Cohen lowered his head and walked in the alley of the underground street. His eyes were absent-minded, and he ignored the beggars and tramps under the eaves on both sides of the street, as well as their secretive gazes.
"Cohen."
The unkempt man on his left covered the bloodstains on his clothes. Further away, a ruffian was peddling the items in his pockets furtively. A beggar under the eaves of the opposite house was fighting with another emaciated man for the ownership of an ownerless ring.
But Cohen just walked past them absent-mindedly. He did not see them, nor did he hear them.
'What does that have to do with me?'
"Cohen?"
The Glory of the Stars allowed him to focus on his own world. He had no distractions. The noise in the distance could not attract his attention, and the filth around him could not affect his thoughts. The underground street and even Lower City District seemed to be just a name on a piece of paper to him.
He seemed to be walking beyond the horizon, transcending everything and forgetting himself. Just like many of the nobles he knew, they had their sights set on the kingdom, their hearts were on the world, and they were destined to achieve great things.
But …
"Cohen!"
Finally, Cohen, who was absent-minded, shuddered and staggered back to his senses.
"What's wrong?"
Cohen looked around subconsciously.
Layork was still ten steps away. His attitude towards them was full of disdain and rejection. Glover dutifully guarded the prince by his side, using his body and expression to block all malicious gazes.
Cohen lowered his head. 'The speaker …' The second prince looked at him deeply. His gaze was full of inquiry.
"Pull yourself together."
There was an unquestionable tone in Thales' words.
"You've been a police officer for six years. Morris' words shouldn't have affected you so much."
'What Morris said …'
Cohen's eyes were slightly dazed.
[You're not fighting against gangs, criminals, or even evil.]
"'You represent the power of this country. You stand in the position of the strong and face the resistance of the weak."'
Cohen shook his head furiously.
"No, it has nothing to do with what that scumbag said. It will not affect me —"
"As if," Glover interrupted him coldly.
Cohen stared at the zombie in a daze. He looked like he was struggling.
Thales sighed.
"Listen, Cohen, you have to know that Morris is a member of the Brotherhood. Everything he said —"
"No!"
Unexpectedly, Cohen suddenly spoke loudly, startling both Thales and Glover.
Even Layork frowned and turned his head.
Thales frowned as he looked at Kohen. 'Kohen doesn't usually react like this.'
"If it's not him … no, no …"
At this moment, Cohen's expression changed as he muttered anxiously.
"Hey." Glover patted Kohen carefully. At the same time, he glared at a few idlers who were attracted over from afar.
"You're fine …"
Cohen suddenly looked up!
"When you turned the situation around in Heroic Spirit Palace and forced all parties to stop fighting and retreat, Your Highness."
The police officer stared at Thales eagerly, as if he was searching for an answer.
"They, the Eckstedtians, were they moved by your words?"
Thales was stunned.
Eckstedtians …
But Cohen shook his head, his expression bitter.
"My old man's reply was like this: 'Words are only expressions, actions are only about the heart.'"
"As for 'sweet words can bewitch the heart', this is just a beautiful fantasy of the writers."
Thales' expression changed. He wanted to say something, but stopped himself.
"He said that it was not your words that moved the Eckstedtians, Your Highness." The police officer lowered his head dejectedly.
"It was their true thoughts, their personal experiences, and their interests. You were just the person who lifted the curtain and revealed their true intentions."
Thales was silent for a while.
"Count Turami Karabeyan is indeed the descendant of the 'Wise Minister'." The prince sighed.
"If there is a chance in the future, I will visit your father."
Cohen's gaze was conflicted, as if he was going through a cruel struggle.
"At that time, I was not convinced by the old man's words, but …"
"It's the same, Your Highness." Cohen exhaled. "That fat man is good with words, but he could not have swayed me with just a few words.
Unless there was something else that swayed me. "
He stared at the narrow alley quietly, as if he could never see the end.
Thales looked at him and sighed in his heart.
"I refused to admit it, but …" Cohen hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he gathered his courage and spoke decisively.
"Yes, my 'Heart of the Sword' was swayed.
"My moves became more and more practiced, and the edge of my sword became sharper," Cohen gritted his teeth and said, "But the person wielding the sword was rusty.
"This is the reason why I stagnated and did not improve in the past six years."
Thales furrowed his eyebrows tightly.
"Maybe you should go back to the battlefield and roll in blood again." Glover snorted softly. He did not like Cohen's expression.
"Instead of going out on the streets to catch thieves every day."
"Calun!" Thales gave Glover a warning glance, and the latter did not say anything else.
"I am serious."
Cohen did not show any signs of anger, but his gaze was dejected.
"But what swayed me was not that stupid fat man's nonsense.
It was me. It was my experiences in the past six years in this city. "
'Experiences in this city.'
Thales paused for a moment because of this sentence. The memories in the Abandoned House were like a dream or fog, and they entangled around his feet again.
"Do you know, Your Highness, the little girl who stole your money just now?"
Cohen walked behind the prince and said absent-mindedly,
"She might not like to steal or extort money. When she grows up, she might not like to receive customers like her mother, or fool around like her father.
"But she had no choice."
Thales and Glover froze at the same time. The former thought of the Abandoned House, and the latter of Red Street Market.
Cohen tripped over an irregular rock, but he didn't seem to notice it. He continued speaking.
He continued, "Under the example of her mother and father, or perhaps just her mother's lover, she could only learn from them and become like most of the people on this street: shrewd, vicious, shameless, and narrow-minded.
"When she grows up, she will only become another numb prostitute like her mother, or an idle hooligan like her father.
"There is no other way."
Thales and Glover sank into silence.
Cohen clenched his teeth and pressed on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Because she was born here.
"Just like everyone else on this street."
Glover raised his head and interrupted Kohen with a cold expression.
"Then do something."
"Do something," Cohen muttered.
"Do something?"
Glover snorted coldly.
"Send her scum parents to prison or the gallows.
Isn't it your responsibility to fight crime and maintain law and order, Blue … Police Officer? "
But Thales shook his head secretly.
Cohen took a deep breath. "Yes, but …
"I …"
He paused and relaxed his chest. The words were at the tip of his tongue, but they did not have the strength to rush out.
Cohen shook his head dejectedly.
"What happened?" Thales asked in a low voice.
Cohen was silent for a long time. It was so long that Glover was about to urge him, but he finally spoke.
"Six years ago, Your Highness, when I first came here for a few months, I was full of confidence. I wanted to make some achievements and make some changes.
"At that time, I treated this place as a battlefield. I thought that my only opponents were the Brotherhood and Blood Bottle Gang. Only their filth and sins, only darkness and evil existed.
"But …"
Cohen's words came to a halt.
"What you fought … was not even evil."
Cohen clenched his teeth and shook his head.
"So I worked overtime to fight crime, maintain law and order, put an end to injustice and illegality, and brought security and law back here.
"But …"
The word appeared on the tip of his tongue again.
"In Lower City District, after arresting a batch of criminals, there will be another batch. After clearing out the nests, there will be another batch." Cohen's breathing became more and more erratic, and he spoke faster and faster.
"After arresting people, they will be released in a few days. After cleaning up the streets, illegal gangs will soon gather again. The sealed warehouses will soon become a cover for crimes. Every year, the number of corpses transported out for burial will be the same, or even more …"
Cohen's words were filled with bitterness and even a hint of helplessness.
"Strictly enforce the law and impartially punish people. All these things we learned in politics textbooks are not useful here. I don't know. Maybe I didn't learn politics well. Maybe my methods of stopping crime are too inferior. Maybe I have to be like Cousin Derek and get full marks in politics every time. Then, I will know what to do."
Thales listened quietly. His mood was gloomy.
But Glover was unmoved.
"It's useless to only catch small fries."
Cohen raised his head and said hurriedly,
"I did it!"
He stared at Glover.
"I did it. I learned from some of my colleagues. I raised my eyes and started to target the big fish, like Morris just now.
"I took down a leader of the Brotherhood who was in charge of child beggars and cut off all the chains under him. But in less than two days, a newbie fought his way up from below and replaced him to fill in the gap. It was faster than the police officer's vacancy."
Glover snorted in disdain.
"That means his level is not high enough. You have to find the source. Maybe you have to use that annoying black sword —"
"The source!" Cohen raised his voice again!
Glover frowned.
At that moment, the police officer stared at Glover in a daze.
"You're right. Zombies. Their level is not high enough. We have to find the source.
"The source."
Cohen was like an ascetic who was pursuing his faith. He stared into the distance in a daze.
"As the police officer in charge of Lower City District, the area I can reach is too shallow. It's too close. I can't solve the root of the problem.
"So, I thought, I have to do more, more, more.
"I have to push harder, go deeper, and penetrate deeper."
Cohen took a deep breath.
"So, I chased after them, to the source of those sins."
But his determination suddenly fell. Just like the ascetic who was pursuing his faith, he eventually fell on the road.
"Then, I met them."
Glover and Thales were puzzled.
"Them?"
Cohen nodded expressionlessly.
"The one you met on the street just now, Your Highness, was just a little girl." The police officer's voice was barely discernible.
"But here, there, and in other places, I've met countless such children."
'Children.'
Thales opened his mouth subconsciously.
"The childhood of criminals … Is there a deeper source than this?"
Cohen gulped.
"Yes, Zombie. Just like what you said, I took action, acted, and interfered, like the most competent police officer.
"That includes taking down the gangs behind them, punishing their scumbag 'parents', cleaning up their living environment, and threatening those scumbags who want to make use of them. I hate to say this, but thanks to my family name, a police officer of lower birth would have disappeared without a trace a long time ago."
"Those children, I sent them to the orphanage under the jurisdiction of the Office of Discipline, adopted families, and even the Sunset Church's Sanctuary of Grace. For this, I did not hesitate to face the hostility of the Brotherhood and Blood Bottle Gang, the internal punishment of the police station, and the disgust of my colleagues in the Office of Discipline …
"I even put down my pride and promised the old man to participate in the noble's matchmaking ball. Only then could I get some money from his stingy hands to help some of the children who had no relatives, to satisfy their needs, and to prevent them from falling into depravity again …"
As they listened to Cohen's narration, Thales and Glover looked at him with increasingly different expressions.
The more Cohen spoke, the more excited he became. Then, his emotions suddenly changed.
"But …"
The police officer seemed to be frozen in time. He was stunned for a few seconds before he spoke again.
"A few years ago, I rescued an orphan.
"At that time, he was a little over ten years old. I asked the Office of Discipline to send him to the orphanage …"
Cohen's gaze moved slightly, and the colors in his eyes gradually disappeared.
"But a few years later, I caught a group of scumbags from the Brotherhood who collected debts. They tortured the debtor's son with red-hot tongs in front of him, just for … God knows how many coppers."
Glover's expression tensed.
Kohen took a deep breath.
"That child, the child I rescued.
"He was among those scumbags. He was fourteen or fifteen years old."
Cohen said in a daze, "He was too old.
"He's too old. I can only send him to prison."
"Just like when I sent him to the orphanage."
Thales closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Cohen exhaled a pained breath.
"He wasn't the only one. I only found out a long time later that the children I thought I rescued …
"Most of them will reappear on the streets."
"The children who originally had parents … Haha, after their scumbag parents became obedient for a while, they would basically revert to their old ways and continue to bring them up … just like that little girl just now.
"As for the others, they could not stand it anymore. They escaped from the orphanage or the families who adopted them."
Cohen lowered his head sadly.
"You idiot."
Glover suddenly interrupted. He said a long string of words, which was rare for him.
"Most of the orphanages are no different from prisons, except that the prison guards are worse. Rather than letting them go there, they might as well go back to the streets to steal bread."
Cohen shuddered slightly.
"As for adoption, hmph, it's like a bet before your eyes." Glover's tone was cold.
"If you're lucky, you might be able to eat some leftovers in the stable as proof that your 'family' can receive orphanage compensation from the Office of Discipline. If you're unlucky …"
The zombie tightened his collar and did not continue speaking.
Cohen frowned.
"How did you know —"
Glover interrupted him coldly.
"I heard it!"
Cohen frowned.
"From whom —"
"No one!"
Glover seemed to be extremely wary of this topic. He raised his index finger and warned sternly,
"Enough! The problem ends here. "
Thales sighed softly.
Although Cohen was extremely puzzled, he did not pay too much attention to it. He only sighed helplessly.
"Yes, the orphanage and the families who adopted them. I know about their situation. I went to take a look later. These good governance measures from the era of the Virtuous King have long since deteriorated."
Cohen lowered his head.
"As for the Sunset Church's House of God's Grace …"
"It's even more disgusting," a deep voice was heard.
Cohen and Glover were both shocked.
They turned their heads. The Quiet Killer, Layork, who had appeared beside them at some point of time, snorted softly. His gaze was vicious.
"I once had a friend who went in."
Cohen and Glover looked at each other, but Layork ignored them and said coldly,
He continued coldly, "There was a very good old priest in the House of God's Grace. He patiently taught him how to read every day, recited the Sunset Scriptures, and learned etiquette and morality. My friend was young at that time and had never received such care. He was very grateful …
"Until one day."
Layork snorted softly. He seemed to be smiling, but he did not seem to be smiling.
"That kind priest told my friend that as a devout believer of the Sunset Goddess, the grace of the Goddess had once descended upon him …
"It was hidden in his underwear under his thick robes."
The others frowned.
"The old priest untied his belt and encouraged the child with gentle words. He asked him to break through all obstacles and find the 'carrier of the grace of the Goddess'. He then tried his best to grasp it. He cherished it devoutly and pondered it with all his heart. He never left his mouth until he said, 'Let the mortal body produce miracles and spray out pure white divine rain' …"
When he said this, Layork burst out laughing!
"Hahahahaha … pure white divine rain! Hahahahaha! On the altar of the House of God's Grace, in front of the Goddess' sacred elephant! Hahahahaha! "
He laughed in an extremely exaggerated manner. He even bent over, but there was no joy in his eyes. Instead, there was a frightening morbid look.
However, the others, including Thales, only felt a deep chill and oppression.
"Your friend," Glover replied warily and coldly.
"He relayed it quite clearly."
Layork's smile faded and he glanced at him coldly.
"Because he was not the only one."
The group was silent for a while.
Then, Kohen sighed.
"I did not expect to say this, but, Layork, I am very sorry."
"There is no need for that," Layork rejected him mercilessly.
"Because the knowledgeable and holy master priest still made a mistake in the oracle. Many years later, on the day he retired, my friend and he discovered it together."
When he heard this, Thales, who knew the Tranquil Assassin's nature, had a change in his gaze.
"I see. The so-called grace of the Goddess, the divine rain." Layork lowered his head and gently pulled out the blade hidden at his waist. There was a fierce glint in his eyes.
"It is bright red."
Kohen and Glover's expressions changed slightly. They were silent for a while.
Then, when Layork sheathed his blade, he woke up from the silence.
Kohen raised his head and looked gloomy.
"In short, when these children return to the streets, they either return to their old jobs: begging, stealing, swindling, or even following behind the scumbags to make a living. They imitate, assist, or even yearn to become them, because at least the latter can eat well …
"Or, their lives are even worse. Without the organization and protection of the gangs, they are like weeds, and no one cares about them.
"I still remember that there was a child who spat at me. He said that rather than being rescued by the police station, he would rather return to the Brotherhood. Even if he was beaten up a lot, at least he had an organization and companions. He could survive, and if he was lucky, he could grow up to be as awe-inspiring as them and bully other bastards."
Thales subconsciously clenched his molars.
"Because this is the only way to survive," Layork, who had unknowingly joined the conversation, said in disdain.
"It is the only way for them to find their own kind, find happiness, and find a reason to live.
And not the so-called 'relief' of you upper-class people. "
Kohen snorted. He was dispirited.
"And almost every criminal — gamblers, robbers, swindlers, prostitutes, thieves, gangsters, and thugs — has had a similar bad experience since they were young. Sometimes, they had an irresponsible drunkard father, sometimes, they had an immoral playmate, sometimes, they had to live in poverty, sometimes, they had to deal with the cold and heartless society, and sometimes, they had to deal with this dirty street.
"Compared to these, even the Black Street Brotherhood and Blood Bottle Gang do not seem so ferocious and detestable."
The police officer's words made the rest of them sink into deep thought.
"Pitiful, hateful, pathetic, and hilarious. In the end, I don't even know whether it was natural for them to become what they are today, whether it was their own choice or not, whether it was their own choice or not, whether it was their own choice or not, whether they deserved it or were wronged.
"Yes." Layork was the first to speak. He spat on the ground in disdain.
"As if we care about what you think, cop."
But Kohen did not care about his offense at all.
"We just, over and over again, lock their scum parents in prison or send them to the gallows. Then, we leave them in a bigger, messier, and darker whirlpool. We wait for them to absorb the nutrients, acknowledge the rules, and grow up bit by bit."
The police officer's face was gloomy.
"They will become the new scum.
"Then, we will capture them when they become scum.
"Then, we will wait for their newborn children to grow up in the same whirlpool and become the new scum …"
He raised his head again and looked into the distance of the dilapidated street, but he still could not see the end.
"That is their own choice."
Glover spoke. There was a hint of indignation and anger in his words.
"They will bear the consequences."
"Choice? Choice?" Layork laughed in a morbid manner again. His laughter grew louder and louder, making everyone's skin crawl.
"Hahahaha …"
Kohen did not answer. He only looked at Zombie bitterly, which made the latter even more unhappy.
"But they have no choice."
Thales, who had not spoken for a long time, slowly opened his mouth and attracted the trio's attention.
"They have no chance."
The prince walked up a few steps and headed towards the place he was once most familiar with.
"In this kind of community, the socioeconomic status of their parents is limited. Sorry, I mean, they can't go to school since they were young, can't acquire a skill, and can't see the wider world …"
Thales walked past a corner that he had passed countless times when he was young.
"They are bound here and can't find a normal and stable job. They can only wander between idleness and committing crimes. They have no time to care about morality and the law. They can only prioritize things that can support their survival. They can't understand ideals and dreams. They can only reproduce the selfishness, narrow-mindedness, viciousness, laziness, despicableness, and anger forced upon them by life in the mud of reality …
"They don't have the chance to feel morality, gratitude, selflessness, unity, and justice like us, who claim to be healthy people. They can only learn the true meaning of life from the ruthlessness of the streets and the cruelty and terror of their peers."
Thales sighed.
"Their poverty will only be passed down from generation to generation. The same goes for crime."
Kohen's expression became more and more unpleasant.
Glover's expression did not change. Only his breathing quickened. Layork crossed his arms and walked along the wall subconsciously.
"And when the kind-hearted people outside ask, 'Why is it like this?'
Thales said sadly,
"People will pinch their noses and answer with condescension and disgust: 'Because they are scum, because they have a bad upbringing, because they do not learn well, or even because they were born that way: selfish, narrow-mindedness, viciousness, laziness, despicableness, anger, ignorance, and even committing crimes. It's all their own choice."
The teenager's words suddenly sped up.
"People will say, 'We didn't force them not to be self-reliant, force them not to improve, force them to be immoral, force them to commit crimes and become criminals, right?'"
The prince's emotions shocked Glover. The zombie asked hesitantly,
"Your Highness?"
Thales said absent-mindedly, "Some of what they say is true, but it's not just that.
"Not just that.
"If we really want to change the situation, and not comfort ourselves."
Glover and Kohen looked at each other. Layork still crossed his arms and said nothing.
Thales slowly raised his head.
"And when their existence and behavior — all nurtured in such a deviant environment — threaten the freedom and safety of 'people'," Meng Chao said.
"People will be filled with righteous indignation and will say, 'Criminals must be hanged because they deserve it.'
"People will say, as long as these scum die, they will not be able to harm others, and the future will become better."
Kohen bit his lip.
"Haha, if all the scum die," Layork sneered.
"Then, what else can people use to prove that they are good people?"
Thales shook his head and ignored Layork's extreme words.
"Just like what you said just now, in the desert, be it orcs or humans, they all believe that as long as they kill all their enemies and leave none alive, peace will come.
"Then, peace will come."
Glover and Kohen were both stunned.
"But the problem is …" At that moment, Thales felt like he had returned to the Prison of Bones, Crassus of the Disaster Swords. Ricky's words echoed in his ears.
"How are we going to kill those …"
Thales said in a daze.
"Enemies that cannot be killed?"
Everyone was silent for a long time.
"So, just like what that fatty said, the Brotherhood is everywhere and will never die."
Kohen carelessly combed his hair and said in pain,
"Even if I kill Black Sword, there will still be countless new Black Swords. They will pick up his weapon, speak his language, and even take on his appearance.
"This is our real enemy, an enemy that cannot be killed."
Layork chuckled and tightened the black silk on his arm.
"Punishment will not work, prohibition will not work, help will not work, and charity will be useless …"
There was a deep sense of helplessness in Kohen's tone.
"That was the first time I understood that my sword can kill."
Kohen raised his head in a daze.
"But it cannot save lives.
Not even one. "
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