Teresa's sudden thought attracted the attention of all the knights in the tent. The sorceress held her violet staff and said seriously, "Is it possible that Chaos and the undead have formed a fragile alliance?"
"I can't say that it's impossible." Laing first gave some affirmation to Teresa's opinion, which made the sorceress a little happy. However, Morgiana the Lake Goddess immediately retorted, "I don't mean to pick on you, Madam Teresa. But the undead and Chaos have formed an alliance? What's the point of that? "
"What's the point of that?" Teresa naturally took over the conversation. She quietly glanced at Laing's expression.
There was a bit of curiosity and interest on Leon's face, which greatly encouraged Theresa. The female sorceress ignored the displeased looks of the dozen or so Holy Grail Knights and more than 20 great noble knights in the tent. She continued, "Of course it's because of the pressure. The great pressure forced the undead and the Chaos to unite."
After that, Teresa stretched out a hand wrapped in a white lace glove and pointed at the map. "Look, before this, the Spire Palace has fallen. According to the news, Lauen's army in the north has also surrounded Richard Castle. If I were Mu Xilong's Viper, I would have realized that the undead are in a desperate situation."
"At this time, the undead have suffered a great loss in the attack on the Spire Palace. They have also lost many blood knights and black holy grail knights. The last Fearsome Beast has also died under Laing's sword. At this time, Mu Xilong's Viper has given up on reclaiming the Spire Palace and immediately went north to rescue Richard Castle. He is facing great pressure in terms of military strength. At this time, Mu Xilong's Viper should be forced to seek allies because if they can't quickly defeat Lauen and his army of knights, when our army gathers and attacks from both sides, Viper will definitely not be able to deal with them. Teresa continued, "And if that's the case, we can be prepared to besiege Mu Xilong for a long time. This time, we are fully prepared."
"Therefore, out of desperation, Matthew Bad and Chaos came to an agreement and formed an allied army. The Chaos Demonic Army destroyed the Spire Palace and reduced the pressure on Mu Xilong's South." This was Teresa's final conclusion. After the Sorceress finished speaking, she looked at Laing expectantly, waiting for his evaluation.
"Ha!" Before Laing could speak, Morgiana let out a cold laugh. Her beautiful face was filled with majesty and coldness. She said in a deep voice, "Madam Teresa, you're right. Logically speaking, there's nothing wrong with your judgment. But let me ask you. If that's the case, what will Chaos gain? What reason do they have to help the undead? "
"For destruction and slaughter?" Teresa tried her best to maintain her elegance. "The undead must have reached an agreement with Chaos …"
"No, that's not possible." Laing interrupted Teresa's words. At the same time, he motioned for Morgiana to listen to him. "The undead's goal is to rule. Whether it's Matthew Bad or the Lich King Arkham, their goal is to build a kingdom of the undead on this land given to us by the Goddess. As for Chaos, they only want …"
"… Destruction. Complete destruction." Morgiana stared at Teresa. "The undead want to conquer and rule while Chaos wants to destroy. Both sides can't reach an agreement unless it's an extreme situation. But the current situation is far from that for Mu Xilong's poisonous snakes. Once, the Dark Elf Pirates and the Northern Barbarians could form an alliance to fight against the Empire and Brittany when they were raiding the South. But the other side is the Chaos Demonic Army."
The Chaos Demonic Army was a creature of the subspace. Even with the full support of the Evil Gods, the Chaos Demonic Army could not stay in the mortal world for long before the Great Guardian and the Great Whirlpool lose their effectiveness.
"Hmm … The information we have now is still too little." Laing shook his head in distress. He motioned for Morgiana and Teresa not to dwell on this matter. "We'll rest in the camp in the Chalon Forest for now. I've written a letter to François and Berchemund asking for reinforcements. When their armies arrive, we'll make another plan. Please remember that the Chaos Demonic Army's combat power is extraordinary. No army in this world can match it.
Do not act rashly! "Everyone knew how powerful the Chaos Demonic Army was. Without a real army, it was impossible to defeat the Chaos Demonic Army led by Tzeentch's number one demon, Tzeentch's Weaver of Fate Carlos.
"Yes, sir!" The meeting was adjourned. Because the battle was not going well, the knights were rather dejected. They slowly left the tent and returned to their own tents to rest.
"Fedmond, Jerrold, stay here for a while." Laing motioned for Fedmond and Jerrold to stay.
Soon, there were only five people left in the tent. Laing, Teresa, Morgiana, Fedmond, and Jerrold sat around the table and looked at the map.
It seemed to be drizzling outside the tent. The night of early spring was very cold. Even though there was a brazier in the tent, the cold wind still blew.
The five people in the tent were not afraid of the cold. After sitting down, Laing first arranged for everyone to eat dinner together. Tonight's dinner was grilled steak and lamb chops, stewed broccoli, and corn soup. The main dish was high-quality bread and butter. The wine was sweet and bubbly apple wine with low alcohol content.
Affected by the defeat, everyone was silent. Morgiana and Teresa did not eat much meat. They only ate some vegetables and soup. Laing, Fedmond, and Jerrold did not care so much and ate as much as they could.
Historically, a knight's ability to eat was a sign of their ability to fight.
When they were almost done, Laing said, "Actually, I agree with Teresa's point of view."
The sorceress's face lit up. She put down her spoon and looked excited and a little resentful. "Then why didn't you …"
"Madam Teresa." Jerrold gestured for the sorceress to calm down. The paladin said in a low voice, "Because it was not the right time. The defeat has already lowered the army's morale … If Laing is sure that the undead have joined forces with Chaos …"
"It will be a huge blow to the army's morale," Fedmond added. This Holy Grail Knight also frowned. "We have participated in the Holy Grail Expedition and know how powerful the Chaos Demons are. Except for Holy Grail Knights like Mr. Berchemund, Mr. François, and Mr. Laing, no one can deal with the Chaos Demons, not even ordinary Holy Grail Knights."
The sorceress's face was sullen. She lowered her head unwillingly.
"It's not your fault, Teresa." Laing reached out and patted the sorceress's hand gently, indicating that she did not mind. "You are my courtier. What you should do is to express your point of view. I am the one who has to consider all the consequences."
"I still have doubts about the alliance between the undead and Chaos." Morgiana shook her head. The Lake Goddess Witch said to Laing, "Laing, why do you also think that Matthew Bard will ally with Chaos?"
"The reason is simple." Laing nodded and smiled. "In short, it's called behavioural economics."
"Behavioural economics?" The Lake Goddess Witch gestured for Laing to continue.
"Give me an example." Laing nodded and placed ten crowns on the table.
"Let's say I'm a merchant from the Empire and I want to transport some food to Kurona to sell.
"Now, I have two choices. First, I can take Montfort's Axe Pass. Since I have a powerful escort, I can almost guarantee my safety. But due to the high tariffs, I can only make a thousand crowns this time."
"Or, I can choose to take Palawon's Path of the Grey Lady. That path is rather dangerous and I only have a fifty percent chance of passing it safely. But if I do, I'll only have to pay a low price. That's why I can earn three or even four thousand crowns."
"What would you choose in such a situation?"
Right after Laing said that, Jerrold and Feedmond said without hesitation, "Of course we'd take Axe Pass. It's the safest choice."
Teresa also agreed. Only Morgiana said with disdain, "If it were me, I'd take Grey Lady's Path. I don't believe any enemy can harm me."
"Morgiana, you're willing to take Grey Lady's Path because you're powerful." Laing shook his head with a pained smile. "But with you, the merchants would be lucky to earn five hundred crowns, let alone two thousand."
"So what are you trying to say?" Morgiana furrowed her golden brows.
"Let me finish first." Laing shook his head and continued, "Let's assume that we take Grey Lady's Path and run into the Green Skin Tribe. Half of our food is stolen. Now, we have two choices.
First, we can choose to go back the way we came. Obviously, we won't be able to get back half of our goods, but we'll at least have half of our people and goods left alive.
Or, we can take our people to the depths of the mountains to pursue the Green Skin Tribe. Let's say we have a fifty percent chance of getting our goods back. But there's a fifty percent chance that we won't be able to get our goods back and we might even lose our lives. What would you choose in such a situation? "
At that moment, Feedmond and Jerrold seemed to have realised something. Feedmond pondered for a while before he said, "I think I'd still choose to pursue the Green Skin Tribe."
"Me too." Jerrold and Morgiana both believed that they had to get their goods back. Morgiana was the only one who chose to give up. "My own life is the most important. I won't risk it again."
"Very good." Laing smiled and put the ten crowns away. "This is called behavioral economics."
"Mortals have a natural instinct that prevents them from being completely rational when dealing with profits and losses.
"In the face of rewards, mortals hate risk. They prefer to have a guaranteed reward. Even if the reward is lower, mortals can still accept it."
"When faced with losses, mortals prefer to take risks. They'll hate losses that have already been confirmed and hope to recoup their losses through taking risks, even if they'll suffer even greater losses. Just think about it and you'll know that the possibility of pursuing the Green Skin Tribe to get their goods back isn't high. But many people will still choose to do so."
"That's because mortals are more sensitive to losses than profits." Ryan crossed his arms, pressed the back of his hands on his nose, and rested his elbows on the table. "When given a choice, most mortals would hope to take risks to 'recover' their losses."
"Of course, there will also be a small number of people who choose to cut their losses. I'm talking about most, not everyone."
Everyone fell into deep thought after hearing that.
In fact, this question was very similar to a question that Ryan often faced in his previous life, which was the choice between "100% to get one million, 50% to get five million, and 50% to get nothing". Even if people knew that the second choice had a higher expectation of profit than the first choice, most people would still choose the first choice because it would guarantee them one million.
But if it was a 100% chance of losing a million or 50% chance of losing five million, and 50% chance of not losing anything, most people would choose the second choice. Even though they knew that the second choice was more profitable, they still preferred it because what if they won and didn't lose anything?
It had to be emphasized here that Laing was talking about most people, not everyone, excluding those who were rational enough.
"You're saying that Matthew Bard chose to compromise with Chaos because he wants to recoup his losses, and the loss of the Spire Palace is already a confirmed loss?" Morgiana reluctantly accepted Laing's opinion. Lake Goddess nodded in understanding. "Compromising with Chaos might allow him to reclaim the Spire Palace, or worse. But he's willing to take the risk."
"That's right." Laing nodded. "Moreover, the benefits are not limited to reclaiming the Spire Palace. The Chaos army can resist our attacks and allow Matthew Bard to focus on dealing with Laun and his army. In other words, whether the Tzeentech army succeeds or not, at least they're helping Matthew Bard fight against us. This is a stable benefit."
"So, in conclusion, it's not surprising that the undead would compromise with Chaos in a difficult situation." Laing concluded. "So, half of this problem is solved. I'm sure that the undead will compromise with Chaos."
After Laing's analysis, the remaining four people in the tent were convinced. Jerrold and Fedmond nodded in agreement. Even Morgiana, who was firm on this, was shaken. "According to what you said, Laing, the undead might have already compromised."
"Then here's the question. If the undead can compromise with Chaos, why would Chaos be willing to help the undead?" Teresa was happy that Laing agreed with her point of view. The sorceress ignored Morgiana's warning look and immediately continued. "First of all, we can be sure that Chaos is not here to destroy. So, there's only one possibility left."
"Chaos is looking for something."
"What is the Tzeentech demon looking for?"
After listening to Laing's words, everyone fell into deep thought.
At this moment, a few bats suddenly flew into the tent from outside. A vampire lord suddenly appeared at the entrance of the tent! He had a big bald head, deep eye sockets, and a pale face without a trace of blood. "It's looking for the Holy Relic!"
"Who's there?" Everyone in the tent immediately pulled out their weapons and pointed at the vampire lord.
Unexpectedly, the vampire lord sneered and threw his weapon on the ground. Then, he knelt down and raised his hands in surrender. "Honorable Sir Laing Macado, I'm the vampire baron, Hal Harris, from the Von Karstein family. I'm here to surrender to you. I hope you can forgive my sins!"
"Tree Realm Descends!" Morgiana's beautiful green eyes were full of hatred. The Lake Goddess witch raised her head and cast a spell. Thick branches immediately bound the vampire baron tightly. "Undead! What are you plotting this time?! "
Hal Harris allowed himself to be sealed. The vampire baron's dark eyes stared at Laing. "I said, I'm here to surrender. Due to certain reasons, I can only surrender to you. Laing Macado, I have no other choice."
"You know that I never forgive vampires." Laing stood up. "Why do you think I'll accept your surrender?"
"Yes, I know." Hal Harris remained kneeling. "But I have no choice."
After saying that, the vampire of the Von Karstein family raised his head. "Because I've discovered a shocking secret! Great Blood Ancestor Vlad Von Karstein above! Damn Matthew Bad, he gave up the glory of the midnight nobles and surrendered to Chaos! "
"He's no longer worthy of being our leader!"
"Only you can defeat him! Laing Macado! "
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