Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1219 1201. True Equality

"A Scoia'tael."

Lan's finger casually pointed at the one-eyed elf across the campfire.

"The commander of a guerrilla group that carried out indiscriminate attacks and intimidation with violence and torture."

"You said you wanted to truly save your race?"

"If they are a real Scoia'tael." Iorveth did not show any surprise or embarrassment in the face of Lan's questioning.

"That is what I called 'youngsters and young people' before, so they are really not qualified to discuss these issues."

"But I believe I have proven through my own self-analysis that I am not that kind of person."

The witcher nodded noncommittally.

"But you were still earlier today," Sakia interjected, pointing his less injured right hand upward toward the moon, "which means it was daytime."

"He is still planning to use the power of the Deviljhodon to massacre all human settlements in the Pontar Valley."

"I can't deny it, and I never want to deny my previous actions."

Iorveth seemed very calm about Sakia's accusations.

"But I must emphasize that my previous actions of this kind were all caused by hysteria due to the hopelessness of the road ahead."

"But now, I see hope."

hope.

I hope that it can help a person who is on the verge of death to regain strength, and help a dying person to hold on for a few more minutes, even hours! Days!
It can certainly also make a radical racial revanchist less radical.

Even a 180-degree turn.

But the premise of all this is...if what he said is true.

"Let this sorceress read my mind."

The one-eyed elf suddenly spoke.

"I have no amulet on me, nor any sorcerer to help me. Let this sorceress read my mind as she pleases. Let me prove myself."

A warlock's telepathic abilities are almost instinctive.

But it is not flawless. Otherwise, it would be too easy for the kings to tell who is a loyal minister and who is a treacherous minister, and then politics would be much easier than the current intrigues.

Magical protection is the most direct one.

It is even possible to transmit distorted thoughts to telepathic sorcerers, causing misleading information.

People who have received special training can also use their superficial thoughts as a curtain floating on the surface, as "noise" to block their real thoughts.

This kind of person is usually a high-level spy or agent.

Therefore, after being misled by false information several times and the news spreads, although the warlock's mind-reading ability will still be an important reference, the real decision makers will no longer regard it as decisive evidence.

Although Iorveth is the commander of a group of Squirrel Party members, he may not be aware of these things which are often only circulated among the top leaders.

The roaring bear head pendant on Lan's neck did not move, but Margarita calmly asked him if he wanted to read his mind.

Although the Demon Hunter's necklace is a magical item, it is not difficult for a truly powerful and skilled warlock to deceive it.

Lan En confirmed Margarita during the spiritual communication.

As the dean of Aretuza, his spellcasting ability is beyond doubt.

Without any signs or phenomena, the spell began.

"Although we didn't meet for long, what happened in that short period of time was enough to reveal a person's true nature."

The one-eyed elf continued to speak calmly.

He was not sure whether the sorceress who was holding a wine glass and showing a beautiful and lazy smile had started to cast the spell. After all, he was just a warrior among the elves, not a wizard with magical talents.

But he still tried his best to express his ideas here and now.

As he himself said, his contact with Lan and Sachia was actually only during the short period of time when he was undercover in the Seaward convoy.

But understanding others does not necessarily require a long period of contact.

In those decisions and dilemmas that are truly a matter of life and death, and are so tense that one may forget to breathe in the next moment, people will undoubtedly show their true outlook on life and values ​​that construct their personality.

In the face of high pressure and emergency situations, the "disguise" that people are used to wearing and don't even notice will crack like an eggshell that can't withstand the pressure, revealing the "true inner self".

From Iorveth's perspective, during the attack on the mountain path, he saw the tendency and character that Sakia showed in the subtle choices he made when facing the attacks of the Scoia Party. And then, at night, the silent fog that covered the mountains spread down from the top of the mountain, forming a silent and terrifying territory for the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

And that's when Lann's battle with it began.

The choices the demon hunter makes and the decisions he makes in battle clearly show what kind of person he is.

To a truly attentive observer, what a person demonstrates in the face of an acute crisis is worth more than decades of interaction.

"I was surprised that I could meet people like you two."

There was still a look of surprise in Iorveth's one eye.

He looked at the witcher who was resting his elbows on his knees, holding the wine glass upside down with his fingers, and the female warrior on the other side of the campfire with half of her shoulder and a large area of ​​white skin on her chest exposed.

"You can actually treat humans and non-human races equally."

"Without mixing in anything else, you just think that the lives of humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings are naturally equal?!"

Iorveth's astonishment stems from the fact that the social environment of the non-human races is so bad and has lasted for so long.

It's not that no one has thought about 'racial equality', but such people often don't really believe in racial equality.

Some of them are like the current situation of the Squirrel Party. They hope that the non-human races will make some moves that are beneficial to them after getting support, so as to shake up the originally calm situation, so they begin to lend a helping hand to them.

What happens next? After these people succeed or fail, who will really care about the mere excuse of "non-human race"?
Wouldn't it be convenient to throw out non-human races as a tool to quell public anger and let the urban proletariat and gangsters vent their anger?

The non-human races are able to cause trouble because some of those who actually hold power and strength want them to cause trouble.

In the past, it was all kinds of nobles, but now it is Nilfgaard.

As for others, they may not expect to cause trouble by inciting the non-human races. They just extend a helping hand to the non-human races in the mud out of their strong compassion and superior sense of morality.

In their eyes, they are the saviors of these poor people.

When these non-human races were weak, they naturally depended on him. But once the non-human races had the intention to gain a firm foothold and become independent and strong, these people's condescending moral sense began to become unbearable.

Because they are already obsessed with their own superior identity as the "savior", and once the "redeemed" who should be struggling to death and begging for mercy is about to really stand up, what is the psychological pleasure of saving others?
They don't really want to save people, but are enjoying a role-playing game in which they are the savior.

Therefore, the more time goes by, the less compassion these people have for non-human races, and in the end it even turns into disgust.

These people often have good social reputation before, but when they come to hate non-human races, this reputation will make the situation of non-human races even more difficult.

People would say, 'Look, the adults who were kind enough to help the non-human race can't stand them now! Sure enough, these people are born evil bastards!' Or something like that.

Iorveth has seen a lot, which is why he feels hopeless about the future and prospects of his race.

Without enough young elves to give birth to newborns, this race has basically lost the conditions for "self-reliance", and the external environment is becoming increasingly harsh.

But now, he actually met two sincere people who seemed to take 'equality of all lives' for granted.

Two people may be few, but it represents the possibility of an idea.

This philosophy can unite humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and even dryads and nymphs!
Ideas can grow and spread!
Moreover, one of these two men is a demon hunter who is not recognized by humans but has a human past, and the other is simply a real dragon transformed into a human form!

No one represents this idea better than them.

This is the 'hope' that Iorveth sees in his eyes!
The hope of the elves is also the common hope of other non-human races!
"So?" Sachia showed off a large area of ​​her beautiful body near her left shoulder without any care. She also picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp as if to relieve the pain.

"Huh~ I admit that my adoptive father taught me that life is always equal and freedom is always priceless. But since I left him and started to venture into the human world on my own."

The female warrior was silent at first, then shook her head.

"No, I still agree with this idea. It is undoubtedly right! But the reality is very complicated. This is not a fairy tale world where problems can be solved by shouting a few slogans."

"Lan En, and you. You both showed me the complexity of things. Anyone who wants to make a name for himself without considering this premise is either a fool or a bad guy with ulterior motives."

"It couldn't be more correct!"

However, Sakia's words were met with Iorveth's undisguised strong appreciation.

"Yes! That's how it should be! Be able to recognize the complexity of reality, and still be able to identify the right principles, and then find ways to implement them!"

The eagerness and determination on the face of this one-eyed elf, whose appearance was so cold and hard that he didn't look like an elf, even made the bonfire in front of him look inferior!

"We have the right goal, but the reality is: the four northern countries were established from the very beginning by stepping on the corpses of non-human races! Their foundation is bloody!"

"So." At this point, Lan En also raised his eyebrows, as if he finally saw the real core idea behind this one-eyed elf, and looked at him sideways.

"Do you want to start a new business?"

(End of this chapter)