The character who is saying this is Wiegraff Folles. He was from the lower class when he was called to arms by his lord, joining a shitty militia known as "The Corpse Brigade" because of the high casualty rate. He fought hard and distinguished himself, earning minor increase in class by becoming a knight. The war he was fighting in was known as the 70 Years War, and it finally came to an end during Wiegraff's service. As peace returned, however, many of the lower classes who were forced into the fighting were not paid or compensated as they had agreed to. These veterans were cast aside, many turning to banditry and worse. Wiegraff attempted to lead a revolt against the nobility, and actually got pretty far before the revolt was eventually crushed. Wiegraff went into hiding for a few years, grieving the loss of his sister in the failed revolt. He is eventually approached by Templar knights, who secretly have an evil agenda, and offered a station with them. He accepts it, seeing it as his chance to rise high and take revenge against the nobility, but things turn out differently. He was a bitter man, and rightfully so- his whole life upended and ruined, fighting for a lord who he'd never even met, in a war that had began 70 years ago. And then his government failed to help the peasantry recover from the brutal effects of long term warfare, and refused to compensate thousands of their people- what do you expect to happen!?