Limitless The Strongest Revenant

To me, the souls were not really important, what was more crucial was that we continuously ascended Reapers. The jump from a Wraith to a Phantom was not really difficult. And while creating Specters would take time, Phantoms were quite easy.

For that reason, I wanted to use the tax system not to generate funds but to strengthen my domain. I believe what I said at the time was.

"My battlefront tax will be paid in undead bodies. I have no use for souls. If you want to stay in my domain, you will fight. I will require seven bodies daily."

"Seven bodies? You mean Rank F's?"

"Yes. Anyone who isn't dying will kill seven bodies or answer to me. That is only 140 souls. Very cheap if you ask me."

I declared such a rule because I wanted everyone to keep leveling up. However now that things were becoming more real, I didn't actually think how to implement it. Or rather what do we do with the large amount of corpses that came with my order?

In the North American battlefront, most Wraiths were in non-combat roles and hardly hunted. Which made no sense as Cynthia and the rest of the Production guilds happily processed them for souls. They could find some use for the corpses, yet no one bothered.

There was a limit though, even in Hellsend the Ten Graves who were the ones who processed the loot slowly branched out. When alternatives for souls came, everyone eventually left behind corpse processing and graduated to other industries.

So, the question was, what would we do with the massive number of corpses my order was going to fill?

'Exa, how long has Administration implemented my tax?'

[For the entire duration of our stay here?]

'In days.'

[About two weeks my lord.]

'How many people are paying the tax?'

[There were those that opted to pay in bulk, while others who regularly join the raiding teams. The total number of people who completed payment are 1,500. With an additional 500 of those being in combat roles and opted to pay for their taxes in advance.]

Seven bodies might sound like a little but the fact that it was daily made all the difference. For an average month that meant each Reaper would have to kill 210 Rank F's! For a thousand people that was 210,000! And that was in a month!

'Wouldn't we run out of zombies at this point?'

[That is the intention my lord. Hellsend is rapidly clearing our grounds at an impressive pace. We have purged over 35% of the total area, with over a hundred clearing teams taking turns. Phillip has marveled at such a system as the effects are quite pronounced.

[In the two weeks since the tax has been implemented, 105,000 Rank E's have terminated. With an additional 25,000 kill as advance payment. The results naturally exclude the four days spend on the war were all the hunting teams were on defense.]

Exa then showed me video's the hunting teams submitted as evidence of their kills. As they all had Exa, they digitized the footage they saw and sent it.

The Reapers hunting teams were made up of one combatant and three civilians. Reapers who weren't part of the former 2nd Amendment squads were the civilians. The team of four were using the M1151 EAC Humvee's.

All one hundred of the vehicles Vincent supplied us worked round the clock to clear zones. As their areas of hunting overlapped, the small groups protected each other. Like waves of angry marines, they shot and killed everything that moved.

And after they finished, they would head home, resupply and switch teams. The ones who paid extra where the combatants who willingly escorted taxpayers without rest. And unlike the ones on Earth, the Humvees we had never broke down or ran out of fuel.

Exa showed me the dossiers of each "escort." They were selected after numerous rounds of testing. And they had to gain the approval of at least one Siren. These escorts were then given the M1151 Humvee to be part of their {Auto}.

From then on, they must {Rewind} after every tax hunting mission. Such a system would allow the vehicles to always remain in tip top shape. All while each Reaper steadily got more familiar with their weapon and taking out Rank F's.

[We have an unexpected boom. At the current rate over 75% of our numbers would become Phantoms before the next month begins. The safety of this place, {Call my Name} and examples of brutality ensured participation from every citizen in Hellsend.]

I didn't even bat an eye to Exa's declaration of brutality. With over a thousand people, it was just not possible to not have any bad eggs. I'm guessing the wolves were the ones who resolved the issue. Otherwise, they would get their names.

'Just remembering their nicknames makes me laugh. Guess you don't earn war freak sisters and the ball smasher guild without just cause, Haha.'

As I digested Exa's words my mind wandered to the first night I came to Hellsgate. That time people got impressed because of what I had done. They called me many things but in the end, I still grew sad that I couldn't do anything beyond killing zombies.

There were Reapers who died before and after I arrived. And while I didn't remember each of their names, I could only offer the blood of the undead to them, interestingly enough I also remember Aira's words of encouragement then.

[My Lord, this is only your first night. Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. Should you continue to show such numbers, the change you wish to see will definitely come. It is not just a possibility. It is a mathematical certainty.]

Hellsend had such numbers despite being filled with non combatants. Now that we had Nerio's army if they paid my tax in a similar fashion forget a decade, we could hunt the Rank F's to extinction in a couple of years.

'And that does not include the Enlistment I plan to do with Vincent and the Derycks.'

Once Vincent's group join us, we would have enough people to wage a war. We also would steadily improve our tactics and equipment. Soon, we would be poised not only push deeper into Hellsgate but even have the leeway to help others.

'And that is not even counting the Awakened. If you count them, we might even get strong enough to free Antarctica with it.'

The idea of being able to help Liv's country filled with excitement. Just imagining my forces blasting all the undead in the North to the next century made me giddy. Just what would the bastards who mocked Liv say when that happened?

Being able to regain my wife's honor naturally trumped the entire continent. Rather than save the Northerners, making her wish come true was one of my important tasks. However, that was still a long way away. I tried to keep my eye on the ball to calm down.

'Better not get ahead of myself. I still have to finish Operation Rock in Kismayo before making plans. Once we finish this thing with Amari. Then we will take our full might and go to Antarctica.'

I then felt several people tugging me. The sensations were weird as they all occurred at the same time, but with different bodies. My girls were all trying to shake me awake as I seemed to have lost myself in thought because of the taxes and Antarctica.

Looking in front of me the officers of Hellsend were still kneeling. I didn't know why they thought I would do it now, but to be fair everyone did deserve it. It was obvious how hard everyone was working. Despite suddenly being thrown in this place, they did their best.

Everything from the defense to the enforcement of our taxes showed how devoted they were to keeping my will. I didn't know each person in Hellsend, but for the officers at least, they were people who I personally worked with and recruited.

'Guess it's as good a time as any.'

"Alright, it is obvious that everyone here is expecting rewards from me," I joked.

The people all laughed a bit awkwardly. It kind of reminded me of the times I had to laugh at a guest's joke just to please him. On Earth, people killed themselves just to get by, and now I was no longer in the employee's place but the employers.

"Kidding aside. I want to thank you all. Thank you for all your efforts and thank you for protecting my home and my family. I am sure it was hard, but I naturally will give you all a fitting gift."

And with that, it was time for me to play Santa.