Chapter 209: The Method Already Known
The republic system was not unfamiliar to either the Union Kingdom or the Empire.
When players followed the build called Greece, there were instances where they adopted the system of a republic from the start to win over various species. While there was no trace of this on the third continent, remnants could be found in cities on the first and second continents.
Furthermore, some cities in both the Union Kingdom and the Empire already followed a system similar to republicanism. For example, in Shubanel, there was a parliamentary system, and the power was with the elected mayor. However, this was not the commonly referred democratic republicanism, but an oligarchic republic where the eligibility to be elected as a member of parliament or a mayor was restricted to nobles.
Of course, the parliamentary system announced by the emperor of the Empire was on a national scale, which hinted at a democratic republic. Even though there were still royal and noble families, the idea now was to elect representatives even from ordinary people to form a parliament that would lead the nation. The fact that this announcement came from the emperor's mouth, and not from the so-called revolutionaries, was resonant.
Alma Alloy thought to herself.
'It's something that can't ever be done in the Union Kingdom.'
The Union Kingdom was divided into many lords, their kings, a king among kings which was effectively the emperor, and other differentiated city-states. For example, Collegoton had no specific king, and Shubanel operated under the most modern power structure with an existing mayor. So even if the emperor suddenly declared republicanism, so long as the kings, lords, each city's mayor, island lords, and viceroys rejected, only the land owned by the emperor would be converted into a republic.
On the other hand, in the case of the Empire, the emperor was effectively ruling all the land in his name and had influence over all regions of the Empire. If the emperor wished so, appointed officials and administrators couldn't oppose.
Hegemonia briefly summarized the information that came into eyesight to explain to Alma what future the Empire's emperor envisioned. From what Alma saw, the shift had been postponed for a time when the public would accept it, but there were evident signs of long-term research and contemplation. It seemed as if the Empire had initially been waiting for a revolution to occur someday.
Of course, to Hegemonia, this wasn't anything odd. While the precise details couldn’t be found in the game The Lost World, in general, it was a model political system that maintained an empire's structure while bearing the resonance of the revolution.
'Revolutionaries prefer a presidential system over a parliamentary system, but if the emperor declares he will accept a cabinet, the public will also accept it positively. Moreover, there have been many competent figures among the emperors of the Empire throughout history, and the current emperor holds a position loved by most of the imperial citizens. It's realistic to establish a parliament with the emperor as a nominal supreme power.'
While Hegemonia was thinking, Alma bowed her head.
"I apologize, O Angry One."
“For what?”
"... I can't seem to find a way to navigate the current situation."
Hegemonia snorted. Hegemonia hadn't really expected much from their apostles. No matter how outstanding an apostle might be, it would be difficult for them to play out the game compared to an experienced player.
There were areas where Hegemonia themself had been overconfident. In the early stages of the war with Nebula, Hegemonia believed themself to be an unbreakable, massive force, while Nebula, within their alliance structure called the Pantheon, could be divided somehow. However, despite various strategies, no cracks appeared within the alliance. In fact, as time passed, the Union Kingdom, which Hegemonia thought they had full control over, began to divide. The consequences of the actions they had taken in the past were now turning against themself.
'In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. It's a natural progression.'
Most of Hegemonia's apostles were more physical than strategic, except Alma, who had a bit more tactical abilities.
Hegemonia said, "Enough."
"...Pardon?"
"I have a plan."
As Alma looked up, Hegemonia continued, "Night Sky’s strategy was something I hadn’t thought of. He caused all this trouble just with the simple truth that people fight for themselves to get out of oppression, even without using his power.”
At first, Hegemonia thought the tactics Nebula had employed were surprising, but on second thought, they weren't.
Hegemonia, like Nebula, wasn't particularly knowledgeable about Earth's history. The knowledge needed when playing The Lost World was learned from The Lost World itself. Even without a deep understanding of Earth's history, in The Lost World, many species resisted against their oppressor species. Most of these revolts failed without player intervention, but some caused significant trouble for the players, and with the right circumstances, even led to player defeats.
'In the end, it was a method I already knew.'
With this perspective, Hegemonia had an idea.
"Night Sky realized that oppressed people will eventually rise up… But when it comes to people, I also know one crucial fact."
Alma looked puzzled.
"Alma."
"Yes?"
As Alma responded, Hegemonia asked, "Do you know what happens when the powerless gain power?"
***
Sarcho had to move quickly.
What was important was the doctrine issue. The Angry One’s answer regarding the revolution was almost theoretical. It was that the apostates couldn’t be tolerated. And rebellion by these apostates was evidence of being swayed by the power of the Devil.
Most priests, even though they believed that God didn't clearly oppose the revolution, argued that such actions were wrong. Discussing this with the troubled priests, Sarcho concluded that this revolution was different from the revolutions of Rubeil and Delaf. Sarcho said that if the Angry One truly opposed this revolution, divine punishment would be given. However, such an event didn't occur, and Sarcho's words gained power.
Perhaps because of this, unlike the revolutions of Rubeil and Delaf, which were met with opposition by local species, the revolution of Shubanel was more easily accepted. But it couldn’t be said that everything was good.
Sarcho asked Dain, a member of the command, "What did you just say?"
"I'm trying to get in contact Rubeil." Dain added, "I'd also like to contact Delaf, who has a greatly expanded force, but they are too far. Though Rubeil is somewhat distant, we should be able to establish a united front."
Sarcho shook their head. "No."
"Sarcho."
"They are apostates. They follow the Devil's will."
"I know that too," Dain replied. "But outside of Collegoton, regional armies are starting to gather. Considering our revolutionary army's numbers and armament, they won't easily charge at us for the time being. But if we can't expand our forces outside of Collegoton, we won't be able to grow our army, whereas the regional armies can rapidly expand by simply mobilizing their reserved forces. When the time comes, they'll push and advance. We need allies."
At those words, Sarcho said, "Dain, I'm not speaking out of emotion. To be more specific, it's not even because I'm a priest."
"Then?"
"If my guess is correct, the reason the Angry One hasn't sent an apostle to burn us is because we aren’t apostates yet."
Dain looked at Sarcho. "So the moment we become apostates, will the Angry One give us divine punishment?"
"Perhaps."
"But similarly, the Devil Night Sky might also help us, right?"
"That's quite a disrespectful thing to say."
Dain laughed. "Alright, I'll reconsider that part."
Though Sarcho was relieved for now, Dain's use of the word ‘reconsider’ bothered them.
"Dain."
"Yes?"
"From what I heard from Garil, you heard about the revolutions from someone else.”
Dain nodded.
"Yes, it was a Lizardman."
"I just wondered, could they possibly have been an intelligence agent from the Empire?"
To Sarcho, when it came to Lizardmen, the Empire’s black-scaled Lizardmen came to mind first than the green-scaled Lizardmen from the Union Kingdom.
However, Dain frowned.
"You’re joking, right? That guy was truly a wanderer. Their clothing was a bit exotic, but that's how wanderers are. Besides, they were quite old. You usually can’t easily tell with Lizardmen, but you can tell with the lack of shine on their scales or the dullness in their pupils, right? More importantly, they didn't try to instigate me."
"Then what?"
"It was just an old story."
"An old story?"
Dain shrugged and said, "Just the kind of old story anyone could hear. There was a Lizardman tribe dominated by a large Frogman tribe... That's how the story starts. They were tormented but eventually got help from another tribe. But when they came to their senses, they regretted that if they had acted with more courage earlier, they could have shaken off the domination sooner. It was quite a didactic tale. But it was helpful for me. After all, this is how things turned out."
With all that said, Sarcho didn't find anything particularly suspicious.
Dain continued, "Regardless, if we don’t form an alliance with other revolutionaries, we need to come up with another strategy."
"Do you have a way?"
"Well, it's not that I don't." Dain elaborated, "First, even though we're revolutionaries, there are many confused people. The noble class is especially uncooperative to say the least. Some believe this is only a passing phase. They think the massive Union Kingdom is like a candle that could go out with a puff."
"That won't be the case."
"That's why we need something beyond the Shubanel Declaration to unite our purposes."
Sarcho agreed.
Even though they were in the Tailless class, they weren’t a single species. While they could be said to look similar, their sentiments and cultures were different, which caused conflicts.
"And we're short on resources. Money, of course, but even though the revolutionary army is temporarily managing various resources, it's unstable like this. We need a way to manage all capital, resources, and land issues."
"Certainly, in the long run."
"The biggest issue is the troops. Currently, our revolutionary army consists only of those who volunteered. In reality, compared to the population of Collegoton, it's only slightly more than the regional army's number. We need a basis for some conscription."
"There seem to be more problems than I thought. It won't be easy to find a solution to all of these issues."
Sarcho thought Dain would bring up the matter of forming alliances again. However, the answer Dain had prepared was something Sarcho hadn't expected.
"We'll establish an independent country in Collegoton, centered around the revolutionary army."
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