Gares Kingdom is a feudal aristocracy.
The old King granted territories to court nobles and land nobles. Court nobles possessed city properties, while land nobles held fiefs outside the city, where they were essentially local emperors.
The army of a hundred thousand that Lily defeated with five thousand men was assembled by these nobles; the army is gone, but the nobles remain.
Sage cannot allow these parasites to usurp his ruling power.
He aims to conquer the entire kingdom, not just a single city.
"Understood." Lily nodded.
What Sage requires, she can plan; regarding resources, there's no need to worry too much.
This place is a crucial thoroughfare; once the war ceases, many will pass through here, and those merchants won't miss a chance for profit, undoubtedly flooding in resources.
As for money...
That's easily handled, they are Pirates after all.
"The newcomers are about two thousand, right?" Sage inquired.
"Two thousand two hundred and thirteen." Lily replied.
"We'll use these people to deal with the nobles."
Sage chuckled: "If those nobles wish to surrender, they must relinquish all governing rights. All land must be reclaimed, and all land in this kingdom belongs to a single person, me!"
A landlord is naturally the master of the land.
Minerals, farmlands, buildings... all belong to him!
Land nobles are easily dealt with; once killed, the land is his. City dwellers are also easily managed; after all, he's a pirate, and now that he has conquered the nation, the whole country is his.
Besides, it still requires reconstruction; reconstruction means Sage spends money, and since he spends it, it belongs to him.
All industries simply have changed ownership, just one sole owner.
...
The operation to purge the nobles isn't very difficult; people on the ocean simply hold an awe for noble bloodlines, thus they tend to favor nobles. Even a ruthless King who disregards the civilian death toll after being rebelled against by civilians is merely captured and persuaded to treat the populace kindly.
Yes, it's quite miraculous.
However, Sage holds no such reverence; he is still a pirate.
Aside from Augustine Castle, no other larger towns have city walls, such as the big town Fleiger on Vice Island and the mountain town Michelle on the main island Gares; all are large towns without city walls.
As for the nobles, they have exhausted their hired warriors through previous recruitment, and the available troop strength they can muster is wholly inadequate to halt Sage's advance.
In the mountain town Michelle, the cries resounded.
Of course, only in the areas where nobles reside. The pirates burst in, hauling out enormous quantities of materials and wealth, dragging out the residing nobles.
The largest noble inside is Nikiforcas, the family of Tihana.
Among those dragged out, there is a silver-haired young girl who stubbornly raised her head, staring relentlessly at Lily in the front, seemingly wanting to remember her.
Surrounding her are corpses.
"Kill them." Lily waved her hand, her eyes devoid of sadness or joy.
From the commencement of this operation, half a month has already passed; Lily has eliminated all land nobles from Augustine Castle to Michelle, and this is merely one of them.
"Well..."
Sipher, who had been following behind, couldn't endure it any longer after half a month, "Some nobles haven't done anything; could we just seize their wealth and let them become commoners? The boss has also tacitly approved."
Sipher held no affection for the nobles; regardless of the outcome, it hardly matters to him, but... it can't be utterly indifferent.
Even someone like him feels that Lily has been somewhat radical.
"Sage is Sage; he can disregard things and address problems when they arise. However, what we must do is ensure Sage never encounters these problems."
Lily cast a sidelong glance at Sipher, coldly saying: "Perhaps some people are innocent, but governing rights have nothing to do with innocence."
She didn't desire to kill.
She's a pirate, not a murderous lunatic.
Yet some matters she must understand thoroughly; like herself, if the princess of Oykot hadn't been left outside, no matter her intentions, she inherently signifies a signal.
If she wasn't a princess back then, she wouldn't even have been outlawed, she'd be long since killed, let alone encountering Sage.
For nobles, such a reversal is possible, albeit minutely; she intends to entirely obliterate this possibility.
"How they live doesn't matter to us, but their deaths do matter to us a lot!"
Lily gazed at those civilians peeking through slightly ajar doors and windows from afar.
"We merely chose a side."
If Sage were to rule alone, he wouldn't oppress civilians; conversely, these people would live better lives.
A win-win situation, the cost isn't more than the extinction of the nobles.
"But this affects our reputation..." Sipher pursed his lips.
Though not completing the sentence, the meaning was understood.
Originally, they were outsiders, lacking bloodline and governing rights; Sage was also merely a pirate, which was tough enough already. Now with so many nobles killed, even those who surrender aren't spared, thus none will acknowledge it.
"It doesn't matter; Sage doesn't require their loyalty, only their compliance."
Lily concluded: "And... We haven't killed enough, once enough are killed, it'll be fine."
"There are wise scholars to argue for me!"
Within the royal palace, Sage stood on the balcony, overlooking half of Augustine, laughing heartily.