Chapter 160- Tipping the scales through strategy

"M... monsters... monsters..."

Oraguth eventually left the room after trying over and over to calm down the leader of the resistance. For one reason or another, he simply wouldn't stop shuddering with fear.

Oraguth understood well the terror that his master's invoked, but this man was absolutely useless. How was he supposed to do anything with the leader in this state?

Perhaps time would heal him. Oraguth decided to head out of the chambers of the leader to see if he could make contact with any of the other members of this resistance.

On exiting, he was met with a long twisting tunnel that eventually opened up into a matrix of pathways, which then became an underground city. There were people all around walking about from place to place, however as soon as they saw Oraguth they froze.

"Is that... is that a goblin?"

"What? What is a goblin doing down here!?"

Some people were confused, however one man who was present when the antiheroes showed up in the city started shouting to calm everyone down.

"Wait!! That is the subordinate of those people.... don't lay a finger on him!! He is probably reporting everything that happens down here to his masters."

"Oh my goodness... we have to live the rest of our lives being watched all the time by those people...."

"Will we even be able to live regular lives anymore? If our every action is under strict surveillance by them, then even the slightest mishap..."

The fact that these people, who were known as criminals in their own country due to their affiliation with the resistance, were concerned about their actions being monitored, showed just how great a threat the antiheroes posed to them.

Oraguth walked over to the people.

"Indeed, everyone. Please do be careful. As my masters have noted, any mishaps are not to be forgiven. Any incompetent members will be assigned a different... more useful task to perform for their sake."

The people around Oraguth gulped as they heard these words.

Whatever this 'new task' was, they didn't want anything to do with it.

"Now then, it seems your leader is a bit... tired right now, so I was unable to get ahold of him, however I think it's about time we decide on the direction of the resistance from here on out... that is, our goals, and who should be doing what. Please spread the word and have everyone meet me here in a few minutes.", Oraguth ordered while grabbing a set of barrels and setting them up like a podium.

Oraguth set up what looked like a honeycomb of 7 barrels, and placed a single crate on top of the center in order to sit on, before climbing up and resting above the crowd- a few people of which had run off to gather everyone.

One by one, more and more people flocked until there were about 45 people gathered- including a group of four who had equipment and outfits which didn't look anything like the rest. Most of the people wore hoods and covered themselves, but the outfits these people wore were completely different from everyone else around.

'Those must be the mercenaries... yes, I remember them from the display that his excellency showed us. Interesting. I wonder how I will be able to mold them... just how would their excellencies expect me to deal with the delegation of labor?'

"Everyone, as you may have heard... or as you may have not... I have been assigned personally by their excellencies, the rulers of the Dictatorship, as the overseer of this resistance operation. I understand that you all may have your doubts, however I can assure you of one thing."

Oraguth stood up from his seat and pointed a finger into the crowd.

"Every single one of you are no longer members of a small resistance force. This is now an operation which will be spearheaded by myself, and backed with the support of the greatest rulers to ever exist!! The second their excellencies stepped in, it was already determined that this operation would succeed, and that your goals would be accomplished! You there! Yes, the old man without the hands! I recall that you are one of the higher ups in this resistance, no?"

'How did he know about Wexus?'

'Did those monsters inform him?'

Wexus stood forward on being called out.

"Y-yes... I am indeed an aide to Troy. I owe him my very life, and yet have dedicated it now to this resistance and our goals."

"I already know that you all wish to remove this corrupt senator from office by bringing his crimes to light, and strip him of his power, but is that it? What will you do when you have succeeded? Will you simply sit back and do nothing else? Will you turn yourselves in as criminals? Their excellencies feel that it would be a waste for such a thing to happen."

"What are you suggesting?", Wexus asked nervously.

"When the senator has been released of his position, if the Emperor is as kind as you say he is, then it should be possible to obtain his pardon as soon as he understands the position of the resistance, and their intentions. If that can be done, then we can form a new faction to fill in the gap of power left by Brutus."

Wexus seemed troubled.

"But... we couldn't do that! If we were to simply take over his power for ourselves, then we would not be any worse than him!"

"Are you telling me that you intend to strip him of his power, but are not willing to take on the responsibilities left behind?"

"That is..."

"I've heard enough. If you all are not willing to take on the responsibility of your actions, then there is no point in even assisting you all. However, your existence and your knowledge of their excellencies is too great to simply leave. Should I consult them now, and ask them how to eliminate you all? Or will you take on the responsibility of your actions?"

Wexus grit his teeth, but he felt a great amount of malice coming from this goblin.

'What is this... this goblin... he looks so skinny and weakened, but I felt it just now... it wasn't anything as horrible as the fears I experienced while under their spell, but it was there... I am certain... he holds a great amount of power...is everyone who is associated with those monsters an anomaly?'

"We... we will take responsibility and form a faction. I will discuss this matter with Troy."

"Very good. Now, as far as you four go....", Oraguth said while motioning over to the four mercenaries.

Lance, Charlotte, Melody, and Pierre all stood up.

"Is... is there something you want from us?", Charlotte asked sheepishly.

She was still somewhat worried. She felt betrayed after seeing the punishers use their powers for something so horrific, but even moreso after knowing that they were monsters.

And now, here she was speaking to one of their subordinates, another monster.

"You all seem to have a different background and skillset than most of the others here... I was simply thinking it would be a waste for you all to assist in the actions of the resistance directly, as there is another alternative for you all to provide your assistance. And I am sure you all know what it is."

Melody looked at Oraguth with a straight face.

"To go to the war as mercenaries during this great opportunity, make as much money as possible, and use the funds to support the new faction. Right?"

"Exactly. His excellency pointed out that there was one among you who was competent. I am glad we see things on the same page."

Melody didn't say anything in reply. Her teammates merely darted their eyes back and forth uncomfortably. Lance had an annoyed face as if it irked him that one of his comrades was being compared to those monsters.

"Very well. We will return to our original plan then, and participate in the war. Following that, we will return here to continue assisting the resistance. Is that alright with you, Wexus?", Melody asked.

"Do as you wish.", Wexus stated. "It's not like I have any say either way, right?"

Melody didn't answer.

"As far as the next operations of the resistance... I will need to be provided with more information in order to make any decisions. Please gather all strategic maps and documents regarding the current state of the resistance and the Empire as a whole, and I will be waiting in the cafeteria to go over a plan with you all."

Oraguth stepped down from the barrels.

"And one more thing... never forget this. You all are under the control of their excellencies now. To those who come into their fold, many rewards await... however, betray them, and you will never see the light of day again."

Oraguth made his way through the crowd, as they opened up a path for him. Some were threatened, others were angered, but all held back their emotions at that time.

'How dare they treat us like this... like slaves... we are a resistance, fighting for justice! We didn't come here to follow you and 'Their ExEleNciEs'.'

'I came here because of Lieutenant Troy! Not to play politics and form some faction!'

'I could probably beat this scrawny goblin myself... but doing so would only anger those beings... could they really be those beings of legend? If so... then isn't this a huge issue?Aren't we technically collaborators with enemies of humanity?'

'This is bad... this is very bad... well, we just need to follow what this goblin says and maybe we will live... maybe... you can never trust a monster though...'

'If he wasn't backed by those damn anomalies I would slice him to bits right now...'

'All we can do is listen... but are these people any different from Brutus? They use their own positions to do whatever they please and use others as they wish... no, perhaps they are even worse... they are monsters, after all...'

'I won't forget the torment that they put us all through... these monsters are definitely worse than Brutus... but I'm scared... I don't want to die.... I don't want to go through that torment again...'

After doing this, Oraguth then went over the current finances and supplies of the resistance with the heads of the resistance, after contacting the antiheroes multiple times in order to gain advice, as he was not too familiar with things like this.

Oraguth managed to plan out not only more raids on the senator's cargo after asking Trevor to analyze the data, but was even able to consider expansion to a location other than the cave system- which would allow for recruiting elsewhere.

Recruiting was something that would be difficult for Oraguth, however with the suggestion of Samantha, he decided to start in the areas which were most effected by the corruption of Senator Brutus.

Surely, the people who were suffering due to Brutus would sympathize with this resistance movement.

He would not be able to recruit people himself, as he was a monster, however he could send these people of the resistance to perform these tasks.

Oraguth was concerned about the people's lack of loyalty to the antiheroes, however the terror which they had inspired into the hearts of these people was well enough to keep them loyal for now. This much was clear at the ragged looks and pulled out hair of all the people he had seen. Most of them covered their faces with their hoods, however whenever he saw someone's face, he knew that they had gone through hell.

However, that terror will fade over time. It was Oraguth's job to keep it instilled.

After forming a number of plans at the advice of his masters, Oraguth retired to an empty room which he had been offered. The four mercenaries had already left to join the war once again.

While this task would certainly be a long term endeavor, Oraguth would never forget the words of his master, Gary.

"If given an infinite amount of time, every possible combination of events will eventually occur. However, we do not have that much time. Therefore, we must influence the scales to maximize the chance that it will occur within the time we have."

----

Kyle had returned to the capital of the Ruthobold Kingdom on horseback, and his demeanor was completely different than before.

Previously, he had stayed quiet and played from the sidelines while sticking by the side of Oscar, who took the entire spotlight, however now was different.

Oscar was gone.

He was the only one left- the hero. The hope of the country.

It was his sole role to fight for the sake of justice, to defeat and drag down evil within the kingdom, and to assist those who were weak or persecuted. Kyle was not about to become some passive hero who stood by and did nothing as he saw injustice all around him.

He was prepared to become an activist- and not just any activist hero who does what he can when he can, oh no. Kyle was going to become much more than that for this country. He would become a pillar who's very existence deterred evil.

Kyle rode through the village waving to many of the commoners, who he could not exactly relate to, yet he could at least see them as fellow humans... as those who lined his mothers pockets on a cold night.

While they still would try to hide any interaction or visits to his mothers from their families and friends, Kyle could at least somewhat see eye to eye with them. It was his goal to change this perception, not to destroy anyone who had it. He wanted to increase the status of his mothers- he wanted to create a world where one could proudly say that they were accepted to be a customer of theirs, rather than denying that they had ever dared to show their face in such a dirty corner of the city.

'These people are likely heavily influenced by the top of the command chain, and so it would be unjust of me to judge their views so quickly. I must begin at the root of the problem... and who else lies at the center of the kingdom, but the king himself? If the king is to agree with my views, then I certainly will be able to change the hearts of the people.'

Kyle decided to head to the royal palace in order to have a public discussion with the king, in the presence of the nobles.

'Ah, I suppose there is also the matter of the Emperor, however that is not an issue in the least. I merely did what I, the hero, deemed to be just... and rid this world of a man who held despicable views and would only lead his people to ruin with those views. On the contrary to being accused of something wrong, the people of the Empire should be thanking me for ridding them of such a dictator.'

Kyle continued his way through the city, waving to the people.

'Ah, I suppose I've learned a thing or two since I last passed through here...'

On seeing a group of children who had gotten a ball stuck in a roof gutter, Kyle smiled.

'Ah, how nice it was when I was innocent like them...'

Kyle got off his horse and approached the children, who were all gathered and staring at the ball sadly, as if they had just lost their ability to have any form of fun.

"Don't worry, children. I will get that for you."

"Mister, why is there blood all over you?"

"It's even on your hands... creepy..."

"Did you just kill someone mister?"

"Ah, please don't worry. I just had to take care of a criminal."

"Scary..."

"I wanna go home..."

One of the kids ran off, with a scared look in his eyes, and one backed away slowly, however most of the kids didn't seem to be too concerned about the situation of the man in front of them. It was as if they were desensitized to such a scene, or perhaps they didn't realize.

"Mister, do you have a ladder?", one of the girls asked, energetically. She seemed excited when hearing that someone would help them.

"No, I don't."

"Then how are you going to get the ball, sir?", one of the boys asked.

"Just watch.", Kyle said, as he squatted down, preparing to jump.

Kyle thrust his legs and his entire body flew upward, and while in midair he snatched the ball from the gutter.

'Gotcha!'

However, when Kyle quickly grabbed the ball, it scraped against the metal of the gutter, and a slit was formed in the ball.

Kyle landed, bracing his feet from the impact, however when he looked in his hand, the ball was completely flat.

"Mister! You popped our ball!"

"Boo!!! I thought you were going to help us!!!"

"Do something about this, Sir! You were the one who popped it! Take responsibility for your actions!"

Kyle frowned.

'Ah, it looks like these kids are nothing more than spoiled brats who don't appreciate when someone is trying to help them... after all, parents these days have no idea what they're doing. If only they were raised in a brothel, perhaps they would have some manners. I was just trying to assist them, yet all they care about is the results- not the intentions.'

Kyle then picked a pouch of money from his pocket, with an annoyed look on his face.

"Alright, alright. I understand. It was my fault that the ball was popped. Go ahead and take this, and buy yourselves a new one. It should be plenty to purchase a new ball, and there should even be a little extra in their. I am sorry for destroying this one."

'They are kids after all, and ones raised by bad parents at that. I shouldn't hold them at fault for their crooked thinking.'

Kyle left the children and remounted his horse, somewhat unsatisfied in the result, but all the more determined.

If being raised as a normal citizen created children like this who were spoiled rotten, and being raised by the nobility created arrogant pricks who only ever considered political repercussions when determining the worth of a person- such as Layla and Eric, then his work here in the Kingdom was cut out for him.

There was so much to do, and so many people to change.

'If the people at the root of this corruption are unwilling to compromise, then I will have to take matters into my own hands, and change this landscape by myself.'

With that, Kyle once more set off for the royal palace.

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