When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1248 Happiness Potion
Just as the General Staff had predicted, by the end of October in the fall, when the days were shorter and the sunlight was weaker, Serfaye broke the treaty and landed at the Golden Horn.

When the news arrived, the entire empire was in an uproar.

Despite the Pravda newspaper's long-standing promotion, news of battles in various regions caused widespread panic, even within the Holy Alliance.

Serfaye's breaking of the treaty almost expressed the attitude that "we will not abide by any treaty."

The vampires will keep fighting until you die or I die.

Panic has broken out not only in Leia, but also in all the coastal areas of Fran and Norn.

Residents, with their families in tow, continued to migrate inland, or simply went to the Thousand Rivers Valley of Saint-Lian.

That's a more inland area, so at least we'll encounter the war later.

As a result, the number of Saint-Union immigrants, which had been gradually leveling off, surged again in the autumn of 1460.

Unfortunately, even the residents within the Holy Alliance themselves are not very stable.

The believers in rural areas are alright; they have a kind of "foolish self-confidence," as urban dwellers would say.

As for the citizens, they believed almost without reason that the war would be resolved outside their own territory and absolutely not spread to their homeland.

Even so, a large number of citizens still choose to move to the mountain counties or secretly buy boat tickets.

There were even those who tried to secretly consort with vampires, so they could defect in the future if something really happened.

Especially those emerging workshop owners and company managers!

Upon receiving the information that the Cheka had gathered from the people, Horn was both angry and amused.

It's true that one's position determines one's perspective; the hearts of the Holy Alliance members are not as strong and steadfast as one might imagine.

Don't they understand the principle that if the skin is gone, what will the hair cling to?

Twenty years have changed a lot, but some fundamental things can only be achieved after one or two generations have passed.

But what is truly gratifying is that, thanks to the dozen or so secondary schools and nearly a thousand primary schools affiliated with St. Union, the number of students has increased by two to three hundred thousand in ten years.

These students are mostly from primary and secondary schools, and an important part of their education is the teachings of the Sacred Way.

Although this fostered a large number of radical and fanatical followers of the Holy Path, it is at least certain that they were steadfast enough.

By deploying them as priests and officers in the army, a sufficiently large warband could be quickly formed.

Amidst this atmosphere of preparation for war, Horn naturally wouldn't be idle. After handing over most of his work to the College of Cardinals, he was about to embark on an inspection tour.

As the saying goes, you have to do your own work; a lazy person can't be a good general.

Without conducting investigations and witnessing things firsthand, how can one determine the geographical situation and the state of the war?

Horn wouldn't investigate every single corner in minute detail, but he would at least travel to the most critical areas to reorganize the military camps and the lax officers.

The Holy Alliance does not have a mind control tower, and raising the banner of the Holy Path Sect cannot turn all officers and soldiers into selfless robots.

The goal is not to discover problems; that's what the Cheka does.

What Horn needs to do is get things back on track with minimal cost.

Furthermore, communicating with the commanders of various war zones along the way is a crucial and irreplaceable step.

Finally, he was able to delegate his tasks.

However, three days before his departure, Horn faced an incident that Madeleine also couldn't handle.

"The potion of happiness, what is that?"

Wiping away sweat with a hot towel, Horn walked from the doorway to his desk.

He had just returned from rehabilitation at the training ground. After not practicing for many years, his swordsmanship and horsemanship had clearly deteriorated.

"This is a special medicine that is very popular in coastal areas. Recently, some merchants have been selling it to Saint Union."

Horn picked up the potion on the table and shook it. The pink potion in the cork glass tube left a pink film on the wall.

"Why are you handing this over to me?"

"The Cheka's six-member committee unanimously believes that there is a problem with this medicine, so they are reporting it to you specifically."

"What does it do?" "As its name suggests, it can numb the nerves and make people feel happy."

Horn's breathing quickened as he realized something: "Is it addictive, and then it causes convulsions, like a madman..."

“No, not at all.” René shook his head. “After drinking it, you’ll have a smile on your face and feel very peaceful, but it is addictive.”

As he spoke, René handed Horn a test report that had been used on death row inmates.

The report shows that death row inmates who were originally extremely vicious became calm immediately after drinking the potion.

He was so joyful and peaceful, even smiling and humming softly, as if he had completely forgotten that he was about to be publicly hanged.

Furthermore, no matter how others provoke, insult, or even whip him, or even simply let him leave, he remains unmoved.

They simply eat, excrete, and sleep reflexively until the medication wears off the next day.

Then, almost pleadingly, he knelt on the ground and begged the pharmacist for another vial, even if it meant being strangled again.

When asked how he felt, he only said it was peaceful and happy.

After the execution, an autopsy was performed on his body, and no diseased parts were found.

He blinked, speechless for a moment: This potion has no side effects, hardly harms the body, and can even make people feel happy.

"Is it hallucinogenic? Does it cause hallucinations...?"

The alchemists, apothecaries, and doctors in the room began to discuss in hushed tones.

Is it an illusion to make people optimistic?

"I don't think so."

"He is able to react to the outside world, but it's as if he has no negative emotions."

Ultimately, they came to a conclusion.

"No, it just makes people happy. Apart from addiction and aversion to greasy meat, it has no side effects." The pharmacist Ceci, who came to report, pushed up his glasses. "Many pharmacies will package it as an apple from the sacred tree and sell it."

"Is it just about making people happy?" Horn sensed something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The room fell silent. They all sensed something was wrong, but neither knew how to express it.

Finally, Carrie, who was sitting in the corner, spoke up: "Happiness makes people content, and contentment makes them not want to change."

Horn immediately understood: "Everyone has gone to drink the potion, and everyone is calm. Who would resist?"

People work to enjoy material and spiritual life, but all happiness actually comes from the senses.

If one can deceive the senses into believing in happiness, one can obtain a false happiness.

This is essentially similar to shaking your body in a stationary carriage to pretend it's moving.

The royal court's apothecary is quite skilled; he's even managed to create something like this.

In terms of biological miracles, the Royal Court is indeed far ahead of the Holy Alliance.

However, in the realm of mechanical or alchemical miracles, the Holy Alliance is far ahead.

"This kind of thing must never appear in the territory of the Holy Alliance. It should be classified as a contraband, and selling even 5 milliliters of it can result in a death sentence."

"Such a severe punishment?"

“You have no idea how terrible it is.” As he said this, Horn suddenly thought of something.

If these Holy Alliance monks and scholars are only now discovering the potion's immense harm, what about those outside the Holy Alliance?

What about those ignorant lords, those manor owners and bishops?

After a moment of silence, Horn suddenly sighed, "I'm afraid the vampires will take over Golden Horn Bay much faster than we think."

In late November, after finally handing over all his work, Horn set off on a border inspection tour. He had just arrived in J.J. Dalberg when he received the latest news.

On November 19th, after three weeks, the royal court defeated more than 11 border knights and temple knights of Golden Horn Bay, and then outflanked and defeated the reinforcements led by Duke Omes.

The day after the recapture of the Holy See, Eagle's Foot Bay surrendered, and the Royal Court's northern, southern, and central armies successfully joined forces in the Holy See.

(End of this chapter)