Early next morning was a joyous day for the people of Zanzan.
Because the criminals that had killed the priests had been found.
"So, quick! Our pasha is truly blessed," A few of the moles in the crowd hired by Alexander stirred up the crowd, pointing to the rows and rows of soldiers at the entrance of the temple that held the criminals, in front of whom stood their sovereign.
"Greetings my people," Alexander loudly addressed the sea of devotees below, surprised by the sheer number of them that were there even when dawn was still waking her from her slumber.
"Citizens and slaves," Alexander began with a loud booming voice, "as you know, yesterday was a tragic event for us all." "When I heard the news, I doubted my ears at first. Because I did not believe such acts were possible by humans!" Alexander howled in fake agony as he played the supernatural card.
And then loudly proclaimed, "And I was right. Because right then the goddess sent me her revelations, saying that the battle between her and god Ramuh has weakened them both, allowing an evil power to infiltrate Zanzan."
Then gesturing towards the sixteen bound men behind him, held tightly by the soldiers, Alexander grandly claimed, "And these are the evil men, that the goddess pointed me to. They are devils in human forms, tempted by the ruinous powers and deserve to be burned."
"Burn"
"Burn"
"Burn"
The chant came.
The crime of blasphemy could only have one punishment- burning at the pyre.
Alexander knew that the people would not accept anything less.
But his speech was not yet done,
"These people will burn," Alexander assured, and then issued by raising his fist into the air, "But remember my people, these people are only minions of the true devil. One who now takes on the skin known as Pasha Muazz."
"Burn"
"Burn"
"Burn"
The chant was even louder and more enthusiastic.
If the people of Zanzan were to be asked who they wanted to burn more, the blasphemers who supposedly desecrated their temple or Pasha Muazz, most would choose the latter.
He was hated that much.
Alexander relished that the crowd simply took him at his word.
This would have never flown in his previous world.
Yes, Pasha Muazz was a hateful criminal, but even he was not the devil.
But here, people of authority could spew anything and people would buy it.
And that was the real allure of being a noble- the power to effortlessly convince others, the power to command others, and the power to use others to benefit oneself.
And that was why Alexander's ambition was the gathering of ever more power.
As Alexander reinforced these thoughts, he saw the crowd simmering and boiling with rage, and decided to add some seasonings.
"Here is a letter sent by Pasha Muazz we have retrieved from one to one these scoundrels." He took out a small rolled papyrus from his jacket pocket and showed it to the crowd.
"Here, let me read it aloud for you," Alexander offered.
"Leader Quagg,
I hope this letter finds you well. I'm vacationing in Ankoot for the moment and am well,"
Alexander then paused to comment with a smirk, "The fatso lost his city and province and says he is okay, hahaha."
This naturally caused the crowd to laugh with him.
After the crowd calmed a bit down, Alexander once again resumed, "I know that the city is in the hands of the great Pasha Alexander. But I'm convinced that your loyalty remains unshaken. After all, it was you who helped me bury all those slaves and citizens in my estate, whom I used for devil worship!"
This reveal predictably caused a considerable commotion.
"We had heard the rumors, but…"
"Burn him…burn him,"
"My child…he killed my child!"
"Devil…as the pasha said, he's the devil!"
"Death to Muazz, death to his family,"
The crowd seemed to reach an even higher frenzy.
And Alexander added even more fuel, "After interrogating Quagg, we have discovered several such mass graves in my lands, And in the temple, we have left three such corpses such that you may bear witness to the vile acts performed upon the people of this great city."
This got a huge, triumphant cheer from the crowd, who chanted,
"All hail the great pasha. All hail the righteous pasha,"
This drowned out the impassioned cries of one desperate man, the man being framed for all this.
"Lies…all lie..ughghh…" The man named Quaff, the same plump man that had called Alexander a Jakqum, tried to defend himself but got a square hit to his solar plex by the guards for his efforts, his cries falling to deaf eyes.
Alexander waited again for the crowd to simmer down a bit and at last, finished the letter,
"Now, Quaff, I must hand you another task. You are to gather all the gangs of the city and kill the priests of Ramuh. And then frame it on the great pasha. So, when the people oust that great leader, we can start killing those fools again, hahaha.
Regards,
Your master and eternal lord- Pasha Muazz."
The end of the letter predictably made the crowd swear and curse the man and soon, under the urging of a select few suspiciously eager men, began to chant,
"Only Pasha Alexander can save us."
"Pasha Alexander is our savior,"
"Great leader Alexander, fight the devil"
"The ruler of Zanzan- Pasha Alexander,"
Alexander watched the crowd dance like a puppet to his tune and the power felt intoxicating.
'Haha, fools. If you call the power that killed your priests the devil, then he is standing right in front of you,' Alexander darkly chuckled.
He did have some reservations when he forged that ridiculous letter, but it seems that he was giving these peasants too much credit.
Even when in that letter the so-called pasha Muazz neatly and so conveniently confessed to all his crimes and worse, always referred to Alexander as great, not a trace of doubt crept up in the hearts of the general people.
They simply blindly believed it because their lord had said so.
Thus it was only today that Alexander understood why the nobles held such disdain for the common masses.
Because they really had little capacity for thought.
With the exception of a few bright ones, most were little different from sheep, requiring others to dictate orders for them to accomplish anything.
No wonder in his previous life the era of nobility only ended after the advent of the printing press, because it made it much easier for knowledge to spread.
And no wonder the people of the hermit kingdom still haven't revolted.
Information control was paramount.
"Well, let's see them burn then," Seeing the crowd had reached its peak, Alexander decided to push them over the edge and ordered the finale to begin.
And thus very soon the sixteen men were thrown into the huge makeshift pyre, and lit, causing all the men to writhe and howl in agony.
"Arghhhh," They sang with pained cries, feeling the flames lick off their skin and char the fats underneath, giving the air a bad, smoky smell.
And very much contrary to the agonizing screams of these sixteen men, the crowd only laughed and danced and cheered.
"Look…look! Look how the devils burn,"
"Haha…fire…only fire can kill them,"
"Burn! Burn to a crisp!"
The people below found the act of burning sixteen people alive hilarious and entertaining.
'These barbaric, human-skinned animals will do the same to me if they get the chance,' Alexander held no illusions that these people would bend the way the wind blew, throwing the fact that he had given them free food, housing, and medicine worth hundreds of millions of ropals to the wind like a fart to save their hide if the situation ever rose.
There have been many precedents in history both in his world and this world and Alexander had no reason to think he would be any different.
Alexander silently watched the men suffer in the flames, their screams filling the skies every passing moment, causing the crowd to cheer even louder, noticing that people of all ages and cultures had a weird fascination with fire and the people here were no different.
It was not like as if Alexander had no pity for the dying men.
They might have been criminals and scums who caused misery to thousands, if not tens of thousands of people, but still, if Alexander had a choice, he would not have burnt these people, but simply beheaded them.
Because it was said being burnt to death was the most painful way to die.
Some even posited that that's why people will be burnt in hell.
And in some religions, it was forbidden to kill others by burning because such a punishment was reserved for only God.
But Alexander knew that if he did not show such a strong response, these people might throw him to the pyre.
And so these criminals had to die in his stead and so they did, their cries roaring even higher with the passage of time.
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