Literalists = tedious
From Merriam-Webster:
Decimate-
1 : to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
2 : to exact a tax of 10 percent from <poor as a decimated Cavalier — John Dryden>
3 a : to reduce drastically especially in number <cholera decimated the population> b : to cause great destruction or harm to <firebombs decimated the city> <an industry decimated by recession>
Based on context clues, I'm thinking they might have been using the 3rd definition. But maybe they actually just levied a 10% tax on Waledac. As I'm required to read everything literally, it's very hard to tell.