I Became A Black Merchant In Another World
Chapter 425: The Beginning of the Temple (7)

After the battle on the Hallungen Plain, rumors spread across the Holy Empire that the Toscani Empire's army was immensely powerful.

Karl Marx, the communist demon lord personally chosen by Fabio, didn’t miss this opportunity.

With incredible persuasive ability and financial power, he had settled in the city for less than a year but had quickly seized the position of the leader of ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the slums.

He gathered the poor of the city and began his incitement.

"If we keep going like this, we’re all doomed."

At Marx's words, which were clever and aimed at driving the people into despair, all the poor in the slums paid attention.

But soon, counterarguments began pouring in.

"Is it because we’re being dragged off to war? Well, isn’t that just inevitable?"

"Fighting the people in other city slums is worse than being in the army."

"Instead of worrying about things that won’t change, let’s think about kidnapping the rich and making some real money."

Marx was receiving massive financial support through the Rothschild branch in the city.

Some might think that he didn’t buy his position with money...

But that would be a huge misunderstanding.

He gained the favor of the previous leader with money, got involved in all sorts of bad deeds to prove his ability, killed the former leader, and took his place.

During that process, he had killed several rich men, and counting all the people he had killed would be hard even if he used both his fingers and toes.

And other communist demon lords were following similar paths, now having become leaders of various factions.

"Did you see those idiots? Hey, didn’t I tell you that even if you live in the slums, you’ve got to be smart if you want to survive?"

"You did say that."

"Didn’t you hear that Wittenburg's army was torn apart on the Hallungen Plain like a blanket being shaken? I heard that only 100 Toscani soldiers died, but 25,000 of Wittenburg’s men were killed."

In reality, the actual number of deaths and injuries was about 540 from the Toscani army and 10,000 deaths in Wittenburg's army...

But to stir up the people, a little exaggeration was necessary to make them believe it.

It’s like how in China, stories of 1 million soldiers are often told, even though the actual number is often closer to 300,000 including all supplies.

"Is that really true?"

"You know I’m close with the captain of the guard here and the nearby battalion commanders, right? They probably heard this from someone else, but that’s what they said. But now the cowardly Toscani Empire is spreading rumors about their victory, even though they were defeated."

Even the illiterate slum dwellers found his words convincing.

If they openly announced a massive defeat in the war, the people would never want to fight, so hiding the unfavorable truth made more sense.

"But are the Toscani Empire really that strong?"

"Hah, come on. Think about it."

At this point, if Marx had failed to deceive people with a plausible lie, it would have been all for nothing.

If he claimed he had actually seen the Toscani army in person, he’d be treated as a madman spouting nonsense.

On the other hand, if he didn’t come up with something believable, he’d be in trouble.

"This isn’t the time for doubts, is it?"

"If the captain of the guard and the battalion commander weren’t crazy, would they make up a lie that they lost the war? And didn’t you see that the battalion commander moved his family and relocated to another place?"

In the Korean army, officers are usually reassigned every two years, so their work locations change frequently.

However, medieval fantasy Albanian continent officers rarely move from their original assigned units.

Most officers rise from their initial positions, such as a platoon leader to battalion commander.

So, if someone becomes a career soldier, they buy a house near their assigned unit and live there for their entire life.

In a place with such customs, for a family to move?

"Shit, so this place is about to get dangerous too."

"You guys would have all been dragged into the army and died like dogs if I wasn’t here to help you."

"You’re different from the trash who were here before."

"How do you think I got here, kicking out those idiots and becoming the leader?"

Marx felt that the slums were nearly incited to action and decided to take the final step.

"Anyway, if we get dragged off, we, the poor, will be placed at the front lines and die like dogs. Even if we achieve something, the officers will take all the rewards."

"That’s true."

The military, even as times change, doesn’t change much when it comes to the harmful customs.

Of course, the subordinate’s accomplishments belong to the superior, and the subordinate takes the blame for the superior’s mistakes—this is the tradition of the Toscani Empire army as well.

In other words, the poor soldiers, who were considered the lowest of the low, were treated as cannon fodder.

The poor were just social evils, used for a brief period and discarded—frontline meat shields.

"There are hardly any guards in the city now, and there are barely any soldiers protecting the baron... How about we raid the armory and make a move?"

"Are you out of your mind?"

"It’s a hundred times better than being used as a meat shield in the army. And honestly, if we take the baron’s head, we can easily take the armory and control the military power. Taking the barony is definitely possible, right?"

Marx had a very detailed and precise plan.

And he felt that if he just took the baron’s head, he could certainly claim the barony for himself.

"Life is all about one shot, you idiots. How long do you plan to beg for scraps here? Or do you want to live like nobles in the baron’s estate with me? You’re gonna die anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to die in a glorious way?"

All the slum dwellers nodded in agreement.

And that night, Marx began the operation.

**

"Captain Marx, as you instructed, we piled up a lot of oil in the slums and set it on fire."

As he said, much of the city, including the slums, was burning with intense flames.

"Good, let’s head straight to the armory now."

Marx moved the slum dwellers towards the armory without any suspicion.

Normally, they would have been questioned as suspicious, but...

"Didn’t they tell us to just guard the castle? What’s going on here?!"

"Sergeant, is that really important right now?"

"Why is this happening at the end of my shift?!"

Marx and his group passed by them very naturally.

They reached the armory, where there were only about two guards.

"This is a breeze."

Marx quickly approached and shouted out in a panic.

"The fire is spreading from over there and heading towards the armory! The gunpowder will explode!"

"Shit, thanks for letting us know!"

As the guards ran to check the fire, the slum dwellers swarmed them, taking their lives.

"Get the weapons! Don’t bother with the matchlocks, they’re useless. Take crossbows, short spears, maces, and swords! Get the armor too."

If the slum dwellers were a little smarter, they would have questioned why Marx was so clever.

But since they had already committed to rebellion, they just followed along.

"I’ll split the group in two. Ainz, take the kids and smash the heads of any soldiers rushing to put out the fire! I’m going for the baron’s head!"

"Yes, leader!"

"There’s only one castle in this barony, and the battalion commander has already taken his soldiers away, leaving it empty. If I take the baron’s head and you handle the soldiers, this barony will be ours."

"Then we’ll join the Toscani Empire, right?"

"We’ll live big for once, you bastards."

Marx made his decision and quickly ran to the baron’s estate.

Everyone was busy fighting the fire, so they weren’t armed...

"Kill them!"

As Marx’s group pushed forward, the defenses were quickly breached.

And one of the slum dwellers smashed the baron’s head in.

"I took the baron’s head, leader!"

"Alright, you’re the new captain of the guards."

After taking the baron’s head, Marx immediately had a surviving butler write a letter.

The letter was a surrender to the Toscani Empire.

This was happening all over the Holy Empire.

"They’ve done a good job, huh?"

No one had ordered them, but more than 20 territories had already voluntarily taken the baron’s head and surrendered.

From what he heard, some were done by a few people, and some were done by one person alone...

At this rate, the number of lords who would absolutely support him would be enough.

"Then it’s about time I start preparing to head to the New World."

With the money and resources all prepared, all he needed now was to gather people from the Lion Kingdom.