Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

"They won't even be able to touch the tower's walls before being burned to ashes by the warlocks' spells. Do you want to see that?"

Taylor's face turned bright red, and the veins on his thick neck bulged, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

Gertrude's expression was also very solemn. As a noblewoman, she knew all too well what it meant to challenge an elector.

“To attack an elector without cause is legally equivalent to treason. All our legitimacy will vanish, and we will become the enemy of the nobility and even the entire nation of Letania.”

“Countess Lenia of Salem, as well as the nobles and wealthy merchants who are now trying to curry favor with us, will no longer support us.”

"So, we're just going to do nothing?" Taylor growled resentfully.

"Who says we're doing nothing?"

Lacey, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

He walked to the map on the office wall and focused his gaze on the Wasser Territory in the northwest corner.

“Otto Gladstone was cruel and oppressive to his people, which caused widespread resentment and displaced workers.”

"We, the Leitanian Workers' Party, have gone to maintain order and protect the lives and property of the people in the Vasser region at their request."

"In politics, this is called having a legitimate reason to fight."

Gertrude's eyes lit up, and she immediately understood Lacey's intention.

However, the problem still exists.

They must quickly defeat Otto Gladstone in the Thunder and capture the tower to force him to abdicate.

Otherwise, if a stalemate occurs, other electors will soon intervene, and Her Majesty's support alone may not be enough.

Lacey understood this too, his finger moving across the map: "But nominal power cannot solve the problem of strength."

"Serafina's concerns are valid; purely military adventures are extremely foolish."

"Although Otto's army suffered heavy losses in Kazdel, it was more than enough to hold his tower."

"If we can't knock down a wall from the front, then we'll find a way to make it collapse from the inside."

"Therefore, we need the people of the Waser territory to take action first."

He looked at Taylor: "Immediately send our most elite propagandists and operatives to secretly infiltrate the Wasser Territory and contact the union leaders Marcus mentioned."

"We will set the entire Wasser Territory ablaze!"

"Burn?" Taylor asked, puzzled.

"Yes, strikes, marches, demonstrations."

"In every city and every mine in the Wasser Territory, it broke out simultaneously."

"To completely paralyze Otto's mines and factories, and keep him busy."

Gertrude's breath hitched; she instantly understood the core of the entire plan: "A feint to the east while attacking in the west, luring the tiger away from the mountain!"

"When his remaining forces are completely dispersed and the tower is left empty, that will be the moment for us to launch a decapitation strike!"

“That’s right.” Lacey nodded. “But even so, it’s still not enough to take down an Elector’s tower with just us and Miss Gertrude’s Count Guards.”

"We need outside help, preferably the kind of crazy dogs who don't follow the rules, only care about money, and have extremely strong fighting power."

"Sarkaz mercenaries!"

Gertrude and Serafina said the name almost simultaneously.

Lacey nodded.

“Gerdrude, you’re in charge of contacting the Sarkaz mercenaries. Tell them there’s a big deal out there; I need their most elite warriors, and price is no object,” Lacey said, looking at Gerdrude.

“No problem, I know a few ways,” Gertrude readily agreed.

“Serafina, you are responsible for assessing their strength and credibility and completing the negotiations.”

"I need an elite squad of at least three hundred men, and they must be in place within a week!"

"Mingqi Ersan &-Cage (Four) Kick the Scattered Matters White!"

"Taylor, mobilize the entire disciplinary squad and put them on high alert! I need you to get everyone ready for long-distance raids and assaults within a week!"

"Yes!" Taylor straightened his chest excitedly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

Lacey concluded, "Remember, we are not invaders, we are liberators! Wherever our banners fly, it is not to conquer, but to end suffering!"

"This is a battle for hearts and minds; we must stand on the moral high ground!"

……

Late at night, the lights at the Workers' Party headquarters gradually went out, leaving only the light on in Lacey's office.

Serafina quietly went inside, carrying a steaming bowl of meat porridge.

Lacey was leaning over the table, marking something on a newly drawn urban structure map of the Wasser region by the light of an oil lamp.

"Still busy?" Serafina gently placed the bowl of porridge on the corner of the table.

"Yes, we're planning the attack route." Lacey said without looking up.

Serafina didn't say anything more, she just stood quietly to the side.

Her Originium Arts allowed her to clearly sense Lacey's emotions at that moment, including tension, excitement, calmness, and rationality.

She recalled Lacey's demeanor at the meeting earlier that day—commanding, organized, and seemingly in complete control.

But she could sense that beneath his impassioned words, there wasn't much turmoil in his heart.

He changed after arriving in Viseheim.

It has become more unfathomable, and also more...lonely.

"Lassie, are you really... sure?" she finally couldn't help but ask.

Lacey stopped writing, looked up, and the oil lamp cast two faint lights in his eyes.

"The success rate of the plan is over 80%, and the remaining 20% ​​is up to luck."

“That’s not what I’m asking.” Serafina shook her head, looking into Lacey’s eyes. “I’m asking about you.”

"You've arranged everything perfectly for everyone, but what about yourself? Are you... really ready?"

Lacey fell silent.

He picked up the bowl of meat porridge, the steam obscuring his expression.

After a long silence, he whispered, "Serafina, I have no way out. From the moment my parents fell in front of me, I could only move forward."

"Whatever the end of this road may be."

Serafina's heart tightened slightly.

She knew she couldn't stop him, nor could she share the burden on his shoulders.

All she could do was stand by his side.

"The porridge is getting cold, drink it," she said.

……

Holy Lytania Empire: Chapter Thirty-Eight: All who dare to resist shall die!

Otto Gladstone was in a bad mood.

He sat in the restaurant on the top floor of the tower, with tender lamb chops flown in from Victoria and a bottle of Gallic red wine worth a thousand gold coins in front of him.

However, even the finest delicacies could not ease his furrowed brows in the slightest.

Kazdel's crushing defeat shattered his glory.

This not only cost him his most elite troops, but also made him a laughingstock in the entire Leitanian aristocratic circle.

He could imagine how those who usually fawned over him were now secretly mocking his foolishness.

“A bunch of damned peasants, lowly people!” Otto stabbed the lamb chop on his plate with his knife, as if it were not food, but the face of that damned Duke of Victoria.

A middle-aged man who looked like a butler bowed and cautiously approached, reporting in a low voice: "Sir, news has come from the Essenveld West Mine that the miners there... have gone on strike."

"Strike?" Otto scoffed without even looking up.

"Then hang the ringleader at the mine entrance. As for the others, anyone who dares not to return to work, deduct a month's worth of their food rations."

This is his consistent approach: simple, direct, and effective.

"Yes, sir." The butler acknowledged and withdrew.

However, half an hour later, the butler returned, his face even paler than before, and fine beads of cold sweat even appeared on his forehead.

"Sir, it's not just the western mines; the three smelters to the north, the textile workshops to the south, and even the porters in the city... they've all gone on strike."

"They...they even took to the streets, chanting slogans like 'We want fairness'."

"boom!"

Otto slammed his silver goblet onto the table, spilling the crimson liquid.

"Reverse! Reverse!"

"Are these lowly people trying to rebel? Send guards over there! Break their legs! Let's see how they'll show their faces in the streets!"

“But sir…” the steward’s voice trembled with tears, “the guards have been sent out, but… but there are too many troublemakers, and we can’t catch them all.”

"Moreover, similar news has been coming from other cities as well: Silver City, Sunset Town, Red River Valley..."

"The entire Wasser territory seems to be in... chaos."

Otto finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

He suddenly stood up and walked to the French windows.

　>From here, you can overlook the entire Essenville.

In the past, the city operated smoothly under his will, continuously generating wealth for him.

But now, it seems that the gears of this machine are stuck in something.

On the distant streets, one could vaguely see a dark mass of people moving about.

“Mein Kampf…” Otto squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

He remembered the pamphlet that the intelligence agency had sent him, which was circulating wildly among the people.

He glanced at it at the time, dismissing it as the ramblings of a attention-seeking clown.

In retrospect, he severely underestimated the inflammatory power of these outrageous statements.

“That bastard named Lacey…” Otto cursed fiercely.

He certainly knew everything that had happened in Viseheim, but he never took that so-called Workers' Party seriously.

What kind of success can a makeshift team built by peasants achieve?

However, reality gave him a resounding slap in the face.

……

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse in the next two days.

The strike escalated into riots across the country.

The railway was torn down, the mines were flooded, and the factory machinery was destroyed.

Within just three days, economic activity throughout the entire Wasser territory was completely paralyzed.

Otto's tax revenue source was cut off, and his plan to rebuild the army fell through.

What enraged him even more was that those lowly people were becoming increasingly audacious.

They are no longer just shouting slogans; they are even storming city halls and grain depots in various places and starting to buy things for free!

In some places, the guards, outnumbered, were even disarmed by angry mobs, stripped naked, and hung on statues in the square!

“Useless! A bunch of useless people!” Otto roared from his tower, tearing urgent documents to shreds.

He used his sword to hack the famous paintings hanging on the wall to pieces.

Several staff members and generals stood trembling to the side, not daring to breathe.

"Sir, we must take action!" a general with a mustache said, forcing himself to speak.

"If this continues, we will collapse before the enemy even attacks."