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This narration doesn’t sound quite right, either.
Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.
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According to the current logic, Henry Worden, [The Man Against Himself], appeared in Saltpeter Ranch to deal with the Bloodhand Brothers.
The Mother of the Bloodhand Brothers was a demon related to “blood”. The brothers might have inherited part of the demon’s power in addition to their mother’s forbidden knowledge. Thus, Henry Worden wanted to hunt them down.
However, the saints generally would not have a straightforward goal.
Once their “selfishness” grew stronger, they would easily deviate from the original path. If their state differed from the condition when the sacred bone accepted them, the sacred bone would abandon them.
This time, Henry Worden came here with a direct purpose.
His actions were rushed.
It wasn’t long before Annan left the Noah Kingdom. Henry went to the Noah Kingdom to kill the “Blood Fiend” during this period. Then, he appeared in the underground world, trying to eliminate the Bloodhand Brothers.
The situation showed that Henry was in a hurry.
Considering the purpose of this matter itself, whereby Henry wanted to stop the “Flesh of Sacrifice” from falling into the hands of the Fallen, it hinted that Henry had deviated from the way of sacrifice to a considerable extent.
Annan caught the attention of “the Flesh of Sacrifice” when he previously cleared the Sporeggar Mill Nightmare.
Back then, Annan thought that “the Flesh of Sacrifice” was without an owner, as it was in the process of selecting the next saint.
However, the Flesh of Sacrifice had an owner now.
Probably, that sacred bone had the intention of ”jumping ship”.
If someone with a more “sacrificing spirit” than the holder appeared, it might betray the current owner at any time. During this critical stage, it was quite dangerous to continue using the sacred bone’s power.
Once the “Flesh of Sacrifice” part left the owner, it would be a fatal injury.
On the other hand, Henry Worden didn’t hesitate to take the risk of the sacred bone abandoning him. He utilized its power to handle his affairs, demonstrating a spirit of sacrifice that ultimately slowed down the bone’s inclination to leave.
The situation reflected the “paradox of sacrifice.”
Then, there was probably only one answer.
“Is Henry dying?” Annan asked, “That man who is against himself.”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?” Salvatore was confused, “Probably not? If he believes that he is near the end of his life, he will leave the Great Barrier as soon as possible and enter the depths of the Gray Mists.”
When the saints sensed their impending death, they would retreat into the depths of the Gray Mists. This served two purposes: to prevent the sacred bone from falling into the wrong hands and being manipulated against their will; and to avoid the manifestation of a nightmare upon their demise, which could harm others.
While saints came in all types and personalities, they ultimately walked the path of righteousness for the sake of the world.
“No
 nothing.” Seeing that Salvatore was unaware of Henry Worden’s intentions, Annan didn’t intend to involve him.
“By the way,” Annan changed the subject, “What you wanted to tell me in the first place again? What did you want to say?”
“Oh yes!” Annan easily distracted Salvatore’s attention, “With the help of Tower Master Hugo, Senior Clarence has been successfully resurrected!”
“Which form of resurrection?”
“A resurrection that retains the soul and memory, like being reborn from a fetus.”
Salvatore added, “The situation with Don Juan is roughly similar. However, Don Juan was born into a distant relative of the Geraint family. On the other hand, Clarence, as a Silver Rank Wizard, has immense soul power. The tower master found a good ‘mother’ for him.”
“Which family is it?”
“Um
” After Annan asked this question, Salvatore’s expression became a little awkward.
He coughed lightly and said in a low voice, “It’s
 the Gerald family. You know who it is.”
“David Gerald?”
“Yes, it’s Gerald’s illegitimate daughter. She was raised in an orphanage invested in by the tower master Hugo before. She was fond of the tower master, so she proposed this plan after learning about it. Then, she will give birth to a child with Master Hugo to revive Senior Clarence.”
“She undoubtedly has the bloodline of Soul Snatch Wizard, so bearing Clarence’s soul power would not hurt her body. The other half of the bloodline is Tower Master Hugo, so the talent of this new baby would be superb.”
Salvatore’s expression was strange, “But something still feels off to me.”
“Maybe it’s fate.” Annan concluded, “I should pay a visit when I have time.”
“You should really come back.” Salvatore sighed deeply, “Hugo has a curse of ‘having no offspring’. He established an oath during his youth, which was used in exchange for a healthy body that would last forever.”
“After Senior Clarence’s new body is born, the curse will be triggered. Originally, a curse’s negative feedback would not cause death. However, when Hugo fought Bernardino back then, his soul was almost exhausted. Based on my calculations, Hugo might die within six months due to soul exhaustion even if he doesn’t get immediately killed by breaking the curse.”
In other words, Hugo exchanged his life for the resurrection of his beloved student.
“So, there’s still half a year left
” Annan murmured.
Salvatore corrected: “To be more precise, it would be half a year after the baby is born.”
“When is the baby going to be born? I’ll be back
 I want to name the baby.”
“That will be great.” Salvatore cheered, “Having someone of your noble status as the godfather to bestow names upon them. It might just make them luckier in the future. Who knows?”
“As for the specific timing, Don Juan is expected to be born in early May. Senior Clarence will be a bit later since the child was conceived not long ago. It will probably take about eight months, so around the end of this year.”
“It’s all after Kafni ascended the throne, so it should be fine.” Annan nodded, “I will attend the ceremony. I have already prepared a gift for Don Juan.”
According to the etiquette of Austere-Winter, the godfather should give the newborn a precious gift with a strong connection with the godfather.
The gift Annan prepared was [Annan’s Sword].
This was originally Don Juan Geraint’s noble sword. It accompanied Annan for a considerable period, helping him overcome the difficulties during the starting stage of the second playthrough.
Annan used it to cast Frost Sword many times, imbuing its blade with frost elements. Then, Salvatore upgraded it further, turning it into a curse sword containing [Arctic Cut].
[Arctic Cut: When it causes “cutting” damage to living enemies, it can cause additional frost damage that is difficult to dispel; when it causes “cutting” damage to ghosts and spirit enemies, it will convert the physical damage to frost damage.]
Its color changed from dark blue to purple after Annan used it to perform “Brilliant Sword”.
At the same time, a new feature had been added.
[Sword of Victory: This sword was once used by Annan·Austere-Winter. The glory of victory soaked is imbued in the sword. Its nobility and reverence are greater than bright gold.]
Although there was no substantial buff on the sword, the sword carried the characteristic of “nobility”. It could be used in similar rituals to replace scepters, rings, crowns, etc.
After Annan succeeded to the throne, this item had no use for him.
This was originally a temporary curse vessel made for spirit bodies.
What Annan preferred to use was his “inexhaustible” boning knife.
The [Sword of Victory] was originally Don Juan’s sword.
Giving the sword back to Don Juan’s reborn body was a cycle of destiny.
“By the way, senior.” In the beginning, Annan thought of what he wanted to ask, “Is your magic mirror still there? It isn’t burned to a crisp in the Black Tower, right?”
“Nope. It originally belonged to Teacher Benjamin. Later, the teacher took it away for something important. I didn’t pry further since the Teacher’s expression was so serious.” Salvatore explained.
He asked, “Do you want it? He will lend it to you if you ask.”
“Well, I will ask him later.” Annan nodded.
Annan cared more about what Benjamin would do with the magic mirror than borrowing it.
“First, I should investigate this group of assassins and then ask Benjamin more about it.”
As for the Bloodhand Brothers and Captain of the Stone

Annan hesitated momentarily but decided to ignore them for the time being.
Annan was quite occupied, and he trusted his players to deal with them.