Chapter 203: Flaunting Power
Thud, thud, thud
One by one, the Shadow Tigers advanced on Rhett, their four paws pounding the ground, their bodies enveloped in a faint dark glow as they leaped toward him.
Rhett focused intensely, his body covered in a layer of armor that resembled rock. This armor radiated a faint yellow glow, surrounded by a dense aura of earth elements.
Then, he cast a Falling Rock spell.
Boom! A large shadow covered the ground, and a massive boulder, several dozen meters wide, fell from the sky with terrifying momentum, cutting off the path between the Shadow Tigers and the rest of the pack.
Rhett wasn't afraid of the pack behind them. For him, mastering the Cone Rain spell made it easy to handle large groups of enemies, making it perfect for situations like this. His main goal was to spare the lower-tier magical beasts to inject new blood into the Dark Veined Hawk Branch and expand the population of magical beasts in the entire branch.
Boom! The boulder landed with a resounding crash.
Next, as the Tier 5 Shadow Tiger and the pack behind it rapidly closed in, Rhett concentrated his mental energy and cast another Tier 5 spell—Earthquake!
The space around them distorted, and the chaotic gravitational forces drastically reduced the speed of the Shadow Tigers, causing them to stagger uncontrollably.
Only the leader, the Tier 5 Shadow Tiger, was slightly slowed but largely unaffected. It roared angrily as it charged forward.
At the same time, it spat out a dark arrow—a low-level spell known as Shadow Arrow, a common ability among dark-element magical beasts!
The black arrow was silent, but it stood out starkly against the white snow.
Even so, Rhett had no time to dodge.
The rock armor on his chest was instantly dented, and though it didn't shatter completely, its defensive power was significantly weakened.
The Tier 5 Shadow Tiger had already developed some intelligence, and its combat instincts were exceptionally sharp.
It darted across the snow, suddenly leaping into the air, its gleaming claws reflecting a chilling light as it slashed toward the dent in Rhett's chest where the Shadow Arrow had struck.
Rhett's expression suddenly turned "terrified," showing a hint of "fear."
The ferocity of the Shadow Tiger was fully unleashed. Facing a frightened enemy, it felt no mercy, only an even stronger urge to kill!
Roar! At this moment, the battlefield seemed extremely unfavorable for Rhett.
But deep down, Rhett let out a cold laugh.
The fish… had taken the bait…
The Shadow Tiger moved quickly, and as it pounced, Rhett suddenly fell back, seemingly collapsing.
"Chirp!"
In the sky, Firegrip let out a sharp cry. Seeing the scene unfold in the snow below, it was filled with terror and instinctively wanted to dive down to help!
However, something unexpected happened.
As the Shadow Tiger saw the human fall, its savage instincts surged, and it lunged forward, ready to tear the human apart and devour him.
Its massive paw, carrying immense power, was about to strike when…
It hit nothing!
It was as if it had struck soft quicksand, passing through smoothly without encountering any solid resistance.
Roar… A hint of confusion flashed in the Shadow Tiger's eyes.
As a Tier 5 magical beast, it had experienced countless battles, but never before had it encountered a situation like this—where it struck a living being, yet felt this strange sensation.
Thud!
The confused Shadow Tiger let out a furious and terrified roar.
A yellowish earthen spike suddenly shot up from the ground where Rhett had fallen, striking with sinister precision!
The spike emerged from the ground beneath Rhett's back, passing effortlessly through his transformed, sand-like body, and pierced the Shadow Tiger's heart!
At such close range, with such an unexpected angle of attack!
The Shadow Tiger was caught completely off guard.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, drenching Rhett and staining the surrounding snow.
A cold smile tugged at the corner of Rhett's mouth. From the start of the battle, everything had been under his control.
He had other means of fighting, but this one was faster and just as effective.
At this moment, though he had used the Dispersal Profundity, his body was still impaled by the earthen spike, making it impossible to maintain the form for long.
He rolled away from his original position, taking a few steps back to avoid the spike on the ground.
Chirp? Firegrip, in mid-dive, abruptly halted, hovering in the air.
Seeing Rhett suddenly stand up unharmed, while the black tiger on the opposite side appeared severely injured and weakly retreating, the situation had reversed completely. The urgency in Firegrip's eyes turned to confusion, and then to joy and admiration!
The Shadow Tiger, its heart critically injured by Rhett's magic, could not survive.
Roar Roar...
The Shadow Tiger, enduring excruciating pain, fled in terror. What had happened today was beyond its comprehension.
A creature that wasn't afraid of its powerful claws, that could summon spikes from its body—how could it possibly fight against that?
As it fled, blood dripped continuously, leaving a long, crimson trail across the snowy ground.
"Hmph!" Rhett, watching the fleeing Shadow Tiger, let out a cold snort and cast a Quicksand spell at its feet!
Roar!
Roar!
The Shadow Tiger's roars were weak and powerless, its limbs struggling to escape the quicksand.
Then, a yellowish earthen spike shot through the air.
It pierced the back of the Shadow Tiger's head, its brain matter exploding as red and white fluid gushed out.
The Shadow Tiger, not known for its defense, fell helplessly to the ground after Rhett's attack.
The remaining magical beasts had just escaped the range of the Earthquake spell and circled around the boulder, only to discover that their leader had already perished. They stood frozen in place.
Fear and despair slowly spread among them.
In an instant, the human before them became a demon in their eyes!
Howls Howls...
In a panic, the remaining beasts fled in all directions, their cohesion as a group shattered without a leader.
With the threat eliminated, Firegrip swooped down, circling Rhett excitedly and letting out joyful cries.
Rhett gently stroked Firegrip's warm feathers, then began cleaning up the battlefield and pulled out a skinning knife to handle the carcass.
The body of the Tier 5 Shadow Tiger before him weighed at least three or four tons, far too heavy for Firegrip to carry alone.
Fortunately, Rhett used wind elements to reduce the load, allowing Firegrip to lift the carcass easily and soar into the sky, carrying Rhett away.
On the way back, Firegrip's flight was noticed by many people.
In fact, Firegrip had long attracted attention as it flew overhead, but in the past, most people had only envied the flying magical beast.
Today, however, some extraordinary individuals in Dark Eagle City happened to look up and saw a sight that left them utterly shocked!
A seven-meter-long, heavily built, ferocious-looking Shadow Tiger carcass, wrapped in a faint green light, was casually suspended in mid-air.
It passed right over Dark Eagle City, circling twice as if showing off, refusing to leave.
Yet, no one resented or opposed this display!
Everyone knew who the owner of that flying beast was—the Lord of Dark Eagle City!
In the residential areas, the commoners gazed up at the massive carcass with a mix of fear and, more importantly, a sense of pride and honor that came from belonging to this land.
In the commercial district, where extraordinary individuals were more active, knights on the sparsely populated streets stared up in astonishment at the Shadow Tiger's body!
They couldn't help but marvel.
"With a body that size, and still retaining some of its former aura, this must be at least Tier 5, right?" A short knight shuddered with fear.
"A mage who can kill such a ferocious Shadow Tiger, and by the looks of it, Earl Rhett is unharmed—this is no easy feat!" A burly knight exclaimed as he walked out of a tavern.
"Terrifying!"
"Absolutely terrifying!"
"Ah, this is great news! It means there's no need to worry about security in Dark Eagle City anymore. I'll go back and tell those hesitant friends that it's safe to move here."
"What? Earl Rhett has slain another Tier 5 Shadow Tiger! Less than a year after advancing to a Tier 5 Magister, he already possesses such combat power. His future is limitless…
I need to return to Twilight City quickly and report this to the Guildmaster.
If we delay any longer, more people will come here, driving up property prices, and the best spots will be taken."
Rhett's casual display of power sparked countless thoughts and plans among the city's inhabitants.
But ultimately, this public demonstration of strength undoubtedly boosted Rhett's prestige, providing free citizens with a great sense of security and giving those on the fence about moving here a compelling reason to do so!
After circling Dark Eagle City a few more times, Firegrip followed Rhett's command and returned to the manor.
The Shadow Tiger's carcass thudded heavily to the ground, landing outside the castle with a commotion.
Hearing the noise, the male and female servants rushed out, gasping in amazement at the sight of the fierce Shadow Tiger.
Was this enormous beast really slain by the Lord?
Those sharp claws, those menacing teeth, that coarse fur, and the muscles on its thighs were more robust than any of theirs!
Incredible...
Unconsciously, they looked at their lord with even greater reverence.
The more formidable the Shadow Tiger appeared, the more terrifying their lord's strength seemed.
Sveta, who had been busy with other tasks, arrived a bit late after hearing the commotion.
"Master, unbelievable! Did you really kill this giant tiger?"
"Hmm, it's not a tiger—it's a Tier 5 magical beast, the Shadow Tiger. And it will also be our dinner tonight. Arrange for some people to bring it inside and have Maru prepare it as ingredients," Rhett said with a faint smile.
"Rest assured, it will be done properly!" Sveta responded with a broad smile.
"Oh, and when skinning it, make sure to preserve the hide completely. I want to hang it in the living room," Rhett said, glancing at the Shadow Tiger's body. He thought about the expansive space of Dark Rock Fortress, which needed more decorations. This tiger hide would be perfect.
"Master has a good eye; this hide looks magnificent."
Rhett nodded, then glanced around. By chance, he noticed Riley waving at him from a window on the fourth floor.
With a thoughtful expression, Rhett gave a few more instructions and then walked into the castle, making his way to the fifth-floor hall.
Riley was already waiting on the wide red carpet, holding a red notebook.
"Riley, my son, do you have something to discuss with me?"
Riley nodded. "Yes, Father. After observing for the past half month, I've noticed that the flow of people in the commercial district of Dark Eagle City has reached a decent level, and it will only continue to grow in the future. It's time to consider expanding the number of shops.
I also have some ideas on what kinds of shops we should open in Dark Eagle City."
"Oh? Let's hear it," Rhett said with a hint of surprise in his eyes, smiling as he sat on a chair by the fireplace.
As the city under his control, Dark Eagle City not only attracted outsiders to engage in various commercial activities but also required Rhett to secure a portion of the market for himself.
Riley opened the notebook in his hand and said, "If we open a blacksmith shop, we don't have enough manpower. We only have the Iron Brothers Blacksmith Shop, which can barely meet our internal needs, let alone expand.
As for a general trading company, we haven't established any supply channels, and our internal supply can't compete with established trading houses, so we don't meet the conditions.
Therefore, I believe the areas we can focus on include inns, restaurants, taverns, general stores, and alchemy potion shops."
Rhett nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. The alchemy potion shop can be postponed, similar to the blacksmith shop. Right now, our internal demand isn't fully met, so it's not feasible to sell externally.
But inns, restaurants, taverns, and the like can be prioritized once we secure the locations and begin renovations."
"No problem." Riley agreed with this, then asked, "Father, how many shops do you think we should open?"
"Capturing 20% of the market share in each industry is sufficient. As a burgeoning city, it wouldn't be wise to monopolize the local advantage too early. That would diminish our ability to attract high-quality resources," Rhett explained slowly.
As he understood, even in Twilight City, the Breen family's enterprises only occupied five to six percent of the market at most, with some sectors holding as little as two to three percent.
Right now, Dark Eagle City was still in its early stages, primarily focused on attracting outsiders. Expanding too aggressively wouldn't be appropriate. In the future, as the city prospered, there would be plenty of opportunities to gradually eliminate inferior businesses and expand the family's operations.
"And... what do you think would be a suitable tax policy?" Riley asked again.
In this extraordinary world, the taxes collected by noble cities in the Kingdom of Kinlund were not complicated. The main taxes were property tax and commercial tax.
Property tax was naturally a minimal annual tax levied on those who purchased houses, based on the area of their property, while commercial tax was collected from those engaged in business activities.
Taxes were a necessary guarantee for large cities to maintain and develop. After all, a city couldn't rely solely on the revenue from the initial sale of properties. Otherwise, in a few years, the lord would no longer benefit from the city's growth.
A territory, such as Dark Eagle City, provided a stable commercial environment, security, city management, and other services, so it was only reasonable to collect taxes.