Chapter 217 They Are Not Comrades
That's not nice of Hilco to say.
As soon as he opened his mouth, the expressions of many alchemy barons present changed.
Especially Finn.
This alchemist baron, who always plays with a lighter in his hand and moves gracefully and swiftly, is not only a comrade-in-arms who once fought side by side with Silko, but also his collaborator and vassal.
Like Hilko, he is also a staunch opponent of Piltover and a Zaun independence activist... well, at least he used to be.
"Silco, why are you still talking about Zaun and Piltover at this time..."
The situation was no longer the same as before. Finn no longer had much respect for the boss, even superficially:
"Yes, the Firoz family has killed many of our brothers."
"But the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Now the Wind Leader wants to kill us and dig up our roots. If we don't cooperate with the Firoz family, who else can we cooperate with?"
"The only one who can defeat the current leader is the Noxus Empire behind Ferros!"
Finn's words made sense.
But Hilco didn't want to analyze the pros and cons at this time. He just asked: "But what happens after defeating the leader?"
"Since the Noxian army entered Piltover, the balance of power between the two cities has been broken."
"Now that the Leader is here, the Piltover guys don't dare to come over."
"If the Windleader is gone, Zaun will immediately become a joint colony of Piltover and Noxus - the lives of the people of Zaun will only be worse than when they were enslaved by Piltover!"
"..." Finn was silent for a while.
The Zaun independence factions who had fought alongside Hilco were now completely silent.
"It seems you all know." Hilco sighed slightly.
They all knew that "cooperation" was just a nice word.
No matter how humble the Philos family is now, when the war is over, the status of both sides will be determined based on strength.
Of course, the strength of Zaun's Alchemist Baron is far inferior to that of Piltover, which has already been linked to Noxus.
Agreeing to cooperate with the Ferros family actually means agreeing to become a vassal of the Ferros family after the war and to be a dog of Piltover forever.
But these Zaun warriors, who had once preferred death to bite the Piltover people, agreed without hesitation and without exception.
"Silco, you are too persistent."
Finally, Finn spoke for everyone, saying, "Yes, we have all thought about fighting for Zaun. Windleader may be able to make Zaun independent and realize our dreams."
"But... the Wind Leader will never allow us to exist. If we all cease to exist, even if Zaun becomes independent, what's the point?"
"So you would rather be dogs of Piltover?" Hilco asked coldly.
"Yes!" Finn gritted his teeth.
He answered frankly: "I would rather eat the shit of the Piltover people than bow to the leader!"
"If we let the leader take power, I'm afraid we won't even be alive. Even if we survive, we'll probably be sent to the mines for forced labor;"
"And if Piltover rules Zaun, we can at least be Piltover's agent and continue to be our chem-baron."
“……” Another silence.
Hilco stopped asking.
"Hilco?" Everyone looked at him with a subtle look.
Hilko has always hated Piltover extremely. In order to integrate Zaun and fight against Piltover, he would even attack his best friends.
Therefore, his fierce opposition just now was actually within everyone's expectations.
And if Silko continues to be so stubborn and refuses to understand the principle of "pacifying the country before fighting the enemy" - then they can only join hands to help Silko figure it out physically.
The air quietly became tense.
"I understand." Hilco just sighed.
He sat back in his seat dejectedly, as if he had finally recognized the reality: "Count me in on this operation, too."
…
The alchemy barons quickly reached a consensus and, under the chairmanship of Hilko, the Zaun leader, they seriously discussed the specific plan for cooperating with Piltover and Noxus.
The meeting lasted for a long time before everyone finally left satisfied.
They all imagined the beautiful scene of eliminating the leader in a battle six days later, and even their steps seemed to have become much .
As Xierko looked at their receding backs, only indifference remained on his face.
"Silco." Renata slowly walked to his side.
She will be able to die happily in a few days, so she can speak without restraint now.
"How does it feel to have killed a comrade once again?" she scoffed. "Does it feel as bad as killing Fandel, or do you feel nothing now?"
Hilco was not affected by her at all.
He just took a last look at the receding backs of Finn and the others before saying, "They are not my comrades."
"Oh, you are so heartless." Renata laughed.
"No, they are not." Silko sighed.
He just figured this out.
He used to fight to free the people of Zaun from the cruel rule of Piltover, and those who fought alongside him were subconsciously regarded by him as comrades.
But after today, seeing everyone throw themselves into Piltover's arms without hesitation, Hilco finally realized that even if they were all warriors fighting for the independence of Zaun, they were not necessarily like-minded comrades.
"Renata, have you read the article "Why Noxus Fights?" Shilko suddenly asked.
"..." Renata's face turned green in an instant.
Even wearing a half mask, it couldn't hide her distorted and painful expression.
Because when she thought of herself being forced to listen to the "Jana Thought" broadcast, she couldn't help but want to vomit.
"It seems you have read it." Silk said, "Levi once wrote in the article about Noxus that the main contradiction Noxus faces is always the contradiction between the old aristocratic nobles and the new military nobles."
"Now it seems that whether it's Noxus, Zaun or Piltover, although the national conditions are very different, some principles are universal no matter where they are."
Hilco used to think that the main conflict between the two cities was between the people of Piltover and the people of Zaun.
Therefore, those alchemy barons who fought alongside him and were also from Zaun were all his comrades-in-arms.
But actually it’s not.
Hilco is willing to give everything for Zaun's independence, even if it means sacrificing his life, while most of his "comrades" only pay lip service to it.
Because these Chem- Barons are not fighting for the people of Zaun, they are just fighting for themselves.
The main conflict between the two cities is not the conflict between the people of Piltover and Zaun, but the conflict between different classes.
Chem-Barons may be Zaunites, but they are closer in class to Piltover merchants.
They fought against Piltover only because they felt that their interests were harmed under the old order ruled by Piltover, and they felt that their power was strong enough and they should get more.
They don't want to save Zaun. They just want to grab more pie from the Piltover tycoons.
So when the Leader threatened their vital interests, these so-called "Zaun independence factions" immediately showed their true colors and turned to Piltover, the city they hated the most in the past, without hesitation.
"If the Twin Cities were Noxus:"
"The chaebol families in Piltover are the old noble families of Noxus."
"The chem-barons who have risen from the bottom in Zaun are the new military aristocracy of Noxus."
Hilco understood:
"There is no such thing as a war between two cities. It's just an uneven distribution of spoils between the new and old nobles, and a naked fight for territory."
"The old aristocracy only wants to maintain their exploitation and oppression, and the new aristocracy only wants to become a new aristocratic family."
"They only care about their own interests. No one really cares about the fate of Zaun."
Hilco stretched out his hand, and a breeze swirled in his palm:
"Neither the old nobles nor the new nobles can save Zaun."
"The only people who can save Zaun are the millions of Zaun people."