I Got Reincarnated Into a Game I Was a Top-Ranker in and I Became the Leader of a Villain Group That Will Destroy This Shitty Country - 38

Chapter 38: Resistance

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The slum looked even worse than before now that the building here had been destroyed. In the midst of the destruction, a rumor began to spread. A rumor that said the reason why the monsters in the dungeon attacked the city was because the upper echelon of the empire wanted to massacre the people of the slum.

“Then tell us! How the hell did those monsters from the dungeon manage to get outside!? It was that Gebels guy’s doing, wasn’t it?!”

“-?! I-If you dare to come any closer, I will kill you!”

“Ha! Go ahead! Kill me! Thanks to the empire, we’ve lost everything anyway! Come on! Kill me now! Let me see you do it!”

“Ugh…! K-Kill this guy! You guys! What are you all doing?! Draw your swords, now!!”

“……”

A man was confronting three imperial soldiers, who looked itching to kill him. Madness was spreading throughout the slum. Nia and I nodded to each other with our hoods up. Things were going well. Alwyn and Brien kept their promise. They left the laboratory as it was. The day after the incident with Gebels, we revealed everything to the people in the slum, including the laboratory. 

Of course, by ‘we’, I meant Chloe. Nia and I stayed hidden in the background, letting Chloe take the stage. People knew Chloe as a member of the Hero’s party. Chloe was trusted by the people of the slum. Besides, the people get to witness everything. Everything. The misshapen corpses lying on the floor… Gebels’ monstrous body… And many more. The document about Gebels’ research and the human experiments that had been conducted in the laboratory were also revealed. The news of the empire’s wicked deed spread like wildfire to the public. 

“Yo-You bastard!! Why you guys not draw your swords out?! Do you want to be killed too?!”

“Haha! You filthy imperial dogs! We thought you’d come to help… But you’re here to massacre us, aren’t you?! Right?!?!?!”

“….Let’s go, Nia.”

“Okay.”

The rage of the people who had been victimized by the empire had reached its peak. They were so enraged that they were ready to kill the imperial soldiers dispatched here. Negative emotions like anger were contagious. In order to bring down this country in an efficient way, we had to shape the public opinion to suit our goal. Now that we had taken the first step to our plan, Nia and I headed to the guild, where Chloe was waiting for us. 

“Kai, Nia. Over here.”

“Yeah.”

The moment Chloe, who had been sitting on the counter table, saw us, her expression softened and she beckoned for us to come over. Nia and I stood beside Chloe and removed our hoods. As our red eyes were exposed, the crown began to rustle. 

“Sha-Shadow…!”

“So it was true… A member of the Hero’s party is siding with the demons!”

We could clearly hear the shocked voices of the crowd from behind us. In response to that, Chloe stood and confidently said.

“That’s right. After fighting Gebels and seeing everything in that laboratory yesterday, I decided that there’s no hope left for this country. To think that the Crown Prince himself is the one that created such a horrendous facility…! Besides, all of you have heard the rumors, right? The rumors about the country kidnapping orphans and bringing them to a secret facility to be used as test subjects or playthings for the men there?!”

“Well… We’ve been hearing about that rumor for a while now…”

“That laboratory was one of those facilities! In fact, deeper in the forest, there was a place called Schwitz Detention Camp! That place was a den of monsters who treated humans worse than garbage!! That place is so sinister that there’s almost no survivor from that place!”

If Nia or I had said it, the people wouldn’t trust us because they already saw us as demons. However, Chloe used to be in the Hero’s party. Her words carried a weight, more so than ours. Even in these remote slums, people knew that a Hero party had been formed in the capital. There was no way they didn’t know who Chloe was. 

“The second prince… Adolf… He wanted to obliterate the people.”

Taking the baton from Chloe, I raised my voice to the people.

“He’s planning to corrupt everyone in the empire with black magic, turning the people into mindless puppets. Do you guys know what’s the most important ingredient to grow one’s black magic? A human life force. The nobles and the royals in the capital are trying to extend their lifespans by using black magic to drain the people’s life force!”

“Huh? Who-Who would trust the words from a demon…?!”

“No, but… What this boy said may not be wrong. Remember the documents that were found in the laboratory? What he said checks out with those documents. Even if the boy is from Shadow, his words aren’t wrong.”

“We are not your enemies!”

Just because I was a demon, that didn’t mean I had the desire to kill the people. I mean, of course I would kill if necessary, but I didn’t have any intention to kill innocent people without reason. I revealed my true feelings and intentions throughout this cramped guild room.

“Our enemies are the empire and the nobles! They’ve treated orphans and people of the slum like trash! They see you as nothing more than expendable slaves! The empire’s tyranny doesn’t stop here.. They have even more vile, cruel and filthy plans in mind!”

Of course I knew about the empire’s plan. After all, I was a reincarnator. 

“Do you want to have your assets stolen by the imperial army again?! Do you want to be looked down upon like you’re no better than trash again?! Do you want to be trampled, treated worse than livestock forever?! Stand up! Resist! If you want to live like a human, raise your voice! If you refuse to be turned into a puppet or a dog of the empire, crush this country!!”

As soon as I finished my speech, silence ensued in the room. However, not long after that…

“….WAAAAAAAAAHHH!!”

“UWOHHHHHH!!”

“Destroy the empire!!! Destroy the empireee!!!”

One after another, the roar of the people echoed throughout the guild. Their rage spread like disease, stirring up the people’s withering hearts. Fury permeating the air. The people became excited as they spewed curses against the nobles and immediately left the guild. They were eager to take revenge on the imperial army that had treated them like trash and even tried to kill them.

“….I didn’t know you have this side of you.”

“Kai is a villain after all.”

“…..He’s a genuine villain, huh? Well, it’s fine I guess.”

Chloe turned to face me, the shock was apparent in her face. I gave her a wry smile while tilting my head to the side ever so slightly. According to the game’s storyline, the resistance group in this country would’ve happened a bit later. However, if I wanted to overthrow this country, I needed to change the public opinion to suit my agenda. Hence why I had to stir the people’s rage. 

“Nia, Chloe. We’re heading to the capital.”

“The capital? Why all of a sudden..?””

“A lot of events are going to happen there and… It wouldn’t hurt to have a guardian.”

“Hm…? A guardian?”

“I will explain the details on our way to the capital. Oh, by the way… Chloe, what about him?”

“Hm? Oohh…. Fufu~ I tied him up tightly in a private room on the second floor of the guild.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Leaving our table, we then moved to the second floor of the guild. We opened a rather big door and inside the room there was a pig… I mean, Vector, the former branch manager of this guild. His arms and legs were bound. Tears streamed down his face as he looked up at us in panic. 

“Hi-Hiiii?! Ple-Please! Spare my life!! I beg of you…!! Please spare my life..!!”

“Yeah, sure. We can still use you for various things,so sure. We will spare your life.”

“Tha-Tha-Tha-Tha-Thank you so much!! What should I do??? Just tell me! I will do it!!”

The pigsty guy who had been so haughty because of his position in the guild had all but disappeared. All that remained of him was pathetic trash, begging for his life. I raised two of my fingers at him. 

“First, prepare a carriage for us. I know the guild is not doing the best financially, but I’m sure you can do that much for us, right?~”

“Ye-Yes! Absolutely! Wha-What else?!”

“Well….”

Looking up at the ceiling, the corners of my mouth curled up into a smirk. Written documents alone wouldn’t be enough to stir the people’s hearts. We needed something much more stimulating. 

“”In this world… There’s projection magic… I mean, there’s something called a ‘camera’ right?”

“Ye-Yes…!!”

“I don’t care if it’s a magician or a camera magic tool. I want you to bring it to me. Right now.”

While crouching down, I locked eyes with the man who was trembling from fear, so much so that he had turned pale. Once again, I smirked as I looked at him. 

“We need to obtain proper evidence for everything, no exceptions.”

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