The funeral

"... Help you?"

Across the table, Alfred Hall looked up at Priest Sharp and asked, "Help you with what?"

I need food!

Sharp exclaimed urgently, "The people of Amikash State are experiencing famine!!"

At this moment, he had lost all the composure expected of Missionary of the Church of Evernight and a gentleman of the Loen; his hair was disheveled and his behavior was incoherent.

"... Controlling famine should be the responsibility of the local government."

Alfred didn't directly address his plea for help. His eyes flickered, and he changed the subject, saying, "You don't need to worry about it too much."

"I can't ignore this! That bastard General Sanchez... he had no intention of saving anyone!"

His words only fueled Sharp's anger. "The grain stores in town are all owned by his relatives. Guess what they did after the famine started? That's right, they raised prices! Grain prices are now more than ten times higher than before! People in the slums simply can't afford such exorbitant prices!"

"And did you know that the famine wasn't just breaking out in the city!"

The Missionary from the Church of Evernight raised his hand and pointed sharply towards the outskirts of the city, "The situation in the surrounding villages is even worse; the natives are dying in droves from hunger!"

"There are already quite a few starving people gathered outside the city walls... They are not allowed to enter the city and have become so hungry that they have started eating corpses!" Hearing this, a ripple finally appeared in Alfred's eyes.

He controlled his emotions and said slowly:

"Even so, you should question Sanchez, not come to me. Where am I supposed to find you food..."

"Of course you can find it!"

Neil Sharp interrupted him, his voice laced with anger, "Your MI9 assisting General Sanchez's troops in requisitioning grain. If we're being honest, this Catastrophe was entirely man-made, and your MI9 can't shirk responsibility!"

At this very moment, in the Harbor District of Doyin City, large quantities of grain and ore were being loaded onto ships, leaving behind the starving people, and the ships roared towards Loen.

They lay prostrate on the Southern Continent, sucking its blood to fund the war effort.

"Stop talking nonsense. Do you think I don't know? I've seen much more than you have!"

Seeing the skeptical look in his friend's eyes, Alfred finally couldn't hold back any longer, and his suppressed emotions erupted. "I also protested to the leadership, but they told me that the most important thing right now is to win the war against Feysac! For this, we're willing to sacrifice the entire colony of the Southern Continent!"

"You're insane!"

Neil stared at him in shock. "Have you forgotten what you said when you returned to the Southern Continent? You said you would prove yourself to the [Blood Bishop], that you would bring civilization and freedom to the Southern Continent!! And what have you done now?!"

"I know, I know!" Alfred slammed his fist on the table and roared, "But I can't do it! My father tells me to protect the family's honor, my superiors tell me to obey orders, and your Church tells me to be compassionate... You make demands of this and that, but has anyone ever asked me what I think?!"

His voice trembled and became intense:

"My homeland, Loen, is under deadly threat, yet people from the Southern Continent keep dying before my eyes. I'm not a cold-blooded Devil; I can't bear this pressure!!"

Alfred stared at Neil Sharp, demanding, "Tell me, if you were in my position, what would you do?"

"I..."

Sharp opened his mouth, unsure how to answer.

Should Alfred disobey military orders and distribute food to save lives? Or should he bear the moral condemnation within himself and seize the food supplies of the people of the Southern Continent to defend his homeland?

Neither choice is easy to make...

The two stared at each other in silence for several minutes.

"... At least save the children."

After a long silence, Priest Sharp looked away, took a step back, and said, "Just a few cartloads of food will be enough to keep them alive. Alfred, for the sake of the Goddess!"

"... I understand." Alfred composed himself, took a deep breath, and sat down. "It's just a few cartloads of grain; I have the authority to use it myself... I'll give you a note; take it to Captain Sohm logistics, and he'll cooperate."

He took out a piece of paper, quickly wrote a note, signed his name, stamped it, and handed it to Neil Sharp.

"Besides, it's too unsafe for you to carry so much food alone on the road. I'll send a squad of soldiers with you to help distribute the food and control the situation should looting occur..."

Sharp took the note and walked a few steps outside.

He suddenly turned his head again, looking at his friend with concern:

Alfred, are you alright?

Alfred did not answer, but instead rested his face on his hand, sat back in his chair, and waved wearily at him.

Using Colonel Alfred's documents, Neil Sharp successfully obtained several carts of food and a pair of soldiers to escort them. They surrounded the carts and left the camp.

Sharp looked at the food in the truck, then at the disaster victims on the street, his feelings incredibly complicated.

Those children were spared from starvation, but I couldn't save everyone.

"I'm sorry..." he said silently to the emaciated people, suppressing his guilt.

Suddenly, as if he had seen something, his expression froze.

At the street corner stood a withered and ugly old woman.

Her eyes were unfocused and vacant, and she was holding a huge object in her arms. The object was wrapped in layers of coarse cloth, making it very conspicuous.

"Buzzing..."

Flies, swarms of flies, buzzed around the old woman, constantly swarming and swarming onto the cloth bag in her hand.

Neil's eyes widened in surprise.

He watched in horror as several wriggling maggots crawled out from the gaps in the package and fell to the ground. And from the bottom of the package, it seemed that juice was constantly dripping out... A gust of wind blew in his face, and an extremely stench of decay immediately filled his nostrils.

That's it!!

The carriage continued forward, and after passing the old woman, the other side of the bundle was finally revealed—inside was a highly decomposed corpse, which, judging by its size, resembled that of a young child.

"Sir Missionary, please don't be surprised."

Seeing this, a soldier nearby chuckled and explained, "That's a custom of our Southern Continent... it's also a type of funeral. The deceased is kept close until they completely decompose, leaving only bones, which are then taken home for permanent preservation..." Please remember the only official website: www. deqixs. org. This is the only website; other websites may be discontinued at any time.

"Of course, anyone with a little money will find other ways to make the Flesh separate from the bone faster. Only those who are truly desperate will resort to such a clumsy method of slow decay..."

Neil was completely speechless.

In the past, he might have thought this was an outdated idea and that he should promote the burial practice supported by the Goddess... But at this moment, he felt that he had no right to face the old man who had lost his grandson. He could only take out some money as an atonement, secretly hand it to the old man, and then lead the convoy away as if fleeing.