Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Han Jin quietly stared at the corpse in front of him. In fact, it was now no longer a corpse as he had already started breathing, but the wound on his forehead had not completely healed yet, making him look horrifying.
After a moment, the man slowly opened his eyes and noticed Han Jin. As he turned his head to look at Han Jin, he accidentally touched one of his wounds, making him frown in pain.
“Painful?” Han Jin softly asked.
If it were any ordinary person who had seen an archbishop lying like that, they would have offered some sort of comfort, but Han Jin was a peculiar person; he even sounded a little rude. However, the man in front of him was even more peculiar. He closed his eyes and replied, “My heart hurts.”
“He was a friend of yours?” Han Jin raised his eyebrows. His question was speculated from the man’s answer.
“Friend? Haha… you’re not wrong.” The man started laughing.
Han Jin paused for a moment. “Is there anything I can help you with ?” In fact, if he were to release the Charm of Spirit Refreshment, it would greatly help this man, but he couldn’t; there are too many ungrateful people in this world. Plus, he doesn’t owe this man anything. The man in front of him had been helping himself, and all Han Jin could do was to not add salt to the wound. If he had exposed himself and created any illusions of himself, the consequences would be unbearable. Han Jin did not have the guts to be careless in front of someone who was as powerful as Guevara.
“If possible, could you help me sit up and find me a cane?” The man’s voice was a little hoarse. “It is comfortable lying on the floor, but it’s a little embarrassing.”
The surrounding area had been completely destroyed by the curse, and Han Jin had to find a strong branch somewhere further away. When he returned to the pit, he helped the man sit up and realized that the man’s body was as soft as a dough. “Are you very weak now?” Han Jin asked.
“My magic power has been badly damaged.” The man laughed. “The Salvation of the Angel of Light was able to save my life, but it wasn’t able to replenish the magic and physical strength that I had used. I’m just a piece of rubbish now that could be easily killed by a mere child.”
“You shouldn’t tell me this,” Han Jin softly said.
“It doesn’t matter. If the Almighty God wants me dead, I might as well be,” the man said while trying to stand with the help of the branch. Han Jin reached out to help but was stopped by the man when he shook his head.
Han Jin decided to move aside. For the man, the action of just standing had already exceeded his capability. His chest was heavily moving up and down while his body trembled like a patient having a high fever. The branch that he was using as a cane was also shaking.
“Hmph… Don’t I look like a child who’s learning how to walk…” The man laughed, but before he could finish his sentence, the branch slipped and the man stumbled.
Han Jin couldn’t help but shake his head as he walked toward the old man. He helped the man stand up, and this time, the man did not reject his offer and allowed Han Jin to hold his arm.
The Salvation of the Angel of Light could only cure the current injuries sustained. His face had multiple scratch wounds – about a dozen of them with blood slowly oozing down from his forehead to his chin – but he didn’t seem to be bothered by it. Han Jin couldn’t understand the man in front of him and stared at the man.
“Why are you looking at me?” The man noticed Han Jin’s stare.
“You were attacked by your friend…”
“I know.”
“He even inserted several arrows into your body as if he were trying to frame someone.”
“I know. I even know that he stabbed himself with an arrow as well. What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… you don’t look mad at all, so I was just curious.” If he were to put himself in the other man’s shoes – if he were to be attacked by his own friend – the first thing he would do was to cultivate and take revenge on the murderer! The man’s reaction definitely wasn’t a common man’s reaction. At least for Han Jin, he would not be able to laugh about it.
The man paused for a moment and said, “I… I have always been living in his shadow.”
“As in your friend? The murderer?” Han Jin interjected.
“Yes.” The man nodded his head. “For now, at least I don’t live in his shadow anymore. You wouldn’t understand. I have never been this happy. This piece of land, this forest, and the beautiful night sky, along with you, a stranger, gives comfort. In the past, I had always been so busy that I had never had the chance to fully enjoy myself.”
“You don’t hate your… friend?” Han Jin couldn’t hold it anymore and asked directly.
“Why should I? Everyone has been saying that we are very similar people, but… I have never had such wild ambitions like him. The man laughed. “Plus, he had reason to kill me. I indeed wanted to surpass him.”
“Surpass him? This shouldn’t be a reason to kill someone.”
The man looked at Han Jin. “If your friend’s powers were beyond yours, what would you do?”
Han Jin thought about Moxinke, Sunier, and even Cessacioun, Reg, and the rest of them. After a while, he smiled and said, “I would be happy for them.” Han Jin was telling the truth. He was a cultivator, and his target was to be immortal. He had never considered his friends as a target for him to surpass or defeat. If Moxinke and the rest were powerful enough, he would rather be the person hidden behind the scene. The leader that he was in the past was because he had to support Moxinke and the rest. As for being indifferent about Guevara and Ronning’s decision, it nothing to do with being greedy for power. It was also because Reg was not the most suited person, and Han Jin agreed with Guevara and Ronning’s decision; the Riptide Regiment would be annihilated by others if Reg were to be in charge.
The man stared at Han Jin as if he were trying to judge if Han Jin was telling the truth. After a while, he sighed and said, “Maybe you would sincerely be happy for your friend, but he couldn’t. The great King Nicholas would never allow anyone, any living creature, to surpass him. If he was strong enough, he would even challenge God.”
“Your friend is called Nicholas? He’s… a king??” Han Jin asked out of shock. No one would simply be proclaimed as king unless he was in control of at least seven or eight provinces. Back in Isolated Cliff City, if they added all the lord’s territories together, along with the Grand Duke Solomen and Lord Fossa’s Fatto city, it would only add up to nine provinces.
“Yes.” The man softly said, “My name is Jeddes, the Archbishop of the Iron Fist Diocese, and Supreme Arbiter of the tribunal. Friendly stranger, what’s your name?”
“I’m Raphael.”
The man was stunned. “That’s all?”
“How complicated should it be?”
“You should at least tell me which city you’re from?”
“Black Raven City.”
“It does ring a bell.” Jeddes thought for a moment but then shook his head. “I can’t remember, but… it’s just an ugly name.”
“True.” Han Jin agreed with the man while nodding his head. “I should tell them to change the name of the city to avoid any misunderstandings. They might think that I’m one of Zaganide’s men.”
“You’re a… new lord?”
“Not yet. ” Han Jin paused for a while. “How did you know? ”
“No one can just randomly change the name of a city other than the lord himself.” Jeddes slowly said, “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re a lord?”
“Positions are a thing that may change any time, whereas my name will always stay the same, so there’s no need to mention it.”
“A thing? You really don’t care much about your position.” Jeddes laughed.
Han Jin shrugged but didn’t say anything.
“I thought that you were just a powerful mercenary; never thought that you would be a lord.”
“As I said, I’m still not a lord.” Han Jin suddenly stopped. “Powerful? How did you…”
“There are so many footprints here, which means that you didn’t come alone. They are your companions?” Jeddes laughed. “You asked them to leave because you were worried that an accident may occur, and your companions agreed with you, which shows that they really trust you.”
Han Jin’s face turned red. It wasn’t difficult for him ti be able to figure these our as there were clues lying around but the man’s reaction was too peculiar. There was no crying, no anger, nor sorrow seen. From his appearance, he didn’t look like a deceased, so Han Jin had concentrated on guessing the story behind the scene and had forgotten all the superficial matters.
Han Jin bent down, picked up an arrow, and passed it to Jeddes. “The method that your friend used is a little naive. Look, the names are written on it; who can he deceive?”
“He even pierced himself with one of these arrows.” Jeddes didn’t continue the topic. “There are three types of people in the world. The first types are fools. As soon as they find out that their king was ambushed, they would be extremely furious. Whether or not it was a naive method or not, they don’t care. The other type would be ordinary smart people. They know how to analyze and won’t simply believe anything. When they see these kinds of naive things, they will definitely suspect. The last kind are extremely smart people. They know how to plot things for the far future and are more meticulous than ordinary people. They would never believe that the extremely smart King Nicholas would use such a naive method to deceive everyone. Do you understand?”
Han Jin felt a little awkward and said, “So I am an ordinary smart person?”
Jeddes laughed. “I can guarantee that when Nicholas returns with those injuries, he will insist that Lola was innocent and that both of them were framed by others.”
“Then, why don’t you return to expose his conspiracy?”
“It’s too late.” Jeddes eyes were filled with sorrow. “He brought me wandering around this forest for four months before killing me. Within these four months, he would have made preparations! If I were able to notice his conspiracy four months ago, I could still stop him but… it’s too late. I have never been his opponent, and plus, he had an extra four months to prepare for this… Look at me now, I’m so useless. How will I be able to walk out of this forest?”
“You… can hire us to send you back.”
“You would? If I am able to satisfy one of your requirements, would you?” Jeddes said while smiling.
“No!” Han Jin rejected the offer as he didn’t want to be involved in this matter. “But… you actually didn’t have to tell me so much. You could have lied to us and just gotten us to send you back!” Han Jin also started acting weird as he started to help the man think of an excuse.
“I never lie.” Jeddes lightly said, “I have never lied and will never lie.”
Han Jin was dumbfounded. The phase ‘I never lie’ was already a lie. He doesn’t believe that there could be anyone in this world that has never lied, but Jeddes’s eyes were extremely firm and persistent. He really couldn’t understand what Jeddes’s mental support was as he said such ridiculous things.
“The person named Lola whom Nicholas is trying to frame… his plans should involve a lot of people right? At least your friends and families will be involved. If you were to lie to us, you would still have a chance to save their lives! You wouldn’t lie for this reason?!”
Jeddes’s face became a little twisted as his chest heavily moved up and down. His eyes were filled with sorrow, anger, hesitance, and even a trace of pleading, but after a while, he turned calm. Jeddes slightly coughed and said, ” Reason… is something that we will never run out of, just like losers. They will always be able to find all sorts of excuses for their failures and can even blame the gods, but there will always be failure. No matter what the reason is, you still can’t hide the facts! And lies… are just the same. There have been chances where I could have lied, and I have faced a lot of encounters where I have been tempted to lie, but even till now, I’m a believer and not a politician.”
“You…” Han Jin felt that the person standing in front of him was unbelievable.
“There’s no point going back now. Even if I’m in Iron Fist City, I will only hasten my friend’s death. No matter what Nicholas has plotted, he has made enough preparations, including failures.” Jeddes softly said, “My mission was to restrict Nicholas’s ambitions. To put it bluntly, my existence is only to force Nicholas from doing what he wants to. Since he is determined to do so, no one can stop him.”
“It’s not as if you don’t have a chance!” Han Jin tried to convince the man. “Maybe Nicholas’s power is great and your return will bring disasters to your friend, but… you could let someone else return for you. For instance, you can pass something that proves your identity to someone that you trust. At least, you shouldn’t allow Nicholas to just simply frame someone else right?”
Jeddes stared at Han Jin and smiled. “Can you help me?”
“No…” Han Jin blinked and didn’t know what to say.
“This is the only way, although the possibility of success is very slim.” Jeddes softly said, “Maybe from the moment that you expose Nicholas, you will be attacked by the Knight of Light, and even the Cardinalate. No one will believe you at all, but… this is the only way for now.”
“Wait, I didn’t promise you anything!” Han Jin anxiously replied. “I was just giving an example!”
“I know, you can refuse.” Jeddes said, “No one, not even God is obligated to sacrifice themselves for others. I don’t blame you.”
