10,000x Reward Multiplier: Hell-level Kingdom Building-Chapter 34: [0] Authority
The story she told sounded made up to Floki, who was not fully accustomed to this world.
Yet the reaction from everyone, including the women from Wayan Village, proved it was far more serious than it initially seemed.
According to the narrator, in the middle of the night, a loud, terrifying, almost human-like laughter broke the silence and reverberated across the entire village, making it difficult for anyone to fall asleep and sending deep fear into their hearts.
She said it was difficult to tell exactly where the laughter was coming from, as it seemed to echo from both nearby and far away at the same time, making it even more unsettling.
She further revealed how the laughter grew louder with each passing minute, sounding closer and closer, yet still carrying that strange effect that made it feel distant.
What made the story even more unbelievable to Floki was when she mentioned that the laughter halted immediately when the first cockcrow sounded in the morning.
If she were the only one telling it, Floki would have definitely dismissed it as the ramblings of old age.
But there was no way he could use that excuse, as everyone, from the men down to the children, was clearly afraid.
Not only them, even the others who returned with him, who did not hear the mysterious laughter, were also gripped with fear.
"It is the Night Laugher."
With a pale look on his face, Jabba stepped forward and spoke.
Floki turned to look at him after hearing the strange and rather ridiculous name.
Jabba’s face was filled with horror. Sweat had already begun to form on his bald head.
When Floki turned back and saw the expressions on the others’ faces, it finally dawned on him that this mysterious "Night Laugher" carried a deeply terrifying lore.
’What sort of being could make these men so scared? What is the lore behind it?’ he wondered inwardly.
Before he could ask further, Jabba turned to him with the same horrified expression and spoke in a serious tone,
"We need to exit this territory immediately," he stated.
"What? Leave Ironside? Why?"
"Jabba is right. Our only option now is to leave this place as fast as we can," Anton stepped forward and added.
"Oh no. We left the clutches of Denji Wayan and the hobgoblin only to be befallen by a much worse fate!"
"This... I would rather live with the goblins forever!"
"I want to leave."
The women began to cry one after another, their voices trembling with fear.
The reactions around him were even more dramatic than he had initially expected.
He began to wonder more deeply what exactly the Night Laugher was.
He searched through his memories, but there was nothing, not even a fragment, that mentioned anything concerning the Night Laugher.
This only made him more curious and slightly uneasy.
Surely, if there was something capable of making others this terrified, he should have heard of it at least once.
While he was still thinking, one of the children ran up to him and hugged his leg, crying uncontrollably. "Please, big brother, take us out of here. I do not want to be eaten."
’This is really strange,’ Floki concluded inwardly.
"No one is going to eat you while big brother is here." He bent down and picked up the little boy, holding him gently in his arms.
But even with his assurance, the boy continued crying heavily, unable to calm down.
"Everyone, please calm down," he said in a loud, firm voice.
But at that moment, everyone was so overwhelmed with fear that none of them listened.
Floki turned to Jabba and Anton, who would usually help in situations like this, but they were no better.
As a result, he quickly opened his skill tab and searched for the skill he knew would help.
"Upgrade Basic Authority to the next rank."
[ Positive. 50 skill points have been deducted. Upgrading skill... ]
[ Skill has been upgraded ]
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Advanced Authority (E-rank)
• Usable in territories up to D-rank. Your authority begins to take root, making your presence harder to oppose.
• Subjects under your domain experience increased loyalty and reduced rebellious intent.
• You can exert moderate suppression on disobedient targets, weakening their overall combat effectiveness.
• Minor mental pressure is applied to those who defy your commands.
Upgrade Requirement: 100 Skill Points
Do you want to upgrade skill: Y/N
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The new upgrade unfortunately did not produce the effect he had hoped for at this moment.
Still hoping to achieve that effect, he chose to upgrade the skill again without hesitation.
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Elite Authority (D-rank)
• Usable in territories up to C-rank. Your authority becomes a tangible force that influences both mind and body.
• Subjects gain increased efficiency and morale while within your domain.
• Your voice alone now carries a unique calming effect on troubled subjects, allowing for smoother communication.
• You can impose strong suppression on hostile or disobedient targets, reducing their stats significantly.
• Weak-willed individuals may be forced into submission under your presence.
• You gain limited command enforcement, allowing simple directives to be followed instinctively.
Upgrade Requirement: 200 Skill Points
Do you want to upgrade skill: Y/N
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With the D-rank skill, the effect he had been hoping for finally appeared.
"Everyone, please calm down."
He spoke the same words again, but this time the result was different.
Although the villagers were still sobbing and trembling, they quieted down slightly and turned to him with watery eyes, waiting for his next words.
"Have you lost faith in me already?" he asked in a firm tone,
forcing everyone to shake their heads.
"Have you lost faith in Ironside so quickly?" he asked again, and once more, they shook their heads.
"Then why are you ready to desert the land we have struggled to build so quickly?"
No one responded. They all remained silent, simply staring at him.
The silence stretched for a moment. Only the sound of sniffing and quiet sobs could be heard.
Floki slowly scanned their faces, which still reflected lingering fear.
Jabba clenched his fists. His lips trembled slightly before he finally spoke.
"You do not understand, my lord," he said in a low voice. "This is not something we can fight with strength or numbers."
Anton nodded beside him.
"This thing... it is not normal. It does not belong to the living at all."
Floki narrowed his eyes slightly. Why was this thing so feared?
"Then explain it to me," he said.
"The Night Laugher is a mysterious being. No one has actually seen what it looks like, as none have ever seen it and lived to tell the tale."
"Hmm, then how do you know it is the Night Laugher?" he asked immediately.
"Because of its laughter. It is its ritual. Once it has laid its eyes on a territory it wants to slaughter and devour, it will first laugh at midnight for five days straight, and on the end of the third day, it will descend and slaughter everyone that it finds in that territory," he explained.
’It really does sound scary. But how strong is it? As strong as the hobgoblins? Like the big flame-wolves? I need to gauge its strength,’ Floki pondered inwardly, maintaining his signature calm outward expression. If he were to appear confused or distressed, it would definitely increase the fear of everyone looking up to him at this moment.
Floki figured it would also be a bad idea to learn about the power of this mysterious Night Laugher when his people were still watching him closely.
Therefore, using the new effects of his D-rank Elite Authority skill, he gave a lengthy speech and managed to calm them down, giving them hope that he would protect them.
After he was done, he introduced the women to them, and the villagers, who had never been able to communicate freely with strangers for a long time, easily bonded with the women.
The elderly women and the children especially formed quick connections with them.
Floki did a brief headcount of the people in his village using the situation.
There were:
Children: 14
Elderly men (older than 60): 9
Elderly women: 16
Middle-aged women: 5 + 14 (the new women)
Middle-aged men: 2
Jabba and Anton were the only youthful men in the village.
And the fourteen women made up most of their female counterparts, as the oldest one among them was not even forty yet.
In total, he had 60 followers.
The only capable soldiers in his possession were 16: the brothers and the women.
At this moment, he realized he was severely lacking in terms of population.
Declaring an open war would be the most foolish thing he could do with such a number.
As a result, he began to strategize plans in his head to stealthily take out his enemies.
In the meantime, he proposed a feast, which was met with jubilation, as the villagers had not had any form of merriment in a long time.
The proposed feast also helped to calm them down further while Floki went away to begin strategizing and also to check what he had gotten from the Wheel of Legacy and the quest that had been triggered after he was done listening to them.
Nonetheless, unbeknownst to everyone in Ironside Village, a black-attired figure observed them from afar.
"What a pain."
