Game of the World Tree Chapter 653: Ideal and reality
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A few crows were hovering in the sky above the ravine, squawking, and Sophia stood on the roadside, feeling cold in her heart.
Dead babies were piled up at the bottom of the gully. Some had rotted into bones, while others seemed to have been left for a short time. There seemed to be at least a hundred of them.
The smell in the air was disgusting, and the pungent smell penetrated into the nostrils, making the girl's stomach churn, and she couldn't help but turn around and vomit...
It wasn’t until she vomited out everything she had eaten that Sophia recovered slightly.
However, the pale face and slightly trembling body showed that the girl was not at peace at this moment.
"I told you not to let you read it."
Demacia sighed, dismounted and walked over.
He glanced at the dead baby at the bottom of the gully and said to the other mage players:
"Burn it, and then chant a soul-purifying spell. Even if it is a baby, if you leave it alone, the undead may appear."
A few players nodded and called Yuanjuan, who was also a priest, to start processing the corpses at the bottom of the gully.
As for Sophia, looking at the busy elves, her vision became more and more blurry.
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"Why...why is this happening? Imperial law and the Eternal Canon prohibit the abandonment of babies, so why are there so many corpses of babies here?"
She murmured unbearably.
"Because I can't feed it... I can't feed it after it's born, so I can only suffocate it and throw it away secretly."
Demacia shook her head and said.
"Can't you keep it alive? If you can't keep it alive, should you throw it away? Suffocate it to death? How can they bear it?!"
Sofia said angrily.
"What should we do? Civilians are already poor. Almost every few days in human cities, children are born accidentally and they cannot afford to raise them. What do you want the civilians to do?"
Demacia sneered.
"You can leave it to the church to be raised. The Eternal Church already has an adoption center!"
The girl argued.
Demacia shook her head:
"Miss Sophia, you are still too young. Do you know how many similar abandoned babies appear in a town every year? How many can the church adopt? And, what about the Eternal Church? Where are they?"
Sofia was stunned.
At this time, she remembered that the Eternal Church in Riverbend Town had evacuated along with the nobles...
"Say no more..."
Demacia continued:
"This is considered a good situation. At least it shows that the poor can still survive. If they really cannot survive, you won't even be able to see these dead babies."
Hearing this, Sophia was stunned:
"Why?"
Demacia was silent for a moment and said:
"If you really can't survive, you won't throw away anything you can eat."
Sophia's face became even paler:
"You mean...you mean..."
Demacia sighed:
"Yes, cannibalism is not impossible."
"This...how is this possible?! How could such a demonic act happen within the empire!"
Hearing such shocking content, the girl felt dizzy.
"How is it impossible? If nothing else, when the Maple Leaf Territory goes to war, if the war is stalemate, Miss Sophia, do you think it is possible that what I said will happen?"
Demacia said coldly.
Hearing this, Sophia was speechless.
Little bits of fire ignited in the ravine, and the chants of the elves could be heard faintly. Looking at the hazy flames, the girl's eyes gradually became blurred.
"Is this... the real current situation of the empire's civilians..."
Her voice was trembling, with a hint of pleading and a hint of hope, as if she wanted to get a negative answer from Demacia.
However, Demacia's answer made the girl feel like she was falling into the abyss:
"Yes, this is the current situation of civilians outside the rich areas. It is good for them to live hard."
"What about magic! The nobles have so many loyal magicians, why don't they have magicians to help them! Just a natural magic can double the crop yield, right?!"
The girl said angrily.
"Miss Sophia, you have to ask yourself, you are also a noble, have any mages loyal to your family ever done something similar?"
Demacia asked rhetorically.
Hearing these words, Sophia’s anger was instantly extinguished like a fire encountering ice and snow...
She opened her mouth and was completely speechless.
Use magic to improve the lives of civilians?
No...
She knows.
No noble mage is willing to do this.
For nobles, magic is a symbol of knowledge, a tool to stabilize their status, and also a powerful force.
In the eyes of magicians, magic is noble, and they don't bother to do these small things.
Even if Sophia herself is willing to use magic to improve the lives of civilians, it may be difficult to promote it.
This is a matter of perception.
"What about the Church... Civilians are the biggest source of faith for the Church... Doesn't the Eternal Church care about these things? Doesn't the Church use divine magic to improve the lives of civilians?"
Sophia asked again.
"Church? Why does the church want to improve the lives of civilians? Are the church's magical powers brought by strong winds?"
Demacia shook her head.
After a pause, he added:
"Miss Sophia, maybe you don't know much about the church's operating mechanism. Well, as a person who has experienced it, let me tell you a cruel fact."
“For the Eternal Church, occasionally showing miracles and using some small magic to treat the illnesses of devout believers, this approach is more cost-effective than spending a lot of effort to improve the lives of believers, and the faith feedback they receive is more cost-effective. Much more."
"Because people in despair will be more hopeful and more determined in their faith..."
"For the church, gathering faith is the ultimate goal, saving the common people? What is that? Do you think the Lord of Eternity is the God of life who cares about all things?"
Demacia sneered.
After listening to his words, Sophia shook her body and stood blankly at the scene for a moment.
The flames in the ditch gradually extinguished, and the chanting of the elves slowly stopped.
Demacia glanced at the sky and said:
"Let's go, Miss Sophia, let's move faster. You can attend the noble dinner in Morning Star City tonight."
After saying that, he got on his horse and left the ravine first.
Sophia pursed her lips.
She clenched her hands tightly, and finally loosened them weakly. Then, with the help of other elves in despair, she climbed onto the horseback and followed the pace of Demacia...
Leaving Hebend Town, the team continued to move forward.
However, compared to the bustle at the beginning, the **** team was much quieter at this moment.
"I knew that "Elf Kingdom" was very realistic, but I didn't expect it to be so realistic. It's a magical version of the Middle Ages. This is too miserable..."
In the team chat channel, Meng Zhihan couldn't help but type.
"Perhaps it is darker than the real world. After all... civilians in the real world will rebel if they are pushed into a hurry. There are many examples in Western history of civilians overthrowing their kings and replacing them with new kings, but in the game... they cannot Ordinary people who control extraordinary power are nothing but leeks."
Demacia typed.
"Really, why do you make it so real? It makes me depressed QAQ..."
Juanjuan posted an emoticon in the channel.
“That’s why we are here. No game will design some meaningless plots. Since “Elf Kingdom” shows us such a dark human world, then... I think in the end we, the players, should still need to make decisions. It should change, after all... One of the main tasks of "Elf Kingdom" is to help the goddess spread her faith. If there is no comparison, there will be no harm."
……
The players were discussing in the chat channel, but the half-elf girl Sophia who was traveling with them fell completely silent.
She looked lost, with a trace of confusion in her eyes, as if she had been hit hard.
As the entire team continued to move forward, her mood became more and more depressed, and the original smile was no longer on her face...
It's not just the Reach.
On the way, every village and settlement that everyone passed by all exuded the atmosphere of decline and hardship.
This huge gap between ideal and reality has severely shaken the girl's understanding of the entire world...
At this moment, she felt how ironic the books she saw in the castle that recorded the prosperity of the empire were, and how disgusting those documents that touted the achievements of the nobles were...
Why is this happening?
Why... is the gap between nobles and commoners so huge?
Why... the nobles in the castle never mention the true situation of the common people?
The glory of the nobility, the responsibility of the nobility...what are they and for what purpose?
Why does the Eternal Church sit back and watch all this?
Is it necessary to ignore the plight of civilians simply because of what Demacia says is the cost-effectiveness of gaining faith?
In that case, what’s the point of the Eternal Church’s teachings on teaching people to be good?
How credible is the claim that God saves the world?
At this moment, Sophia was at a loss...
The sun is setting in the west and the temperature is getting colder.
When the red sunset filled the sky, the team finally stopped.
"Miss Sophia, ahead is Morning Star City. According to our information, Duke Rosen is now located in the city."
Demacia said.
His words awakened the lost Sophia from her daze. The girl's body trembled slightly, and then she subconsciously looked forward, only to see a magnificent human city appearing wherever she looked.
It was a large city no less big than Maple Leaf City. The city wall alone seemed to be twenty meters high. Under the city wall, there were tents that could not be seen at a glance. They should belong to the empire. The army and the mercenary group that accepted the recruitment.
There is no doubt that since the army is here, as the commander-in-chief of the army and one of the seven electors of the Holy Maninia Empire, Duke Rosen is probably also located in the city.
"Miss Sophia, we can only send you here. If you go any further, you have already exceeded our scope of activities... Well, it is no longer suitable for us to move forward."
As the player most familiar with the human world and the leader of the **** team this time, Demacia coughed dryly and said.
After hearing what he said, the girl who had always disliked him unexpectedly did not make any sarcasm, but just nodded silently.
On the contrary, Demacia saw that the other party did not quarrel with her, and she felt a little uncomfortable for a while.
"Thank you, thank you for your escort. When I regain control of the territory, I will definitely fulfill my promise."
Sofia said dullly.
After speaking, she clenched her fists:
"I will change this situation, I will definitely..."
After hearing her muttering, Demacia opened her mouth to say something, but thinking about Brother Mu's complaints and instructions to her before leading the team, she finally endured it.
Sighing, he said:
"Miss Sophia, I wish you the best. If you encounter danger, remember to take out the statue of the goddess and ask for help. The power of the elves will help you get out of trouble."
The girl hesitated for a moment and said:
"Thank you... If there is really a need, I will..."
This time, she rarely refuted.
Looking back at the sunset in the west, Sophia got off her horse.
She handed over the control of the horse to the elves, and then walked towards Morning Star City alone.
It wasn’t until the girl was completely gone that Demacia slowly shook her head:
"Don't give up until you reach the Yellow River..."
……
Perhaps because there were too many mercenaries coming and going, Sophia, dressed as a mercenary, entered the city smoothly without encountering any difficulties from the guards.
As one of the major cities in the Western Territory, Morningstar City is much more prosperous than Riverbend Town. Even with the crisis of war, the place is still bustling, and the presence of mercenaries and imperial troops has made the city even more prosperous. A little more chaos and noise.
The buildings on both sides of the street are much better than those in Riverbend Town, which makes Sophia's mood a lot better. At least the residents here... the living conditions seem to be better than those the girl saw along the way. many.
But perhaps because of the chaos of war, most houses were closed tightly, and only a few pedestrians were walking on the road, mixed with a large number of mercenaries and soldiers.
Sofia casually found a pedestrian and asked about the location of the city lord's palace, and then walked towards the aristocratic area of the city.
As the girl approached the aristocratic area, the buildings on both sides of the street became more tidy and beautiful. When Sophia passed through the civilian area and officially arrived at the aristocratic area, the buildings in sight were finally replaced by the ones she was familiar with. Beautiful manor villas and towering castles.
However, looking at these magnificent buildings with a familiar style, and listening to the faint music and laughter in the buildings, Sophia not only did not feel the slightest joy, but her expression became even more sad.
Just as she was about to enter the aristocratic area, two tall, well-armed guards stopped her.
"Stop! Ahead is the noble area, mercenaries are not allowed to enter!"
They warned menacingly.
Sophia gave them a cold look and dissipated the disguise magic from her body.
Under the surprised eyes of the guards, she returned to her half-elf form.
"Get out of the way, I am Sophia von Wells, heir to the Wells family, lord of Zeroland, I want to see His Excellency Duke Rosen."
She said coldly.
At the same time, while showing the power of a magician, she took out a badge engraved with the lion symbol and exuding radiant light.
"Third-level mage! And...the medal of the imperial nobles!"
The expressions of the two guards changed slightly.
"Please wait a moment, we will report it!"
They exchanged glances with each other and said respectfully.