Super Righteous Player
Chapter 638 - 179: The Imminent Revival of Tan Juan and Clarence_1

Chapter 638: Chapter 179: The Imminent Revival of Tan Juan and Clarence_1

...This statement, however, is not quite accurate.

Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

If that was the case, Henry Walden, "the one who stood in opposition to him," must have been at the Saltpeter Ranch to deal with the Blood Hand Brothers.

The mother of the Blood Hand Brothers was clearly a demon related to "blood." Besides inheriting their mother’s forbidden knowledge, they might have also inherited a part of the demon’s power. It was no surprise that Henry Walden went after them.

But the actions of saints are usually not so purposeful.

Once their "selfish desires" become too strong, they are prone to stray from their original path. Since the state in which they were originally accepted by the Holy Remains could change... they could easily be abandoned by the Holy Remains.

Yet, Henry Walden’s behavior was very purposeful indeed.

One might even say that he was somewhat in a hurry.

Not much time had passed since Annan left Noah... and during this time, Henry had not only gone to Noah to kill the "Blood Demon" but also hurried to the underworld to wipe out the Blood Hand Brothers.

It was as if he was racing against time.

Combining this with the purpose of the act itself—he was preventing "sacrificial flesh and blood" from falling into the hands of the fallen.

Does that mean that he had already deviated significantly from the path of sacrifice?

After all, when Annan had cleared the Sporogenesis Mill, he had been noticed by the "sacrificial flesh and blood."

At that time, Annan had thought that the "sacrificial flesh and blood" was temporarily without an owner. It was selecting the next saint.

But if it still had a saint it belonged to now...

Then that meant it already had thoughts of "changing sides."

If someone with a greater "spirit of sacrifice" appeared, it could betray its owner at any time. Using the power of the Holy Remains at this time was quite dangerous.

If the "flesh and blood" were to betray its owner, it would generally mean an absolute and immediate fatal wound—

On the contrary, the very fact that Henry Walden was risking the possibility of being abandoned by the Holy Remains to deal with his "affairs after death" was a manifestation of the spirit of sacrifice. It was unlikely that he was about to be discarded by the Holy Remains.

—This was the "Paradox of Sacrifice."

Therefore, there probably was only one answer.

"...Is he about to die?"

Annan asked, "That ’opposing individual’?"

"Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

Salvatore was clearly a bit perplexed, "I think... probably not? If he had the mindset of dealing with his affairs, he would be more likely to leave the Great Barrier and enter deep into the Mist."

When saints sense their impending death, they enter deep into the Mist. On one hand, it’s to avoid their Holy Remains falling into the hands of those with evil intentions and being forced into control; on the other hand, it’s to prevent the nightmares formed when they die from harming others.

Although the types and personalities of saints were a thousand and one, after all, they were saints who walked for the world.

"No... it’s nothing."

Seeing that Salvatore had not noticed Henry Walden’s intentions, Annan did not intend to involve him in such matters.

"By the way," Annan changed the subject, "that wasn’t the original thing you wanted to talk to me about, was it? What did you intend to say?"

"Oh oh oh, right!"

Salvatore’s attention was easily diverted by Annan, "With the help of Tower Master Hugo, Senior Clarence has been resurrected successfully!"

"In what form?"

"The type where the soul and memory are retained, and he is reborn as a fetus."

Salvatore added, "It’s somewhat similar to Tan Juan. However, Tan Juan was born from a side branch of the Geraint bloodline... As for Clarence, as a silver-rank wizard, his soul-power is very strong. The Tower Master found him a good ’mother’."

"Whose family is it?"

"Hmm..."

When Annan asked this question, Salvatore’s expression became somewhat awkward.

He coughed softly and said in a low voice, "It is... the Gerald family. You know who I am speaking of."

"...David Gerald?"

"Yes, the illegitimate daughter of Gerald. She was raised in an orphanage funded by Tower Master Hugo... She herself had some feelings for the Tower Master, so after finding out about this, she took the initiative to propose the plan—having a child with Tower Master Hugo to resurrect Senior Clarence.

"There’s no doubt she has the bloodline of a Soul-Reaping wizard, so she can take Clarence’s soul-power without harming her body; and the other half of her lineage is from Tower Master Hugo, so the abilities of this body are definitely quite exceptional."

Salvatore had a strange look on his face, "But I still think there’s something odd about this..."

"Perhaps it’s fate."

Annan concluded, "But I should still take the time to go back and have a look."

"...You indeed need to make a trip back."

Salvatore sighed deeply, "Because one of the curses binding Lord Hugo is ’barrenness.’ He made a vow of childlessness in his youth in exchange for an eternally youthful and healthy body.

"Once Clarence’s new body is born, that curse will be triggered. Typically, a counter curse wouldn’t be fatal, but Lord Hugo’s soul was nearly exhausted in his death struggle with Bernadino... According to my calculations, even if he isn’t killed on the spot by the curse, Lord Hugo is likely to die within half a year due to soul exhaustion."

In other words... it could be understood that Hugo was exchanging his life, precarious as a flickering candle in the wind, for the revival of his beloved student.

"Half a year left, huh..."

Annan murmured.

Salvatore corrected, "It’s half a year after the child is born."

"When will the child be born? I will come back... I even want to name the child."

"I think that would be fine," Salvatore laughed upon hearing this, "Having a godfather of your noble status to bless the child with a name might even bring them more luck in the future."

"As for the specific time—Tan Juan’s final delivery date should be in early May. Senior will be a little later, as the child has only just been conceived. About eight months more, which is around the end of this year."

"That’s all after Kafney’s coronation... I should have no problem."

Annan nodded, "I will come back for the ceremony. I’ve also prepared the gift for Tan Juan."

According to the traditions of Winter, a godparent should present the newborn with a valuable gift that has a strong connection to the godparent.

The gift Annan had prepared was the "Annan’s Sabre."

This was originally Tan Juan Geraint’s noble sabre. It had accompanied Annan for a considerable length of time, helping him through the hardship of having nothing after regaining his memories and entering the second round.

Moreover, he used it multiple times to perform the Frost Sword Technique, imbuing the blade with the essence of frost. Later, Salvatore completed it, making it a cursed sword with the curse of "Extreme Cold Cutting."

[Extreme Cold Cutting: When it deals "slashing" damage to living enemies, it can inflict additional frost damage that’s difficult to dispel; when it deals "slashing" damage to specters and similar enemies, it can convert that damage fully into frost damage]

Later, after Annan used it to perform the "Brilliant Sword," it officially changed from deep blue to purple.

It then acquired a new property:

[Sword of Victory: This sword was once used by Annan Winter; victory’s glory is soaked into the sword. Its nobility and respect outshine even the most dazzling gold.]

Although it bore no actual enchantments, it seemed to be regarded as a "noble object" thereafter. It could be used in place of scepters, signet rings, crowns, and other items in similar ceremonies.

After Annan’s accession, this thing became practically useless to him.

It was meant to be a temporary cursed object created for spiritual entities.

He preferred using his inexhaustible boning knife.

This sabre was originally Tan Juan’s sidearm.

To give it back to Tan Juan’s reincarnate... could also be considered a cycle of fate.

"By the way, Senior," Annan suddenly recalled the initial matter he wanted to inquire about, "Do you still have that magic mirror? It wasn’t destroyed in the Black Tower, was it?"

"That won’t be the case, but it was originally Teacher Benjamin’s item. Later, the teacher took it back, apparently to use it for something very important... Since the teacher looked so serious that it was kind of scary at the time, I didn’t ask much."

Salvatore explained.

He then asked, "Do you need it? I think if you talk to the teacher, he would probably lend it to you."

"Well, I’ll see about it at that time."

Annan nodded.

Actually, compared to the use of the magic mirror itself... what Benjamin was using it for was what Annan was more concerned about.

"First I’ll get a clear investigation on this group of assassins who are two updates behind, then I’ll ask Benjamin..."

As for the Brotherhood of the Blood Hand and Captain Ship in Stone...

Annan hesitated for a moment but decided not to deal with it for now.

He really couldn’t afford to.

—He believed in the players’ abilities.

They should be able to handle it.