A few crows circled in the sky above the gully, cawing. Sophia stood by the roadside, her heart cold.
Dead babies were piled up at the bottom of the gully. Some had already rotted into white bones, while others seemed to have been left there not long ago. There were at least a hundred of them.
The smell in the air was nauseating. The pungent smell entered her nostrils, causing the girl's stomach to churn. She could not help but turn around and vomit …
Sophia only recovered slightly after spitting out everything she had eaten.
However, her pale face and trembling body showed that the girl's heart was not calm at this moment.
"I already said that I won't let you see it."
Demacia sighed, dismounted and walked over.
He glanced at the dead babies at the bottom of the gully and said to the other Mage players, "Burn them.
Chant a Soul Cleansing Spell. Even if they are babies, they might turn into Undead if left alone. "
The players nodded and called for the priests to deal with the corpses at the bottom of the gully.
Sophia looked at the busy elves, her gaze becoming more and more dazed.
"Why … Why is it like this? The Empire's laws and the Eternal Canon prohibit abandoning babies. Why are there so many baby corpses here? "
She muttered, unable to accept it.
"Because they can't be raised … They can't afford to raise them, so they can only suffocate and secretly throw them away."
Demacia shook his head and said.
"Can't be raised? Throw them away if they can't be raised? Suffocate? How can they bear to do that?! "
Sophia said angrily.
"Then what should we do? Commoners are poor, and there are babies being intentionally born in the human cities every few days. They can't afford to raise them. What do you want the commoners to do? "
Demacia sneered.
"They can be raised by the Church. The Eternal Church has an adoption center!"
The girl argued.
Demacia shook his head.
"Miss Sophia, you are still too young. Do you know how many abandoned babies appear in a town every year? How many can the Church adopt? Moreover, what about the Eternal Church? Where are they? "
Sophia was stunned.
Only then did she remember that the Eternal Church in River Bend Town had already evacuated with the nobles …
"Moreover …"
Demacia continued.
"This is already 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."
Sophia was stunned when she heard this.
"Why?"
Demacia was silent for a moment, then he said,
"If I really can't live anymore, I won't throw away anything that can be eaten."
Sophia's face turned even paler.
"You mean … you mean …"
Demacia sighed.
"Yes, it's not impossible for them to eat humans."
"How … how is this possible?! How could such a demonic act happen in the empire?! "
Hearing such shocking information, the girl felt dizzy.
"How is it impossible? Let's not talk about anything else. When the war starts in the Maple Leaf Territory, if the war is in a stalemate, Miss Sophia, do you think what I said will happen?"
Demacia said coldly.
Sophia was speechless when she heard this.
Little flames ignited in the ravine, and the chanting of the elves could be faintly heard. Looking at the hazy flames, the girl's eyes gradually blurred.
"This … is the real situation of the empire's commoners …"
Her voice was trembling, and there was a trace 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's mood fall into an abyss.
"Yes, this is the current situation of the commoners outside the rich district. It's already good enough for them to be able to live."
"What about magic! The nobles have so many loyal mages, why don't they have mages to help them?! Just a single Nature Magic spell can double the yield of crops, right?! "
The girl said angrily.
"Miss Sophia, you have to ask yourself this. You're also a noble. Have the mages loyal to your family done such a thing?"
Demacia asked back.
Hearing this, Sophia's anger was extinguished in an instant, like a furnace fire that encountered ice and snow.
She opened her mouth, but was completely speechless.
Using magic to improve the lives of commoners?
No …
She knew.
No noble mage would be willing to do that.
To the nobles, magic was a symbol of knowledge, a tool to stabilize their position, and at the same time, a powerful force.
In the eyes of mages, magic was noble. They disdained to do such trivial things.
Even if Sophia herself was willing to use magic to improve the lives of commoners, it would be difficult to promote it.
This was a matter of perception.
"What about the church … The commoners are the church's greatest source of faith … Does the Eternal Church not care about these things? Does the church not use divine spells to improve the lives of commoners? "
Sophia asked again.
"The church? Why would the church want to improve the lives of commoners? Do the church's divine spells grow on trees? "
Demacia shook his head.
After a pause, he added:
"Miss Sophia, perhaps you don't understand the workings of the church too well. How about this, as someone who has been there, I'll tell you a cruel truth."
"To the Eternal Church, occasionally performing miracles and using some minor divine spells to treat the illnesses of their devout believers is a much better method than spending great efforts to improve the lives of their believers."
"Because people in despair will yearn for hope more, and be more determined in their faith …"
"To the church, collecting faith is their ultimate goal. Saving the common people? What's that? Do you think the Eternal Overlord is the God of Life who cares about all things? "
Demacia sneered.
Hearing his words, Sophia's body swayed, and she stood there in a daze.
The flames in the ditch gradually extinguished, and the elves' chanting gradually stopped.
Demacia looked at the sky and said:
"Let's go, Miss Sophia. Let's speed up. You can attend the noble's banquet in Morning Star City tonight."
After saying that, he mounted his horse and left the ditch first.
Sophia pursed her lips.
She clenched her fists, and finally released them weakly. Then, with the help of the other elves, she mounted her horse in a daze and followed Demacia's footsteps …
After leaving River Bend Town, the team continued forward.
However, compared to the hustle and bustle at the beginning, the escort team was now much quieter.
"I know that 'Elven Nation' is very realistic, but I didn't expect it to be so realistic. A magical version of the Middle Ages, this is too miserable …"
Meng Zhihan could not help but type in the team chat channel.
"Perhaps it's even darker than the real world. After all … the commoners in the real world will rebel if they're forced. In western history, there are many examples of commoners killing their kings and replacing them. But in the game … normal people who can't control supernatural powers are nothing more than leeks."
Demacia typed.
"Really, why did it have to be so realistic? It's making me depressed QAQ …"
Ruffles sent a emoji in the channel.
"That's why we're here. No game would completely design a meaningless plot. Since 'Elven Nation' has shown us such a dark human world, then … I think we players should be the ones to make changes. After all … one of the main quests in 'Elven Nation' is to help the Goddess spread her faith. There's no harm without comparison."
…
The players were discussing animatedly in the chat channel. The half-elf girl Sophia who was traveling with them was completely silent.
She had a disappointed expression and her eyes had a trace of blankness, as if she had received a huge blow.
As the team continued to move forward, her mood became more and more depressed. She no longer had the initial smile on her face …
It was not just River Bend Town.
Along the way, every village and settlement they passed by was filled with an aura of decline and poverty.
This huge disparity between her ideal and reality caused the girl's understanding of the world to be violently shaken …
At this moment, she felt that the books she had seen in the castle that recorded the prosperity of the Empire were so ironic. The documents that praised the achievements of the nobles were so disgusting …
Why was it like this?
Why … was the gap between the nobles and the commoners so big?
Why … would the nobles in the castle never mention the true situation of the commoners?
The glory of the nobles, the responsibility of the nobles … what was it, for what?
Why did the Eternal Church just sit by and do nothing?
Just because of what Demacia said about the cost-effectiveness of obtaining faith, they ignored the plight of the commoners?
If that was the case, what was the point of the Eternal Church's doctrine of teaching people to be good?
How could the preaching of God saving the world be trusted?
At this moment, Sophia was at a loss …
The sun gradually set in the west, and the temperature was getting colder and colder.
When the red sunset filled the sky, the procession finally stopped.
"Miss Sophia, Morning Star City is in front of us. According to our information, Duke Rosen is currently in the city."
Demacia said.
His words awakened the dazed Sophia from her daze. The girl's body trembled slightly, then she subconsciously looked ahead. She saw a magnificent human city in front of her.
It was a large city that was not inferior to Maple Leaf City. Just the city walls alone looked to be twenty meters high. Under the city walls, there were endless tents. They should belong to the Empire's army and the mercenary groups that received the conscription.
Without a doubt, since the army was here, then as the commander of the army, Duke Rosen, one of the seven electors of the Holy Mania Empire, was probably in the city as well.
"Miss Sophia, we can only send you here. If we go any further, we'll be out of our range … Cough, it's no longer suitable for us to go any further."
As the player most familiar with the human world, Demacia, who was also the leader of the escort team, coughed dryly and said.
Hearing his words, the girl who had always disliked him actually didn't mock him, but only silently nodded her head.
But Demacia was not used to seeing that she did not quarrel with him.
"Thank you, thank you for escorting me. After I regain control of the territory, I'll definitely fulfill my promise."
Sophia said sullenly.
After that, she clenched her fist.
"I'll change this situation, I'll definitely …"
Hearing her muttering, Demacia opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but when he thought of Brother Mu's complaints and advice before he led the team, he finally swallowed his words.
He sighed and said, "Miss Sophia, I hope you'll be well.
If you encounter any danger, remember to take out the statue of the Goddess and ask for help. The power of the Elves will help you get out of trouble. "
The girl hesitated for a moment and said:
"Thank you … If there's really a need, I'll do it …"
This time, she did not refute.
Looking back at the setting sun in the west, Sophia dismounted from her horse.
She handed over the control of the horse to the Elves and walked towards Morning Star City alone.
When the girl was completely gone, Demacia slowly shook his head:
"She won't give up until she reaches 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 smoothly entered the city.
As one of the main cities of the Western Territory, Morning Star City was much more prosperous than River Bend Town. Even with the crisis of war, it was still bustling with activity. Moreover, the arrival of mercenaries and the Empire's army made the city even more chaotic and noisy.
The buildings on both sides of the street were much better than those in River Bend Town, which made Sophia's mood much better. At least the living conditions of the residents here seemed to be much better than those she had seen on her way here.
But perhaps because of the turmoil and chaos, most of the houses were tightly shut. Only a few pedestrians were walking on the streets, mixed in with the large number of mercenaries and soldiers.
Sophia casually found a passerby and asked for the location of the city lord's mansion. She then walked towards the noble district in the city.
As the girl approached the noble district, the buildings on both sides of the street became cleaner and more beautiful. When Sophia passed through the commoners' district and officially arrived at the noble district, the buildings in her line of sight finally changed to the beautiful mansions and majestic castles that she was familiar with.
However, Sophia did not feel the slightest bit of joy as she looked at the familiar and magnificent buildings and listened to the faint sounds of music and laughter coming from the buildings. Instead, she looked even more disappointed.
Just as she was about to step into the noble district, two burly and fully armed guards stopped her.
"Stop! The noble district is in front, mercenaries are not allowed to enter! "
They warned menacingly.
Sophia coldly looked at them and dispersed the disguise spell on her body.
Under the surprised gazes of the guards, she returned to her half-elf appearance.
"Step aside, I am Sophia von Wells, the heir of the Wells family, the Lord of Zeloran. I want to see Duke Rosen."
She said coldly.
At the same time, she displayed the power of a mage and took out a badge with the symbol of a lion, emitting a bright light.
"A third rank mage! And … the medal of an Empire's noble! "
The expressions of the two guards changed slightly.
"Please wait a moment, we will go and report!"
They exchanged glances and said respectfully.
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