I. Target: Green Valley Village
Arthur's first objective for the People's Shield Movement was Green Valley Village, located just a day's journey from Blackwood Town. The village was groaning under the heavy exploitation of local tyrants and Royal guards.
Arthur took Aston with him, relying on the man's experience and local knowledge. While Anna and her Elven soldiers stayed behind to begin the basic training of the volunteers in Blackwood, Arthur and Aston set out.
As a former Captain, Aston knew the Crown's vulnerabilities. "Green Valley is ruled by the henchmen of Lord Tyrus. They aren't nobles themselves, but they use the authority granted by the Lord to strip the peasants of everything they own. The heaviest oppression comes from the four guards patrolling the fields tonight."
Arthur kept the plan simple: target the guards, convince the villagers that Lord Tyrus's power could be broken, and solidify the legend of the Shadow Guardian.
II. A Warning in Frost
They reached Green Valley at midnight. The villagers were huddled in their homes, paralyzed by fear. In the center of the fields, the four guards were gathered around a large barrel, drinking wine they had extorted from the locals.
Arthur climbed to the crown of a tall tree. He gathered his focus, drawing deep from his mana. Now that he was D-Class, he could stabilize and aim his energy with far greater precision.
Anna's life is on the line. The despair of these people ends now, Arthur whispered.
He released his mana covertly. This time, the target wasn't one of the guards, but the very symbol of their arrogance: the wine barrel. He channeled nearly 15% of his D-Class reservoir into a single, high-intensity pulse directed at the barrel's surface.
The Wine Frozen Before Their Eyes:
The spell instantly encased the entire exterior of the barrel in a thick, white crust of ice, chilling the surrounding air. The frost was so dense and sudden that the rusted iron hoops of the barrel snapped. The wine inside turned into solid, bright-red ice in seconds.
The guards leaped to their feet in shock.
"What in the blazes happened?" the Head Guard roared.
"The barrel... it's frozen! How is this possible?"
Arthur made his second move. Following Aston's prior instruction, he targeted the center of the only path leading to the village square. He spread a portion of his mana just beneath the dirt and gravel, creating a treacherous, hidden layer of ice.
As the guards tried to scramble away from the scene, one of them lost his footing on the path and slammed into the ground. The others stumbled in confusion. They looked around, but saw no mage, no circles, no sign of life.
"It's a curse! Retreat! What they said in Blackwood is true—there's a Ghost Mage here!"
The four guards fled the fields in terror. The frozen wine barrel remained in the square—a silent, glittering monument to Arthur's Frost Magic.
III. Winning the Trust
Once the guards had vanished, Arthur and Aston descended into the village square. Villagers were emerging from their homes, eyes wide with disbelief.
The Village Elder approached them hesitantly. "Who are you? Did you cast that curse?"
Aston stepped forward. "We are people here to help you. That ice... it was the work of a Guardian who fights on your side. The guards thought you were weak, but they were wrong."
He pointed to the frozen barrel. "This is a sign. Lord Tyrus's grip is not unbreakable. We are peasants who have been wronged, just like you. We seek to build the People's Shield Movement—a force that belongs neither to the Elf King nor the Human King. We bring you hope."
Arthur, fueled by the adrenaline of the moment, stepped into the light. "Lord Tyrus's men will not dare return tonight. You are the masters of your own land. Join us. The only power that can end this exploitation is our unity."
The people of Green Valley looked at one another, eyes flickering between fear and newfound hope. The presence of the frozen barrel was undeniable proof of Arthur's words. No longer just a "traitor," a legend was being born for the oppressed.
IV. The Rotting Face of Defeat
Fueled by the success in Green Valley, Arthur rapidly expanded the People's Shield Movement. After inciting rebellion in several more villages groaning under the Human Crown's tyranny, he turned his sights toward the "Ceded Territories"—former Elven lands handed over to the Humans after the treaty.
As they approached the first former Elven town, the atmosphere shifted. Instead of the tranquil hum of Flora Mana, a heavy, nauseating stench hung in the air.
Arthur and Aston entered the town square and froze in horror. The scene looked like a fresh battlefield, yet it was clear this was no accident. By the order of the Human King—to showcase the Elven defeat and the absolute might of Men—the bodies of the Elven villagers had been left unburied.
The weight of the humiliation and the utter helplessness of the scene crashed down on Arthur.
"The King," Aston whispered, his face turning ghostly pale. "He did this as a warning. The treaty gave him the land, but he wanted to savor the vengeance."
In that moment, Arthur felt neither rage nor fear. Instead, he felt a chilling, crystallized resolve, much like his own Frost Magic. This was no longer just a war of nobles; it was a war for honor against pure depravity.
Faerondil's ambition, the greed of the noble commanders... my family is suffering because of people like this. This Kingdom does not deserve to exist.
Arthur organized a swift, honorable funeral for the fallen Elven warriors. It was the single greatest act that won him the absolute trust of the remaining Elven commoners.
V. The Last Rebels
Following that harrowing sight, it was not difficult to recruit the remaining three Elven towns into the People's Shield. Having witnessed such brutality, the Elven peasants no longer trusted the Queen's distant authority or the Human King's hollow peace.
Arthur was now the commander of the oppressed from both races. Between Anna's 300 Elven elites and Arthur's thousands of peasant volunteers—even if their mana was mostly F-Class—they had formed a formidable guerrilla force in just two months.
VI. Secret Support and Political Grounding
Shortly after consolidating the rebellion, Arthur received the long-awaited letter from Anna at the Blackwood headquarters. Protected by secret Elven seals and delivered via Elia, the handwriting was tense but firm.
"Arthur, the Elven Council has become aware of the People's Shield Movement. Faerondil branded you a traitor and demanded bounty hunters be sent for your head. However, the Council suspects the coming Orc betrayal. They cannot openly declare war on the Human Kingdom due to the treaty."
"The decision is this: They will keep the People's Shield a secret. Officially, they will treat you as a 'traitor.' But... the Council sees your existence as a strategic advantage against the Orc threat. Under the table, they will supply you with Mana-Forged Dwarven Weapons and critical intelligence. They will not allow the Human Kingdom to capture you."
"We are not alone anymore, Arthur. But this is a dangerous political game. The Orcs strike in less than two months. Prepare. Our time has run out."
Vll. The Final Silence
Arthur folded the letter slowly. This wasn't just a promise of support; it was the Elven Kingdom giving him permission to fight. He now held the fate of two kingdoms in his hands.
While Anna continued to drill the People's Shield army with her 300 veterans, Arthur, along with Aston and Elia, began to analyze the final details of the Orc assault plan.
All that remained was the wait. The wait for the Human Kingdom to wake from its stupor, for the Orcs to reveal their treachery, and for the People's Shield to emerge from the shadows and declare their own sovereign land.
Vlll. Chaos on Two Fronts
The moment had arrived. A deafening war cry, confirming the Orcs' treachery, echoed across the eastern borders of the Human Kingdom. The 50.000-strong Royal Army scrambled to pivot its entire attention toward the rapidly advancing Orc horde, which promised total annihilation.
Simultaneously, in the West around Blackwood Town, Arthur and Anna's People's Shield—now 11.000 strong—set their plan in motion.
Arthur's D-Class potency, combined with the Dwarven-made mana-infused weapons secretly supplied by the Elves, had increased the movement's combat effectiveness beyond all expectations. The peasants no longer fought with just fury; they fought with the augmented strength vibrating from their blades.
Their objective: the Northern Logistics Line. This was the Crown's most vulnerable yet vital supply hub for the eastern front. Arthur was a leader forged in ice and steel. Aided by Aston's tactical brilliance and the discipline of Anna's Elven veterans, the northern fortresses began to fall one by one. Arthur used his Frost Magic to freeze fortress gates from the inside and shatter the defenders' armor. He was no longer hiding; he was the vanguard, the very symbol of the revolution.
IX. The Collapse of the Human Kingdom
The Human King was paralyzed by the sheer brutality of the Orc assault in the east. The Orcs had cunningly violated the treaty, striking with everything they had. The King desperately wanted to crush Arthur's northern rebellion, but he had no reserves left. His 50.000 troops were stretched thin, dying at critical points to hold back the Orc tide.
In a desperate move, the King chose to ignore the rebels' successes, focusing solely on the existential threat of the Orcs. This gave the People's Shield the critical time they needed. After two weeks of intense fighting, the Northern Logistics Line was entirely under Arthur's control. In the east, the Royal Army finally buckled under the weight of the Orc invasion. The Human Kingdom had fallen.
X. The Surprising Orc Demand
Instead of total occupation or genocide, the Orcs took a surprising stance. Just as Arthur's intelligence had suggested, the Orc King demanded only massive reparations, a percentage of all food resources, and the recognition of expanded military borders. The Orcs preferred to see a depleted kingdom as a perpetual source of exploitation rather than a territory to govern.
This provided Arthur and Anna with a vital breath of life. The People's Shield had indirectly served the Orcs' goals by weakening the Crown, but in doing so, they had won their own war for survival.
Xl. The Heavy Price and the New State
The war was won, but the cost was staggering. Of the 11.000 who joined the People's Shield, only 5.000 remained. Most of the peasant volunteers had fallen to the ruthlessness of the conflict. Arthur mourned the loss of his closest brothers-in-arms.
Anna led Arthur to the ramparts of the largest captured northern fortress. Below, the surviving 5.000 soldiers and rebels had gathered. Using the full extent of his D-Class mana, Arthur amplified his voice to a roar.
"The Human Kingdom has been defeated! The Orc treachery is revealed! But we—the F-Class peasants, the D-Class outcasts, and the branded traitors—we have triumphed!"
Arthur manifested a massive, crystalline mark of Frost in the air above him.
"We are no longer slaves to Human nobles, nor pawns for Elven lords! On this land, won with our own sweat and blood, we declare the Republic of Free People!"
The crowd erupted in a thunderous roar of joy.
Xll. Political Recognition
Days after the Republic's founding, Anna's secret connections in the Capital bore fruit. First, an official envoy arrived from the Elven Kingdom. The Council, ignoring the technicalities of the treaty, formally recognized the Republic of Free People. This gave Arthur's movement international legitimacy.
Soon after, a delegation from the Dwarven Kingdom arrived. King Bofur's message was simple: they admired the courage of the Free People and knew that the strength Arthur forged in the Dwarven Mines had brought this victory. The Dwarves also recognized the new state and offered a trade pact.
At just 14 years old, Arthur had risen from a fugitive traitor to a revolutionary leader. He was now the President of the Republic of Free People. However, with only 5.000 soldiers, he stood in the middle of two vast, hostile powers. The war was over, but the political struggle for survival had just begun.