Super Righteous Player
Chapter 625 - 166 The Assassin Sparked_1

Chapter 625: Chapter 166 The Assassin Sparked_1

...Is it me again?

Annan was momentarily at a loss for words.

He desperately wished that his first-cycle self had left a diary for him to read.

But what serious person keeps a diary?

Was Annan a serious person?

...Clearly not.

Yet he knew he didn’t have that habit.

As a result, Annan wasn’t clear on what the "past Annan" had actually done.

It felt like none of it was humanly possible.

But there was a subtle feeling that these were indeed things he could accomplish...

Annan was already uncertain about Vasily’s attitude towards him.

To say there was an enmity didn’t seem quite right. The familiarity and closeness between them weren’t fake.

Yet, if they were friends, the deliberate distance Vasily maintained, along with his constant half-mocking, half-smiling expression... made Annan feel subtly uneasy.

Just being in Winter had already left Annan quite baffled.

Taking into account the familiarity the Faceless Poet showed towards him in Noah...

Annan even suspected that he might have gotten himself into a lot of trouble during his travels around the world.

"Do you have any clue?"

Because Vasily’s attitude was slightly ambiguous, Annan didn’t ask further about the "Beauty of Imbalance" ritual.

Instead, he turned to look at the three "assassins" who had fainted and asked Vasily, "What about these three?"

"This kind of meaningless but desperate assassination... There’s no doubt they’re from The North Lands."

"The North Lands?"

"The North Lands Six Provinces Union."

Vasily explained, "It’s the six provinces at the very north of Winter.

"The current trend is that the boundaries of the major barriers in all regions are gradually shrinking. At first, we thought it was because the power of the True Gods was declining... but according to the latest curse research from two months ago, we can now confirm that it’s the power of the Mist that’s growing stronger."

"The Mist is getting stronger?"

Annan was somewhat surprised.

He quickly realized and understood everything, "Is the result of this research completely public?"

"Winter doesn’t have the spare scientific strength to conduct such research. It’s an investigation by The Holy Nation, and we can’t suppress it. Once the scholars knew about it, the nobles also became aware..."

The cat-woman chuckled lightly, her lips curling as if mocking something.

The light in the room was already dim. From Annan’s perspective, it seemed like half of Vasily’s face was submerged in shadow.

During the war of breaking ice, those local nobles were secretly undermining each other, but they didn’t dare to be so blatant about it.

After all, it seemed like the great-grandmother was about to wake up.

When humans are groggily waking up, they might linger in bed a while longer; but for a True God that is also a dragon, no one can guarantee how long this groggy period will last.

It might be years later, but it could also be a few minutes from now.

But if at this time, some new information stops them from holding back... It’s not impossible that they would strike at Annan mercilessly during this period.

The local nobles’ goal was simple, so simple that Annan guessed their intention the moment he saw the assassin—

They hoped that the young and capable Annan would be killed, leaving only Dmitry, who lacked the ability, wasn’t a Transcendent, and couldn’t procreate, to inherit the Duchy of Winter. Dmitry didn’t have the capacity, nor the energy, to squabble with so many people.

Thus, the only one in the Winter family who could leave descendants was Maria.

As long as Maria didn’t die, the bloodline wouldn’t be completely severed. Dmitry, who was to be the future Pope as their grandmother’s successor, wouldn’t be able to convert to the Goddess of Cup and conduct the "Child of the Cup" ritual.

And Maria herself was the Lady of the Storm, who could sacrifice herself at any time. Therefore, she couldn’t succeed to become the Grand Duke—this would leave a hidden danger to the rule of the duchy.

As long as someone could marry Maria and sire a male heir with the bloodline of the Winter family... This child would inevitably be able to inherit the title of the Grand Duke in the future.

This was also the reason why Annan was stranded abroad while Ivan wasn’t in a hurry to have him return to the country. It was partly due to trust in Annan... and partly because Annan’s return to the country might not actually be safer than staying abroad.

After all, Annan was not yet of age, and couldn’t immediately succeed to the position of Grand Duke while Ivan still had the capability to handle state affairs.

If Annan were to return, he would have to ascend to the throne immediately—even if he couldn’t immediately take over all the Grand Duke’s powers, he would still be entitled to the protection of the Hand of Winter.

The Hand of Winter, after all, is a special service agency responsible only to the Grand Duke.

Even the Grand Duke’s first heir does not have the authority to mobilize them. This is not just a matter of ceremony and rules... Until Ivan hands over the tricolor scepter to Annan, the Hand of Winter must obey and protect Ivan.

In this way, they could go against Annan’s wishes in secret or act against his interests.

Even if Annan was willing to trust them, Ivan couldn’t.

After all, there was the precedent of the Winter Reverser.

They must remain sufficiently vigilant.

The Hand of Winter isn’t an absolutely unbetrayable golem Legion.

They are an extension of the cursed power of "Winter’s Heart." Their loyalty lies only with the Grand Duke himself... or rather, the bearer of "Winter’s Heart" who holds the tricolor scepter, not the Duchy of Winter.

This was why the Winter Reverser was able to betray the Duchy of Winter.

His actions, even if damaging to the interests of the duchy, did not harm the Grand Duke himself. Therefore, he did not trigger the counter-curse.

And he fled so quickly that Ivan didn’t have the chance to command him... Otherwise, it would have been possible to command him to confess all his conspiracies or make him commit suicide on the spot.

The Hand of Winter cannot disobey the orders of the bearer of the tricolor scepter, cannot take "harmful actions" against them, and cannot lie to them.

—Even if the Winter Reverser ascended to Gold rank, that Curse Binding would continue to linger within his soul, never to be eradicated.

But if one wasn’t the Grand Duke...

Their only obligation would be to the "command" issued to them by Ivan. If they harbored any hidden agendas, they could easily circumvent the rules of Curse Binding.

This is the main significance of assuming the title of the Grand Duke.

And without the protection of the Hand of Winter, how much could the underage Annan fend for himself?

Thinking this way, the local nobles directly sent a powerful assassin, intending to kill Annan before he could ascend.

Indeed.

A silver-rank Wizard of Destruction willing to lay down his life was already a rather formidable assassin to them.

It’s just a pity.

They were significantly behind on their information.

—They still thought Annan was the grand Ritualist from half a year ago.

Brother, isn’t your news a bit too outdated? I’m nearly Gold rank now, and you still think I’m not even worth a bronze-rank rookie...