Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World - Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Will you join me?
Henry was walking amidst the piles of corpses that littered the throne room of Rusra’s castle. He had already counted thirty corpses, belonging to maids and palace guards; some of the dismembered bodies were already in an advanced state of decomposition, making the air inside the room feel heavy and nauseating. The whole room stank of blood and death, and there was also the smell of urine and feces, as if the throne room had also become a public restroom.

“Have you and the residents not suspected of such atrocity?” – Henry asked the captain, who was gazing at the bodies with eyes filled with a mix of guilt and sadness; some of those faces he recognized, others he had even shared a few drinks within the tavern.

“There were rumors in the village about a few girls and guards not coming back to their houses after going to work in the castle” – the captain said as the nauseating smell of death entered his nostrils, almost letting him feel the taste of blood and decomposing human flesh.

“S-some of their family members wanted to come to the castle to look for them, but the lord commanded us to stop everyone who wasn’t on duty from getting inside. We couldn’t disobey him” – The captain looked down, ashamed, his eyes unconsciously falling on the soldier that came to warn the lord when the troops appeared on the horizon. He clenched his fists in regret. He was the one who sent him here.

Henry could see the guilt permeating the man’s expression – “It’s unfortunate that so many people died at the hands of that madman, but he was still a lord and you only a commoner. You can’t blame yourself for following his orders” – He said, patting the man’s shoulder – “Now, let’s get away from here; I can’t stand this place anymore. Do you know if there is any library in this castle?”

The captain gave one last look at the throne room before exiting – “Yes, there is one near the lord’s bedroom. The previous lords really enjoyed reading before bedtime. I will guide you there, my lord.”

Rusra’s castle was like a labyrinth. Henry followed the man through narrow corridors and stairs, taking many turns before finally reaching the large doors of the small library.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like there is much information here” – Henry thought, his fingers tracing the books in one of the two bookshelves inside the room. The number of books and parchments in this room was no more than three hundred. He already expected it, as books were expensive and had to be made by hand; there was no Johannes Gutenberg in this world to invent the printing press.

“I still have to figure out how to create such a thing here. It’s not like firearms, which have limited use here with soldiers possibly able to dodge or block bullets. The printing press can change a lot of things. At least, I won’t have to rely so much on Luke and the others he has been teaching to make copies of the books.” – Henry thought.

He had little to no knowledge of firearms, but even if he managed to fabricate one, it wouldn’t be of much help in a magical world where mages could launch missiles and warriors could break walls with their swords. It was better to concentrate his efforts on utility technology, like the press, which could help him develop his kingdoms and improve the rate at which knowledge was disseminated through his lands.

Gutenberg’s printing press used metal letters that could be moved around to form words and sentences, which were then arranged in a frame to make a page or a text. Once the letters were set, ink was applied to them, and then a piece of paper was pressed onto the inked letters to create a printed page. However, despite understanding the basics, Henry still struggled with a few obstacles, like finding the right ink and establishing a uniform process to create the metal letters.

Henry continued to go over the books and parchments on the shelves until he finally found one that could help him. He picked up an old parchment, if not for the animal leather being quite hard, it would have already been destroyed by time.

“It seems to be written by one of the previous lords of Rusra. It tells about the construction of the capital Etrira” – Henry muttered, reading the words with interest. The parchment briefly introduced the history behind the construction of Etrira two to three hundred years ago and also described the position of a few tunnels that were dug by the first king of Aritreia, seemingly in search of something inside the mountain where the capital had been erected.

“This will really help” – Henry said with satisfaction, tucking the parchment inside his clothes and deciding to read it more carefully later – “Unfortunately, there is nothing more here that is useful. However, I should still send them back to the capital to store them in the Royal Library.”

Henry turned to the captain, who was waiting by the door. “Let’s go back. We need to see if my general hasn’t killed everyone who tried to run away.”

-x-

In front of the gates, at least six thousand individuals, from soldiers and women to children and the elderly, were kneeling on the ground, their heads lowered. Olaro stood in front of these people, while the entire army of Stahl loomed behind them, hands resting on their swords, ready to strike down anyone who dared to resist. Leier was together with them, her presence so subtle that she nearly blended into the surroundings, but the soldiers knew she was the most dangerous among them, perhaps even more so than Olaro.

Henry approached, the captain trailing closely behind. It wasn’t long before Leier vanished from her previous spot and reappeared beside the king, becoming his shadow once more, ready to follow him anywhere and execute any command he gave. She didn’t say nothing and only followed.

“My liege!” – Olaro greeted respectfully – “I have ordered the soldiers to bring every single citizen of this city here. There was some resistance, but we managed to gather them all with only two injuried and not a single fatalities.” – He sounded rather proud, knowing how challenging it was to apprehend such a large number of people without casualties.

“Excellent work, General!” – Henry complimented and Olaro responded with a happy smile.

Henry walked in front of the gathered people, his gaze steady and strong as it met theirs. He could see a mix of fear, anger, and desperation in their eyes. There were those who wanted to curse him and others who wanted to just beg him to let them go. The kids were the most innocent, they were only looking at him curiously as their mothers tried to hold them in place.

Turning to Olaro, Henry commanded – “escort the children safely into the city, we won’t be needing them.” – He couldn’t bring himself to involve children in any form of violence, and the thought of using them as a form of threatening their families were even wore. Just the thought left him extremely disgusted with himself.

Under the king’s orders, Olaro instructed the soldiers to escort the children away. Some cried, clinging to their families, but their parents managed to soothe them, convincing them to follow the soldiers back into the city. Once the children had departed, Henry turned a serious gaze toward the remaining people.

“I am Henry von Stahl, the king of Stahl, and the one who ended the life of your lord, the ruler of Rusra, with my own hands” Henry declared – “Your captain and many among you witnessed his madness. He slaughtered hundreds of soldiers and countless others within the castle walls.”

The people listened attentively, Henry’s words about the death of the mad lord captured their full attention. Among them, some wore grateful smiles, seemingly ready to thank Henry for freeing them from that man’s power. However, others showed an anxious and worried expression on their faces, thinking about the repercussion of the lord’s death. The capital would surely send someone to Rusra.

Henry continued – “For centuries, he and his family exploited you, offering nothing in return. You provided for them, only to receive scorn and curses in return. You labored in their castles, only to feel a void in your hearts. You don’t even own your own lands!”

Some of the people that had their head lowered, raised it, their eyes shining as their hearts reverberated with everything that Henry was saying and explaining – “My mission this time is to free the people of Rusra and all Aritreia from the oppression they have been living for centuries.” – Henry’s eyes searched for any kind of repulse within their gazes, but couldn’t find it.

“You don’t need to worry. I will provide you all with a way out of this endless tyranny. I will soon annex this city and the entire kingdom, and you will all become citizens under my rule. I will be sure that you all have at least a small farm land to raise your crops.” – Henry declared, observing the people before him getting caught up in his cause.

It was easy to sway broken and vulnerable individuals to his side, especially with hundreds of swords ready to pierce at their hearts – “Will you stand with me?” he asked, his voice resonating.