She Is Not a Witch

Hopland, Nisos Merchant Association Headquarters.

The courtyard entrance, usually bustling with activity, was now filled with protesting crowds, mostly employees from wineries and other workshops who had been living in extreme difficulty.

Generally, when merchant associations grow large, they offer better treatment than smaller associations for the sake of reputation and long-term considerations, and they tend to be more credible.

But the Nisos family was different. Not only did they not increase wages, but they also required longer working hours with virtually no holidays or rest.

Especially since Fernelton began taking over family affairs, they recently developed a new wine, attracting many new employees. If it were just more tiring work, these people might have accepted it—where wasn’t it like this?

But recently, after working in the new winery for a while, people gradually became physically weak, and some even went mad. At first, everyone thought these people were just weak to begin with, but as more and more people had issues, everyone began to suspect that this new wine was poisonous. To prevent damage to their reputation, the Nisos family sent people to capture and warn those who dared to speak out, temporarily suppressing the situation.

But eventually, paper can’t wrap fire, and one day the truth was exposed. Many employees began demanding compensation and protesting, but the merchant association turned a deaf ear, sending thugs to disperse the crowd.

Everything remained this way until recently when a young man named Gretet organized everyone, uniting employees from over a dozen workshops to strike and protest. This was something the Nisos family couldn’t tolerate.

Faced with the scene of several hundred people protesting collectively, the Nisos family was somewhat hesitant. It wasn’t that they couldn’t overpower them, but it would greatly damage their reputation within the business alliance. It would also openly violate many laws and regulations, making it difficult to cover up.

“Lord Fernelton, it’s not good. After hearing about the issues with our new wine, the Aoni Merchant Association has refused to continue purchasing. Not only that, others have started returning their orders.”

CRASH—

Cups and tea sets were swept onto the ground, shattering.

“Didn’t that alchemist say there were no problems?” Fernelton shouted angrily.

“Where is he?”

“My lord, the alchemist said a month ago that he needed to find new materials. Then he left for a few days to make purchases…”

“And then?” Fernelton glared with round eyes.

“Then… we never saw him again.” The servant below answered, trembling.

“Fool!” Fernelton kicked out.

Recently, Fernelton had introduced a new wine at a banquet, calling it ‘Soma’, meaning legendary wine. This wine would cause mild hallucinations after drinking, allowing one to see beautiful dreamlike scenes. The Nisos family claimed this wine was completely non-toxic and non-addictive, so it was quickly beloved by some upper-class people after its release.

It wasn’t just a wine, but became a kind of enjoyment. If the winery incident hadn’t been exposed, the Nisos family could have earned several times their usual profit this year from this alone.

But heaven doesn’t always comply with human wishes. The secret of the new wine was exposed, and orders from various families stopped coming in, with demands for refunds. Not only that, but orders for other Nisos family wines were also greatly affected, with all kinds of orders beginning to decrease.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

After the victory on the northern battlefield, the war in the Western Wind Kingdom entered a stage of raging wildfire.

“Fire!”

With the rebel officer’s command, massive rocks taller than a person rolled into the throwing baskets of over ten tall catapults.

A dull, teeth-clenching sound rang out as gears and wooden frames slowly rotated under the action of lever mechanics, continuously accelerating these huge rocks before hurling them high into the air. They whistled through the sky in arcing trajectories, crashing heavily into the city walls. Stone chips flew everywhere, like the wrath of heaven.

The brick-built city walls were filled with archers wearing red and blue robes, continuously raining arrows from over 20 meters high. The arrowheads in the sky blotted out the sun like locusts.

Below the city walls were the rebels dressed in black robes, with countless blue flags adorned with golden stars waving across the land.

BOOM——

With a thunderous crash, dust showered from the thick wooden city gates, and some steel rivets began to loosen.

Outside the gates, a battering ram made of thick logs as wide as five men’s embrace was lifted by a group of strong men. Their veins bulged, faces blood-red, chanting slogans in unison as they repeatedly struck.

Despite the protection of shield bearers on the sides, falling rocks and arrows from the city walls still fell mercilessly. Some were hit so hard they spat blood, even exposing bone. But as one fell, another immediately stepped forward to continue carrying the ram.

Desolate horns continually sounded as batch after batch of brave warriors sang ancient war songs, charging headlong.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

The song of mourning spread for a thousand miles. Running across the wilderness were rebels waving flags of stars and wheat. The blue flags with gold patterns fluttered noisily in the wind. Faces weathered by frost raced across the mountains and fields, all to spread this seed of hope to more places.

They didn’t dare hope that the revolution would be achieved by their own hands, but this didn’t mean their actions were meaningless. At the very least, they wanted to tell those who suffered oppression like them that in this sunken, dark world, there still existed torches of hope. These torches burned fiercely, driving away darkness and apathy, bringing a bright and warm dream.

It was a world where one could obtain equality and dignity, a world that could break the shackles of oppression, a real and beautiful world.

“There has never been any noble bloodline. Why should they be born high above us!”

Declaration officers wearing star badges stood in high places, shouting loudly. In fields, deep mountains, squares, and taverns, they proclaimed this lofty dream to every person in the Western Wind Kingdom. It was a world that countless people yearned for, a world full of vitality.

“The world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

“It’s a mean and dirty place.”

“It doesn’t care how innocent you are at heart.”

“It will still beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you don’t fight back.”

“If you know your worth.”

“Then you must strive for your value.”

“Instead of blaming others, saying you couldn’t become what you hoped to be.”

“Complaining endlessly without change is the behavior of cowards.”

“But you are not cowards!” they roared.

“You are much stronger than cowards!”

The audience below was shocked. Most of them were poor people from the bottom rungs of society, hardworking farmers. Long-term living had made them cold and numb, like stubborn stones in the fields, their hearts cold and lusterless.

But today, these stubborn stones were struck, sparking fire. An impulse long suppressed finally began to surge from the depths of their hearts, their blood gradually boiling.

“Long live Cransia!”

It started with just one or two, then three or four, then more and more people joined in. Finally, a surging, unified voice rose under the sky.