A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 281 British Past (Part 2)
Rontinham, the capital of Britain.

The setting sun cast magnificent fiery clouds across the sky, and the Thames River, shrouded in a golden halo, resembled a dragon lying in the heart of the nation.

Lantignyam is a vast city, the largest in the southern continent, appearing from the sky like a ring of urban forest rooted in the earth. Looking along the Thames, in the heart of Lantignyam lies a city within a city, surrounded by two waterways—the political center of Britain, "Dragon's Nest Island."

'Dragon's Nest' is the name from a thousand years ago, when the great founding father Augustus I of Britain declared the establishment of the country here. Nowadays, people prefer to call it Parliament Island. A castle building that blends Tudor and Gothic styles spans the island and connects two Tower Bridges leading to the city.

In the era of the first hero Link, there was no regime on the western continent that could be called a 'nation', the eastern country was just an uninhabited island, and the humans of Temuran, who had just emerged from the Dark Ages and entered the Divine Age, had only three main nations.

The Philippian Empire in the North, and the Kingdom of Ron and Britain in the South.

Like Britain, Ron developed into a constitutional monarchy under the influence of the hero Link, a system that profoundly influenced all the subsequent kingdoms of the Southern Continent. Within the basic constitutional framework established by the hero, further constitutions were formulated based on the nation's specific circumstances and religious beliefs.

The king has the power to make decisions on the vast majority of national affairs and is not subject to any law other than the constitution. The king selects cabinet ministers, who are the heads of various government departments—usually nobles or scholars trusted by the king—to manage the national government.

The Philippian Empire, however, was not located in the south where Link rose to power and was not influenced by his political ideas. Therefore, it was able to maintain its monarchical autocracy and have an "emperor" with more power than the king.

After Link, Merlin's influence on the world's political landscape was not significant, mainly manifested in the abolition and reform of slavery. However, in the era of the Third Hero, the Philistine Empire, under the influence of the Third Hero, abolished all noble titles and became an extremely centralized state centered on the emperor. This was unique in Temurian and was regarded as a "backward" system by the southern society.

In contrast, the Eastern Kingdom established by the Fourth Hero, Tetsuya Amamiya, embodies "advanced" development. It is a complete parliamentary monarchy, retaining only a monarchical title and regarding the Amamiya family as the spiritual leaders of the Eastern Kingdom. The country is governed by a parliament elected periodically by the citizens and a "Prime Minister" who leads the parliament.

Unfortunately, the kings and nobles of the Southern Continent did not want to embrace this advanced system. The only region in the Southern Continent that implemented the system of elected parliaments was Aishwell. This was not because Aishwell was "advanced," but because the arcane mages of the academy had no time to manage the city and were forced to align with international practices.

Ron and Britain, which had briefly been under absolute monarchy during the founding of the nation, still retained their ancient capital. However, Britain's capital was destroyed in a fire fourteen years later, and the new King Aaron moved to Parliament Island, the place where his ancestors founded the nation.

The newly appointed Prime Minister, Baron Laurence de Reginaca, stood on the second floor of the castle, gazing at the setting sun and the city lights. His hands rested on the railing, his fingers gripping the carved details tightly. Judging from the bloodshot eyes and dark circles under his eyes, the Prime Minister hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

Since the start of the Civil War, the Capitol had been filled with soldiers. Communications officers and soldiers came and went, busy even after their shifts had ended. He picked up the whiskey that was placed to the side and took a sip. The ice in the glass had melted, and the taste, diluted with water, had an indescribable bitterness.

"I love the scenery here."

A nonchalant voice came from behind. Arms crossed, he leaned against the wall with Prime Minister Lawrence, watching the sunset. "The buildings in Eswell are tall, but they're crammed together, making it hard to breathe. There's a kind of ostentatious and vulgarity about gold pounds. Lantiniam is much prettier. Look at our architecture, the magnificent Gothic style, every brick and tile exudes a profound sense of history."

Lawrence rubbed his temples and brow with his fingertips. "Any results from Eswell's investigation? Why is there no news about those cannons? Is Ron's man behind this?"

The person behind him replied, "According to the investigation, that's not the case. The Ron people are quite trustworthy when it comes to selling arms; they'd be happy to see Britain get badly beaten."

"What's the conclusion? The front lines are pressing hard, and if there aren't enough artillery pieces, we can only use the lives of superhumans to open the city gates—" Lawrence became more and more frustrated as he spoke.

The southern continent nations, having enjoyed a thousand years of peace, would never keep a large stockpile of siege weapons, and in recent years, they've sold them all to the western continent. Their armories are full of massive weapons used in demon-slaying wars; who could have imagined their own land would be engulfed in flames?
"The conclusion is that the problem lies in the transportation process."

The investigator replied, "The artillery was disguised as water pipes and transported to Axwell through the black market. It was then distributed to the front lines by airships, but the Axwell gang responsible for transporting the goods has seized our artillery."

"What the hell did you say? You confiscated our artillery?"

“Gangs,” he shrugged. “The kind of people who lend money at exorbitant interest rates, deal in opium, and collect protection money from honest people on the streets.”

The prime minister of the strongest nation in the Southern Continent was stunned for a long time before asking with a twitching mouth, "Why are you withholding it? Didn't you pay enough money? Or do you want protection money or something?"

"Who knows? Anyway, they seized it and even said that all the arms shipped to Britain could not pass through Eswell."

"...Is that Ron's gang?"

"No, they're from the Western Continent. From the boss to the henchmen, you can't find a single white person; they're all black."

"Damn it!!" the Prime Minister roared, slamming his fist on the railing, his wine glass shattering with a crash. "They've gone too far! Where are the police? What are they doing! Arrest them all and hang them!"

“Your Excellency Prime Minister, that’s Eswell. Your words don’t carry any weight there; they only care about money. But their law enforcement officers are paid by gangsters. Who can I turn to?”

What about diplomatic channels?

"It's no use. Smuggling arms is strictly prohibited by Grindelwald College. Our councilors can't help. The most influential councilor in the Aswell Parliament is now openly siding with the rebels. Our councilors are trying to bring him down, but that's Aswell after all. The Parliament's efficiency is slower than the efficiency with which we British nobles pay taxes."

The Prime Minister irritably rubbed his hair, but the thought of having to report to the capricious Emperor later forced him to straighten it.

Britain has had three prime ministers in just two months.

The reason his two predecessors were dismissed was simple—'lax supervision of the sword-drawing ceremony'.

Britain is a vast country with numerous provinces, and also has a large amount of noble territory, resulting in a population of several million aged 15 to 17. It would be far from easy to gather all these people, regardless of class, wealth, or health, at the king's command and send them to the old capital to test the holy sword.

Among the dismissed prime ministers was even a highly senior earl, who was still ruthlessly removed by the king. Dismissal did not mean the loss of his title; however, the whereabouts of the two dismissed prime ministers remained unknown. After their last meeting with the king, they simply vanished without a trace, and the cabinet was subsequently ordered to search for a new prime minister.
Lawrence felt a surge of fear at the thought of meeting the king with bad news.

He was merely a newly appointed nobleman, his title only held for a few generations, a scapegoat pushed up by the cabinet. To satisfy King Aaron's demands, Lawrence went to extreme lengths, searching every household, a practice that surpassed even the conscription during the war against demons. This caused widespread public resentment; the king was still dissatisfied with the speed at which the sword was drawn, while the poor prime minister had to suppress protests and demonstrations across the country.
"I don't think the seizure of the weapons was that simple. How could a mere gang dare to offend us? There must be someone behind them giving orders to act so brazenly," the investigator analyzed.

"However, the problem now is that even if we restore all the production capacity of our military factories, it will take three months before the newly produced siege weapons can be supplied to the front lines in large quantities. If Eswell cannot act as a munitions broker, our army will have to rely on fists, knight's swords, and longbows to deal with those damned city gates, which were built to resist the demons!"

The Prime Minister roared.

"Don't rush, three months is fine~" The investigator revealed a meaningful smile, "The rebels have already been surrounded and killed by the army in Wol Province. Can't our great Britain, the nation of the dragon, wait even three months?"

The Prime Minister's face turned cold.

"The country can wait three months, Your Majesty." The Prime Minister stopped abruptly.

"Hey, you can't just say that."

"This is not the attitude a Dragon Tomb steward should have." The Prime Minister's face showed displeasure. "In any case, you must remain loyal to His Majesty sitting on the throne."

The 'Dragon Tomb Deacon' is a British intelligence agency and also the kingdom's department responsible for managing extraordinary individuals.

Clearly, the frivolous man reporting to the Prime Minister was no ordinary person.

“Of course, before taking the extraordinary potion, one can sign and pledge allegiance to the King of Britain on the Dragonbone Altar, offering one’s life.” He paused, then said meaningfully, “But like King Arthur to King Aaron, whoever it may be, we are only allegiance to the one sitting on the throne.”

The Prime Minister remained silent.

If we continue, we will be overstepping our bounds.

They were all subjects born under the benevolent rule of the old king, and none of them liked the current tyrannical and cruel ruler who had murdered his brother and usurped the throne. "Let me give you a suggestion," the deacon said. "It's not that the arms transport can't continue without Eswell." He continued, "You could ask His Majesty to request the Eternal Church to have the Holy Lord think of a solution."

"Are you joking?" the Prime Minister asked coldly.

Who in the world today doesn't know which religion's prophecy gave rise to the title of "Child of Prophecy"?

The fact that the rebel party has managed to hold out until today despite the army's siege is something everyone knows is secretly supporting.

"Don't forget, the Holy Lord is His Majesty's godfather. Back when the late king was still alive, the Holy Lord did not choose the eldest prince, but chose the second prince as his successor. However, the late king did not take into account the advice of the Eternal Church and insisted on making the eldest prince the king, which led to everything that followed."

The prime minister, a believer in the Dragon Lord, instinctively defended his faith, saying, "The Holy Lord is also human, not omniscient and omnipotent, and may make mistakes. No, this proves nothing."

He quickly looked to the side, and thankfully no one on the balcony heard what he said.

To say that choosing the second prince, Aaron, was a "misjudgment" is to question the legitimacy of the current king.
If someone hears this, they could lose their head.

"That was no misjudgment."

The butler snapped his fingers.

Their voices, as if they had traveled thousands of miles away, could no longer be heard by the outside world.

"More than twenty years ago, a cult ritual occurred in the royal city, which resulted in a maid's soul being extracted, leaving her a soulless person. This event is recorded in the archives of the Dragon Tomb Steward. Although most of the files have been destroyed, the remaining traces all point to the fact that this event was related to the Second Prince at the time."

The prime minister frowned, but chose not to interrupt these secrets he shouldn't be hearing.

“Even I, a Sequence Six, can find this information. There’s no reason why the Eternal Church, which was in charge of handling that matter that year, wouldn’t know who initiated the cult’s ritual.”

Even so, the Holy Lord still chose to baptize the second prince after that.

The prime minister's eyes narrowed sharply.

He was chosen as prime minister and has persevered under the king's oppressive rule to this day. In any case, he is an extremely intelligent man.

The steward didn't say anything more, but the prime minister already understood.

The Holy Lord never chooses the future king according to his own will.

Instead, one should report to the gods and await divine will.

If choosing Aaron was the Dragon Lord's intention from the beginning, then the subsequent conflicts between brothers due to the late king's decision on primogeniture, and everything else...
Perhaps the Dragon Lord saw and tacitly approved of all of this.

"In my personal opinion," the deacon said calmly, "the content released by the sect is not the entirety of the Dragon Lord's prophecy. The Dragon Lord probably made this prophecy much earlier. They are simply pushing forward the appropriate progress at the appropriate time."

"His Majesty has probably already figured it out, but he's unwilling to accept it. Just as the entire life of that prophetic child, from birth to drawing the sword, was predetermined by prophecy, so too is his life—"

"How dare you!" The prime minister pointed at his nose. "Do you know what you're saying? You Dragon Tomb stewards want to be traitors?!"

The deacon raised his hands, smiling broadly.

He knew Lawrence wouldn't report him.

"I'm innocent, Your Excellency! I was wholeheartedly serving His Majesty, as were my colleagues. I went to Aiswell when you summoned me." The deacon paused, then added, "However, let me remind you: before the great beings of time, past, future, and eternity, don't get yourself caught up in their illusions."

"Whose idea is this?" Lawrence stared into his eyes.

"You are a smart person."

The deacon snapped his fingers, disabling the sound shield.

"We really hope you can stay in the position of prime minister for a while longer. After all, a smart person isn't that destructive. Don't panic, the Dragon Tomb steward is willing to support you."

“We have received information that a high-ranking member of the rebel party may have already met the Child of Prophecy, who is said to have ‘the demeanor of the former king.’ We have received information that he is a man.”

"This news should satisfy His Majesty with your work."

"Until the prophecy is fulfilled, let us do our best to maintain our country, okay?"

"You mean Aaron is conducting cult rituals in his home, and the Eternalist Church wants him to be king?"

Quinn asked incredulously.

The boss took a sip of his drink and shook his head.

"If the Eternal Church didn't want Arthur to be crowned, they could have confronted the old king head-on, but they didn't. Instead, they allowed the old king to choose his desired successor. The only reason they did this was to sow discord between the two brothers and ensure the future birth of a prophesied child destined to wander far from home."

"What is the purpose of doing this?"

The boss said with a deep gaze, "Gods are just more powerful beings, and the Dragon Lord is no exception. There are no prophecies that are destined to happen; these are just the futures that He wants to see."

"The prophesied child is wandering far away, perhaps with some purpose, but no one knows."

“Celia, will she be a hero?” Quinn asked.

"Only the Eternal Church knows that, given the Dragon Lord's prophecy."

The boss's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them.

"There are still two segments that haven't been released yet."

"What is it?" Quinn exclaimed in surprise.

"How would I know? Go ask someone who knows fortune telling, what good is it to ask a tavern owner like me?"

(End of this chapter)