No matter when you start, it's important not to stop after you start. No matter when you end up, it's important not to regret it when it's over. —Plato

If you have to define an "object of hate" for Li Lin, what will be hated by His Excellency the Dictator, who does not know what pain is and what joy is, must be "regret", which is the most inefficient and meaningless behavior.

Regret shouldn't exist at all.

Of course, according to the premise that "existence is reasonable" and the survival strategy of human beings as intelligent beings, regret is bound to exist, and it will continue to exist in the future along with other inefficient and illogical things, even after the new order is established.

"Losers can be angry and wail as much as they want, and none of their curses and wails will come true anyway. On the other hand, the winner will not be blamed for what he does, and if someone blames you, it means that you have not won thoroughly enough. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency. ”

Sloth and Gulatoni bowed down together in response, their foreheads were covered with cold sweat, but they didn't dare to wipe it at all, and Jerus and Reggie on the side didn't say a word, with a sneer on the corner of their mouths.

"It's okay to win if you want to, it's okay to drill the loopholes in the rules, and if you succeed, maybe I'll reward you. But you want to take advantage of the loopholes, and you want to win completely, don't you think it's too much?"

The best of both worlds, it is not impossible to kill many birds with one stone, and smart people who are good at seizing opportunities can often count them in one fell swoop. But everything never goes well in the world, and no matter how careful the plan is, it is inevitable that there will be a lot of mistakes or even flaws.

"When you realize that you can't do anything to Valrhona in the physical world, you should understand what the problem is. ”

Sloss's goal was to brainwash Roland into a machine that only knew how to have children and protect his wife and children, and he almost did it.

If Valrhona and Li Lin hadn't intervened, would he have succeeded?

Not.

The fundamental crux of Sloth's failure lies in this.

When the obsessive concept of "protecting the wife and the child" was instilled into Roland's thinking, Sloth was in a state of mental synchronization with Roland, although Sloth was stronger, he would still be affected, so in the real world, his attack on Valrhona would stop, the reason was that this behavior contradicted the concept of "protecting the wife and child" implanted in Roland's consciousness, and when Sloss's idea of "killing Valrhona" conflicted with Roland's obsessive concept, the attack was stopped due to the priority of the brainwashing program.

If Sloss hadn't given priority to brainwashing Roland.

If Sloth doesn't have a mental sync with Roland.

If Sloth had set his sights on completely destroying Roland's spirit in the first place.

If any of the above three become a reality, the ending will be different.

"'Don't dwell on failure, just admit it and improve later, that's the prerogative of adults' – that's what I've said, and it's been and is now. At this point, I'm not going to talk about 'what ifs' or anything like that, and I'm not going to talk about responsibility given the completion of the task. You just need to do what I said, analyze every detail of this battle, think about your own shortcomings, and promote further growth. It doesn't matter if you can't grow, I don't expect more from you. ”

"Yes. ”

Under the cold command, the four original sins bowed their heads together and answered the order towards the empty void.

Retracting some of his consciousness from his subordinates, Li Lin returned to the review of the battle.

Purely from the premise that it was limited before the war, Sloth's tactical choice was not wrong. To fight on the premise of ensuring Roland's ability to reproduce offspring, it is indeed a more appropriate choice to brainwash him.

The problem is that "appropriate" is not the same as "optimal".

In addition to the aforementioned logical contradictions, the biggest problem with Sloss's approach is that he failed to anticipate that there was a "third person" who could intervene in the spiritual world, and this person was also set by him as Roland's "object that must be protected". In that state, once Valrhona died at the hands of Sloth, the logical conflict would be magnified to the limit, and the entire mental space could be torn apart. At that time, Valrhona, Roland, and Sloth will be involved, and it will be the worst-case scenario.

In order to avoid losing three chess pieces that were still of great value at the same time, Li Lin had to show up to clean up the mess.

- That being said, I didn't expect him to be able to find himself beforehand, and even if I intervened, it was only a low probability of 1 in 10,000. Should we say that his growth potential is even higher than expected?

- Affirmation, negation, affirmation, affirmation, affirmation, negation, negation.

- Well, it doesn't matter anymore.

- Anyway, the most important thing has been done.

- Affirmation, affirmation, affirmation, affirmation, affirmation, affirmation, affirmation.

Ruby eyes stared at the scythe-like red arrows on the map, and pupils that shone with no wavering or joy.

#############

Roland seemed to have had a dream.

A wonderful dream that starts with a nightmare and ends with a sigh.

The reason why dreams are called dreams is precisely because of their ambiguous and ethereal amorphous qualities, whether they are nightmares or sweet dreams, they will be forgotten after waking up.

For better or for worse, for one night only.

But the dream was so different, so real, that it was still vivid when I woke up, as if it had just happened in front of my eyes.

- Death.

There is no sound, no light, only mere consciousness and concepts remain.

– It must be protected.

- It doesn't matter if you kill someone.

Endless black mud envelops the concept and fills the consciousness little by little, leaving only the black mud that wriggles like a resentful ghost.

- Is this death?

- Is this hell?

Then again, it was a miracle to realize that he died in the middle of the battle.

The blurred consciousness, the slowly lost feeling, and the powerlessness of being stripped from the world are gradually spreading, and the scenes of the past pass by one after another like marquees.

Without stopping the armored cluster that rushed out of the Ardennes, without keeping Charlemagne, without stopping Li Lin, the ideal of establishing a world where all races coexist could not be achieved......

INTERVIEWER Is it impossible for me to do so?

- Am I ...... Died like that?

With the anxiety and reluctance portrayed in the suspected death experience, the boy asked himself, and at the same time sank into the bottomless black mire.

And then—

It was like white paper dripping with ink, and a light appeared in the dark nothingness.

God said, "Let there be light."

At the moment when the first language appeared, the world produced light.

In the gradual spread of nothingness, the extremely strong will became the extremely pure motive of change with no physical properties, and at this moment, that sentence became the light of creation.

Out of that light, a figure stepped out.

Not tall or short, neither fat nor thin, with extremely well-proportioned limbs and a slightly neutral face like a fine work of art, wearing a trench coat like a night, he walked out of the light that illuminated nothingness, and his blood-colored jewel-like red pupils stared at Roland, who was hugged like a newborn baby.

- Didn't you say you were going to hit me?

Looking down at the boy for a long time, the man in black said in a tone that lacked ups and downs and heat.

As if in response to the strange tone, the young man's hollow and unfocused purple eyes lifted up slightly, and his weakly opened eyes reflected the other party's condescending posture.

Now there is no hope for him.

As the name suggests, he is in the process of dying, and there is no possibility of any other future—at least that's how Roland himself interprets it.

The other side doesn't think so.

People who believe that the situation cannot deteriorate further are unlikely to have feelings of anxiety and alienation in their hearts.

True despair is poison that can kill even numbness.

Of course, Roland's current situation must not be mistaken for optimism.

Repeated mental oppression operations, the spirit keeps pace with other people for a long time, and the perception of self is eroded and distorted by the other party little by little - ordinary people have long been brain dead after experiencing the above processes, otherwise they will become a waste person. However, he retains the ability to perceive and think, and can distinguish who is appearing in front of him.

Siegfried ...... Otto ......"

A hoarse dying voice spat out of his mouth.

In terms of surprise, Roland's reaction was too flat, he just moved his haggard countenance, showing a hint of reaction that seemed to be a mood swing - just that, it took almost all of his strength. This is also thanks to his survival instinct to perceive the impossible, but irreversible changes that are underway.

Siegfried Otto Lilin.

It means too many objects to him, an old enemy who is entangled in curses, bonds, love and hatred.

Is he here to laugh at him, or to confirm the process of his death?

“...... Why?"

In a trance, Roland asked.

His consciousness, which had been repeatedly oppressed and had stopped thinking on its own initiative, was no longer able to enumerate all the possibilities and examine them one by one.

- If you want to hit me, at least you have to come in front of me. Does a small obstacle of this magnitude trap you in Sloth?

Li Lin stretched out his right hand as if invited.

Roland didn't make any moves, he just stared at Li Lin's hand blankly.

His sluggish reflexes had a reason to stop thinking, but more importantly he couldn't determine whether the hand was a phantom or a trap.

After all, they are now enemies.

I once believed in holding that hand, but in the end I was betrayed, can I hold it again?

- Stand up.

Li Lin urged him.

Roland still didn't react.

Withdrawing his hand, Li Lin turned straight and walked towards the light. There was no hesitation in his steps. Deliberately invading this mental space, walking up to Roland, and lending him a helping hand—these seemed to be all pranks on a whim.

Perhaps.

Merely......

When he was about to get out of the black quagmire, Li Lin turned his back to Roland and asked:

"Do you want to die like that, to die in despair, in despair?"

“......”

Roland was silent.

Once you get used to despair and let numbness dominate all your thoughts and senses, life is actually quite easy.

Don't worry, don't be pained, don't be anxious.

Therefore, people who have been immersed in despair for a long time do not have the idea of changing their situation, after all, objects do not have the same desire for hope as people.

"If that's your choice, I wouldn't say much about it. ”

Li Lin's tone was still cold.

There is neither cruelty nor ridicule, but also no mercy. Just unabashedly point out the reality.

"Girls...... Her Royal Highness will also be less troublesome. ”

“......”

Roland's huddled body trembled.

Minerva.

Minerva de Bourbon.

Charlemagne's royal daughter is also the favorite person who has a skin-to-skin relationship with Roland.

The name cracks the cementitious despair.

"Secret ...... Neva ......"

The boy staggered to his feet.

The paralyzed legs moved little by little in the mire, although slowly, though they could fall at any moment, although they looked embarrassed. The boy was still struggling to move forward.

Maybe it was just a simple biological reaction, or maybe it was an instinct derived from the obsessive-compulsive ideas given by Sloth, which was indispensable salvation for Roland now, and as long as the girl was still there, his hope would not exist only on the other side of the infinite horizon.

Li Lin slowly turned his face, looking at Roland with an expressionless face, and just when Roland was only one step away from him, he stretched out his hand again.

"You. ”

There is a subtlety that resembles a wry smile in the unheaving tone.

"What an unfilial son who likes to cause trouble. ”

The dream was interrupted.

Now—

The unwillingness and humiliation of the dream still remain in the body, and the right hand seems to still feel the touch of the dream—a soft, warm hand, a hand that cannot be associated with a murderer or a dictator.

The hand holding the sheet gradually tightened, and the hand that was clenched gradually turned white, and blood vessels emerged.

What is this.

Is it "unbelievable" or "unwilling to believe"?

Li Lin is reasonable, as long as he wants, he can win anytime, anywhere, in any way.

said that he resisted, but in the end, it all depended on that guy.

Mortals, after all, cannot win against those ordained by God.

- Isn't this exactly what Li Lin really wanted to convey when he appeared there and stretched out his hand to him?

“...... What am I doing......"

The corners of the boy's mouth twisted, his body trembled uncontrollably, and the girl on the side looked at him worriedly.

"Roland ......"

"I thought I was getting stronger...... I heard Dirandal's voice and thought I had reached my father's level...... I thought I could open up a whole new path...... So I believed that I had really become stronger. ”

However, this is not the case.

"Actually, I haven't changed at all!"

From the moment he abandoned the village to survive, from the time of his departure from Alfheim, it has not changed at all.

"Of course, this has to be! How can a person who escapes become stronger! I'm just a little devil who relies on weapons and other people's weapons and equipment to cheer up! This kind of person ......!!"

"Roland!!"

Minerva forcibly interrupted the cursed remorse, and she cupped Roland's face hard, forcing the other to look at her.

"You're a boy! cheer up, okay?"

The girl's snort brushed the boy's cheek, and the face that was weeping and forcibly enduring pain almost touched the tip of Roland's nose.

"I'm not the same, I've always wanted to escape from the arranged script and the characters, but I never dared to really put it into action and play my role faithfully. At that time...... I even ...... But ah......"

The lightning and thunder of that night seemed to echo in my ears again, and shame, unbearableness, and pain emerged from the bottom of my heart and turned into tears rolling in my eyes.

Trying hard not to let the tears fall, the girl said loudly with a resolute expression and tone:

Roland ...... I want to be with you forever, so ...... I've decided, I've decided to challenge fate, as long as I'm with you, I'm confident that I can do it! Roland, you have to challenge fate too! The two of us have to become stronger together......!!!"

"Minerva ......"

Indescribable feelings are hoarding in the heart.

Yes, Minerva is strong.

But the girl in front of her is showing something different from the past. Something that made him feel reassured, relieved, and something dazzling.

Before I knew it, my body was no longer trembling, and the heaviness that weighed down my breath disappeared.

"I promise you. ”

The boy smiled softly, took the girl's hand on his cheek, and replied in a voice that was also determined:

"No matter what I encounter, I will not dodge, and I will never dodge!"

"Me too. ”

The teenagers and girls hugged each other tightly, feeling each other's body temperature, heartbeat, and breath, and they didn't let go for a long time.

At the same time, the 101st Experimental Heavy Armored Battalion, the vanguard of Army Group B, sent a telegram that went down in history, and later historians took the resounding name "Charlemagne's Death Notice" and included it in history textbooks.

The content of the message was very simple, just a short sentence.

"At D+42, the dice have been dropped! Our troops have crossed the Maas River, and the engineer battalion is stepping up the construction of the fourth pontoon bridge!"

The lightning of the defenders was about to fall on the unprepared fortress of Sedan.