my armed maid

Chapter 32 31: Blood splattered on the City Lord’s Mansion
"war……"

Luo Zhen's expression became serious when he mentioned this, "I heard that last night the mercenary group went to clear out an entire base of prairie troops outside the city. I think this must be true."

He would go to the tavern for a drink every morning and evening, and naturally he heard the news about the mercenary group's triumphant victory last night.

"It's true." Nolen nodded, "I was at the scene at the time."

"You actually participated in the war?" Luo Zhen was surprised, "I didn't expect you to be involved in this battle."

"I have to correct you on a wrong idea."

Nolen said seriously, "This is not an ordinary battle, but a war between Linfeng City and the grassland people. No one can stay out of this war.

"Once Linfeng City is lost, the grassland people will not care whether they are extraordinary people or ordinary people, soldiers or civilians. They will only start a purge and turn this place into a Lebusi fortress.

"Therefore, if we want to survive, each of us must contribute to the victory. The alchemy weapons I am asking you to make this time will all be used in the battle to defend Linfeng City."

Luo Zhen was speechless. He had already spoken to this point. What reason did he have for not helping him make weapons?

Now that he had made up his mind, he stopped talking nonsense and said instead: "However, now that we are starting to make equipment from scratch, time is somewhat tight.

“My place is a studio for making dolls, and it has two different styles from a forging shop that makes ordinary alchemy weapons.

"But if we start from scratch, it will probably take at least half a month from the completion of the tool layout to the forging of the first finished product.

"In this case, why not just buy a forging shop and renovate it, it will take much faster time.

"When the time comes, you can find some people to help me. While I am making the equipment, I will outsource other parts to other forging shops. In this way, multiple lines can be worked on together, and the equipment can be made as quickly as possible."

Outsourcing individual parts does not reveal the structural secrets of the equipment and can greatly speed up the production process.

"Good idea." Nolen nodded, "I will figure out how to finance it. You just need to make the equipment on the drawing."

"I always feel like I'm on a pirate ship."

Luo Zhen muttered and touched his sparse hair, "I should have known I shouldn't have let you into my studio in the first place. Now that you are stuffed with so much work, aren't you asking for trouble for yourself..."

"Don't worry, uncle."

Nolen smiled and said, "It is said that when one person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. When I become prosperous in the future, I will never forget your care for me!"

"Hey! If you don't know how to comfort people, don't comfort them. You kid, please explain clearly to me, who is stepping on the horse, your chicken or your dog!"

……

He and Luo Zhen spent a day roughly finalizing the affairs of the alchemy team, and Nolen returned to the workshop to sleep.

The matter has been settled, and the rest can be left to Luo Zhen. He is still very confident in the skills of this strange old man.

And what he has to do next is to witness a revolutionary moment that will be recorded in the history of Linfeng.

The next day, the morning sun rose as always.

After breakfast, Nolen and Yuna went to a restaurant opposite the city lord's palace.

Perhaps because they knew that there would be a petition procession today, there were indeed more people than usual gathered near the city lord's palace in the morning.

At this time, in the hall, several mercenaries were talking eagerly:

"Hey, I heard that someone is going to petition the City Lord's Mansion for war today. Do you think the City Lord will agree?"

"Huh, the City Lord's Mansion has always advocated defending the city. What's the use of just relying on a bunch of ordinary people to get together? Do you think they can agree?"

"Why can't you agree? It's one moment and the other. At first, the city lord's palace described the grassland people as so scary, but we won a battle the night before yesterday, which shows that we can beat them!"

"Well, my hometown is in the countryside. If I hadn't been in the city on business that day, I probably wouldn't be able to sit here and chat like I am now. I really hope the City Lord's Mansion can avenge us."

"That's right, those bandits on the grassland killed our people and robbed our land. Now is the time of reckoning. We must make them pay back with blood!"

"..."

Nolen listened to their conversation silently and nodded slightly in his heart.

In order to heighten the atmosphere of this petition for war, the public momentum has been going on for two days.

The most exciting thing among them was the victory in the surprise attack the night before yesterday. The Linfeng people won a complete victory in the first confrontation with the grassland people.

Encouraged by this fact, most people's enthusiasm for the war of resistance was mobilized, and they began to believe that Linfeng City would definitely win the battle against the grassland people.

What they have to do next is to use the will of the masses to force Ivan to go to war.

"Mr. Nolen." The attendant on the side bowed to him, "Mr. Harrison has been waiting for you in the box for a long time."

Nolen nodded and went upstairs with Yuna to Harrison's box.

The view from the private room is very good. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you can clearly see the whole gate of the City Lord's Mansion and the street.

Harrison was sitting on the sofa, holding a red wine glass and overlooking the bustling crowd downstairs. Nolen walked over and sat down next to him and said:
"Your methods of building momentum are really good. Now the whole city is talking about going to war with the prairie people."

The waiter on the side brought him a glass of red wine. Nolen took the red wine glass and stared at the wine as red as blood in the glass.

"Just do your best." Harrison raised his red wine glass and said, "The war parade we planned is foolproof. I believe this grand "performance" will make the Lord of the City change his mind. "

"Performance? Please watch your words."

Nolen said in a deep voice, "This is a serious, even tragic negotiation. As long as we have a better way, we will not resort to this tactic."

"Still struggling with this?" Seeing that he was not going to clink glasses, Harrison shook his head and said, "There is no need to feel guilty. I told you from the beginning, Nolen, waiting in front will be hell.

“From the moment the first battle started, we were already sacrificing others—the five hundred dead soldiers who served as bait troops. The order I originally gave them was not to retreat until they died.

"They were not professional soldiers, but they still faithfully carried out the battle plan, not only because of my orders, but also because they knew clearly that they were willing to sacrifice their lives in the battle with the prairie people.

"So, they will understand us - they will die for the sake of justice, to keep more refugees alive.

"It doesn't matter even if some people don't understand. When all the dust settles, history will give a fair evaluation.

"And now we just have to do what we think is right."

While he was talking, the shouts of the crowd at one end of the street suddenly became louder.

A parade of nearly a hundred people came over in a long line. They held high the Roland Empire's bauhinia flag and a banner calling for war. Their right arms were tied with bright red strips of cloth, and they shouted uniform slogans together:
"Kill the barbarians and avenge blood!"

"Glory to the Roland Empire!"

"Kill the barbarians and avenge blood!"

"Glory to the Roland Empire!"

"..." Wherever he went, the onlookers all shouted this slogan.

Although only a few people responded sporadically at first, once someone started, the rest of the people joined in the warm atmosphere.

They shouted heartily, as if this could break away the gloom that had shrouded Linfeng City recently.

Everyone is actually very uneasy, even the residents in the city.

No one can live with a normal heart when being besieged by prairie people, and they also hope that the City Lord's Mansion can make a difference.

On the street, the parade continued to march towards the gate of the city lord's palace. More and more people joined the parade, expanding it to hundreds of people. The momentum was so spectacular.

After the team arrived at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion, a refugee representative walked out and stood on the steps that had been set up in advance to deliver an impassioned speech:

"Nowadays, there is chaos outside the city and barbarian invasions. Countless compatriots have lost their homes, their loved ones, and their lives!
"But the people inside the city are blinded by the high wall, and they don't know how dangerous the situation outside the city is, and they let their compatriots die like grass! You must know that if the outside of the city is lost, the inside of the city will also be like a turtle in a urn. Now Linfeng City has reached its most critical moment !
"Now, we must take action, we unite! We must convey our will and voice to the city lord, so that everyone in Linfeng City can fight to defend their land and people!"

As soon as this statement came out, the crowd was excited, and everyone waved their arms and shouted:

"fighting!"

"fighting!"

"fighting!"

"Kill the barbarians and avenge blood!"

"Glory to the Roland Empire!"

"..."

More and more people gathered at the gate of the city lord's palace, and the voices became louder and louder. At this moment, on the other side of the street, a city guard brigade arrived belatedly.

The leader of the guard captain rushed over on horseback, raised his sword high, blew a sharp whistle, and shouted: "Everyone, leave here immediately. Violators will be jailed and punished severely!"

The city guards behind them also blew whistles and drew out their sword blades in unison. Their solemn and solemn momentum actually forced the crowd back and suppressed their shouts.

There was hesitation on the faces of the crowd. They wanted to help the marchers, but this did not mean they had to sacrifice their own future for this.

Seeing that their deterrence was effective, the city guards secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they were demonstrating with swords, they were also afraid of bloody clashes with the masses.

The order they had just received from the city lord's palace was to disperse the procession without using violence as much as possible. Even if they had to use violence, there must be no bloodshed.

Ivan is not a tyrant. In fact, in the first few years after he took office, when the Roland Empire was not yet in turmoil, the young city lord managed Linfeng City fairly well.

He is doing everything possible to maintain the stability of Linfeng City. If the requesting team is violently dealt with now, it will undoubtedly cause greater unrest in the city and must be treated with caution.

However, although the onlookers fell silent for a moment because of the intimidation of the city guards, the petitioning team did not retreat.

The refugee representative showed no fear and yelled at the guard captain:
"We are all citizens of Linfeng City. Instead of pointing your sword at the enemies who invaded us, you point it at your own compatriots. This is so chilling!

"We clearly have so many troops and forces in the city, so why do we close the city without fighting? What is the intention of the city lord? Could it be that these troops are not used to destroy the enemy, but to suppress our compatriots!"

As soon as these words came out, the guards all changed their expressions.

In the past, this offensive speech would have been enough to get him executed on the spot, but not now. The bloodshed would only intensify the conflicts in the city.

The captain of the guard was so irritated that his veins were throbbing. He could neither use force nor refute, so he could only shout:

"Your behavior has seriously hindered the order of the city. Come on, please take him away for me!"

Upon hearing the captain's order, several guards immediately rushed over and reached out to grab the refugee representative.

"Who dares to touch me!"

The refugee representative was also fierce. He quickly pulled out his dagger and shouted, "You can suppress our parade, but you can't cover the eyes and mouths of everyone present!

“Even if we are buried here today, we must teach the city lord and the empire that no one in Linfeng is a coward!

"No one can trample on our dignity. In the face of aggression and injustice, although we are small in power, we are still willing to sacrifice our lives to show our determination to defend our homeland!"

As he spoke, he raised his sword horizontally. The shining blade was not pointed at the guard captain, but instead was placed on his neck!

"what are you doing!"

The guard captain was shocked and quickly reached out to stop him, "Wait a minute, we didn't-"

The refugee representative turned a deaf ear. He laughed wildly and shouted with all his strength:

"Kill the barbarians and avenge blood!"

"Glory to the Roland Empire!"

As he spoke, he held the dagger with both hands and wiped it hard on his neck——

"Pfft-"

Bright red blood spurted out from the gap in his neck, and the sprayed blood dyed the armor of the guards around him red, even sprinkling blood stains on the walls of the city lord's mansion.

The refugee representative staggered a few steps and fell down from the steps.

The noise on the street quieted down at this moment. Everyone heard the last sonorous words of the refugee representative and saw him fall to the ground surrounded by city guards.

Everyone stared at the city guard captain with silent eyes. The guard captain subconsciously touched his cheek. When he lowered his head, he saw that his hands were full of blood.

"No, it's not like that..." His voice trembled, "Why are you doing this? What on earth do you want to do!"

"I came here today to ask for a fight with the awareness of death."

In the procession, a refugee said quietly, "After today, Linfeng City will remember this day, and the Roland Empire will also remember it.

"History will remember us, and it will tell the world that Linfeng people have never succumbed to bullying from foreign enemies. Even if we shed the last drop of blood, we will fight them to the end!"

As soon as the words fell, nearly a hundred people in the parade put their swords across their necks.

In this frozen atmosphere of complete silence, above the tavern.

Nolen lowered his eyes, and Harrison raised the corners of his mouth.

There are records in history books: November 77, [-]th year of the Luolan calendar, at nine o'clock in the morning.

Half a month after the grassland people invaded Linfeng, the city lord did nothing, and the crowd was so excited that they invited the fighting team to commit suicide in the city lord's mansion to show their will. More than a hundred people died.

　Thanks to Wei, who are you here with, Hongye Yukari for the reward?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)