Chapter 312

"That's all?" Isn't that too simple? Redhead felt it was far too easy.

"It sounds simple," said the Saber. "It's just a matter of finding someone, asking for the location, and then going in to take the Xuanyuan Sword."

"But it's not that simple in reality. Take the Xuanyuan Sword for example, it's not something that just anyone or Valkyrie can touch."

"If things go wrong, it could backfire and control you."

"It's very dangerous!"

Chapter 346 Good Brothers Walk Together

Redhead was tempted, but he didn't say yes.

"Oh~ I know what you're thinking." Li Pu, now back to his original form, put his arm around her shoulder and said, "It's a cultural relic, right? I get it~ I get it~ We're from the same place. I know you very well."

Although Li Pu couldn't be said to be from the Celestial Empire of this world, he still understood the concerns of the Redhead.

If the Xuanyuan Sword were merely a legend, it wouldn't be anything special. However, if it truly existed, and was indeed the sword of the Yellow Emperor, then it possesses a very clear symbolic and cultural relic value. It's like the Holy Sword in the hands of the Saber" versus the Charles the Great." The story of King Arthur is a household name in England, and its tale is widely circulated throughout the Commonwealth.

Many movies have been made about King Arthur.

The real disadvantage for Charles the Great lies with the Holy Sword. This item isn't simply King Arthur's sword; the phrase "whoever draws this sword will become king" carries considerable influence.

The previous queen created a fake one and performed a sword-drawing ceremony, pulling out the fake Excalibur and becoming queen.

As for Charles the Great, he became the current king simply because there was no other heir. To pave the way for Charles the Great, the Queen announced before her death that Excalibur would be her burial offering.

Because the Queen knew very well that Charles the Great did not have the qualifications to become a God of War. Even if he were to draw the Holy Sword, he, as an ordinary person, could not do what a God of War could do.

So he simply declared this thing his burial item, avoiding the embarrassment of not being able to pull out the Charles the Great, and also avoiding the predicament of being unable to do anything even if he did pull it out.

However, this also raises a problem: because there is no such ceremony, whether Charles the Great has the right to inherit the throne and whether he can become king is widely questioned.

If it were just abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would just issue a few words and that would be it. But it's different domestically. England isn't a monolithic entity. England actually uses "England" as a collective term to refer to Sugeland, Etahland, Wetlands, and Sugeland itself. These places have historically had strong separatist tendencies. Since Charles the Great never drew the Holy Sword, Sugeland and Wetlands, because Charles the Great lacked the Holy Sword, weren't considered true kings.

They would not submit to a false king's announcement as a reason to further seek separation from this United Kingdom.

Charles the Great is racking his brains to deal with these separatists. Of course, he knows about the existence of the Saber and that she has retrieved the real Holy Sword! It's not the fake one that his mother took away.

But he's a master at playing dumb. Anyway, Saber isn't here, and she's not going around proclaiming her Holy Sword.

Charles the Great always pretended not to know.

In this world, the Xuanyuan Sword faces the same problem to some extent. Although there is no legend that anyone who pulls it out or carries it will become an emperor, the foundation of the modern Celestial Empire's rule cannot be shaken by a legendary divine sword.

But if it really is found, it represents a piece of history.

It has a clear and strong symbolic meaning.

Redhead knew he had ulterior motives; he genuinely wanted to find the Xuanyuan Sword, but once he found it, he wouldn't rush to hand it over to the state. He wanted to use it himself or allocate it to the Valkyrie. However, if he found it, he would have virtually no right to distribute it.

Being so proactive is indeed a bit...

What a contradiction!

If you don't seek it out, you'll succumb to temptation; if you do, a whole host of troubles will follow.

"Do you know why I suddenly brought this up with you?" Li Pu changed his approach; he didn't intend to explain the issue directly from the perspectives of the nation, cultural relics, or even divine weapons.

"This kind of weapon isn't something everyone is qualified to handle," Li Pu said. "Like the Excalibur I'm holding right now."

"This is the Holy Sword from the mythology of the Britain. The genuine article is extremely important to Britain in terms of both cultural and political value." Li Pu grasped at the air, and the Holy Sword was once again fully revealed before the Redhead. A golden guard, blue patterns and azure hilt, and a sharp blade gleaming with a cold light. It was a Holy Sword that combined modern simplicity with classical complexity.

"The current King of England is aware of the existence of this sword," Li Pu said to himself. "As long as he can possess this sword, none of the problems he is currently facing will be problems."

"Then why didn't he come to me to ask for the Holy Sword?"

"Well..." Redhead was about to answer when Li Pu spoke first, "Because all of this has one prerequisite: that Charles the Great can pull out this sword. If he can pull it out and gain Excalibur's approval, then everything will be easy to discuss, and all the problems he is facing will be solved."

"What if it can't be pulled out?" Li Pu changed the subject with a hint of sarcasm. "Not only his position, but the entire existing Britain ruling system he represents will be shaken. And if someone else were to pull out the sword at that time, it would be a disaster for Britain. So from the hammer to the prime minister to the cabinet, no one in London has paid any attention to the Holy Sword."

"And nobody will ask about Artoria Pendragon's current situation," Li Pu said. "They all pretend not to see it."

"Of course~" Li Pu patted the Redhead on the shoulder and said, "I'm not saying this to discuss with you the political and cultural impact that would be if the Holy Sword and Artoria Pendragon were to be exposed to the British public under their real names."

"What I'm trying to say is that neither Excalibur nor the Xuanyuan Sword are things that just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can lift."

"You need to know that Excalibur and the Xuanyuan Sword are both weapons," Li Pu said seriously to Redhead. "They choose their own masters, and only those with potential are qualified to wield them. Perhaps it is because their former owners fought in many battles and left behind great achievements in history, giving these weapons cultural significance beyond their function as weapons. But these later cultural significances cannot represent their original meaning."

"As weapons, they either lie obediently in some seal waiting for the arrival of their next master," Li Pu said, looking at the Redhead, "Or they conquer all directions."

"They cannot be confined to museum display cases."

"So, actually, regarding the search for this Xuanyuan Sword," Li Pu said honestly, "As far as I know, the real danger isn't the enemies in the secret realm; those enemies might not be that strong. Rather, it's Xuanyuan Sword itself. If you can't conquer it or gain its approval, its own will can turn around and corrupt you, turning you into its puppet."

'A puppet of weapons...' the Redhead pondered this question.

He had never imagined such an outcome. Was what Li Pu said true? Redhead couldn't be sure, but the Holy Sword in Li Pu's hand reminded him that it was very likely true.

And don't we often see this kind of thing in martial arts novels? A supporting character gets some kind of magical artifact, but instead of having the protagonist's life, he is controlled by it and becomes a puppet.

That...

"Then can I?" Redhead asked hesitantly, "Be able to wield the Xuanyuan Sword."

"I don't know." Li Pu released his grip. Of course, he wouldn't say, "Redhead, you can do it." Because of his characteristics, there's a high chance he could wield the Xuanyuan Sword. If he said that directly, Redhead might think Li Pu's motives were impure.

Although my motives were indeed impure.

"But I think you should be able to," Li Pu said, as if to encourage him.

"Why?" Redhead was still hesitant.

"I am Herrscher." Li Pu pointed to his eye and said, "What makes you think you can hold your own against me for so long? Yae Sakura may not be a true Herrscher, but as Simulated Herrscher, she is not weak either. What makes you think you can hold your own against her?"

"Is it because of the Miao Dao you have, or because you're in the navy?" Li Pu shook his head and said, "Believe me or not, even if you bring ten more people with Miao Dao, I could defeat them in a minute. And don't even mention the navy personnel. I remember the marines on the ship were from your navy, right? It's not that I underestimate them, but even a group of them couldn't beat you. So how long do you think it would take me to defeat them?"

"Until they capture me alive?"

"So I think you underestimate yourself," Li Pu said. "You've never realized just how much fighting power you actually possess."

"So why not give it a try?" Li Pu asked again. "Besides, how could you possibly go alone? I'll be going too, and there will be others. We'll definitely go as a group."

"You don't need to worry about that," Li Pu said. "If you can really wield the Xuanyuan Sword, I will support you."

"Of course, you don't need to worry about not having any support; we will definitely support you."

In short, this is definitely not something that can be done by one person alone.

Redhead pondered this question, though he still had a nagging feeling that Li Pu was using him for some kind of joke, or perhaps... maybe... he really could.

Just like Li Pu said, if he hadn't thought about why he could fight him and Yae Sakura to a draw, he would have been completely lost.

Now that I think about it carefully, perhaps... perhaps I do have some things that are different from others.

Maybe I really will be able to possess that Xuanyuan Sword.

"If all else fails," Li Pu said, slamming the Excalibur into the floor, "You can try this."

"Maybe you can pull it out."

Chapter 347 Ten Yuan Per Pull

"Excalibur! Excalibur!"

"Want to pull out the Holy Sword? Ten yuan a time! Take a photo with me? Twenty yuan a time!"

"Ten dollars a time! For just ten dollars, you can become His Majesty the King of Britain! Don't miss this opportunity!"

(Whispering) If you can pull it out.

Things took an unexpected turn for Li Pu; the first one to excel or attempt to excel was not the Redhead, but Ai-chan.

Redhead had a lot on this to think about. Would pulling it out embarrass Li Pu? If he couldn't pull it out, was he overthinking things again? He was only slightly better than others, but he hadn't reached that level yet.

Anyway, I hesitated for a long time before finally getting started.

Then...

Then Ai-chan beat her to it.

As the ship's AI, she essentially controls the entire vessel. She can detect damage in advance. And that's when she discovered the business opportunity! This is the real Holy Sword! Not the fake one the Queen took away.

And then Ai-chan came up with this set.

Her reason was that the ship was damaged, and as the ship's AI, she naturally had a duty to raise funds to repair it. Moreover, it was Li Pu who caused the damage, and unauthorized damage to the ship would be punished.

However, if he is willing to temporarily leave the sword here and hand it over to Ai-chan to raise funds, Ai-chan can turn a blind eye.

Or say a good word for Li Pu to Archbishop Otto.

Li Pu, of course, was... (The Ai-chan is incomplete and lacks context.)

She acknowledged it. Actually, she wanted to see if anyone could pull the sword out. By any means necessary, even a crane would do. As long as you could pull the sword off the floor.

The Redhead next to her was eager to try but dared not, but after Ai-chan, many people came wanting to give it a shot.

This is a real Holy Sword, you know. Just touching one is enough to brag about for a long time.

Seeing so many people, Redhead didn't plan to draw the sword immediately. He'd let others try first, and then he'd go up himself. He wanted to see if this thing was really as Li Pu said, or as described in fairy tales, something that could never be drawn without approval.

And so, the three people, each with their own agendas, quickly pulled off this whole thing.

Ai-chan promoted it so much that within minutes the training room had gathered a large number of people on leave who couldn't disembark for the time being. Among them were quite a few who were eager to try it out.

Long queues formed.

Even if you can't pull it out, taking a quick photo is fine too.

And so, a group of people came in and a group left in this small training room, and then another group came in, but no one managed to pull out the sword.

"Um..." Redhead asked somewhat uncertainly, "Brother Li, are you sure it's not because you inserted it too tightly that you can't pull it out?"

"What do you think?" Li Pu rolled his eyes at the Redhead man.

He was pretty certain that, at the moment, the only one most likely to pull out the sword was Otto. Of course, there was also the Redhead beside him; if he truly possessed extraordinary talent, then that possibility certainly existed.

"Why don't you go up and try it yourself?" Li Pu encouraged. "Maybe you're exceptionally talented."

"I..." Redhead hadn't even spoken yet.

Ai-chan, who was standing nearby, overheard this and, seemingly adding fuel to the fire, said, "Why don't you give it a try? It's no big deal if you can't pull it out. The legendary Holy Sword and its master are right here. It's not shameful if you can't pull it out."

"By the way, I'll give you 100 for your own photo. 200 for a picture." Ai-chan raised the price significantly without hesitation.

"Huh?! Why?!" Redhead cried out in despair over his wallet, "How come I have so much more money?"

"Because he said you could probably pull it out." Ai-chan pointed at Li Pu and said, "If you pull it out, then this whole thing is over, isn't it? I haven't raised enough money to repair the ship yet, so it's no big deal for you to pay a little more, right?"

"This ship is being maintained by Schicksal," the Redhead said sarcastically. "And you stole my crates! Even though the crates are all back, you haven't paid a single penny of the agreed-upon profit!"

"You actually dare to ask me for money!"

"One thing at a time." Ai-chan said a little guiltyly, "This matter cannot be compared to that matter."

"Just tell me whether you're going to pull it out or not!"

Redhead hesitated, and while he hesitated, the crowd stirred. The person who caused the commotion soon appeared in front of the trio who had gotten into the mess.

Otto!

He knew that Li Pu was sparring with Redhead; after all, he was the ship's supervisor. He would know the general situation on board. However, he never expected that a mere sparring match would cause such a commotion.

He glanced at the Holy Sword that was being displayed to him for the first time and couldn't help but feel a bit of a waste, asking, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much," Li Pu said with a nonchalant shrug. "Just seeing who could pull out the Holy Sword."

"You call this nothing?" Otto's face immediately turned slightly red as he said, "Kallen! Are you trying to cause some kind of international dispute? There are many Britain people on this ship."

"What are you doing...?"

He's riding right on top of the Britain's Charles the Great and dealing damage!

Cha Charles the Great is pretending to be dead about this, acting like he knows nothing. But you, on the other hand, take out the sacred relic with the Britain and let people take pictures of it, even making them try to pull it out! Luckily, none of them could pull it out.

Even if they can't pull it out, if they make this a big deal and everyone knows about it, Charles the Great definitely won't be able to sit still!

Otto didn't care much about the current Sunset Britain, but although Sunset still had some international influence, and Schicksal Mandate had just offended the Celestial Empire, he didn't want to cause any more international disputes with Britain. His gaze swept over the people who had gathered to watch the commotion, and the once bustling training room instantly became empty.

"This game is no fun at all," Otto said angrily. "Put away your Holy Sword."