Little Tyrant Doesn't Want to Meet with a Bad End[1-200]

Chapter 26: When the Weak Strikes Back

 Chapter 26: The Meagre

 Sorofya.

 This was a name that no one in Sia Continent didn't know of.

 In this world, where the flow of information was severely limited by geographical distance, it was only natural that those who were born in the Austine Empire wouldn't have heard of the Theocracy's Xeclydes, and vice-versa with the Austine Empire's Ackermanns. But the name, Sorofya, was known by almost everyone regardless of which country they were from.

 And the reason for that was the Sorofya Merchant Association.

 The merchant association was born in the Rosa Merchant Confederacy, which was located at the heart of the Sia Continent. Its name was derived from the Rosa River that flowed through the entire northeast region.

 Ease of travel, imparted by the river, and an ideal geographical location, allowed the area to swiftly grow into a trading hub shortly after the inception of the Third Epoch. Despite so, the civilians living there didn't enjoy good lives.

 This important trading hub was a strategic military location as well, making it a place countries fought for. To make things worse, Rosaians were incredibly wealthy, which meant that a successful military campaign could very well reap great benefits.

 As a result of that, Rosa ended up changing hands many times.

 This tragedy continued until 200 years ago, when Rosa was under the rule of the notorious tyrant emperor of the Austine Empire, Karwen II. The Rosaian merchants were finally unable to tolerate the brutal rule of their colonial masters, so they raised their flags and staged a revolt, eventually leading to the founding of the Rosa Merchant Confederacy.

 Of course, all was not smooth during the founding of the nation.

 The few major merchant houses who masterminded the revolution faced immense pressure from the Austine Empire, both militarily and financially. Some of them gave in to the monetary incentive provided by the Austine Empire and backstabbed the revolution, whereas others caved to the military pressure and raised their hands in surrender.

 There was only one merchant house that continued to persist in its ideals, and that was the Sorofyas.

 The Sorofya House was the only one that showed backbone amidst all of the money-minded merchants, and it was precisely because of their grit that they suffered the most during those dark times.

 Indeed, the Sorofyas were the ones who were backstabbed by the other merchant houses. Nearly their entire family was captured by their own allies and handed over to the Austine Empire in exchange for incentives. The only one who managed to escape then was their youngest son.

 When the Austine Empire attacked Rosa City, they brought all of the Sorofyas out to the frontline and used their lives to threaten the youngest son into opening the city gates and surrendering completely. Yet, the plan was foiled when the obstinate old patriarch ran right into the blade of a sword and committed suicide, choosing death to being used as a hostage.

 The death of the Sorofyas' patriarch meant that the plan to force the youngest son to surrender had failed. Out of rage, the Austine Empire had every single member of the Sorofyas in their capture put to the sword, plunging the remaining survivor of the house, Grimm Sorofya, into great agony. He swore vengeance on the Austine Empire.

 As future events revealed, the Austine Empire had made a bad move, and they had underestimated the tenacity of the Rosaians as well. This decision plunged them into a bitter war with the Rosaians that lasted for the next decade. They attempted everything they could think of, including massacring entire cities.