Starting with the defeated female knight

Furthermore, the reason they can calmly explain things to the other two forces, and maintain order even after their two leaders have fled, without the slightest panic, is not solely due to their trust in the two leaders.

Furthermore, they had already made contact with Grin before entering Dawn City, when they were preparing to deal with the Ancient God.

After all, Edith was a priestess, not some assassin or stealth expert.

Even with Cecilia's help, it's impossible to completely erase the traces of Green's increased value; the cooperation of others is also needed.

Therefore, in fact, long before dealing with the ancient gods, Green had already made contact with the church's team, not only building initial trust but also getting them to cooperate in erasing many traces of his activities.

In addition to their previous experience fighting side by side, although the church members were somewhat naturally unaccustomed to Dawn City after arriving there, their conservative habits made them quite comfortable.

But they weren't actually afraid of or doubted Green; they were just not used to the environment here.

Even so, even though they had contact with Grimm very early, even though Edith and Cecilia helped convey their will, and even though the Church was the force with the most contact with ordinary people.

But like the other two factions, they couldn't understand why Green did that.

In this world where extraordinary powers truly exist and individual differences are vast, commoners and nobles, or even other beings, could be considered as different species altogether.

Don't spout nonsense like "many ants can kill an elephant" or "unite to resist tyranny."

While it is theoretically possible, even in modern armies, only a few can maintain their fighting spirit even when they have suffered 30% casualties.

In this world where the magical Azu truly exists, even if some people manage to unite occasionally, the nobles don't even need to fight. A single charge is enough to easily shatter their psychological defenses.

In addition, the harsh living conditions, malnutrition caused by poverty and hardship, and the barbarity and primitiveness resulting from a lack of education and guidance...

Due to a combination of factors and the passage of time, not only the nobility but even the common people themselves came to accept the fact that "lower bloodlines are trash".

Weak, foolish, selfish, and difficult to guide and educate; not only are they ignorant and foolish, but their moral character is also inherently low...

The soil for unity is naturally lacking. Not to mention an army, even the church's knightly orders are composed of elite knights who have been "blessed by faith and cleansed of the impurities of their lowly bloodlines".

As for the nobles, although they may have some private soldiers and followers, they are basically either related by blood or selected as "superior humans" through some means. They never even glance at those "inferior humans".

Inferior bloodlines are garbage, devoid of any potential or value.

Their existence is merely to highlight the nobility of the superior bloodline, provide food, or supplement the lowly professions that other superior bloodlines disdain to do.

This is almost a consensus in the capital, and even in the entire human empire.

Therefore, despite agreeing to Green's terms of the deal, neither the nobles, the church, nor the magicians' association knew what Green was going to do, let alone how he wanted them to 'assist in the training'.

But it doesn’t matter.

Because what confuses them even more is yet to come.

Although after the exchange, the group gained a general understanding of Dawn City and agreed to his trade request.

Even so, Green did not immediately have them do anything. Instead, he let them move freely in Dawn City to further understand and adapt to the environment and culture of Dawn City.

Then, at a certain time, He took them to visit the training ground, letting them see firsthand how this evil god trained his 'followers'.

That was a really strange sight.

Dressed in uniform black robes, they marched in unison, arranged in rows and columns, forming squares, jogging slowly on the roads surrounding the training ground, shouting slogans of dubious meaning every now and then.

Well, that's somewhat understandable, since many professions do require physical exercise.

But can someone explain to them why this ancient god would take them to visit the group's dormitory and show them how exceptionally clean it was, especially the quilts folded into neat squares like tofu blocks?

"Why not just let the servants handle this?"

Some of the nobles frowned.

"An excellent soldier should focus all his/her time on training and improving himself/herself."

"Forgive me for being blunt, but I don't see any purpose in wasting energy on such meaningless things, other than putting on a show."

Hey, you know what, it really was just a show.

To everyone's surprise, Green readily admitted it and then swung his tentacles.

[And it's not just these things that are just for show; you'll see a lot more that are meaningless and a complete waste of time.]

For example, marching in formation, doing unpaid work for others after training, and gathering together after everything was over to chat while watching a crude and meaningless performance on a makeshift stage, where even the actors couldn't help but laugh.

The investigation team became increasingly confused, completely baffled as to the point of Green showing them these things.

But after observing for a while, Elise's brows gradually furrowed.

"How...did you do that?"

"How are they able to achieve this level?"

【Um? 】

Green glanced at her with a hint of surprise.

His intention in showing these things was to lay the groundwork for something later, and by combining them, he hoped to make these people understand the role of 'discipline'.

But what he didn't expect was that someone would realize something more fundamental halfway through reading it.

“I’ve tried a reward and punishment system, offered substantial rewards, and even hired someone to train them, but… the results have been very poor.”

Yes, Elise really did those things.

But after doing all this, she became even more convinced of the imperial bloodline theory and felt that those inferior bloodlines were indeed not worth educating.

So while others were still wondering why Green wanted these people to behave this way, Elise realized that just getting these people to do these things, to persevere, and to perform exceptionally well was already a very strange thing.

The answer is cohesion, or rather, belief.

Green gently swayed his tentacles, glancing at the people not far away who were watching the shoddy stage play, or even being egged on to perform by others. A strange glint flashed in his eyes.

I know you probably won't understand these words, so I'll use a simpler way of saying it.

As I said before, this city was built by me and them together. Every brick and every tile in it was laid by us, bit by bit.

They might not know what the capital city is like, they might not know what a superior bloodline is, and they might not even know if they are human.

But after working together to build this place, at least they now know that this is their home, and that every brick and tile bears the mark of their shared sweat.

So, naturally, when they learn that this place might be destroyed and looted, they will feel fear, pain, and... anger.

Do you know what this means?

The tentacles flowed silently, and the dark green eyes stared directly at the girl in front of him.

The latter fell silent, clutching the stone in his pocket.

for a long time.

A slightly low voice sounded.

"This means they know what they are fighting for."

【good】

Tentacle glanced at her with some appreciation, and his mental rating of her rose a little higher.

Moreover, I believe you can guess that this matter is not as simple as we've discussed.

For example, friends made while working together gradually form a social network, and may even lead to the formation of a family and the creation of someone you want to protect.

For example, after escaping a life of hunger and cold, one doesn't want to go back to the way things were before, and wants to do everything in their power to preserve their current life.

Even something as simple as adding a couple of 'subtle marks' to your clothes to get a second glance from others...

These can all be reasons for their efforts, and they can all be considered 'beliefs'.

There was another moment of silence.

Then, he slowly raised his head.

Elise understood something, but instead of sudden realization, she was filled with deeper doubt.

"But I still don't understand what purpose this can serve."

"Having conviction can certainly get them to carry out your orders, but no matter how strong the conviction is, it cannot overcome the gap in power."

"With just one direct confrontation, they will understand how insignificant their power is and how powerless their beliefs are compared to truly superior beings."

"At that time, everything you have built will completely collapse."

Yes, you are absolutely right.

To Elise's surprise, Green not only did not refute her, but even agreed with her statement.

Truth exists only within the range of cannons; even the noblest soul becomes a mushy mess when stuck to the tracks.

Having faith without strength may ultimately lead to a worse and more painful outcome than having no faith at all.

And that's exactly why I need you.

"...You want us to help train them, to teach them our power?"

Elise frowned.

“I mean no offense, but the possibility you mentioned has actually been considered by many in the empire, and has been attempted many times throughout history, but…”

【I know】

The tentacle gently interrupted her, nodding.

Therefore, from the very beginning, I never intended for them to become you.

What I want is for them to be themselves.

Book 1: Chapter 48: Let Them Be Themselves

Let them be themselves.

Elise didn't quite understand what Green meant.

The next day, after visiting the training session, Green showed them some new things.

Looking at the rows of muskets, based on Morphia's technology and improved upon with suggestions from other craftsmen, Elise felt as if she had grasped something.

A steadfast belief cultivated later in life, coupled with external support...

Pick up a musket, aim as Green taught you, and pull the trigger.

With a 'bang', a deep crater appeared on the wooden target dozens of meters away.

"very nice."

Looking at the still-smoking bomb crater in the distance, not only Elise, but also the members of the investigation team next to her sensed that something was wrong.

Frankly, they don't think this thing poses a threat to them.

After all, although this thing seems powerful, that's only for ordinary people. Even if we don't consider its speed, which isn't fast in their eyes, and is even somewhat slow, they could just stand there and let it hit them without dodging or avoiding it, and it wouldn't cause any real damage. It would be considered an extraordinary performance if it could even make them frown.

Especially considering that Green said these things were prepared for those people yesterday, they wouldn't be afraid at all, let alone shooting them, even if the power and speed were increased tenfold.

The reason is simple: the athletes in this world are all real people who can react to a person raising their hand.

If it were Elise wielding the musket, they would most likely not be able to dodge it. But if it were just an ordinary person, they would have enough time to kill the other person several times over in the time it took for the other person to react and aim.

In fact, let alone an elite squad like theirs in the capital, even a normal fringe nobleman, facing a lower bloodline armed with a musket, would probably be able to easily crush them, unless they were completely untrained idiots.

but......

Looking at the rows of neatly arranged muskets in front of me, and recalling the synchronized steps I had seen yesterday.

Their eyes flickered, and they finally began to understand why Green had shown them those incomprehensible things yesterday.

One gun isn't much of a threat, but what about two? Three? Dozens?

Judging from that intensity, even assuming the opponent has an exceptional fighting spirit, fights to the death, coordinates perfectly, and even if their numbers were doubled, they probably wouldn't pose any real threat to any member of their team. They wouldn't be easy to deal with, but they wouldn't be too troublesome to hold them back.

The problem is that the members of their squad are considered top-tier combatants even in the capital.

If things go as they expect, those men, even with muskets, might not be able to shake the foundations of the empire, but they would be enough to deal with some minor nobles outside the capital.

Moreover, upon seeing the muskets in front of them, some people with better memories also remembered.

During the final stages of breaking through the dense fog, the strange man with the bird-beak mask used something similar, but clearly more sophisticated.

With just one shot, the resurrected undead's body was shattered; the power was so great that it terrified them.

Although there are some eccentric enthusiasts in the capital who have spent a fortune to create equally powerful firearms, far surpassing the one wielded by the strange man with the bird-beak mask in both power and prestige.