Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1194: Plentiful Yield

Two days later...

Kahn and Vildred returned to Rathna, the capital of the Rakos Empire.

They secretly entered the Imperial Palace without anyone having the slightest idea, since the Emperor was supposed to have never left the palace after his coronation.

”I will take some rest. After fighting the Rainbow Serpent and facing those Godbeasts... I feel like I need to reinvent my understanding of magic.

Thanks to that experience, though as dreary as it was, I can feel my limits reaching beyond the wall I couldn’t overcome before.

I need peace for some time.” spoke the Lightning Dragon Emperor.

Kahn agreed since he, too, felt that their short visit to the Abyss Forest had opened him to a new and unknown world.

A sage like Vildred was bound to have an epiphany of some sort after going through something like that. So he understood his master’s hurry.

Swoosh!

After Vildred entered the Tablet of Arcana to do some secluded training, Kahn returned to the Imperial throne hall.

He appeared before the copy of himself left behind and absorbed the memories from his cosmic replica.

Soon, everything that happened in his absence was etched into his memory.

To summarize...

The previous decision regarding Mr. Rotich announcing in front of the empire that they were hiring new government employees for about 40 million posts across several branches of the government and military had caused an upheaval at the beginning of the week.

But after the hiring procedure actually started, the response was overwhelming, and the public had put Kahn’s name in the spotlight.

Some people, who already got the jobs due to their experience in the field they applied for... started naming their newborn children after Kahn.

As it turned out... There was no shortage of talented, literate, qualified people with both real-life and academic experience for the majority of these sectors and government institutions.

Just that most of them were simply not given the chance, their scores being undervalued, and despite their eligibility, the posts were given to those who bribed the officials under the table.

Many of these people were waiting for years, hoping for a successful chance where they could prove their competence and change their lives.

A lot of them had already given up due to the corrupt system, despite having everything it took and needed for these positions, and were not hired. But they were forced to find other means of survival so they could make a living and feed their families.

A wolfkin with a 4-meter-tall body was somehow undeserving of being a patrol guard according to the old regime, but under Kahn’s new regime... if they had what it took to get the job done... they would be hired.

On the 3rd week, however, the hiring process became hectic because certain species like demi-humans, orcs, ogres, thralls, and many others had basically monopolized the hiring procedure, using their species traits to get certain types of jobs since the criteria mentioned those traits and experience in those fields.

It was then that the Kahn left behind in the capital intervened and started conducting tests such as physical compatibility, written exams, practical knowledge, vivas, and interviews of the candidates across the empire.

With the hiring procedure getting even thorough than before, adding more difficulties and extra steps to weed out the abusers, people trying to take advantage of the rules were taken aback.

He made sure that undeserving people wouldn’t get to use the rules against Kahn’s intentions.

Because nobody wanted a thug, regardless of their species or gender, to act as a lawman and abuse their authority.

Otherwise, it would make Kahn’s new reign no different than how the Noble factions controlled the empire before.

And as a result, many were culled out, and those who tried to use the new system for their benefit yielded nothing.

And as a promise, to quell the discontent of those who were affected due to this exploitation... Kahn allowed them to apply them again.

As for those who did get hired, he gave all of them half of the first month’s salary so they could not only feel assured, but also provide for their families.

Just receiving half was more than enough to convince the entire population that Kahn wasn’t just trying to butter up the masses, and many, who needed money for survival, were thankful for this gesture.

In a way, it bought Kahn their instant loyalty since the majority of these applicants were already struggling in their lives, and now, they wished to serve Kahn’s new imperial rule with their whole heart.

Step!

Step!

A lean and green-skinned, slender figure, dressed in a black business suit, wearing glasses, walked in front of Kahn while being escorted by the royal guards.

Kahn gestured for the guards to leave, and the person bowed respectfully in front of Kahn.

The person in front of him was none other than Sirius Blake.

Sirius had already received a telepathic transmission from Kahn after he entered Rathna, so the former had come to hand out some important documents.

”What about our reserves?

Can we fund the war without taxing the common population back to 30%?” queried Kahn.

Sirius replied with a calm demeanor...

”Your idea about selling the assets of most of these noble factions and clans, most of which they were illegally holding by using the names of shell corporations and people who don’t even exist... turns out that a lot of people were interested in buying them.

Some of them, such as processing facilities and farming lands... we acquired those for the Seven Deadly Sins. And to put that money in circulation, we held fake auctions and even used some investment firms as a front to make the purchase legit on paper.

When the time for war comes, we can control a lot of these lands, factories, and warehouses for storage, production of food supplies, and even weapon manufacturing.

Some assets can also be used as buildings for medical care after a soldier gets hurt.

There’s the full report.” iterated Sirius and handed out the brown cover book.

Kahn read it and looked at Sirius...

”You’ve really gotten good at this since the time I went away.”

Sirius gloated with a gleeful smile and bowed.

What the green orc accountant told him before was just the surface-level information. The real deal followed after.

As Kahn read the entire report... he was simply amazed at how covertly Sirius was turning the black money into white. His ways were far more obscure and innovative to the point Kahn even thought of himself as a rookie despite being an accountant himself in his previous life.

”Well done. With this, even if we raised the taxes again... we won’t have to go beyond 18%, am I right?” asked Kahn.

But Sirius on the other end... made a gesture with his palm, lowering it down.

”17%?”

Sirius shook his head again...

”15%?” asked Kahn in disbelief.

Sirius finally shook his head up and down joyfully.

Gasp!

Kahn gasped in surprise.

Forget doubling the taxes as per his assumption... Sirius brought it to half of his expected value.

Even Kahn thought that once the war started and the Rakos Empire was involved, they would have to raise the taxes back to 30%. But Sirius, with his bookkeeping and money laundering expertise... brought it to half of it.

And this was just the first month of the work. Once they had command over the remainder of these noble clans and factions’ hidden assets and money... the resultant amount would basically help them fund the war for at least 3 to 4 years to come.

Kahn then let out a pleasant sigh.

”Carry on the good work. I will meet you again soon.” said Kahn and got up from his throne.

”Where are you heading off to, your majesty?” asked Sirius.

Kahn replied nonchalantly with a pleased countenance.

”To meet my other half.”