yi Yin shook his head, experiencing for the first time the cruel reality of the cat society in this other world.

Different worlds, same rules.