What on earth was going on?
He couldn't understand it at all.
Why was something like this happening?
Why had he ended up in a situation like this?
Sincerely, truly, and completely at a loss, the red-haired mercenary stationed at Guard Post No.1 of the Richmond Iron Mine thought to himself.
And then he shouted,
"Step back! If you come any closer, you'll be detained for trespassing on private property—!"
It was a desperate, threatening roar.
Under normal circumstances, it would've been more than enough to intimidate. It was a roar filled with bloodlust and fighting spirit.
But today was a little different.
Was it because the opponent was a seasoned veteran with countless battles under their belt?
Or because they were an elite warrior whose mere presence made the idea of crossing blades feel like an honor?
Neither.
"Ah, don't push!"
"Line up, line up!"
"Move up front! Stop dawdling and get going already! You can sightsee later!"
The people swarmed in.
A massive flood of bodies surged forward.
Among the 'ordinary citizens'—numbering easily over several hundred—not one paid attention to the red-haired mercenary's shout.
Of course they didn't.
Because they couldn't afford to be late.
This was an open run.
"....Khuh!"
The red-haired mercenary's face twisted in frustration. He looked back at his fellow guards stationed at the post. His comrades shook their heads.
With expressions of resignation.
"....."
In truth, the red-haired mercenary, and the other nine guards as well, all knew the reality.
Hundreds—no, easily over a thousand people—had surged toward the guard post before the morning sun had even risen. Stop them? With just the ten of them?
At first, they thought it might be possible.
They thought that if they just scared them, the crowd would back off.
But reality wasn't that simple.
At first, the crowd seemed to hesitate when they saw the drawn swords. Up to that point, it had looked promising.
But then—
"Oh? You? It's been ages!"
Someone in the crowd called out warmly and stepped forward. They walked right up to the red-haired mercenary without hesitation. Then said,
"Man, feels like just yesterday we were rolling through the battlefield together. How've you been? I've retired now. Haha! Look at this belly!"
"...Uh, uh...? That's…"
That was when it happened.
The tension in the crowd, which had seemed hesitant in the face of the guards' momentum, completely evaporated. The expressions of the citizens who looked at the guards changed as well.
'Huh? They know each other?'
'Then it's nothing serious.'
'They're friends, friends.'
'So that thing with the sword just now was just part of the job.'
'Yeah, when else would they get to draw their swords while working this post?'
'Good for them, really.'
'If it were me, I'd be secretly grinning from ear to ear.'
'Man, thanks for working so early in the morning!'
The crowd of hundreds—no, easily over a thousand—began to pass through the guard post as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Try to stop or detain them?
That wasn't even an option.
Ten people, against a crowd of over a thousand?
"Hey, what are you doing?! Catch them! Stop them!"
Someone shouted belatedly, but it was already too late. They tried to forcibly grab a few people, but that only provoked backlash.
"What? Why are you grabbing me? You let all those other people go!"
"No, I mean! This place isn't for just anyone to pass through!"
"Then catch them too! Why are you only stopping me?!"
"No, I mean—!"
"Why are you only doing this to me?!"
"....."
Now that they heard it, they couldn't really say it wasn't true(?).
Which made it harder to respond.
And now, here they were.
"Haa…"
Citizens endlessly flooding in waves, marching toward the mine—an open run legion, essentially.
The mercenaries at Post No.1 could only stare blankly, helpless.
It was the same at all other posts. Post No.2, Post No.3—none of them could stop the citizens.
To be honest, it had been impossible from the start.
Even if the ten mercenaries stationed at each post were all seasoned veterans, there was nothing they could do against the overwhelming numbers. And it wasn't like they could just start swinging swords wildly at civilians.
'If we tried that… we'd probably be trampled to death by an angry mob, huh?'
Besides, there was no duty or loyalty that obligated them to protect the mine at such risk. They were just ordinary security hired for routine work.
Thanks to that, not only the final checkpoint but even the entrance to the mine itself became a free pass!
Thus, the citizens' open-run vanguard made their first steps into the inner tunnels of the mine. Naturally, the labor golem guarding the tunnels reacted to the sudden visitors.
Thud! Thud!
– Intruders detected. Identity confirmation required.
The massive golem approached with a somewhat intimidating air, glaring at the citizen in front. It looked ready to subdue them at any moment.
The citizen at the front flinched under the pressure and was about to shrink back.
"That thing. You know, that thing. The one we got earlier."
Someone beside him nudged his side and spoke.
"Oh."
The leading citizen looked as if he'd just remembered and dug into his pocket. Then he pulled out a tiny gray-white bead.
It was a crudely hardened flour dough ball. But one side of it had a single dark red stain—like a spot of blood paint.
– .....
The golem stared intently at the flour bead.
About 1.5 seconds passed.
Beep!
A cheerful chime rang out from the golem.
Immediately, the golem's demeanor completely changed.
– Blood composition confirmed. Welcome, VVIP Lord Richmond. How may I assist you?
"Uh… I was thinking of heading to the storage room…?"
– Acknowledged. Please follow the guide.
The golem gently guided the citizen.
And that wasn't the end.
From that moment on, the exact same process began repeating—hundreds of times over.
Beep! Beep! Beep-beep! Beep!
Chimes rang out one after another from the golem at the entrance.
A confirmation voice announcing verified identity.
– Blood composition confirmed. Welcome, VVIP Lord Richmond. How may I assist you?
Every golem that confirmed the dark red mark on the flour bead identified the bearer as Richmond. They switched into courteous guide mode.
Thanks to that, Kim Jangcheol, who was observing the citizens entering from one side of the tunnel, let out a proud and wicked smile.
"Kuh, kukuku, kukuk…!"
And beneath his eyes, thick dark circles had already formed.
Because of the all-nighter, he was quite tired.
But at the same time, he felt deeply fulfilled.
'It's working. It's really working just fine.'
Suddenly, last evening came to mind.
Was it right after he had shared today's plan with his companions?
Everyone had started moving busily.
It all began with the dough.
They mixed water into the flour he had brought up through Richmond's private passage from the storage room.
They kneaded it thoroughly. Like making tiny rice balls for red bean porridge, they pinched off bits and rolled them into thousands of small beads.
Then, they dabbed each of those flour beads with a spot of Richmond's nosebleed.
And with that, the mass production of temporary storage room access passes was a success!
The next step was promotion.
"I never imagined... people would respond this enthusiastically."
Zephyros, who had been watching the citizens enter alongside him, said this.
Then, he turned to his liege, Kim Jangcheol, who was casually shrugging.
"Did you perhaps predict this outcome, my lord?"
"Well, to some extent?"
Indeed.
These were citizens who had already been suffering under Richmond's tyranny.
Food prices had skyrocketed beyond reason.
Life had grown harsher, no matter how hard they worked.
Who wouldn't have hated it?
Who wouldn't have had complaints?
But because of Richmond's wealth and power, no one dared speak out.
"Normally, frustrations like that just need the right trigger to explode. Like the day our inn got surrounded."
"Ah..."
"You remember, right? The reactions and the fervor of the people surrounding the inn."
"Yes, my lord."
"Seeing that, I realized—ah, these people are boiling over with dissatisfaction. And if we can just give them the right spark, the response will be explosive."
Thanks to that realization—
With thousands of flour bead access passes and around three hundred hastily scribbled flyers in hand, they started going door-to-door from the taverns on the streets.
And they stirred things up.
They spread the word that due to an unexpected circumstance, Richmond was shutting down his business tomorrow. That all the food he had hoarded in his storage would be sold off at bargain prices.
Did people believe them right away?
Surprisingly, yes.
It was thanks to someone in the crowd shouting the moment they saw him.
"...Huh? That guy! He's the one who was selling those king-sized potatoes in the plaza!"
"What? That bastard? Wasn't he in cahoots with Richmond?"
Hearing that, he immediately shouted in reply,
"You're saying I was in cahoots with Richmond? You're right! I tried! I wanted to make some real money too! But it all went down the drain! Richmond suddenly went bankrupt, and I got ruined too! That's why I'm telling you this now, to at least recover something! Please come to the Richmond storage at dawn! Buy some of our potatoes too!"
"That's right! Please buy some! We need to eat too!"
Right on cue, Reivaj's servant, Dyoll, joined in and hyped the crowd.
And seeing that, the citizens quickly joined in.
"Oh my! That guy, his face looks just like a potato!"
"If someone with a face like that sells potatoes, I trust him!"
"Then everything he said must be true!"
And that sealed the deal.
From the very first tavern, their trust rating shot to 100%. Everyone there eagerly grabbed the flour bead access passes.
Same at the next tavern, and the one after that.
At the dawn market in the plaza as the sky began to brighten, at the labor center where workers were gathering early, and even at the bakery starting its day—
The response was the same.
Everyone who heard the news had their eyes light up.
And they thought,
A tearful clearance sale?
Then we can't be late.
This is a competition.
…And that result was now proven by the hundreds of citizens entering the storage.
"Alright, come and choose! First come, first served! Grab what you can!"
As Kim Jangcheol's cries rang out, the citizens inside the storage began shoveling food into their baskets like warriors at war.
If the imprisoned Richmond could've seen it, he would have wept tears of blood.
And of course, someone else had a similar reaction.
His secretary, Ruslan, who heard the disastrous news just a bit too late.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Lord Ruslan! Something terrible has happened! Please wake up immediately!"
Just as the sun was beginning to rise—
A red-haired mercenary, having rushed to the Richmond estate, pounded urgently on the door of Ruslan's room.
Moments later—
Upon hearing the unprecedented situation unfolding at the storage, Secretary Ruslan felt his chest sink in dread.
"Wha... what did you say...?"
At that moment, he thought—
Where on earth is Lord Richmond while all this is happening?
Can this even be fixed?
No, it must be fixed.
In that case…
'Should I… wake the combat-type golem hidden in the storage for emergencies like this…?'
Maybe… maybe he really had to.
Even if it meant blood would be shed, even if people had to die—
Clenching his teeth with that determination, Secretary Ruslan urgently drove his horse toward the storage.
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]