The Lich of Glory Knight Spirit: Moving towards Krimasha!
Chapter 99 - 31: Gray’s Reforms (Second Release)

Chapter 99: Chapter 31: Gray’s Reforms (Second Release)

After the great victory at Asperburg, Isaac Kingdom welcomed a brief period of peace.

With the disappearance of Benedict II and Gray’s support for the young Bob, who the Church refused to crown, it was only natural that Gray would govern during this period. After all, only Gray, as both a noble and a Holy Knight with the prestige of a war victor, had the authority to do so.

Hmm... This was Gray’s first time in governance. Every first comes with its share of unexpected events. Everyone had anticipated this.

This included Yilin, Count Gruglu, the two demons watching from the sidelines, Dean, Grand Master Andrew, and even the Church watching Gray from afar.

However, they all underestimated Gray.

On the second day of his official governance, Gray sounded the horn of reform. His first decree was to... distribute money. Yes, to give money to the residents.

It was a very simple and effective way to increase support.

When hearing this, those who hoped Gray would fail, especially the Church and neighboring royal families, laughed. After all, many kings attempted such things before without much result, as it usually proved to be a formality. With so many people, how much money could you distribute?

However, they didn’t laugh for long. In just one day, their laughter ceased.

"I want to distribute the royal family’s wealth to the poor, is that okay?" Gray asked Bob.

"Distribute to the poor?" Bob listened, puzzled.

"Yes," Gray said earnestly, "As a knight and a believer in the Holy Spirit, we should help those in need and practice frugality. This is the attitude a good person with knightly ideals should have. But before doing so, I need your consent. After all, you are the legal heir to the royal family’s wealth."

"As a squire of the Holy Knight, I am definitely a person with knightly ideals! I agree!" said Bob, a devoted fan of the Holy Knight, without a second thought.

"I think he will regret it when he grows up," the Black Cat whispered softly.

Indeed, Gray had set his sights on the vast wealth of the Isaac Royal Family long ago. One cannot deny that after countless generations of accumulation, the Isaac Royal Family possessed astronomical wealth. Now, being a knight-novel enthusiast, he was eager to follow the novel protagonists’ actions by distributing the royal wealth to the poor. And he distributed it all, keeping only the Lion King Palace and necessary expenses.

This was quite shocking.

When this news reached the Church, neighboring royal families, and even Grand Master Andrew, who was lurking in Lion King City, their eyes nearly popped out.

No one had ever done such a thing; no sane person would do such a thing.

Sadly, Gray was a Lich, and Liches were not normal people. By the way, Liches’ ability to court death ranked highly among all races, second only to goblins, who nearly went extinct due to blowing themselves up during experiments.

In short, Gray decided and did it.

Next, hostile observers eagerly awaited Gray to make mistakes during execution. After all, some things are easier said than done. How would he ensure the money reached those in need? How would he ensure the money truly helped them?

Many historically esteemed individuals were reviled after taking office.

Indeed, Gray encountered some difficulties during the execution. But he quickly adjusted. Or rather, he was constantly adjusting.

You must admit, no race can match the perseverance of a Lich. And perseverance is invaluable both on the battlefield and in governance.

Liches may lack emotional intelligence, but without exception, their intelligence is high. Gray could adopt an experimental approach, continuously observing and adjusting carefully, day and night.

Crucially, he bore no burden as a ruler. If he erred, he readily admitted it and started over. If something didn’t work, he kept adjusting until it did.

This was truly determined.

Reluctantly, most of those hoping for Gray’s failure had to admit he won the first round.

Of course, some did not.

"Can this be effective?" Andrew scoffed, "There are reasons why the poor remain poor. He can distribute once, but can he keep doing it?"

Yilin thought similarly, though from a different angle: "Gray, I think you’re doing it wrong. If we distribute all the money to the poor, what will we do if we need money again? After all, our relationship with the Church remains sour, and they could make a move at any time. How will we gather troops then?"

"Gather troops? Why gather troops?"

"Uh..."

"We don’t need so many troops. I am enough. If they come again, I will defeat them just as I did this time," Gray said.

This was indeed irrefutable.

Thus, Gray set his sights on a second sum of money, the financial surplus.

Yes, Isaac Kingdom now had a substantial financial surplus.

For most lords, the main expenditure was military spending. After all, the military was the foundation of their rule and defense against foreign enemies. However, Gray evidently did not need this.

Before the war, Isaac Royal Family maintained an army of about forty thousand. Now that the war was over, except for the ten thousand troops loyal to Gray, the rest had scattered. This meant Isaac Kingdom had a large financial surplus.