Chapter 1083: Chapter 1070: Whoever Opposes, Dies Chapter 1083: Chapter 1070: Whoever Opposes, Dies “I said it from the start, a ten-year-old child succeeding the throne is inappropriate, and once in power, he’s bound to fool around. Now hasn’t what I said come true? Just look at what that child is doing?”

In a lavishly decorated courtyard, an elderly man with white hair, and a dignified aura, sat in the seat of honor, speaking angrily.

“Allowing commoners to own their lands privately, rewarding high-yielding farmers, encouraging farming, establishing a comprehensive military merit system, bestowing titles upon soldiers with exemplary combat performance—is this not fooling around?”

Seated to the old man’s right, a stout middle-aged man lamented,
“Those weaklings, as insignificant as ants—the lower class people—just need to be fed, yet they are being allowed to own land and given rewards. If His Majesty wants to increase food production, a whip would suffice; there’s absolutely no need for these rewards.”

“And those soldiers, intending to bestow titles based on military achievements and grant them land—are they out of their minds? If we carry on like this, wouldn’t the whole country be filled with nobles?”

Opposite the stout minister sat an armored general, his face also revealing dissatisfaction. According to the precedent of other nations, even if the soldiers were brave in battle, they would only receive some reward money; never had there been a titling of nobility.

“Exactly, and if we use land as the reward, where would our country get so much land? We nobles don’t even have enough land for ourselves.” Hearing the general’s words, the stout minister quickly nodded in agreement.

“These decrees must be rejected; we absolutely cannot allow this child to implement them smoothly. Otherwise, our country would certainly be ruined by his meddling.”

“Right, we can join other ministers in submitting a petition. With so many of us opposing, even if he is King, he will have to consider our opinions.”

“Let’s contact a few people first. I’m afraid having too many might frighten the little guy.” The elder sitting in the seat of honor stroked his beard and then smiled faintly.

“You needn’t worry about that. Even if you rallied everyone, you probably wouldn’t scare him. Of course, you won’t have the chance!”

A voice suddenly came from outside the house. As the voice sounded, an eerie, cold breath of annihilation enveloped the room, spreading rapidly. The floor and doors of the room frosted over at a pace visible to the naked eye.

“What creature dares to rampage in my presence!” As the room was enveloped by the deathly chill, the armored general stood up abruptly, showing no trace of fear on his face.

“What creature? Ha, how rare. I wouldn’t have expected to see such a wild side of you, Sackson. I always thought you to be a yes-man!”

At the moment when the chilling aura within the room peaked, the roof was blown off by a tremendous force, and a monstrous head with black skin, red glowing eyes, and two horns emerged, casting everything in the room in a blood-red color as if stained with blood.

Around this gigantic monster, many other creatures exuded a similar presence, the shortest of them towering over ten meters. These massive creatures surrounded the entire building, eyeing the living beings inside with greedy gazes.

Outside the room, the black mist signifying death drifted, covering the entire cluster of buildings, eerily silent and deeply foreboding.

“You are…” Although the power, form, and even the sound of the voice had completely changed, the general still recognized Ferdinand in his corpse ghost form, for the pair of horns on his forehead had not changed much, even after turning into a corpse ghost.

“To still recognize me in this state, it seems your eyesight is quite good.” Ferdinand acknowledged the general’s recognition with a nod of approval, but wasn’t too surprised, as he wasn’t the first and certainly wouldn’t be the last to recognize him.

“My King, didn’t you already…” Ferdinand, during his reign, was industrious and imposing. Now, seeing him again, even in such a drastically changed form, the general couldn’t help but alter his tone of voice involuntarily. It was a habit ingrained in his very being, difficult to change.

“Indeed, I am dead. Yet, I continue to exist in this state. To die like this, I am truly unwilling. I want to witness with my own eyes my son leading the rise of Gai Nation.”

Ferdinand looked down at the three ministers below him, shocked by his acknowledgement of his identity, “The reason I have appeared here, you must have guessed.”

“That boy, no, the current King, the reforms he plans to enact, they’re your ideas. You were just too sheepish to act on them, so you pushed this youngest son forward, drawing our attention and lowering our guard, while you feigned death to escape, pulling the strings from behind the scenes,” the elder in the room said, as if a sudden realization dawned on him.

“You’re wrong. The reforms were proposed by my offspring. I never had his courage. I did voice opposition. But when I realized my objections were futile, I accepted them. I’m now ready to help him complete the reforms, to clear anything that dares hinder the changes,” Ferdinand corrected him.

Ferdinand spoke as he extended his massive hand toward the three “obstacles” below, while the corpse servants that Muria had assigned under his command also launched an attack on these people.

“My King, I have fought for you for many years, and now because I have hindered your son’s reforms, you wish to dispose of me?” Seeing Ferdinand reaching out to attack him, the general bellowed in grief and indignation. His body began to swell rapidly, and scales started to emerge on his flesh.

“Heh, you once indeed contributed to me and to this nation, but now you have become an obstacle to the further strengthening of Gai Nation. Do you guys really not understand what will happen once the reforms succeed?”

Ferdinand grabbed the general, now transformed into a white-scaled humanoid monster, and hurled him to the ground. A continuous crash of buildings followed, with dust billowing everywhere.

“You all are well aware of what Gai Nation will become after the reforms succeed, yet you guys are desperately resisting the reforms for your self-interest.”

“One side is a son wishing to strengthen the nation, the other is a general obstructing the reforms for his selfish desires. Is the choice that difficult?”

Watching the white-scaled monster climb out from the ruins of the buildings, Ferdinand waved his hand, and over a dozen corpse servants rushed towards it, grappling in battle.

“My King, have mercy!” When Ferdinand’s gaze turned to him, the corpulent minister collapsed to the ground, crying and kowtowing desperately; just a few knocks left bloody marks on his forehead.

“Why aren’t you kneeling?” Disregarding the fat minister who was demeaned by the impending death, Ferdinand turned his gaze to the white-haired, elderly minister who stood fiercely, looking up and steadfastly meeting his eyes.

“Because I don’t think I have done anything wrong, My King. You have just mentioned, do you really think the reforms can succeed after all? Can Gai Nation really become stronger by Prince Arnold’s reforms? However, this requires the cooperation of all ministers and nobles, yet this reform has touched their interests. Without the support of us, nobles and officials large and small, how can the reforms succeed?”

The white-haired elder stated his reasons, revealing the root of his opposition. He had perceived that the current reform would affect too many vested interests and knew that the resistance to its successful implementation would be unimaginably great.

“So am I not cleaning out those who don’t cooperate right now?”

“What’s the use of this method? All the ministers and nobles are opposing; does the King really intend to kill all these people?”

“Why not? Not a single one of you is irreplaceable. If all of you oppose, then I’ll just replace all of you with those who support the reform.”

As he spoke, a contemptuous smile appeared on Ferdinand’s face, “And you shouldn’t overestimate the integrity of your group. When I raise the slaughter knife, the vast majority of the ministers and the nobles will react just like the pig beside you, and not like you.”

“To push through reforms by force, My King, this isn’t your style. Is this the new king’s idea as well?”

“Right. He told me that if the majority were against something, then simply kill off that majority, and what’s left will be those who support him. The same goes for this reform.”

“Whoever opposes dies? The new king is truly ruthless. However, this might just lead to success.”

“Having second thoughts?” Ferdinand asked with a smile, seeing the old minister muttering to himself.

“At this point, what’s the use of regretting? Would you really spare me, My King?”

“Of course not, but you don’t need to worry. You will continue to exist, just like me, in this undead state.”

The black mist swept over the white-haired elder, extinguishing all the life within him without much resistance, and his eyes gradually turned a crimson red.

“My King…” Seeing that Ferdinand did not spare the elder but also didn’t kill him, the rotund minister was overjoyed. He raised his head, eagerly looking at Ferdinand, hoping to receive the same treatment.

“You’re not worth the effort to waste energy on.”

The fat minister: “??”

With a casual wave of his hand, the black mist enveloped the corpulent minister and extracted all vitality from his body. When he collapsed, he turned directly into a dried corpse and did not rise again…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read