Marika is the royal chef of the Deep Forest Kingdom, and has the power to transform simple ingredients into the ultimate delicacy.
If she wanted to be rich, she would of course stay in the Deep Forest Kingdom. Taxation would not hinder her. Even with her craftsmanship, the king would not ask her for taxes.
But she still came here.
Those who were driven to the Shallow Sand Kingdom also had to pay money. Apart from the rent, they had nothing when they arrived here and were not allowed to bring any tools.
If you want to survive in this place, you need tools, but this place is too barren, with nothing but sand.
But if you want to use the tools, you have to pay and rent them from the Deep Forest Kingdom.
Yes, not buy, still borrow.
The rent of the Shallow Sand Kingdom itself is a kind of protection fee. This part of the money is paid by their families in the kingdom. It is less than taxes, but it is not small overall.
If other things were used, the money would be too high, so people here use sand to build their homes, and if there are no tools, they use the natural stones and shells here as tools.
They barely maintain their lives by not taking anything from the Deep Forest Kingdom.
But in such a barren place, even eating is a problem. Not everyone can get food here, and not everyone has the ability to make such crude ingredients delicious.
Before Marika came, the people here could not make it to the Bridge Kingdom, and many of them starved to death.
Even if they wanted to go, the Deep Forest Kingdom would not allow them, because as long as they were here, they could still receive a rent.
This money would be received even if they died!
Things started to improve after Marika came, at least people started to have enough food to eat.
"No matter how bad the conditions are, people have the right to eat well. I have always believed in this. If people cannot even eat enough because of paying taxes, such a world would be too sad."
She looked at the people under the heavy rain. Although her words were plain, they were full of determination. "Everyone has the right to have enough food. What I do is to help people have enough food!"
She couldn't change the decision of the kingdom, but she could do her little bit to ensure that the people here could have a full meal before their final fate came.
"So, thank you for the invitation, but I..."
"Leave! Lady Marika!"
Before she could finish her words, others interrupted her. A woman said, "Lady Marika, we have no way out, but you have. You can leave!"
"Mrs. Marika, we are destined to go to the Bridge Kingdom. You have been dragging your feet here for two years. That is enough. If you continue like this, you will get there too. No one who has gone to the Bridge Kingdom has ever returned."
"Lady Marika, let's go to sea! We are already in this state, and we can't drag you down any longer. In the past two years, we have barely survived because of you, and we have eaten many delicacies that we can't eat. This is enough to satisfy us."
A group of people spoke up one after another, whether they were women holding children or frail old men, their expressions showed reluctance but also firm determination.
An old man stood up and said firmly: "That's enough, Lady Marika. We can't escape the fate of going to the Bridge Kingdom. That's it."
"In that case, let's go and rob the king."
A voice interrupted him, and everyone looked over and saw Sager stroking his chin and looking at the jungle inside the beach. "They must be very rich to collect so much tax in various ways. It's worth robbing."
"Captain, this is impossible. The kingdom has a lot of troops, and we don't even have the tools."
The old man glanced at the soldier lying on the ground, thought for a moment, and then said, "Even if it really succeeds, we can't afford the subsequent retaliation."
"Oh, that kind of thing has nothing to do with me. I'm not doing this for you."
Sager turned to Marika and said, "You have two choices. First, I will take you away and then the king. Second, as my subordinate, I will help you kill the king, break down the gate, and let these people back in."
"This captain is really overbearing." Marika said in astonishment.
Sager chuckled: "Of course, I'm a pirate, if I want something, I just have to rob it."
Since he became a pirate, he has always had a very accurate understanding of his positioning.
It's not like he hasn't robbed the kingdom before, and the king has more money, so why not rob?
The Celestial Dragons can rob? Why can't he?
He is much better than the Celestial Dragons, at least he doesn't rob the poor!
Marika stared at Sager for a while and said, "I don't seem to have any other choice."
She could feel that even if she refused, it would be useless. This guy seemed to have a way to prevent her from even dying.
"Not really. If you are determined to fight me and we have no grudge against each other, I might throw you into the sea, or I might let you go. After all, I don't like disobedient people, but."
Sager walked forward, stepped over the soldiers lying down, and kicked the head on the beach away. "Since you have to choose a place to live, why not try it here? Instead of wasting time in one place, you might as well see more of the world. This way you will have more choices. After all, pirates are very free."
Marika was startled and murmured, "Freedom."
She hadn't thought about this problem. She just wanted people to have enough food. The ships that came before just wanted to take the people here to the Bridge Kingdom. No one had ever said such a thing.
"Boys, it's robbery!"
Sager laughed loudly and said, "There are a lot of treasures in that country, rob them!"
"oh!!"
A dozen pirates raised their weapons, shouted, and followed Sag toward the jungle outside the beach.
Are they really going to rob?
Marika stared at the pirates. She didn't think they were bluffing. The guy with a 70 million bounty was definitely a man who could do it.
So
why not give it a try?
Leave the kingdom and find a way to feed everyone without being restricted by the environment!
In that case, everyone will have enough food and can study better food, and food can soothe people's hearts!
"If you can do it."
Marika took a deep breath, her eyes were determined, and she followed, "Please follow me, I know the way to the royal city!"
As Marika moved, the remaining people looked at each other with expressions of struggle.
They can bear the consequences themselves, or choose not to drag down Lady Marika, but if they directly confront the kingdom, that would be a real rebellion, and they really cannot bear the consequences of that.
But
everyone looked at the shallow sand that was sunken by the waves and the tiny place where they stood.
"You have to rely on yourself."
Lily suddenly turned around and said to them in a cold voice, "If you don't resist, you deserve to be oppressed. Your family and your descendants will never escape this fate."
After saying that, she turned around and followed Sag away.
"Let's fight!"
A fisherman swung his net vigorously and ran towards Sager's group, shouting, "I don't want to be a slave in the Bridge Kingdom, and I don't want to starve here either! Anyway, the result is no different, let's show the king our determination!"
As his words were like a lit fuse, the eyes of the remaining people darkened, showing determination, and followed him.
It's already like this, so let's give it a try!
If we fail, we'll just become a slave in advance, no big deal!
...
The royal city of the Deep Forest Kingdom is a large green town located in a densely jungle area.
"It's going to rain. Big rain clouds are coming."
The guard on the city wall looked at the dark clouds approaching the sky and sighed, "Really? My house hasn't been repaired yet, and it rains at this time."
"I'm even more miserable. I don't know what to do with my children's taxes. Even food has become a problem."
Another guard also sighed: "I miss the time when Lady Marika was here. At that time, everyone had enough to eat, and she could make delicious dishes even with leftover ingredients."
"Yes, Lady Marika. Lady Marika!"
The guard was about to speak when he was suddenly stunned and looked outside the city wall. There, Marika suddenly appeared with a very familiar gentle smile.
boom!!
Then, a cannonball came from behind and hit the city gate directly, blowing a hole in it.
"yes!"
Renetia transformed the cannon barrel into a tool hammer and clenched her fist. "Captain, it exploded!"
"here you go."
Sager walked into the cave, looking at the wide street and the stone-built royal city at the end of the street that looked like a relic, and grinned, "Let's have a good rob!"
(End of this chapter)