A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 261 "Nothing Happened Today"

"This is a conspiracy by the nobles!"

"Our outstanding representatives have achieved a glorious victory in Parliament, but how can those accustomed oppressors be content with that!"

"I can tell you all definitively that last night's events were a conspiracy between the nobles and cultists! They wanted to disrupt us, to create panic, so that the army could, under the guise of protecting us, swagger into the city and suppress everything!"

The fierce Georges Jacques proclaimed before the crowd: "Unite, citizens! Arm yourselves, citizens! The time has come to defend yourselves and to defend the National Assembly!"

Many people did not understand what had happened, only that there had been riots and strange and terrifying "natural disasters." For ordinary people who could not even manipulate the ether, the true form of the angels was just a blurry cloud of thunder and lightning.

But the cultists had indeed appeared, and they caused harm and destruction. As a result, the frightened citizens quickly accepted the incitement of Georges Jacques, who was spreading his influence far and wide.

Karal has a stutter, but that doesn't stop him from writing brilliant press releases. The lawyer turned journalist and concocted a conspiracy theory linking "cultists" with "noble revenge against the National Assembly."

This piece of "documentary literature" was tacitly and eagerly reprinted by newspapers.

The truth is that most important figures and elites have already learned from various channels (mainly from the magic guilds) that the turmoil between the cult and the angels is over, and they can use it to their advantage without worry.

The church tried to convince the public that cults no longer posed a threat, but the citizens' trust and patience had long been exhausted. No matter what the priests said, they could not sway the property owners' determination to arm themselves, nor could they quell the anger of the poor who were driven to desperation.

What snapped everyone off guard was the news that "Duplessie and Necker have been dismissed." The public couldn't believe it; it was a sign that Charles XVI had completely sided with the aristocracy, and there were no more high-ranking officials of commoner origin in the court who could stop the aristocracy's counterattack against Parliament.

"Are we just going to sit here and wait to die? Patriotic citizens, act now, save our representatives, save Valuwana!" George and other progressives began to call on the people to fight, to fight!

At the city hall, the patrolling guards were surprised to see excited crowds surging from all directions. When George, wearing a green cap badge, rushed to the front and gave them another speech, the guards, who had already supported the National Assembly, immediately switched sides.

"What are you doing? What are you doing! Ah!"

The citizens surged into the city hall, wielding pitchforks, hammers, and crowbars. Led by the guards, they found the armory and emerged armed, holding aloft the heads of the Valuana city administrators.

As the armed forces dispersed back to their respective neighborhoods, the streets of Valuwana began to be spontaneously blocked off. Sandbags were piled up, muskets were set up, and houses became outposts. Everyone nervously awaited the imagined army and cultists.

It must be admitted that the public's reaction was indeed excessive. The nobles were still arguing about the parliament, and none of the cavalry and guards under His Majesty the King were willing to step forward to become generals.

Because all the shrewd and self-protective veterans understand that whoever orders the violent dissolution of parliament will give other political enemies ammunition to attack them, and will be subjected to a frenzied attack by the progressives.

Ultimately, His Majesty the King remained indecisive, wanting both the nobility to join the National Assembly and reopen the Estates-General, and himself to control the parliamentary agenda.

Can't do it? Then go to the hunting grounds to relax! Escaping is shameful, but... it doesn't seem to be of much use.

Did the citizens, who were waiting for the cultists and their bayonets, calm down? No! They began to organize and formed the National Guard in the name of protecting Parliament.

A new call to arms has been issued. Basti Fortress, a prison holding the tyrant's rebels, is also a military fortress with its cannons aimed at Valuana city, ready to fire at any moment!

"See that? It's watching us, its shadow looms over the entire city, ready to blast through our defenses at any moment. National Guard, offense is the best defense, charge!"

The commander of the guard was a marquis, but this was not surprising. First, it was usually only nobles who were qualified to receive military education. Second, the anxiety in the hearts of the citizens prompted them to find a "respectable person of the old era" as the face of the new era.

The Marquis Gilbert led his rabble toward the fortress. "Rabble" is not a derogatory term, but a fact; those armed civilians might have been coachmen, laborers, or small business owners the day before. The members of the Imperial Guard spent ten minutes teaching them how to fire their "fire pokers," and the courage they gained far outweighed their actual marksmanship.

As the troops approached Bastien Fortress, the booming cannons confirmed the suspicions: yes, the nobles were shelling the National Guard! Anger did not allow people to back down, despite the casualties.

However, the guards underestimated the fortress, and their several assaults were futile. Whether due to the fortress's superior defenses or ammunition reserves, the eight cannons on the fortress fired at intervals far longer than during actual wartime.

The turning point came when the National Guard reserves arrived, and the burlap-covered carriage was lifted to reveal brand-new cannons!

People cheered as the instructors from the former artillery academy adjusted their aim and fired.

boom!

Fireballs shot out from the guards on the ground, and the huge explosion and flames engulfed the positions on the top of the fortress.

"Great! Our guards' cannons are better than the tyrant's arquebuses!"

Only the gunners who fired the cannons and the commander on the fortress were dumbfounded—when did the kingdom acquire cannons with such power?

That's practically an explosive fireball!

The fortress commander, realizing the situation, wisely raised the white flag.

Victory! The tyrant's fortress has surrendered! The citizens feel fearless; what can threaten the great Valois now? They charge, they storm the fortress, smash the cells, and release the prisoners.

The shocking news spread from Basti to every neighborhood, to the council, and was transmitted to all parts of the kingdom by telegram.

Elsewhere, propertied people feared cultists and famine-stricken refugees, and towns were similarly armed. Farmers who had taken up arms and joined patrols waited in vain for the legendary cult or refugees, and suddenly realized that they and their companions had been organized and were all armed.

We have swords and spears, we have swords and spears, the lord has grain and land deeds.

The castle gates were broken open, and contracts, IOUs, and ancestral land deeds were all burned to ashes.

In less than ten days, the legal credentials of the privileged class, and even their physical bodies, were destroyed. The changes that Duplesci and Necker attempted to implement were brutally completed within days by the propertied class, who encouraged other commoners to do so.

However, on the day Basti was captured, Charles XVI returned from the hunting grounds, and his already gloomy mood became even more irritable because he returned empty-handed from the hunt.

After washing up, he opened his diary and wrote: "Nothing happened today."

Sleep, sleep. The king was about to enjoy his soft silk bedding when he was interrupted by the newly appointed captain of the guard who rushed in: "Your Majesty!"

"What is it?" Although annoyed, he knew that someone coming to see him in the middle of the night must have something urgent. Charlie's new chief bodyguard was younger and more capable.

"The people stormed Basti during the day."

"What are they doing?" Charlie got into bed anyway. Thinking of the impossible scenario, he chuckled softly, "A rebellion? Why?"

"No, Your Majesty, it's not a rebellion," the new captain of the guard said, his eyes gleaming. "It's an uprising!"

(End of this chapter)