Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1182 Do you feel like crying?
Three days later, the Ash Guerrilla and many resistance organizations in the Ansers region launched a surprise attack on the Hyrule Pass. According to the plan that was later revised, the Eagle of the Ash Hills drew up three offensive routes. The main responsibility was undoubtedly the Ash Guerrilla. As for the other resistance organizations, they would launch multiple harassing attacks on the four northern towns at the agreed time to distract the enemy. This division of responsibilities was also a preparation for the alliance that would be formed later. Carson Borg certainly respected the warriors who were on the same path, but he did not believe in their strategic vision, nor was he willing to participate in their ideological disputes. He firmly believed that only under his leadership could this alliance fight purely for the liberation of the Ansers region.

This world is fair. If you want to get something, you must pay for it first. If Carson Borg wants to gain the leadership of the alliance, he must take on more important and dangerous responsibilities on the battlefield, so that others can see his ability and awareness. The members of the Ash Guerrilla, including Regina, have no objection to this decision. In their minds, only the Eagle of the Ash Hill can shoulder the responsibility of leading everyone. Although this may cause greater casualties, if they are afraid of death, there is no need for them to stand here from the beginning.

The soldiers who had been ready for battle were reorganized into small teams and sent to the front battlefield in batches. Each of them was responsible for important missions such as guerrilla warfare, harassment, reconnaissance, detour, support or infiltration. The temporary camp of the Ash Guerrillas became increasingly empty, and in the end there were only a handful of people left, guarding the supplies and equipment in the stronghold.

Mitch and the young soldiers he led also went to the battlefield.

Linger didn't know what means he used to convince Carson Borg, but Grayhill Eagle did agree to his request to go to war, contrary to its previous attitude, and gave the young army a task to guard a col between the Hailar Pass and the Four Northern Towns to cut off the enemy's escape route. At the same time, if the harassment operations of other resistance organizations failed and the Four Northern Towns sent reinforcements to the Hailar Pass, they would have to find a way to intercept them, at least to delay until the dust settled on the main battlefield before letting the enemy pass.

Undoubtedly, this was a dangerous mission, and the more dangerous it was, the more important it was. Mitch accepted the mission calmly without fear. Before leaving, he brought his companions to Tianxin Church, said goodbye to Linger and Metien, and quietly revealed his mission to the young man. Originally, this was not allowed, but for some reason, the boy had an inexplicable trust in the young man. Of course, he himself would never admit this, but he awkwardly left a sentence "I was abused when I played games with you last time, but next time I will definitely get back at you, just wait for me", and then turned and left.

Lingge pondered for a long time before he realized that what he wanted to express was probably "I will bring everyone back safely, so you don't need to worry about us."

There are so many people in this world who say one thing and mean another. No wonder Alice often says that tsundere is a common attribute and nothing new.

Lingge sighed.

Then, he heard another piece of news from his sister - he didn't know if it was good news, but at least it wasn't bad.

"Linger, Linger!"

After the young soldiers left, Metien boasted to his brother with a cheerful look on his face: "Kadora just told me that after this operation is over, she is willing to accept my baptism and become a believer of the goddess, right?"

"Well, that's great, Metien, it proves that your hard work has finally paid off." Ling touched his sister's hair to encourage her.

"hey-hey."

Metien smiled shyly. She was not surprised by this result because Kadora was the one who was most interested in the Goddess's teachings. She was also a very serious person. She was very serious when playing games, listening to sermons, and thinking about the teachings. As long as she thought about the Goddess's teachings and compared them with other religions in the East Continent, it was expected what choice she would make.

But Metien's expectation for Kadora is definitely not just to become a believer of the goddess.

"This is the first believer of our Tianxin Church in the East Continent, which is of great significance!" She clenched her fists, looking very confident: "As long as we treat Kadora well, maybe her companions, or even the entire Ash Guerrilla, will be influenced by us and be willing to dedicate their faith to the goddess? So, I have decided!"

She said loudly: "We need to set up a parish in the Ansus region and spread the faith! Let Kadora become the first archbishop of our Holy Goddess Church! This status is very honorable, she will definitely like it, right? Hehe, when the Ansus region is completely liberated, let Kadora be responsible for preaching and win the support of the Gray Hill people. Moreover, since that God of the Original Night has abandoned his believers and the Original Night Church has fallen apart, we should take advantage of this opportunity to take advantage of the situation... Ah, it is to send charcoal in the snow, so that the Gray Hill people can feel the warmth of faith again! We must help the poor! We must provide disaster relief! We must provide free medical care! We must advocate compulsory education! We must develop science and technology! We must liberate our minds! In this way, with the Original Night Church as a comparison, how can we not highlight the enlightenment and righteousness of our Holy Goddess Church!"

She put her hands on her hips, pointed at the mountains and rivers, and became more and more excited and proud as she spoke, as if she had seen the goddess's belief in the shining ash hills, the creation doctrine deeply rooted in people's hearts, and even the vicious and brutal ash creatures in the black forest gathered outside the church to listen to the sermon devoutly. If she could really achieve this level, she would surely live up to her father's last wish and the goddess's expectations, right?

As lackeys... I mean best friends, Leticia and Shemi also came up to flatter the future Pope... uh, flattering... uh, no, should I say fanning the flames? Ahem, anyway, they just followed her words. One said that Metien was amazing, and was worthy of being the true successor of Tianxin Church, much better than that shitty Lingge; the other said shamelessly that I had also made outstanding contributions to the revival of Tianxin Church, could I also be an archbishop?
Linger was speechless. The Ansers region hadn't been recovered yet, and they were already thinking about such a far-off thing. Moreover, poverty relief? Disaster relief? Free medical care? Compulsory education? Development of science and technology? Liberating the mind? Aren't those all missionary policies of the united religious orders? Although it's no big deal to use them for a while, I'm afraid that the economy can't afford such a consumption, right? Or does Medien really intend to make Leticia and Shemi an archbishop each in exchange for the support of the countess and the proprietress, and by the way, take the gold coins of the Valenhild family and the Fairy Deep Sleep Inn? A vampire countess, plus a six-winged travel fairy, accumulated amazing wealth for a thousand years, maybe they can really hold on?
As for the position of the honorable archbishop, it was just for fun. Before this, the Holy Goddess Church had only the Tianxin Church as its base, which was not even a parish. The two pastors of Tianxin Church, Mr. Yang Ke and Ling Ge, were just ordinary clergymen. If Kadora really became the so-called archbishop, he would be the most honorable figure in the history of the church.

This is incredible.

"Alice," Ling Ge suddenly turned around and asked the genius player next to him who had remained silent the whole time, "What do you think?"

"Ah I?"

The blonde girl was stunned for a moment. After seeing the young man nod, she said hesitantly: "I think it's a little too early to think about these things now."

This idea is somewhat consistent with Ling's, but her reason is obviously different: "I think - it's not that I have a bad mouth, I just happen to have this feeling - saying this kind of thing before the war is more or less unlucky, right? Whether it's 'I'll do this and that after I come back' or 'I'll do this and that after I recapture the Ansers region', it's better to say less about it... right?"

Because they are all based on assumptions.

The disadvantage of hypothesis is that no one knows what will happen in reality?
Everyone thinks in a positive way, but what if things develop in the opposite way?

Alice didn't say it explicitly, but her eyes undoubtedly conveyed that meaning.

Lingge saw this and thought deeply. After the fantasy of the game was broken and she was forced to face the pressure of reality, she was depressed first and then began to lose heart? Perhaps because she found that other people's ideas were inconsistent with her own, Alice didn't say anything like "Why did you take the initiative to join the war", "Why are you not afraid of death", "Why don't you stay and enjoy peace" in the past few days, but the doubts in her heart, the wavering of her beliefs, and the questioning of herself have never been dispelled.

In this regard, the only thing Lingge can do is -

"Don't think too much. Even though the person is gone, you still have to do what you need to do."

Linger turned around, walked to the game area, patted the heavy iron shell of the game console, and said to the genius player: "So, let's play games together today, Alice?"

"Eh!?"

Alice was stunned on the spot, not sure whether she didn't react or didn't know whether she should agree or not.

In contrast, the others did not have so many concerns. Metien, who had already started discussing with his two friends which parish would be in charge in the future, forgot his own grand plan as soon as he heard his brother's words, and shouted repeatedly: "I'll do it, I'll do it! Lingge, I'll play a game with you! Well, let you see how powerful I am!"

"What about me? What about me? Metien, didn't we agree to play Contra together today? We fought side by side and killed happily?" Leticia hurriedly chased after her and kept whispering in the pink-haired girl's ear, saying that you must keep your word, that Ringer is not a good guy and likes to cheat when playing games, and that you will regret playing with him. In short, she really wanted her to change her mind. If it doesn't work, then let me do it! I will never lose to Ringer!
"Ah! And me!"

Xie Mi also hurried to catch up, but she was not interested in those fighting games. She was mainly there to act as an atmosphere group, to exclaim when someone made a wonderful move, to satisfy her and the person's desire to perform. As for what kind of move is considered wonderful? How would she know?

"Hehe! How can I, Lady Gloria, be absent at a time like this?"

Gloria, dressed in a nun's uniform, jumped out from nowhere, eager to try: "I practiced hard here all night yesterday. Whether it's Contra or Mario, or even that cobblestone block, you are definitely not my opponent!"

No wonder she didn't go back to the hotel for dinner last night, it turns out she wasted her time here. Also, that's called Tetris, not Pebble Cube.

"Then I'll go prepare some snacks and black tea for everyone." The genuine nun Livia said with a smile, "It just so happened that Miss Nevi shared some of the most authentic White Mountain Castle black tea with me yesterday. It is said to be her favorite variety. I can't finish it by myself, so let everyone have a taste."

Since arriving in the East Continent, Saint Xia Liya no longer served as the teacher and temporary guardian of the three little girls. In most cases, the three of them were still active near Tianxin Church, so Sister Livia became the main person responsible for taking care of them. Metien was naturally very well-behaved and reassuring, but Shemi and Leticia were not necessarily so. For this reason, the boss lady and the countess gave the nun some small gifts every now and then. It was not known whether it was as a reward for taking care of her sister (granddaughter) or as mental compensation to prevent her from getting sick from being angered by these two troublemakers one day.

However, after Metien learns how to play the game, will he still be the most well-behaved person in the future? This seems to make people a little worried.

"Hmph, a bunch of idiots who only know how to play games!" In his consciousness, Bai Ye snorted disdainfully. He had no interest in this kind of self-destructive behavior, but at the same time he gave his main personality a death order: "Little fool Gloria, if you lose to these idiots, it will be my turn to control your body during meals for the next week."

"Huh? Doesn't that mean I won't be able to taste the boss lady's cooking for a week!?" Gloria exclaimed.

"If you know you're scared, then..."

"Then I will dye Xiaobai's feathers black and call him Xiaohei from now on."

"It's your bird, too, you idiot—"

……

It’s very lively.

Everyone gathered together, everyone was around me, everyone was talking and laughing about my favorite game. I was no longer as lonely as before, staying alone in the empty and cold room, facing the screen of the game console, focused and numb, without feeling any heartbeat or breathing.

That's what I'm looking forward to, right?
But why...why have I lost the ability to be happy?

Quite the opposite...

I think I kind of want to cry.

Give me some meow