I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 461 (Patreon)

Chapter 461: Praise, the Lord of Famine and Plague!

"My suffering compatriots, those greedy nobles and merchants, in their pursuit of selfish desires, have shamelessly taken our only sustenance, allowing famine and plague to spread freely across the kingdom, leaving our children to die in hunger and agony!

And those culprits, comfortably residing in their estates, in front of warm fireplaces, attended by servants, savoring fine wine and delicacies, mock our current dire situation with the vilest of tones!"

"For centuries, those nobles have stood high above us, trampling on our dignity as if we were nothing more than cattle, my brethren, the Kingdom of Hadralata was never meant to be this way... Now is the time to reclaim what is ours!"

In the northern border of the Kingdom of Hadralata, on a giant stone three meters tall, Raydell was passionately delivering a pre-war speech.

Below him was a sea of raggedly dressed poor people, their anger gradually surfacing on every face as Raydell continued his speech.

Just as Raydell said, the wheat they had toiled so hard to grow was forcibly taken away by those noble lords at extremely low prices, then sold for hundreds to thousands times the price. Even if they spent all their wealth, they could not afford a few pieces of black bread, forced to survive on eating grass roots and tree bark.

The ones causing all this were making a fortune, safely indulging in luxury within their estates.

Seeing the rage in the eyes of the people, Raydell went on, vigorously sharing their successes in resisting the tyranny of nobles elsewhere.

For instance, the miners in the southern territories, previously oppressed by nobles, had to spend their days in dark, sunless mines, enduring beatings and exploitation by overseers, and always at risk of mine collapses.

But with the help of wizards, they bravely stood up, killed the mine overseers, defended their rights with blood, and even captured the local baron, publicly judging his evil deeds!

"Good!" "That's how it should be, let those despicable nobles receive their due punishment!" "They deserve to be thrown into hell!"

Listening to Raydell's vivid recounting of how the nobles were hanged, executed, and terrorized before their death, the poor people vented their spleen, loudly cursing. However, many were still hesitant, asking questions.

"Lord Raydell, I heard that wizards have established many workshops in the capital, not only offering several silver coins a month as salary but also providing three meals a day, is that true?"

"Of course, it's true. I assure you, as long as everyone works hard, no one will have to endure hunger again!" Raydell confidently declared, then began explaining the various welfare policies made by the council.

To the poor, these promises sounded like a dreamy paradise, almost too good to be true.

Fortunately, due to the smooth trade, many had heard merchants in taverns boasting about the capital's prosperity, and they corroborated Raydell's words, confirming he wasn't making them up.

Step back to hell, step forward to heaven, seeing the time was ripe, Raydell immediately had hundreds of muskets distributed, and then shouted at the top of his voice.

"Now, everyone, take up the weapons in your hands, and reclaim what belongs to us!"

"Make those bastards pay!" "Send them to hell!"

Thousands of people, shouting slogans, marched toward the nearest Marquis territory.

And this scene was almost replicated in every territory across the kingdom's northwest!

Raydell dispersed ten thousand elite musketeers into hundreds of teams, and within a month, he stirred up the local suffering populace to revolt, aiming to strike together today!

The weapons in the hands of the poor might have been outdated muskets, and their training time was only about a week, but with numbers and fueled by hatred and anger, they were unstoppable, even managing to turn some of the nobles' regular armies...

"These damn rioters!"

Inside Heldel Castle in the kingdom's northern border, Duke Gade hid within the sturdy fortress, watching through the window the poor shouting to hang him, his face filled with fear and anger.

He had barely escaped capture by those wizards using a family heirloom relic, only to run into this damned mob, trapped in his own fortress.

Luckily, the rioters lacked sufficient siege weapons, giving him a chance to breathe.

"Send out a call for help immediately. These damned rioters, I'll have them skinned alive!" Duke Gade commanded through gritted teeth.

The castle had a few messenger crows, the only creatures that could fly out of the fortress. His relic had been used once and wasn't suited for confronting a mob. His only hope was that his minor nobles could come to his rescue.

But this last hope was shattered by a sudden voice within the fortress.

"No need for that. By now, the entire northern border of the kingdom has probably already fallen. The local lords are too preoccupied with their own problems to come to your aid."

Duke Gade turned sharply, a familiar figure emerging from the shadows.

"Gustav?!" Duke Gade recognized the newcomer immediately, his face first showing a flicker of joy, which quickly turned to deep anger. "Is this the infallible plan you spoke of?"

"The wizards have more food than they can consume; they can even conjure bread with magic. Our wheat is now worthless, everything is ruined!"

Duke Gade's face twisted with bitterness. Had it not been for the other's encouragement to start this grain war, they would not have ended up in such a dire situation.

"Do you think the wizards would have spared you if this hadn't happened?" Gustav retorted with a cold laugh. "Look at your castle gates, the revolting peasants. The wizards had long plotted to take your lands! I merely gave you a chance to reclaim what was rightfully yours!"

Duke Gade glared at Gustav, his anger boiling inside, yet he knew well that he couldn't confront this commander of the Divine Punishment Legion. Suppressing his rage, he inquired about Gustav's intentions.

"I'm here to save you," Gustav stated calmly. "With your current forces, you're hardly a match for those rioters."

Duke Gade showed no joy. For someone of Gustav's power, dealing with a mob was effortless, but his choice to sneak into the fortress to meet suggested his intentions were clear.

"Name your conditions," Duke Gade said solemnly.

"There are no conditions this time, only a gift." Gustav pulled out an oddly shaped statue. "It will grant you new power, enough to reclaim your territory."

"A statue of a dark god?!" Duke Gade recoiled, a chill running down his spine; he recognized what it was.

And knew all too well how terrifying it was... This was no gift, but a sacrifice!

Duke Gade immediately drew the family's holy relic, and a strong divine light appeared within the fortress. To his surprise, the relic did not attack Gustav.

Gustav looked mockingly at Duke Gade. The relic had been given by the church a century ago, and yet Duke Gade thought to use it against him, which was utterly preposterous.

"Serve your final purpose!" Gustav advanced, the statue's hand piercing directly through Duke Gade's chest.

No blood flowed; Gustav's hand seemed to pass through an illusory barrier, placing the statue inside the other's heart.

The next moment, a multitude of voices invaded Duke Gade's mind.

"Praise, the Lord of Famine and Plague!" "You bring calamity to the world, punishing all who disrespect the gods, dragging the mortal realm into hell..." "Lord, punish Your enemies with plague..."

The continuous, high-pitched prayers and those dreadful, evil memories incessantly battered Duke Gade's will, his face contorting, his body trembling and collapsing in agony, enduring intense pain both mentally and physically.

Had he not been a blood knight, he might have collapsed under the first wave of mental assault!

This was precisely why Gustav had come, as ordinary humans' bodies lacked the capacity to bear a dark god's power—even if it was just a statue bearing a fragment of that demonic strength.

The servants in the room knelt, trembling, not daring to raise their eyes.

Gustav listened to the other's wails, unmoved. Since the wizards had long planned and incited the rebellion, these nobles had lost their value.

...

News of the peasants' victorious rebellion against noble tyranny quickly spread back to the City of Fire Oil through various channels.

"Excellent, very good. With this, the entire kingdom is now under the council's rule, without exception!" Harof exclaimed happily.

This was their second year stepping out of the wizards' land, and the achievements far exceeded their expectations. Not only had they successfully established a foothold on this continent, but they had also penetrated the empire's borders!

"This is indeed a momentous victory worth celebrating, but now is not the time to relax," Victorio reminded.

Though they had removed the kingdom's largest internal instability in one fell swoop, capturing and imprisoning so many nobles and confiscating their wealth, even with sufficient justification, caused no small amount of panic.

Additionally, the lack of administrative personnel inevitably led to a period of governance chaos in the kingdom.

"Master Lynn, I heard you're devising a new method to select grassroots managers en masse to govern the entire kingdom. Do you have any leads?" Aurora inquired curiously.

Since the council began ruling the kingdom, they had been pondering how to govern this vast territory.

There were two main voices within the council.

One advocated cooperation with the nobility, managing

 through feudal allocation as before, with nobles handling secular affairs and wizards managing the mystical and supernatural.

This path was clearly untenable, as they followed the route of the commoners to dissolve the church's faith, clashing severely with the nobles' interests.

The other was direct governance by wizards, as was done in the wizards' lands.

However, in Lynn's view, this was just another form of wizard feudalism...

Its essence was for a school led by a grand wizard to directly manage a city! This might be slightly better than the empire's hereditary nobility since ascending to this level meant being sufficiently competent. However, it had its drawbacks, as being powerful and intelligent did not necessarily mean being skilled in management.

In fact, many grand wizards hardly focused on managing territories, leaving it to the lower-ranked wizards in their schools, resulting in inconsistent quality.

Not to mention the kingdom had so many cities, and including the empire, even more, relying solely on wizards was simply unmanageable.

Lynn didn't hold back, quickly explaining his planned examination selection system.

The council members were familiar with examinations for selection, as the promotion of official wizards in the wizards' lands was assessed through tests. Lynn had further optimized this system during his time in Iyeta Harbor, so they had some understanding.

"Based on performance for selection, prioritizing the best candidates? Then what exactly should the exams cover?" Victorio pondered.

"Firstly, literature. If a manager can't even read, how can they understand the orders we issue?" Lynn explained one by one.

"Then, mathematics. The application range of computational ability is broad and essential!" "Finally, we'll test on profession-related content, like agricultural managers, who must understand climate, cultivation, and the operation of various alchemical instruments."

This way, managers selected through the exams would only need a little time to adapt to their jobs.

However, the higher-level managers should primarily be wizards, as a commoner couldn't possibly manage powerful wizards. Lynn was clear about this, so the solution was to select wizards skilled in management for these roles.

As for those immensely powerful wizards who were not adept at management, they would be brought into the council, provided with a status and position matching their strength, avoiding dissatisfaction.

Moreover, all managers would have only administrative authority, such as local lords lacking the right to form and command armies, with appointments and replacements made by the council, thoroughly abolishing the hereditary system.

Lynn briefly outlined his ideas, incorporating inspection and whistleblowing systems, almost as if he were presenting a code of laws.

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