Chapter 26 Propaganda
I went to bed pissed and woke up pissed. I used Minor Simulation multiple times in quick succession, and for the first time, there was something else that I gained besides Unarmed Combat and Swordsmanship Skill Shards.
You have chosen Mila, the Farmer.
Your village is overrun by bandits.
You fight the thin and round man.
You win and flee towards the forest.
Inside the forest, you stay hidden until you hear the cries during the whole night.
You decide you can't stay put and pick up your sword.
You kill three bandits before succumbing to your wounds.
You die.
It's over.
Skill Shard Awarded:
Swordsmanship [Common] - Thirteen
Hiding [Common] - Three
For the first time since I had gained the Skill had I lived longer than just the first encounter. And it seemed like the rewards spoke for themselves. After all, Thirteen Skill Shards were the most I had gathered up until now. In addition to that, I gained new kinds of Skill Shards.
I pulled up the Skill Shard Section.
Skill Shards:
Swordsmanship [Common] - 43/100
Unarmed Combat [Common] - 32/100
Hiding [Common] - 3/100
I nodded. The process was slow, but it seemed to be speeding up?
I was not quite sure yet, but then again, a Skill every ten days didn't seem too bad.
Right now, I was splitting Minor Simulation between Mila and Timothy.
I had hoped that with Timothy I would gain some kind of Mana Manipulation Skill or Martial Technique.
After all, I had those Skills at that time. That didn't seem to be the case.
After the change with Mila, I decided I would go all in. Swordsmanship seemed to be much more worth it than Unarmed Combat, considering I was not gathering these Skills for myself but rather my Town.
I bet there would be a ton of Swordsmen.
This lifted my mood quite a bit. I hummed a tune as I took a shower, thinking about all the possibilities this new skill could bring. I could create an army of Swordsmen. How delightful. It was a little slow for my taste. But I knew it would be worthwhile.
As I showered, I froze. I realized I had been an idiot all along.
"What if I keep farming Unarmed Combat and merge it into my existing Skill? How fast would I get to rare?" I mumbled.
This required thought. A lot of thought.
For now, I came to the conclusion: I would continue with Mila, then switch to Timothy once I had my first Swordsmanship Skill. Once I got Unarmed Combat, I would use the Skill on myself and see how well it worked.
I had a good idea on how to use the Swordsmanship Skill.
I nodded, quite proud of my Class. I liked it more and more.
I finished showering. Petted Inky, who purred at me, and put on my fanciest clothes.
Today was the day for some good old propaganda.
***
Even if I went to sleep early, we hadn't been idle. I had informed Samuel of what had happened, and we both came up with a plan that evening.
It was midday, and when I stepped out of the mansion, I could already see the mass of people in front of the walls that encompassed my courtyard. It seemed that word had spread well.
I walked slowly and confidently.
The murmurs died down as gazes turned towards me.
As I reached the entrance of my courtyard, Gerald stepped out in front of me.
Like yesterday, he was wearing his full-plated armor and held his sword in his hands.
However, it was clean. Shiny. If dented a lot.
It bore the marks of battle without looking like he had suffered through it.
"Make way for the Lord of Blackstone Town! Lord Ivor Harvings!" Gerald bellowed and split the crowd of people in two.
I followed behind him, not saying anything. I kept my gaze straight and my face cold.
After a few minutes of walking, we passed through the split crowd and arrived in front of a wooden construction. It was a makeshift gallows we had built overnight. It had a pair of stairs leading up on the side. On there were three kneeling men, surrounded by four others wearing leather armor.
The three men knelt on the wood, for everyone to see. We made sure it was high enough. They had their hands tied behind their backs, and a loosely fitted rope around their necks.
These were Tom and his two Stone Rank helpers, Jim and Sam.
Whenever one of them would look up, one of the four men behind them—my guards—would step forward and force them to look at the ground.
I walked up the stairs of the gallows, with Gerald staying at the bottom. On there, I looked down on the people below me. Their gazes were confused. Some had fear in their eyes. Others, hatred.
I was not sure whether or not it was directed at Tom, or they thought I was becoming just another noble.
"People of my Town!" I gathered the Mana in my throat and shouted.
My words reached even those at the back.
"People of Blackstone Town! I know you are wondering why you have been asked to come here during the middle of your day!
During the middle of your week and the middle of your work!
But fret not, I, Ivor Harvings, swear upon my name that all of this has a worthwhile reason.
So bear with me! Stay and listen to what I have to say and leave if you don't wish to watch. "
"I bet many of you recognize who these men are.
Former bullies of you or your kids. The delinquents stealing from their local bakery or the butcher.
Not paying for alcohol or ending up drunk on the road.
I present to you the now-turned criminal, traitor, and leader of the local gang, Tom and his comrades, Jim and Sam. "
"Yesterday, those animals turned to a new and harsher reality.
They turned into murderers. They attacked us.
They took Julie hostage. They tried to kill Gerald and managed to kill multiple people from my guard.
I bet many of you saw us storm through the town yesterday, angry and out for blood. That was the reason why."
Gasps rang out all around us.
"Things didn't end there, did they?" I looked at my guards behind me.
They shook their heads frantically. "Of course, how could Tom have the courage to do such a thing?
He was nothing but a coward. Now he attacked a noble and his guards?
Of course, he was not in this alone! He was a traitor.
A piece of trash. Human garbage. He collaborated with the Nine Mountain Bandits... "
I let the name linger.
"They promised him this town if he killed me.
They promised him riches and women. Your women.
Your wives and girlfriends. Your sisters and daughters.
He not only followed their orders in killing me and taking over this town, but they are also responsible for the Beast Wave.
Yes! The Beast Wave is real! It's as real as it gets.
Many of you have heard the rumors. It's true.
And Tom, Jim, Sam, and the Nine Mountain Bandits are responsible for it.
After all, taking over a town that has been weakened by a war–if against beasts–is much easier, is it not? "
This time there weren't gasps. There were curses and yells. People insulted Tom and everyone else responsible.
However, I ignored that. I watched as Tom turned to me with surprised eyes. He knew I lied. I knew that he knew. He opened his mouth to speak.
"Hang him!" I yelled.
Tom's surprised look turned into one of horror as he was pushed forward. His body left the gallows, and the rope tightened around his neck as he fell down. He came to a full stop a dozen or so feet off the ground. With a grueling crunch, the bones inside his neck snapped, but he lived.
He was Stone Rank after all.
His face turned red as he was suffocated. His feet thrashed around as he desperately tried to escape. Then a few minutes later, his body turned motionless, white foam bubbling inside his mouth. His eyes were hollow and dead.
I didn't say anything and simply motioned for the other two to be executed as well. My guards followed my words without any complaints. The ropes creaked as they tightened around their necks. They grunted and thrashed around. Then died.
"For the crimes I have mentioned before, I thereby sentence Tom Blackstone, Jim Blackstone, and Sam Blackstone to death," I yelled.
To my surprise, cheers erupted, followed by curses thrown at them and their ancestors.
It looked like writing down my speech worked well.
I let the crowd die down on its own. It took a few minutes before everyone had calmed down, and seeing that I hadn't left yet, they knew I still had something to say. I thought about my next words carefully, even if I had prepared them beforehand.
"The Beast Wave," I said. "It's real, like I had mentioned before. We need to address it."
Pin-drop silence.
Good.
They understood the severity of the situation.
I still let my words linger as I looked at the mass of people below me.
There were a ton. At least more than a thousand.
Most of them looked young. My age. Maybe older.
I remembered Samuel's words when he had first shown us the town.
Most older people were dead. As I looked at these people, I could see the fire inside their eyes. The will to fight and come out on top.
They had survived a famine.
They had witnessed the hanging of the man 'responsible' for the incoming Beast Wave.
"It's coming. And it's coming fast. But fret not.
We have survived a lot already. And we will survive more.
Sebastian will soon be back with more information, but until then, we will prepare.
We will prepare to fight. We will prepare to win.
Winning is our only option in the life-and-death battle we have been thrust into.
I don't plan to lose. Who is with me?" My voice rose with each passing sentence until at the end it was just full-blown shouting.
"We won't die!"
"This town has already lost too much! We can't lose more."
"It's time for us to finally win!"
The people were motivated. That was good. They looked nothing like the starving people from before. They were now hungry. Hungry for more. Hungry for a better future.
"I agree with every one of you!" I yelled, "Soon Samuel and I will be handing out tasks. I hope each and every one of you is prepared to work. Our lives depend on it."
With that, I stepped down the gallows, followed by my guards. We would let the corpses hang there for a day, then remove them. There was no need to be too barbaric. Once again Gerald made the crowd split, revealing a path for us to pass through, and we quickly made our way towards the mansion.
It was a long day.
"How about a drink?" I asked Gerald.
Gerald hesitated.
"Don't worry. Check up on Julie," I said. "Then meet me inside the mansion. Let's drink here. I bet there is some old alcohol still here. I will ask Magret."
"Alright, my Lord," Gerald nodded. "And thank you, my Lord."
"Thank me for what? Not wanting to die?" I scoffed and turned to the rest of the group.
"You guys will join us?" I asked my guards and also the conscripts who had joined us on the way back. They seemed surprised by my offer, but all nodded.
"See you in the evening," I said, and left everyone to their own devices.
***
Everybody joined.
Everyone and their mother joined.
Apparently, drinks meant celebration here in this new world.
Julie and Gerald brought different kinds of cold dishes made out of herbs. It was the first time I saw the couple in something different than work clothes, or bandages. They looked great.
Magret, Emily, and Jen, of course, also joined us. The three of them created all of the food, which was to say not a lot. And pretty much the same thing we had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Now, my guards were the fun ones. Firstly, it turns out that both Ren and Ben had girlfriends. I was proud of them. From what I could tell they were good girls, if a little shy and reserved.
But that was not the fun part.
The fun part was the alcohol they, the guards, and the conscripts bought.
Boy, was it a lot.
There were even different kinds of alcohol.
And hell was it good.
The moment they arrived we all pretty much began drinking and the slow evening with a few drinks I imagined turned into an almost festival-like atmosphere. People danced. People sang. And most importantly people drank.
They drank a shit ton.
The area I usually ate breakfast in turned into a place to party.
I loved it.
"You know," Gerald said, as he slammed his drink on the table. His cheeks flushed red. "Tom—"
I didn't hear him. Singing and dancing overshadowed the man's words. Somebody in the background was playing guitar. And Ben's horrible singing echoed across the room. Fuck was he bad.
"I didn't hear you," I said and leaned in.
"Tom was not a bad kid. He was kind as far as I can remember.
Things changed when his family broke down.
His mother was a whore and his father was a customer that had impregnated her.
They came from the city, and started a new life in this town.
Only a few at that time knew. Me, Samuel, and the other councilors.
" Gerald rambled on. "You see whores don't just become whores, young man.
They have their own circumstances. Their own fates.
Life deals you a bad hand, suddenly there is nothing you can do.
Tom's mother had debts to pay. Not hers, mind you.
Her father's, that piece of shit. A gambling addict that borrowed money from the wrong people.
A tale as old as time. With nothing else to his name he sold his only daughter off. "
I listened in silence. I didn't like hearing the story of the man whom I had just executed.
"She worked there for a few years, until Tom's father came around.
Drunk, dumb, naive, and young, he slept with her and got her pregnant.
Having felt a sense of responsibility, he took her, and they fled.
They fled to our little town and started a new life.
Things went well for the three of them. The man was a hunter, so he had some ability and coin to his name. But then—"
Gerald burped.
"Then the debtors came to collect their debt.
They took Tom's mother. They killed his father when he tried to fight them off and fled.
At that time, we weren't able to do anything.
They weren't just any debtors. They weren't some thugs.
Well, they were, but not the ones who were owed money.
They were very wealthy merchants with connections.
Powerful people. So they took her, and Tom was left on his own. "
"The town didn't help him?" I asked.
"It did. But the little runt didn't accept any help. He fought the kids of the people who took him in. He fought pretty much everyone his age. Then the people older than him. Eventually, those younger. He hated the world and had a good reason to hate it. That's how he came to be who he was now."
"Moral of the story, young man: Don't let life fuck you."
That night I cried.