Super Righteous Player
Chapter 872 - 409: The So-Called "The Rhetorician

Chapter 872: Chapter 409: The So-Called "The Rhetorician

"I never expected you to be the imperial tutor!"

Annan’s gaze shifted towards Victor, suddenly taking on a strange expression.

...It turned out that when he had taken care of the young Annan, his role could indeed be considered professional and relevant.

He seemed to understand why the emperor and his great-grandmother explicitly ordered Victor "to live on."

Rather than saying it was due to the burden of a curse or the repayment of sins, it might be more accurate to say... that indeed, there were people who wanted him to survive.

—This was not only about atonement.

More precisely, it seemed... it was to have him watch over the whole world or, in particular, to guard the Duchy of Winter.

"What exactly did you do back then?"

Annan couldn’t help but ask, "I looked into your history before... and it could be said that it was controversial."

Victor sighed, as if reminiscing about the past.

With his fingers interlaced, his hair covered in frost and snow, quietly hung down.

"I taught the princes and princesses about the dangers of curse energy when they were very young, and after that, we continuously debated ’how to restore elven civilization after the abandonment of curse energy’ as a way to cultivate wisdom.

"When the new emperor ascended the throne... Only after I confirmed that the new emperor was indeed supportive of the abolition of curse energy, did I ostentatiously kick off the ’national debate on the renouncement of curse energy.’

"And Nafry’s son... that is, Philip Flamel, carried on his mother’s will. In the final round of that debate, he beautifully defeated his adversary, earning the title of ’The Rhetorician’ from the emperor."

Victor spoke rationally, "So it can indeed be said that I seized the achievements that Nafry and others had made in their early lecturing days. Therefore, some elven historians are correct in their criticism of me—but conversely, it is indeed my actions that truly ended the curse energy Cycle, so some elven historians are correct in their commendation of me.

"Their lectures in various places faced indeed significant resistance but objectively awakened a group of young people with new ideas... who were not so severely dependent on curse energy and were therefore easier to rally.

"When this matter became a controversy, a topic everyone discussed, they were forced to think. And because they were young, or perhaps because they were rebellious, they did not hold much respect for tradition... Moreover, Elves inherently possess the soul of silver, born with goodness in their hearts. They inherently have the desire to sacrifice.

"This resulted in them being inclined towards ’the abolishment of curse energy.’ They only lacked a reason—a convincing reason.

"And the great discussion I convened at that time provided this reason."

Victor’s eyes were dim and deep.

Annan clearly perceived a familiar sensation emanating from him...

It was the feeling of resonance with the Elemental Power known as "Wisdom"!

"The debate itself was of little importance, the focus was on the ’nation’."

The last imperial tutor of the Aesirland Empire said slowly, "Elves are intelligent, kind-hearted, and have ideals... but this doesn’t mean they are omnipotent and cannot be led astray or deceived.

"This kind of national debate creates a ’sense of authority’. It rapidly forms a ’chain of authority.’

"Because the debater who doesn’t win here progresses no further, and he is inferior to the debater who defeated him... In this Cycle, the final victor is considered the holder of ’truth.’"

At this point, Victor snorted with scorn: "Truth becomes clearer through debate, but who can truly represent truth?

"However, for the Elves of that time, the ’Rhetorician’ winning that event meant ’the final conclusion from the national discussion by all the wise is the abolishment of curse energy.’ And because of this, the movement gained authority.

"But here, the crucial point is... His Majesty actually supports the abolition of magical abilities. So, no matter what, Philip will win."

"The difference is just whether he wins gracefully or not—and even if he doesn’t, people will only question Philip, not the Emperor."

"Then," Annan interrupted Victor, "does Philip know about this?"

"Of course, he doesn’t."

Victor answered without hesitation, "Debating requires momentum. Not to mention that Philip sees himself as the heir of his maternal grandfather and mother’s will, an ally of Justice... because he is a half-Elf.

"If he had failed in the final debate, he would have been despised by the alliance and scorned by the dissenters. But he withstood all this pressure and turned it into strength, convincing the six-hundred-year-old Elf Sage in the final debate at the ’extremely young’ age of a teenager.

"It’s a miracle—if he had known all along that he was merely a tool, a target, then he wouldn’t have had that momentum, nor could he have spoken such things.

"After that, they could proceed with the ’extraction of the Curse Cellar’ and, at the same time, promote the ’specimen preservation technology,’ selecting dozens of Elves at each settlement to enter an eternal nightmare, preserving the most glorious era of the Elf Empire.

"Because at that time, we had already anticipated that no matter how fast the technology to replace magical abilities was invented, it would definitely be much inferior to magical technology.

"Elves would eventually lose their unique technology far superior to other races, and the lofty status of Elves would also decline... This was something we had foreseen."

Victor said softly, "But some things must be done by someone.

"We are paying off our ancestors’ debt—if we don’t clear it, it will only accumulate more and more. One day, it will become too much to ever pay off."

"You have a great Emperor."

Annan nodded slightly, his expression turning solemn, "Knowing that doing this would doom the entire empire’s glory, making the Elves’ superior status no different from that of other nations’ people, he still dared to face the mistakes of the past..."

This was extremely dangerous.

One wrong step, and not only would Elves lose their noble status, but the barbaric people of Aesirland might also steal the magical technology... Not only would magical abilities be restored, but they might even be further abused.

This was entirely possible.

Fortunately, mistakes had been mended, and everything was developing in a positive direction... Although Elves had lost their magical abilities, they had also redeveloped steam and gunpowder technology, advancing what was equivalent to Earth’s early medieval technology by a thousand years in just three hundred.

But this raised another doubt for Annan.

So, why did the Aesirland Empire suddenly collapse?

The great barrier fell, the imperial capital collapsed, the Emperor died, Great Calamity Curios scattered, and many surrounding nations were destroyed, with millions or even tens of millions of people dying directly or indirectly... From glory to destruction, all within a few days.

What exactly happened at that time?

"...In a sense, Prince Philip might have been right."

Annan narrowed his eyes, "I have to thank him for the information he has brought to me."

Victor thoughtfully asked, "You mean..."

"I still need to meet with Chiron."

Annan spoke gravely, "If I do not figure out how the empire was destroyed back then... I cannot claim to be ’learning from history.’

"I can’t just leave such a great disaster unattended."

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