[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-247":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","THE VILLAIN'S POV",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},336684,598,"Chapter 247: Orphans of Ruin (1)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-247",247,"\u003Cp>\"What a grim sight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mergo…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With one hand resting on the hilt of his hidden blade .. Aether, Gavid Lindman glanced sideways at the staggering old drunk who arrived late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man greeted his peer with a faint smile, barely visible through the wild hair covering most of his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lord Lindman, as diligent as ever… I take it you were part of the battle?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I only delivered the final blow. Barely made it in time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's still impressive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mergo praised him, though Gavid's scowl only deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A shame, really. I would've been here sooner if I had your spatial manipulation skills.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're right. It's a pity you don't—ha ha!!.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mergo laughed, ignoring the deliberate jab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could've joined the battle from the start with his teleportation, and had he done so, they might have subdued the Pontiff much faster ... without the cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he chose not to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Astaroth won't be pleased with this outcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He can think what he likes. Just as you do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing on the desolate plains, on earth that had drunk its fill of blood and corpses, death had become routine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many dead this time? Hundreds? Maybe thousands... The Pontiff was particularly spirited today. Such a shame what that man has become.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You pity the beast that caused all this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Beast? That's a flattering description.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mergo chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You and I—we're monsters too, Lindman.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I won't argue with that.\" Lindman said with a frown...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The heavens and the earth…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without warning, Mergo began speaking softly, savoring each word as if unaffected by the carnage around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Seasons shift endlessly across this sky and soil, and so too do men follow cycles beyond their control.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Change is inevitable. To survive, we must adapt.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the end, we all get what we deserve. Perhaps for destroyers like us, our fate will be to lie among these corpses one day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reclining amid the bloodied dead, Mergo smiled and closed his eyes, drifting into a nap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You damned old fool…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gavid Lindman turned away, leaving the old man alone ... unwilling to deal with him further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My fate… is the work of my own hands.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he said it only to himself, Mergo heard it loud and clear, and his smile widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Opening his eyes, he watched Gavid walk off, the hem of his fine coat billowing behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Poor soul…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gavid had no idea he was walking a path inked in fate ... one that would lead him precisely where destiny willed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, the old man rose again, the stench of death still clinging to the air around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There you are.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He patted the head of a barefoot young man dressed in nothing but a black robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey… old man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it, Lawrence?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There are so many bodies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know. It's a shame, isn't it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why is it a shame? Because the dead no longer have stories to tell, Lawrence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Each one had a tale waiting to unfold ... but its threads were severed too soon, whether they lived a life of grace or of hardship.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the end, they all perished.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mergo's voice dipped into solemn depth without warning, prompting Lawrence to scratch his messy white hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grace? Didn't they just die because they were weak?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lawrence asked like a child, and Mergo answered with the calm patience of a father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You could see it that way. Had they been stronger, maybe they would've survived.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So power decides life and death?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not necessarily.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two walked away from the battlefield and its noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not? You just said they would've lived if they were stronger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a world ruled by the law of the jungle, Lawrence had instinctively grasped a cruel truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember, Lawrence—no matter how strong you become, there's always someone stronger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stronger than Mergo?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. Far stronger than me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the two were far from the battlefield with the Pontiff. Their journey had shifted toward a new goal: recruiting more of the Hollows ... without warning or permission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lawrence was a strange one, more like a lost child who had latched onto the only man able to handle him ... Mergo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So if strength isn't the answer… then what is? What decides life and death?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A good question.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mergo tampered with the space around them, instantly warping the two far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's use the Ultras as an example.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Demons are beings of terrifying power. Astaroth is only the nineteenth seat, and yet he's a monster by this world's standards. And the Ultras? Just humans. But they survived by selling themselves to the strongest side. That's how we've made it this far.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the humans in that place... The Empire, they're still alive too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are. They've survived as well. But the Empire is fractured by nature ... between the clergy, the noble houses, and countless rogue factions. Each fights in their own way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still, when war comes, they rally together in a single force despite their differences. That makes them far more dangerous than they appear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't get it anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lawrence groaned, annoyed and confused. He no longer knew what answer Mergo wanted from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man patted his precious empyrean on the head and looked forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's adaptation, Lawrence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Adaptation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. Whether it's a righteous warrior who survives by holding onto his beliefs, or a wretched traitor who sells out everyone around him ... what matters is adapting to the trials of life and death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the end, only the best players survive. The ones who learn how to play the game of life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lawrence sighed in defeat, giving up on trying to understand the deeper meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is way too complicated… I'll just stick with my first answer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ha ha. Then focusing on getting stronger must be your way, huh, Lawrence?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two continued chatting without pause or fatigue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, their feet reached a strange place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the middle of a barren wasteland, an unnatural patch of green burst forth ... lush plants and gentle winds, like a mirage more than a reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that vibrant patch of earth stood a large building... an old monastery built from black brick, fenced in by tall iron gates. Above its entrance hung a simple sign with just a few words:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yhsefka Orphanage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An orphanage bearing the symbol of a dove ... a sign of freedom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An orphanage in the heart of a dead desert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hope buried in a pit of despair... even if that was the furthest thing from the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is this place?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's a home for children who've lost their parents.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Parents...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lawrence winced at the thought, his mind straining to remember a mother or father he could no longer recall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mergo gently patted his head as they reached the orphanage gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There stood a hulking guard who looked down at them, his glowing eyes visible beneath his iron helm.\u003C\u002Fp>",1146,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","10232dffc9b54205714722dcc968eb54c0132e1cc9010cd03fe815376b860706","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-248","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-246",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]