Chapter 268: The Coward and Three Benefits (4K)

Blasphemous ritual?

And want to defile my purity!?

Herbert was still immersed in Sifanni's narration, but upon hearing the keyword, he instantly went out of character, his whole person becoming spirited.

Hmm?

This... this, is this something that can be said?

Is it this stimulating!!?

"You mean, hmm, you mean... she wants to defile me?"

Herbert's expression was quite subtle, his whole mind filled with scenes that couldn't pass censorship.

Stimulating!

"No, the blasphemous ritual I'm talking about might be somewhat different from what you think."

Sifanni saw at a glance what Herbert was thinking in his heart, shaking her head: "The true fallen ritual is a more terrifying, more fallen, more crazy carnival."

"Generally speaking, she will easily break the sacrifice's arms, cut off his toes, chop into meat paste and then force him to eat it..."

"In this process, Stila won't let the sacrifice shut up, but let him scream and curse wantonly, enjoying their wailing and cursing."

"She will personally take out the sacrifice's heart, and won't kill him directly, but will replace it with a monster's heart for him, defiling the purity of his bloodline."

"Sometimes, she will also force combination with creatures of other races, and even use special means to catalyze, forcing the sacrifice to conceive and directly give birth to a filthy bloodline."

"... Finally, Stila will sacrifice the sacrifice's soul to the god of Nye Yu at the end of the ritual."

"And once the soul is handed over to Him, heh."

Sifanni stopped, shaking her head: "What kind of end it will be, I shouldn't need to say, right?"

What good end can there be in the hands of an evil god?

And it's still in the hands of the most fallen and twisted evil god among them.

Life is not desired, death is not desired.

In that kind of situation, perhaps death is the true liberation—although that might not be possible.

When Sifanni was narrating these cruel behaviors that made people's skin crawl, her expression didn't change at all.

No deliberate rendering of a terrifying atmosphere, no exaggerated embellishment, just repeating the various things that happened in the past.

In the narration without praise or criticism of Stila, her dear sister Stila was indeed a genuine old dark region elf.

That blasphemous technique was truly authentic!

"Herbert, you understand, I'm talking about these with you, not wanting to threaten you with this, but just giving you a reminder."

Sifanni stared at Herbert seriously, saying slowly: "Can you understand what I mean?"

"The Stila in my memory hasn't become a follower of Nye Yu, and now... she must be far more crazy than you imagine."

In the past, Stila was already a crazy person who killed people like hemp and was bloodthirsty.

Now, after being strengthened by the god of Nye Yu, no one knows how terrifying a pervert will be created.

"Hmm, I understand."

And Herbert clearly thought clearly about this point, his expression became serious, nodding seriously, saying in a low voice: "Yes, this is very terrifying."

And just when Sifanni nodded slowly, he asked again: "So... what does this have to do with me? When will she come to find me?"

"..."

Sifanni, seeing Herbert's attitude, twitched her mouth, sighing helplessly: "You really don't want to believe me, since that's the case, then why did you say you wanted to become best friends with me?"

"No, you're wrong."

Herbert adjusted his posture on the sofa, comfortably leaning his upper body against the back of the chair, saying easily:

"I believe it, I believe every word you say, including Stila's impression in your heart, I also tentatively assume that is her true appearance."

The image of Stila in Herbert's heart was tentatively identified as a pervert who is bloodthirsty and abusive.

"However, even if those are all true, so what?"

Herbert spread his hands, signaling her to look around, raising his eyebrows: "Don't forget what place this is."

Tap, tap, tap.

He tapped the rattan lightly with his slender fingers, his expression quite playful.

"This is the Mist Monastery, the place of seclusion for the Saint."

"Stila is indeed crazy enough, but I don't think she will be crazy to this extent."

Judging from Sifanni's description, Stila is indeed crazy enough, but her craziness is far from losing her mind.

In this world, a type of person is called crazy, monster, pervert... kept away by others.

But among these people, there are few truly crazy ones.

And the rest of those people, mostly just borrow this name, relying on the name and disguise of "crazy person" to seek profit for themselves.

Although craziness is the norm they show, perversion is also a significant feature on them.

But in reality, those guys might not be stupid enough to really go to death in vain.

Their consistent purpose of conduct is bullying the weak, showing off in front of the weak, acting recklessly, revealing their craziness.

However, when truly facing those strong people with powerful strength, they will show more reason than anyone else.

That kind of arrogance and wantonness would instantly recede, becoming cautious and extremely careful.

Such a strong contrast is because they know the consequences of being presumptuous in front of the strong.

The brave are angry, drawing blades towards the stronger.

The cowardly are angry, but draw blades towards the weaker.

That group of people who use craziness to disguise themselves are undoubtedly true cowards.

Seemingly crazy, but more timid than anyone else.

In Herbert's view, Stila is such a typical example.

Because if she were really crazy enough, she couldn't possibly become a follower of the god of Nye Yu, and couldn't possibly let those dark elves escape.

What long line to catch big fish?

Kill them all!

Not one left, kill them all!

Even say, Stila should have killed her way to the door long ago.

But... where is she?

She isn't on Mist Street at all!

Herbert smiled at Sifanni, whose expression was somewhat bewildered and thoughtful: "Since she doesn't dare to find her way to the door, then why should I worry?"

Right, as long as I don't leave the monastery, then Stila can't target me!

Although hiding in the monastery and holding the old man's thigh to eat old sounds a bit shameful, this method is indeed very easy to use.

Super easy to use.

If anyone is unconvinced, let him come to the offline to touch it!

Mist big stage, if you have the guts, come!

"In summary, your dear sister actually doesn't pose a threat to me."

"Or rather, the threat is very small, not enough to make me wary."

Oh.

It's not enough to put in the eyes of the Archbishop... cough.

No difference, don't mind this small detail, there's no difference at all.

"..."

Sifanni was also shocked by Herbert's attitude at the beginning, but quickly reacted, shaking her head slightly.

"But all of this is based on the premise that you will stay here forever, never go out, never interact with others."

"Can you really do it?"

She accurately found the serious loophole in Herbert's language.

"You won't stay here forever, will you?"

"Herbert, you are still too young, need to go to the outside world to experience more challenges."

Herbert is very excellent.

This point is beyond doubt, everyone can see his talent.

However, just like all geniuses, having talent alone is not enough for a genius to become a true strong person.

The sword's edge is sharpened from grinding, the plum blossom's fragrance comes from the bitter cold.

Geniuses need tempering.

Only by being burned by fire, experiencing endless beating, can true steel be tempered in the end.

Not to mention whether Herbert will have the patience to stay here in the future, just this period of time, he has already left twice.

Can Herbert really sit still?

She feels he can't.

Can't sit still.

Sifanni stared at Herbert's smiling expression, saying firmly: "You will definitely go out."

Definitely.

This is Herbert's sanctuary, and also his cage.

And a cage cannot trap a beast that truly wants to go out.

"Well, that's true."

Since his little thoughts were poked, Herbert didn't act stubborn, frankly admitting the loophole in his words.

"But even so, it can prove one thing, her threat to me isn't that big, and... you are temporarily safe."

The situation isn't as urgent as imagined, and the threat isn't too big.

As long as Sifanni doesn't actively leave the Third Commandment, no, even as long as she doesn't actively leave the Mist Monastery, she will always be safe.

But this matter actually can't be said to death.

Just like the grass carp brother who sacrificed heroically before, he was an unexpected variable.

That guy actually relied on the god's authority to really deceive many people and luckily came to the Lightless Prison.

With this precedent, the monastery will naturally strengthen precautions, but it's hard to say whether there will be other fish that slipped through the net.

"Alright, I have already known the general situation, let's talk about the benefits now."

Herbert turned to ask: "Sifanni, if I help you solve Stila, what can I get from it?"

I already know the risks, so what about the benefits?

If the money isn't enough, it's very hard for me to do things for you.

"Benefits..."

Sifanni thought seriously, saying slowly: "Wealth, power, and... population."

The three answers she gave made Herbert somewhat surprised.

And this order of hers... a bit interesting.

He raised his eyebrows, didn't interrupt, signaling Sifanni to continue narrating.

"Stila is now the patriarch of the Moore family, and also a city lord, she masters a large amount of wealth."

As a dark elf city lord, Stila is undoubtedly extremely wealthy.

Dark elves reject outsiders, but have always maintained trade with the outside world.

One part is using the specialties of

"What did you say!!?"

Slaves.

The cities controlled by dark elves are a collection of slave-owning city-states, keeping a large number of slaves of various races.

These slaves are not only servants who attend to their daily lives but also an important source of wealth.

Yes.

They not only capture other races to enslave them personally but also trade with others.

They buy slaves of other races from outside caravans and sell races unique to the Underdark.

Through trade, they have accumulated a vast amount of wealth.

Furthermore, if the other party is not strong enough, they will gladly choose to rob them, turning the slave traders into new cargo as well.

As a long-lived race, dark elves have plenty of time to repeat this dirty, blood-stained trade many times over, accumulating massive wealth.

Wealth rivaling a nation?

Perhaps this is not just an empty phrase.

"Once Stilla dies, the wealth the Moore family has accumulated over a thousand years will become ownerless."

Sifanni raised two fingers and whispered: "At that time, there will be two choices before us."

"Leave with the wealth, or stay behind and become the new city lord."

"If you only want to leave with the wealth, as long as we operate properly, we can at least transport half of it away silently."

"And if you want to continue controlling that city, then you will obtain the other half of the wealth... power."

Sifanni's words caused Herbert's gaze to flicker slightly.

The power of a city lord.

A mature dark elf city is not something his small, newly-built territory can compare to.

In the social structure of the dark elves, the city lord is the absolute ruler of a city or a region.

Killing the city lord means seizing the power he holds, and this power allows the victor to command the dark elf army!

As long as you have the confidence to control them and not be killed by their "insubordinate" assassinations, stabbings, or poisonings... you can master this astonishing power.

An elite dark elf army can be completely viewed as an entire legion of well-trained assassins.

If one's own strength is sufficient, the value of the city lord position is not much less than mere wealth!

"As for the population, I think you are clear on it, yes, it is those slaves."

The population ratio of a dark elf city might reach an astonishing one hundred to one; ninety-nine percent are slaves, and the rest are dark elves.

"And as for these, except for the flesh and blood of the slaves that I want to take for research, I don't need the rest."

After finishing her reverie about dividing Stilla's value, Sifanni added: "Besides these, I can also promise you one request, any request."

After speaking, the dark elf archmage closed her mouth and waited quietly for Herbert's reaction.

As she expected, Herbert soon fell into deep thought.

"..."

He frowned, thinking about the benefits after the deed was done.

Among the three benefits Sifanni proposed, wealth is the easiest to take away, power is difficult to cash in, and the final slaves... are more like a bonus.

Judging from the order in which she spoke, she felt that Herbert would be more inclined toward the first two.

But in reality, for Herbert, the most important thing is the population resource, which Sifanni considers the least important.

Elda needs a portion of the population with a clean background.

And those "rescued" slaves clearly fit this condition perfectly.

"I understand, which means... hmm?"

Just as Herbert was preparing to reply to Sifanni, his expression suddenly froze, and his ears twitched slightly.

Sifanni noticed his change and asked: "What's wrong? Do you have any questions?"

"No, I have nothing to ask."

Herbert waved his hand, his brow furrowed, and asked: "You... didn't hear that sound?"

"What sound are you referring to?"

From Sifanni's strange reaction, Herbert realized that the situation might not be right.

That sound, only he could hear it.

He vaguely heard faint whispers.

Blurred, yet exceptionally grand.

... It is a hymn.

A fallen hymn!

"What is going on?"

A hymn coming from the fifth floor!?

He blinked, feeling that this situation was somewhat unexpected.

What is that fallen angel doing again?

Wait...

Am I not on the third floor right now!!?

(End of chapter)