Chapter 346: Holy Relics Compilation Institute, Spirit Descent Scholar

Chapter 346: Chapter 346: Holy Relics Compilation Institute, Spirit Descent Scholar

Necros pushed aside an IV tube blocking his view and dug a finger into his ear.

"Say that again? Who?"

"You heard me." Gideon could understand his old friend; he’d felt the same way when he first heard the news.

"The story is all over White River City. Even the street vendors are talking about it. I reckon it won’t be long before the news spreads throughout the entire Northern Kingdom."

As he spoke, Gideon used a Space Item to pull out a newspaper.

It was the *White River City Times*. This method of spreading information had long been commonplace in the commercial city.

He had been hesitant to show it to his old friend, as he knew Necros seemed to think highly of and care about the young man.

"However, after killing the Heroic Spirit, the young man also died in the Underground City."

"He died? What a shame."

Hearing this outcome, the shock Necros had felt just a moment ago actually subsided a little.

If the kid had faced Galeos, not only won, but also walked away unscathed, Necros would have really started to wonder if his own lifetime of combat experience had all been for nothing.

Still, the regret in his tone was genuine.

"By the way," Necros said, suddenly remembering an old acquaintance.

"Our old vice-captain, didn’t he get transferred to the Holy Relics Compilation Institute in the Royal Capital after he retired?"

"With something like this happening, the Institute must be in an uproar, right?"

The Holy Relics Compilation Institute was an organization with a profound foundation, a massive power on par with the Truth Mage Council within the Kingdom.

The organization didn’t research Magic or technology; they specialized in researching and preserving "history."

In this world, history and the people’s faith in Heroes converged to form a powerful conceptual force.

This was what allowed for the advent of historical projections and Heroic Spirits.

Within the Institute, there was an extremely rare and powerful special Profession known as [Spirit Descent Scholar].

Through specific rituals, they could temporarily borrow the power of Heroic Spirits recorded in the annals of history to fight.

And the Monarchs of old were the Scholars’ favorite and most frequently used source of power.

Now, Galeos had been solo-killed by a young man in front of everyone.

In the eyes of the Institute’s members, this was no less than the sky falling.

Once the tale of a Heroic Spirit’s defeat spread widely among the common folk, their faith in and reverence for the Bronze Dragon would be greatly diminished. This would directly weaken Galeos’s own power as a Heroic Spirit.

Furthermore, they were currently preparing a large-scale ceremony to try and create a miracle using the power of Heroic Spirits. Necros didn’t understand the specific Technique, but it seemed to involve fields like Alchemy.

From his vice-captain’s last letter, it sounded like some kind of Wish Skill.

This was the worst possible time for a Heroic Spirit’s power to wane.

"The Institute will definitely spare no expense to perform immediate damage control on public opinion."

Gideon nodded.

"Their official story is that the young man was only able to kill the Heroic Spirit because he borrowed an extremely powerful Treasure. A power left behind by the founding Monarch, Emperor Clovis."

Gideon explained.

"And what’s more, among the Adventurer parties that survived the Underground City, a direct descendant of the Valentine Clan has already stepped forward to confirm it. They claim that what the young man used to kill the Heroic Spirit was a gift from the Emperor that their family has treasured for hundreds of years."

Hearing this explanation, Necros felt it all sounded much more plausible.

But Gideon shook his head.

"I don’t care what anyone else says. I don’t buy that story."

"Why not? Someone from the Valentine Family came forward to testify personally, didn’t they?"

Necros was getting curious.

After all, he had read the biography of Clovis and knew that the Valentine ancestor was a great favorite of Clovis, who had bestowed many great things upon them.

Although the clan had declined after backing the wrong side, no one could guarantee that they didn’t have something left over from those days.

Gideon didn’t speak. Instead, he handed the copy of the *White River City Times* in his hand over to the sickbed.

"See for yourself. Look at the image captured by the Imprint Crystal."

Necros took the newspaper, confused.

The moment he saw the front-page headline, the relaxed expression on his face vanished, and he fell silent.

The picture in the newspaper was black and white, and because it was a photograph of the sky projection, the quality was somewhat blurry.

But in the close-up shot that took up half the page, he could still clearly make out the Dragon Horns on the young man’s head.

And at the very top of this image, a bold, black headline was emblazoned:

"Small-Town Genius ’Lance’! Fights Galeos Alone, Sacrifices Self to Save Ten Thousand Adventurers!"

’So he’s the one who died...’

Necros’s fingers tightened slightly on the newspaper.

After this catastrophic upheaval, the administrative office of White River Province urgently needed a perfect "commoner hero" story to divert attention and quell the public’s panic and anger.

And Lance, who had traded his life for everyone’s escape and successfully killed Galeos, was undoubtedly the most perfect candidate.

Necros quickly scanned the newspaper’s contents.

The report took up three full pages, filled with all sorts of exaggerated interviews with the local residents of Gray Rock Town.

The article portrayed Lance as a child of miracles, blessed by the gods since he was young.

For instance, "As a child, he accidentally fell off a cliff but miraculously survived by catching onto a tree branch."

"To protect his companions, he was once surrounded by seven or eight crazed wild wolves in the forest, but not only did he emerge unscathed, he even fought off the pack with his bare hands."

There was even, "He was once hit on the head by a heavy flowerpot that fell from the third floor. After being unconscious for several days and nights, he woke up without so much as a scar."

The newspaper was deliberately pushing a certain narrative.

Lance, who had been called the "Boy Who Survived the Great Calamity" by the townspeople since childhood, had always been incredibly lucky.

With his luck and strength, he absolutely could have escaped the Underground City lockdown.

But!

At that critical moment of life and death, his noble character, evident since childhood, overcame his instinct for survival.

He resolutely chose to die for the sake of ten thousand fellow Adventurers he had never met.

This greatly highlighted his moving spirit of self-sacrifice.

"What is this incoherent bullshit!"

Necros’s brows furrowed as he read.

"This reads like a story made up by some third-rate Minstrel drunk in a tavern. It’s full of logical holes!"

But as soon as the thought occurred to him, Necros instantly understood.

This was definitely the handiwork of that bunch from the [Holy Relics Compilation Institute], fanning the flames from behind the scenes!

They had to use this propaganda to make the public firmly believe that the reason Lance could kill the Bronze Dragon Galeos was not due to his own personal power, but the result of a combination of various miraculous "external factors."

Luck was the most important of these, and the masses love to believe in luck!

Sure enough, in the second half of the article, it described in detail how the Valentine Clan had selflessly lent out the Dragon Banner that contained the power of Emperor Clovis.

The writer used all manner of ornate language to craft the image of a commoner boy favored by fate, reliant on the generous aid of others, and possessed of a kind and resolute character.

This narrative both perfectly upheld the [Holy Relics Compilation Institute]’s definition of Heroic Spirits as invincible and perfectly fit the narrative needs of White River City’s officials, who wanted to create a commoner hero.

It killed two birds with one stone.

After reading the entire report, Necros set the newspaper aside.

Along with it, he put down the badge he had been holding.

In his life, he had witnessed the deaths and partings of too many friends.

So right now, all he felt was a slight tightness in his chest.

He had thought that here, in this remote little town, he had finally found a young man who could inherit his legacy and walk the rest of the adventurer’s path for him.

But he never expected that in the end, the old would be burying the young.

"Sigh..."

A long sigh echoed in the sickroom.

Just then, Gideon spoke, his tone complicated.

"You remember, don’t you? That night, we already saw what he looked like when he activated his Dragon Form."

If he hadn’t seen Lance activate his Dragon Form before, he might have also believed that the boy had borrowed the power of Emperor Clovis.

"At the time, he said it was a Combat Specialization, and I reluctantly believed him. After all, the only obvious feature he displayed was Dragon Pupils."

Gideon paused, his gaze fixed on the photograph in the newspaper.

"But now, you can see the Dragon Horns, can’t you? The blood of a Giant Dragon truly flows in his veins. He’s a true Dragon Descendant."

"And from the combat details described by eyewitnesses in the paper, what he possessed was the purest Red Dragon Bloodline..."

"None of that matters anymore."

Necros cut off his old friend’s analysis, his voice listless.

"Whatever his identity was in life, what’s the point of discussing it now?"

Gideon nodded silently in agreement.

"You’re right, it doesn’t matter. Otherwise, if people with ulterior motives found out that an unrecorded member of the Red Dragon Bloodline was wandering the Kingdom’s borders..."

Gideon couldn’t imagine the consequences.

"The fallout would be no less severe than if a member of the White Dragon Bloodline suddenly appeared out of thin air in the currently unstable Northern Territory."

"At that point, the entire White River Province would probably be dragged into a massive political vortex."

After a brief silence, Necros suddenly thought of something and threw out a question that instantly shattered Gideon’s composure.

"That young lady, Cecilia. Does she know the news yet?"

Hearing that name, Gideon’s old face instantly crumpled.

Ever since Cecilia’s internship ended, that old man had been writing letters every few days, each one filled with curses for Necros, accusing him of tying Cecilia to a dangerous person like Lance.

His old eyes had seen it long ago: the two young people, spending all their time together, had already become lovers!

He had been racking his brain about how to explain this to Duke Rosenthal, the man behind Cecilia.

Well, now the boy was dead. That particular problem was gone.