Chapter 816 The Appearance of the Witch Hunter
After continuing to talk about some trivial matters in life, the man's drinking game inevitably leads to three things, beauty, art and politics.
It happened that the two people present were not very interested in the first two, and it was Imric who finally started the conversation by shaking the empty wine glass.
Prince Long's eyes were a little dazed. He picked up some food on the plate that was either pork or beef, put it in his mouth, chewed a little, and said vaguely,
"So you stay optimistic about the future."
"No, I have never been optimistic about the future of a dark world. Victory is like the dawn of dawn. After giving short-term hope, the night will eventually come. My final responsibility as the emperor is to survive the darkness for the empire and welcome the dawn. The process went a little smoother.”
Magnus was not teasing at all, and seemed to be mocking himself. His more than forty years as emperor had made him deeply aware of the troubles of the empire.
After a group of vampires are eliminated, another group of necromancers will appear, and this group of necromancers happens to be the ones responsible for eliminating vampires.
Imrik agreed with this matter. If you truly realize the truth of this world, it will be difficult not to feel pessimistic.
The gods already knew the outcome, and the typical example was Lilith, but the Moon Girl chose to escape, while the God of the Empire still fought against the enemy of Chaos to the end as he did in ancient times.
"Speaking of which, why do you value the Bad Land so much? Only people who have committed heinous crimes in any country will settle in that desolate land. I don't think you really intend to ask for the meager pledge money from Golden Oath City. .”
Magnus raised a question that had been bothering him for a long time. He unconditionally supported Imric's actions on Sartosa, but when he asked why, he only received a very unreasonable answer.
The use of oath gold to the elves is far less important than that of star iron. Moreover, most of the oath gold in Golden Oath City has already been mined. The remaining bit may have been wasted by the greenskins, so why waste so much effort.
Taking a swig of ale, Imrik's eyes became very heavy, and he did not intend to hide his purpose anymore.
"An ancient relic. The most important treasure in Caledor today is just a poor imitation compared to it. It symbolizes all the glory of my family and my country."
"Dragon horn?" After a while, Magnus guessed that this treasure was something like weapons and armor, and he would definitely not let his old friend take it so seriously.
It seems that only this thing, and only this thing, can make Caledo care so much.
Imrik nodded heavily. Ever since Khazar Iranos informed him of the function of the Dragon Horn, he had seen legendary objects appearing in his dreams many nights.
I am eager to take it back more than anyone else, but the situation does not allow it. If the dragon revives early, there is no telling what Asuryan will do to balance the power between Asur and Druzi. .
Magnus poured a glass of wine, tasted it carefully, and expressed his thoughts,
"The Empire doesn't mind helping its allies for many years, but an expedition to the Badlands is a fruitless thing. You should understand my difficulties, old friend."
Imrik raised his glass and touched it with Magnus once. After drinking it, he complained to his old friend,
"How come I don't understand that even Adira, as a female prince, has to consider Tyran Loch's domestic thoughts on this matter, let alone the empire. It's enough for you to have this intention.
War cannot be started with emotions. Behind every medal of merit may be a family that has lost its husband, father and son. Our friendship is not enough to make these soldiers make meaningless sacrifices. "
The emperor was in awe and toasted Prince Long a glass of wine. His old friend knew the pain of war, but he still decisively launched the war. This cold determination was commendable.
Perhaps on a deserted night, under the illumination of candlelight, the Dragon Prince looked at the list of sacrifices alone and silently, and wrote down the names of these warriors one by one.
Imric was not prepared to continue this topic. The Dragon Horn would be taken back, but those who died in the process would never be able to return to their homeland.
"Speaking of which, I encountered an interesting thing in Altdorf."
"tell me the story."
"Escorted by a group of imperial knights, the fanatics who went to the Great Temple to worship mistook me for you, and went crazy and committed suicide. It seems that only by doing so can their souls be with Sigma."
It was originally a joke, but Magnus's old face changed from flushed to serious.
The emperor severely criticized this kind of religious fanaticism. He was not opposed to personality worship. A positive example is praiseworthy, but if it goes to extremes, dire consequences will occur.
Self-mutilation is nothing but the slightest act of fanaticism, and if followers follow the example of these flagellants, the future of the Empire will be difficult to predict.
"Idol worship, what the empire should worship is the warriors who fight with the Chaos tribes in the northern frozen soil, the hunters who fight to the death with the beastmen in the dark forest, and every fighting priest who walks in the shadows, but they are by no means a group of A lunatic who sees religion as the purpose of life!”
"Are you talking about yourself? You must know that they are shouting the name of the pious and driving nails into their heads."
After saying these words, the majestic Magnus shrank a lot. He claimed to be the emperor with two divine choices. He naturally understood that faith had become an indispensable part of the empire, but more darkness was hidden in these fanaticisms. among.
Many people who appear to be fanatics actually worship the dark gods secretly. In the name of Sigmar and Ulric, they exploit the farmers under their rule to satisfy their own selfish desires.
"I don't deny this, but this is also an area that I am ready to reform immediately and establish a secret organization focused on maintaining the purity of the empire. There is nothing wrong with fanaticism, but it must be on the right path."
Imric shook his head and smiled. His old friend didn't know how to solve the religious fanaticism in the empire and wanted to make a temporary patch.
He knows that the final result of fanaticism is irrational, but the actual environment of the empire does not allow religious enthusiasm to be suppressed. If people do not worship the gods of the empire, then there is only one choice left...
"Then what are you going to do, let a group of battle priests wearing heavy plate armor use sledgehammers to teach everyone who doesn't obey the rules? Let them fight with the beastmen. If they use their brains, maybe they can't even compare to the goblins. .”
He didn't care about the sarcasm from his old friend. Magnus was used to it. If he didn't have a bad mouth, he would really doubt that he had changed into an elf.
"No, I plan to reorganize the Silver Hammer and establish an organization that hunts heretics and the fallen, centered on the Osterland where Chaos has been the most corrupted. I call it the Witch Hunters."