Do you have a problem with necromancers?

Chapter 47 Loyalty
The quickest way to subdue your subordinates is to bestow favors and establish authority.

If I had to choose between the two, considering that some ungrateful people might see kindness as flattery, it would be more appropriate to choose to establish authority.

Renn sat calmly in his chair, slowly looking at the duty log of the Imperial Capital Garrison.

The guards all collapsed to the ground, their faces filled with terror, exchanging bewildered glances.

“Hmm.” Renn tossed the duty book aside and said, “I need someone to give me a general overview of the garrison—I’ll allow this person to stand in front of me.”

The words had barely left his mouth when a guard from the capital scrambled to his feet and shouted:

"Your Excellency Commander! Your loyal Magus is ready to serve you!"

The other guards were stunned for a moment, then quickly showed regretful expressions, as if to say, "Why didn't I realize it sooner?"

"Oh?" Renn rested his chin on his hand, scrutinizing the man who looked to be in his early thirties. "You claim to be loyal?"

"Yes!" Knowing he had no way out, Guard Magus could only swallow his pride and shout, "You are the newly appointed commander of the Imperial Capital Garrison. As a member of the Imperial Capital Garrison, I must be one hundred percent loyal to you!"

"Would a truly loyal person speak so softly?" Renn suddenly shouted. "Speak louder!"

“Loyalty!” Magus raised his voice.

"Can't you hear me! Haven't you eaten enough?!" Renn shouted angrily.

"Loyalty!!!" Magus cried out in anguish.

"I still can't hear you! I said I can't hear you, and that's final!"

"Loyalty!!! Sincerity!!!" Magus could only break the word down into syllables, shouting each syllable out with all his might.

………………

“Very good,” Renn said. “I believe in your loyalty.”

Who is the platoon leader in charge of the troops stationed in this military camp?

After a moment of silence, the person lying on the ground raised their hand:

“It is I, sir.”

"As a squad leader, your loyalty to the commander is even less than Magus's," Renn sneered. "Your squad leader position is transferred to Magus from today onwards. Any objections?!"

"...No, sir."

Magus was overjoyed! Good! Shouting louder actually has this benefit? It seems the Commander-in-Chief particularly likes subordinates with loud voices!
“Magnus,” Renn continued, “look at these people lying on the ground. Are there any who are as loyal to me as you are?”

Magus was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed: This was an open invitation for me to cultivate my own faction!

“Merovin! Dogorat! Kratlov…” he rattled off a string of names, then said obsequiously, “Sir, these men are very close to me, and I can assure you that their loyalty to you is second only to mine!”

Upon hearing this, the imperial guards lying on the ground almost couldn't help but vomit.

Damn it, you've only just met this commander, just like us. Where the hell do you get your loyalty from?
"Those whose names were just called, stand up!" Renn shouted.

The guards who were called stood up and lined up in an orderly fashion, their bodies ramrod straight, their eyes fixed straight ahead, their faces displaying a resolute expression that said, "My heart is filled with nothing but loyalty to the commander."

Ellina watched silently, holding her spear, secretly amazed by Rein's skill in training his men.

In less than half an hour since they met, these guards of the capital have been tamed by him like loyal dogs... No wonder he is a born evil necromancer!
“Come on,” Renn said lazily, crossing his legs. “Each of you has one chance to express your loyalty to me.”

Then, roars of anger echoed throughout the military camp:
"loyalty!"

"loyalty!!"

"loyalty!!!"

After everyone had finished taking their oaths, Renn slowly clapped his hands and remarked with emotion, "I never imagined that there would be so many Imperial Guards in the capital who are loyal to the royal family and to me."

“That’s for sure,” the standing guards chimed in. “Our loyalty to you is irreplaceable!”

The guards lying on the ground glared angrily at their shameless compatriots.

"You," Ryan called on the former captain again, "Do you understand now where you went wrong?"

The former captain paused for a moment, then suddenly shouted:

"I was wrong! Your Excellency Commander, please give me a chance to reaffirm my loyalty to you!"

Seeing this, Ellina understood what he was going to do.

He forcibly split the old imperial guards, who might have otherwise banded together, into two large groups:

The surrender faction, led by Magus, was composed entirely of people he had handpicked, and they were bound to stick closely with Magus.

The remaining ostracized guards will mostly unite around the original captain and fight against Magus and his gang.

In this way, they could no longer unite to fight against their superior, Raine.

As she had predicted, Rain appointed the former captain as vice-captain to assist Captain Magus in his work.

Considering that Magus took his captaincy from this vice-captain... the two sides are likely to be on the verge of conflict.

Next, Raine took Ellina to visit the remaining guard camps in the capital, easily giving all the guards a collective humiliation.

Finally, Raine summoned all the squad leaders of the Imperial Capital's guards outside the city, had them stand in neat rows, and began to give them a speech:
"You all know why the former commander of the capital's garrison was dismissed."

"He made a fortune; but he didn't do a single job. The serial murders in the southern part of the city have left the citizens of the capital in a state of panic, and even His Majesty the Emperor was furious and dismissed the former commander!"

"If you ask me, His Majesty is too merciful. At least he should have kept his head on his neck so he could retire in style with his money."

"However, do not mistake the royal family's benevolence for compromise, or their patience for concession. If the work of the capital garrison still fails to satisfy the two emperors, then everyone should quit. Let the Imperial Guards stationed outside the city come and garrison the capital. You will all lose your jobs and get out of here. I will personally go to apologize to Her Majesty the Empress!"

The garrison captains all stood in awe: Gods above! Is our newly appointed commander actually a nobleman who can speak before Her Majesty the Empress?!
"We have two tasks to carry out soon," Ryan continued, "First, the improvement of the city's appearance!"

"Some nobles have reported that the city is filled with human and animal excrement, and the stench is unbearable! Maintaining a clean and tidy cityscape is also the job of our Imperial Capital Garrison. Otherwise, if the royal family has to hold their noses to cross the streets when they go on tour, it would be a serious dereliction of duty on our part!"

“But,” a captain hesitated, “Commander, hiring someone to clean up the excrement isn’t impossible, but it costs money, and we…”

“Foolish!” Ryan said. “Wouldn’t cleaning the streets significantly increase foot traffic on both sides? Since the shops benefit, they should naturally pay for it. Let’s call it the ‘city sanitation fee’!”

The team leaders looked at each other, then a brilliant idea flashed through their minds, and they immediately showed expressions of great joy.

In other words, can we charge shops an extra fee on top of the original security tax?

Obviously, not 100% of the cleaning fees collected will go towards hiring cleaners. In other words, everyone can keep a small portion, making it a free bonus… Thinking of this, all the team leaders immediately said in unison:

"I will obey your orders!"

This new commander not only manages to manipulate people like dogs, but he's also incredibly generous with the "dog food" (a metaphor for being fed and pampered).

Amidst the admiring and respectful gazes of the captains, Ryan continued his announcement:

"Secondly, I want to thoroughly investigate the serial murders in Nancheng!"

"Starting today, the number of patrols in the southern part of the city at night will be increased by one team! In addition, another team will be transferred out separately as a special task force under my command, which I will personally supervise and direct!"

"Me!" Before anyone else could react, Magus was the first to jump out and say, "Our team is willing to join your task force!"

The other captains cursed inwardly and immediately expressed their willingness to join, lest they be suspected by the commander of being "disloyal".

(End of this chapter)