Chapter Sixteen: Revolution Demands Blood (Part Two)

“Yes, that’s exactly how I see it as well. So the steps of the plan are to let the new social system change everything. Between mature capitalism and the illusory Communeison, we chose capitalism. Our goal is only to transform this world; when this world is reshaped according to our will, we will reemerge as new creators, becoming the new authority. At that point, the authority of the Church will inevitably shatter. Even if our identities are exposed then, it will no longer matter, because the natives will no longer see us as destroyers or public enemies. On the contrary, they will see us as creators, as new gods who have brought them transformation, and that transformation will make them ever better.” It was Scorpio who took up the conversation.

“That’s why this S-class objective has spawned such a colossal plan, using this continent as our chessboard—and possibly other known or unknown lands as well. Two hands are moving the pieces: one is ours, while the other belongs to those who, intentionally or not, seek to preserve the old order. But the chess pieces on the board? They all belong to someone else.” Libra continued.

“Although the scope of parliamentary protection only extends to the parliamentarians themselves and not to others, I want to remind everyone—”

“Revolution requires bloodshed. In our original world, how many revolutions succeeded without blood? The French bourgeois revolution was marked by the storming of the Bastille; the English bourgeois revolution involved civil war; America was born at the cost of rebelling against British colonialists. And our own country, the victory of Communeison, likewise came through war. We want to avoid war, but that doesn’t mean we fear it. So, though Landia does not fall under parliamentary protection, I, like Capricorn, ask every parliamentarian to consider carefully everything we have deployed in Landia. This is not only Capricorn’s achievement, but also one of the ways to achieve our second objective.”

“Capricorn, very well, you and Libra have convinced me. I still hold to my bottom line: I won’t directly participate in resisting the Church’s possible crusade. But apart from that, I’ll continue investing in this short-selling stock—even if war does break out, I’ll support you to the end. Even if you fail in the end, I won’t ask you to compensate me for my losses. Still, I hope you succeed—it’s in our common interest.” Gemini’s voice was languid.

“Same goes for me. But as for Broomflower, you know my influence there isn’t as direct as yours. What I can do is limited, and the Church’s envoy went to Broomflower before coming to Landia, hoping Edward would cooperate with the Church.”

Capricorn hastily replied, “Taurus, if you can help me keep Broomflower neutral, that would be the greatest help.”

“I’ll try. We’ll need to prepare in case war breaks out and Broomflower is drawn in. Perhaps we can use other means—if Broomflower gets into a fight elsewhere first, perhaps there’ll be no opportunity to join the southern conflict.” Virgo smiled.

“Now, let’s directly formalize Proposal 186: activate parliamentary protection, and, while excluding direct participation in battle, offer Capricorn all possible assistance. If war breaks out, we’ll convene an emergency session to vote on whether the Constellation should intervene further. Any objections? If not, or if there are no suggested amendments, we’ll vote. If there’s no opposition, the proposal passes.”

“No objections.”

“I approve.”

“I approve as well. Capricorn, regarding your personal safety, I’ll hire the same bounty hunter from last time to assist you, to make up for your lack of manpower,” Aries added.

“Thank you,” Capricorn responded. “Frankly, I’m stretched thin—having to deal with the Church, monitor various factions, and Grant is causing me trouble too.”

“The leader of the Communeison Revolutionary Group?”

“Yes, he sent people to kidnap a craftsman who invented the flintlock and knows how to cast cannons. I sent men after him, but whether we can get him back remains to be seen.”

“He’s no easy opponent.”

“I’d like to cut him into eight pieces and feed him to the Feishi sea bats!” Capricorn said through gritted teeth.

———

“Damn it, why hasn’t that guy made a move yet?” Gamio was getting furious. Not only was he being chased around like a dog by a gang of earth sprites, but the worst part was that he couldn’t really run—if the sprites couldn’t catch up or saw through their ruse, they’d go back. All he could do was keep the bait always just out of reach, leading them on but never letting them catch it.

Actually, Gamio was doing fairly well—he was a warrior type, skilled in speed and agility. Even though the forest was a hindrance, the sprites found it hard to corner him. The mage Layard, on the other hand, had it much worse. If it weren’t for his ability to manipulate shadows, he’d have collapsed under the strain of such a fierce game long ago.

Meanwhile, the sprites guarding Hegel’s remaining companions were becoming anxious too. They’d chased Gamio and his team through the nearby woods but couldn’t catch them, and many of the sprite bandits were eager to join the hunt. Fortunately, with their leader Zhukovsky missing, discipline and unified command were gone, and the sprites preferred to act independently—a stroke of luck for the two Communeison envoys.

One of the sprites on guard couldn’t resist joining the chase. In his eyes, his companions were fools—if only they blocked in that direction, they’d catch the two men. So he took action. But as soon as he tried to intercept them, he realized these two humans were far craftier than he had imagined.

One started, and then another followed. Without a leader’s restraint, the dozens of sprites originally guarding the hostages all rushed off in turn, leaving only twenty or so still at their post, though they too were distracted. Gamio and Layard had successfully drawn them away.

At this moment, Wei Wuji finally made his move. A black shadow dropped from the sky, landing beside the Hegel couple. Several nearby sprites realized too late they’d been duped and shouted for their comrades while swinging their weapons at Wei Wuji.

With a sweep of his Gengjin sword, Wei Wuji cut down the sprites who tried in vain to block his way, slicing them in half. With another casual gesture, the ropes binding the Hegel couple fell away.

Hegel spat out the filthy rag stuffed in his mouth, helped his wife up, and with composure asked, “Who are you?”

“As for me, I’ll tell you my name in a moment. Where is your daughter? I’m a friend of Amango. Madam, there’s no need to be alarmed.” Compared to her husband, Mrs. Sera was less composed, but at the mention of being Amango’s friend, she finally calmed somewhat.

PS: A reply to Student S

1. Compared to the Constellation Council, the leader of Communeison is a newcomer. After crossing over and discovering that there were other transmigrators in his territory, his character did not permit submission—two tigers cannot share one mountain. He raised the banner of Communeison and established his own power. Warrenheit’s contact with him was personal, not on behalf of the Constellation, and their initial interactions quickly soured. Most transmigrators in this world still have a bottom line: they may kill a competitor with their own hands or by hiring locals, but they won’t directly denounce another to the natives as a transmigrator. Note the difference: they might pay an assassin, but won’t destroy you by denouncing you.

Anyone who would stoop to such denunciation could never be trusted by fellow transmigrators again, nor would they be accepted into any transmigrator organization. In a sense, they’d be utterly alone.

This is also one of the Constellation Council’s bottom lines—if such a person appears, mistrust would poison the entire organization. That’s why Warrenheit refuses to denounce others to the Church, preferring even assassination.

To put it another way, there was a similar story on Longkong’s forum: someone threatened to denounce fellow group transmigrators to the native government if their conditions weren’t met. The consensus was that, if they ever landed in the same world as that person, they’d eliminate him first.

So this basic moral code does exist. Even if there are rare violators, the Constellation Council takes precautions—hence its secretive, cell-like structure, with observer roles and single-line contact between members.

Back to the Communeison leader: he’s bold and unafraid, lacks the tightly-knit partnership of the Constellation, but is more efficient—he alone makes the decisions.

2. The poor Church doesn’t even fully understand capitalism, much less realize that Communeison claims to bury capitalism. Faced with two equally novel forces, the Church prioritizes by impact—and Warrenheit already controls a nation and is influencing the south. Communeison benefits from terrain: it began in the southwest, bordering the beastfolk, initially little affecting the Church’s core territories. Of course, after the uprising, that changes. The Church isn’t completely indifferent; some later developments will address this. But for now, with threats on all sides, the Church views Communeison in its remote southwest as only slightly more troublesome than a necromancer on some distant island.

3. Also, please refer to it as Communeison, not XX-ism.

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