Chapter 208
Chapter 208
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: Shubanel Revolution
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Revolutionary gunfire poured down on the Collegoton local army soldiers emerging from the flames.
The local forces couldn't mount a proper response.
Most of the soldiers were cut down on the spot, some fled back into the roaring inferno of the streets, and others discarded their weapons and surrendered.
The battle between the Collegoton local army and the revolutionaries in Shubanel ended in victory for the revolutionaries.
This wasn't just a fight where a smaller force triumphed over a larger one.
Defeating the military forces that upheld the class system in the old city center created by the Yumi class held profound symbolic meaning for the people.
Sarcho said to Dain,
"Did you plan all of this?"
"Of course,"
Dain replied.
"Wooden residential areas would have been ideal—something more like a slum. The alleys there are even more labyrinthine. But to ensure the operation's success, we had to clear the area. The slums are full of people who can barely fend for themselves... So if we're burning something anyway, why not the affluent district instead?"
Sarcho had no choice but to agree.
Once word spread that the revolutionaries had won and fully seized the city, the attitudes of the captured mayor and nobles shifted dramatically.
Though the Danri United Kingdom was at war, in places like Collegoton where the past had been thoroughly erased, the local armies weren't particularly strong.
These forces were mainly organized to suppress small-scale tribal insurgencies, so there were no plans for them to collaborate in forming front lines or reinforcing other regions.
The mayor could predict that it would take a long time for reinforcements to arrive after the first Collegoton local unit was wiped out and the messenger pigeon nests were secured.
The revolutionary command, centered around Dain, coerced the mayor into agreeing not only to their original reform proposals but also to additional declarations.
Noting that the mayor ruled Shubanel on behalf of the United Kingdom's sovereign, the command forced him to endorse these declarations in the name of the kingdom's head of state.
The mayor trembled at the contents, but the command showed no leniency.
In the end, when they threatened to take the mayor's family hostage, it was Sarcho who persuaded him.
Sarcho said,
"Signing this won't get you killed by His Majesty."
The mayor, of the Nol race, replied with his round ears drooping limply.
"I-I know that. He surely realizes it's coercion. Regardless, I'll face punishment—I'm not afraid. Yes, I can even brace for death."
"Then what are you afraid of?"
The mayor said,
"What comes after death."
What the mayor feared was the Wrathful One.
The Danri United Kingdom had been founded by none other than the Wrathful One.
And its current state was also according to the Wrathful One's will.
Thus, this class-based society must also align with the Wrathful One's intentions.
The Wrathful One's afterlife was a harsh realm.
It was said that sinners had to labor endlessly to atone for their crimes in life.
Those who defied a god's will naturally faced the severest punishments.
Sarcho said,
"Then I'd receive the greatest punishment of all."
"Aren't you afraid of the Wrathful One?"
"I am."
Sarcho said,
"But if this truly defies the god's will, the Wrathful One's blade will cleave my skull before I even reach the afterlife."
Sarcho thumped his chest, covered by his priestly robes.
"Don't you see? This is the god's will. The Wrathful One always commanded us to struggle. And this is a struggle."
It was sham theology, embarrassing even for a priest like Sarcho.
But it was enough to sway the mayor.
The mayor signed the declaration, which began as follows:
『One, all people—whether they have tails or not—hold equal status, an inalienable natural right that no other may deprive. Equal status means the following...』
This document, known as the Shubanel Contract or Shubanel Declaration, crafted by the mayor and the revolutionary command, spread across Collegoton alongside news of the Shubanel revolution.
The events that followed were no less tense than the revolutionary battles in Shubanel.
While the Collegoton local forces advancing on Shubanel had been only a company-sized unit, the entire local army was regiment-strength.
Though dispersed across Collegoton's key strongholds, the ominous stirrings in Shubanel were already known, and the declaration prompted the local commander to summon all forces.
But this time, the revolutionaries didn't prepare for battle.
It was because of that very Shubanel Declaration.
The revolution's success in Shubanel and the consensus it revealed ignited explosive sympathy across the entire Collegoton region.
Volunteers for uprisings and enlistment flooded in from the outskirts.
The military, accustomed only to quelling minor rebels, couldn't wage war on Shubanel. While they waited to gauge the situation, the revolutionaries' numbers soon surpassed the local forces.
Once the revolutionaries armed themselves with weapons produced in Shubanel's arsenals, the Collegoton local army alone couldn't mount an operation.
The commander considered coordinating with other regional forces, but the revolutionary command struck swiftly.
Citing the Shubanel Declaration, they claimed to have formed a revolutionary government transferred from the mayor and persuaded—or rather, coerced—the local army to join the revolution.
Unable to immediately receive aid from other locals, the Collegoton forces surrendered to the revolutionaries.
The local army was disbanded and reorganized under the revolutionaries.
Now, the revolutionaries matched or exceeded any single local force in size, and the Shubanel Declaration spread beyond Collegoton across the United Kingdom.
The revolutionary command began proxy governance over Shubanel and Collegoton.
They enacted a revised constitution, formed a provisional revolutionary assembly, and personally punished those who had evaded justice simply because they were nobles.
For some, it was a terrifying era; for others, a liberation from oppression.
Vigilante groups voluntarily maintained order to keep city functions running, patrolling the nights. Workers not directly joining the revolutionaries began laboring in improved conditions.
Each factory established workers' unions to represent their voices. Wages rose, breaks lengthened, back pay was settled, and dismissed workers regained jobs. The unions pledged ongoing improvements.
Hegemonia's castle.
"...Thus, the Shubanel revolution in Collegoton is generating the greatest repercussions."
The briefing concluded on the Shubanel revolution, following those in Lubeil to the east and Dilrap to the south.
The Lubeil revolution had originated in the infamous labor camps.
It gained massive support upon revealing that the rumored backer—a god—was none other than the empire's Demon God, Yacheon.
The United Kingdom's label of "Demon God" rang hollow; to the oppressed, he was their sole savior.
Of course, Hegemonia and Alma knew the details better than anyone.
The Dilrap revolution differed in nature.
Led by slaves traded by slavers, it was said to receive support from the imperial intelligence bureau. Rumors even spoke of imperial agents embedded as slaves.
Their rhetoric strongly emphasized egalitarianism.
The Shubanel revolution involved neither the Demon God nor the empire.
It arose from workers demanding better conditions, with harsh crackdowns fanning the flames.
As the fifth apostle, Alma Alloi finished speaking, Hegemonia nodded while viewing the screen before her.
It wasn't particularly insightful.
Alma possessed some of the god's power granted by Hegemonia—system window manipulation rights—and could relay urgent matters that way.
But Hegemonia was already handling her duties and sought strategies from her apostles to overcome the crisis.
Alma was the only one not urgently needed on the front lines.
Hegemonia said,
"What should we do, Alma?"
After pondering, Alma replied,
"We can't leave Collegoton as is. If the Wrathful One can't intervene directly, we must unite the kingdom's local armies."
"But the eastern and southern locals are tied up with other revolutionary units. Even scraping together the northwestern ones, can we defeat the Collegoton revolution?"
"If I command, we will surely..."
Hegemonia cut her off.
"Unless they've been tainted by the Demon God's power, we can't intervene."
"They have been tainted by the Demon God's power. They've merely discarded the Wrathful One's name..."
"Wrong, Alma."
"Pardon?"
With a hint of frustration, Hegemonia said,
"They would have done this even without a god. So the Demon God's presence or absence is irrelevant. If they learn even a sliver of my power is involved, they'll abandon me and flock to that Demon God. That's exactly what he wants."
Alma couldn't fully accept it, but with her god's word, she had no choice.
Alma said,
"Still, this revolutionary fervor won't harm only our United Kingdom."
"What do you mean?"
"I've heard news from our kingdom is spreading to other continents. If this revolution truly isn't the Demon God's doing, it will surely strike the Ronante-Oroban alliance and even the Black Scale Empire."
As Hegemonia looked up at Alma, she pressed on, thinking she'd finally piqued her interest.
"The empire claims to practice so-called egalitarianism, but in truth, it's not much different from our kingdom. Lizardman nobles are still numerous, proportionally reduced though they may be..."
"Enough on what I already know. Get to the point."
"Yes. If we cultivate revolutionary forces among them using the Fangs active in the empire lately, we can surely deal a blow to the empire."
Hegemonia interrupted.
"Delays in intelligence are inevitable with limited power. But failing to predict even this is your misjudgment."
"Pardon?"
"A newspaper just published in the empire's Orzan."
Hegemonia lightly swiped the air, manifesting a newspaper, then tossed it to Alma.
Alma caught it.
『His Imperial Majesty Proclaims a Parliamentary System.』
『Is the Wave of Egalitarianism Crashing Over the Empire Too?』