The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1196

### Chapter 1193: Prisoner’s Dilemma

The concept of hierarchy among Harpies was absolute.

Once Great Chieftain Erlo confirmed Eivass’s identity as the King of Winged Ones, she immediately abandoned all her previous schemes. She knelt before him on the ground, just as the other Harpies who bowed to her did, attempting to display her piety and loyalty with an almost humble demeanor. Only when Eivass helped her up did she take her seat back in her original position.

Erlo finally spoke, offering Eivass the most precious commodity in the desert—information—without reservation.

“Although those who oppose the Lord are collectively called the ‘Rebel Army,’ they are not a unified organization. Their ideals, combat strength, distribution, and even races are entirely different. Strictly speaking, the Arid Water Army is a form of unorganized organization.

“For instance, the largest rebellious organization near Holy Spring City is called the ‘Primitive Sect.’ They are bound together by a form of religion, obeying the will of their leader. Their hostility towards the Lord is not particularly strong… or rather, they merely wish to form a semi-independent organization like the Snake People’s shrine while remaining slaves. They worship the Rock Heavenly Envoy, distance themselves from cities and all civilization, and live carefree lives like beasts, without even needing to communicate with words.”

“In Wanton Joy City, near the city known for ‘Tens of Thousands of Joys,’ the ‘Blood-Eating Gang’ has formed. This is an extremist human supremacist armed group. They rescue and gather a large number of human slaves, wandering near oases by plundering the resources of other races. They have also infiltrated a large number of Free People into their ranks, secretly providing them with resources within the city.

“They do not oppose the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi’s system itself, but rather seek to plunder a ‘city that belongs only to humans.’ They even capture foreign slaves to sell to Slave Knights, or purchase and rob foreign slaves to use and execute at will. They demand that new recruits publicly devour a foreign child alive to prove their determination not to regard foreign races as their own kind.”

Erlo’s explanation of the “Blood-Eating Gang” was noticeably more detailed. It was clear that the Harpies were also on the Blood-Eating Gang’s menu.

In response to Eivass’s question, Erlo nodded without hesitation and replied, “I have a son who was captured and eaten by them. If I have the chance, I will tear them limb from limb. I will feed their flesh and blood to all my kin whose families have been taken.” As Great Chieftain, Erlo showed no wavering on this matter, “Even if you stop me, I will still do it.”

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This is only right.” Eivass nodded slightly. He then pressed on, “What about Heaven City and Hassan?”

“The organization near Heaven City evolved from the one Hassan led in the past. They don’t have a distinct organizational name… but people call them the ‘Red.’

“Is it the ‘Red Hand,’ corresponding to ‘Flaming Fist?'” Eivass asked.

Erlo shook her head slightly, “Not entirely. It’s mainly because of their ideology… which is quite extreme. Hassan positions the Lord as his opponent and regards ‘fire,’ the antithesis of ‘water,’ as his symbol. Those who join the Red are basically avengers whose families have been destroyed by the Lord and his subordinates. They will spare no price to destroy these cities.

“In their eyes, the Free People who obey the Lord’s will are no different from puppets and slaves. Even Free People have never truly gained freedom. It’s just the freedom of being penned in by the Lord, like sheep in a pen compared to sheep grazing in a field.” Erlo said.

Eivass was somewhat surprised. *So you knew those sheep were being kept by someone else, not wild?*

Erlo continued, “Just as slaves are the property of their masters, if a slave commits a wrong, one must seek out his master to settle the debt… some matters can be forgiven by punishing the slave, but others require the master to pay the price himself. Because slaves are inherently the property of their masters, from this perspective, it is impossible to try to make slaves oppose their masters, or even to stand between them. Some uprising armies and rebel armies will righteously rescue slaves, only to be betrayed and sold out by those same slaves… Almost all of the most just rebel armies cannot survive.”

Hearing this, Eivass nodded. It was indeed true. His Ritual Studies teacher, Ibn, was like that back then—he saved people, only to be betrayed by those he rescued. Even Zhu Tang had experienced something similar… After all, in the perception of most slaves, the Lord was invincible and unshakeable, an unquestionable cornerstone of the world, a divine and unassailable being who could not be harmed. And the slaves themselves knew the hardship of their lives. Following the rebel armies might lead to a excruciating death if they failed, while betraying them once could grant immediate Free People status and considerable wealth.

Without any cost, without any risk—as long as their information was obtained, the Lord could easily crush those rebel armies. They could even strike from extremely long distances using Ritualists and Curse Masters if they knew the coordinates, wiping out everyone inside, and then send knights to clean up the battlefield. And there would undoubtedly be more than one rescued slave. If even one of these slaves betrayed them, everyone else would die with them; if multiple people betrayed them, those who betrayed second or later would receive little to no reward.

*Eivass knew this was a typical Prisoner’s Dilemma.* According to Eivass’s knowledge, the Prisoner’s Dilemma generally had two distinct solutions. When experiments were conducted long-term and repeatedly, people would eventually tend to cooperate. If multiple people participated in the experiment simultaneously, people would always tend to cooperate with those who chose to cooperate. As their mutual understanding deepened, those willing to cooperate with others would be chosen by others. This was the power of “morality” and “benevolence.” Civilization arose from this.

However, if it was known beforehand, and both parties clearly understood that such an “experiment” would only be conducted once, people would tend to choose betrayal. On one hand, it was because they did not know each other, were wary and distrustful, and on the other hand, it was also out of “stability.” The more tense, scarce, and dangerous the environment, the more people would lean towards certainty—just like choosing fifty thousand, which would be obtained 100%, over ten thousand with a 50% probability. Although these two numbers were mathematically equivalent in expectation, those with no money would likely choose the former, while those who were not short of money might choose the latter.

When slaves were captured and then rescued, they were in an extremely awkward position. If they were discovered, they would face extreme punishment—because collaborators of the rebel armies were also considered rebels, and rescued slaves were regarded as their collaborators. Therefore, slaves who were asked to cooperate by these rebel armies often chose to betray under pressure, which was naturally “human nature.” After all, even slaves themselves did not wish for the abolition of slavery. *If a person does not save themselves, how can they save others?*

“…Therefore, the Red chose the most extreme path. They abandoned the rescue of slaves and gave up on recruiting companions from among the Free People.” Great Chieftain Erlo said slowly, “‘Since Free People are the Lord’s slaves, harming Free People also harms the Lord.’ This is their reasoning.”

“…Indeed.” Eivass fell silent for a moment, then sighed and nodded in agreement. For the Lord, his residents were his assets. The Lords acted like they were playing a simulation management game, requiring regular sacrifices of population to obtain water resources. The more population sacrificed, the more water resources they obtained, and the more water resources would attract more people to settle there… This was like the “residential buildings” in those management games. Therefore, the more population they accumulated, the larger their wealth base became. Personal wealth could snowball at an incredible rate, accumulating madly until it became a meaningless number.

“And what the Red does is very simple…” Erlo also took a deep breath, clearly showing considerable apprehension towards these madmen. “It is to ignite the flames. Burning oases with fire, destroying water sources. As long as people cannot live here, they will naturally flee. Only by harming the Lord’s true assets—his population—will the Lord feel pain, become enraged, and become hysterical… and thus reveal his true flaws. Any other rebellion, to the Lord, is merely a child’s tantrum and play.”

“You mean…” Eivass’s eyes widened. He realized a terrifying possibility.