Chapter 22 - The Hero's Speech
Chapter 22 – The Hero's Speech
Author's Note: Satoshi will finally make a big speech to the revolutionaries! How will he do?
The commanders had gathered all their men before me, all of them eager to hear what I had to say before we marched upon the king's capital, Messeblick.
I felt slightly nervous speaking to this many people, but my lawyering skills had trained me for this very moment. I took a deep breath and motioned for everybody to quiet down. Then, in an authoritative manner, I spoke to the crowd.
"This noble revolution," I began. "That you have all fought for so long, is nearing its conclusion. King Strauss, which had terrorized us for so long, is almost at the hinges of defeat! This revolution is one of life and death for us all, with us clearly being hung for treason if unsuccessful. You know better than anyone of the death and destruction of this conflict. So many dead! So many wounded! You have all lost a brother, a father, a mother, a sister, to the cruel King which we all loathe so much."
The troops all nodded, visibly fuming at the evil deeds of the king.
"Now, we must keep those who have fallen at the forefront of our memory!" I bellowed. "We cannot falter and be defeated, for that would tarnish their very sacrifices! Let us march upon Messeblick and cut off Strauss' head! As one of my forefathers in my world once said, give me liberty or give me death. I will personally charge with you all, at the very front of the line, for law, liberty and democracy!"
The rowdy troops jumped up and down in celebrating. Then, they got a chant going, all one thousand or so of them.
"Off with his head!" Off with his head!" Off with his head!"
"Now!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Let the offensive begin!"
I reorganized the army, which I renamed the Glorious Army of the Republic, into 5 companies, each consisting of 200 men and 100 porters. Each would be led by a former commander, with the 5th Company, with myself as commander, charging ahead.
The goal would be, using my authority as the bow hero, to gather as many people as I could to join the army, men, women, or demi-humans. Many of my troops were fine with the idea of full desegregation, as long as the demi-humans were against Strauss' rule.
The army, as upbeat and optimistic as it's ever been, began to sing a folk song as we all marched in the direction of Messeblick. This risky and unexpected maneuver, if failed, would lead to the revolution's utter defeat.
Soon, we met a royalist unit at the gates of Messeblick. Seeing myself at the helm of the army, and themselves starving from the lack of supplies, all 250 of them defected over to my side, which I reorganized into the 6th Company.
Before we could reach the city walls, though, King Strauss himself stood at the top of the castle gate. I took the opportunity to make a big speech before he could say anything.
"Brothers and sisters! You have been under tyrannical oppression for too long! I am the bow hero, and I am here to liberate you! Open the gates at once!"
My troops began to chant revolutionary phrases, drowning out Strauss' words. The king failed to keep his troops organized as they all fell into a panic at the sound of my name.
I took this opportunity for the kill shot. Aiming my bow perfectly, I used the chimera bow that I had unlocked from the dead wave boss and spammed 10 shots at the king's direction.
To give him credit, he did dodge 9 of the shots, but the 10th one hit his foot and knocked him off the tower.
I motioned for Indigo to start shouting.
"The king is dead! Surrender now!"
The rest of the army, knowing what to do, also started chanting.
"The king is dead! Open the gates!"
"No, I'm not!" Strauss yelled. "Hold your positions!"
His troops, starving and disoriented, began scattering in all directions. Some of them opened the gate and began fleeing towards us. I quickly motioned for them to move to the side.
"Now, my brothers! Charge and kill the king!"
With a thundering roar, hooves and feet began bolting towards the wide-open castle gates, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. I provided support from the rear with the rest of the archers, causing havoc among the defenders.
No fighting was needed, though. All of Strauss' troops surrendered as soon as we entered the city, and all the civilians were chanting my name.
The king, heavily injured from his fall, was brought before me, with his hands and feet tied in an unceremonious fashion.
"Now," I announced. "In our new free and fair society, we must hold everybody to trial. As the general of this army, I officially pardon all those who had worked with King Strauss."
The surrendered men cheered at my words.
"Secondly, King Strauss will be put on trial for war crimes. A jury of twelve peers will be assembled to hear the case."
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!" The crowd chanted.
This trial wasn't exactly fair, since everybody hated the king's guts, but I needed to give him a trial in order to be a just leader. I'm pretty sure he'd be guillotined though.
"Strauss, have you any words to defend yourself?"
"I am the king!" He shouted horrified. "Unhand me at once or it's off with your heads!"
The man was delirious, not knowing what circumstance he was in.
"King Strauss VIII, as you're all aware, has committed numerous war crimes against us all." I orated. "He has executed countless people without trial, kept all the food in the kingdom in his own castle, and committed genocide against the demi-human population. For all these horrible and vicious acts, I ask that he be put to death."
"Now, the jury shall make their decision."
Within a matter of seconds, all twelve voted for his execution.
With a slash of the sword, the king was no more. The crowd cheered and ran over his dead corpse, stomping and cursing his name for his evil deeds.
Now, it was time to rebuild the kingdom. First of all, though, I had to explain how the new system of government would work.
"Make the bow hero the king!" They all exclaimed.
I proceeded to shush the exited crowd.
"I am humbled to be considered for such a role, but I believe that you all have the unalienable right to rule yourselves. I propose, as I have written here in the code of law, that this country be renamed "Arcium" for the glorious revolution that had brought upon its creation, and for you all to elect your own leaders. I ask to be the provisional president of the republic, and that free and fair elections be held in two months. Until then, I ask for a council of twelve revolutionaries to run the country and enforce its new code of laws and constitution, with a prime minister being head of the council."
"Even more!" I exclaimed. "To rid ourselves of the royal scum that had stained our lands, we shall rename ourselves to Arcium, with our demonym as Arcians!"
The citizens, confused at these radical new ideas, fell silent.
Suddenly, one of them roared in support.
"If the bow hero says it's best, then it's what we'll do! We owe him one, anyways! Long live the republic!"
The rest of the crowd, like sheep, proceeded to chant with him.
"Long live the republic! Long live Arcium?"
I had to hush the crowd again, which took a while.
"I hope that, from this day on, we will emerge a wealthy and just new nation, wiping the sins of the previous king from the face of the earth. Also, I have other good news."
"What is it?" the crowd questioned. "Is it food?"
"Precisely. I have a plan to produce more than enough food for everyone to eat three meals a day, and a plan to make us the wealthiest country in the world."
The crowd were stunned. They hadn't eaten in a long while, and now I was proposing a plan to give us extraordinary wealth.
I pulled out a massive bag of BioPlant seeds that I had gathered from Lerno.
"These seeds will grow tremendously quickly and produce food for the entire kingdom. I will distribute them along the citizenry, but we must be sure that they are properly tended to, or else they will consume you."
The crowd, amazed at what I had showed them, chanted in sheer joy.
"Long live the bow hero! Long live the president!"
The glorious revolution has just begun! Chapter 23 out soon!