Section 287 Persuasion

Detecting a Chaos spy in the army is a serious matter. As the commander-in-chief, Ashrufat personally interrogated the interrogation, and incidentally met with the arrested spy. The key to the Spy's identity being confirmed was that someone had discovered a magical pattern on his body. With this evidence, his identity can no longer be hidden.

And Ashruphat had seen this pattern. In fact, it was the pattern he had drawn on his chest before—the one that was drawn by Ashrufat himself under the supervision of the Chaos Wizard Marven.

Ashruphat remembered very well that the magical pattern on his chest was lifeless, just a pattern on his own skin - no matter how symbolic it was, the pattern itself was just some paint on the skin. He casually picked up a stone from the stream and grinded it off his chest.

But this time, what he saw in this spy was a magic array that was actually in operation. It's more than just a picture on the skin. It's connected with a lot of strange magical flows—complex enough to be dizzying.

And, as Marven said before, this magic array is connected to the vitality of human beings. For this reason, the pattern cannot be erased (at least extremely hard) unless the person is killed. According to the records of the church, the existence of this magic array has made the spiritual connection between humans and evil gods closer, in other words, it has made it easier for evil gods to control their own human followers. Only the most ardent Tzeentch would tattoo such a thing on their bodies.

The arrested spy soon pleaded guilty in tears. He admits that he couldn't stand the temptation, so he joined the ranks of believers in evil gods. But at first, he just wanted to get out of it immediately. Unfortunately, after being painted with this pattern, he realized that he could not remove it. Then it becomes his handle and falls into the hands of the other party. The Cultists of Chaos threatened to "reveal your true identity" and coerced him into providing information from the army to his enemies.

He didn't ask about the details that followed, so naturally there were relevant personnel who inquired in detail, and finally summarized and reported to his bookcase. But Ashruphat suddenly realized that maybe Rogin—the Chaos wizard who made a mistake in casting spells and eventually blew himself up—wasn't casting mistakes at that time.

While he was at war with the Chaos Egg, the Chaos wizard named Luo Jin used multiple spells in a row to attack him. None of the spells worked—at first, Ashrufat could only interpret them as a miscast. It's rare to say that there are multiple magic mistakes in a row, but no one can say that they won't happen. Maybe that's how it happened? But Marven's one has a magic pattern painted on his body...... It was done under Marven's personal guidance and supervision.

This thing, it shouldn't go wrong, right? But it just doesn't work for itself. The effect of "connecting the life force of human beings" that was supposed to have had did not take effect at all, and it was erased with a slight rub of a stone chip.

However, Ashruphat was convinced that he was not magically immune or anything. Because he had been attacked by magic before. For example, I was at the church by a priestess who used to do a fireball magic...... Although the magic was lifted by him, the burning sensation of his skin told him that if he was hit that time, even if he did not die, he would be severely traumatized.

But...... The magic of chaos is ineffective. What's going on here?

Who the hell am I?

There was a gentle knock on the door of the room. Ashrufat raised his eyes and saw Beller push open the door with a smile on his face.

This is the conference room, but because the meeting is over, everyone else has left.

"Hey, General. Bayral said with a smile. "Like your ...... I'm a little restless. That's not going to work...... We're soldiers in full gear, and we're about to go to that hellish place called the 'battlefield' where life is like dust. There's an old saying, 'One general is incompetent, and three armies are exhausted'!"

"Ah, is it so strict?" Ashrufat tried his best to bring a smile to himself.

"As long as you are not blind, you can see it. Beller went to the nearest chair and sat down. "Are you feeling lost?"

"It's just a little ...... It's just a doubt. Ashrufat replied. "It's not about the war, it's about my personal affairs. ”

"Since you are a general, you have no personal affairs. Beller looked like he sighed. "With a single thought, you can guide the life and death of thousands of people...... What's going on?"

"Your Excellency Belle, remember the last time you met me...... I mean the me before I met my amnesia...... Do you think there's anything special about me?"

"Hell, you're a disciple of Thomas, and that's special enough! Thomas was over eighty years old when he died. If he wishes to teach his knowledge, he has at least a hundred students, but as far as I know, it seems that you are the only one of his students. ”

"I'm the only ......," Ashrufat shook his head. Thomas ...... Why did you choose me?"

"Because you have the talent, of course. Bayral replied. "You may have sincerity, eloquence, and the means to please people, but the most important thing is talent. You have the natural qualifications, or potential, to command an army. ”

"Isn't it an honor for me to be so complimented by you?"

"It's not an honor. Beller replied. "If it weren't for your recognition, I wouldn't be standing here. Although the honor of victory is important, one's own life is even more important. Don't look at me like this, in fact, I'm afraid of death. When I was on an expedition to Kalean, I became a deserter many times......"

"But didn't you win in the end?"

"yes, so I can now bring these things up without blushing. "Bayrell didn't care at all. "If I doubt your abilities, I'll make excuses to leave...... After all, if the battle is defeated, no one dares to guarantee that they will be safe...... I thought that even if I were to be the commander-in-chief, I would not be better than you, and the facts speak for themselves...... Okay, let's not talk about that, let's get back to the point, General, what are you confusing about?"

"......" Ashrufat tried to answer, but found that he couldn't say anything in the end.

"You know, a lot of recruits, especially officers, get confused before they go into battle. And the most common of this 'confusion' is that they don't know what they're fighting for. Many people, especially those who are ignorant and ignorant, often fail to understand the concept of 'enemy'. The so-called 'enemy' is, of course, the 'enemy' first, and then the 'person'. However, these recruits did not understand this, and their minds were obsessed with 'people', but they forgot to add an 'enemy'. Unless these people witnessed the brutality of the battlefield, such as burned villages, raped women and children, executed civilians, and so on, they were able to burn the courage to fight, and to put all their strength and wisdom on killing...... Of course, these refer to recruits. And veterans don't need that. ”

Beller's eyes looked at each other, his gaze penetrating, as if he could see the deep doubts in Eshurufat's heart.

"When people fight a lot of wars, the blood in their hearts will slowly calm down. Even if he didn't witness the outrageous scenes of crime, he was able to fight calmly. Because they don't need to understand, they don't need to see it to know what war will bring. And calm is often more effective than anger - because anger and fear are always combined, and they are two sides of the same coin. It's another thing to be calm. Experienced generals will treat veterans as their main and elite for this main reason. Of course, there is another kind of people, such as me. Béral pointed to himself. "I have come to believe that I am righteous - I do not need external evidence, let alone an enemy to prove my evil, I always believe that I am fighting for justice. So when I play tricks or arrange traps, I never hesitate at all, and I definitely don't have any psychological burden. If I let my subordinates pay the sacrifice, I will believe that it is a sacrifice that has to be made, and I will feel sorry for the fallen soldiers, but if I go back in time, I will still give the same order, and I will send them to their deaths in the same way. Because I am righteous, my orders have no choice, and the sacrifices they make are necessary and meaningful. If I had not been a commander, if I had been just an ordinary soldier, with a spear in hand, standing on the front line and facing an oncoming enemy, I would have believed that it was in the interests of justice that I had killed the other side, whether it was an intact opponent, a wounded opponent, or even an opponent begging for mercy. ”

"I don't know what you're confusing you about, but I'll warn you. In any case, now you are the commander of this army, and because of all the exploits you have done in the past, this army is now ...... The lives and futures of 100,000 people are entrusted to you. It's power, it's responsibility. Can your confusion outweigh the responsibility you are pressing on you at this moment? If the answer is no...... To be honest, I also know that this is your only answer, so you should let go of the doubts in your mind. ”

"It's hard to let go of your mind. Ashrufat replied. He laughed, no longer the forced smile he had shown before, but a relaxed one. "You know, Lord Beller, you consider yourself a 'veteran' in what you just said......

"People say I've been through a lot of battles, but it's not that exaggerated. Even if you count all the big battles and small battles...... Even counting the small battle against the Chaos Wizard just now, I only fought forty-seven battles. Bayral replied. "But that's enough to deserve the title of 'veteran'. Just a piece of advice from a veteran to another veteran. ”

"Hah...... That's right, I'm a veteran. Ashrufat replied with a smile. "I don't know how many times I've fought, maybe so many times if I count the dreams. ”

"In a dream?" Beller's brow furrowed slightly, but he let go of it immediately.

"Some dreams that are obviously illogical, but quite real. "Ashruphat also did not go deep into the topic. "So I sometimes wonder if I'm going through some ...... A few...... Something unimaginable to man. ”

"Nothing is unimaginable to humans. Bayral smiled. "Even the most cunning deceit and the deepest stratagem come from human ingenuity. ”

"Perhaps. Ashrufat replied. Suddenly, he felt that the burden on his heart had been lifted—at least partially.

"What are you going to do next, General?" asked Bayrell.

"Keep bewildering," Ashrufat got up from his chair and came to the window. Located high above the castle, it offers a bird's-eye view of the city's central location. As mentioned earlier, the city of Neustria at this time was a veritable large military camp. "But first of all, we have to fight this battle. ”