20 years had passed when I woke up! ~ The villain's daughter’s thereafter and after that ~ - Chapter 48

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

“If we don’t do something, Vincent and Fioria will steal our land! Landowners, rise up! We must defend our land with our own two hands!” 

When Count Sain returned to his property, he began making such declarations and amassing soldiers.

…Or at least he tried to amass soldiers.

“Even if they do take our land, it’s not like they’re forcing us out.”

“It says so in the newspaper. The Abolishment of Nobles’ Property Rights is being passed to get rid of incompetent landlords, right?”

“Haha! Well, then Sain’s going to get the boot! That bastard only cares about securing luxuries for himself!”

The response from the peasants was, at times, thickheaded to the point of it being sad.

“I mean, Fioria-sama’s the Pope, right? She’d probably give the land some prestige.”

“I heard we might be able to start living like they do in the Duchy of Florence. It sounds like it could only do us good.”

“Hah! Who the hell would ever lend a hand to that idiot, Sain? Why do we have to put our lives on the line to defend that bastard’s land?”

Ultimately, Count Sain’s attempt at gathering troops was a massive failure. The only ones who answered the call were mercenaries who dabbled in robbery and nomadic adventurers.

“Damn it! All of these fools are underestimating me!” said Count Sain. He was extremely enraged at the results of his efforts to gather troops. He clawed at his shiny bald head and screamed with anger.

“I am a landowner! You peasant bastards are like livestock to me! You dare disobey your owner?!” Count Sain’s shouted at his soldiers as his eyes bulged with rage. He said, “We’ll make examples out of them! Go burn down one or two towns that haven’t answered the call for troops! All pillaging is permitted!”

It was an excessively careless order – he had stooped to talking about humans like animals. A decent person would have at least hesitated upon hearing such an order and perhaps turned their backs on Count Sain.

Those that had gathered on Count Sain’s side were all unethical thugs, though. The knights who were already employed by Count Sain were mostly the same – most of them only cared about themselves.

“Hey, you bastards! The landlord’s just given us permission to start pillaging!”

“Yahoo! We’re free! I’m going to do whatever the hell I want!”

“Brute force is justice! That’s the truth about our world!”

The soldiers all broke out in vulgar smiles and rushed into a nearby city. It was the largest city in Count Sain’s lands – Kosuin. The city gates installed in the walls surrounding the city were closed, and the gathered troops began trying to break through them.

“Hah! You hermits! We’re gonna drag you out into the open!”

“Prepare the battering ram! Let’s bust in!”

“The fun’s about to begin!”

The soldiers were drunk with the anticipation of violence. They felt entitled to it. It was bound to begin – a one-sided show of slaughter. They were about to be able to throw their might around to their heart’s content – to trample the have-nots underfoot, to kill them, and take from them, and rape them. It was a greed that was carved into humanity and difficult to resist. In other words – bullying the weak was fun. 

“It’s your fault! You’re weak!”

“You should have obeyed our landlord from the start! You’re going to suffer because you resisted him, you know?”

“You hear it a lot, don’t you? People that get attacked are usually asking for it.”

“It’s survival of the fittest. We’re going to educate you on the laws of nature.”

“Aren’t you thankful? Come on, get on your knees and show us your gratitude!”

“Good for you, eh? You’re going to be smarter, now. Well, I guess not for long, though, because you’re gonna die now!”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

The moment the city gates fell, the soldiers rushed into the city like an avalanche.

In the city center was a large fountain. The spouting water was glittering in the sunlight shining upon it. The soldiers got there and paused.

Fascinated by the fountain, as it was famed as a sightseeing spot… they were not.

“You all seem to be having a lot of fun.”

A swift gust of wind blew through the city center and golden hair waved through the air. It was an omen of the horrors the soldiers were about to face.

“I will teach you the truth about this world.”

Jade eyes that looked as if they were those of a God who held sway over the entire world swept over the soldiers, like a gaze from the high heavens.

“Brute force is not justice. I am Justice. I will speak on behalf of the Golden Goddess. Oh, people – rise.”

It was Fioria De Florence. 

Behind her were the people of Kosuin, lined up in battle formation.

Did they have swords? No.

Spears? No.

Bows? No.

The people were holding thin, long, black rods. They didn’t look dependable as bludgeoning rods, and they seemed to have no obvious potential for killing or wounding.

Yet, they were nothing to scoff at.

They were weapons that had massacred tens of millions of demons the previous winter and served as tools used in the turning point of the history of humanity.

They were ’96 heresy rifles, or “Bata-batas”. (christened so by Fioria).

“Defending one’s own life is never a bad thing. It is the right thing to do. I will take responsibility for any of our people killing in self-defense. Grasp your future with your own two hands, and take control.”

Fioria raised her right-hand high.

She was grasping a ripened, red apple.

With one hand, she easily crushed it into pieces.

It made a great bursting noise as it busted apart, and crumbled to the ground.

“Fire,” said Fioria, giving the signal to engage.

An earsplitting storm of rifle fire erupted.

Fioria had predicted Count Sain’s movements and infiltrated the city of Kosuin. At that point, she used the Granford Company’s distribution roads to carry in the ’96 heresy rifles.

“H-help! N-no! I don’t want to die!”

“D-damn! Why is this happening… Ahhhh!”

“Ah-guh-aaah…”

The battle was so one-sided that it was overwhelming to the senses.

The soldiers who had been smashing through everything with vigor just moments ago could now only hopelessly cry out in despair. They were just like a choir of wailing screams.

“Y-You’re the pope aren’t you?! How are you allowed to encourage killing?!”

“I’m a believer of the Monado faith too, you know! You’re going to kill a believer?!”

“What are you accusing us of doing?!”

Some mercenaries reacted this way.

However, Fioria responded while remaining calm and indifferent. She said, “It is you who are in the wrong. Who cast the first stone? If you harm someone, that harm will be returned to you. That’s a simple rule that comes before any religion. The pope took the time to come and lecture you, so get on your knees and show me your gratitude. Well, I don’t think you’ll have an opportunity to make good use of my teachings anymore, anyway.”

The reason for that was because they were all going to stop breathing soon.

“Giving you all a future in this world would be a waste. I will have you receive eternal punishment,” said Fioria, drawing a sword. 

It was the holy sword of light – Sol Eustitia. 

The heavens shined down brightly in response to the shining of the sword.

“Moment of Judgment: A Caning of Holy Punishment – Divine,” she declared.

A torrent of light flooded over the remains of the soldiers and evaporated them all. However, it wasn’t over just yet.

They were not granted reincarnation, and they were to be tormented by their existence in purgatory until the end of time.

What waited for them was a throbbing agony akin to their entire bodies being burned. They were cursed to pay reparations for the sins for all of eternity, not even able to lose their minds to insanity.

Fioria did have a scrap of mercy for them, though.

If any one of them showed any sense of true repentance, they may be allowed to be reborn and start over.

“Now, then,” she said. After finishing the battle of Kosuin, Fioria tied up her golden hair.

“Let’s go have a talk with Count Sain, shall we?”

Of course, there was no way that things would be settled with just a talk.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]