Ch.274274. The Great Uprising – Epilogue

‘········??’

Marquis Glios was puzzled by the faint metallic clanking sounds that began to reach his ears.

He was certain that he had fallen asleep in his comfortable bed after having his neck cut by that angel—so why was he now starting to hear the sound of metal turning and clicking?

‘My body feels… heavy. And my back is hard.’

Not only were the Marquis’s limbs somehow not moving as he wished, but the sensation against his back wasn’t that of a soft mattress but rather the touch of cold metal.

Therefore, when the Marquis finally managed to lift his impossibly heavy eyelids, what entered his vision was───

‘───?!!!’

It was dozens, hundreds of mechanical devices filling his surroundings and constantly spewing steam, and in the middle of these machines was his own pitiful form, restrained.

The naked body of Marquis Glios, placed on what appeared to be a workbench, had its limbs amputated, with only about half of his shoulders and thighs barely remaining.

His neck area and entire lungs had been completely removed and replaced with some complex metal structure, leaving him unable to even make a sound.

Additionally, with strange metal pieces attached to various parts of his body, the Marquis, now beginning to feel the pain from his amputated and mangled flesh, let out silent screams, but·······.

[Combat Punishment Machine, Model Knight. Beginning production.]

Along with this alien (mechanical) voice that seemed to pay not the slightest attention to the Marquis’s will, painful procedures and modifications began on his body, which was held by mechanical arms.

‘──────!!!!’

Metal tubes were inserted into the metal pieces (interfaces) embedded in the Marquis’s body, and as he was fixed upright in mid-air, held by claw-like mechanical arms at both shoulders, the machines began implanting devices into his body.

The Marquis was stuffed inside a metal oval mechanical device, a power chamber reminiscent of a knight’s breastplate. Then, mechanical parts resembling plate armor and a helmet-like device were attached to the front.

A 360° rotating motor was implanted at his waist, followed by pelvic parts along with heavy and sturdy leg parts and feet. On the crotch area of these lower body parts, a piece of parchment inscribed with his crimes was engraved, combining style with punishment.

The arm sections, characterized by large shoulder armor plates, uniquely had their below-elbow portions entirely replaced with weapons—shaped like short-form blood cannons with large blades attached.

Additionally, dozens of large magical rifles resembling organ pipes were mounted on top of both shoulders, and the chest area was decorated with a skull and red cross symbol representing the God of Vengeance.

It was a “Model Knight,” a type specialized in close combat and attacks among the six models of machines designed by Lunifer—combat-punishment machines that serve both as punishment for sinners and as weapons against demonic invasions, manufactured in the Domain of the God of Vengeance.

It uses the magical power and aura from the soul of an intermediate-level or higher warrior stuffed inside as its power source, and is directly controlled by Blood Warriors who, despite having intermediate-level skills, have not awakened their aura.

The emotions and magical power emitted by the soul serve as the power source and fuel for this combat-punishment machine, while the aura characteristic of intermediate warriors is also fuel but simultaneously focused on operating the equipped weapons.

The 30-barrel medium organ gun on the back and the blood cannons on both arms also use aura as fuel, and the blades combined with the blood cannons are designed to be coated with aura on their surface.

Naturally, this ultimate war machine consumes a considerable amount of faith in its production, but in return, it has achieved significant military accomplishments thanks to its overwhelming capabilities that surpass ordinary intermediate warriors, but····.

‘Aaaaaaaaaah───!!! Aaaah──!! A, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah─────!!!!!’

This overwhelming combat power of the combat-punishment machine is close to cheating or fraud, as it exploits the soul of an intermediate warrior without any regard for its condition.

In any case, these combat-punishment machines not only inflict terrible pain on their occupants, as if their entire bodies are being crushed, but also attach torture devices to torment them····.

These torture devices, ironically, use the magical power and the very soul of the tortured as their power source.

‘────────!!!’

So, how long has it been since the Marquis was stuffed inside, screaming silently in pain?

He found himself in a position where he must suffer for life, unable to die even if he wanted to, trapped in a hopeless situation where he couldn’t even stop thinking.

But there was one thing the Marquis had yet to realize───

The machine he was used in had never been deployed in actual combat, and the pain felt by the power source in real combat situations—increases up to 60 times.

The suffering of this mad warmonger had only just begun.

※ ※ ※

After the battle at the lord’s castle.

With the annihilation of the Marquis’s forces, the revolution was successfully completed, and all that remained was post-war processing and reestablishing relationships with surrounding territories.

Just as in the French Revolution in reality, the surrounding territories did not attack the Glios Marquisate to prevent the spread of revolution.

Rather, they sent congratulatory messages to the revolutionaries in the name of the King of the Frankish Kingdom, and even made an incredibly generous offer.

The content was that they wouldn’t care what political system the Marquisate established as long as it remained part of the Frankish Kingdom, and they wouldn’t interfere.

This might sound strange coming from nobles who should be stopping the revolution, but····.

In this world, revolutions are nearly impossible in difficulty, so they don’t even consider the possibility of revolution occurring in their own territories.

This is largely because in the Frankish Kingdom, the privileged class is essentially composed of those who are physically strong, and regardless of origin, if you’re strong, you’re incorporated into the privileged class.

The lords who should be the targets of revolution are strong enough to cut down all their territory’s residents in one stroke, and those rare talents who can overthrow such lords are all granted noble titles.

In the Frankish Kingdom, which is strangely backward yet simultaneously open in order to survive among surrounding thugs, it was natural that combat ability was almost a basic qualification for rising to high positions.

Anyway, because of this culture, unless residents are treated exceptionally poorly, their discontent ends at moderate protests rather than revolution. These protests usually arise from genuine inability to make a living, so lords who need to consider their reputation tend to accommodate them reasonably.

Therefore, the surrounding territories viewed the rebellion in the Marquisate with attitudes like, “Tsk, what an idiot,” which is typical of most lords.

In fact, many territories sent condolence money and congratulations for killing the thug who had been causing trouble in the area, showing how far Marquis Glios’s reputation had fallen.

Additionally, since the Frankish Kingdom was originally closer to a federation of dozens of states than a single country, there was no reason for outsiders to meddle with the Glios Marquisate as long as it maintained the status quo.

Even if they invaded and won, there was no lord nearby who could handle the one million discontented residents, and the grand lords capable of managing such a situation were far away, so there was no major issue.

Therefore, sometime later.

After declaring that they would remain within the Frankish Kingdom, calling themselves the Glios Autonomous Region, the revolutionary army forcibly placed Snowbill, the revolutionary leader, in the position of chairman of the autonomous region’s assembly and began normalizing the territory.

They requested help from the Dawn Empire, their brothers in faith, and even brought in a temple of the Vengeance Order. With the help of dispatched administrators, they rebuilt the administrative system, which was sufficient to establish a stable territory, if not a systematic one.

Especially after the Vengeance Order announced the descent of “Mikela,” a great ancient hero and saint, to this territory. The Vengeance Order made this place a religious holy site and tourist attraction, bringing pilgrims and tourists from the Dawn Empire.

Thanks to the budget that began pouring in, they normalized the territory’s environment and completed land reform. Now, no trace of the former Marquisate can be found in the Glios Autonomous Region.

Cities and roads have been neatly paved, and living infrastructure has been comprehensively improved. Now farmers each have their own land where they can farm and make a living.

Also, the farmlands that couldn’t even exert half their potential due to idiotic policies like communal farming can now unleash their full productive power and produce food──

Before long, there was no one starving to death in the Glios Autonomous Region.