Clink!

The flushed and excited crowd toasted once more, indulging in the feast laid before them.

Many precious ingredients were carelessly tossed to the ground.

Then, quietly picked up by waiters and stuffed into their own pockets, provoking laughter among them.

[Banker] Hal Black grabbed a handful of silver coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the maid’s chest, laughing:

"The enclosure movement not only granted us land, wool, wealth, and status, but nearly monopolized the entire nation’s food trade market.

Converting vast farmland ’from agriculture to pasturage’ increased national fiscal revenue, yet with food no longer produced, it relied solely on imports from our grain merchants, essentially handing its lifeline over to us.

With us pulling strings from behind the scenes, how could royal iron not retreat step by step?

Ever since this year’s enclosure movement reached its peak, plus the impact of war, Hightins’ grain prices have also risen continuously.

Now, a standard piece of Fur Bread sells for five Copper Furl outside, but I believe one day it will rise to fifty, even five hundred Furl!

By then, the populace’s dry tea and raging fire will ignite in an instant, and whoever we direct it at, it will burn towards!

I heard that the Kingmaker has a [Louisette Guillotine] at hand, maybe one day it will come in handy, hahaha..."

Hightins has no baseline farmland boundaries; just a patch of land for raising sheep can’t be used for farming, naturally ensuring no guarantee of food output.

Now, it’s essentially a situation where the poor eat potatoes, the rich eat imports, and more vagrants are left without even potatoes.

In fact, refugees have long flooded the country, merely overshadowed by the Throne War’s shadow.

Anyway, the Dragon Court has never experienced a large-scale peasant uprising, nor has anyone ever paid them any mind.

Because they lack knowledge, weapons, organizational power, and even transcendent abilities.

Plus the relationship where my vassal’s vassal is not my vassal, many don’t even know who their King is, utterly devoid of awareness of attacking the Royal Capital to change the world.

Their biggest request is merely for the Lord to collect fewer taxes, allowing them to survive.

If the Remit People saw those Devil counterparts of theirs also attempting to overthrow Hightins, they would probably scoff:

"Tsk tsk tsk, is this all?

You kill for Soul Currency, for food, but not us, who dares to be tougher than me?

The international bankers of ’Freemason Society’ are the future world masters, Devils too must stand aside!"

Yet they didn’t notice, on the second floor of this pretend "Temple," there were two genuine Fourth Order Mythical Creatures quietly observing them.

Especially inside, there was a true [Devil], listening to their conversations clearly.

"Five Copper Furl for buying a standard Fur Bread? My current body seems to recall some unpleasant memories."

[Hell Painter] Leonardo already escaped under Byron’s indulgence when collaborator [Kingmaker] was defeated.

Still not exposed to that Demon Lord’s eyes, able to continue as a double agent.

Originally grabbed by Byron for temporary conscription, assigned to Succubus Therese, to mutually cooperate and prevent financial backers behind the two parties from fleeing funds like the Lancaster Party did before.

Unexpectedly coming upon this scene.

[Hell Painter] Leonardo was merely a failed student of Vinaia Art Academy before being possessed, without talent or skill, naturally accustomed to a life of poverty.

Sensitive to basic food prices, hearing about five Copper Furl for bread couldn’t help but deeply furrow his brows.

Just because copper coins have inherent value, no matter the food shortage or inflation, it couldn’t reach five thousand, fifty thousand, fifty hundred thousand levels.

But instinctually he knows even a five-fold food price already entirely sufficient to trigger major problems.

This bunch of people are akin to placing a bomb at the Kingdom’s core.

[Hell Painter] turned to glance at the incarnation of Succubus Therese beside him, also the host of this "Masquerade Ball".

"Ms. Therese, should we take them down and make them regurgitate everything they’ve eaten?"

Since arriving in Hightins last year, the Succubus established a new "Pleasure Banquet Sisterhood" among those noblewomen and social butterfly groups.

Secretly using her followers to control a large batch of similar entertainment venues.

The incarnation managing the masquerade ball, just like the Succubus’ main body, was also a fair-skinned, alluring beauty.

Nearly bare all over, wearing only black leather garments at crucial parts.

A pink Succubus Mark was branded on her white belly, holding a black long whip in hand, her toes in open-toed boots painted in a dazzling man-slaying color.

Inhaled and exhaled pink, sweet mist, her charm seemingly congealed into substance.

Knowing the outcome of the war from the main body, it indicated her "usurpation" ritual smoothly won without resistance.

Previously in the Sun Empire, used [Blood Cup] to absorb Sun Divine Sons, plus this Hightins ritual now, she senses only time remains before her ascension.

Next, she has to continue assisting Byron in gathering scattered Royal Iron, the faster the gathering, the shorter the time for her ascension.

Hearing [Hell Painter]’s words, the Succubus highly aligned with Byron’s interests, her lip corners curled into a captivating, mesmerizing smile: