The villain's goal is to save the heroine

"This kind of thing probably requires national will..." Lin En continued to practice Tai Chi outside the core.

No matter which aspect, he should understand this organization as much as possible.

only…

"It's useless." Herman sighed and said helplessly, "In fact, many of the Grand Princess's decrees have taken the interests of the civilians into consideration, but this does not change the fundamental nature of the matter. Even the Grand Princess is only trying to keep them alive as much as possible, and that's already the limit."

"Limit? Why is that?"

"Because it's too uneconomical," Hermann said casually, folding his arms. "Actually, if you just look at the situation around Kaffa, you'll understand. Take Porto, for example. There, the concept of commoners is almost nonexistent. Aside from the nobles and wealthy merchants, everyone below them is almost entirely slaves."

"In the eyes of the upper echelons, the human population is no different than livestock. They only need to rely on breeding to produce a few high-value toys, and they can make a fortune in international trade. As for the rest of the ordinary people, they will be disposed of in batches like consumables. They may die of exhaustion as laborers, be tortured to death as objects of entertainment, or become emotionless breeding tools and cycle through reproduction until they die..."

"Anyway, humans have a strong reproductive capacity. They work hard to live and die. This is the fundamental secret of Porto's wealth. The life of a slave is not a life."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lin En was stunned and speechless.

Since Porto is the home of the third volume of the game, he actually knows something about the country. However, when Hermann speaks out in such a direct way, this naked truth is really a bit hard to accept.

Then Hermann continued, "Let's talk about the kingdom of Lorraine, the kingdom next to Kaffa."

Hermann took a sip of his drink before continuing, "In fact, if we go back a dozen or twenty years, Kafa's national strength was comparable to Lorraine's. So even with the Black Blade incident, Lorraine wasn't able to gain any advantage from Kafa."

"However, this situation changed after the Grand Princess came to power."

"Although the Grand Princess's policies have indeed improved people's livelihood and the atmosphere within the country, leading to a rapid population growth, the nation's strength has correspondingly declined. This is because the Grand Princess has included ordinary people in the scope of protection, which is tantamount to cutting off an arm in an already twisted and corrupted world. What you don't want to do, others will do. As a result, the gap in national strength is growing, and the Kingdom of Lorraine is beginning to stir again. Tell me, if the Grand Princess had put in a little more effort, wouldn't Kafa have been destroyed?"

"..."

There is no doubt that Herman's words are actually still explaining the unchangeable fact -

Ordinary people are worth too little!

Wasting resources on ordinary people will result in a waste of money. The benefits are not visible for the time being, but the disadvantages are already obvious!

"How are the civilians in the Kingdom of Lorraine doing?" Lin En couldn't help but ask again.

"Of course, it's much worse than Kafa..." Herman said, downing the wine in his glass. "The common people in the Kingdom of Lorraine usually have two purposes. One is to serve as experimental subjects for curse masters. After all, curses can't be cast in vain like regular magic. Without tangible results, further research is just empty talk."

"Is that really the case..."

"The second is similar to Porto: becoming consumables. In reality, the Kingdom of Lorraine isn't solely targeting Kafa; many of the surrounding tribes are also targeted. Ordinary, useless people are often cursed into monsters or sources of disease, then dumped into enemy territory in droves. This can weaken the enemy before a battle begins, create panic, or even lead to their own collapse. It's a common tactic of the Kingdom of Lorraine."

“This is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing…”

"But in fact, the actions of these two countries are not the most extreme."

"Not extreme enough?"

Herman couldn't help but look out the window at the child hiding in the corner. He said expressionlessly, "The most extreme one is of course the sacrifice that the three empires jointly boycotted."

"Another sacrifice..."

"Do you know why the Witch Cult has directly or indirectly killed countless people throughout history?"

Hermann elongated the word "or".

"This... I don't know..." Lynn shook his head, carefully defending Herman's passionate speech.

Then he heard Hermann explain, "Because sacrifice is an absolutely evil magic born from this world! If a country is determined to sacrifice millions of people, the power generated will be difficult for even witches above level 100 to resist! Therefore, the Witch Cult is also guilty of indirectly harming countless people..."

Lin En's face changed when he heard this. Through sacrifice, he could even fight against witches above level 100...!

This was something he had never expected.

"So, sacrifice is indeed the way ordinary people can maximize their value..." Lin En looked at Cecilia, who remained expressionless, and then said in a scheming manner, "But, we can't put all the blame on the Witch Cult, right? They weren't the ones who made the choice."

"That's true."

“Not to the point???”

"Even without the sacrificial ritual, the Witch Cult would have destroyed everything!"

"Why...is this?"

"Because sacrifice has already been invented," Herman explained. "In reality, it doesn't just bring about immediate combat power; it also pollutes the world's many 'miracles.' All good things are suffering, and the world is completely corrupted. Continuing like this will only repeat the tragedy. History only records how many people the Witch Cult has killed, but no one records how many people humans have killed in their own wars. Especially after the emergence of the sacrificial ritual, when the two forces clash to the extreme, the ultimate outcome is to push all ordinary people into hell. In comparison, the few deaths caused by the Witch Cult throughout history are insignificant."

"I think I understand..." Lin En's mind inexplicably fell silent. He looked at Herman and said, "So you think the way to save those children is to completely destroy the order and civilization of this world and then rebuild a new order... Am I right?"

Hearing this, Herman looked at him calmly and said lightly, "I didn't say that, but it can be considered a solution."

Chapter 354 Finding you is also my goal!

It is a solution...

Although Herman did not explicitly confirm this point of view, judging from the other party's tone and attitude, the core idea of ​​the Witch Cult was already clear on paper.

It is true that they want to save people, and it is also true that they want to destroy the world. It’s just that this world is indeed rotten to a certain extent, so the methods they use have become more extreme!

Of course, this probably wouldn't be the Witch Cult's direct goal today.

The lessons of history are equally passed on to those who come after them. Since there are precedents, the current Witch Cult will naturally not be so "innocent" anymore! The "Ice Heart Pendant" is a foreshadowing example!

then…

"But didn't you say it? Since sacrificing people can gain power beyond that of the witch, then the Witch Cult actually has no ability to destroy civilization, right?" Lin En tried to continue to ask.

Of course, he hoped to get more information about the Witch Cult, but when Hermann heard this, his temperament suddenly changed and he crossed his legs elegantly!

"Heh, you're right. If it were that simple, the Witch Cult would have done it long ago... The fact is, this act of defiance against the ruling class is practically a provocation to the entire world. To achieve that, even if all the witches were alive, it would be difficult!"

"what…"

Of course, Lynn noticed the change in Herman, but at this point he could only pretend not to see it.

"So, your method of saving the children is...?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the homeless child downstairs. However, just one glance made his face change and cold sweat flow down his face!

But Herman was laughing heartily: "Hahahaha! Method? What method is there? Their lives are as fragile as willow catkins, easily swept away by a gust of wind. This world has fundamentally determined that this is their fate. So, instead of thinking about how to save them, perhaps making their death less painful is the best way to save them... From this point of view, I think the church is doing a good job."

Although Lin En's face looked bad, he was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect the other party to suddenly change the topic to the church.

"So, you approve of the church's approach?" Lynn asked curiously.

"Oh, probably. Didn't you say I wouldn't approve of the church's practices? I do now."

"!"

Herman's words sounded insignificant, but when he put forward this point of view for Latia, he explicitly used the Witch Cult as an analogy. Herman's words were equivalent to acknowledging the fact that he was a member of the Witch Cult.

Plus…

Lin En glanced out the window again. At some point, the falling rain seemed to have stopped in the air. The flowing waves were always rippling on the potholes, and the homeless child below suddenly raised his head. His gray pupils and cracked skin were so weird that it made people's scalps numb!

This method…

Obviously, the person in front of him was probably Lavinica herself!

Lin En didn't dare to expose the other party, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "Aren't you mocking the church for doing nothing for thousands of years?"

Herman carelessly lifted his chair and his words became more intense. "Oh, that's true. But you have to admit that the church's methods of castration and brainwashing are indeed powerful. Like that saint said, if more people were brainwashed by the church, maybe... heh, there would be unexpected gains, right?"

This sounded like just a joke, but Lin En's expression changed again.

He couldn't say whether the other party really had that idea, but it was undeniable that the status of the church in Kafa in the game was rising rapidly as time went by!

Especially after the fourth volume, two terrible disasters made the church a harbor of faith in the hearts of the people, almost to the point where everyone responded to it!

And according to Herman, there is actually an element of deliberate promotion by the Witch Cult in this?

No, how is this possible?

These two families have been enemies for thousands of years!

and…

To be honest, on the day the church came to Holy City College for a meeting, Lynn actually suspected that the church's rapid rise was related to Holy City College.

The reason is that Mandel agreed to the church's alliance without hesitation, and still fully supported it when the sword test festival was to be held.

But he gained something else from Mulin's incident, that is, while Mandel did not look for Lavinica in the game, he persecuted Mulin in reality in an attempt to find Lavinica's whereabouts!

and so…

The Witch Cult is just looking for someone?

Is the Church simply targeting the Witch Cult?

What is Mandel's purpose in being in the middle?

Lin En felt that the originally simple "Fallen Girl" had become complicated and confusing!

However, he didn't understand anything now, and couldn't do anything, so he could only say: "Even if you say so, it won't change anything, right? The church can only influence ordinary people at most. Who among the rich and powerful would believe this stuff?

"Ha!" Herman chuckled and replied with a hint of meaning, "No, Master Lin En, it's better to be ordinary. It's precisely because you're ordinary that this is the most interesting thing, isn't it?"

"..."

Lin En didn't understand, but he knew that there was definitely something wrong with what Herman said!

Although Lin En didn't know what would happen after the fifth volume, judging from Latia's panel, the church's follow-up might be to bring a catastrophe to Kafa?

The more Lin En thought about it, the more complicated it felt. His CPU was still processing the other person's words and hadn't reacted yet, when he heard Herman ask:

"So Master Lin En, what's your answer?"

"Eh...?" Lin En was stunned. "My answer?"

"That's right. If you were asked to save those children, what would you do?"

"I…?"

Lin En was a little confused by the question. He didn't expect that the other party would bring the matter back to this issue.

only…

How to save the poor children in this world who are often regarded as consumables?

Honestly, as Herman said, the sacrificial rituals got too much stuck!

When a war reaches a life-and-death level, as long as the country's leaders are cruel enough, the end result will definitely be mutual destruction!

By then, forget about saving them, leaving a few people alive would be considered a success.

In a sense, sacrifice is also a form of nuclear deterrence, so it is impossible for the world to be unified!

If there is no unification, there will inevitably be conspiracies and wars. If ordinary people cannot maximize their value in the form of consumables, the country will fall behind and be beaten, and will then be dragged into it by other countries!

The greatest value of ordinary people in this world seems to be birth and death...

"I don't know either." Lynn sighed helplessly.

嗏

"How could you not know?" Hermann asked, staring at him intently.

This made Lin En startled again. Before he could react, he saw Herman suddenly stand up and laughed loudly:

"Hahahaha! Don't you understand, Master Lin? Finding you is also my goal!"

Chapter 355 Became Lavinica?

The amount of information contained in Herman's sudden words is undoubtedly astonishing!

Find him?

Haven't they been seeing each other recently?

This was obviously not right, and when Lynn finally realized something was wrong, it was too late.

The world was turned upside down. He wanted to stand up, but before he could stand firmly, his consciousness fell silent.

Yes, it wasn't until the last moment that Lin En realized the problem -

Or the "Ice Heart Pendant"!

This holy relic was an item used by someone to observe the direction of the world. When it left the game and fell on Lin En, things naturally became an anomaly!

So Daisy, who was supposed to be Lavinica's alias, disappeared, and was replaced by Herman, who Cecilia noticed was strange from the beginning.

The occurrence of this incident shows that the person behind the scenes must have noticed the problem!