I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 285: Colmar Peasant Revolt (8)

The one who woke Raphael from his despair was his comrades, who were making a fuss as though they had seen the end of the world.

“Captain, captain, we’re all going to die like this!” “How can we, mere peasants, defeat the Marquis of Orléans’ great army?” “Shouldn’t we just give up and run away now?”

Raphael himself was in shock, facing the situation that had suddenly arrived... but when the others started talking as if everything was lost, his instincts to survive kicked in, and he snapped out of it.

‘I have to hold out by any means.’

He thought that if he could hold on until the Holy Empire’s high-ranking officials, who would eventually come to aid [N O V E L I G H T] him, arrived... then, as the leader of the rebellion, he could earn military merit and naturally rise to the ranks of the Holy Empire's nobility.

Of course, if someone in the Holy Empire’s military were to be informed of this, they’d probably protest, saying, “We never instigated any rebellion at the border with the Lyon Kingdom. What nonsense is this about a dog walking on two legs?”

But Raphael didn’t have the authority or power to directly ask the Holy Empire’s military, so he had no choice but to trust Sebastian, who was pretending to be the noble Samuel from the Holy Empire.

‘If I can just hold out until Samuel arrives, I’ll be a noble too.’

Raphael immediately took control of the situation.

“Everyone shut up!”

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At the strong words of the leader who had brought these peasants this far, even those who had been in disarray now turned their ears toward Raphael.

An unspoken agreement was made between them: whether they ran or fought, they would follow the leader’s orders.

“It doesn’t matter if the enemy has 65,000 or 100,000 soldiers, what difference does it make to us?”

In truth, if they faced an army of such size on the battlefield, Raphael would probably change his tune in an instant, but right now was the time to use whatever bluff they had left.

If the leader showed fear, even Navy SEALs would start trembling, thinking, “Are we all going to die?” But if the leader showed confidence and said, “We can win against them,” even a ragtag army could be made to fight.

“We’ve fought and won against the Lyon Kingdom’s army that was guarding the castle, haven’t we?”

The reason Raphael had been able to win before was because the kingdom’s officers had judged that they couldn’t die in such a way and had fled after a minimal fight. However, the group led by Raphael thought they could fight and win against the Lyon Kingdom’s forces.

They believed the kingdom’s army feared them.

If Fabio had heard this, he would have snickered and thought it was like some absurd novel where a 20-year-old beauty falls in love at first sight with an S-rank hunter. But those who had been intoxicated by repeated victories were thinking they could give it a try.

Raphael, knowing they had to fight, spoke with confidence, as though he could win without question.

“Let’s fight. We’ve all learned how to fight in the army, so if we just get some structure, we can do it.”

And for them, no further miracles would be allowed.

The rebels, led by Raphael, were utterly defeated in front of the Marquis of Orléans’ army. They couldn’t even use any tricks, and Raphael, who had once seemed poised to take over the Lyon Kingdom, now had to flee like a rat searching for a hole to hide in.

Raphael, with a few dozen of his men, was barely managing to escape.

“Nice! If we can just reach Nice, we can join up with the main force led by the others!”

Before fighting the enemy, Raphael and the other leaders of the peasant rebellion had agreed that, in the worst-case scenario, they would regroup in Nice and fight the great army there.

Nice was surrounded by high city walls, had plenty of water and food supplies, and weapons were stockpiled as needed...

As long as the morale of the soldiers held out, it was a city that could stand up to a large army.

‘If we can just make it to Nice, we’ll see an escape route.’

“Run to Nice!”

Raphael shouted to encourage those following him, but no one responded to his words.

When they had first started the rebellion, they had felt like they were finally becoming something great, driving out the nobles and the army, but when they actually fought the regular forces of the Lyon Kingdom, they realized that this war had no chance of success.

‘I should never have listened to that bastard.’

Though they all thought that, they still followed Raphael.

The water had already been spilled, and since they were rebels, they figured listening to him was the best chance of survival.

It was pathetic, really—regretting their involvement in the revolt—but no one here had the luxury to be that reflective.

“A little more! Just a little more, and we’ll reach Nice!”

As Raphael tried to raise the mood, a peasant who had been at the front pointed ahead.

“Over there!”

Though they couldn’t clearly tell what the situation was from just pointing, Raphael’s group immediately went on high alert.

The fact that someone had shouted meant they had encountered an unexpected enemy.

“Bandits! Bandits!”

As soon as the word was spoken, Raphael’s group drew their weapons, wary of the bandits.

However, the group that appeared to be bandits moved with much more refinement and organization than the Lyon Kingdom’s army. They had prepared for an attack.

The leader of the supposed bandits raised both hands and smiled.

“My name is Samuel. I have close ties with Raphael here.”

Upon hearing this, Raphael felt tears well up in his eyes.

If it was Samuel, who had brought him this far...

In this damned situation, he could somehow save them.

Thinking that, he placed his hopes in him.

“Samuel! You’ve finally arrived?”

“Sorry I’m late. But I see you’ve done a lot while I was gone. You truly are something.”

Raphael felt that, though the hardships weren’t over, at least some of them were being rewarded.

Now that Samuel had arrived, the Holy Empire’s army would soon come to their aid, and Raphael would be recognized for the rebellion, allowing him to join the ranks of the nobility.

He thought all the suffering would now end, and only happiness remained.

But then, Samuel—or rather, Sebastian of the Rothschild family—made a hand gesture.

At that moment, Sebastian’s group aimed their guns and fired at Raphael’s men.

Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Raphael’s subordinates were clueless.

The person they had just thought was an ally was now suddenly pointing weapons at them.

“Samuel! These are my comrades. What is...”

Sebastian completely ignored Raphael’s words and coldly addressed the others.

“If you don’t want to die here, I recommend you abandon Raphael and run. Otherwise, you won’t see anything good.”

The people who had followed Raphael were nothing but a group of random peasants, and now, seeing the tide turn completely, they abandoned Raphael and quickly fled to save themselves.

“Samuel, how could you do this to me?! I did exactly as you ordered...”

Sebastian, with the sword in his hand, stabbed Raphael in the thigh.

The pain was so intense that Raphael couldn’t say another word.

“You’re a fool with only ambition and no ability. I don’t know what makes you talk so much.”

In Sebastian’s eyes, Raphael was a pathetic case.

Had Raphael been someone with exceptional talent trying to rise to power like his master, Fabio, Sebastian might have respected that.

But Raphael’s talent was only mediocre at best, and his quick desire to climb the ladder, immediately pushing for a high position by pestering Mayor Colmar, reminded him of someone he had known—Albert de Medici, former Baron of the Medici family.

“Someone with mediocre abilities and full of inferiority complexes always stirs up trouble.”

“Being a craftsman in Colmar City, as a citizen of a city governed by Count Colmar, you should have figured out a way to advance by putting Colmar’s interests first. Why did you cause all this chaos knowing you could sabotage him?”

“B-but it was... it was instigated by...”

“I don’t plan to rise against my master. I’ve never done such a thing.”

Sebastian had always supported Fabio from behind the scenes, receiving titles, lands, and wealth in return.

He had never once tried to check Fabio’s power.

As a result, he had risen in rank within the family, surpassing even Chloe and Chris.

“No, I could never defy someone like him.”

Fabio de Rothschild was a man who could play with even the devil himself.

How could someone like him, an ordinary man, even compete?

“I’ll share something interesting with you on your way to the afterlife.”

With those words, Sebastian stabbed Raphael in the throat.

As the blade pierced Raphael’s vocal cords, he couldn’t make a sound.

“I am Sebastian, the butler of the Rothschild family of the Toscana Empire. Not Samuel.”

Sebastian then made sure Raphael was dead, discarded his body by the roadside, and immediately returned to the Toscana Empire.