A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 451 The Meaning of Terror

The smell of blood made Caroline feel dizzy, but what really upset her wasn't just the smell, but more the presence of onlookers.

The person to be executed was brought onto the stage, and the onlookers began to cheer and hurl insults. When the neck of the person to be executed was stuck in the groove, the bloodthirsty excitement of the crowd reached its peak. The huge and noisy shouts only gradually subsided when the head rolled to someone's feet and was raised high and paraded through the streets.

This calm might simply be because the public has lost interest in the "performance" that has ended, and everyone has dispersed.

What made Caroline uncomfortable was that these people reminded her of her final days in the capital; that fervor made her uneasy.

A few people remained standing in the square, including Caroline, whose face was ashen, and the other mages. Rorschach remained calm, his gaze fixed on the bloodstained blade, seemingly admiring a watchmaker's crossover design, which was also his final piece.

"Let's go. If we stay too long, the guards will come and check us. Then I'll have to go through the trouble of convincing them that you two are not friendly people who would harm the Republic." Snow urged the group to leave.

Caroline also completely lost interest in revisiting the place, and the four of them boarded a carriage and left the square. At this time, the Alchemy Department's carriages were much simpler and more understated, with all the decorations gone. The Star Tower's mark was larger, but it was simply painted directly on the carriage with white paint. Only in this way would the restless people in the streets and alleys disperse.

The lynching frenzy did not improve security in Valuwana; on the contrary, with a large number of adult men being transferred away, the remaining thugs could act with even greater impunity. Of course, if they were caught by the guards, there would be no longer any proper trial procedures or prisons waiting for the lawbreakers.

The carriage did not return to the Starlight Torch Tower, but stopped in front of a more secluded mansion.

"Let me take you to another place to eat."

The owners of these detached mansions either fled, were executed, were acquired by some "new rich," or were requisitioned as clubs by groups that frequent the National Assembly.

In the midst of a time of scarcity and heightened tensions, these places offer hidden gems, maintaining Valuana's consistently high standards of appreciation in art, gastronomy, and wine.

The second floor was filled with melodious piano music, and the waiters were impeccably dressed and elegant, serving food that rivaled even the finest dining in the Starlight Tower's sky restaurant. When they entered their private room, Rorschach saw that Cano was already seated.

The archmage first asked Caroline, "I've been asking you for help, and now that I finally have the chance to go for a walk in the city, how does it feel?"

"You can still laugh." Caroline shook her head. "It's terrible. Executions are happening everywhere, and many of the onlookers know that those being executed don't necessarily deserve to die. The whispers are mostly about who offended whom, who belongs to which faction, and then who got knocked down. There's no order, no justice."

The legends in Byrne and other places, and the National Assembly's message to the entire continent, were about great change, progress, and equality. These were beautiful words, but Caroline, living in the midst of it all, saw only horror, and almost everyone was using that horror to attack and fight each other.

"What do you think?" Cano finally turned to Rorschach.

The young man's statement was somewhat surprising: "I think the current situation is inevitable and necessary for the Republic."

He sat down and continued, "Before I left Valuana, the promises made to the people by the great changes did not seem to have been fulfilled. On the contrary, I still see many people on the streets who do not look well-fed and clothed. It is normal for the people to be angry about the status quo, given the infighting in the National Assembly. They need to vent their anger in a straightforward and understandable way and try to change the status quo."

"Then what does 'must' mean?"

"Only in this way can the Republic have enough strength to face the Empire." No matter how turbulent Valuana and other places are, they must find a powerful way to mobilize and do their best to draw on forces, including conscription and allocation of resources.

The biggest obstacle is the original controllers of the population, hoarders and holders of resources and wealth. Some of them are willing to cooperate with the Republic and the National Guard, while many others are not. The simplest and most efficient way is to eliminate them.

The simpler and more brutal the process, the more wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice occur. But clearly, Valois had no room to ease its own tensions, to allow the various factions to gently compromise and then unite against external threats.

Just like a boxer in the ring, he needs to build up his strength and exert all the power of his muscles to face a larger enemy. From a grand narrative perspective, the current "bloodshed" and "horror," even if there are horrific things happening, are nothing more than side effects like ruptured capillaries and muscle spasms.

For the sake of victory, they can be ignored.

The National Salvation Committee had to be sufficiently "terrifying," and terror had to permeate the entire Valois, for only then would the original opponents cooperate and become "reasonable." Sufficient brutality was needed to break the logic of past material circulation and accumulation, and to shatter the old order. "Terror" and the public's fervor were like "a boxer's adrenaline."

"You really do have the ease of an observer; I'm even a little envious," Cano laughed, but he couldn't feel any joy in it.

Caroline felt a sense of déjà vu about Rorschach's attitude; the young man's current state was very similar to that of the time when Chancellor Otto visited and spoke with her.

Suddenly the door opened, and two unexpected people joined the conversation. The one in the lead had a heavy and aggressive demeanor. He continued, "This mage is right. The Republic needs to be 'terrified,' but it should be avoided. At least for now, we should find a way to end it with minimal cost."

The newcomer was Maxim, and behind him stood a vicious, ugly, fat man who was not a bodyguard, but Georges Jacques, the war commissioner of the National Salvation Committee, a mad but loyal hound of Valois.

Maxim did not sit down or enjoy the food. Instead, he addressed the monk in the room, saying, "Order has been initially established in various places, but bloodshed continues. What this gentleman said earlier is correct; mobilization must be completed in this chaotic manner. However, it also means that many people are using the name of justice to amass wealth and engage in corrupt practices. They are feeding on the corpses of the old aristocracy and the fat of the people, handing over a portion to the government while enriching themselves."

"More importantly," Maxim sighed, "the newly rich, who have made their fortunes unjustly, are actively currying favor with the committees and the National Assembly in search of pardons and protection, thus corrupting our ranks. They are taking advantage of the current rampant terror to attack their personal enemies and using their newly acquired special status to cover up their crimes."

If Maxim had been before the great reforms succeeded, he would have fiercely criticized this phenomenon with passionate words. But a year later, he wearily and helplessly stated a fact to the mages.

Although the room temperature inside the mansion was not hot, after Maxim finished speaking, Georges Jacques behind him couldn't help but take out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

The handkerchief he used to wipe his sweat was very exquisite.

(End of this chapter)