Do you have a problem with necromancers?

Chapter 101 Arrows Rain Down
Ryan chose Dia as his companion this time.

Although Dia didn't understand why, her maid contract had only been valid for a quarter of the time, so she had no choice but to obey her master, Rein.

At the Florent family mansion, Renn saw the woman again. She had a serious expression and a sharp look in her eyes, clearly aware of the seriousness of the situation, and didn't even let her husband come to cause trouble.

“Someone is deliberately escalating the situation.” These were her first words upon meeting. “If this matter escalates to the court meeting, Her Majesty the Empress will be greatly disappointed in both of us. I will find out who this person is, and you must suppress this matter.”

"You seem very certain that the other party is from the Amazon Association?" Ryan asked instead of answering immediately.

“Because people outside the association won’t know about this in advance and make the corresponding arrangements,” Ms. Florence said coldly. “Arranging enough people to mingle among the crowd and create a large-scale shoving at the crucial moment is not something that can be done in a short time.”

Ryan understood this, of course. While many vote-rigging individuals were adept at inciting unrest, they were absolutely uninterested in this kind of news and current events—unless someone paid them to do so.

Judging from who benefits and who is suspected, the mastermind is most likely someone within the association who has a direct competitive relationship with Ms. Florence.

Although the enemy was targeting Ms. Florence, they ended up shooting at Renn as well, and thus naturally became an enemy that Renn had to eliminate.

"Do you currently have anyone you suspect?" Ryan continued to ask.

"Of course." Ms. Florence's expression was blank, making it difficult to tell whether she was telling the truth or not. "Since the other party is plotting against me, they probably won't only have this one trick up their sleeve. You should also be careful that they don't have any other tricks up their sleeve."

"That's troublesome." Renn looked worried. "Knowing that there are enemies hiding in the shadows is making me lose my appetite and sleep."

Dia watched the two actors' performance silently. Lady Florence seemed to be the kind of noblewoman who wasn't good at acting; all her skill points were spent on hiding her emotions. In contrast, Ryan's acting appeared quite natural. If Dia hadn't spent so much time with him and known his true personality, she might have been completely fooled by his mask.

“Ordinary deaths and injuries don’t warrant a court meeting,” Ms. Florence explained in detail, considering that he was a border nobleman from the River Reach Province and might not be very familiar with the political landscape of the capital. “After all, people are dying and injured on the streets every day during election season.”

"What truly threatens you is public opinion. Public opinion may not be very damaging at first, but it becomes increasingly deadly as it spreads. Even if only one-tenth of the citizens in the capital know about this, it will be enough for the ministers to doubt your incompetence."

"Therefore, you must control it before it spreads..."

At this point, Ms. Florence stopped talking and gave him a knowing look.

Renn stopped talking about the topic and continued chatting with Ms. Florence, indulging in the kind of idle talk typical of nobles.

After enjoying afternoon tea, Ryan and Dia bid farewell and left.

Leaving the Florent family mansion, Dia finally couldn't help but ask:

"So, this Ms. Florence didn't betray us, right?"

“Judging from the current situation, the person who is opposing us from behind is not Ms. Florence,” Ryan said slowly. “However, this does not mean that Ms. Florence has not betrayed us.”

"Huh?" Dia felt her brain overload. "But didn't you say... uh, so it was Ms. Florence who conspired with the real culprit?"

“Dia.” Renn yawned. “The relationships between nobles are very complicated. They can be allies, or they can be enemies, or they can be allies and enemies at the same time.”

"I don't understand!" Dia exclaimed helplessly. "If you're going to explain, use a language I can understand. Don't use riddles here!"

"Think about it carefully yourself." Ryan picked up a newspaper as he passed a newsstand by the roadside.

Newspaper stands, a specialty of Beijing, are mostly built under stairs or behind pillars, forming a small shop structure. The front pages of various newspapers are then laid out on the stall to attract customers.

The stall owner poked his head out from behind a pillar and called out:

"If you look at it, you have to buy it; if you're not going to buy it, don't even look at it!"

“Dia,” Raine instructed.

Dia took out her wallet to pay, and the stall owner immediately put on a fawning smile and quickly retreated behind a pillar.

Curious, she leaned closer and saw that the Four Realms Daily was reporting extensively on the Kleber Chamber of Commerce, strongly condemning the "dereliction of duty by the Imperial Capital Guards in this matter," not only for failing to maintain order at the scene, which led to stampedes and deaths, but also for "the lack of any rescue efforts for the victims to date."

Dia, filled with righteous indignation, exclaimed:
"How come there are victims?! Did these newspapers even conduct any actual investigations?"

"Why should newspapers conduct actual investigations?" Ryan asked her inexplicably. "The only purpose of newspapers is to sell themselves as much as possible. I think this report is very well written, very inflammatory, and it makes people indignant."

“That’s right.” The stall owner peeked out from behind the pillar again. “What’s the difference between tricking a fool into marriage and buying a slave? And the other party is a noble lady. The Golden Robe doesn’t even care about this. I think he’ll be held accountable by the royal family sooner or later.”

"You!" Dia exclaimed angrily, "Do you know who you're talking to?"

Just as the stall owner was about to continue speaking, he suddenly had a bad feeling. He glanced at Raine and immediately shrank back behind the pillar, becoming cautious in his words and actions.

"And you!" Dia turned around and fired at Ryan, who was still reading the newspaper. "They've already turned their anger on you, and you still think their report is well-written? Are you only satisfied when everyone in the capital starts cursing you after reading the newspaper?"

“Well written is well written.” Ryan folded the newspaper and stuffed it into Dia’s arms. “Take this and study it carefully.”

"Why would I read such a fabricated report!" Dia wanted nothing more than to tear the newspaper to shreds.

“This is the master’s order,” Raine said sternly, his face hardening.

----------

Although Ms. Florence reminded Ryan to try to control the scale of public opinion, how could public opinion be so easily manipulated?
Just one day later, newspapers all over the capital were reporting on the incident.

The San Somar newspaper explored "why nobles are humiliated by the merchants' guild," the Platinum newspaper discussed "whether marrying a fool violates current laws," the Four Realms newspaper accused the Imperial Guard of intervening in the matter as soon as possible, while the Sun God newspaper confidently claimed that "the victim must be a beautiful and alluring blonde with large breasts, otherwise it is impossible to explain why her husband could tolerate her congenital stupidity."

Meanwhile, letters poured into the capital's military camps, filled with angry citizens cursing the incompetent guards and demanding that they "rescue this poor victim as soon as possible." The letters were so numerous that the Silver Robe had to transport them to the woodshed and burn them daily along with the firewood for cooking.

Raine remained unmoved, simply gathering the ancient heroes in his office and reading them relevant reports from various newspapers.

"I can't take it anymore!" Dia threw the newspaper on the ground and shouted angrily, "Raine, are you just going to let them slander you like this?"

"It's just some gossip," Renn said nonchalantly.

“Although it’s just gossip, if it continues to spread without restraint, it will eventually alarm the court,” Ellina warned. “Once the court intervenes, some people will inevitably think that this is a dereliction of duty by the capital’s guards.”

“But without an order from the court council, we can’t just send the Golden Robe to our door and order all newspapers not to report on this matter,” Bersalia said with a sneer. “This is the scheme of the mastermind. She only needs to hide in the shadows and organize people to submit articles to the newspapers on a large scale, and we will be scorned and overwhelmed.”

The heroes all frowned in thought, their faces showing distress.

They wouldn't even flinch at the thought of fighting the White Walkers, but this kind of propaganda war is far beyond their comprehension—you have to understand, a thousand years ago, there were no elections or newspapers! A group of noble lords would gather in the court, hold a small meeting, and decide things; who would care what the people thought?
When it comes to brainwashing abilities, any editor in the newspaper could easily outshine everyone here.

“I understand!” Dia suddenly exclaimed. “We can go with the flow!”

"Go with the flow?" the crowd asked, puzzled.

Dia, however, was full of confidence. Thanks to Ryan for encouraging her to study how these newspapers were written, she had now completely grasped the concepts:

"If the mastermind can submit their story, so can we!"

"Anyway, the public just needs a target to vent their discontent. If she wants to guide public opinion to attack us, we can also guide public opinion to attack the royal family!"

"Attack the royal family?" Everyone was baffled. "How could that be? Even if you dared to submit it, the newspapers would never dare to publish it!"

“No, your idea is excellent,” Renn suddenly said. “Attacking the royal family is a good move, but of course, we can’t attack the royal family openly, otherwise the major newspapers will definitely refuse to publish our articles out of fear.”

"Have you ever heard of 'reflection'?"

………………

As time went on, reports that specifically incited emotions gradually decreased, while in-depth reports analyzing the events themselves gradually increased.

The public's anger couldn't last long. The saying "one effort, then decline, then exhaustion" applies to this other world as well. After the anger subsided, more and more people would be waiting for a sequel. Unfortunately, under the pretext of "preventing a stampede from happening again," the Golden Robe continued to blockade the Kleber Trading Company and the surrounding streets, preventing reporters from interviewing those involved.

The price was a flood of all sorts of "leaks." Some claimed to be neighbors from the same block, others to employees of the chamber of commerce, and still others to be close friends of the victims.

Almost all the whistleblowers were adamant that it was the son of the president of the Kleber Chamber of Commerce who had deceived this poor, mentally unstable noblewoman into having her virginity. They also provided details of the man's various misdeeds, such as his advocacy of imperial hegemony, his bullying within the Chamber of Commerce, and his slander and contempt for nobles.

Using a barrage of seemingly plausible rumors to bombard targets with information is a specialty of the Amazon Association. This practice may have originated as early as the death of the Duke of Dacrois, which made them suddenly realize, "Ah, the power of rumors is truly immense."

In the editorial office of the Platinum News, the editors were racking their brains over this.

Because their positioning is very similar to that of "Le Sommelier San Somar," targeting a relatively serious and more upscale readership, they certainly cannot be like "Le Soir" and fill all their pages with these dubious "exposés"—otherwise, readers will question the very quality and positioning of the newspaper.

"The problem now is that reporters simply can't get in touch with anyone from the Kleiber Chamber of Commerce," one editor lamented. "The Brotter family is refusing all interviews, so how are we supposed to write any insightful articles?"

The Kleber Chamber of Commerce is under blockade and protection by the Imperial Capital Guards, and the Brot family is a victim in this case. Forcibly interviewing them would inevitably provoke public outrage. Neither route is viable, and there's nothing left to write about!
"How about we continue to criticize the dereliction of duty by the capital's guards?" the editor next to him suggested.

“The Four Realms Gazette has already finished its rant.” This suggestion was quickly rejected by colleagues, “It is said that the Golden Robe raided the Four Realms Gazette’s editorial office yesterday.”

"What? You won't let us report the truth? Then show us the imperial edict."

"No, it's said that they're checking tax records."

The editors were stunned for a moment, and their eyes twitched.

Checking your tax records is a bit disgusting. Simply put, it means they'll ask you to produce your accounting books, examine your monthly turnover in detail, and compare it with the tax you voluntarily declared to confirm whether you've evaded taxes…

The main issue, of course, isn't tax evasion, but rather being stuck in the editorial department all day scrutinizing the ledgers and constantly being called in for questioning by the "golden robe" (a euphemism for being confined to the office). This quickly creates a climate of fear, making it impossible for anyone to concentrate on their work.

The editors of the Platinum Newspaper sighed for a moment, but quickly concealed their gloating.

While it might feel good to see your peers suffer, it would be unpleasant if the same thing happened to you. It's best not to offend the capital's guards too much.

"Editor-in-chief!" An editor suddenly stood up. "Take a look at this reader's submission!"

The editor-in-chief took the letter, glanced at it, and immediately slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming:

"Well written!"

The editors rushed forward, eager to examine the masterpiece.

Nowadays, all that's out there are all sorts of sensationalist revelations, making it very difficult to write a detailed analysis. But this reader who submitted the article took a different approach: she detailed how the High Elf Kingdom of the Gem Islands deals with similar incidents.

The High Elves generally believe that people with disabilities (including physical and mental disabilities) belong to a vulnerable group in society. If they receive support from their family of origin or their spouse, it is tantamount to transferring the social obligation of support to the individual family, which will inevitably lead to the victimization of the vulnerable group itself.

Therefore, the High Elf royal family has established a special "charitable fund" to support the daily lives of people with disabilities. This highlights the royal family's profound responsibility to its people and ensures that vulnerable groups receive the humanitarian care they deserve.

The article concludes by noting that while the human empire now has welfare institutions specifically for orphans, it lacks welfare support for the disabled. These disabled individuals are unable to support themselves through labor, mostly relying on their parents or being supported by their spouses through marriage. Where is the real help they need?
We need to reflect!
The word "reflection" hits right where it hurts for the editors of Platinum News. They know all too well the nature of their readers—they love reading seemingly profound and complex content to show off and demonstrate their superiority over ordinary people.

adoption!

Meanwhile, other newspapers and magazines also received similar submissions from readers.

The article received by the San Somar newspaper pointed out the weakness of the imperial nobles, stating that "even small merchants can bully the nobles," and then directed the criticism at the noble council, asking, "Why don't they fight for the rights of the imperial nobles in the Senate?"

The Council of Nobles should seriously reflect on this!
As for how to win them over, although the manuscript did not explicitly state it, the nobles clearly knew who the biggest enemy was in limiting their power.

The Four Realms Daily was targeted by the Golden Robe for investigating its tax records, forcing it to suspend publication for a week. Therefore, we will leave it aside for now.

The Sun God newspaper received an even more explosive conspiracy theory, claiming that the Amazon Society is organizing an unprecedented "reflection march" to call on the entire capital to reflect on the persecution of Amazons in this incident.

Although Miss Brot had not registered with the Amazon Association, the Empire's ethnic classification system was very lenient, relying mostly on visual judgment, and 100% of the citizens of the Imperial Capital could not distinguish between Amazons and Imperials.

Perhaps it's because there was no difference to begin with.

When the report reached Amazon's internal organization, it quickly caused a stir of unease.

Because they were indeed planning an extremely large-scale march and demonstration, and even the specific theme was almost identical to what was revealed by The Sun.

There's a traitor among us!

It is extremely difficult to find the mole because this matter is not a secret within the organization; there are far too many people who know about it.

As for how to deal with it, it's much simpler: we've been preparing and planning for so long, we can't just give up because it's been leaked in advance, can we?
Consider this an early announcement of the event!

The following day, a massive procession emerged from all the streets, joining the ever-growing crowd.

On the second floor of houses lining both sides of the road, residents peered through drawn curtains, watching the march below in horror. No one had expected the *Sun God Daily* to report on what had actually happened; the scale of this demonstration was unprecedented, leading one to suspect that perhaps all the women in the capital had joined in.

In the Second Human Empire, although women were allowed to work in some textile, brewing, and civil service positions, the vast majority of the empire believed that a woman's primary duty was to marry, have children, and take care of her family.

These housewives, who used to be trapped in endless household chores, seemed to have become more than ten years younger after joining the Amazon Association. They openly bared their upper bodies in the streets, drank heavily, shouted insults, and even picked up stones to throw at the surrounding houses, just like their drunken husbands who came home every night.

"Ban human trafficking" and "Freedom of marriage" were the two slogans chanted at the beginning of the march. However, as the demonstrators arrived at the foot of Mount San Somar, the anger of many Amazonians finally erupted, and they began to throw stones at the Golden Gate.

The royal guards watching the Golden Gate were terrified upon seeing this. They quickly retreated and rushed back inside the gate, rapidly sealing it off. At the same time, they sent a message to the Grand Palace: the Amazons are attacking the palace!

The news also reached the Imperial Guards who were closely monitoring the front lines, and Renn finally cheered up.

Very good! Let's get started!
Previously, we had the heroes write letters and submit articles to the newspapers just to create a pretext for taking action later. We didn't expect that these Amazons would actually believe it after reading the newspapers... We can only blame the association for constantly promoting "the oppression of imperial hegemony." Isn't the greatest hegemony right in the Grand Palace?

In military camps scattered throughout the capital, groups of soldiers in gold and silver robes, fully armed, began to move out.

Catch!

First, all the major newspapers that reported on this incident were ordered to shut down and conduct self-examinations and corrections!

Secondly, capture all the Amazons who are besieging the Grand Palace and take them back to the military camp prison!

Faced with the imposing guards of the capital who came to shut down their publications, the major newspapers were completely dumbfounded. Under the threat of weapons, they could only cooperate by issuing notices of suspension while simultaneously rushing to complain to their financial backers.

The Amazons didn't actually intend to besiege the palace; they just threw a few stones at the Golden Gate in a fit of rage before turning around and continuing their march along the original route.

Then they were stopped by the guards of the capital.

A fierce conflict quickly broke out between the two sides. The Amazons initially tried to recreate the "Death of Duke Darkros" by using their numerical advantage to throw stones at the Imperial City's guards, but the latter quickly took out their bows and arrows and retaliated.

Arrows rained down!

The sharp edges pierce through the skin and meridians, but what they bring is not the painlessness and intense courage caused by the surge of adrenaline, but rather a kind of instinctive fear of facing death.

The Amazons in the front row fell like wheat, riddled with arrows, screaming in agony as they lay bleeding in pools of blood. Those behind them, witnessing this, almost immediately turned and fled, completely disregarding their fallen comrades.

"Murder! Murder!" The Amazons frantically shoved anything that blocked their way, and soon someone slipped and fell to the ground, followed by countless feet stomping heavily on them.

At first, his ribs and nose were broken, followed by cries and wails of pain, which gradually turned into vomiting and groans due to the pressure on his abdomen, which were barely audible amidst the panicked cries.

Once the battle was completely over, the imperial guards began cleaning the streets before transporting the wounded and the dead to the Temple of Life. Many of the wounded had already died on the way, and some remained unclaimed for days.

When the news reached the palace, the entire court was shocked.

(End of this chapter)