In the Name of Empress

Chapter 672 380: What Is Cruelty

The experience of being a guest at the Tolsen Tribe was very pleasant, but the time spent was rather long, and Roland finally bid farewell to the warm-hearted Tolsen Centaurs.

After repeated attempts to persuade him to stay, the Centaurs realized that Roland was determined to leave, so they could only see him off with a grand ceremony.

When Roland requested the privilege of entering the ruins for practice at any time, they readily agreed.

Compared to what the northern travelers had brought to the Tolsen Tribe, what were mere ruins?

After leaving the Tolsen Tribe, Roland and Lisa continued southward. In the following half month, they passed by three more Centaur Tribes, two Fishman settlements, and several South Continent human settlements.

These settlements weren't as gentle as the Tolsen Centaurs.

The further they got from the Ogaden Line, the lower the level of civilization.

Compared to the Ironhoof who were good at observing and understanding, the Centaurs further south were a bit reckless.

They rushed in to rob without a word, only to be beaten up and left picking their teeth off the ground.

Roland didn't kill anyone, but necessary punishment was indispensable.

Since the highest etiquette for Centaurs was lying prostrate, he made them lie prostrate on the ground, crying out loud.

These Centaurs were indeed tall and strong, but they seemed as immature as kindergarten children in front of Roland.

Because they were so weak, Roland didn't even have the mood for bloody revenge.

A normal person wouldn't kill kindergarten kids for minor offenses, at most, they'd just catch and spank them.

After he left, a legend was left among the Centaur races: do not provoke the northern people sitting in carriages, especially if the horse is white.

Thus, Roland freely toured the South Continent aboard Eden.

He and Lisa appreciated the beauty of Nature, enjoying food, scenery, and each other in every deserted magnificent landscape they fancied.

Roland gradually forgot the purpose of this journey, even abandoning the attempt to spread knowledge and ideas in the South Continent.

When a group doesn't even have its own written language, spreading knowledge is too difficult.

When effort and reward are disproportionate, fools may feel they haven't tried hard enough, but smart people laugh and walk away.

Roland certainly wasn't a fool.

Spreading compulsory education in the South Continent is important, but that's something for the Demon Emperor's subordinates to do.

This is the domain of the Dark Influence, and he wasn't kind enough to help his enemies build their foundations.

Roland's footsteps continued southwards until entering the territory of the South Continent ape-like natives.

These ape-like creatures, with long body hair, had intelligence development between humans and monkeys, could use simple tools, had their own language and writing, could use fire for cooking, and had human traits.

But they also liked living in trees, had long hair on their bodies, did not engage in agricultural production, and relied entirely on hunting and gathering for daily life, even to the extent of cannibalism, making them totally incompatible with mainstream civilization.

The Rodinians didn't want to accept these beings as of the same species as themselves, racking their brains to find the correct term for the southern apes from historical texts.

Yehu.

Yehu is a neutral term, first traced back to the early Age of Gods, when high-level intelligent beings called the newly enlightened humans Yehu.

Originally, this term had no derogatory sense, but as early humans were wild and backwards, high-level intelligent beings' term for them gradually took on a derogatory meaning.

Later on, when high-level intelligent beings referred to humans, they could emphasize the term Yehu, further adding insult.

After humans rose to prominence, the term Yehu was sealed away, becoming an absolute taboo.

Using the insulting term Yehu for a civilized person is akin to a racial slur.

This term was once sealed away, but when the southern apes also called themselves human, the Rodinians were enraged, urgently needing a term more aggressive than Barbarians, thus the ancient name Yehu was reactivated.

In the Second Era, high-level intelligent beings called the then primitive hairy blood-drinking humans Yehu.

In the Sixth Era, the now civilized humans called the equally backward southern apes Yehu.

Perhaps it was a cycle.

During their first encounter with the Yehu, Lisa looked at the long-haired children standing by the road with curious eyes, casting a friendly smile and offering a few slices of bread.

Perhaps they weren't as barbaric as legends said? Lisa silently wondered.

After all, they belonged to the Homo genus, considered distant relatives of northern humans.

They were backwards, they were ignorant, but the goodness of humanity was still interconnected.

Roland didn't stop Lisa's fantasies and actions, he merely smiled, even joining Lisa in feeding the little Yehu, as if visiting a wildlife park.

At night, they found a quiet lake to stay by.

The lake wasn't very large; you could see the opposite shore at a glance, but the water was as clear as transparent glass, with the ripples at the bottom clearly visible.

Reaching out to touch it, the lake water was refreshingly cool, with shimmering waves.

Lisa loved it here.

She set up a protective magic, isolating outsiders, turning the place into a private bathing area for her and Roland.

She enjoyed the gifts of nature to her heart's content, forgetting herself; even when exhausted, she didn't want to return to Eden, preferring to set up a tent by the lakeside to listen to the gentle birdsong.

"Dear brother, I still prefer the real nature; Eden is nice, but it always feels like a delicate and fake little toy, not real."

Eden is a backup of this world, but after all, just a spare, not the real world.