SHK CH 554: HER NAME RESOUND (Patreon)

As the news of the victory of Setsuna in the main battlefront started to spread, the world seemed to shake under the tremendous weight of the new.

It had to be said. But this was different from what had happened in the Eternal Battlefield.

Setsuna may not have beaten two sages. Nor did she actually manage to completely conquer the bastion of Wratharis.

But what she did was in a way even more impressive.

A ceasefire.

After beating down the one known to be the fastest sage in a record time, she managed to completely impose her authority on both Wratharis and Lustburg.

This ceasefire wasn’t just something as simple as conquering a bastion.

It was a message. A message that was so loud and clear it sounded like Thunder rumbling in a clear sky.

She was Setsuna.

She was not just some fleeing princess. But someone with the right to the throne.

She was not just some political puppet. But someone who could inspire respect with her power, talents, and charisma.

The effects of this victory were far-reaching as some individuals started to fan the flame from behind and made the news spread even faster. So fast in fact that even fishing villages in Wratharis that were in the complete opposite direction of the battlefield managed to get access to recording and very accurate news.

For the simple citizens, what Setsuna did or the ramifications behind her acts did not matter in the slightest.

All they cared about was her power. After all, for many of them, the Seven Sages were bedtime heroes and legends. Something akin to gods already.

Finally, the form she showed at the end. The Giant Wolf of legend. A form only a King-ranked member of the royal family should be able to use.

Didn’t this mean that Setsuna was stronger than the current King?

Also, she was so beautiful and she seemed to be far less crazy than the current King.

Such an impression started to become common as whereas citizens did not care much about Setsuna in the past, news about her started to become more and more common.

To the point that everyone knew her story.

Barbs signed her history. Soldiers chatted about it between them. Even small books were shared among the populace.

Setsuna Ira. A princess born from their beloved and benevolent king who had brough an era of peace thanks to his strength and his skills in diplomacy.

Sadly, she had to leave her country in tears and blood as she was chased down by none other than her own uncle!

No name was given. But people knew who it was obviously.

This kind of news were shared everywhere and obviously, soldiers and guards under the order of Lupus started cracking down those gatherings.

Capturing those spokes. Imprisoning them and even executing some of them.

The goal was to inspire fear. But all it did was to inspire rage.

More fuel was added to the fire as news about the King stifled even the right of free speech by punishing it with jail and death.

It was important to remember that Wratharis was not a Kingdom like the other. At the very least, at first glance it was a Republic. This gave citizens many rights that were not present in other kingdoms but in a situation like this, those rights became akin to a cord that was slowly tightening around Lupus's neck.

Soon. The names of Tyrant and Usurper became more and more commonplace.

Whereas only truly loyalists of the previous king called him like this, more and more common people who refused to even have their most basic rights taken away from them started complaining.

Protests started to happen everywhere and while said protests were met with violence….Another to remember was that — Everyone had mana in this world.

Even more so people whose entire bodies were made for war and battle.

Silent protests transformed soon into riots as public outrage began to rise and riots gave place to looting and even more destruction.

Even the guards who were supposed to follow the orders started slowly rejecting them. Even though they did not dare to openly defy Lupus by refusing, they would act weaker or close one eye when some prisoners managed to escape.

Finally, open protests became common as people shouted for Lupus to take off the crown and accept Setsuna back as the official Crown Princess.

All of those events took only one week.

In just one week. The capital of Wratharis did not even see the fire of war but it seemed more akin to a powder keg ready to explode than anything else.

Clang~!!!

“Bastard!! Incompetent fool!! Rebellious Bastard! All the lot of you! They should all be hanged!”

The rage of Lupus spread through the imperial castle, causing all the servants to cower in fear as they could be killed at the slightest mistake.

This was always how Lupus behaved. Respect earned through Fear and power.

This had worked well for him during the last 10 years. But what he forgot was that the only reason such tactics worked was that.

One. He was the strongest.

Two. No one could contest his right to the throne.

Now though…

The fear he always inspired the servant slowly transformed into rage as well.

Because they knew.

They knew now that they did not have to bear this fear. They knew now that there was someone.

The old servants who once served the King back then but had been kept out of a sadistic sense of pleasure by Lupus talked about the good old days. Many of them even knew Setsuna and had taken care of her.

This knowledge gave them hope. This helplessness gave them even more hope. Making a deep yearning for the princess to come back to bloom in their hearts.

Meanwhile, deep in the sanctuary of Wratharis,

Kiku looked at her best friend with a bitter smile.

“You… You truly are very dangerous.”

Shuten Doji smiled, “I will take this as a compliment.”

There was nothing easier in this world than manipulating public sentiment.

“But in this case, the one you should thank is Lupus himself. He gave me all the ammunition I needed.”

She laughed and looked in the distance, “Now our job is done. We already softened the terrain for him.”

Shuten's goal was not pure chaos.

Only organized Chaos.

The city might seem ready to implode. But everything was carefully working under her control, keeping things at a relatively boiling point.

Setsuna was the new trend and when she appeared to take the throne, there would be basically no complaints in fact, there would only be cheer as they welcomed their queens.

Shuten had the urge to laugh even more widely and become dead drunk. It was not time yet.

They could not celebrate yet.

Now that all the pieces were placed and the most important of the battlefields were in control.

It was finally time for the counterattack to begin.

Only then would everything they have done until now have a meaning.

If Lustburg could not reach the gate of Wratharis. Then it would have been meaningless and people would have died for nothing.

‘Now then little prince. How will you surprise me?’

Shouten was curious. She felt like Sol was a kindred spirit. Someone worth respecting, even though she had never met him.

A few days later, as Shuten received the new reports, she had to admit…She was truly beyond surprised.

(AN: Received my first negative review on RR for my new story and damn. This one review was enough to bring me down from Rank 1500 to Rank 2000. This is pretty painful. I don't know if you have the time but I would be happy if you could take a look at my story and if you like it, leave a positive review. You don't have to lie. I don't mind a bad review even if you didn't like it. But at least those reviews won't be racists like this guy down here.)