"Let's go, Merlin."
Lea sighed lightly.
"I'm not interested in staying in this city anymore."
"Where are we going next?" The girl called "Merlin" by Leah followed closely behind Leah and asked Leah.
"...Go to Pandragon." Leah whispered, "I haven't seen a friend living in Pandragon for a while..."
"Friend... are you referring to Su Cheng?" Merlin chuckled softly.
"What other friends can I have besides him?"
...
...
Leah and Merlin walked side by side on the road out of town.
Almost all cities have this structure - the closer they are to the city center, the more prosperous it is, and it is a place where people with money, power and power gather.
They were dressed in bright clothes. Since Ilsa launched the war of foreign annexation, they could always hear some sentences from them, such as "Long live the Britannian Empire" and "Hurry up and unify the continent."
The closer the area is to the center of the city, the more prosperous it is, and the more it is, the farther away from the center of the city, the more neglected it is.
As Leah and Merlin gradually moved away from the city center, the buildings on both sides of the street began to undergo a gradual change.
From the beginning, there were magnificent houses on both sides of the street, and gradually they turned into ordinary low houses.
The appearance of passers-by walking on the streets also undergoes gradual changes.
The mental outlook of the people here is almost completely opposite to the mental outlook of the people in the city center.
The most obvious difference is that you will not hear any praises about war or the Britannian Empire that is constantly engaging in war.
The people here just walked quickly on the street with a blank expression.
The man dressed in a craftsman was holding his toolbox, looking hurried.
Some small vendors on the street were shouting hard, hoping to sell more goods from the stalls today.
Several middle-aged men walked into a simple tavern with expressionless faces, as if they were planning to have a moment of joy in the tavern...
...
Everyone on this street is rushing for their own lives.
Just then, Leah and Merlin heard bursts of crying from the neighboring streets.
After feeling a little curious, Lea winked at Merlin and led Merlin to the next street.
After arriving at the next street, Leah learned that a funeral team was passing through this street.
Although it is a funeral team, the number of people in this team is so small that it is really pitiful. Including those responsible for carrying the coffin, there are only less than 10 people in total.
At first glance, you can tell that this funeral team is not a professional funeral team. It should have been a temporary team that has been casually formed by some relatives and friends.
After this funeral team carrying a black coffin, an old woman was followed.
The old woman kept wailing and crying—Liya's crying sound just now came from the old woman.
Because the old woman was crying so hard that she couldn't even stand steadily, there were two people who needed to help her walk by her side.
The old woman's heartbroken cry naturally attracted many people, including Leah.
These people gathered around both sides of the street, casting different emotions at the funeral team and chatting in a low voice.
Thanks to these people's conversations, Lea gradually understood what the funeral team was like.
"This old woman is crying so hard... I'm a little worried if she will faint from crying..."
"Can you not cry so hard? The person lying in the coffin is her only son."
"Ah... the only son is dead... no wonder I cried so badly..."
"How did her son die? Did he die of illness?"
"I recognize them... They are from Gardner's... I have heard about them. Because the old woman's only son decided to go to the army because her family was poor, and rely on military pay to subsidize her family."
"As a result, her son had just gone to join the army, and the first battle in his life was the great defeat - the first war to destroy the Holy Hillan Empire."
"Although he finally successfully returned to the Britannian Empire alive, he was seriously injured and could no longer join the army."
"After being forced to withdraw from the army and being sent home, her son has been lying in bed to recuperate."
"But no matter how many doctors I invited, her son could not be cured."
"It seems that her son must have died of serious injuries..."
"It's so pitiful..."
"I heard that - they, who were already very poor, spent all the last little savings in their family in order to cure her son. Even the money they bought for this coffin was borrowed from others."
"Well? Her son was seriously injured on the battlefield. Did those officials not give any pensions?"
"I'll give it, of course. But that little pension is not enough. In order to cure her son's injuries, that little pension was spent early in the morning."
"Oh... so pitiful... not only did the only son die, but he also had a lot of debts..."
"If it were me, I might not want to live..."
"This old lady must regret letting her son run to join the army now..."
"I heard that part of the reason why her son chose to join the army was because he admired Su Cheng, and wanted to become a famous hero with his military achievements and earn countless money and power."
"Ha, there are not too many young people like this."
"These young people are really naive... The Britannian Empire has only produced a genius like Su Cheng in so many years."
"Yes, how many soldiers can reach the level of Su Cheng? The consequences of many soldiers who take Su Cheng as an example are exactly the same as the son of this old woman."
"My son also told me that he admired Su Cheng very much and wanted to join the army in the future and became a hero like Su Cheng. After hearing what he said, I slapped him a few times without saying a word and warned him not to join the army like this."
"If you do a good job, you should slap these naive young people well and let them be more awake."
"I will never let my kids go to the army, either."
"The glorious image of a hero like Su Cheng is really harmful from another perspective. Although this is closely related to the publicity of those officials."
"Those officials only slandered the honor of these heroes and only showed their glorious side, which attracted countless people to be fascinated by them, and they all began to decide to imitate and intend to become the next hero like this."
"It was not until I rushed into the army and entered the battlefield that I realized that the bright side was so unbearable..."
...
The people who were chatting enthusiastically did not notice that two girls were standing behind them and listening.
Chapter completed!