Game of the World Tree - Chapter 657

657. Chapter 654 Ideals and Reality

A few crows circled in the sky above the gully, cawing. Sophia stood by the road, feeling cold in her heart.

Dead babies were piled up at the bottom of the gully. Some had already rotted into bones, while others seemed to have been left there not long ago. There seemed to be at least a hundred of them.

The smell in the air was disgusting. The pungent smell penetrated her nostrils, causing the girl’s stomach to churn. She couldn’t help but turn around and vomit…

Only after she vomited out everything she had eaten did Sophia recover a little.

However, her pale face and slightly trembling body showed that the girl was not at peace at this moment.

“I told you not to look at it anymore.”

Demacia sighed, dismounted and walked over.

He took a look at the dead babies at the bottom of the gully and said to the other mage players who were traveling with him:

“Burn them, and chant a soul-purifying spell. Even if they are babies, if you leave them alone, undead spirits may appear.”

Several players nodded and called on Dou Dou, who was also a priest, to start dealing with the bodies at the bottom of the gully.

Sophia looked at the busy elves, her vision becoming more and more dazed.

“Why… why is this happening? Both the Imperial Law and the Eternal Canon prohibit abandoning babies, so why are there so many dead babies here?”

She murmured in disbelief.

“Because they can’t keep them alive… They can’t afford to keep them alive, so they can only suffocate them and throw them away secretly.”

Demacia shook her head and said.

“Can’t keep them alive? They have to throw them away if they can’t keep them alive? Suffocate them? How can they bear it?!”

Sophia said angrily.

“Then what should we do? Civilians are already poor, and there are children born unexpectedly in human cities almost every few days. They can’t afford to keep them, so what do you want civilians to do?”

Demacia sneered.

“They can be given to the church to raise. The Eternal Church already has an orphanage!”

the girl argued.

Demacia shook her head:

“Ms. Sophia, you are still too young. Do you know how many similar abandoned babies appear in a town in a year? How many can the church adopt? And what about the Eternal Church? Where are they?”

Sophia was stunned.

At this time, she remembered that the Eternal Church of River Bay had evacuated along with the nobles…

“Besides…”

Demacia continued:

“This is considered a good situation. At least it means that the poor can still survive. If they really can’t survive, you won’t even see these dead babies.”

Hearing this, Sophia was stunned:

“Why?”

Demacia was silent for a moment, and said:

“If they really can’t survive, they won’t throw away anything edible.”

Sophia’s face became even paler:

“You mean… you mean…”

Demacia sighed:

“Yes, cannibalism is not impossible.”

“This… How is this possible?! How can such a demonic act happen in the empire!”

Hearing such shocking content, the girl felt dizzy.

“How is it impossible? Let’s not talk about anything else. When the war in Maple Leaf Territory starts, if the war is deadlocked, Miss Sophia, do you think what I said will happen?”

Demacia said coldly.

Hearing this, Sophia was speechless.

A little fire lit up in the gully, and the elves’ chanting could be heard faintly. Looking at the hazy flame, the girl’s eyes gradually blurred.

“Is this… the real situation of the common people in the empire…”

Her voice was a little trembling, with a hint of pleading and hope in her tone, 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 the common people outside the rich area. It is already very good for them to be able to work hard to live.”

“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 yield of crops, right?!”

The girl said angrily.

“Miss Sophia, you have to ask yourself this. You are also a noble. Have the mages loyal to your family done similar things?”

Demacia asked back.

Hearing this, Sophia’s anger instantly extinguished like a fire encountering ice and snow…

She opened her mouth and was completely speechless.

Using magic to improve the lives of common people?

No…

she knew.

No noble mage is willing to do this.

For the nobles, magic is a symbol of knowledge, a tool to consolidate their status, and also a powerful force.

In the eyes of magicians, magic is noble, and they disdain to do these trivial things.

Even if Sophia herself is willing to use magic to improve the lives of civilians, it will probably be difficult to promote it.

This is a problem of concept.

“What about the church… civilians are the biggest source of faith in the church… Doesn’t the Eternal Church care about these things? Doesn’t the church use divine arts to improve the lives of civilians?”

Sophia asked again.

“Church? Why should the church improve the lives of civilians? Are the church’s divine arts all blown by the wind?”

Demacia shook her head.

After a pause, he added:

“Miss Sophia, perhaps you don’t know too well about the church’s operating mechanism. Well, as a person who has been through it, I will tell you a cruel fact.”

“For the Eternal Church, occasionally showing miracles and using some small magic to cure the illnesses of devout believers, this approach is much more cost-effective in gaining faith feedback than spending a lot of effort to improve the lives of believers.”

“Because people in despair will have a higher yearning for hope and will be more determined in their faith…”

“For the church, collecting faith is the ultimate goal. Saving the people? What is that? Do you think the Lord of Eternity is the god of life who cares about all things?”

Demacia sneered.

After hearing his words, Sophia’s body shook and she stood there in a daze for a while.

The flames in the ditch gradually died down, and the elves’ chanting slowly stopped.

Demacia glanced at the sky and said,

“Let’s go, Miss Sophia, let’s hurry up, so that you can attend the nobles’ dinner in Morningstar City tonight.”

After saying that, he jumped on his horse and left the ditch first.

Sophia pursed her lips.

She clenched her hands, and finally loosened them powerlessly. Then, she got on the horse with the help of other elves and followed Demacia’s pace…

After leaving Riverbend Town, the team continued to move forward.

However, compared with the lively and bustling at the beginning, the escort team at this moment was much quieter.

“I know that “Elf Kingdom” is 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…”

Meng Zhihan couldn’t help typing in the team chat channel.

“Maybe it’s darker than the real world. After all… the common people in the real world will rebel when they are forced into a corner. There are many examples in Western history where common people overthrew the king and replaced him with another king, but in the game… ordinary people who can’t control extraordinary powers are just leeks.”

Demacia typed.

“Really, why do you make it so realistic? It makes me depressed QAQ…”

Zhu Zhu sent a facial expression in the channel.

“That’s why we exist. No game would design completely meaningless plots. Since Elfland shows us such a dark human world, then… I think it will eventually be up to us players to make changes. After all… one of the main quests of Elfland is to help the goddess spread faith. There is no harm without comparison.”

…

The players were discussing in the chat channel, and the half-elf girl Sophia who was traveling with them fell into complete silence.

She looked lost, with a trace of confusion in her eyes, as if she had suffered a great blow.

As the whole team continued to move forward, her mood became more and more depressed, and her face no longer had the initial smile… It

was not just the River Bay Town.

Along the way, every village and every settlement that everyone passed by revealed an atmosphere of decline and hardship.

This huge gap between ideals and reality caused the girl’s perception of the entire world to be shaken violently…

At this moment, she felt that the books that recorded the prosperity of the empire that she saw in the castle were so ironic, and those documents that praised the achievements of the nobles were so disgusting…

Why is this so?

Why… the gap between the nobles and the common people is so big?

Why… the nobles in the castle never mention the real situation of the common people?

The honor of the nobles, the responsibility of the nobles… what is it, and why?

Why does the Eternal Church turn a blind eye to all this?

Just because of the cost-effectiveness of gaining faith as Demacia said, should we ignore the plight of the common people?

In that case, what is the meaning of the Eternal Church’s doctrine of teaching people to be good?

What is credible about the preaching of God saving the world?

At this moment, Sophia was at a loss…

The sun gradually set, and the temperature became colder and colder.

When the red sunset filled the sky, the team finally stopped.

“Miss Sophia, the Morning Star City is ahead. According to our intelligence, Duke Rosen is now in the city.”

Demacia said.

His words awakened the distraught Sophia from her confusion. The girl’s body trembled slightly, and then subconsciously looked forward, and saw a magnificent human city as far as her eyes could see.

It was a large city that was no less than Maple Leaf City. The city wall alone looked to be 20 meters high. Under the city wall, there were endless tents stationed. They should belong to the imperial army and the mercenary groups that were recruited.

There was no doubt that since the army was here, Duke Rosen, the commander-in-chief of the army and one of the seven electors of the Holy Mannia Empire, was probably also in the city.

“Miss Sophia, we can only send you here. If we go further, we are out of our range… Ahem, it is not suitable for us to move forward.”

Demacia, the player who was most familiar with the human world and the leader of the escort team, coughed dryly and said.

After hearing his words, the girl who had always disliked him did not make any sarcastic remarks, but just nodded silently.

Demacia was a little uncomfortable when she saw that the other party did not argue with her.

“Thank you, thank you for your escort. When I regain control of the territory, I will definitely fulfill my promise.”

Sophia said sullenly.

After saying that, she clenched her fists:

“I will change this situation, I will…”

After hearing her mumbling, Demacia opened her mouth to say something, but thinking of the complaints and instructions from Muge before leading the team, she finally endured it.

Sighing, he said:

“Miss Sophia, I wish you good luck. 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 out of trouble.” The

girl hesitated for a moment and said:

“Thank you… If you really need it, I will…”

This time, she rarely refuted.

Looking back at the setting sun in the west, Sophia turned over and dismounted.

She handed over the control of the horse to the elves, and then walked towards Morningstar City alone.

It was not until the girl was completely far away 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, who was dressed as a mercenary, did not encounter any difficulties from the guards and entered the city smoothly.

As one of the main cities in the Western Territory, Morning Star City is much more prosperous than River Bay Town. Even with the crisis of war, it is still bustling here, and the arrival of mercenaries and the imperial army has made the city a little more chaotic and noisy.

The buildings on both sides of the street are much better than those in River Bay Town, which makes Sophia feel much better. At least the residents here… their living conditions seem to be much better than those the girl has seen along the way.

But perhaps because of the chaos of war, most houses are closed, and only a small number of pedestrians are walking on the road, mixed with a large number of mercenaries and soldiers.

Sophia casually found a pedestrian and asked about the location of the city lord’s mansion, and then walked towards the direction of the noble district in the city.

As the girl approached the noble district, the buildings on both sides of the street became more and more neat and beautiful. When Sophia passed through the civilian area and officially came to the noble district, the buildings in sight finally changed to the beautiful manor villas and towering city castles that she was familiar with.

However, looking at these familiar, magnificent buildings, and listening to the music and laughter that were looming in the buildings, Sophia not only did not feel the slightest bit of joy, but her expression became even more melancholy.

Just as she was about to step into the noble area, two burly, fully armed guards stopped her.

“Stop! The noble area ahead is the noble area, mercenaries are not allowed to enter!”

They warned fiercely.

Sophia glanced at them coldly and dispelled the disguise magic on her body.

Under the surprised eyes of the guards, she returned to her half-elf appearance.

“Get out of the way, I am Sophia von Wels, the heir of the Wels family, the lord of Zeroland, I want to see His Excellency Duke Rosen.”

She said indifferently.

At the same time, while showing the power of a magician, she took out a badge engraved with a lion logo and emitting a bright glow.

“Third-level magician! And… the medal of the imperial nobles!”

The expressions of the two guards changed slightly.

“Please wait a moment, we will go and inform them!”

They exchanged glances and said respectfully.

_(:з」∠)_ The housing prices in the provincial capital are so expensive… I want to vomit blood just looking at it…

(End of this chapter)