Mercenary Wars

Chapter 269 Going to Extremes

Rain fell from the sky, soaking the parched land and gradually moistening the withered grass and trees.

The surrounding farmland also benefited. Looking into the distance, Gaugano could vaguely see some farmers celebrating the long-awaited rain in the fields.

"Whoosh—" The rain stopped, guided by magic, like a carefully prepared irrigation.

Gaucano felt a little relieved.

But he quickly became nervous again.

However, a speculator who had escaped the effects of the Mad Ray was about to flee, so he quickly fired another Mad Ray, which pinned him back to the spot.

After a while, Gao Jiano noticed that although one of the speculators still seemed to be in a crazy state, talking nonsense and scrambling around, he was clearly moving away from him, as if he was pretending to be crazy.

Unable to confirm its authenticity, he could only unleash a crazy ray, finally changing the route the other party seemed to be taking to escape.

But this is only a temporary solution; the three speculators could still escape the mad ray at any time.

Even if the three of them only escaped intermittently, escaping was not difficult—there were plenty of cover in the forest, and as long as they found a large enough shelter, they would no longer be hit by the crazy rays.

Gaucano was powerless to do anything about it; under the influence of the spell, he could do nothing but keep replenishing the Mad Rays.

The rain is expected to continue for quite some time.

This gave Gaucano a major headache.

He initially thought this was just a technical skill, with advanced rainmaking techniques being the only challenge, but now it seems that's not the case...

Fortunately, things eventually took a turn for the better.

Just as Gaucano was occasionally replenishing the three speculators with Mad Rays, the sound of footsteps treading through the mud suddenly reached his ears.

Gao Jiano turned his head and saw a boy dressed in coarse linen clothes walking towards him from a distance.

The boy was about sixteen or seventeen years old, and judging from his attire, he was probably a villager from the surrounding area. He was rather thin. His deep blue hair suggested that he was likely a recipient of the Water Elemental—which seemed to be his motive for coming here, since the Advanced Rainfall spell had clearly altered the distribution of the Water Elemental in the area.

When the blue-haired boy saw Gaucano, who was in the center of the rain, his eyes widened in disbelief: "A... demon?!"

Gaucano: "I was merely using the power of the devil."

The blue-haired boy clearly didn't understand.

He might not even have heard what Gaucano said, after all, the rain was incessant and the three crazy speculators were shouting frequently, making the area very noisy.

Therefore, he did not respond, but instead looked around in surprise and fear, instinctively backing away. Based on basic understanding, or even instinct, he clearly wanted to stay away from a being that resembled a demon.

Gaucano's mind raced.

Although the boy and the speculator were not of the same ilk, he might still report the matter to the church, and he wouldn't let him leave before the rain spell ended.

But he didn't want to use the Mad Ray on the boy.

The effects of the Mad Ray are usually only temporary—provided the levels of the two parties are not too different. This boy is only level one, and if he were hit by a Mad Ray, he might really go insane. After weighing the options, Gao Jiano decided to try his persuasive skills first.

He didn't trust talk-no-jutsu and had almost never used it before, but for a rural boy with limited experience, he felt that talk-no-jutsu was still very likely to work.

Seeing the boy preparing to run away, Gao Jiano raised his voice and asked, "Do you think the demons will solve your drought?"

The boy was taken aback. He looked at the plants that were gradually recovering from the rain, a thoughtful expression on his face, and then replied, "But you look exactly like the legendary demon!"

Gaucano said, “I have said that I used the power of the devil, but that does not mean that I am the devil or that I have a belief in the devil… In fact, I came here with the intention of helping you and summoned the rain. I think you should be willing to acknowledge the help this rain has given to people.”

Blue-haired boy: "Indeed, this rain came just in time, and everyone in the village is very happy!"

His fear and hostility towards Gaucano lessened considerably, and he asked with a hint of curiosity, "How do you use demonic power through the blessing of the holy name?"

"Yes."

Boy: "I heard the priest say that having the name of a devil will make you a devil!"

Gao Jiano shook his head slightly: "What the pastor says is not the same as the truth. You have to learn to think independently."

"Independent thinking?" The boy scratched his head, clearly hearing this concept for the first time.

“Think about it, aren’t all your beliefs instilled in you by your pastors and parents? If a pastor says that giving thanks to Mosa is right, you believe that giving thanks to Mosa is right; if a pastor says that everything related to the devil is evil, you will accept it as truth even if you have never come into contact with the devil… You simply follow the teachings of others without ever considering right or wrong independently,” Gao Jiano said slowly.

In fact, he did not completely agree with this high-sounding rhetoric, but as an expedient measure, he could only observe the boy's reaction while adjusting his rhetoric.

Gradually, the boy was persuaded by his words.

It even seems a bit excessive.

"Has the priest been lying to me all along?" The boy looked bewildered, his voice filled with deep doubt. "Could it be that Mosa is a fake, and the devil is the embodiment of justice and goodness?!"

“Uh.” Gaucano was speechless. He suddenly realized that going to extremes seemed to be a major characteristic of teenagers.

Just then, a speculator once again broke free from the effects of the mad ray and regained his senses.

Gaucano quickly followed up with a crazy ray.

The boy was startled at first, then noticed the appearance of one of the speculators and immediately became indignant: "I remember now, they are those grain merchants! These greedy bastards are making it hard for us to survive!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Jiano naturally went along with it, saying, "Yes, these three people are trying to interrupt my rainfall in order to sell the grain at a higher price. Therefore, I'm in trouble now. As you can see, I can barely move and can only use rudimentary magic to restrain them. Perhaps you can help me..."

He didn't need to continue.

The indignant youth barely hesitated before drawing a short sword from one of the speculators' waists. With a swift and decisive strike, he killed all three speculators. His ruthlessness and decisiveness even surprised Gao Jiano.

After taking down the three opportunists, the boy exhaled and, after a brief silence, turned to look at Gao Jiano: "You're right. I've been living in lies and deception all along. Mosa has never provided us with food or rain, but instead allowed these villains to bully us!"

“Tell me about demons, maybe they are the ones who truly deserve faith!” He wiped the blood splattered on his body, a certain fervor in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)