Henry VIII’s funeral unexpectedly made quite a clamor.
It was their king who died.
However, as “Child in the Cup”, he had always been treated as a tool to continue the royal bloodline.
People respected him, obeyed him, and feared him. However, they did not love him, much less of any reverence toward him.
This was also why Princess Royal Elizabeth did not encounter much resistance, as she held power when “Henry VIII was terminally ill and dying”. Elizabeth had a better grasp of the people’s hearts than Henry VIII.
Even a fool knew who to choose between the future king and the dying king.
Even so, whether Henry VIII had chosen an heir remained unknown. After all, his will would only be handed over to Silver Sire, and Silver Sire had no obligation to publish his will.
In other words, unless the king had publicly chosen a new king before his death, his “will” had no practical significance. What it represented was not the will of the late king but the will of the Silver Sire.
If Silver Sire was dissatisfied with the first-in-line heir or was utterly disappointed with him, He naturally had the power to establish a new king.
After all, this country was under the Silver Sire’s asylum.
The Silver Sire Church had infiltrated every aspect of Noah’s life. The price of the Silver Sire Church not managing the kingdom’s policies was their power to intervene in the royal succession.
In the typical ritual standard, the new king would not officially attain the throne until May 1st, the festival belonging to Silver Sire. At the current state, it was still early spring, having two months left for the heirs in their showdown.
Suppose there would be no major changes until May 1st.
Princess Royal Elizabeth would be the first in-line heir to complete the succession to the throne. However, Silver Sire might not necessarily let her inherit the throne if there were any major changes in the Noah Kingdom when she was supervising or a severe problem arose on her side.
In fact, this was also the reason why His Royal Highness Albert, the fourth prince, was ostracized and suppressed by his older brothers and sisters. That was because he had a good relationship with the Silver Sire Church.
While everyone was gearing up for Silver Sire Church’s eventual support or neutrality, he seemed to have befriended the judges.
But, he claimed at that time that he did not want to inherit the throne and had no interest in the throne.
Would anyone believe this?
Ministers and nobles formed different factions at the king’s funeral according to interests and kinship. Many people also surrounded the three heirs.
They did not chatter loudly but whispered and discussed in low volumes. But when more people gathered, the whispers became quite audible.
But the whole place instantly became quiet after Annan’s group entered the hall.
It was Silver Sire who walked in with Annan and Salvatore.
People sparsely stood up, then bowed respectfully to Silver Sire and held their hands on their chests.
“—Tribute to the silver coin.” Nobles, royal heirs, bishops, and the Supreme Pontiff saluted Silver Sire in unison.
“In the name of silver coins, I bless you.” Silver Sire smiled, placing his hands on Salvatore’s and Annan’s shoulders, raising his head, and speaking in a loud and clear voice.
People ended their salutes, looking up curiously at the two close to Silver Sire — Annan and Salvatore.
The nobles who could attend the king’s funeral had their intel sources.
At least 80% of them knew Annan and Salvatore. The remaining 20% did not know Annan only.
However, they were not quite sure why Silver Sire was appearing at the same time as them.
What does this portend?
“Go, Annan.” Just then, Silver Sire patted Annan on the shoulder.
Annan nodded. He calmly walked towards Henry VIII’s coffin under the puzzled and surprised gaze of everyone.
The sky above the capital quickly became overcast.
It was gloomy weather with a chilly wind blowing.
As Annan was getting closer to the coffin, it suddenly started raining at the funeral.
After all, it was a funeral. The guests’ entourage must carry black umbrellas because it was also a requirement of etiquette. Sometimes, it was even necessary to pray for rain to maintain a solemn atmosphere.
Those entourages immediately put up umbrellas for the nobles in their seats.
Fortunately, they moved quickly.
When Annan walked to the coffin, the icy drizzle turned into heavy rain accompanied by thunder in the blink of an eye.
The smell of this heavy rain would put the attendees in silence. An inexplicable and complicated suffocating air pressed on everyone’s hearts.
It was like clenching fists in enduring something.
It was like looking up at the starry sky, expecting something.
Mr. Kai, who was originally guarding the coffin, nodded to Annan and took two steps to the side.
Mr. Kai’s long black hair fell to his waist. He was wearing a white robe and a pure white mask. The bloody smiling face on the mask had turned into a clown-like crying face.
“Do you need me to open it for you?” Mr. Kai bent down slightly and made a gentle and magnetic voice to Annan.
Following his movements, an invisible barrier emerged above the two and the coffin.
Annan nodded respectfully, “Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Kai.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kai replied briefly.
He reached out and touched the coffin.
The coffin’s lid was like a magnetic levitation slide, which floated up and slid down, revealing Henry VIII’s overly young face.
Although he died, there wasn’t a gloomy death air on him. His face was still solid without sunken cheeks. Besides the slightly pale face, he appeared like he was sleeping peacefully.
Amid the surprised nobles chattering, Annan reached out his right index finger and lightly tapped on Henry VIII’s forehead.
The moment Annan touched Henry VIII, a glimmering panel flashed:
[—You have discovered a Truth Fragment.]
[Condition 1: No conflicting torn Truth pages currently held.]
[Condition 2: Hold Elite Rare (Purple) and above status template.]
[Truth Appears—]
Then…
Intense white light spread out with the point of contact between Annan and Henry VIII as its center. Then, it shot off from the ground!
That was the most sacred brilliance the attendees had ever seen.
Staring at that light alone would put them at peace.
The guests were basked in white light, but everyone present did not feel uncomfortable from the dazzling light and just stared at it subconsciously. They were like puppets whose mind was captivated by it.
Apart from Silver Sire, the only people present who could retain alertness were Salvatore, Mr. Kai, and Prince Philip.
After more than half a minute, the light finally dissipated.
Paper-like white pages with a jade-like tactile were suspended in the air.
Dark golden text swam across it like waves.
A glimmering panel popped up:
[Book of Divine Transporter, Page 3]
[Type: Truth Fragment (1/6) (locked)]
【Remaining fragment holders: 3】
[Appeared: 3]
[Description: A freshly-born Truth Fragment. Gather all the fragments to grasp a new “Authority”.]
Annan tapped on it silently.
Like a burst bubbled, it shattered directly out of thin air and merged into Annan’s body.
After a short delay, a few new lines of words appeared in front of Annan’s eyes:
[Book of Divine Transporter (3/6): Summon or dismiss a specified number of players from another world (80/300).]
[Current special effects (3/6): Allow players resurrection; Shared Experience Pool (2%); Teleportation Keystone.]
[Shared Experience Pool: 2% of the experience points (It has increased by ‘1%’,) obtained by players whose level is not higher than the host in any way (bonus experience points from ‘dungeon instance’) can be deposited into Shared Experience Pool. It can then be allocated to any ally unit (not limited to players).]
[Teleportation Keystone: It is possible to establish a teleportation keystone in a town of not less than “medium” size. Players can teleport at will via different teleportation keystones or return to the last registered teleportation keystone after a simple ritual. However, the current teleportation cannot overcome the barrier yet.]
“Let me introduce you,” The Silver Sire’s resounding voice came behind Annan, “This is Annan Austere-Winter. Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke, who is about to succeed the throne, the beloved descendant of the Old Grandmother, the newly born vessel of the Book of Truth, a coming deity in the future!
“—Congratulations to Your Excellency, Annan!” Silver Sire said with an impassioned voice in front of the deceased king and the future deity.
