Warhammer Divine Throne

Chapter 1254: Chapter 539: Behavioral Economics (2)

Due to the impact of defeat, everyone was somewhat silent. Mogiana and Teresa didn’t eat much meat, only some vegetables and thick soup to get by, while Laine, Fidmund, and Jerald didn’t hold back, eating and drinking heartily.

Traditionally, a knight who eats well demonstrates his fighting prowess.

It wasn’t until they were almost done eating that Laine finally spoke, ”Actually, I also agree with Teresa’s viewpoint.”

The female sorcerer’s face immediately brightened, she put down her spoon with a look of excitement mixed with a touch of reproach, ”Then why didn’t you just...”

”Lady Teresa.” Jerald gestured for the female sorcerer to stay calm. The Paladin softly said, ”Because it wasn’t the right time. This defeat has already... if Laine confirmed that the Undead have joined the Chaos at this moment...”

”It would greatly impact the army’s morale,” Fidmund added, the Holy Grail Knight also frowned, ”We all know from the Holy Grail Expedition how powerful the Chaos Great Demon is. No one, except for Bohemond, Mr. Francois, or Lord Laine, such Holy Sanctuary Holy Grail Knights, can deal with the Chaos Great Demon. Ordinary Holy Grail Knights won’t be able to handle it.”

The female sorcerer’s face showed anger, she lowered her head reluctantly.

”It’s not your fault, Teresa.” Laine gently tapped the female sorcerer’s hand, signaling her not to mind, ”You’re my courtier, and your role is to voice your opinion, while I have to consider everyone’s influence.”

”I still question the alliance between the Undead and the Chaos.” Mogiana shook her head, the Lake God Witch said to Laine, ”Laine, why do you think Mathew Bade would ally with Chaos?”

”The reason is simple,” Laine nodded with a smile, ”In short, it’s called behavior economics.”

”Behavior economics?” The Lake God Witch gestured for Laine to continue.

”Let me give an example,” Laine nodded, taking out ten Gold Crowns and placing them on the table.

”Suppose, I am an Imperial Merchant, I need to transport a batch of grain to Kulona for sale.”

”Now I have two choices. First, I can go through Montfort’s Axe Bite Pass, since I have a strong escort team, taking the Axe Bite Pass almost guarantees safety, but due to high tariffs, I’ll earn only a thousand Gold Crowns.”

”Or, I could choose to go through Paragon’s Path of the Grey Lady, which is quite dangerous. I have only a 50% chance of passing safely, but if I succeed, I only need to pay low tariffs, so I can earn three thousand Gold Crowns or even four thousand Gold Crowns.”

”In this situation, what would you choose?”

As soon as Laine finished speaking, Jerald and Fidmund immediately responded, ”Certainly, we’d choose to take Axe Bite Pass, the safe and secure option.”

Teresa also agreed with taking Axe Bite Pass, but only Mogiana disdainfully said, ”If it were me, I’d choose the Path of the Grey Lady; I refuse to believe any enemy could harm me.”

”Mogiana, your willingness to take the Grey Lady Mountain Range is because you possess strong power,” Laine shook his head with a bitter smile, ”With you accompanying, earning five hundred Gold Crowns would be lucky.”

”So what is it you’re really trying to say?” Mogiana’s golden eyebrows furrowed.

”Let me finish,” Laine shook his head, continuing, ”Now, let’s assume if we took the Path of the Grey Lady and encountered the Green Skin Tribe, losing half the grain, now we’re faced with two choices.”

”Firstly, we can choose to return immediately; obviously, this means the lost half of the cargo is irretrievable, but at least the remaining half and our lives are preserved.”

”Or, we can lead people deep into the mountains to pursue the Green Skin Tribe, supposing we have a 50% chance of recovering our cargo and a 50% chance of not only failing to recover it but also losing the remaining cargo and even our lives. In this situation, what would you choose?”

At this point, Fidmund and Jerald realized something. Fidmund pondered for a moment and spoke, ”I think I would still choose to pursue the Green Skin Tribe.”

”Me too,” Jerald and Mogiana both felt the need to recover the cargo, while only the female sorcerer chose to abandon it, ”My life is the most important, I will not risk it.”

”Very good,” Laine smiled, gathering the ten Gold Crowns, ”This is behavior economics.”

”Mortals have a nature that causes them to be less rational in dealing with profits and losses.”

”Faced with profits, mortals abhor risks; they prefer guaranteed returns, even if these returns are lower, mortals can accept them.”

”But faced with losses, mortals are more inclined to take risks; they abhor confirmed losses and hope to recover their losses through risk-taking, even if it may lead to greater losses. If we think about it, the actual chance of recovering the cargo from the Green Skin Tribe isn’t high, but many people still choose this.”

”Because in terms of losses, mortals are more sensitive, more sensitive than to gains,” Laine’s hands crossed, resting on his nose, elbows on the table, ”In choice situations, most mortals hope to ’turn things around’ by taking risks.”