Slayer of Gods: The Dragon

Iver was slightly surprised when he heard this. "Teach you to read?"

"Yes," Hai Na with a mix of nostalgia and delight, "There were actually very few educated people in our village."

"The entire Mubay County only has a population of about 300,000, most of whom are herders. There is only one proper city, and the rest are towns and villages. Our Eagle Cape Village has less than a thousand people, and there are slightly more cattle herders than sheep herders. Farmers usually grow potatoes and turnips, and occasionally some people grow ginger to make money."

"There were no factories or tall buildings in our village. The tallest building was only three stories high, and there wasn't even a middle school. I went to middle school in another town in Mubay County. The most famous intellectual in our village was Grandpa Jacob."

"He used to be a reporter in Bagpipe Town, but later left the newspaper to become a freelance writer. Bagpipe Town is very close to our village. Although it only has a population of about 5,000, it's a huge tourist destination—you can catch great trout and salmon there, and the scenery is beautiful. When people on Glass Island say 'go to the countryside for a holiday,' they usually mean going to one of the few towns in Mubay County, which includes Bagpipe Town."

"I went to middle school in Bagpipe Town, and I could easily run back to the village on weekends. But later my mother said that would wear out my shoes too much, so I stopped going back."

"Back then, my favorite thing to do was go to the Train Station and watch the crowds get on and off the train. I thought it was magical; getting on the train felt like entering another world, and the people getting off the train seemed to be from a completely different world."

"The people who get off the train seem like illusions, like a dream, a soap bubble. When the dream ends, they will disappear. Never to be seen again."

At this point, Hai Na smiled somewhat sheepishly, "It's funny, isn't it? After all, I had never ridden a train before. There was only one railway line in the entire Bagpipe Town. Of course, it doesn't seem like much now... after all, I became one of those people who left by train."

"No," Iver said seriously, "I find it very interesting, really."

This was the first time he had heard Hai Na recount her past.

When Hai Na talked about her hometown, she became exceptionally focused and very happy.

Her Deep Blue eyes seemed to shine, like a flawless sapphire.

She truly loves her hometown.

Hai Na said softly, "The Bagpipe Town and our Eagle Cape Village are actually only separated by a lake, Sapphire Lake. It's the largest lake in Avalon, and also the most beautiful lake in my opinion."

"There are so many swans living there—according to Avalon's laws, the royal family owns all the wild swans in Avalon, so every year Swan Minister comes here to count the number of swans and see if anyone is poaching them... This is the only 'minister' we can see from Bagpipe Town."

Swan Minister...

Iver was speechless for a moment.

... He could also be considered a minister.

According to Avalon's laws, swans were food that only royalty could enjoy.

Rather than food, it is closer to a symbol of an Path of Authority.

Occasionally, the royal family would bestow swans upon knights. These were primarily granted to knights who had distinguished themselves in service, or to ministers who had recently performed diligently. The knights who received the swans could then hold a banquet to flaunt their favor and honor.

However, in the last hundred years or so, the royal family has also begun to sell some swans to wealthy merchants at high prices; this is partly because knightly families no longer value swans and the symbols they represent as much... and partly because the status of merchants is constantly rising.

The Swan Minister was specifically responsible for managing the swans. He was responsible for reporting the swan population annually, treating sick or injured swans, and regularly supplying the royal court with a designated number of swans. His direct superior was the Minister of Royal Affairs, a position held by Hermes Arthur and Mycroft.

But this position is essentially a sinecure. You're only busy for a month each year; the rest of the time you're just slacking off. Because you don't get any real work done, there's naturally no chance of promotion. This kind of ministerial position on Glass Island is even lower than that of a university professor—at least professors can easily hold technical positions, and might even be at a higher level.

"When I was little, I would pester Grandpa Jacob to tell us stories. He later published the stories he told us into a book."

Hai Na said with great interest, "I still remember what it said."

"The most memorable one was a story about an animal kingdom—a world ruled by carnivores led by a red giant bear and a golden lion, while herbivores like white horses and Green Deer outwitted and outfought the giant bear to become the new King. The golden lion, however, was ripped out of the stomach by a black mole after swallowing it..."

"...Um?"

When he heard this story, Iver paused for a moment.

He thought about it carefully for a moment, then smiled with interest, "I see... So that's why you have the affinity to Path of Transcendence. It seems that it's not that you've gone astray, but that you do indeed possess the affinity to Path of Transcendence, which is why you instinctively remember this story, even if you don't realize the meaning behind it."

"Since that's the case, then I can talk to you about it. Senior, do you remember? When we went to the Pelican Bar, I asked you a question: 'Have you ever thought about this? Why would Avalon follow the Path of Authority?'"

"I remember."

Hai Na nodded honestly. "I've always remembered... you said you'd tell me when you got to school and had some free time. I've been waiting, but it's not good to rush you. After all, you've already encountered a lot of things since you just started school, and Final Exam are coming up soon, so you're quite busy right now."

"Now I'm going to tell you."

After saying that, Iver asked Lily to sit down as well.

He took a sip of tea and a bite of pastry, then his expression turned serious. "This is a secret I will never tell anyone else. After you hear it from me, you must never go out and talk about it. Just recounting this knowledge could get you executed."

Hearing such a strong and serious warning, both Hai Na and Lily were somewhat surprised.

They had never seen Iver so serious about something like this.

After they had all sworn their oaths, Iver slowly nodded and explained the story her grandfather had written, "This story actually has three layers. The First Layer is a typical fairy tale, while the Second Layer tells of the destruction of the Arctos Kingdom and the Herasul Empire. The white horse foreshadows the Round Table Knights of Avalon, while the Green Deer represents the elves and the Theocracy — the Theocracy is on a giant tree, entwined with trees and vines, and the deer is a symbol of the candle-bearer."

"The golden lion refers to the Herasul Empire, and the mole is the Si Cui Ge, also known as the ' Child of the Moon.' Because the Si Cui Ge can only be transformed after death, they will burst out of the ground after awakening, just like moles digging in the soil."

"I see..."

Hai Na suddenly realized. "The destruction of the Giant Kingdom of Arctos back then was actually related to the Theocracy... No wonder the Founding Family had a guardian spirit."

But she had some doubts. "But, at this level... it doesn't seem as scary as you say, does it?"

"Yes," Iver replied, "Because he has hidden a third layer of mystery in this story."

"Did you know that there was no such thing as 'authoritarianism' five hundred years ago? The Path of Authority is a relatively new one."

Iver revealed the secret knowledge he had acquired in the mid-game.

This secret was only discovered in the Shadow of Shadow of Avalon expansion. But it's actually only a top secret in Avalon; it's not so difficult to find it in other countries.

As the Founding Family, the Moriarty Family did indeed have this knowledge passed down within their ranks. However, the Old Moriarty disappeared before he could pass it on to Iver.

—But it doesn't matter.

It's fine if you don't pass it on to me, I already know anyway. If anyone asks, that's what the old man said.

Five hundred years ago, this path was called the Path of Power. Knights, warriors, berserkers, challengers, fighters... these were all Extraordinary Profession belonging to the Path of Power. The former master of this path, the Supreme Heaven, was in people's minds an incomparably huge bear whose whole body was burning with blood and fire. The Ursa Major is now His constellation.

"It is said that giants have the blood of Red Bear, which is why they are so tall, naturally strong, and able to run as soon as they land. The Giant Kingdom of Arctos therefore worships the Supreme Heaven, and they are all followers of the Path of Strength."

Upon hearing this, Hai Na's eyes widened suddenly.

"At that time, there was a legendary human warrior whose name cannot be mentioned. He was protected by the Red Bear and possessed great power on both the paths of strength and transcendence. In the end, he defeated the strong with the weak and killed an extremely powerful white dragon. Through the ritual of Path of Transcendence, he was bathed in dragon blood and transformed into a crowned white dragon, ascending to the Crowned Angel of the Path of Strength."

"Later, the Crowned Angel grew stronger and stronger, even surpassing the Red Bear. Eventually, he decided to rebel at some point. This Celestial Lord once again transformed into a human warrior and voluntarily descended to the world. He formed the Round Table Knights and, with the support of the elves, attacked the then incredibly powerful Giant Kingdom that enslaved and devoured other races."

"Whether human, elf, dwarf, or goblin, they are all slaves and food for the giants. They can even hunt dragons, and even the empire dares not offend them."

"At the same time, the Crowned Angel and the Supreme Heaven launched a war. A white dragon and a red bear clashed in the Dream Realm, causing a corner of the Dream Realm to collapse. The ' Fallen Abyss ' region of the Dream Realm today is the huge crater created when the Dream Realm hurled the bear down."

"At that time, the war on Human World was going badly because the giants were too powerful. The twenty-one most powerful Round Table Knights drank dragon blood under the Holy Grail Ritual presided over by Guinevere, sacrificing themselves and transforming into powerful phantoms. They finally defeated the Giant Kingdom and beheaded the Giant King."

"The war lasted a long time. In the end, the Supreme Heaven fell, and the path changed hands. The path of 'power' became the path of 'authority,' and the Crowned Angel is now the Silver Crowned Dragon. Lancelot I was the only one of the twenty-one Round Table Knights to survive. The twenty who did not survive are the ancestors of the Founding Family of today."

Iver said meaningfully, "This is why Avalon exclusively upholds the Path of Authority... and it is also the real reason why Avalon forbids Path of Transcendence."