Chapter 1698: Chapter 1696: A Scientific Perspective, Rational Thinking (Super Evolution Can’t Stop Meow!)

A week later, the Priestess of the Goddess and her team returned.

This time, however, everyone’s expressions were gloomy and unpleasant.

"What’s wrong? Why do you all look so down?"

Sitting behind the desk, Fang Zheng chuckled as he looked at the girls, who were puffing their cheeks in anger.

"Could it be that the task failed?"

"No, Sir Knight, it’s just... the task was completed, but..."

The Priestess of the Goddess hesitated, glancing at Emilia not far away; Emilia was looking down at the ground silently, while Parker kept quiet beside her.

"You go ahead and report."

Fang Zheng nodded at the Priestess, who quickly stood up to explain the situation to him.

According to the Priestess, they had taken on a task to exterminate the goblins located at the border of the Kingdom of Lugnica and the elves’ gathering area because goblins had been troubling the Elf Tribe, leading the tribe to seek help. However, due to Lugnica’s strong xenophobic tendencies and the lack of a king, it was decided to seek adventurers to resolve the issue — that’s why the Elf Archer and her team came in the first place, joining in on the task.

It all started smoothly enough; for Felt and Emilia, witnessing the goblins’ atrocities firsthand led them through a progression from shock to anger. The group then ventured deeper into the ruins, eliminating the goblins lurking there, rescuing prisoners tormented by the goblins, and ultimately confronting the leader of the goblins — a troll from the Demon King’s Army!

They struggled initially against the troll, but then this idiotic troll made a mistake.

It began chanting the Fireball Technique...

...and was promptly crushed by Megumin’s Burst Magic, who loves epic magical duels.

Overall, the goblin extermination plan was a resounding success, but the trouble started afterward.

After eliminating the troll, the Priestess and her team habitually searched for and cleared out the nests of young goblins. What they didn’t expect was Emilia witnessing Ais trying to kill a young goblin, and stepping in to stop her.

She wanted to save this young goblin!

Naturally, the Priestess and Ais were completely opposed to this idea. They had cleared out so many goblin nests before and knew the danger of letting these goblins live, but Emilia believed goblins aren’t inherently evil; what they were doing was simply a massacre!

This led to a dispute between the two sides, and at that moment, the young goblin protected by Emilia picked up a stone and attempted to attack Emilia, only to be swiftly killed by Ais. Everyone thought this would make Emilia realize the true nature of goblins; however, Emilia argued that they intended to kill it first, so the young goblin’s retaliation was only natural...

Even Felt found Emilia’s viewpoint incomprehensible.

Thereafter, both sides argued fiercely, with the Priestess’s team insisting that goblins are inherently evil, leaving them would only cause long-term trouble. In contrast, Emilia argued that it’s unreasonable to judge good and evil based solely on race, and such actions should not be taken!

Because of this, tensions remained high on the way back, and everyone was surprised that a seemingly simple task had turned into such a huge conflict...

Fang Zheng, however, was not surprised.

Why else would he send Emilia to exterminate goblins?

"Alright, I have a general understanding of the situation."

After hearing the Priestess’s report, Fang Zheng nodded and turned to Emilia.

"So, Emilia, do you have anything to say?"

"I... My opinion hasn’t changed; I don’t think those young goblins should be killed... Just because they’re goblins doesn’t mean they should be killed; it’s completely unreasonable!"

"But I’ve said that if we don’t kill them, these goblins will go on to attack other villages and people!"

Hearing this, Megumin couldn’t help but retort, but Emilia clearly maintained her stance.

"If you hadn’t killed so many goblins, they wouldn’t have resorted to attacking villages!"

"Now it’s our fault? If these goblins hadn’t attacked villages, why would we need to eliminate them!"

Witnessing Megumin and Emilia’s argument, it seemed the debate was turning into a "which came first: the chicken or the egg?" scenario... No wonder they hadn’t reached any conclusions; reaching a conclusion would be quite a miracle.

"Alright, stop arguing."

Fang Zheng was uninterested in listening to such a low-level debate, signaling the two to stop with a wave of his hand.

"I’ve heard both reasons, and I understand your perspectives. Now, let me share my thoughts."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to Fang Zheng, who surveyed the group.

"I won’t immediately tell you who’s right or wrong here; first, we need to think scientifically, view the issue rationally, and then we can solve the problem."

"......???"

"First, let’s ask: what defines good and evil? Who decides what’s good and bad?"

"Umm..."

The group was unable to respond to Fang Zheng’s question.

"What benefits our race, our group, and our development is good; anything that harms us is bad. For instance, why is it forbidden to kill people randomly? Because doing so would cause social chaos, weaken a nation, and diminish the citizens’ ability to live peacefully, thereby lowering their quality of life. To ensure citizens can live and work peacefully, there are laws against killing indiscriminately."

Fang Zheng extended his finger and tapped the desk.

"Why do people advocate helping the weak, mutual assistance? Because only by coming together can we grow and become strong. Humans are very vulnerable; in the wild, their physical qualities don’t match those of beasts, nor can they spit venom, and they die from illness. Unlike wolf packs, they don’t have the vitality of sub-dragons and giant dragons. Without unity, the human race would have perished long ago. Therefore, we advocate unity and oppose isolation."

Faced with Fang Zheng’s words, the young girls nodded blankly. Although they didn’t completely understand what Fang Zheng was saying, they grasped the general idea.

"So, goodness and justice, right and wrong are always subjective definitions. Values that apply to one race don’t necessarily apply to another."

With these words, Fang Zheng looked towards Emilia.

"Emilia, your intentions are good, but unfortunately you’re missing one premise."

"Premise?"

"That’s right, and that is you need to reach a consensus with the goblins that what they are doing is wrong."

"Is... is there even a need to ask?"

Emilia was dumbfounded, at a loss for words. Attacking villages and abusing young girls is obviously wrong!

"Of course, to you, it’s obvious, but to other species, it might not be the case. For example, do you think cannibalism is good or bad?"

"Of course it’s bad!"

"But on a small southern island, there is a tribe known as the Cannibal Tribe. They dig out the hearts of defeated enemies and swallow them whole... What do you think of that?"

"Ugh... really?"

"I definitely don’t want to go to that island... nor do I want to encounter the Cannibal Tribe..."

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the young girls showed expressions as if they couldn’t bear to look, while Emilia frowned deeply, pondering.

However, at this moment, Felt spoke up.

"What’s there to consider? Those guys must be madmen! Lunatics!"

"Is that so? Then what if I tell you that in their culture, eating the enemy’s heart means gaining the enemy’s great power... In other words, they only eat the heart to recognize the strong enemy. To the Cannibal Tribe, this is not a bad thing, nor is it a crime. On the contrary, it’s an honor... So how would you convince them that cannibalism is bad?"

"This..."

This time, Emilia also didn’t know how to respond.

"The same goes for goblins. You might think goblins are evil and deranged, and you want to uphold justice, but no matter how you dress it up with words, the essence of hunting goblins doesn’t change— it is because their existence threatens the human race’s survival that we go to eliminate them."

With this, Fang Zheng spread his hands.

"See, it’s that simple. Debating right and wrong is meaningless. We must look through the appearance to perceive the essence. The goblins’ lifestyle is robbery and plunder, and since goblins do not have females, they can only forcibly reproduce by capturing females of other species. This is an objective reality that subjective will cannot change."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng chuckled.

"The same is true for the Demon Clan. Do you think they are evil for destroying and ruining everywhere? However, they just want to annihilate this world and reunite with their mother. How does that sound? Doesn’t it seem pitiful and tragic? Everything they do is to see their mother, so should we out of compassion for these demon clans simply let them destroy the world?"

"......"

"If one day a mysterious race suddenly appeared and attacked humans, claiming, ’You humans recklessly slaughter other lives and devour their flesh to sustain your existence, which is evil and must be eliminated!’ what would you do? Stop eating and starve to death listening to them, or resist?"

"This..."

"The lion king will kill and eat the previous lion king’s offspring, then mate with the lioness to have its own offspring. A disabled wolf will be torn apart and killed by the wolf pack. By human standards, these are extremely evil actions, but to them, it’s simply necessary for survival. A lion king needs to pass on its lineage, not raise the previous lion king’s cubs. A wolf pack needs to stay active to face the next hunt. A disabled wolf offers no benefit to the pack and instead slows it down."

Fang Zheng interlocked his hands and leaned back in his chair, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned as he watched the young girls deep in thought.

"See, this is the basic value difference. What seems obvious to us might be inconceivable to other species. What seems obvious to other species might be unacceptable to us."

"Does this mean... coexistence is impossible?"

"In some aspects, you can seek common ground while reserving differences. For example, elves don’t eat meat, but they won’t stop humans from eating meat. They may not like it, but they accept it. However, conversely, you cannot convince a wolf to eat grass, because wolves are carnivores, and eating grass would be a life-threatening consequence, so a wolf would never listen to you."

"I never thought you’d say such strange things, but they make sense."

"Objective reality and subjective will coexist, and so do you."

Looking at Felt, Fang Zheng chuckled.

"This is something you need to learn, too."

"Huh? Why do I need to learn this?"

"To provide a theoretical basis for your hatred. What you said in the council room, though reasonable, lacked a strong theoretical foundation. You must look through the appearance to see the essence, find the origin of it all, and then identify and solve the problem... especially if you truly wish to overturn the system of Lugnica."

"Ugh... it sounds troublesome..."

"Well, you wouldn’t have to bother if you don’t want to be the king."

Teasing Felt with a sentence, Fang Zheng again looked at the silent Emilia.

"The same goes for you, Emilia."