Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 214 Cultural Victory
Sophia is waiting for an opportunity.

Although her mother twisted her ears harshly today and she was dragged into the room and scolded after the crowd in the garden dispersed, fortunately she had hidden a bottle of healing potion and ran straight to Ethan's room as soon as she was able to get out of bed.

Sophia hid outside the door, one hand still covering her butt which was still aching even after drinking the healing potion. If her mother saw her in this position, she would be forced to take the "Court Etiquette 2.0" exam.

When Ethan and others talked about the movie, Sofia knew her time had come.

According to her observation, her mother always attached great importance to Ethan's opinions. She suddenly had an idea, and the god of wisdom climbed onto her back at this moment - if she followed Mr. Ethan in the future, wouldn't she be able to restrain her mother to a certain extent?

This can be seen from Ivy. Although she still gets the beatings she deserves, once it comes to matters such as cabinet meetings, her mother will acquiesce in Ivy's temporary violation of the house arrest order. She always feels that the beatings Ivy gets are lighter than hers.

Sophia felt that this move could be called holding Old Sen hostage to control her mother.

"Can you take one with me?"

She was filled with determination as she entered the house.

"Your Highness, why are you here?"

"Don't call me princess, just call me Sofia from now on! ...About the movie."

"I want to know why."

Ethan moved a chair for Sophia, but the princess looked a little strange today. She just folded her arms on the back of the chair and slightly stood on tiptoe. Her right hand stretched behind her from time to time, and then she moved her hand away stiffly as if she remembered something.

Rowena, who was experienced in being humiliated, saw the clue.

The princess must have received a severe beating.

Sophia made up her mind and made a bold statement in front of the three people, "Because, knights have no future!"

"You can't go out and say this!"

Ethan still remembered that the last time Rowena made similar remarks in the mansion, she was beaten by Bi'an with a locking technique called "Killing with Sister in Arms" and kept begging for mercy.

"This is true. I heard these remarks when I was in the Temple of Netheril!" Sophia argued. "After the Kingdom Army changed its organization, many knights had nowhere to go. They either stayed in the temple like the elemental shapers in the academy, or they could only serve as guards in the homes of nobles."

As a princess of the empire, she naturally could not choose either of these two paths.

Rowena reminded, "You can still inherit the throne, right?"

This girl is so ungrateful for what she has. You should know that the heir to the throne has always been a knight of the Temple of Netheril. This is a glorious tradition passed down by Henry's family. The founder of the empire hopes that future generations can follow the virtues of chivalry and rule the country with benevolence and righteousness.

As far as she knew, Princess Sophia was the only orthodox Netherese Templar among the three crown princes, and had a natural advantage in the competition for the throne. It was also not difficult to see that Queen Margaret valued Sophia much more.

"But I am still inexperienced and cannot convince everyone! If I can learn and practice with you, I will definitely be recognized by everyone!"

Sophia's eyes were determined. She felt that she was a genius for coming up with such a high-sounding reason in an instant.

But this is a lie.

Her real purpose was to find a way to lift the house arrest order. If she joined Ethan and the others to make a movie, her mother would surely give them face.

Sophia struck while the iron was hot and added, "Didn't Mr. Ethan say that war is no longer in line with the future development trend of the empire?"

Ethan had to admit that Sofia's words touched his heart, and if this matter was led by the royal family represented by Princess Sofia, a lot of trivial troubles could be avoided.

Winter also looked at Sophia with admiration. He didn't expect that this short girl could speak so eloquently. Maybe she could really learn some of Ethan's ability to talk nonsense.

Ethan: "Sophia, that's not entirely true. War won't disappear, it's just evolving into another form."

"Another form?"

"So-called movies are not just simple entertainment activities. The impact they can have is more far-reaching than the teachings of the Church. This is a war in the field of culture and thought."

He saw the gleam of wisdom in Sophia's eyes. Perhaps this little girl who was like a wild person in the garden could really lead the empire to a different future.

“It’s a gentler, less noticeable way.”

This time, even Winter and Rowena were on high alert. Based on their understanding of Old Sen, he was sure to make another theory that sounded like nonsense but made sense upon closer thought. As the current leader of the "Root", Rowena would write down the following conversation and pass it on to Ivy so that she could compile it into "Imperial Truth".

As an old player of the Civilization series, Ethan has always advocated the development path of cultural victory.

Now they are in an important stage of ideological transformation. "Compared to the iron-fisted methods of the Church, entertainment implants the message that the Empire wants to convey into people's minds in a way that is popular with people. In the past, the Empire adopted a strategy of parallel use of the Iron Cavalry and the Church. For civilizations that resisted the Empire, the Iron Cavalry of the Temple of Netheril would break through their capital, and then the priests of the Church of Life would change the minds of the locals."

"This is the strategy formulated by Henry III..."

Sophia blurted out that this background knowledge involving Henry's royal family was what she had learned since she was a child.

During the reign of Henry III, seven large-scale foreign wars broke out. He spent almost the rest of his life in war. People respected him as the king of iron and blood. It was also during that period that the empire's reputation reached its peak.

Correspondingly, as a tool of ruling ideology, the status of the Church of Life both inside and outside the empire rose rapidly. Pope Turzen revised the doctrine many times based on the background of the times and wrote politics into the scriptures.

Although this move caused considerable controversy at the time, with the continuous victories in foreign wars and strong support from the royal family, the religious reform led by Turzain was widely recognized.

"But the church's ideological rule needs to be based on the empire's strong military power. Recently, many countries that were dependent on the empire have broken away from the control of the Church of Life. There have even been cases of assassinations of church pastors in various places outside the empire."

It can be seen that this method of taking root in various civilizations through tough measures is just covering up the hatred on the surface.

“But how do movies do these things?”

Sophia was full of curiosity.

“It’s simple: let all ordinary people who are exposed to these forms of entertainment have a vision of the life depicted in the movies.”

"that is it?"

"That's all." Ethan remained noncommittal. "The cultural symbols that the empire wants to convey are hidden in them without making a sound. They don't even realize that they have been indoctrinated with a certain ideology."

For a modern person, this is too common. "But blunt means will only backfire, so we need to dig out truly outstanding talents. Sophia, this is something that is very suitable for you to do."

"Eh, me?"

After hearing what Ethan said, Sophia suddenly felt that she had lost confidence. She just came here to find a way to escape the house arrest order. Why did it sound as if the burden of the entire empire's cultural strategic development would be on her shoulders? This was a great cause that her ancestors and the Church had been working on for decades but had not been able to fully realize.

"Of course, we will help you in the process."

Ethan took out a piece of parchment and fetched a quill.

Creating a new field is extremely difficult, but fortunately he can directly copy the existing system. It was Lao An’s words that inspired him. As an old god, Lao An also believed in human wisdom.

They are not machines that lack independent thinking ability. As long as they are given a vague framework, they can exert their subjective initiative and fill in the missing details. In fact, the evolution of modern society has never happened overnight. The development of the field of film alone has been infused with the hard work of countless people.

No one can keep the development of civilization firmly in their own hands, not even the old gods.

As the content on the parchment continued to fill in, the surprise in the eyes of the three people became more and more obvious.

Different positions have their own responsibilities. Ethan seems to have the ability to predict the future. Before the concept of the movie becomes reality, he can guess the difficulties they may encounter in the future and set up professional personnel to deal with these difficulties. On this parchment, the movie is no longer a vague and abstract concept, but a plan that can be launched immediately.

This project will involve many people from all walks of life.

Before this, Sophia had never seen an industry that involved such a wide range of areas, as if every aspect of the empire was involved.

Her blood began to boil, a feeling much stronger than when she had passed the test in the temple and sworn to become a knight.

These words, without any emotion, are terrifyingly inciting.

This reminded Sophia of the unrealistic fantasies that popped up in her mind from time to time. Sometimes she thought about becoming a saint or even a Knight of the Round Table, returning to the empire under the glory of the Knight Lord, and becoming the greatest empress in the history of the empire. She also imagined that when the old gods revived, she would be the savior and save the people with a sword...

In short, there is no logic to it, and I can't discuss it with people I know.

Is it...

Ethan and she are actually the same kind?
It's just that Ethan is more organized and resourceful than her, and can turn the fantasies in his mind into reality.

I felt that my relationship with Ethan had suddenly become a lot closer.

"Sophia, this plan is in your hands."

"I understand!"

Sophia suddenly felt a strong sense of mission enveloping her, and she had a hunch that "Heisenberg and the Magic Book" was the first step to achieve this great cause.

Looking at the princess's receding back, Winter fell into deep thought.

She suddenly felt that something seemed to be wrong. She stared at Ethan's relieved eyes for a moment, and suddenly came to her senses, "No, aren't we going to make a movie? Why did Sofia become the one to do it?"

"Teacher, if you expect the film to be successful, don't get involved in the production."

"why?"

Winter didn't understand.

"Distance creates beauty."

Ethan has a lot to say about this. He used to be a movie lover, and it was because of this hobby that he devoted himself to the film production industry. However, when those trivial matters came overwhelmingly, his pure hobby was extinguished, and his perspective on movies changed from a lover to an analyst, examining every shot with a utilitarian perspective.

It's like a magic trick. When you know the specific means it uses to deceive your vision, the surprise is gone.

Ethan wants to promote the development of world movies, but he doesn't want to devote himself to the production of movies. It would be better for him to be a moviegoer, happily go to the cinema in his spare time, buy two tickets, hold popcorn, and spend a wonderful day with the winter.

Winter still seemed a little confused for a moment, and one of his eyes became bigger than the other.

"Trust Lao Sen!"

Although Sen Guard Rowena felt the same way, she decided to give up thinking about it.

Ethan is always right.

Practice has proved this countless times.

..............................

At the same time, under the afternoon sun, a black crow flew over the city wall and landed in an empty alley. The guards on the city wall only saw a black shadow flashing across the sky, and when they wanted to take a closer look, they could no longer find it.

Is it an illusion?

The guards on the city wall looked at each other.

And outside the street a few hundred meters away from them, the black crow that fell to the ground transformed into the outline of a human. She was wearing a black cloak, her long black hair covered by the cloak, and her dark pupils seemed to be burning with ominous flames. The insects and rats living in the sewers fled in fear.

This comes from the most primitive instinct of living things, reminding them of the coming danger.

A corrosive black shadow spread through the alley, holes were burned into the ground, and thick, corrupt liquid flowed out.

"How long has it been since you came back?"

The woman murmured to herself as she walked forward along the path paved by shadows. Everything that came into view was far from what she remembered.

The imperial capital has changed beyond all recognition. Not only the city structure, but even the people living in this city have been transformed.

Yes.

She decided to use the word "reborn" to describe the changes in the people of the imperial capital. This was an extremely rare change, as if everyone was bathed in the sunshine again, full of hope for life and the future.

This change made her feel a little uncomfortable, and she peeked at the people coming and going on the street from the shadows.

I really want to... ruin the smiles on their faces.

But now is not the time to satisfy her fetish, she came for a more important purpose.

The woman's gaze moved among the crowd and finally stopped on a worker. She didn't understand why this man who was engaged in intensive physical labor had a smile on his face, but she believed that soon this man would not be able to smile anymore.

For a witch, fear is the best food in the world.

She licked her lips which had been painted purple and quietly followed the workers.

The worker was transporting goods, humming a tune whose original melody was unrecognizable in a good mood. When he thought about the 32-strong qualifying round for the Electric Wheelchair Masters Tournament to be held tonight, he could hardly hide his excitement and even had more energy to work.

By the way, when he passed by the city square today, he met the evil factory manager.

He was being escorted, and judging from his sad expression, he was probably in big trouble.

It seems that the letter of opinion they wrote to the cabinet some time ago has worked.

The good mood was interrupted by the footsteps coming from behind. The worker who had unloaded the goods turned around and was faced with a shadow spreading like a tide. A slim voice walked towards him in high heels. The woman did not speak, but just smiled at him somewhat morbidly.

Looking at the workers who were forced into a dead end, the witch felt that the air in the imperial capital had become a little fresher.

Hunting is always exciting. She doesn't have to say anything or do anything. The poor prey will be so scared that it will fall to its knees and send its fear to her mouth. She only needs to savor the wonderful taste.

Such scenes have happened countless times, at different times and in different places.

Same ending.

If the prey satisfies her, she is not against sparing its life. From another perspective, becoming someone's lifelong nightmare has its own unique flavor.

The aggressive gaze stayed on the worker for more than ten seconds before the worker finally came to his senses.

It's just that his actions are a little strange.

Huh?
Why didn't he collapse to the ground in fear, but instead walked straight towards her?

The witch frowned. Why didn't the residents of the imperial capital play by the rules?
What made her even more confused was that the worker once again smiled brightly, came to her side, and pointed to the dome-shaped building not far away. "The hospital is over there. Do you want me to take you there? But I can only take you to the door. I still have a lot of work to do this afternoon."

Hospital?

"what do you mean?"

"It's okay, ma'am. Many of the attending physicians in the hospital are high-ranking pastors from the Life Church. Keep calm, and your symptoms will definitely be resolved."

“My symptoms, what are my symptoms?”

"Your lips." The worker lowered his voice, and when he saw that no one was around, he whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, you have food poisoning, right? I met a few adventurers before who also ate poisonous mushrooms of unknown origin, and their lips turned purple, but they were all cured later."

This is lip gloss!

Under normal circumstances, she would have broken the neck of this blind worker, but this was the imperial capital, and she did not dare to do anything for the time being.

Why is this worker not afraid of her at all and seems to be chatting and laughing? When will it be the turn of an ordinary person to comfort her?
Could it be that the identity of a worker is just a disguise, and he is actually an unrivaled powerful man?
"I'm not poisoned." The witch said stiffly, and then asked, "Do you know who I am?"

"who are you?"

"'Nightmare', that's my name."

Nightmare, the witch who manipulates fear and nightmares, was once one of the empire's most wanted criminals.

“Never heard of it.”

The worker's answer almost made her spit out blood. It must be because she had disappeared for too long, and the young man named "Winter" had stolen her limelight, which made people forget her terrifying existence.

However, she will remind the imperial capital of the horror of the Nightmare Witch.

Whenever night falls, fear blossoms in everyone's heart, dragging them into an endless nightmare...

"Nightmare Witch."

The witch sneered, and the shadow under her feet enveloped the worker. "Now, for your..."

"Witch, you are a witch!?"

The worker interrupted her, but the witch didn't mind.

That's right, it was exactly this reaction, panic-stricken, and the expression became more and more delicious. If he knelt down and begged for mercy and kissed her boots, it was not impossible for her to give this prey another chance. After all, she was partly responsible for the disappearance of hundreds of years, and the people who knew her before might have died of old age.

However, the worker once again did something she had not expected. "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you are here for a job transfer assessment, right?"

"Career transition assessment?"

"The cabinet is in that direction. I heard that the Winter Witch returned to the imperial capital today. Maybe you can still see her."

Hearing this, the witch's pupils shrank.

A familiar name, that's why she came.

As members of Dream Eclipse, Winter and Rowena suddenly left the organization and disappeared for such a long time. Naturally, the Council of Elders would not sit idly by.

"Rin Dong is in the cabinet now?"

"She should be here. If not, you can go to Ms. Rowena's mansion to find her."

!

Rowena is hiding here too!
This was the ultimate goal of this hunt, but the process was completely beyond her expectations.

According to her imagination, the worker would be so scared that he would collapse to the ground, and she would break down his psychological defenses step by step until he completely surrendered to fear, kneeling at her feet like the prey he had before, and confessing everything he knew.

However, all these processes were omitted, and the unknown worker told her everything she wanted to know in a very friendly manner.

This unexpected situation made the witch freeze.

If she took action now and forced him to switch back to the hunting activity she was familiar with, the subsequent interrogation would become awkward and strange. He had clearly confessed, so if she continued to question him, wouldn't it make her look like she was suffering from Alzheimer's?
Humph, you're lucky.

The witch sneered in her heart and was about to leave, but was suddenly stopped by the worker.

"Um, Miss Witch."

"how?"

The people in the imperial capital were so strange that she had no idea what the workers were thinking.

"Julius's crimes have been made known to the world."

The worker had a complicated look in his eyes, and he seemed to be trying hard to organize his words. He was a manual laborer, had never been to school, and could not read or write many words. He was not good at speaking nice words, but facing this witch lady who came from afar and had a somewhat gloomy temperament, he felt that he had to do something as the host of the imperial capital.

"so what?"

"We all know what he and the Church did to you. Now Julius and his followers have received the judgment they deserve."

?

Pope Julius?

What does this have to do with Julius?
The witch was confused.

"Anyway, Ms. Nightmare, the Empire welcomes you."

The worker bowed to her in a somewhat lame way and said, "Everything will be fine!"

Nightmare stood in the sun and watched the workers go away.

She doesn't like the sun, or anything bright and beautiful.

Just now, her hunt failed.

Not only did she fail to taste the food of fear from her prey, but she was also comforted by an ordinary person. Although she could not understand what the worker was saying at all, the sympathetic and friendly emotions were conveyed to her and even felt warm.

It gave her goose bumps.

A mere worker actually welcomed the witch's arrival in a friendly manner - was this guy kicked in the head by a donkey?

What the hell is this imperial capital?
(End of this chapter)