Instead of putting up any resistance, the nobles merely hung their heads as much as they could to avoid being identified.

Of course, it was only a futile and laughable gesture.

All of the commoners were familiar with these nobles, and back when they were oppressing the very people that stood before them, they had most likely never anticipated that such a day would come.

Count Onen seemed to be taking the situation quite well. He appeared to have already accepted this reality. He knew that as one of the prominent nobles of the city, there was nowhere for him to hide, so he was looking directly ahead with a pair of cold and soulless eyes.

Initially, the crowd was rather uneasy to see these nobles kneeling on the ground before them. In fact, many of the people in the crowd reflexively parted so that they wouldn't be standing directly in front of the kneeling nobles. They had been taught their entire lives that they were inferior to these nobles, and it was going to take more than just a speech from Lia to alter those deep-rooted views that they held.

However, one would be remiss to underestimate the speed at which humans could change their minds, and it didn't take long at all for the people in the crowd to grow accustomed to their new roles. This was one of the main differences between humans and other living beings. Among humans, acting was an occupation, one that had no barrier to entry. There wasn't even any need for Lia to hype up the crowd even further before some people were already emerging from the crowd to stand directly in front of the nobles. Having been oppressed by the nobles for so many years, many of the commoners had developed a deep sense of hatred and resentment toward them, and they were struck by a sense of vindictive joy at the sight of the nobles kneeling before them.

"Take a good look at these relics of an archaic era. They are completely powerless to stand in the way of the people!" Lia declared in a passionate voice. "They are currently hanging their heads, lamenting the fact that they are the ultimate sinners of this new era! My brothers and sisters, it is time for us to unite! Let us unite and topple these cowardly nobles together! Let us seize back the land that is rightfully ours and distribute it evenly among ourselves! Let us live in a nation of universal freedom and equality!"

Lia's arms were spread wide open, and his face was flushed a deep red. Veins were bulging on his neck, and it was as if he were trying to release all of the energy in his body at once.

His powerful and rousing words pierced directly into the hearts of the tens of thousands of people gathered before him.

"We want equality!" someone yelled from within the crowd.

"We want equality!" everyone immediately repeated.

"We want freedom!" Someone else's voice rang out.

"We want freedom!" everyone immediately chimed in.

"We want land!" This was the most practical benefit that this era was going to bring to the people.

"We want land!" everyone yelled in unison.

Initially, there were only a few supporting voices from the crowd, but these chants quickly spread like wildfire.

It was as if, through their collective voices, the people were trying to shatter the shackles that had bound them for centuries.

Under this highly emotional atmosphere, Lia continued his speech.

"These accursed parasites deserve to be killed!" Lia declared as he pointed at the nobles who were kneeling on the ground.

"Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!" the crowd chanted angrily.

Lia made a quieting gesture once again as he continued, "However, everyone has the right to live. These parasites once funded their own lavish lifestyles by taking and plundering from us, but those crimes were all committed in the past. Before we implement our new laws, we cannot just judge them for their past crimes as we please. We must respect all human lives and give everyone a fair trial, regardless of what they've done in the past. If the new nation we build is one in which human lives are taken so lightly, then who will believe that this is a nation with universal equality? We can deny their identity as nobles, but we can't deprive them of their basic human rights. Hence, my personal suggestion is that we banish them."

In the eyes of the tens of thousands of people gathered here, Lia was like the incarnation of a god, the spokesperson of the Universal Lord. Hence, his word was essentially being taken as the holy decree.

It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that even if Lia had farted aloud in front of everyone, they would've worshipped the event as a godly passage of gas.

After that, Lia described his outlook for the new nation of universal freedom to everyone, presenting all of the people with a blueprint for the road ahead.

Thus, amid an atmosphere of boundless confidence and optimism, the city of Zans welcomed a new era.

...

Meanwhile, Erwin was hidden in the shadow beside the wooden stage, watching the unfolding scene with an indifferent expression.

Onean was standing beside him, and she was also looking on with indifference.

For the two of them, it was like watching an epic theatrical play, but there was no way that such a scene could evoke any significant emotional response within them.

Erwin had a very clear and objective understanding of human nature.

As for Onean, she had witnessed just how fickle the people could be. To this day, she still couldn't forget what the people of Sarus had been like.

"When I first met Lia, I thought he was just a kind old pastor, but it looks like that's far from the truth," Onean said with a smile as she nudged Erwin with her elbow. "It's very impressive that he's able to rile up the people to such a degree with just a single speech."

A faint smile appeared on Erwin's face as well as he replied, "Indeed. He's barely mentioned the Universal Church at all, but everything he's said thus far reinforces the idea that this had all been done for the people. It creates an illusion that this is a completely selfless act."

"Aren't you worried that your plan would only benefit someone else?"

"Judging from how things are going, it looks like that will be unavoidable," Erwin replied with a relaxed expression. "But it's also all within my expectations. It's just like a joint business venture. They provided the most money, so they should naturally reap the most benefits as well, isn't that right?"

"Are you really just going to accept that? You're not the type of person who would ever accept the short end of the stick," Onean said with a suspicious expression.

"Sometimes, it's better to end up with the short end of the stick," Erwin replied.

"Don't give me that." Onean turned to him with a skeptical glare, then began to pinch at his waist.

She naturally couldn't force Erwin to reveal what his follow-up plan was in a setting like this, but at the same time, she still couldn't help but feel disgruntled by the fact that Erwin was lying directly to her face.

"Ow! I already told you my plan before, didn't I?" Erwin protested as he slapped her hand away with a pained expression.

"Have you?" Onean asked with a skeptical expression.

"I have," Erwin insisted. "Have a good think, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Shortly thereafter, an enlightened look appeared on Onean's face as a thought suddenly occurred to her.

...

That night, Erwin, Lia, and Turan were gathered in a small room in the Holy Jade Cathedral, with Menpo acting as the scribe, while Joe was also in attendance. They were gathered together to discuss their future and the future of Zans.

Lia had painted the picture of a glorious future ahead for the people, but in order to support such a vision, a solid framework had to be established. Essentially, they required a political theoretical foundation. They certainly couldn't usher in a new era with only optimism and a few catchy slogans.

"It's all well and good to declare that we're going to return the land to the people, but in practice, that's not going to be so easy to execute," Turan said as he turned to Erwin and Lia.

"Indeed. Firstly, we have to conduct a census and establish household registries before we can begin distributing the land," Erwin said.

"Not only that, but we can't just sell the land in an unregulated market. If the amount of land that one can afford correlates directly with their wealth, then there would be no point in banishing the nobles," Turan said with a wry smile.

"Indeed. If someone like the Farody Family purchases all of the land, then they'll just become a new set of nobles," Erwin chimed in in agreement. "If that happens, then all of our efforts will go to waste."

"What do you think we should do then?" Lia asked as he turned to Erwin and Turan.

"I think that we need to establish some clear rules. Private sales of land must be strictly prohibited. All transactions involving land can only go ahead after they've been registered at and approved by the relevant organization that we set up," Erwin suggested.

Turan nodded in agreement. "We do indeed need to establish such a supervising organization. Otherwise, once the people receive the land, there's no telling what they could do with it."

"Also, we can give them the land, but we must take taxes," Erwin reminded. "Even though we're technically acting on the behalf of the Universal Church at the moment, this is a political organization. Without taxation, there's no way that this organization can run smoothly."

"I agree, which is why I was thinking that it may be a little inappropriate to be conducting all of this under the banner of the Universal Church," Turan said. "After all, no one thinks of the Universal Church as a political organization."

An amused smile appeared on Erwin's face upon hearing this. "I'm glad you mentioned that. I wanted to make this suggestion, but I was worried that you would suspect me of harboring ulterior motives. After all, aside from myself, this entire room is filled with Universal Church clergymen."

Erwin had naturally already considered the issue that Turan had just raised, but at the moment, Lia was the one calling the shots, and he didn't want there to be any misunderstanding between them.

"Hey, I'm not a clergyman of the Universal Church," Turan protested with an amused smile. "Also, you're the current leader of the Universal Church Freedom Army. How can you say that you're not a clergyman of the Universal Church?"

Erwin could only nod in response to this, indicating that he had forgotten his own identity as the freedom army's leader.

"Then how about we use the name of the Universal Church Freedom Army instead?" Lia suggested.

"If we do that, it would make us sound like a military government. Also, it doesn't sound very official," Turan objected.

"Then how about we call it the City of Freedom?" Erwin suggested with a smile. "You have to think about this with a broad outlook. There are so many dukedoms and cities in the north. Perhaps other cities will be inspired by our success and try to replicate what we've done here. If that happens, we need to have a name that everyone can accept and rally behind. Only then will they be willing to join us."

It had to be said that Erwin's political foresight was very impressive.

"What a shrewd young lad you are," Turan praised. "You're already thinking far into the future."

"City of Freedom, eh?" Lia carefully pondered the name, then took a glance at Turan.

The two of them exchanged a glance, and it was clear that both of them were in approval of Erwin's suggestion.

"Alright, then we'll use the name 'City of Freedom' for now," Lia decided with a nod.

"We have a name now, but there's still an extremely important matter that needs to be addressed," Erwin said.

"And what's that?" Lia asked.

Erwin naturally couldn't openly insult Lia and the others for their lack of strategic acumen, so he could adopt a joking tone as he said, "As the leader of the Universal Church Freedom Army, I have to tell you that we have nowhere near enough troops under our command at the moment. Theresa may have retreated, but I'm sure Duke Eru has more forces under his command than just that legion of cavaliers."

Erwin could still clearly recall what Theresa had said right before her departure.

"What are your thoughts on this?" Lia asked. Judging from the carefree look on Erwin's face, Lia knew that he had to have already thought of a solution.

"Didn't I just say that we can distribute the land among the people, but tax must be taken as well?"

"Yes, what about it?" Lia asked.

"Well, surely there will be people who can't afford to pay tax or simply don't want to."

"So what?" Turan asked with a perplexed expression.

"If they can't afford to pay in Loonies, then they'll just have to pay in manpower," Erwin replied. "The Universal Church Freedom Army is the official army of the City of Freedom, and those who serve it will be paid official military wages. In exchange, their duty will be to protect the citizens of the City of Freedom. You can't just enjoy the land distributed to you and benefit from the protection of the city without paying tax in one way or another. Hence, if any household is unable to pay tax, then they'll have to contribute by sending the capable men in their families to join our army. Not only will this alleviate the financial pressure that imposed taxes will exert onto the citizens of the city, we'll also be able to recruit more troops to the freedom army."

"In addition to that, we're providing job opportunities as well. I'm sure many young men will be eager to sign up when they hear that they'll be receiving official military wages. That is truly a brilliant solution," Turan praised once again.

Even Erwin was starting to grow rather amused at this point. It seemed that Turan was insisting on praising him as much as possible.

Lia nodded in agreement with Erwin's proposal, and at the same time, he said, "We have to make it clear to the citizens of the city that paying taxes is mandatory."