The war in the Southern Continent is raging fiercely.
Despite its current technological prowess and overwhelming numerical superiority, the Holy Empire was still unable to defeat the Pale Crusade of the Pale Holy See, and was even forced into a series of defeats with heavy casualties.
The Holy Lord City fell in March, and the Pale Crusade swept through fifteen cities in the process, causing the shocked nobles of the Holy Empire to flee in large numbers.
And that is precisely the reason why they were so easily defeated.
That Pale Holy See is full of slaves from top to bottom, with a single Pale God as its master!
They obeyed orders without question; any political directives, logistical support, or even suicidal charges proceeded smoothly. This made the Pale Crusade like a true steel machine, constantly abandoning everything controlled by the Pale God, like moths to a flame.
In contrast, the vast capitalist empire, the Holy Empire, appeared extremely chaotic internally.
The soldiers were all impoverished people from the lower classes, forcibly conscripted. The products manufactured by the two major arms groups that procured military equipment were all made with substandard materials because the bosses behind them wanted to save money and seek more profits. Gun barrels that should have been able to withstand 5,000 shots might explode after about 30 shots, or the grenades they threw might not explode at all, and the cannons could even blow out the barrels when they were fired.
In addition, the medical care involved the collaboration of fifteen medical institutions. The various medical equipment used to treat the wounded soldiers either lacked their original performance or were severely inadequate. Even worse, some equipment was simply manufactured from recycled waste materials and then sent back to the battlefield.
As a result, the wounds of soldiers who were discharged from the battlefield, which could have been healed, not only failed to heal but also deteriorated rapidly. Soldiers who would not have died otherwise died from infections after treatment. Some medical institutions even drew blood from soldiers in battlefield hospitals for sale or harvested their organs for sale.
Even more outrageous, they didn't even spare the corpses on the battlefield. Corpses recovered from the battlefield, corpses drained of blood, and the bodies of soldiers who died from all sorts of causes were collected and then processed into various products according to the manufacturing methods of the Northern Continent for sale.
The number of people profiting from war is enormous. Even though the profits aren't as high as one might imagine, this cost-free business still attracts countless people. Even within the Holy Empire, some classic sayings have begun to circulate: 'When I have five hundred Nos, I won't eat a steaming steak; instead, I'll buy two or three slaves to take to the battlefield. Ten months later, I'll be a hundred thousand!'
These words even circulated among the lower classes of the Holy Empire, attracting countless people to the battlefield, hoping to gain new capital through this war.
Such an opportunity to make money and rise to the top was sought after not only by the upper class, but also by the lower class of the Southern Continent, who were the victims.
Countless ordinary people, harboring the beautiful fantasy of becoming rich overnight, frantically supported the Holy Empire's war, but repeatedly deserted when conscription was required.
Everyone saw their fellow citizens as fodder for their own enrichment. Those who evaded conscription were smug, borrowing money at exorbitant interest rates to buy slaves and send them to the front lines. They would then make contact with officers to share in the spoils. Those conscripted, on the other hand, were dejected, only realizing the cruelty of war when they were being led to the battlefield to become someone else's food.
Whether they truly realized the cruelty of war or regretted not running away remains unknown.
Such ruthless methods, nationwide frenzy, and even the most extreme ways of making money truly reveal the most glaring flaws of capitalist society: money is everything!
Such an exploration of the social conditions at the grassroots level undoubtedly reveals their true decline.
On one side is a fearless legion, like the Zerg, completely controlled by its leader and with absolute obedience; on the other side is a vast capitalist nation where capitalism reigns supreme and money is rampant. This is the reason why the two sides have been able to achieve their current results.
There are no good people in the Southern Continent!
Compared to him, Norton is the worst of the worst.
Amidst the fierce fighting in the Southern Continent, Norton finally had enough of playing Red Alert and shifted his attention from the front lines to the trenches inside.
An object, resembling an iron lantern and emitting a ghostly blue light, was carefully preserved in a box made of osmium-based metal and delivered to Norton through a secret passage.
These lantern-like objects are common in the Northern Continent, often found in concentration camps and on the lower back of War Machine.
This is the first time I've seen this in the Southern Continent.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
Pale, slender fingers tapped lightly on the silver armrest, while two dark eyes stared intently at the gray-blue box.
The Pale God Norton now sat slumped on his silver throne, draped in a silver cloak. His silver hair was bound by a silver crown, but began to cascade down from the back of his head, spreading out to the ground around the throne, making him look like a silver mushroom from a distance.
Norton, standing at around 2.5 meters tall, played with a half-sized metal box made of osmium-based metal, which weighed nearly a ton, in his slender hands.
Osmium has a higher density than gold. A suitcase-sized box of gold can weigh up to two tons, while a small box made of osmium, which has an even higher density, can weigh nearly a ton.
But now, this thing seemed to have no weight at all in the hands of that Pale God, being turned over and over by a few fingers, and even tossed lightly in his hand.
Two dark eyes stared intently at the metal box in her hand, her exquisite face filled with joy and surprise.
Norton wasn't sure if the War Machine could help him evolve, but now that he had the metal box, he was certain.
He could clearly feel the power of the object sealed within the metal box, and his own deep longing for it.
"In the thousands of years since I ascended to godhood, this is the first time that someone has had such a strong desire for me!"
It seems that the soul truly can help me improve again!
"Damn it, why didn't Abraham bring this good stuff out sooner!" Norton gritted his teeth, sensing the aura emanating from the osmium metal box. A desire similar to his past urge to drink blood rose in his mind, not intense, but it moved Norton deeply.
Since ascending to godhood, he has never felt unsatisfied.
Whether he eats or not, rests or not, no matter how he survives, he no longer has the basic human desires, except for manual dexterity.
Such a state of being without desires or wants does not actually make one feel perfect.
Humans can appreciate the deliciousness of food because of hunger, and the bliss of sleep because of exhaustion. Now that he has lost this contrast, he naturally finds it difficult to experience a higher level of pleasure from eating and resting.
This is utterly numbing.
But now, he could feel it again, feel the body's desire, feel the satisfaction after inhaling it!