Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1526 - 1087: Don’t Cooperate with the Extremely Stupid

Chapter 1526: Chapter 1087: Don’t Cooperate with the Extremely Stupid

When they first heard about tax collection, everyone felt the world was absurd—gods couldn’t escape taxes—but upon hearing about six Mourning Undead Soldiers alongside a Truth Sword Saint: "The Leo Faction is serious this time?"

Negris remarked, "They sent out half of their Mourning Undead Soldiers, which got wiped out by Orgal. Only six are left, right? Sending them all at once? Are they just abandoning their Master Plane?"

"You don’t really think their high-level combat power is limited to the Mourning Undead Soldiers, do you? If so, you’re heavily underestimating these Human Empires," Anthony said, shaking his head.

"In terms of organization alone, the curia pales in comparison to nations. The curia manages ideology, but nations govern billions of people—their organizational capacities are on completely different scales."

"When I was on the Master Plane, I never worried about the curia, but I deeply feared those Human Empires. Once they mobilize, their manpower and resources are terrifying. They could exhaust us to death. Although we haven’t had direct interactions with these allied human nations yet, don’t for a second think that Mourning Undead Soldiers are their main forces."

Negris asked puzzledly, "They’re not?"

"Of course not, nor could they be. The Mourning Undead Soldiers are clearly pawns placed by the Great Ruler in allied nations. If I were in charge of one of these countries, I’d marginalize them completely and cultivate my own top-tier forces. Remember those two Mourning Undead Soldiers sent out as noble bodyguards?"

At this point, Anthony gestured toward Durken, whose body belonged to one of those Mourning Undead Soldiers sent as bodyguards.

This deliberate sidelining shows that the allied nations don’t consider the Mourning Undead Soldiers to be their main strength. They must have their own high-level combat forces.

"They don’t even use the Mourning Undead Soldiers? Then what kind of high-end combat power do they have?" Negris asked in confusion.

"Don’t underestimate these human countries. Especially since humans here possess a type of Origin Power, even their Sword Saints can hold their own against Mourning Undead Soldiers. Look at the Great Ruler—he hasn’t unleashed Bret, those Origin-powered Mourning Lords, the Purple Gold Bone Dragon, or the things he’s dragging around in those coffins. He’s clearly keeping a tight guard against these humans," Anthony explained.

"Tsk..." Negris clicked his tongue sourly. "You humans are so complicated, constantly guarding against one another. Such rotten hearts."

"Indeed. Unlike you dragons, so kind-hearted, pure, and adorable—on the verge of extinction," Anthony remarked wistfully.

"Pah!" Negris spat angrily.

"So these tax collectors might not even be the ruling figures of the Leo Royal Court; they could be marginalized nobles. Let’s go back and see before making a decision. If they have real power, what harm is there in paying taxes? I’d gladly take on all the tax collection for the Leo Faction—being a tax contractor is fine too, haha." Anthony chuckled warmly.

As they chatted idly, Silver Coin made the preparations. Ange rubbed his hands over the Teleportation Array, sending everyone back.

In a relatively remote corner of the Sea of Omniscience, Ange and his group materialized. Silver Coin excused himself to find someone and ran farther away, ensuring the teleportation’s fluctuations wouldn’t alert their adversaries.

As everyone appeared, Silver Coin rushed forward to report: "The leader is a Truth Sword Saint named Gulalata Leo. He brought six Mourning Undead Soldiers, a dozen airships, and upon arriving at the Sea of Omniscience, he asked cluelessly about everything—then declared he’d collect taxes. May Day Tax."

"Pfft... May Day Tax? Leo? Royalty? Which poor fool did he piss off now?" Even Negris, who often complained about how complicated humans were, couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the mention of the May Day Tax, instantly understanding what Anthony meant by ’marginalized.’"

This hapless fellow was clearly tricked or set up, completely out of touch with reality.

The Sea of Omniscience is a plane that’s easy to defend but hard to attack. To invade it, the first requirement is a powerful navy; otherwise, you wouldn’t even make it below the ocean’s surface.

The Leo Royal Court has never established dominion here, but due to grain trade and economic interactions, the Sea of Omniscience pays tribute to the Court of Rio, creating a loose vassal relationship. The tax rate is typically in the range of a fraction of a percent, and in bad years, there are even instances where no taxes are paid at all.

If the Leo Royal Court wanted to conquer this plane, the costs would be enormous and hardly worth it. As such, they typically resort to economic blockades.

If the Sea of Omniscience finds this unbearable, they might resume tax payments, and the Court of Rio usually accepts. However, due to the Teleportation Array, economic blockades can’t cripple the Sea of Omniscience’s economy; at worst, they spend a bit more on direct teleportation-based trade or transshipment across the Void. The vastness of the Void makes it impossible for the Court of Rio to seal off all smuggling routes.

The relationship here is loose and spontaneous. Even tax payments are made on a whim. Now this Gulalata came demanding May Day Tax—if he wasn’t clubbed in the head by a dwarf, then he was clearly duped.

Moreover, he bears the Leo surname, unmistakably a royal of the Leo Faction, which makes the implications even juicier.

The group arrived at an island on the surface of the water, where they spotted Gulalata Leo. At the moment, he was draped in a cloak, his head, face, hands, and feet tightly wrapped, hovering above the water while curiously examining a clump of algae rice.

After the Light Disaster, the Sea of Omniscience became an ideal environment for algae rice cultivation. Nutrient-rich algae floating to the surface quickly bloomed, producing clusters of ripe algae rice.

Not only did algae rice emerge, but its growth also altered the surface environment. The air density in the waters near the algae clusters was higher than elsewhere.

Originally, the thin air layer above the Sea of Omniscience’s surface barely supported biological activity. But with the algae rice’s presence, the air density was gradually increasing, moving toward conditions more suitable for life. If this continues, the surface of the Sea of Omniscience might even become inhabitable.

However, this transformation is hard for most people to notice. Even the algae rice itself, floating inconspicuously on the surface, reveals its massive scale only upon closer inspection.

Gulalata stood with his hands behind his back, striking a supervisory pose as he observed the water’s surface. When he noticed Silver Coin returning, his gaze swept over Silver Coin and Anthony’s group before turning away and beckoning: "Hey you, come here. What’s this stuff? It looks like it might taste pretty good."

Silver Coin paused, glanced at Anthony, and hesitated.

Anthony immediately laughed, nodded, and whispered, "You lead, I’ll support."

Silver Coin made a quick gesture with three fingers, pressing them twice—a merchant’s instinctive signal meaning "I’ve got this"—indicating he understood and was confident in leading the exchange. He then rubbed his hands together and hunched forward as he approached Gulalata.

Anthony hunched forward as well but was blocked by Mourning Undead Soldiers before he could get close. Silver Coin quickly explained, "This is Anthony the Priest—here to answer His Highness’s questions."

Gulalata waved him in: "Let him come."

Anthony stepped past the Mourning Undead Soldiers and approached Gulalata. When he was about five or six paces away, Silver Coin suddenly flipped a Gold Coin into the air, saying, "Your Highness, this is a Lucky Coin—may your luck be doubled."

The sudden development caught everyone off guard. Gulalata, hearing it was a coin and noticing its gleaming golden hue, instinctively reached out to catch it. However, two Mourning Undead Soldiers shouted urgently, "Your Highness, beware! It contains Divine Power..."

Unfortunately, they were a moment too late. Gulalata froze as the coin’s light touched his fingertips.

Silver Coin flipped his money pouch upside down, encasing Gulalata from head to toe, sealing him inside.

Anthony swung his wand, blocking the rushing Mourning Undead Soldiers, then wielded it for several strikes to drive them back. He reversed the wand, pressing it against the pouch as if preparing to pierce it.

"Had you acted with a bit more tact, there might’ve been an opportunity for cooperation. But alas, we don’t collaborate with fools." Anthony muttered.