Dungeon Defense (WN)

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The third imperial princess, Elizabeth von Habsburg, was bored.

She had already lost her authority in the human alliance. The number of soldiers from the Habsburg Empire wasn’t that impressive and the dukes dispatched from the other nations disregarded her in an offhand manner because of her young age.

She knew that the opportunity to establish an armistice had already passed. That’s why, even in this moment where a total of 200,000 soldiers had gathered, all she wanted was for the battle to get wrapped up as soon as possible. The other nations continued to send reinforcements even now. Humans will most likely succeed in chasing the Crescent Alliance away this time as well.

‘War is important, but how you deal with the aftermath is more important. Who knows what sort of ridiculous declarations the other nations will make after this is over.’

They’ll probably boast about how they had rescued the Habsburg Empire. Even though they had forced Habsburg to become the battlefield because they didn’t want to fight on their own land. What a bunch of mutts! Imperial Princess Elizabeth calmed herself down.

At that moment, a huge person was displayed over the plains.

It was a rather slim-looking man. He had clearly come out to give the Demon Lord army’s side of the ceremonial speech. Imperial Princess Elizabeth let out a sigh. She was also selected as the representative to give the ceremonial speech in the human army. 

Despite having no authority, she was simply placed as the figurehead to give the speech……. It was most likely the same for that man as well. The imperial princess couldn’t help but pity him.

It was obvious what he was going to say. The Demon Lord army is powerful and humans are weak, so surrender peacefully. The ceremonial speeches recorded throughout history have always been the same from the Crescent Alliance. Humans are foolish, but they aren’t so idiotic that they’d be affected by a speech of that level. In the end, this is nothing more than a waste of time…….

– Oh, humankind, listen.

That’s why, when the man opened his mouth,

– All of history until now has been the history of class strife.

The imperial princess couldn’t help but tilt her head. What was he saying?

The man’s voice echoed loudly throughout the plains.

– There are two wars in the world. One is the war between humans and demons. However, the fact that there is a more tenacious war than that, a war that has been ongoing for the past two thousand years without a single moment of rest, at that. Do you, mankind, know what that war is?

The man’s voice was crystal clear. There was no anxiety in his tone, so he sounded dignified and he didn’t exaggerate his words, so he gave off a trustworthy impression. Furthermore, he utilized inflections skillfully, so his words had the power to draw in people’s attention.

“What a bizarre thing he is saying.”

“No matter what he says, humanity is an impregnable fortress.”

The generals around her began to mutter among themselves. The contents of the speech were much different from what they were expecting. Rather, the speech itself was strange. A war that’s far greater than their conflict with the Crescent Alliance? Not only have they never been taught about something like that, but they’ve never witnessed anything even close to it.

Imperial Princess Elizabeth couldn’t help but be interested.

“Oh?”

What is he trying to say?

Life returned to her eyes. The imperial princess enjoyed it when things went outside of her expectations and she enjoyed it even more when things exceeded her expectations greatly.

– This is, in other words, a devastating war that lasts forever.

The man’s voice pierced through the murmurs and resonated throughout the area.

– Compared to this, the war between humans and demons is almost foolish! Humans and demons have only conflicted a total of eight times; however, this massive war has continued on every year, every month, every day, and every second…….

He began to name them one by one.

Free citizens and slaves.

Aristocrats and commoners.

Barons and serfs.

The suppressors and the oppressed.

– This is the eternal war. Even if our Crescent Alliance were to disappear from the continent, you will all still be at war. As 2,000 years have already flown by, and even if another 2,000 years were to flow by once more, the war of class, the war of authority will continue unchanged. To all those being oppressed, listen.

The man shouted as if he could see the soldiers directly in front of him. 

– 2,000 years ago, the Crescent Alliance advanced onto the continent for the first time in history. On that day, the rulers of the ancient republics lamented about the conservation of mankind. Your ancestors went to war while risking their lives in order to protect mankind. Despite this, even after the war was over, slaves remained slaves and serfs remained serfs.

– 1,800 years ago, the Crescent Alliance descended onto the continent for the second time. On that day, the emperor of the ancient empire ordered humanity to stand and protect mankind. Your ancestors put their lives on the line once more and marvelously came out victorious. Despite this, even after the war was over, slaves remained slaves and serfs remained serfs.

– 1,500 years ago, the Crescent Alliance marched onto the continent for the third time. Your ancestors fought once more against a massive army of 300,000 monsters and won. How surprising. How impressive! You are all truly the shield that protects humankind, and if it were not for you, the continent would have fallen into the hands of us Demon Lords long ago. You have been the guardians of mankind for thousands of years. You are the true owners of the continent. I am honored to be in the presence of such prominent individuals who have constantly won throughout history. 

The man applauded. The sound of clapping echoed throughout the plains like the sound of drums. The soldiers were clearly bewildered. There wasn’t even a hint of mockery in the man’s face or voice. 

– 1,500 years have gone by. We have now arrived on this land for the 8th time. But what is this? 

The man’s hands stopped as his tone abruptly changed.

– O owners of the continent, men who have protected mankind. You are all still slaves, serfs, commoners, and the weakest of the weak who continue to starve and die off due to a plague. What has happened? What have you all died for until now?

It was around this time that Imperial Princess Elizabeth stood up. She immediately grasped the man’s intentions. The curiosity and interest that was once in her eyes had disappeared without a trace. Her mouth simply hung agape as she watched the man’s projection with shock-filled eyes.

The imperial princess soon came to her senses. She then shouted at the mages who were preparing the magic circle.

“Activate the spell immediately!”

“Y-Your Highness?”

“Did you not hear me? Activate it immediately!”

The old man who had been slowly chanting the spell furrowed his brows.

“I apologize, but large-scale spells require time. We still require another 15 minutes.”

“15 minutes…….”

The imperial princess grasped at her head. This cannot be! 10 minutes is more than enough for that man to finish his speech and have some extra time left over. If this is allowed to happen, then everything will truly be too late!

Their side had been preparing slowly because it’s more advantageous to give the ceremonial speech second. This was a mistake.  The human army slowly began to prepare their magic circle after they saw the Demon Lord army begin their speech. Regardless of whether they noticed the imperial princess’ anguish, the mages continued to chant their spells in a delicate and strict manner.

The man’s voice boomed over them like thunder.

– You all have certainly defended the continent. That continent is a land that remains the same both before and after wars. You are still poor. Even if your parents catch the Black Death and groan in pain as they slowly die, you all are impoverished to the point that you are unable to buy even a single herb. What did you fight for? What were those sacrifices for? Did you put your lives on the line for 2,000 years only to protect your poverty?

– That is not so.

– Humankind, the truth is like this. You are not a part of the mankind that rulers of republics, emperors of empires, and aristocrats cry out for. You are not a part of the continent that those nobles cry out to defend. Those authority figures have lived to this day not wanting to protect the lives of the people and the land of the people, but solely for the purpose of defending their own lives and their own fortunes.

– The thing that your ancestors protected while shedding tears and blood was not something which belonged to them, but to someone else. In other words, they protected the belongings of nobles. Thus, it is only natural that you would all still be poor after every war! Nobles remained nobles and commoners remained commoners. You are the ones who have helped those nobles!

The man clenched his right fist.

– How lamentable! What type of fellows are those nobles in general? Even if monsters swarm to your villages, they do not dispatch their knights in order to protect you. They have thrown you, humans, away. Despite this, the instant Demon Lords approach, those nobles force you to sacrifice yourselves. For the sake of mankind!

– Even though the Black Death has spread throughout your villages, those people in power did not provide you with the cure. They have thrown you, humans, away. Despite this, the instant Demon Lords approach, those nobles force you to sacrifice yourselves. For the sake of mankind!

– Even during those years of bad harvests, those nobles refused to lower their taxes. Even though your fields had dried up and you were slowly starving to death as you could not even feed your sons and daughters bread crumbs. The reservoirs were full of water, and yet, those nobles did not give you water rights. They have thrown you, humans, away. Despite this, the instant Demon Lords approach, those nobles force you to sacrifice yourselves.

– For the sake of mankind!

– Now the mankind that those nobles are referring to has become clear. The humankind that they are talking about are the humans called aristocrats. The continent that they are referring to is solely the land that those nobles possess.

– What was this mankind for? It was a mankind for the suppressors. What were these wars for? The wars were solely for the sake of preserving this suppression. What were those 2,000 years for? You have all died and continued to die for the past millennia and more solely for the sake of foolishly passing down your eternal poverty to your sons and daughters!

– O mankind, not the mankind that those nobles say with honeyed words, but you, serfs, peasants, slaves, and those of you who have truly shed tears and blood. You, the owners of this land! Is something not off? Are you all truly slaves? Are you not all the true rulers of this land and―if anything, are those very aristocrats not the slaves since they have lived off of your blood like parasites?

“What utter nonsense!”

“This damn Demon Lord!”

The generals around the imperial princess burst out in rage due to those words. They continued to shout curses at the sky.

Instead of shouting at the sky, Imperial Princess Elizabeth calmly looked around her. A chill went down her spine. The soldiers……the soldiers were staring up at the man with blank gazes!

– Why is the grain and corn that you harvest being taken by the nobles and not you? Why do the nobles not procure their own food? Is it because they are your masters? If that is the case, then why is it that when villages are attacked, nobles do not step forward in battle even though they are the owners of these villages?

– The reason is simple. It is because your villages do not belong to them.

– Naturally, your villages belong to you, the people who live in these villages. The nobles are simply extorting you. In other words, there are no differences between nobles and those monsters that attack your villages. They are both thieves that are after your goods. There is no way that a thief would act as a landlord and protect your homes. Therefore, the nobles do not protect you. 

– The only thing that nobles do is rob from you. They eat the grain that you have harvested, they live in the homes that you have built, and wear the clothes that you have sewn. How could such parasitic creatures exist in humanity? How has something as ridiculous as this continued to happen for the past 2,000 years?

– Humankind, the reason is this. It is because they are holding weapons. There is no other reason than this.

– If you do not pay your taxes, then the knights that you would wish desperately for whenever monsters attacked your villages will appear. They are fine with other thieves taking from your homes, but they will not forgive you if you do not allow them to steal from you.

– If you justly declare that your harvests, homes, and clothes are yours, then those parasites and thieves will ruthlessly resort to force. That is right. The reason why nobles have been able to remain as parasites is solely due to their power.

– O humankind, listen.

– What must you then do in order to protect what is yours?

– What must you do in order to take back what is yours from thieves?

The generals began to shout even louder. Contrary to them, a terrifying silence lingered over the soldiers. The imperial princess berated the mages for not being ready yet; however, a corner of Elizabeth’s mind already knew that it was too late…….

– That is right! You have no other choice but to fight force with force!

The man shouted.

– Raise your spears, grab your bows, and take what is yours. Make the obvious, obvious! Do not let yourselves be fooled into believing you are slaves! You are the rulers of this land. Thus, what grows on this land is naturally yours!

– Fight!

– No one will get back the things that are yours in your stead. Therefore, you have no other choice but to stand up yourself.

– Fight!

– No one will live your lives in your stead. Therefore, you have no other choice but to reclaim your lives by yourselves.

– Fight!

– O mankind, what are the people? They are everything! Only you can call yourselves mankind with justice. What have the people been throughout the past 2,000 years of history? Nothing! Therefore, what must you, as the one and only mankind, become?

– Everything!

– I, Dantalian, declare as a Demon Lord and the representative of the Crescent Alliance, we will participate as your eternal allies in your war! The people of the northern region of Habsburg have already joined our cause.

– You are being deceived. We target the nobles, not the people. We have granted black herbs to all the people in the northern region of Habsburg. To everyone. We have subjugated the monsters that have escaped our control for the sake of the people and we have not asked for anything in return. Taxes do not exist in the northern region of Habsburg.

– A land where taxes do not exist. Does this not sound like the ideal world?

– Humans and monsters are not hostile towards one another in our Crescent Alliance. They co-exist. You form villages while monsters form tribes and live in peace without invading each other’s land. Does this not sound ideal to you all?

The mages finally reported that they had finished preparations. However, the imperial princess was standing still with her hand covering her face. ……It’s too late.

From this point forth, as the representative speech giver, she will have to state that everything that man had said was a lie; however, the seeds of doubt have already been planted deep inside the human army. What is this mankind for? What is this war for……? If they become even slightly disadvantaged during this war, the drafted soldiers will most likely become demoralized and desert the army. Some might even surrender to the Demon Lord army…….

“……Dantalian was it? A preposterous man has appeared in the Demon Lord army, I see.”

The imperial princess muttered to herself.

The man spoke eloquently in the distance.

– This ideal does not exist far away. It is time for you all to take hold of the land deeds that should have been yours all along. It is time for you to escape from the dark valley of lies and walk the bright path of righteousness. Descendants of God, the door of opportunity has opened for you and your children.

– Sing of righteousness. As the people, take the place of the people and outrage as the people. Make those nobles realize who the true masters are. Your song must vow that you will not descend into being slaves again. The day you cry out and raise your spears will be the day where the bright future known as tomorrow arrives.

– We despise the slaves who go around pretending to be masters. We respect the true masters and long for the day where we can all live together as masters. Make the ruling class shudder before the presence of your revolution. You have nothing to lose through this revolution other than your chains of lies. Only the world and everything else that should naturally belong to you awaits you.

– Fight back, humankind!

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I guess I sort of ended up picking up the pace after I worked on those early chapters. It’s not a bad thing. In any case, the speech is similar but also different from the LN. It definitely ends differently. Be it the LN or the WN, this part is still exciting. Really curious about how the WN will take it.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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