Section 187 estimates

Ashruphat sighed softly. "Knowing the truth is not necessarily a happier one. ”

"Even so, I want to know the truth. ”

"Can't you just take everything as if it were my willfulness? ”

"I'm not a child anymore! why can't you think of me as a true queen?"

"Because a true queen shouldn't be here at this time. Ashrufat said. "You should understand, let me do it, and wait until the dust settles before I come out as the queen to judge right and wrong, and judge merit and punishment...... That's the right choice. This is the true meaning of the royal road. He sighed again. "However, only when you do this can you look like the real you. ”

"What the hell is it for?"

"Maybe I used to be lonely and unheard, but I've been ...... lately In fact, in the past two days, I have just learned one thing. Something about the evil gods. According to the rumors of others...... Even if, according to the Church's texts, these are the four miraculous beings, perhaps the word 'miracle' is more appropriate. ”

"Of course. The little girl was a little surprised.

"Although from an objective point of view, these four Chaos Evil Gods are all insane, and the doctrines, theories, and other things they promote are unlikely to be supported by normal humans at all. Or to put it another way, to believe in that doctrine is about the same as to death. Those dogmas don't care at all about the life or death of believers. This and the gods of the star field, and some other beliefs...... Not to mention anything else, even those green-skinned orc gods, Brother Nao and Brother Mao, are more reliable than these four evil gods. But such an abnormal god can get a large number of believers to follow, can organize a large army, and can repeatedly pose a huge threat to our country...... There is only one answer behind it. ”

"Uh......"

"Those gods are real. Their teachings may be absurd, but their power is real. They are able to give anything to believers...... While I think this 'anything' is debatable, there is no doubt that they can exert what we call 'miracles', and they can do whatever they want. ”

Ashruphat spat out the words softly.

"But...... But...... Starfield Gods...... You can also use miracles. The little girl said.

"Yes, it seems that many gods are capable of performing miracles. A holy knight with extraordinary power, an archbishop who was once immortal...... These are miracles performed by the gods. The nature gods of Stygia also have many miracles, such as the Knights of the Holy Grail who suddenly regained their youth...... There's a lot more to it like that. But for the vast majority of believers, God is just a sustenance of the heart. God will pay attention to you, but it will not show you His power casually. ”

"But the church doesn't have a lot of ...... Ritual?"

"Those are magic, not miracles. This is achieved with the help of the power of the wind of magic. In this regard...... At least within the confines of the Central Seven Kingdoms, the Church has complete control over the learning, development, and use of magic. They are able to use magic to impersonate miracles to influence the populace...... But anyway, there is one biggest difference between the evil gods, do you know what the Tao is?"

The tone of his voice was a little terrifying, which made the little girl feel stiff for a while.

"That's what they will...... Give any believer a response. Ashrufat seemed to be saying lightly. "With their miracles, they have given mortals a step-by-step, truly visible ladder to immortality. ”

"But this ......" After all, the little girl has also undergone an orthodox education, and of course she knows what the ultimate reward of the evil gods of the Dao Dao is for believers. Although that is still a legend. If there really was a mortal cultist who received such an ultimate reward from the Chaos God, at least he was unknown for now.

"You may not have understood the meaning behind it. Do you know that human society, everything around us, its 'ascension' is unpredictable. For example, if you are an employee of the Chamber of Commerce, and each of them wants to become the President or Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, it is a gradual process of progression. But your ascension is completely unpredictable. You may be smart, honest, and hardworking, but you don't know how much you've done to improve. This boost is completely random...... Unpredictable process. You've worked hard for years to get nothing, and then another companion may just pour a glass of water or show up for something as small as a face, and then be promoted. The Chamber of Commerce clerk is just a metaphor, and there's more. For example, a swordsman who practices his swordsmanship all day long wants to get stronger strength. But he may have exercised for years and found that he was not much different from the past. This is what it means that in the Anthropocene, all kinds of improvements, except for a very few things that can be rewarded steadily and predictably, most of them need to rely on something called 'luck' to get them. Not to mention that there are a lot of people who are impatient and can't wait too long. ”

"And the evil god gave mortals a chance. Those 'chances', 'luck' or things like that, in the promotion channels provided by the evil gods, everything is clear. Everything can be simply understood as a transaction. I've been told that as long as I keep winning, always winning in God's name, then anything ...... All are available. This is ...... for people Especially for those who lack good background and lack natural qualifications, it is an irresistible temptation. ”

"What does that mean?" the little girl still didn't understand.

"This illustrates...... The power and temptation of the evil gods are far greater than we expected. Remember a guy I killed in a duel at Eagle Castle before, and that guy turned out to be a follower of the Blood God...... Although the church dug deep into the ground afterwards, it could not dig up anything new. In the end, it ended hastily with the conclusion of 'individual cases'. But this thing ...... The fall of the White Castle and the defeat of the former kings...... Byron's misdeeds, and what happened here in Fornoros...... And so many other things......"

"What the hell is it trying to say?"

"I'm afraid Gruni will be overturned this time!" replied Ashrufat.

"Overturned...... What do you mean......"

"That's right, perdition. Ashrufat put it in a more colloquial way.

"For ...... For what?"

"According to my estimates, everything is a ploy of the gods. Ashrufat replied. "Unspeakable stratagem. They're gods—whatever they are, they're capable of far more than humans. We're afraid we'll fall into a trap that has been set up. This kind of conspiracy, which has been planned for a long time and is launched suddenly, is extremely difficult to fight......"

"But...... The evil gods have invaded our country for hundreds of years. If you count the previous ones, the time is longer. The little girl replied. "It's never been in such danger. ”

She's telling the truth. Barbarian invasions were a common practice long before Gruny's founding monarch, King Macremiz the Great. This is also the reason why Garunas will build the White Castle. Although the barbarian invasions have become more frequent and stronger since then, each but the last one has been held back under the White Castle. These are indisputable historical facts.

"Yes. There are four evil gods, of which Nurgle and Tzeentch are hostile to each other, and Slaanesh and Terrorist are hostile to each other. But now...... If I'm not mistaken, they've reached an agreement for the time being. There may still be cases where small means stumble over each other, but the whole is already one. Everything...... Perhaps even Byron's rebellion was itself part of the whole scheme. ”

"We beat Byron...... Also?"

"Maybe not, but it's certainly a possibility. If we lose, then there is a countermeasure for us to lose, and if we win, then there is a countermeasure for us to win. Ashrufat said.

"Are you thinking too much? ”

"I wish it were. But since they are beings above humans...... It is something that can be called a 'god', so it is not a mistake to overestimate it. Here in Fornoros City, someone has already set a trap due to the situation. If everything goes according to the normal path, then here it ...... It will become a source of failure, at least one of them. ”

"You make this ...... What is the rationale for the estimate?"

"First, Byron did not commit suicide, and second, Byron's two grandsons were suddenly nowhere to be found. Ashrufat replied. "And of course there is a third point, which is found in Byron's castle...... An altar dedicated to evil gods. Well, this one can only be used as an auxiliary. ”

"Not suicide?" the little girl's eyes widened. "You don't mean ......"

"On the surface, it looks like suicide, but in fact it is not suicide. Pistol bullets went through his mouth and out of the back of his head. When a shot is fired at an enemy, the recoil of the bullet is borne by the person's arms and shoulders. But the situation is different when committing suicide, the gun is pinched in reverse, so the impact of the bullet is borne entirely by the hand itself. When he commits suicide by swallowing a gun, the action of holding the gun is actually a bit awkward, and the recoil of the bullet will bounce his hand away, in other words, his hand should be spread out, or at least he can't hold the gun very tightly. But Byron's hand held the gun tightly...... The finger is still on the trigger. I can only surmise that someone helped him when he tried to kill himself. ”

"Who is it?"

"He committed suicide by locking himself in the council chamber. There was only one servant with him...... A servant who was originally worthless in this war, and would not even be noticed. But why should a servant do this? It is not uncommon for a servant to kill his master, but the kind of thing that kills his master without any benefit...... It's stupid. Indeed, a person can do something stupid when he is desperate. But that time was not the last moment. And after he did this, he didn't tell anyone, hiding the facts. What was his purpose? Certainly not just to kill Byron!"

"And then there's the second thing. Byron's two grandsons are missing...... Indeed, they were just two small children, and on the surface they looked unthreatening. Ashrufat said. "Remember when we rushed out of Falcon City together? Those two children were just like you back then. They are harmless for the time being, but that's just the surface. When they are in the right place, they can play a very powerful role, powerful enough to change a lot of things. ”

"These two pieces of direct and obvious evidence...... Plus a few other details...... In particular, the news from the northern front made me feel that everything seemed to be part of the bigger picture. ”