Chapter 350: The Variable (Part 14)

  In the center of the square, hundreds of wounded orcs had gathered together. Surrounding them, thousands of swordsmen, priests, and mages had already formed a tight encirclement. Oufu's strongest point was gone, and annihilating the remaining orcs was no longer a difficult task. However, no one dared to move recklessly, because the pivot of this entire situation, the most crucial point, was being held in someone's hand.

  "What I want is the lives of all the orcs here, besides myself and this girl. Of course, and this Leaves of the World Tree."

  "You want to save these orcs?" Lancelot was taken aback.

  "Kid, my life isn't worth this much. I'm worth, at most, the two of your lives." Adela snorted lightly. "We have already achieved victory. These orcs are the elite of Oufu. If we let them return to heal and prepare, it means the continuation of this war, and tens of thousands more soldiers will lose their lives. I will absolutely not agree."

  Ethan scoffed: "Oh, how noble. Worthy of His Majesty the Pope. Willing to give up even your own life for the so-called greater good."

  "It's not that I won't give it up. I think it's a gamble worth taking now. With the lives of these tens of thousands of warriors, with Celeste's victory as the stakes, I'm willing to bet that you don't dare to kill me. Even if I really die, compared to the tens of thousands of soldiers who would die on the Barbarian Highlands, it's not a bad trade." Adela said lightly. His face still had that woman-like beauty, but the temperament it now displayed was completely different from its former gentleness. It was the true air of a superior, a leader, a person with the perspective to look down upon the world. "And you, kid. Would you rather exchange the lives of tens of thousands of your kin for what you want?"

  "I'm not as noble as you. I just want to do what I think is right." Ethan said lightly. He didn't have Adela's kind of temperament, nor the tone and gaze of one looking down on the world, but he was still calm and composed.

  "You... do you think you are more important than the lives of tens of thousands of people?" Talise glared at Ethan. But no matter how hard she tried, her expression and tone couldn't convey that pure, warrior's anger. Instead, it was more of a strange, helpless, and sour feeling.

  "I don't know. I don't know how to measure these things. Perhaps they can't be measured in the first place. You have your reasons, and I have mine. All I know is that I have to do this." Ethan gave Talise a light glance.

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  Adela and Lancelot looked at each other with astonished eyes, then both secretly sighed. The intention of the previous words was to make Ethan's heart waver and feel guilty. The Pope knew Ethan's nature very well. He was not the kind of person who could disregard human life and use any means necessary. As long as his heart became restless and conflicted by those words, once there was an opening, Lancelot would immediately strike.

  But he did not retort with scornful sarcasm, nor did he defend his actions. He no longer needed to seek a standard to measure himself by. Like a mountain, no matter which way the wind and rain blew, he himself did not waver in the slightest, and thus had no opening. The most important factor in belief is not whether it conforms to a standard, but whether it comes from the true heart.

  "Whether you think you're worth it doesn't matter. As long as Lord Lancelot thinks it's worth it." Ethan looked at Lancelot. "How about it? I know you will definitely see it that way."

  Lancelot let out a long sigh and said, "Your Majesty, forget it. It doesn't matter even if we let these few hundred orcs go. Gru is dead. Sedros alone will find it difficult to hold on... The Radiant Citadel still needs you. The tens of thousands of believers on this continent still need a Pope who can truly think for them. I am not willing to take the risk."

  "What are you talking about?" Ethan was taken aback, and it was at this moment that his face showed a fluctuation. "Wasn't Sedros assassinated by the people you sent?"

  Although this surprise didn't create a large opening, it was still an opening. In theory, it was enough for Lancelot to make his move. But he didn't. Because the surprise of both him and the Pope was even greater than Ethan's.

  "What? Sedros is dead?"

  It wasn't just the three of them who looked at each other in astonishment. The surrounding high priests and Talise also had faces full of surprise. Although they had long planned and imagined capturing the old man, the leader of the opposing faction, assassinating him, and burning him at the stake, hearing this news at this moment was so shocking that they couldn't even feel the joy they should have had.

  "Someone is playing tricks." A cold light flashed in Adela's eyes. His life was still hanging in Ethan's hand, even if he couldn't raise a hand or foot. But his own temperament and momentum were not hindered in the slightest. "Who could be playing such a trick, could it be..."

  "I think we need someone who can explain this clearly, and it just so happens there's a clue here..." Lancelot suddenly dragged Aimee over. A flash of white magic passed over her, and she slowly woke up.

  "Brother Ethan." The first thing Aimee saw when she woke up was Ethan, and she cried out in extreme surprise. Then she saw the situation around her and became a little hesitant.

  "Little sister, it seems you have some kind of agreement with Bishop Inham, right? Please trouble yourself to tell us the whole story." Lancelot said, grabbing her arm.

  Aimee did not speak. She just looked at Ethan, and at the Pope in his hands. Ethan nodded and said, "Tell us. I want to know too. What kind of agreement did you have with that guy?"

  Aimee hesitated for a moment, then pointed at Adela and said, "It's not just with that guy called Inham, but also with him. I know they are both Necromancers, so I made a deal with them, using the Leaves of the World Tree to have them find a way to get you out."

  "Necromancer?" All the surrounding high priests exclaimed. Adela's face darkened. Although he was essentially the Pope, the trouble this sentence would cause him in the future would not be small.

  Ethan's surprise was no less than that of the high priests. He also asked in astonishment, "So you were the one who got this Leaves of the World Tree from the elves? How could you get it?"

  "Another Necromancer helped me get it, but he seemed to be helping me. He told me to bring it here for them to let you out, and also this dagger..." Aimee took out the strangely shaped dagger from her bosom.

  "Nick Dagger? Agrael?" Lancelot and Adela spoke at the same time. They now had a general idea of what was going on.

  "So it all comes back to you... Oufu actually pinned the blame on us. They should have killed you and then gone to settle the score with Agrael..."