The banquet in the hall continued. Everyone drank heartily until they were drunk.
But even so, they still raised their glasses and sang the names of Oldman and the others loudly. Then, they praised each other for their courage in taking down the castle.
From time to time, bursts of laughter could be heard.
However, the real leader had already hidden up there and was speaking to them about the next step of the plan.
"I think we should decide on a target next."
Sitting on the chair in the study that originally belonged to Sir Cytas, Oldman stared at the map in front of him and said.
Upon hearing his words, the other high-ranking rebels, including Jenn, nodded.
As always, Tilly stood silently at the side. Jenn's order was to observe the actions of the 'National Freedom Army' and communicate with them.
It seemed that Tilly did a good job. She rarely spoke much and did not interfere with the judgment of Oldman and the others. She would only speak up when they needed resources. Jenn had to admit that this priestess was quite talented in this aspect. In fact, he had already hinted to Enoya to nurture Tilly well.
After all, there were not many people under Jenn who could handle internal affairs. Pattilina was not considered, and Sophina was even more out of the question. If it weren't for Elyse, Jenn wouldn't be at ease leaving the Western Wilderness to the Red Dragon Princess.
In this case, if Tilly could grow up, it would naturally be a great help to Jenn.
After listening to Oldman, almost everyone present turned to look at Jenn. This was not surprising because after these rebels, only Jenn had real experience in marching and fighting. According to him, he had once joined a mercenary army in the Land of Ice and fought many battles.
Along the way, Zayen had demonstrated his ability to judge and command the battle situation time and time again, so everyone was quite convinced by him.
If Oldman was the leader of this "National Salvation Freedom Army", then Zayen would be a character similar to a military counselor or a minister of war.
"That's right."
Sensing everyone's gazes, Jenn smiled, let out a gentle cough, and looked at the map again.
"We've conquered Reed Castle, but what's next is the difficult part. What exactly are we going to do here?
Occupy the mountain and rule with Reed Castle as the center?
Everyone, don't think that this is a good idea.
This small castle that we're in is only the most common border fortress defense structure in the entire Skal Federation. "
As he spoke, Zayen stomped on the thick floor beneath his feet.
"There are hundreds of similar castles in the entire Skal Federation and these are only the most basic ones.
It's impossible for us to rely on it to obtain peace, and there's no way to defend this place. As long as the Soros Family's army comes, we can only surrender. "
As long as the Soros Family's army invades, we can only surrender. "
"In fact, everyone is clear of this logic. Look at those people outside. Don't be fooled by how happy they are. In fact, they're just using this method to vent the fear in their hearts. No matter what, they surrounded and occupied a castle that belonged to a noble. They even killed that noble and his corpse is still hanging on the city wall to feed the vultures.
If we can't clearly tell them what they're going to do next, they'll be in a state of panic after they wake up from their drunken stupor. They might even flee and there might even be traitors among them.
We all know that defeating a noble and killing a noble are completely different. "
Hearing Jenn's words, everyone fell into silence.
Indeed, Jenn was right. Although Saetas was only a Knight — to the High Nobles, there wasn't much difference between a Knight and a commoner.
But to people like them who had been living in the countryside since birth, whether it was a Knight, Baron, Earl, Marquis, or Duke, as long as it was a noble, they would definitely be more noble than them.
This was just like how many people couldn't even tell the difference between A-list celebrities, B-list celebrities, and has-beens. Anyway, to them, anyone who appeared on television was definitely a big star.
In the Klein Continent, the commoners' submission to the nobles was deeply rooted. Even Habasa III, who left a cruel name in the history of the Klein Continent, publicly declared that the commoners had the blood of servants flowing in their veins. They were born to be ruled by the nobles and become their servants.
In fact, this was also the view of many nobles. To them, the reason why commoners were born and lived was to become their servants.
In order to wash and cook for them, chop firewood, hunt, and protect them, these were the duties of the commoners.
The commoners themselves thought so too. They believed that they were born to live like this.
Even the adventure stories sung by bards were the same. In those adventure stories, there were many people from humble backgrounds who turned the tables and became the ruler of a country.
But what about it?
Looking at their backgrounds, if they didn't have the blood of an ancient noble family flowing in their veins, then they were the princes of a country. Perhaps they didn't know at the beginning, but at the end of the story, they would know the truth. In short, no matter what, these people who became rulers were of noble birth and had a bloodline and family tradition to be proud of.
And in the stories sung by bards, there were no stories of commoners who turned the tables and became rulers.
It was like this from top to bottom. It could be seen what the relationship between the nobles and commoners was like on this continent.
This was also one of the reasons why Oldman was worried. If he was like the heroes in the bards' stories and had an ancient and noble bloodline or was a descendant of a country's nobles, then perhaps he would be a bit more at ease.
But he was very clear that he had been a commoner for generations. His father, his grandfather, and even before that, they had all been farmers in the village.
In other words, he was just a "commoner".
And as a lowly commoner, he actually dared to offend his superiors and kill a noble with a noble bloodline?
Although the initial victory made Oldman very excited, after this joy faded, he felt anxious. This feeling was like a person who suddenly earned a large sum of money and felt uneasy. In his opinion, such a large sum of money should be qualified to be earned by a rich Chamber of Commerce. For a small business like his, it was enough to earn back his capital. If he earned more, it would feel as if it didn't belong to him.
"So what should we do next?"
Finally, someone asked anxiously.
Upon hearing his question, Zayen nodded and pointed to the map.
"We can't fight alone anymore. We need to find allies.
Before this, the nobles treated us as ordinary thugs and rebels.
But after we took over their fortress, they saw us as enemies.
In the past, the nobles didn't care about our survival. But now, we have become enemies that must be eliminated. "
Zayen's unique, elegant, singing voice echoed in the room. The people who heard his words couldn't help but tremble. Although they had defeated many enemy troops along the way, when they truly felt that they had become enemies that the nobles had to eliminate, a sense of fear and uneasiness welled up in their hearts.
That's right. They were only commoners. How could they become enemies of the nobles?
However, amidst the fear, there was also a sense of pride in their hearts because this meant that the nobles who treated them like animals had finally taken them seriously.
One had to admit that the feeling of offending their superiors felt great.
"Allies?"
As a leader, Oldman was able to lead everyone all the way to this point, so he naturally had his own unique points. He quickly recovered from his previous fear and began to think about the next problem.
"That's right. Allies.
Not the farmers or the militia in the town. We need allies with more influence … For example, craftsmen or merchants … "
"Merchants?"
"That's right. According to the information that we received, this harsh winter and the civil war that followed caused other than the nobles — — No, I should say that many people, including the nobles, have suffered greatly.
The merchants are no exception. I heard that some small merchants' goods were bought at low prices and some people even robbed them in the name of expropriation.
I believe that they have some resentment towards the nobles. If we can come to an agreement with them, I believe that they will be happy to see the nobles suffer. "
"Merchants?
Are they trustworthy? "
Soon, someone asked. To these commoners, they didn't trust the nobles the most, followed by merchants.
After all, all merchants were cunning and all merchants were cunning.
"There's no credibility in the dictionary of merchants, but there's profit. As long as we give them enough profit, they will be bound to us."
Jenn paused for a moment.
"Other than that, we can also seek assistance from the Holy Church."
"The Holy Church?"
Everyone was shocked. Compared to the nobles, the Holy Church was an existence that was even more distant to them.
In fact, the moment they heard Jenn's words, some of them instinctively wanted to object. After all, deep down in their bones, they still thought of themselves as rebels and a bunch of thugs. It would already be a miracle if they weren't destroyed by the Holy Knights, so why would they seek support from the Holy Church?
"How is this possible?"
"How is this not possible?"
Hearing their doubts, Jenn stood up and snorted coldly.
"Have you all forgotten?
How did the Epic of Creation describe us?
The Gods bestowed upon us healthy bodies and souls. They gave us the courage and glory to exist and live in this world.
However, did the Epic of Creation mention that the Gods specially favored anyone?
Were there people who were born to be high and mighty?
No! "
At this point, Zayen suddenly bellowed, startling everyone.
"I've fought in the Frozen Mountain Range for many years. I've seen countless people die with my own eyes. Among them were many nobles and even famous generals. But when they died, what difference was there between them and us?
There was no difference. They all kicked their legs and died just like that!
They didn't disappear in the Holy Light, nor did they turn into anything else.
Their bodies would still rot and be devoured by wolves and vultures. "
As he spoke, Jenn pointed at the swaying shadow outside the window.
"In fact, isn't Sir Satas's body still hanging there?
Could it be that his soul was taken away by an angel?
Or was there a Holy Light to guide his path?
No, not a single one!
They were the same as us after they died. Then why were they different from us when they were alive?! "
Hearing Jenn's words, everyone fell into silence. Meanwhile, Jenn continued.
"I've been thinking about this problem for a long time. But in my opinion, these nobles are no different from us.
If they can do it, we can do it too.
They aren't more noble than us. If the nobles were really that glorious, then how could they be defeated and even killed by us?
The reason why I joined this uprising was to break this point. I wanted to let those high and mighty nobles know that we weren't born to be their slaves!
We are equal and free like them!
They don't have the qualifications to trample on other people's lives and property. But we will fight for justice in our own way!
What we're doing is not evil. You've all seen it. Those hungry people are smiling at us from the bottom of their hearts when they get food. Do you think God will think that what we're doing is evil? "
"James is right."
At this moment, Oldman finally spoke. He clenched his fists and stood up. He looked at everyone and nodded.
"I've been thinking about how far we should go and what we should do.
We do have something to say to the nobles, but what should we say?
Until now, I finally understand. The reason why we're doing this is to let the nobles know our demands and thoughts. We aren't born to be their slaves. Our lives belong to us and not to them.
They don't have the right to do whatever they want to us. If they want to do whatever they want, this will be our answer! "
Having said that, Oldman raised his fist high.
"We aren't their slaves. We are free. God didn't make us their slaves when we were born. He didn't make us become their slaves and die for them!
Even if I die, I want it to be my own will and not someone else's!
I will let the nobles understand this and finally accept it!
This is … our will and power!! "