Chapter 166 Chief Tax Farmer

To be fair, Allen did not object to the practice of Silver Moon Monastery.

The problem is that the town is in financial difficulty and all limited funds must be invested in construction, so it really cannot afford to pay the protection fee!

The Silver Moon Monastery must first get the money and then send people to protect it. They won’t release the eagle until they see the rabbit.

Alan cannot agree with this approach!

Buy it on credit first, even if there’s some interest!

While collecting protection fees, you can also attract deposits and make loans, and develop the banking industry. Isn't that the best of both worlds?

Unfortunately, the Silver Moon Monastery lacks financial thinking and is too rigid on this issue.

They are far less intelligent than the Knights Templar in Allen's previous life.

Orcs and monasteries are just greedy for money.

There is another, more dangerous force that has quietly infiltrated the town.

They don't charge protection fees, they extort souls!

That afternoon after returning to town, Alan, accompanied by Teacher Sora, went to the City Hall Square to meet with the representative of the third force.

A crude pulpit was set up in the square, surrounded by a crowd of people, mostly women and children.

On the pulpit stood a young man in a black priest robe.

This boy has a slicked-back face and is quite eloquent.

Preaching in front of hundreds of people is full of passion and very inspiring!

The women in the audience were fascinated by what they heard.

Every time the young missionary finished telling a gospel story, they would cross their hands over their chests and pray in unison, as if they had been brainwashed.

Allen noticed that the missionary's robe was embroidered with a prominent emblem:

Under the red full moon, a bat spreads its wings.

The red moon represents the Red Moon Island.

Bats represent the "bat-people" branch of the Theocracy, who worship the "god of death" Charon.

Charon, one of the four gods of the Beast Cult.

He is both the god of death and the creator of bat-type beastmen.

The missionaries of death preach a kind of eschatology.

It's simply that the end of the world is approaching, and only by worshipping Charon, the god of death, can one escape the final judgment and gain a place in the new world after the catastrophe.

This argument is not new, but the poor and ignorant people at the bottom just buy into it.

If it was just preaching eschatology, it would be fine.

The sanctimonious missionary actually secretly used magic to hypnotize the beautiful women among the audience.

Claiming that they are more pious and luckier than other people.

If they are willing to go to his private chapel to worship, he will be happy to help them receive God's grace and achieve sublimation both physically and spiritually.

Alan raised his hand with a cold face and blasted a "thunder wave" into the sky!

Boom! !

Thunder exploded above the square!

The people who were listening attentively were all trembling with fear!

The women who were bewitched by the spell were also shocked by the thunder. They woke up one after another and ran away with red faces.

The bustling square became deserted, with only Alan, Sora, and the missionary on the stage left.

Sora recognized that the missionary was wearing the "Holy Emblem of the God of Death" and knew that he was of great importance. He quickly winked at Alan and advised him to be patient.

The missionary's face changed slightly, then he smiled again, walked down from the pulpit and came over to say hello.

"Sir, Madam, excuse me for interrupting you for a few minutes. Please allow me to introduce to you our idol and savior, Charon..."

"Stop talking nonsense and just tell me why you're here." Alan interrupted him impatiently.

"My name is Charles, and I'm from Red Moon Island..."

The missionary talked eloquently.

Alan could tell that this man had done a lot of preparation beforehand and knew exactly where the immigrants in the town came from.

Do you know why they fled Quinte Island, traveled thousands of miles across the ocean and moved here?

He also knew that the immigrants’ ability to gain a foothold here was inseparable from the support of the Case family and the special permission of the Silver Moon Monastery.

"Sir, Madam, this town is thriving and has great development prospects. The only facility it lacks is a church."

Charles said with a smile.

"We worship the beast. With the belief of saving the world, we plan to build a church in this town. We hope that there will be no obstruction from the pagans."

"If our wish can be fulfilled, then the townspeople will not only find a home for their souls, but their safety will also be guaranteed."

"Hehe... I heard that the orcs are very interested in this town?"

"If you ask the Silver Moon Monastery to fight against the orcs, I'm afraid you will have to pay a lot of protection fees, right?"

"We worship the beast, we don't covet money, we don't have worldly desires, we are dedicated to spreading the gospel and saving the world."

"If this town becomes a new parish of the Beast Cult, there will be believers from Red Moon Island who will help you deal with the orcs."

"Sir, Madam, this is a very fair deal. You should consider my suggestion carefully."

"This is my secret seal. Please keep it well. Feel free to contact me at any time to discuss the path to salvation."

After saying this, Charles handed over two business cards.

He put on his top hat, picked up his cane, turned around and left.

Alan watched the man go away.

He looked at the business card with the bat emblem in his hand and frowned.

Charles' meaning was very clear. They would not collect protection fees, but required all residents of the town to convert to Beastiality!

The Beast Cult worships the so-called "Four Gods of Apocalypse".

The Plague Knight riding a white horse, "Plague God" Squark, the main god of the rat people.

The war knight riding a red horse, "God of War" Darag, the main god of werewolves.

The famine knight riding a black horse, "Worm Queen" Rhea, the main god of the worm people.

Finally, there is the Death Knight on a gray horse, Charon, the "God of Death", the main god of the Batmen, and the savior that Charles tried to promote in the town.

Allen put away Charles' business card and turned to ask Ms. Sora:

"Teacher, what do you think about this matter?"

Ms. Sora groaned and analyzed the situation seriously.

"Alan, first of all, you have to make one thing clear. If we accept the Beast Cult, it will be equivalent to completely offending the Silver Moon Monastery!"

"If we pay protection fees to the Silver Moon Monastery, we will automatically become a vassal of the monastery and an enemy of the Beast Worship!"

"You can only choose one side between the Silver Moon Monastery and the Beast Worship Cult. There is no possibility of wavering."

"For now, I prefer to rely on the monastery, but it is also necessary to open up our minds and consider another option." Allen walked forward with his hands behind his back. "Teacher, suppose we stand on the side of the Beast Cult, what should we do specifically?"

Although this possibility is very small, Alan doesn't mind making some deductions and preparing himself mentally in advance.

There are no eternal enemies in the world. Even if the mountains do not move, the water will.

Ms. Sora nodded and continued the topic.

"The Beast Worship Cult is not a monolithic entity. It is divided into four major factions."

"If we join the Beast Worship Cult, we have to choose a backer from among these four major factions... Personally, I hate the faction of insectoids!"

Alan recalled what happened to his teacher when he was young, and it was obvious what happened.

Sora sighed, then changed the subject and said seriously:

"Putting aside my personal likes and dislikes, I'll consider the overall situation..."

"If we have no choice but to choose a faith from among the Four Gods of Apocalypse, we'd better choose... Rhea, the idol of the insectoids."

"Why is this...?" Alan was stunned.

"Because, compared to the other three outright evil gods, Worm Queen Rhea is the least bad god."

Ms. Sola gave the answer frankly.

"As you have idols, so you have followers."

"Of course, there are many bad guys among the insectoids."

"But overall, his character and style of doing things are a little better than the other three departments."

"But, poisonous insects are obviously more terrifying than ferocious beasts..." Alan wondered.

Sora smiled slightly, took his hand, and explained patiently.

“You think only of the terrible poisonous insects and the locusts that cause famine, but there are also bees that benefit farmers and spiders that catch pests.”

"Most insects, like ants, don't know good or evil."

"For example, butterflies, their larvae eat crops, while their adults help pollinate the crops. Can you say they are pests or beneficial insects?"

"The Worm Queen is the 'God of Famine' and the 'God of Harvest'."

"In ancient times, spellcasters who worshipped Rhea were called druids."

"Rhea is certainly not a good god, but among the four gods, she is the least bad!"

"Teacher, I understand." Alan suddenly realized.

After careful consideration, Allen finally made his decision.

The Beast Worshiping Cult and the Silver Moon Monastery are incompatible.

This is Silver Moon Island, not Red Moon Island. Is there any other choice?

If you want to gain a foothold on Silver Moon Island, you can only rely on Silver Moon Monastery.

The next morning, Allen wrote to Charles, confessing his choice and clearly informing Charles and his accomplices:

"The Beast Cult is an illegal organization in this town and is not welcome!"

"You must leave this town before dark, or you will bear the consequences!"

Alan knew clearly that the beast worshippers were not good men and women.

Since they were refused permission to preach, there would inevitably be retaliation. The only question was when the retaliation would come.

There are orcs blackmailing in front and cult threats behind.

The newly established immigrant town was in a precarious situation.

In this desperate situation, Alan was forced to bow his head and accept the shelter of Silver Moon Monastery.

When you live under someone's roof, you can only follow their rules and pay your money obediently.

One year's protection fee is really not cheap!

In order to raise the money, all the townspeople had to tighten their belts.

The townspeople raised part of the money themselves, the Case family funded part of the money, and Allen had to pay the remaining gap out of his own pocket.

Of course, the hard-

This loan follows the ancient financial tradition: nine out of 13 returned.

The town council gave him an IOU and charged him interest every month.

The person in charge was his father, the mayor.

The father complained to his son that the interest rate was too high.

Allen was unmoved.

When it comes to lending, even the father has to be clear about the accounts.

Relying on his status as a creditor, Allen also gave himself the title of "Chief Tax Farmer" through the town council.

With this title, it will be more convenient to collect debts in the future.

After receiving the money, the Silver Moon Monastery was quite efficient in doing things and quickly sent a security team to the town.

The Silver Moon Security Team has a total of 93 people, and their cultivation level is at least late first level.

The captain and two vice-captains are all in the late third stage of cultivation, representing the three major factions of the Silver Moon Monastery.

Allen got the information of the three captains in advance through the Case family.

Captain Adam, of bear-man descent, twenty-five years old.

The eldest brother from the Bear Courtyard, he has a good temperament and loves mead the most.

Deputy Captain George, of wild boar descent, twenty-four years old.

The "big eater" in the pig yard has no other problems except that he occasionally likes to take advantage of small opportunities.

Maria, of lion-man bloodline, twenty years old.

The first disciple of the Cat Academy, known as "Lion Sister".

A bold girl with long legs and big boobs and blonde hair, she is said to be quite vain.

On the first day that the Silver Moon Security Team came to town, Allen entertained the three captains in his own tavern.

In the name of welcoming them, I prepared a gift for each of them according to their preferences.

The gift for Adam was a fine aged wine brewed by his father.

The gift for George is a blood awakening agent, which awakens the "seasoning skill" after injection and helps to increase appetite.

The gift for Maria is Alan's homemade perfume. Just spray a little bit and you'll be sexy all day long.

With a small gift leading the way, Alan had a pleasant conversation with the three captains.

"To be honest, the finances of our town of New Quint have been tight lately. We have to pawn our pants to pay for you guys to maintain law and order. It's miserable!"

The lion sister Maria, with her thick golden curly hair draped over her shoulders, looked at Alan sympathetically, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Alan could see that Maria was a warm-hearted older sister, but she was not as naive as a fool.

Pig Brother George was a bald fat man. He smiled at his crying poor and continued to eat with the spirit of revenge.

Brother Bear Adam stroked his thick beard and looked at the good wine given by Alan, with a trace of pity in his eyes.

"Brother Alan, I understand your situation. It is indeed not easy, but the monastery has its own rules. We are only responsible for going to work. How much money to collect, whether there can be a discount or delayed payment are all rules set by the higher-ups. The three of us have no say in this!"

"Brother Adam, I am very touched that you have this heart."

Alan toasted Brother Xiong.

"In fact, the main reason why the town is in financial distress is because a large amount of taxes are due but have not been collected."

Who should be taxed?

Certainly not the ordinary people in the town who are so poor that they can only afford to wear pants.

Alan put the hand-drawn map on the table and showed it to the three of them.

"From east to west, from south to north."

"The area encircled by the red circle has a total area of tens of thousands of square miles, and it is all under the jurisdiction of the New Quint Territory."

"We, the New Quinte Town Government, have the right to collect taxes from any resident or institution on this land."

"Wait a minute!" Brother Bear Adam quickly stated, "You are not allowed to collect taxes in this small area in the upper right corner of the map!"

"Why not?" Alan asked in surprise.

"That area is the Flower Demon Valley, which is a resource point of our monastery." Brother Xiong said in a deep voice.

Alan nodded in understanding and circled the Flower Demon Valley with a black pen.

"I'll collect taxes from other places, is that okay?"

"No problem, but I'm a little curious."

Pig Brother George narrowed his eyes and pointed on the map.

"This is the pirates' cozy nest."

"This is the Dwarven Ironforge Valley."

"This is the ogre's lair."

"Brother Allen, I'm afraid these three places won't pay taxes to you obediently."