Chapter 232: Why Fear?
Chapter 232: Why Fear?
Priests, a divine and great profession. During times of war, they were the most powerful companions to the warriors on the front lines. Their existence gave the warriors infinite courage and confidence. It is said that the peak-level Priests could bless or heal thousands of warriors simultaneously with a wave of their hand.
However, during the heyday of Priests, their true role was not primarily this. The overwhelming power of The Church, which held sole dominance, meant they didn't need to participate in too many wars. Thus, their task became traveling and training throughout the entire Continent, or settling down in a certain Village or Town to become the local healers.
At that time, the medical standards on the Dark Continent were extremely poor. Even Elf Druids who were proficient in medicine were helpless against many diseases. Facing the invasion of disease, most people could only rely on their own resistance to survive. If a plague happened to break out, corpses would litter the ground, a sight too horrible to behold. Under the constant harassment of various unpredictable diseases, natural disasters, beasts, and so on, the average lifespan of Humanity at that time was just over thirty years, and the total population of the entire Dark Continent remained at around ten million.
It was precisely because of the existence of Priests that Humanity on the Dark Continent gradually became prosperous. Problems like wounds, diseases, and even plagues were resolved one by one in the face of the Priests' meticulous power. According to historical records, within a hundred years after the appearance of Priests, the average lifespan of Humanity on the entire Dark Continent surged. This growth trend continued uninterrupted with the gradual popularization of the Priest class, until a millennium later, when the entire Dark Continent entered a period of prosperity and stability, and only then did it gradually stabilize. Within that millennium, the average lifespan of Humanity extended from just over thirty years to over a hundred years, and the population of the Dark Continent grew from ten million to its peak of over ten billion.
Of course, with the increase in lifespan and population, Humanity on the Dark Continent also continuously developed in various aspects, including medicine, just like now. Even though Priests have completely gone extinct, the lifespan of Ordinary People can still be maintained at around over a hundred years. But it is undeniable that the key factor that propelled the prosperity of the entire Dark Continent was precisely the Priests. Without their appearance, some bored historians estimate that Humanity would have needed at least tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand years, to achieve the results seen in that millennium.
Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine the status of Priests in the hearts of people at that time. Even in the future, as their abilities were gradually weakened by various developments in civilization and new things, their status remained unshakable. Every Pope of The Church had to be the most outstanding Priest. In the hearts of Civilians, Priests were the spokespersons of God. This can be easily seen from the many chivalric romances passed down from ancient times – almost every Protagonist had a loyal, reliable, diligent, and hardworking Priest companion silently supporting them from behind.
If this Priest character was male, then he must have a gentle personality, be wise and steady, and be the Protagonist's most important Brother or Elder. If female, then 99.999% of the time, she would have a gentle and subtle personality, be kind-hearted, and be young and beautiful. Her identity would mostly be the Protagonist's childhood sweetheart, or a Younger Sister adopted by the Protagonist, or perhaps a confused Young Girl encountered by chance on the journey to crusade against the Demon King to save the Princess (and then burst forth with infinite power when the Protagonist's life hangs by a thread – with plotlines like "It turns out her true identity is the missing Daughter of a certain superpower's King, the Pope's own Granddaughter, and the reincarnation of a Six-Winged Holy Angel"), and she would be the Protagonist's lover with a status second only to the Princess – one of them...
Speaking of which, one can learn from reading, the YY level on the Dark Continent is not to be underestimated either.
Getting back to the main topic, it is precisely because Priests held an extraordinary status in ancient times that they are still worshipped by Civilians today. Especially since the invasion from the Burning Hells, many information and technologies have been completely lost, and the population has decreased from the peak period of over ten billion to less than a billion now. Under the constant fear and the renewed raging of diseases, the importance of Priests seems to have risen again.
Therefore, in the following conversation, Merchant A and B actually gave the Priest they spoke of, which was I, an assessment no less than Sister Sharna. This surprised me quite a bit. Actually, I disguised myself as a Priest mainly to calm the hesitation accumulated in my heart from frequently killing people.
As for the other identity they briefly mentioned, it was just putting on the Exceptional Helmet. It couldn't even be called a deliberate disguise. After the quest is completed, this identity will probably gradually be forgotten by people.
Regarding the Desert Bandits they mentioned, that was indeed something I did. As mentioned before, in these past few months, as many as a thousand people have died by my hand. Of course, it's impossible for all of them to be Fallen Ones – I estimate the entire Fallen Ones' Alliance combined probably only numbers around that much. So, in fact, only about one percent of those who truly died by my hand were Fallen Ones, which is around a dozen or so. All the rest were just ordinary Desert Bandits.
Perhaps someone will ask, these Desert Bandits have been causing trouble in the Western Kingdom for several hundred years, why couldn't other Masters clear them out, and yet they were coincidentally wiped out by me alone? This might indeed be due to some coincidental factors, because the strength of these Desert Bandits is not weak. There were even a few Mercenary-level Masters mixed in who had willingly corrupted themselves. But that wasn't the problem. The most frustrating thing was their extreme familiarity with the desert environment. Although the King System, Mercenary System, Mage Guild, and even Parties organized by Classed Adventurers had carried out encirclement and suppression campaigns against them more than once, the results each time were not very significant.
Until two months ago, at that time, I was patrolling the villages surrounding Oasis City. Seeing that it was getting late, and the desert's cold wind was gradually picking up, it was already too late to return to the city or nearby villages to rest. Fortunately, while feeling depressed, I happened to discover an Oasis nearby, so I planned to sleep a night here in a Tent. However, what slightly surprised me was that a large Caravan was actually stationed inside the Oasis. Plus some Pedestrians and small Merchants, several hundred people crowded this not-so-large Oasis.
Just as I cleared out a spot and hadn't even set up the Tent yet, the silent Oasis suddenly lit up. Over a thousand torches surrounded the entire Oasis, cutting off escape. At this moment, someone shouted the name of the Desert Bandits in fear, their faces showing a look of despair, because these Bandits never leave anyone alive after robbing, except for beautiful women.
These Desert Bandits had already set their sights on the large Merchant Guild stationed in the Oasis and had been tracking for a long time. Only here did they finally make their move. I think there should be an informant among the Bandits, but he never expected that the moment before they made their move, I actually joined the fray and rushed over. Not to mention the informant didn't know my strength, even if they knew, it would be too late to inform. Therefore, the following situation was predictable...
What? Completely wiped out the Mounted Bandits? How is that possible? Are you crazy? Although I don't care about these thousand Bandits, I can often experience this situation in the Rogue Encampment – one person foolishly charging into a super large Fallen Camp with a number of over a thousand... Purely in terms of combat power, a thousand Bandits may not even be comparable to a thousand Fallen Ones.
Due to the large number, I had no way to completely stop them from killing, so there would only be two results. If they ignored my strength and were determined to steal this cargo, then the Merchant Guild in the Oasis might not escape death, but these Bandits would also be buried with them.
That kind of result mentioned above, probably only a fool would choose. Therefore, after I killed hundreds of Bandits as if entering a flock of sheep, they scattered and fled. They were simply intimately familiar with the environment here. Coupled with the dim sky and rising strong winds, so even if I dispatched Xiao Xue and Lǎn Wū Yā, I still couldn't track them down.
Things reached this point. According to normal development, it is estimated that the Desert Bandits suffered minor loss, and after recuperating for a period, would continue to come out and do evil. But accidents are always unavoidable. I never expected that in this Oasis, there was actually a Person, a relatively special Person, a strange and eccentric temper, moody and unpredictable, an Old Man (Nickname) who didn't trust anyone. Having said this much, everyone can probably guess who he is. That's right. It's the strange Old Man (Nickname) Lysander I met while wandering in the Adventurer's Haven last time.
My action of stepping forward this time unexpectedly gained his trust. But in my opinion, even if I gained his trust, it's nothing. He is not some hidden master or reclusive expert. Naturally, such a good thing as taking me as a disciple or bestowing a secret manual wouldn't happen. And in fact, this cheap trust value indeed can only allow me to prioritize purchasing scarce items like Antidote Potions from him.
However, what I didn't expect was that he actually provided me with a piece of information that would pull me back into all sorts of trouble, and this information was also quite an astonishment to me. That old swindler Elzix, who once tricked me into buying a broken two-handed sword and was also tricked by me out of a gold-tier Priest's Book, reaching a draw with each other (as if!), actually had a very remarkable dark history – before he washed his hands, he was actually the great Desert Bandit Leader.
Can I ignore this information? Can I really? Disappointing the expectations of this strange Old Man (Nickname) Lysander, I don't really care about that. But recently, I don't know why, it's like that thing that naturally bursts forth from females at a certain period. What are you thinking? I'm talking about motherly love, okay?
—I don't know why, I suddenly feel that bit of boring sense of justice and sympathy recently hidden deep in my heart seems particularly strong, like motherly love during a sudden onset period. Protagonists of other novels who transmigrate to other worlds become increasingly evil and licentious and also thrived. As for me, I've developed in the opposite direction. Could my future be Lord Wu Fan, the Druid of Love and Justice and Censor and Sacrifice?
Therefore, driven by this damned sense of justice, I still found Elzix. Under threat and enticement, Elzix, who had already lost his footing because his identity was revealed, was even more unable to resist. After promising him absolute secrecy, he obediently provided the locations of several Desert Bandit Strongholds.
What to do next? Naturally, it's to clear out the Bandits. Who should I find to clear them out? Actually, I can do it alone, but if I could discuss it with Taren (Mage Guild) or Greiz (Mercenary Leader), or even that Fat Pig King, perhaps things would become simpler. The next moment, my affection burst forth again. Forget it, anyway, I can solve it myself. It's better not to involve others. Elzix said there were several Mercenary-level Masters mixed in with the Bandits. In case someone accidentally dies, I'd probably feel guilt again.
Alright, from now on, please address me as Lord Wu Fan, the Druid of Love and Justice.
So, on a dark and windy night full of mosquitoes, inside a hidden Canyon, four Guilang guarded the Exit, while Poison Creeper, Xiao Xue, and I infiltrated inside and began a ruthless slaughter. In this battle, a total of... uh, I didn't count, but there should be over a thousand Bandits killed. Of course, it's impossible to completely clear them out. There will always be a few clever ones who manage to escape. Otherwise, how could this damned Three Heroes identity of mine possibly spread?
After killing people that night, I was depressed for a while. Looking at the warm blood on my hands, clothes, and even on my face and hair, stepping on corpses everywhere, the wails, angry curses, wails of sorrow, begging for mercy... those sounds of despair repeated over and over again in my ears.
I stood there blankly for a long time, because – I actually felt nothing at all. Guilt, fear, sense of loss, emptiness... there was nothing. Could it be because I had killed Classed Adventurers before, it created a feeling of "After killing an Elephant, killing Ants is nothing"?
How I wish I could feel fear for killing, but I can't anymore. What I can fear now is only the inability to fear killing.
(end of chapter)