Chapter 235: Loosen the Shackles of Desire

“I never expected that Druids would even start working as mercenaries now. I really don’t know what expression to wear to face this!” Viscount Bolerum looked at the document in his hand and showed a look that was hard to laugh or cry about.

The interrogation of the captives went quite smoothly. Those Druids, who had little experience with city life, had not received any corresponding anti-crime training.

Although years of jungle life had fully exercised the bodies and tough spirits of these wild children. The fights with beasts, the struggles against poachers, and even the law of the jungle within their own sect had made their ability to endure pain far beyond that of ordinary people.

Because the Druids of the Stahhbinse Sect followed the philosophy of “survival of the fittest.” Their slogan was: “Nature does not believe in tears.” In their eyes, nature was an extremely cold and ruthless mother who used various strict methods to select those worthy of survival, while the losers were ruthlessly eliminated.

So, the interrogation work in the first few days had almost no progress. Whether through threats and bribes or severe torture, it seemed impossible to shake the will of these children of the wilds.

However, their long-term disconnection from real society made them perform very poorly in dealing with people. Because in the past, they only lived in their own little world, almost a semi-isolated realm. The lack of social skills was their biggest spiritual flaw.

After analyzing the existing known intelligence, the interrogation agencies immediately changed their previous established policy. Since direct force did not work, they would adopt a roundabout strategy! For this kind of trick to get them to talk, most of the Druids from the Stahhbinse Sect had no psychological defense. The intelligence agents quickly got what they wanted from each of them one by one. Although the intelligence obtained from a single person was not much, putting it all together resulted in a complete report.

“Even if these Druids live in the wilderness, they absolutely cannot achieve complete isolation from the world.” George wrote and drew on the desk nearby. Soon, a large string of names, words, and many connecting lines appeared on the parchment in front of him.

“Click.” Viscount Bolerum snapped his fingers and said, “You are right. Even if they are Druids, they cannot completely separate from the great society to survive alone. Especially for an organization, they often need trade to get the materials they need. As far as I know, they can indeed provide their own daily necessities like food and clothing. But metal tools and some rare spellcasting materials, the vast majority need to be obtained from the outside world. Not to mention some of the fine weapons and equipment.”

“This is unavoidable. Since the first great division of society, the classification of handicrafts has become increasingly detailed. The skills needed for fine products not only require years of accumulated experience but also a whole system of support behind them. Especially for excellent weapons, the required processes often make it impossible for them to produce them themselves.” George kept talking and seemed to think of something, filling in some text in the few blank spaces on the parchment in front of him.

Before George traveled through time, a philosopher once said, “History is connected by one war after another, and human talent is to wage endless wars.” In the more than 5,000 years of human history, the total time of true peace, where “no war was fought in any corner of the globe,” was less than 20 years. And in this world, the shadow of war was not always a Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone’s head, but daily life.

At any time, the sharp weapons used for war were often the crystallization of the wisdom and skills of craftsmen and scholars of that era. From the ancient preference for divine weapons to the worship of high-tech weapons after the industrial society, it has always been consistent. Of course, there would not be much change in this world either.

“So, in the future, to deal with small groups like this who refuse to be managed, if we can completely cut off their trade channels, it will be very easy to make them surrender.” Viscount Bolerum seemed to have realized something. “If there is a chance in the future, should we try it?”

“Father, I still advise you to give up this plan!” George put down the paper and pen, waved his fist, and said in a hard voice, “Not to mention whether such a group would risk their own survival to launch raids and wars against the surroundings. Just those black-hearted merchants who dare to sell the noose to hang themselves for money are not something we can completely limit. Such suppression is not only too slow, and whether it can finally make the other side surrender is also uncertain. Moreover, the hatred that follows might not be reconcilable for generations. Instead of this, it is better to conquer with swords and fire. Tell them with our own strength who the ruler is.”

Viscount Bolerum was really startled by George’s actions. Perhaps in his eyes, George, who was good at internal affairs and liked to achieve goals through non-violent means, would be the one to like the method he just proposed. He never expected such strong opposition. It was truly eye-opening.

“You said it very well. Let the brand of sword and fire let those who dare to have improper thoughts know that the claws of our Duchy of Nohan must be cut off.” Viscount Bolerum did not know whether to feel relieved or troubled now. For George to show that he inherited the will and tradition of the Duchy was indeed a good thing. But he had just had an idea, and this little one refuted it. As a father, he felt a bit embarrassed.

His father had clearly written his contradictory expression on his face. George naturally could not have failed to notice. But he still felt it was better to deal with his father’s unrealistic ideas quickly with a sharp knife: “Just from that one speech, how did Father suddenly think of economic blockade and trade wars? Not to mention that the Duchy of Nohan currently has no such capital. More importantly, the political and economic environment of the entire new continent does not fit such conditions!”

Before traveling through time, only the White Eagle could use such means. At that time, he was not only the world’s number one political and economic power, capable of leading economic flows and public opinion trends. He also had the powerful guarantee of being the number one military power to prevent the other side from going to war in desperation.

At the same time, he was followed by a large group of allies who were linked during the Second World War and the period of the two Righteous Camps opposing each other. They formed a dense and tight network, trapping the blockaded party firmly in the net. At the same time, its excellent geographical location, located between two oceans with no strong powers bordering on land, was also important. This greatly increased the difficulty for the blockaded party to carry out asymmetric retaliatory actions.

Even so, the effect could not be said to be very good. Among them, there were those with obvious effects, such as the national economy retreating by two or three decades within a few years. There were also those with poor effects, still gradually growing and developing. Even the “F-14 Tomcat” parts produced domestically could flow into the hands of the blockaded country. This was enough to show the great difficulty in this practice. How much more so in this world where most people are more used to speaking with force!

After a brief awkward silence, George immediately changed the subject: “The key is that the Druids of the Stahhbinse Sect do not get along with other forces as harmoniously as other sects. The conflicts involved are almost the worst in the Winter Servants! So the difficulty for them to obtain materials through trade is much greater. Becoming mercenaries to fight wars to exchange for their needs is also very much in line with their practices! Since it is the law of the jungle, it is not surprising that they, like the Barbarians to the north, would launch raids on surrounding villages! Especially when it comes to being mercenaries.”

“This seems to mention a new branch sect that appeared among the Winter Servants—the Night Holders. From the intelligence just obtained, it seems to be a sect associated with the Shadow Plane or even the Lower Plane. However, connecting it to the actions of some people in the Winter Servants during the Demon invasion and the Aberration disaster, this does not seem strange. And the reason why these Stahhbinse Sect guys could get involved in mercenary business is the bridging and connecting of the newly born Night Holders behind the scenes.” Viscount Bolerum immediately took the hint, but from the intelligence he obtained, he seemed to have a bad feeling.

George said seriously: “If this newly emerging sect really colludes with the Lower Plane, then leave it to other Druid sects and the Churches of those good gods to worry about! We have no way to intervene in the Dark Evening Forest and the surrounding areas. I think the trouble now is probably to worry about the retaliation of the Stahhbinse Sect! After all, a Druid under thirty years old of the 6th Level, even if not a young leader of that sect, probably has an identity like a rising star!”

“That’s right. Even a group like the Stahhbinse Sect that values survival of the fittest would not let their organization suffer such a huge loss. The problem is that those guys are keen on protecting their own lives, even in battle. They rarely make moves to kill each other. They believe the purpose of battle is to let themselves survive, and as long as they survive, there will always be a way to eliminate the enemy. People like this will not risk their lives for others. So as long as we can show our strength, the other party will not make any moves.” Viscount Bolerum gave George a reassuring pill.

“If it is really like this, that would be great! Speaking of strength, Father, please look at this plan and see if there are any omissions. I am going to train now. After all, only by working hard to improve our own strength is the matter we can truly hold in our hands, isn’t it?” Saying this, George handed the scroll of parchment in his hand to the left front of Viscount Bolerum, and then immediately left the room with fast steps without looking back.

“I said, I am still on vacation now! Why don’t you show any consideration for my hard work this year?” Viscount Bolerum in the room scratched his fingertips.

Perhaps because of the unexpected major sacrifice before, George was stimulated. This made him spend a lot more effort on training during this time. It just so happened that when he returned to Lord Viscount of Bolerum Territory, he became the best conscript to take over his work.

For this, our Lord Viscount seemed to have a hard-to-laugh-or-cry feeling—truly just out of the tiger’s mouth and into the wolf’s den! Of course, in the world before traveling through time, this kind of thought was often called “scum is pretentious.” If he really let him be idle for half a year, he would immediately think of ways to highlight his own presence. Just like some high-level officials who complain in public, of course, this is also part of human nature!

The training ground in the afternoon was full of the heat that the sun had baked for most of the day. It was the ground scorched by the scorching sunlight, radiating heat upwards like a red-hot iron plate. Being in it was a bit like a pork chop made in Western fast food, heated on both sides at the same time.

However, George was not affected at all and sweated here. Of course, that sweat was just a little bit of fine hair sweat. Having already reached the state of Immune to Cold and Heat, the reason why he sweated in such weather that was not even extreme was more because of the moves he was practicing now.

The move “Emerald Slash,” which uses one’s own will to interfere with reality, after constant practice. George found that his previous understanding of it seemed to be a bit biased.

It was not just about causing spiritual damage, but exactly as George had always thought, the way of entering with no thickness into the gaps. Relying on precise and detailed perception, he could detect the weak points on the enemy’s body and even on their armor scales.

He could easily cut through all the defenses blocking the enemies in front of him, truly reaching the state where there is plenty of room for the blade to move freely. Once reaching the realm described in the book, it would really be able to ignore all defense capabilities and directly inflict physical damage on the other party.

From another angle, it is an alternative weakened version of the “Eye of Direct Death.” However, it only targets the opponent’s defense capabilities, forcing the opponent to only use their agile movements to dodge.

“Damn! It’s always just a little bit short.” George, who finally failed, called out very unluckily. He twisted his neck and put the Longsword in his hand back into the weapon rack on the side of the training ground.

“Clearly, I have shown considerable talent on the ‘Nightmare Sword · Green Jade.’ But why can George never make smooth progress with the ‘Emerald Slash’? You should know that I have already entered the deeper stage of the ‘Nightmare Sword · Red Jade’ now!” George stood by the edge of the training ground, thinking, without caring about the scorching sun in summer.

The so-called “Nightmare Sword · Red Jade” aims to read the opponent’s defense, find gaps in the movements, and when predicting the opponent’s actions, after a brief thought, you immediately find the most fatal position.

It is the favorite finishing move of the Steel Soul Sect. By consciously studying the opponent’s movements and stances, the user can find the most accurate attack point and launch a decisive attack.

Like the “Nightmare Sword · Green Jade,” it also starts from the opponent’s flaws in actions and behavior. Of course, unlike the “Nightmare Sword · Green Jade,” the purpose of the “Nightmare Sword · Red Jade” is not to seize the fleeting opportunity, but to wait for the opponent to show a flaw and give them a fatal blow.

“But if we follow the theory, analyzing the opponent’s weaknesses in action seems to require much less mental effort than analyzing physical weaknesses! The greatest possibility for my failure to cultivate might be a lack of mental strength.” George seemed to make an assumption for his current strange situation.

If these moves were classified like spells, “Emerald Slash” belongs to the 2nd Level move, while “Nightmare Sword · Red Jade” belongs to the 4th Level. Such a situation where the 2nd Level has not been mastered but the 4th Level has already been preliminarily entered is indeed quite strange.

That night, sitting on the bed, George started his Visualization as usual. Perhaps because of the failure during the day, he was a bit restless. Or perhaps his desire for spiritual advancement made him a bit too eager for quick success. He failed his Visualization for the first time in so many years.

“It seems that recently has been really very unlucky! I originally thought that I could condense a Star God in the Sea of Consciousness again in 6 days. But there is always a chasm that I cannot cross right in front of me!” George was really scratching his head and ears. “Could it be that my progress in the past period was too fast and consumed all my previous accumulation?”

It seemed that when he was about to shake, George began to comfort himself, “Think of me, working hard and cultivating my nature for so many years. It is not easy to reach this spiritual realm at this age. One cannot expect too much. Being too greedy and rash is not a good thing.”

“Wait, cultivating my nature, cultivating my nature. Oh, the problem lies in cultivating my nature. The ‘Doumu Yuanjun Visualization Method’ emphasizes change and completeness. Cultivating my nature highlights one aspect while suppressing the other. This method conflicts with the cultivation method from the root! No wonder this situation occurred.” George, who had figured it out, immediately started preparing to start from this aspect.

Of course, habits of so many years are not easy to change. Now, he can only start with preliminary self-suggestion—starting now to use dialectics to view dialectical evil.

Even true heroes are not without flaws; they are often willing to face their flaws directly. Through the view of dialectics, one can clearly understand that so-called “evil” is not all evil, but has a good side: Pride makes people enhance confidence, envy makes people more enterprising, anger makes people break through limits, greed makes people dare to pursue beautiful things, laziness makes people retreat from difficulties, comparison makes people discover the beauty of others, and appropriate indulgence can keep oneself in a comfortable state of mind.

This night, George slept the sweetest he had in this period.

But just as the sky was just getting light, before the usual time to get up, a voice came from outside George’s door: “George, get up quickly. This time, something really big has happened.”