After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

It is also human nature to be self-motivated for a certain goal.

War tests human nature.

But they are different.

Deny yourself, hand everything over to an illusory image, and then die worthlessly.

Nauseous and disgusting.

"I...ha, actually, there's not that much difference in essence, right? But I just...can't stand it."

Chapter 78 Nightfall (1)

In this world, wars between humans and wars between humans and demons have been going on repeatedly for thousands of years. Today, from an outsider's perspective, it is difficult to tell the right from the wrong.

The so-called God-chosen heroes are given the so-called responsibility to save humanity, and seem to be born to stand on the side of humanity.

For example, Leia, who always talks about her responsibilities, may hate these demons more than most people in this world.

Aize is completely different.

He, who already despised so-called heroes and time travel, was completely unable to understand this fanatical sense of immersion, and his sense of participation in the war was also greatly weakened.

To put it bluntly, in his view, everything that goes on in this world is ultimately "their war."

Although I will stand firmly on their side due to interpersonal relationships and other reasons, I am ultimately still a role similar to that of a foreign aid.

If they can't survive without me, then everything Aize does will become meaningless when I leave or die in battle one day in the future.

That's why he doesn't like being worshipped mindlessly.

He demanded that his subordinates must know themselves and understand the reasons why they were on the battlefield, rather than blindly die for an "outsider".

This cognition is certainly based on practical considerations, but to a large extent it is also caused by Aize's personal values, as well as the current special circumstances and experiences.

And what Rosaline and her followers did today was completely contrary to almost every one of Aize's cognition and beliefs.

Not to mention the issue of actual cost-effectiveness, putting aside these emotional perceptions.

This is on the premise that I have kindly reminded you.

So many negative elements coming together made Aize feel more disgusted than ever before.

"The problem is, we can't stop her right now. To be cold-blooded, her actions might actually help us observe the state of the faith network. But, well... you know what I mean."

After saying that, Aize stuffed the remaining half of the popsicle into his mouth and once again felt the feeling of his brain freezing.

Then his body softened, and he let himself lazily slide down from the stone to the ground, leaning on it and slowly closing his eyes.

For Aize, a brief moment of stopping to think, whether active or passive, is rare.

So now, while the feeling in your mouth has not yet disappeared, let's take a break.

Even if it's only for a few seconds.

"……Um?"

A soft touch, and a familiar, but not so comfortable temperature for summer.

When he opened his eyes, he found that Villian, who was originally some distance away from him, had moved over and was leaning gently on his chest.

"what are you doing?"

"What? Well, let me think... I guess I'm listening to my heartbeat."

Aize sighed softly, and looked away helplessly:

"What's so good about a heartbeat? It's such a mess. If there was an electrocardiogram, it would probably be twisted into a ball of thread by now."

"That's why I want to hear it. It's rare for you to have such a reaction. It's different from the past and feels quite fresh. Haha, I'm lucky~"

It feels quite strange to be praised for something like this for no apparent reason.

…and can that even be considered a compliment?

"Aize."

"Um?"

"I'm sorry that I can't solve the problems you just mentioned, and I can't do anything to help you."

In response to this, Aize smiled bitterly:

"Of course it is. It's just my own whining. What solution can there be?"

Sometimes he would think about whether he was being too serious.

There are clearly a hundred ways to enjoy the time-travel life, but you insist on making things difficult for yourself.

It has come to this and in the end I am the one who is almost depressed.

Kind of funny.

"There's no solution, but... well, how should I put it? Using your words, I won't let you endure this in vain. Whether it's the Faith Network or the Faceless Men, I will definitely find a solution for you."

Villian, leaning on Aize, said this softly, lightly, but very seriously.

In the current situation, this is the best answer for Aize.

At this moment, Aize also had a lot to say.

But after thinking for a while, he just smiled faintly and nodded:

"Well, I know you will."

By now, there is no need for the two of them to say more, as they both know what is going on.

Then, at this moment—

"Master!"

Christina's voice came from the direction of the Imperial Army's temporary base, and the blue-haired girl hurriedly ran towards the two of them.

The expression on his face seemed a little solemn, but the moment he saw Villian clinging to Aize, he immediately became embarrassed.

Even subconsciously turned around:

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't know Miss Villian was here, uh... excuse me? I'm leaving now. You two can do whatever you want, but please keep your voices down, or we might hear—"

"What are you mumbling about there!?"

Aize grabbed the shoulder of the girl who turned around and tried to leave, and interrupted her speech unhappily.

"What happened?"

"Hmm... no, not really—"

Chris nodded, then quickly shook her head even more vigorously:

"It's mainly my business, actually. Uh... the Second Prince just sent word that they've breached the last line of defense outside of Lilbas City and are about to begin siege preparations. He wants us to come over for a meeting. But, but didn't he say I should come alone this time? So, it's okay if you two don't go, you know?"

Even though she has cheered up a little, Christina has not made any progress in this aspect.

Random thoughts and random words.

No, from a factual point of view, Aize would indeed enjoy spending time alone with the prince more than going to a meeting with Rosaline.

Being disturbed at such a time just now really made me feel a little unhappy, so I subconsciously put on a bad face, which caused some misunderstanding among my apprentices. So it seems that I am also somewhat responsible.

But that's not important.

What’s important is that the most crucial battle that will determine the success or failure of this imperial counterattack is about to begin.

"Ah, I never thought that one day I would complain that my allies were advancing too fast. It's really strange."

Ai Ze exhaled lightly to calm himself, then raised his head, restored his usual relaxed smile, and replied:

"You can't miss this meeting at any other time. Let's go and listen to the opinions of the Prince and the Saint."

----------

During the reconnaissance before the war, the Imperial Army learned that, with the limited number of troops at hand, they had established about five lines of defense around the passes, settlements, and other places from the plains to the mountains closer to Lierbas.

Facing ordinary human armies, these positions that can echo each other to a certain extent may still cause some trouble and delays.

But this time, the imperial army that was approaching in large numbers clearly did not belong to the "ordinary" category.

Under the unilateral magic bombardment of absolute advantage, these five lines of defense collapsed at the first touch.

Even though the actual enemies were the weakest of the weak under Rosalind's command, they were still easily crushed by the powerful big brother behind them.

In just one afternoon, the former imperial fortress city of Lilbas was within reach.

Having said that, considering that the vanguard troops were advancing at full speed, it was obviously not suitable for talking, so the meeting place was chosen in the last orc camp that was captured.

When Aize and others arrived, the battle had just ended and the battlefield had not been cleaned up properly.

The fortress, along with its tents and other facilities, was bombarded and destroyed repeatedly by magic. Fragments were scattered everywhere, and even large areas of the ground were burned black. There were huge craters everywhere, and an unpleasant burnt smell was emitted.

This shows that the firepower possessed by the empire's top combat magic corps is so brutal that nothing can compare with it except for the large-scale witch army.

In contrast, there were the horrific corpses of the Jihad Army members scattered among them.

Even though the initial fire preparation almost destroyed the entire facility, they still paid an extremely tragic price after the attack before finally taking it.

The jihadists, some intact and some incomplete, can be seen everywhere, and the smell of fresh, unroasted blood adds a different touch to the mess.

It's not beautiful, it's disgusting and very irritating.

I don’t know if it’s lucky or unlucky, but I’ve seen the same situation too many times this afternoon and I’ve become a little desensitized to it.

Therefore, Aize ignored all these as much as possible and walked straight towards the only relatively intact tent in the entire ruins, which was the location of the meeting.

In addition to Adrian, Rosaline, and Aize, the participants also included other nearby imperial generals and nobles, but they were quite far away and should not have arrived yet.

This period of time is perfect for exchanging information.

So far, things have been going a little too smoothly, but this only makes us more vigilant.

After all, if the demons really wanted to do something shady, there would be no better time than when the imperial army was attacking the city, so they had to be even more vigilant.

Some things may be difficult to say in front of everyone later, so it’s better to say them up front.

however--

"Haha, isn't this Aize? Haven't seen you for a few days."

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him, and at this moment and in this environment, it made Aize feel a chill.

"Rosalyn."

Turning around, the familiar white figure appeared in my sight.

"Well, it's me, good evening."

The pure white saint leaned on her holy staff and bowed gently.

"Haha, thank you for covering our flanks and rear today. Thanks to you, the advance went so smoothly. The mass for the fallen just concluded. Mind chatting for a moment before the meeting begins?"

A nonchalant attitude no different from usual.

At this moment, Aize's blood pressure soared.

Chapter 79 Sympathies

So far, through a series of fragmented information, although the existence of the belief network and its characteristics of mutual interference and exploitation with Rosaline have been finally confirmed, the extent of its influence and the proportion of its influence in Rosaline's behavior pattern are still unclear.

But it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand.

At this moment, both Rosalind and the faith network's insane and crazy thinking and behavior are integrated, and can be treated as a whole.

Originally, Aize really didn't want to waste even a bit of his precious time on her.

But the moment he heard the so-called "the advance is so smooth", Aize almost felt numb.

"smoothly?"

After subconsciously looking around at the tragic scene again, his teeth were almost broken.

"You call this, smooth sailing?"

The white saint was stunned, tilted her head in confusion, and asked with a smile:

"What? Isn't it going well? We've pushed the battle line to the gates of Lilbas so quickly. If we follow the original plan, it will take at least another day, right?"