After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

The stray cats outside the window cried out in a pitiful voice, their screams and struggles suddenly erupting, creating a noisy scene.

Paul, who was sitting by the window engrossed in reading research papers on the Mechanicus, suddenly heard a series of orderly footsteps. Before he could even stand up, the Tin Man rushed into his room in a panic.

"Let me hide, Mr. Paul."

Seeing him nimbly lift the floorboards and disappear into the secret passage, Paul frowned and asked, "Could it be that the Vatican has arrived?"

"Worse than that, Mr. Paul." The tin man slammed his head against the floor, uttered these last words, and then vanished without a trace.

"They're the nobles' private soldiers; they're here to collect taxes again!"

Paul silently walked out of the room and stood at the door, watching a group of soldiers in fine armor, carrying the banner of a nobleman, swagger into the village.

Several years ago, Paul also met a beautiful old nun in a border region.

The elderly nun saved every penny and walked two hundred miles to the big city to have an elegant long dress made for herself.

But the old nun never wore this dress out. If she hadn't trusted Paul's character, she probably wouldn't have worn it specifically to show him.

Paul asked her why she wore such a beautiful dress so secretly.

The old nun chuckled, her aged gaze seeming to see through the entire world, proclaiming an eternal truth.

"Are they just missing a nice piece of clothing? It's just that someone else knew you had it and took it from you."

That day, fulfilling her youthful fantasies, the old nun smiled happily. She danced gracefully in the old, dimly lit church, listening to a handsome young man applaud her, spinning around and around.

But behind this small happiness, Paul saw endless plunder.

It has remained unchanged for thousands of years.

"Hurry up, everyone! Your village has been buying so much stuff lately, you're all acting like nouveau riche. Who do you think you can fool?"

Like a one-man show actor on stage, the young officer talked and laughed, completely oblivious to the villagers' indifferent gazes.

"Same as always, just wait here quietly."

Once the villagers had gathered, the young officer snapped his fingers, and the soldiers rushed out to search house to house.

They kicked open the door with a bang, rushed in, and began ransacking the place. They grabbed handfuls of money from the jars and stuffed them into their pockets. Then they went to an open space and poured out the coins from the jars.

The copper coins bounced with a crisp, pleasant sound. The young officer glanced at them briefly and roughly estimated their number.

Not enough, absolutely not enough, far from enough...

There are strict targets for tax collection from above. If we don't make a fortune in the wealthy Mulun Village, the other villages won't be able to raise that much money!

More and more copper coins were poured onto the open ground, and in the silence, the young officer's smile gradually faded.

The villagers of Mulun Village were colluding with heretics, and the nobles turned a blind eye because those heretics were very wealthy.

Roughly pushing aside the pile of copper coins, the young officer grabbed the only silver coin inside, his face contorted with ruthlessness, and pinched the coin into an irregular sphere with his fingers.

"The kingdom's civil war has yet to be quelled. I initially thought it was due to the cunning of the southern army, but it turns out there was a traitor among us!"

"Think of the King! Think of the Duke of Dale! These noble men are still striving to make the country better, but you, you never understand the country's difficulties, and you are all greedy by nature."

Frank, far away in the capital, suddenly sneezed and reluctantly put down his pen. "Has anyone been thinking about me lately?"

"Tell me, where did all the supplies you bought, which cost nearly two gold coins, go?!"

The ball was flicked onto a little girl's forehead, splattering blood. Panic erupted in the crowd; the girl's cries mingled with the wild cat's hoarse hisses into a cacophony of noise.

The young officer impatiently drew his longsword from his waist, took a deep breath, and roared.

"If you can't explain yourself, you'll all lose your heads!"

Armored soldiers surged forward, raising their spears and gradually closing in on the villagers, forcing them into a tight circle.

Paul stood in the crowd and instinctively took a step back.

He couldn't interfere in these political matters, even if he wanted to. As paladins, once they clashed with local forces, in the end...

Huh? Wait, no, I almost forgot, I'm serving the Duke of Oswald right now.

Why bother thinking about all that? If you have too many lice, you won't feel itchy. Who doesn't cause the Duke a lot of trouble when they're out there?

The thought of Luna and Lisa daring to start a massive battle in the royal city instantly made Paul understand. He had been tolerating these noble lackeys for a long time!

Paul strode forward, squeezing through the crowd, trying to find a handy tool. In the end, having no other choice, he could only grab a young man's belt.

Paul tested the belt's resilience, stretching his muscles and making cracking sounds all over his body.

As soon as he walked past the little girl, she immediately stopped crying and just looked at him curiously.

"Halt! Who goes there! Take another step forward..."

The belt snapped out with a sonic boom, and before anyone could react, a soldier was sent flying backward, clearly unconscious.

The young officer sneered; he hadn't seen such a brave person in a long time.

"Hmph, so you think you can stand out just because you're big? Then get on top, all of you!"

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers roared and charged forward, spears in hand, toward Paul.

Holding the belt high, Paul waited for these soldiers, who were all show and no substance, to get close before suddenly disappearing with a whoosh of the belt.

The wind pressure created a deafening roar. It was fast, too fast. Every move Paul made turned into a blur, exploding into the soldiers' pitiful screams.

Pieces of armor were deformed and disintegrated. When the belts lashed their bodies, the soldiers screamed like pigs being slaughtered. The intense pain caused them to drop their spears and fall to the ground, rolling around and yelling.

Before long, Paul stepped over the soldiers and stood in front of the young officer.

"My lord, it is my fault that I deserve to die..." He knelt down with a thud. Judging from the other party's martial arts skills alone, the young officer could tell that the other party was no ordinary person.

Moreover, the more I look at this face, the more familiar it seems; I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.

Not daring to wipe the sweat from his face, the young officer was breathing rapidly. Oh no, he never expected to run into such a tough nut to crack when collecting taxes.

"You're collecting taxes in April? You're really arrogant." Paul gripped his belt and lightly patted his face, his expression a half-smile.

"It's all for His Majesty and the Kingdom, my lord. As you know, the pressure at the front lines is immense."

Paul picked at his ear, clearly not believing this nonsense. "Give me another reason, let me hear what other tricks you have up your sleeve."

Carefully observing Paul's expression, the young officer spoke hesitantly. "So... for building a better homeland? For preparing for this year's blessing ceremony? For preparing for His Majesty the Duke's birthday banquet? For a year of favorable weather?"

Upon hearing these familiar words, the villagers' expressions shifted slightly, and they were momentarily at a loss for words.

"I appreciate you making up so much."

Paul started with zero frames, swiftly lashing out with his whip, smashing half of the young officer's face to pieces, knocking out several teeth that flowed out mixed with the blood.

After a long while, the young officer seemed to regain his senses, covering his face and letting out a painful cry.

Ignoring these disgusting fellows, Paul turned to look at the tin man who was peeking out, and smiled as he made a suggestion to the villagers of Mulun Village.

"Their lives are in your hands, but if I may be frank, you have become a piece of meat in the eyes of the local nobles."

"Instead of worrying day and night about being plundered by them, why not come with me to the Northern Territory? Trust me, this will be the best decision you'll ever make."