A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 19 The Brave Suspects

Chapter 19 The Brave Suspects (Part )

The independent city-state of Eswell borders three countries.

They are the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Roan and the Principality of Hime.

Compared to Ximei, which has a small land area and is heavily dependent on the ocean, the Kingdom of Ron and the United Kingdom are much larger and richer.

Both are so-called world powers, but if we compare their comprehensive national strength, Britain, which owns nearly half of the mineral resources in the southern continent, is slightly better than Ron in military terms.

Fifteen years ago, a fire in Britain shocked the world. The British king and queen, along with their two children, were buried in the flames. The British royal city, which had a history of more than a thousand years, was burned to ashes.

Afterwards, the younger brother of the dead king, who was born to the same brother as him, inherited the throne and the new king of Britain ascended the throne.

To express his grief, the new king wore mourning clothes during the coronation and observed a moment of silence throughout.

Britain was deeply dissatisfied with the new king. The princes, along with the Eternal Church of Britain, opposed him, leading to nearly a decade of political turmoil, which alienated the people and weakened the nation. After countless exchanges of interests and life-and-death struggles, the new king and the princes finally reconciled, and political stability finally stabilized.

But who knew that at this moment, the Cult of the Dragon of Eternity and Time suddenly announced a piece of news.

The Dragon Lord, who had not appeared for hundreds of years, unexpectedly issued a prophecy:

[When the lake waters recede and the holy sword emerges, the true king's descendants will reclaim the crown.]

[Whoever can pull out the holy sword from the stone platform will be the king of the entire land.]

[The blood of the false king must end with the sword, and the traitorous minister must pay for his betrayal with his life! ]

Quinn munched on some bread while listening to Ankua's science lecture with great interest.

The bread was mixed with butter, and the texture resembled France's national treasure, the baguette, but the taste was far inferior. Fortunately, Quinn was not picky about food, and he got used to eating it for a week straight. It was better than eating goblin rations in the wild.

"Is the Eternal Cult's prophecy hinting that the British king will be overthrown?" Quinn understood. "And the one who will overthrow the king is the escaped Princess Celia?"

Ankuya nodded. "This prophecy is true. Of all the Orthodox religions, the Eternal Order is the most rigid and law-abiding. They would never use a false prophecy to attack the king. The sleeping Dragon Lord has truly appeared."

The Cult of the Dragon of Eternity and Time worships a dragon as their god.

In the teachings, the Dragon Lord controls the past, present, and future and is the answer to everything.

He whispered, "The prophecy reveals more than just the throne; it also mentions Britain's Holy Sword. Only weapons wielded by brave men can be given the word 'Holy.' That Holy Sword came from the original brave man 1,400 years ago. It was the weapon of the first traverser to arrive in Tamilan, so it holds an exceptionally high status."

Quinn was stunned for a moment, then asked excitedly: "Could it be that the British royal family is the descendant of my fellow countryman?!"

Wow, awesome! The descendants of Chinese people have spread to another world. The history textbooks are not lying to me.

"Not really."

Ankuya shook his head. "The holy sword was acquired by the old king by chance twenty years ago. No one else could use it, so it was placed in the royal city as a collection, and was eventually lost in a fire."

"Both the religious and arcane communities agree that the Hero's Holy Sword can only be wielded by the Hero. The prophecy's mention of 'drawing the Holy Sword' likely means that the True King's descendants will be the Heroes of this generation."

"Because of this prophecy, the British monarch and the Eternal Cult nearly broke off relations. The government began arresting citizens who spread the prophecy and constantly distorted and slandered it. However, they did not anticipate that countless people, eager to contact the hero in advance, would use their own unique abilities to investigate the fire fifteen years earlier. To maintain his throne, the British king even breached the dam, allowing the flood to submerge the ruins of the old royal city and destroy the evidence."

"To get in touch with the heroes in advance? Is everyone so enthusiastic about saving the world?" Quinn asked incoherently while chewing bread.

There was a cup of strong coffee in front of him, and he used it to soften the bread so he could barely chew it. Coffee was the only thing in this other world that Quinn felt at home in. With a sip, the faintly doomed aroma of work washed over him, as if he were back at his desk in the office, a 9.9 RMB Luckin coffee next to him.

"Save the world?" Ankua shook his head. "Except for the Holy See of Light, few people truly care about natural disasters and demons. In times of crisis, heroes will always appear, and there will always be someone to take their place. All they care about is whether they can participate in the new order brought about by the heroes."

"A new order?"

Quinn, who was chewing bread with difficulty, didn't know what a brave man really meant.

"Although every hero's mission is to save the world, the war against the demons will only take up a small part of their lives. After completing their mission, they still have a long life to live."

"What the hero does with the rest of his life depends entirely on his personality and preferences. Their every move will influence the course of the world. It can be said that the history of mankind today is a history that changes with the hero. To engage with the hero in advance means investing in the future—an investment in the survival of the nation, the prosperity of the family, strength and power, money and land. These are all things that can be achieved with just a word from the hero."

"Life is so long. After saving the world, no one chose to go back?" Quinn was stunned.

"Go back?" Ankua looked at him with a half-smile. "Now that you possess power comparable to that of a god, the support of the entire world, the finest women, the largest house, and unparalleled prestige, and your words and actions can arbitrarily determine the fate of a nation, can you still give up such a life and choose to go back?"

Quinn opened his mouth but didn't answer.

"That's too far."

Ankuya tapped his fingers on the table, tapping Celia's photo. The sound brought Quinn back to his senses. "The hero hasn't matured yet, so we need to hurry if we want to kill him. Not many people know Celia is the Child of Prophecy, and Grindelwald Academy is helping her cover her tracks."

Ankua poured himself a cup of coffee, took a sip to moisten his throat, then frowned in dissatisfaction, "I should get you some good beans."

"College?" Quinn had gotten to know the college better these days, so he was particularly puzzled. "Is the college also involved in Britain's affairs?"

"Do not."

Ankuya said calmly, "The academy is pure. At least Grindelwald is pure. It's full of monsters who only care about the arcane. The academy never gets involved in politics and doesn't care who will be the King of Britain."

"Then why would the academy help Celia?"

"Britain's former Chief Court Arcanist graduated from Grindelwald, and it was thanks to him that the little princess escaped the fire. Although the academy doesn't participate in politics, it doesn't mind providing shelter to students. The Chief Arcanist has good relationships with some department heads, which is why he chose to hide in Ashwell. Not many people within the academy know the little princess's identity. It's top secret and involves too many people, so you shouldn't share it."

"Then how did you know?" Quinn looked at the handsome guy in surprise who didn't hold a high position.

"Because I'm Ankuya," he said lightly.

".Awesome."

"Princess Celia will be enrolling at Grindelwald this summer semester. Her enrollment information indicates she is a transcendental being, and a member of the Eternal Order's Ancient Dragon Path Sequence, which is likely quite high."

"They are all extraordinary people," Quinn sighed in distress.

Killing heroes is not an easy job.

Ankuya placed Celia's information in the center of the table, with Elon and Ike on either side.

The following information is about a priest.

The photo was cut out from a group photo. The man in the photo has long hair, wears the uniform of a monastery's trainee priest, and has a carefree smile, which gives people a good impression.

"Xisa, surname unknown, age unknown, place of origin unknown, currently serving as a priest at the Guishu Church in the city of Xiweier."

"The Return Tree Cult is a religion from the Northern Continent. In recent years, due to being blocked by the Misty Sea, the shipping routes between the North and South Continents have been cut off. Therefore, there's no information about him at all. The only thing we know is that he enjoys visiting prostitutes."

"Like what?" Quinn thought he had misheard.

"Prostitution." Ankua showed a rare expression of admiration for a divine being. "Xissa is well-known in the sex trade in Ashwell. He visits prostitutes three times a day, but never does anything out of line. He pays for prostitutes to preach."

"Preaching?"

Quinn was shocked.

"It's said that this man's favorite thing to do is to watch prostitutes cry bitterly and listen to them confess their sins and repent. He would regularly appear in the church on the 15th of every month, which was the fasting day of the Guishu Sect. The women who were influenced by him would donate their first wages earned through legitimate labor. He embezzled the donations and then used them to visit prostitutes."

Quinn was dumbfounded. What a righteous man! Take from the yellow and use it for the yellow. Sir, this is righteousness!
"Because his success rate in persuading prostitutes to become good women was so high, there was a significant shortage of prostitutes in Eswell for a long time. Some prostitutes also fell in love with him and imitated his rhetoric to influence their colleagues, which seriously damaged the business environment. The brothel business owners naturally wouldn't sit idly by, and people kept hiring killers to kill them. But this guy was a transcendent—"

Ankuya's expression was indescribable. Thinking of the source of this information, he silently held his forehead. "Xisa is the most bizarre secret mission among the combat classes. His sequence is unknown, but he is terrifyingly powerful. Nearly a hundred assassins and brothel merchants have died at his hands in the past six months. He has killed so many that no one dares to trouble Xisa anymore. Some people have used their connections to seek justice for the crime, but they were stopped by the Guishu Cult."

"Although Xisa never had sex with prostitutes, he would usually spend the night with them. Once, when he was drunk, he revealed in a conversation that he had spent five years in Verkhoyansk, in the Philippine Empire."

Ankuya's tone grew serious. He flipped the page, revealing a plan stamped "Top Secret." It was densely printed in a Philippine script that Quinn struggled to decipher. "Vilkhoyansk, the permafrost port of the Philippine Empire, lies at the far northern tip of the Northern Continent. Unseen by sunlight, Vilkhoyansk possesses a unique advantage in mysticism. The Empire once secretly conducted a project in Vilkhoyansk, codenamed 'Man of Steel,' which assembled the Empire's top arcanists and transcendents in an attempt to create a human hero."

"Artificial hero?!" Quinn exclaimed.

Ankua nodded.

"Although I don't know the principles or how they carried out their plan, the empire without the souls of the time travelers ultimately failed, and all 500 candidates who participated in the plan died. However, Xisa actually spent five years in Verkhoyansk, which coincides with the 'Man of Steel' plan. Add to that the unusual attitude of the Return Tree Cult—that's why I included him."

"I'm awesome." Quinn commented.

"This guy's elusive. If we want to find him, we'll have to turn every brothel in Eswell upside down. But who knows how many brothels there are in Eswell?" Ankua looked fed up. "Let's investigate the others first. If there's no suitable opportunity, we'll look for him last."

Quinn agreed, he didn't want to go to brothels every day to solve cases.

"Then let's see what the last one is, eh?"

Quinn wanted to turn the page, but there was no information after Xisa.

"Didn't they say there were five suspects? This is only four."

"There's no information on the fifth one. You can only listen to my narration."

"no information?"

Quinn wondered who this person was.

Ankuya leaned on the sofa and said with a complicated expression:
"Her name is Lin, she's a girl, and she should be sixteen."

"She is Grindelwald's student and a genius."

After saying two brief sentences, Ankuya stopped talking.

".That's all?" Quinn suspected he had missed something.

"Gone."

"Just because she's a genius, you doubt she's a hero?"

Quinn thought to himself that he was also a genius, playing mid lane with AP Yasuo, but why did his teammates just call him an idiot?
A complex emotion flashed across Ankuya's eyes beneath his long eyelashes, as if he himself was unwilling to face the facts he was about to discuss.

"How much do you know about the arcane?" he asked, trying to formulate his words.

"Arcane is the engineering that combines 'mystery', 'spirit', and 'mana' with the myriad changes derived from them. It is a supernatural power that can be harnessed and reproduced by some humans." Quinn repeated the description of arcane in the book.

This is also the definition of arcane by the Grindelwald Academy.

"Yes, but not entirely."

Ankuya took out his magic wand and waved it gently, and a magical light spot called "Mana" emerged.

"If it's just a low-level arcane spell, it can indeed be understood this way. But that's only within the scope of 'spell'—"

As the wand was waved, the mana light spots quickly gathered into a circle, entangled and jumping.

"Arcane is application, it is permutation and combination, just like this ring composed of elements. But if I want to compress the ring into mana," Ankuya said with some difficulty.

His hand gripping the wand trembled, and the aura gradually compressed into a trembling ball. The light became more and more intense, so bright that Quinn had to shield his eyes with his hands.

Ankuya's hands were shaking more and more, as if he was about to lose control.

When the ball was compressed to the size of a coin, boom!
The wand slipped out of his hand, the mana ball of light exploded, and the air wave hit Quinn's face. He watched as half of the table collapsed, and even the information was affected.

Ankua's face was expressionless as he picked up his wand and extinguished the fire with a flick of his hand.

"Arcane is about application, not transformation. I cannot change the form and concentration of mana, so when it is compressed to a certain critical point, the mana will explode."

Quinn nodded, not quite understanding.

It's a bit like math.
"Combining applications is the realm of 'technique,' but if you can achieve change, that's 'method.'"

"Law?"

"Magic is above the arcane," Ankua said quietly. "Magic doesn't involve knowledge or formulas, it's all about imagination. Yet, these three simple words, 'imagination,' have become a shackle that countless arcane mages cannot overcome throughout their lives."

The magic in this world seems to be a little different from the magic in Earth movies.

"You're not going to say," Quinn gasped, "Lin can use magic?"

Ankuya nodded with difficulty.

There was no frustration on his face, only self-deprecating helplessness.

"Grindelwald's educational methods don't give anyone who isn't a genius even a chance. The students in this academy are the most talented arcane talents in Tamilan. Any one of them would be snapped up by other academies. But even among this group of geniuses, Lin is the most unconventional. Before Lin, there was only one other sixteen-year-old wizard, and that person defeated the Demon King and founded Grindelwald Academy."

He continued, "Lin never leaves the academy, has no friends, and is extremely withdrawn. But as far as I know, the only thing she's interested in is space magic, and her reason for wanting to learn space magic is very strange. It is said that she wants to find a world that doesn't exist - she wants to return there."

Quinn's eyes narrowed suddenly.

Is she going back to Earth?

"That's all the information we have." Ankua took a sip of coffee. "Of the five people, which one do you want to start with?"

Gang leader, Ike Capone.

Young Congressman, Elon Branson.

The child of prophecy, Celia.

Father, Sissa.

Genius girl, Lin.

Quinn leaned numbly on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling, just like he did when he was given a difficult task at work.

Does anyone among these five look particularly easy to kill?

Let me kill them? Really?
Will you win?
Quinn looked at Ankua, and sure enough, the cocky guy didn't care at all about his answer.

"I follow the company's orders! I'm Xiao Kui, the boss's most loyal cog. I follow her wherever she points me. So, you must have a plan, right?"