Thunderous cheers sounded.
Oldman stood on the balcony and gazed at the flagpole before him.
The Soros family's flag had fallen and was replaced by a white flag embroidered with a green shamrock.
That was their flag, but Oldman had never thought that one day, their flag would fly here.
Although he knew that this was only a small castle of the Soros family and capturing it didn't prove anything, this was the first step to their victory.
However, this was the first step to their victory. One must know that even before launching the attack yesterday, he didn't expect to capture this castle so quickly.
In fact, from the start, Oldman only wanted to teach the nobles a painful lesson. Even if they couldn't capture the castle, as long as they knew that the nobles had the guts to surround and attack them, it would be enough to teach them an unforgettable lesson.
However, Oldman didn't expect the operation to be smoother than he had imagined. Although both sides were in a deadlock at the start, the castle guards secretly opened the gates and allowed them in. After that, many Reed Castle soldiers joined in the rebellion. In the end, the castle owner, Sir Satas, and his guards failed in their ambush and were killed.
Thereafter, they seized the opportunity and occupied the castle entirely. Oldman personally chopped down the Soros family's flag and replaced it with his own.
Although he was still worried about the future, at that moment, after hearing the cheers from below, Oldman felt that everything he did was worth it.
"You did well, Mr. Oldman."
At this moment, a gentle voice sounded.
Upon hearing this voice, Oldman turned around hurriedly to the young lady beside him and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for your compliment, Miss Tilly."
Oldman was also sincere in thanking Tilly for her words of gratitude.
After all, he knew that if it weren't for her help, they wouldn't have reached this stage today.
In fact, the reason why Oldman's' National Freedom Army 'was able to grow stronger was entirely due to the supplies, equipment, and rations provided by Tilly and the forces behind her.
In fact, this was also the reason why many people were willing to join the rebel army.
In this era, the commoners were naturally in awe of the nobles. If it wasn't for the fact that they couldn't survive, no one would want to provoke the nobles.
In this winter, due to the continuous war and the previous disaster, the civilians' patience had already reached its limit.
The requisition of supplies from Doante became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the civilians. Next, they could only choose to starve to death or join the "National Freedom Army" to resist the nobles. At the same time, they could get some food.
Commoners were also humans, and it was impossible for humans to not have any grievances.
Rather than watch their family starve to death, they might as well fight. Even if they were sent to the gallows for rebelling against their lord, they would at least be able to fill their stomachs.
It was because of this that Oldman's "National Freedom Army" was able to expand in a short period of time. From less than twenty people, it now had close to five hundred people.
Most of them were young men from the surrounding villages, and there were even many private soldiers from the nobles. This was something that the nobles didn't expect, but it was normal after thinking about it.
Most of these private soldiers were locals, and it was impossible for the locals to not have parents, children, relatives, and friends. Even if they could fill their stomachs, it was impossible for them to watch their families starve.
Moreover, Oldman also learned from the surrendered soldiers that in order to supply the supplies in front of them, the lowest-ranking soldiers only had two meals a day, and they were all leftovers. It wasn't enough to fill their stomachs at all.
Even the private soldiers who had surrendered to the nobles were treated like this. It could be imagined that their families weren't much different from Oldman's.
In this case, of course, they wouldn't die for those damn nobles.
Because of this, most of the time when Oldman launched an attack, the other side would only put up a few symbolic resistance before retreating or surrendering. Especially after they heard that as long as they joined the "National Freedom Army", they would have food to eat. Those private soldiers even surrendered in an organized manner.
What Doante didn't know was that Reed Castle had already encountered some troubles before this. At the start, Sir Cytarth even sent some scouts to investigate the situation of the "rioters". In the end, the scouts went to Oldman's side the moment they left the castle.
The others weren't idiots either. After Sir Cytarth said that he wanted to investigate the situation of the "rioters", every single one of them joined the "rebel army" with drool dripping from their mouths.
Even after Sir Cytarth noticed something was wrong and forbade anyone from going out, there were still quite a number of soldiers who "scrambled to be the first" to escape. Oldman also got the information from these soldiers and scouts, which was why he finally decided to work with the enemies from the inside and outside to attack Reed Castle.
"But this is just the beginning."
Another voice sounded. Oldman looked up and saw a man walking over. The man was wearing a green leather armor, his emerald long hair was neatly combed to the back and there was a big bow on his back.
From his slender triangular ears, it could be seen that the man in front of him was a half-elf.
The man smiled and nodded when he noticed Oldman's gaze.
"Attacking Reed Castle isn't enough, Oldman. You should understand this better than me.
If we cheer for this small victory, we won't be far from being hanged on the gallows. "
"You're right, James."
Oldman put away the smile on his face and nodded when he heard the half-elf's words.
The half-elf ranger was named James Engel.
He had joined Oldman's' Freedom Army 'after he had established them. Just like Oldman and the others, he was also a resident of Karkhalan. His mother had also been beaten to death in order to stop those evil lackeys of the nobles during the expropriation this time.
Then, the half-elf ranger shot the murderers who killed his mother and fled to the east under the pursuit of the nobles' private soldiers.
It was at that time that he met Oldman's' National Freedom Army '. The latter helped him eliminate the enemies and recruited the half-elf ranger into their team.
James quickly gained the trust of Oldman and the others. Other than his exquisite skills, his judgment and observation of the situation were incomparable to those country bumpkins.
It was under James' guidance that Oldman and the others were able to gather the hearts of the people and obtain victory.
Until now, Oldman had treated James as an indispensable companion.
"But I think we can relax a little today … After all, everyone is tired. As for the next matter, let's wait until after the celebration."
With that, Oldman smiled, extended his hand, and waved at the crowd below. Then, he turned around and left the balcony.
James and Tilly smiled as they watched him leave. Then, Tilly looked at the half-elf in front of her respectfully and bowed to him.
"Master."
"You did well, Tilly."
Upon hearing Tilly's greeting, James — no, Jenn revealed a proud smile and said.
This James was Jenn's form after he transformed into a half-elf. As his unique talent, Jenn could transform into any member of any race without being discovered.
It was the same after he became a half-elf. Even those who had intimate contact with him might not be able to recognize that the half-elf in front of them was Jenn himself.
In fact, after learning about the 'National Freedom Army' from Tilly, Jenn became interested in this resistance army. Of course, the best way was to join it directly.
However, Jenn didn't enter through Tilly's route. Although he could use his identity as a 'military consultant' and use Tilly as an excuse to let him in, Jenn was clear that the civilians living in the lowest class were naturally wary of outsiders.
But Zayen was very clear that these commoners living in the lowest class were naturally wary of outsiders, especially people like Tilly. Although they provided almost everything for Oldman's rebel army, as a commoner, Oldman naturally could not completely trust Tilly and the others.
After all, both sides were only in a transactional relationship. Therefore, if Oldman were to rely on Tilly entirely, there was a high chance that he would sell himself out.
But on the contrary, it was easier for Oldman to accept civilians who were in the same situation as them. That was why Jenn disguised himself as a half-elf ranger and used spiritual guidance to make an old woman in a remote village think that he was her son who had left for many years. Then, he purposely attracted the nobles' patrol team and put on a show in front of everyone.
Although with Zayen's strength, it was not difficult for him to wipe out these private soldiers, he was still patient and led them along the mountain path. Finally, they "coincidentally" encountered Oldman's "National Freedom Army", and finally put a perfect end to this "James killed the noble soldiers in anger, coincidentally encountered the rebel army at the foot of the mountain."
"Thank you, Master."
Hearing Zayen's compliment, a blissful smile appeared on Tilly's face. She looked around cautiously, then frowned slightly and asked.
"Then, Master, what should we do next?
Do you really intend to support a group of civilians to resist the nobles?
To be honest, I feel that Mr. Oldman doesn't have any great ambitions. "
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Zayen smiled in response to Tilly's question, then answered.
"Everyone doesn't know what they are going to do when they embark on an adventure, but they will eventually find their reason."
Zayen paused for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes.
"If they don't have a reason, then we will create one for them."