Without light, without hope, people cannot continue to live. That's why people have something to rely on and demand, and they will carve the gods in their hearts, and then raise the gods in their hearts.

It has nothing to do with legitimacy, it's just an act necessary to live. In order to resist despair and survive in a cruel and unfree world, they need something to fill the emptiness in their hearts, to relieve their anxiety with piety, to soothe their anxiety with faith, and to meet tomorrow by telling themselves that "the world still has room and possibility for improvement".

No one can laugh at this demand.

It would be foolish to live without that kind of thing, to rely on something that has no substance and a statue that cannot be said to be immovable—to be able to assert that you are either very happy and have nothing to do with hardship, or you live in a way that has nothing to do with the world.

Therefore, Roland can understand the behavior of people in despair and anxiety who seek support and answers from religion. Some may think that this is weakness, but not everyone is strong enough to endure everything on their own, seeking salvation when they are helpless - there is really no way to do it.

It's just that if it's a guy who takes advantage of the situation and commits fraud in the name of preaching salvation, that's a different matter.

The early summer sun shines through the stained glass, rendering it with sacred colors and bathing the priest on the pulpit. Despite years of unused use and war, the chapel is in a dilapidated state, and the pulpit and chairs are almost decaying. However, after being cleaned, it can still show a certain solemn and clean atmosphere.

Add to that the young priests on the podium and the soldiers sitting on the benches, and the divine aura is almost overflowing.

The priest, who is about the same age as the students in school, said in a respectful manner:

Therefore, God is a god of passion and a god of envy. As a result of the birth and death of the Messiah, God was transformed into a God of love. Through the death and resurrection of the Savior, the Son of God, a new covenant between God and man was established. The old covenant is for the old covenant, and the new covenant is the new covenant. That is, the dividing line between the Old and New Testaments is here. So, that's all for today. ”

"Sincerely, (AMEN). ”

The voices of unity, united by unity and piety, rang out, and the soldiers who bowed their heads and prayed together drew the holy pattern of the cross on their chests, buttoned up their hats, and raised their faces coldly, resolutely, and incomparably empty. It's like a group of life-size clockwork toy soldiers, tightening the clockwork and starting to walk on their own.

- Brainwashing.

When it comes to the many methods of religious missionary preaching and the development of believers, the worst and most effective of them is brainwashing.

Constantly pushing the believers into a desperate situation and plunging them into the abyss of desperation before giving favors, or specifically looking for people in difficult situations to give collective care and care. Those who see the light from despair will be convinced of what the giver of light says, and spontaneously enshrine the teachings and values whispered in his ear as the absolute only golden rule, and when the original personality is eroded and values are completely replaced, a pious automaton is completed.

At the first order of the master, they will give all their possessions, they will sacrifice their wives and daughters, they will kill the people whom the master orders to be killed, and even with a single order, they can pour fuel on their bodies with a smile and set it on fire, or they will detonate it in a crowded place with a bomb;

Cults, radical religions, and religious terrorism have fully demonstrated to people the effectiveness of brainwashing, as well as its evils, throughout their long history.

The Church of the Church, which boasted of bringing about a "world dominated by man" to mankind, went so far as to brainwash Charlemagne's soldiers in the encirclement of the Rhine Front. This is already a terminal symptom to some extent. However, considering their opponents and the current situation of the church, people have to admit that the church has no choice but to make this decision.

Miracles are born from a large number of sincere prayers. The more devout, the greater the number of people, the more certain the miracles displayed, and the more terrifying the power.

For example, splitting the sea in two, quelling volcanic eruptions, and so on.

As long as the number of believers and their faith are indeed increased, it is not impossible to trigger miracles that are comparable to or even exceed the level of heaven and earth. If you want to defeat Li Lin, you can only do this.

Being able to understand does not mean that it is acceptable, let alone unconditionally agreeable.

"You look unhappy. ”

A kind and gentle voice floated in, and Roland turned his face sideways, taking in the formulaic smiling face of Ji El in his eyes.

"How can you be a human to do such a thing—your expression seems to say that. But as I said before—"

"What's wrong with going crazy in a world where you can't live without going crazy. ”

Roland interrupted the saint's speech, and his cold tone drew an invisible iron curtain between the two.

"Maybe you're right. In order to survive, people can do anything. Don't say go crazy, you can do anything crazy. To be honest, although this is an unforgivable thing, it is also caused by necessity. But what you're doing is completely different things. ”

"Are you saying that it's better to be managed and raised as a domestic animal all the time?"

"Swap Concept—"

Roland stared at the slightly frozen smile and said:

"It's the same abandonment of moral bottom line, and the starting point is to survive or to seek power, which is a completely different matter. ”

From the beginning, the church has been playing the trick of stealing concepts.

All day long they talk about "liberating mankind" and "the world dominated by man", but in fact, the church thinks about only its own power.

In order to seek greater power and greater wealth, he turned his back on the gods he believed in, and in order to make everything seem reasonable, he put on a cloak of "liberating mankind from the dominion of the gods", and presented himself as a saint who saved the world, a hero who killed tyrants and saved all peoples.

In the final analysis, this is just a justification and rationalization of criminal behavior, and in terms of the degree of heinousness, it is no less than what Li Lin did.

"Maybe you're right, we're just a bunch of fraudsters. Then I ask you, what are you, who are working with us, and using these soldiers to carry out your own plans? If the families of these soldiers know the truth, and they hold you by the collar and ask you to return your husband, father, and brother. How do you answer that?"

Roland's expression didn't move, and he swallowed the bitterness of being hit hard in his heart.

But whoever wields the knife will die by the knife, and without the consciousness of being killed, he is not qualified to pull the trigger.

As a soldier, he should have the consciousness of dying on the battlefield. Whether they are instigated and brainwashed by the church, or ordered by their superiors to charge at the enemy lines, they will eventually become cold corpses in a certain place at some time. This is the truth of war, the bloody and brutal truth behind the glorification of sacred war.

All those involved in the war are unfortunate and equal, and while the families of those soldiers are weeping because of the loss of their loved ones, there are also those who are suffering because of what these soldiers have done. If you really want to express sympathy and apologies one by one, I am afraid that it will not be enough to spend a lifetime. At this time, "mercy is not in charge of the army" and "sacrifice is necessary for the sake of the overall situation" has become the best gold medal for avoiding death, and any accusation will stop there.

If Roland could turn a deaf ear to those weepings and resentments, he must be as relaxed as the Holy Maiden of Jiel at this moment. But he is not Ji El after all, and he can't stifle his conscience like her, trample on others without care, and chase power wholeheartedly. So he was destined to be haunted by his own conscience and the pain of others.

But even so—

"I don't shy away from the consequences of what I've done, even if those people's families and relatives want to spit on me, curse me, want to kill me, grab me by the collar and yell 'give me my family back.'" This is their right, and I will not run away or hide. But before that, I have things that must be done, and I can't die until I'm done. ”

"It's nice to say, but it's not ......"

"Your Majesty, you and Li Lin's perspectives are too arrogant. ”

“......！！”

"Pride yourself as a dominator and look down on others as ants, that's the limit of the powerful. However, Li Lin did not look at the problem from the perspective of human beings in the first place, and it was indeed difficult for him to understand human beings from an equal perspective. On the contrary, before putting yourself in the position of a god, did you seriously think about the meaning of becoming a god, and the price of having that power?"

"Listening to your tone, it looks like I've seen it. Since we are now on the same front, why don't we share the information openly and show our sincerity as allies?"

The smile twisted into a sneer, and the honorific disappeared from the saint's mouth.

The guards standing behind the saint were still as silent as sculptures, but the scorching murderous aura was emanating from them. It is believed that as long as the Holy Maiden of Ji El gives an order, they will immediately take down Roland's head without hesitation.

In the face of the murderous guards, Roland still maintained an indifferent attitude.

"Your Majesty, if you want to test my strength here as an ally. I could only shrug my shoulders, salute, and obey. But I'm not going to be responsible for the rest of it. If you don't think it's okay to lose your strength when the decisive battle comes, then excuse me. I still have a lot of things to do, so I'll miss out first. ”

Without glancing at the guards who were about to erupt, Roland took a step, and just as he passed by Ji El, he suddenly stopped and said in a cold tone:

"By the way, I will pray that the battle of the Church will go smoothly, and I wish the Holy Maiden prosperity and the glory of the Holy Church. ”

Leaving behind the scathing and mocking words, Roland walked through the crowd without looking back, leaving only the guards glaring at his back, and the crown of the saint who stood in place clenched into fists.

The nails pierced into the palms, and the blood collected along the slits at the tips of the fists, dripping to the ground. The Holy Maiden of Ji El was unaware of this, but with a straight and delicate face, silently savoring the humiliation and anger.