Chapter 247 - 171 Dragon Country, Family Traitor_2
The baseline for human nobles can be shockingly low; he had seen it firsthand.
A merchant who merely surpasses his peers economically can treat his impoverished kin like livestock, and nobles, who possess extraordinary power and are inherently superior to ordinary humans, regard the lower-class populace as expendable.
It’s not simply about using them until they die; nobles completely disregard any objective reality. Whether it’s natural disasters or wars, taxes are still collected. During a bountiful year? Even better, they double down in every sense on being inhuman.
A significant portion of the human nobility sees the lower-class as wild creatures, like Kobolds or Goblins. Even if most of them die, as long as some survive, they multiply rapidly and spread everywhere, requiring no consideration.
Under such a mindset, it’s a miracle if the commoners can live well. The occurrence of vagrants and rebellions is common, and occasionally, there are righteous individuals who punish the noble class, yet such instances are minimal compared to the former.
Noah distributed lands among a hundred dragons. Understanding the nature of the Dragon Clan, Noah never expected them to perform exceedingly well nor considered that they might invest their assets into maintaining and developing their territories.
As long as they matched the Augustus family’s standards in taxation, not excessively exploiting the plebeians, Noah would consider it quite good.
In this regard, Noah had great confidence; no matter how greedy or possessive the Metallic Dragon Race might be, their moral baseline certainly exceeds the average upper limit of human nobles. His kind are not the short-sighted Short-lived Species, fixated on one or two years of gains.
"But they are juvenile dragons. What merits do they have? Should they receive titles and lands just because of their Dragon Clan status? That’s against the rules!"
Tidel offered no comment on the view that the Metallic Dragon Race surpasses human nobility. He knew far more about this than Noah did.