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Chapter 243: Escalating Class Conflict
Chapter 243: Escalating Class Conflict
"Commander Garcia." Mayor Claude’s expression was stern as he stared directly at Tiana: "Your unauthorized mobilization of troops has severely violated the empire's military laws."
Claude repeated what Frank had said during yesterday’s meeting.
The more than ten Fifth-Rank powerhouses and the nobles on the ground all fixed their gazes on Tiana, trying to pressure her.
However, Tiana showed no fear.
She unleashed her aura, a golden rage swirling around her, her brown hair fluttering in the wind like a warrior goddess.
She glanced at the over a hundred nobles below and said with disdain, "If I don’t deal with these gangs that harm civilians, will you?"
Tiana’s aura directed itself at Claude, who instantly felt immense pressure.
"Damn! Tiana just broke through, so why is her aura so powerful?" Claude’s face paled.
However, the dozens of nobles, several Fifth-Rank powerhouses, and Frank Jean gave him a great deal of confidence.
Claude steadied himself and declared, "I will certainly handle these gangs! But right now, the rebels have reached Forest City, and our primary enemy is the rebels, not the gangs within the city."
"Instead, you have dispatched troops without any orders from your superiors, which is a clear violation of military law!"
"What do you want?" Tiana slowly flew toward Claude, who was fifty meters away, her pale golden longsword drawn and ready, as if a single wrong word would ignite a battle.
Claude, Frank, and the Fifth-Rank powerhouses behind them all drew their weapons and prepared for combat.
Claude continued, "Commander Garcia, if you can abide by the military regulations and not launch attacks without orders from your superiors, we can overlook your past actions out of respect for our imperial comrades. But if you continue to act on your own..."
"Fine, I agree." Tiana instantly reined in her aura completely, sheathing her longsword.
She then smiled lightly, "I promise that I won’t launch any attacks without receiving orders. You can all go back now."
With that, Tiana turned and flew back to the military camp without looking back.
...
Mayor Claude and the nobles were completely caught off guard.
They had expected a major battle, but Tiana’s quick agreement and departure left them feeling like they had punched a pillow, extremely uncomfortable.
"Did Tiana just back down?" Claude was somewhat dazed.
But from Tiana’s behavior, it seemed she wasn’t just backing down; there was something else going on.
The nobles looked at each other, all stunned by Tiana’s sudden actions, unsure of what to do.
Mayor Claude stood in the air, deep in thought, and then turned to his deputy: "Owen, did you record a magical image of that scene?"
"Of course, Mayor Claude."
"Excellent!" Claude suppressed his emotions and said to the nobles behind him, "Since Tiana Garcia has made her promise, let’s return now. If she breaks her word, I will release the magical image, and her reputation will be severely damaged."
"That’s the best we can do," the nobles sighed, instructing their drivers to return to Orleans City.
Everyone knew that Tiana’s quick agreement must have some hidden agenda, but they couldn’t determine it right now, so they could only take it one step at a time.
Thus, this grand inquisition ended in a rather anticlimactic manner.
Of course, this was just the beginning.
Next, Tina continued with the 47th to 49th stages of her storyline, fulfilling her promise not to lead the knights in attacking anyone.
However, she continued to push her reforms in Oran City and Unicorn Town.
First, she focused on Unicorn Town.
Through Su Yu's investigation, Tina publicly revealed the financial records of the powerful families controlling Unicorn Town, such as the Windsor and Holtz families.
The people were shocked to discover that the hardworking merchants, farmers, and craftsmen, who were the true creators of value, only received 3% of the town's total revenue. The remaining 97% flowed into the pockets of a few families that contributed nothing to the town's prosperity.
This revelation caused a massive uproar in Unicorn Town! The people organized protests and demonstrations, demanding that the wealthy families return the money they had siphoned off and redistribute it to the common folk.
In Oran City, Tina first distributed 64 million psychic coins to the city's residents, earning their loyalty and support.
Then, she followed the same approach as in Unicorn Town. Using information gathered by players, she exposed the financial records of the major noble families, revealing the stark disparity in resource distribution that had been hidden from the public.
The people of Oran City were stunned to learn that less than 1% of the city's population—comprising the nobility—controlled over 99% of the city's resources, while the vast majority of the population received only 1%.
Moreover, the nobility maintained their power by grooming high-level warriors and mages, creating a class monopoly. Commoners couldn't afford the tuition to enter warrior academies or mage schools, leaving them with no path to become cultivators unless they had exceptional talent like Tina's.
These discoveries further intensified the conflict between the common people and the noble class.
However, due to the vast power gap between the two groups (a single third-stage warrior could take on hundreds or even thousands of commoners), the people didn't aim to overthrow the nobility.
Instead, they took to the streets in peaceful protests, demanding that the city government tax the rich more heavily rather than exploiting the poor. They also called for reforms in the education system to give the children of commoners a chance to become cultivators and achieve upward mobility.
These were reasonable demands, and most of the commoners joined in the protests.
Tina's influence was evident in the numerous demonstrations, large and small, which she supported with the psychic coins she had acquired.
The noble class of Oran City, of course, refused to let the commoners divide their "cake" and began to suppress the protest movements.
However, the more they tried to suppress the protests, the more intense the resistance became, and the movements grew even more fervent.
Desperate, the nobles resorted to smearing Tina's reputation, hoping to turn public opinion against her by attacking her character.
Driven by the nobles' malicious efforts, countless accusations and insults against Tina spread through the public discourse.
Some accused her of violating military regulations; others claimed she had harmed innocent people during the crackdown on criminal gangs; still, others accused her of having an immoral private life and associating with criminals.
In the end, some even fabricated lies, claiming that Tina enjoyed eating the hearts of children and drinking human blood every noon.
The public discourse in Oran City became chaotic, with constant praise and criticism of Tina.
Finally, the task reached its final stage, the 50th stage of the "Oran City Saintess Line."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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