Chapter 1310 - 627: Bountiful Harvest Collection, Old Gods’ Conspiracy_2

Without needing to turn around, he could already see two Fourth Order female bloodlines who had been given the First Embrace by Vlad III, leading a group of servants and slaves as they quietly arrived behind him.

Both women were Night Demons, peerless beauties within the Duchy, one a petite, adorable girl named Bella, the other a mature, glamorous beauty named Selena.

They walked up to Byron very naturally, one on his left and one on his right, wrapping themselves around his arms, leaving no doubt about their identity as both his bloodlines and lovers.

And they were clearly well aware of their own status; bloodlines like them could never become the honored Duchess.

At this moment, helping their master pursue another beauty, they not only felt no resistance, but were working very hard at it.

Bella and Selena had both once been Human; now they were Night Demons, deeply familiar with the relationship between Human Demons and Humans in the Night Demon Kingdom.

They knew well that those tragic-romantic stories in novelists’ works about Humans and Night Demons simply did not exist in reality.

After all, what Human in this world would choose to fall in love with pigs and sheep fit only to be eaten?

In a sense, the physiological and psychological gulf between ordinary Humans and Night Demons was greater than that between Humans and Animals, and in the Night Demon Kingdom, Humans held a status no different from livestock.

Night Demons created through later transformation were, from birth onward, a head lower than the Kin.

Selena handed Byron a heart-shaped crystal bottle filled with bright red liquid and said gently:

"Master, the Duchy’s entire monthly blood tax quota is in here, all refined into Blood of Transformation that Night Demons can easily absorb and convert into their own Panacea.

To present this as a greeting gift to a Fifth Order Night Demon who only has a title but no fief is already extravagant enough.

Miss Jeanne will definitely be moved by you."

Byron took the crystal bottle and examined it, discovering that it was a Storage Miracle Object, its capacity at least ten thousand times what its exterior suggested.

The surface of the bottle had been cut so that it shimmered with flowing light, and the bright red liquid inside was slowly circulating on its own as if it possessed Life.

He opened the stopper, which was likewise cut into a heart shape, and sniffed; it exuded a unique sweet blood-reek and was indeed Blood of Transformation extracted from Humans, with rather decent quality.

"So this is a month’s blood tax?"

The moment he heard that term, the relevant memories surfaced in Byron’s mind.

Back when he first came into close contact with Lilith in the Blood Source Secret Realm of the Bloodthirsty Cult, Byron had once heard the echo left over from the Mythological Era:

"If diligence could lead to Wealth, then the ruler of the world would be a donkey!

Raise your head and take a look: that one seated high upon the throne is no industrious laborer, but clearly a blood-feeding thing wearing Human skin.

The apex of the food chain in Human Kingdoms has always been the feast of Giant Dragons and Night Demons."

It was only today, when he first laid eyes on the social ecology of the Night Demon Kingdom, that he gained the most direct understanding of this.

The current nobility system on the Silver Continent originates from the Night Demons; even though it branched off starting from the Silver Era, the lineage remained continuous.

The Night Demon Monarchs enfeoff Nobility within their countries—dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, barons, Knights—each noble having their own fief, direct Kin, and large numbers of slave servants.

Within their own territories, they enjoyed supreme authority.

Based on this noble system, they were also, among the many Ancient God’s Chosen Races, one of the few forces to wield collective Power.

On the Silver Continent, the ruling system is the Pope’s Triple Crown, the Crown, the King’s Title, and then the various levels of Nobility.

Here, however, it is the "Blood Crown" system, also called the "Bountiful Harvest Collection" system.

As everyone knows, the fastest way to make money is not Wealth creation, but Wealth transfer.

In essence, "Bountiful Harvest Collection" is a tax system that can fully cover tens of millions of individuals at the lowest level.

Every person under this ruling framework, besides paying normal taxes like in any ordinary country, must also pay an additional "blood tax."

Once every three months, specialized Tax Officers come to collect; 400 milliliters per adult each time, and anyone who dares to default will surely die.

Because blood is the Night Demons’ currency, in this land, only Death and taxation are inescapable!

And the Night Demon Nobles possess only rights, no obligations.

Thus abundance belongs solely to the Night Demons, while barrenness follows Humans all their lives.

Relying on this bone-crushing and marrow-sucking "Bountiful Harvest Collection" system, Pseudo-God Level Night Demon Monarchs and grand dukes among the Night Demons emerge one after another.

In the northern part of the Continent, they occupy several Night Demon Kingdoms, and the noble class are all elites capable of suppressing other Ancient God’s Chosen Races of the same level.

’What a fine Bountiful Harvest Collection!’

A flash of killing intent flickered through Byron’s heart.

Though he too was a Night Demon Monarch, he had always maintained Human Nature, considered himself the Monarch of Humans, had not Fallen into his Beastly side, and could not empathize with these so-called "kin."

Back when he extracted Blood of Transformation, his only raw material was enemies he had personally slain; he always swung his blade at the stronger, never bullied the weak.

Looking at this bottle of blood tax, he silently made up his mind that when he gained enough Power to launch a counterattack on the Night Demon Kingdoms, he would absolutely knock these bastards down into Blood Slaves and collect taxes from them every single day!

To see whether an armed Royal Tax Inspection Bureau is more formidable, or the Night Demons’ Tax Officers.

"Miss Jeanne has arrived!"

Suddenly, someone on the harbor shouted.

With a "whoosh," a vast cloud of bats rose over the entire island like black storm clouds; the Night Demon Nobles who were qualified to receive advance notice all cast the Bat Transformation Technique and sped toward the harbor.

Then, on both sides of the pier, they reverted to Human form, each one dressed in splendid finery, strikingly handsome, craning their necks in anticipation toward a transport ship that had just docked.