Chapter 1645: The Ridiculous Crown
Hero Lox once held expectations.
In order to defeat the Demon King, he stumbled along the way, step by step becoming a true hero, scarcely revealing any missteps.
The pain and trials he experienced over the years were beyond what ordinary people could endure.
The Village of Heroes.
All who lived there were descendants of heroes.
Lox believed that, despite his initial mistakes being understandable, the descendants of heroes in the Village of Heroes would understand his hardships, accept his atonement, ultimately embracing his existence and treating him as a true hero.
But Lox was wrong.
Upon arriving at the Village of Heroes, he was met with a massive trial.
In the huge assembly hall, he was treated like a heinous criminal, coldly regarded by the elders and countless villagers of the Village of Heroes.
"Next, we will judge the matter of Lox killing the previous hero and stealing the Power of the Brave."
The elder sitting at the high seat of the Village of Heroes said loudly, unequivocally convicting Lox.
Lox clenched his fist, objecting in court, explaining to the crowd that he hadn’t taken the Power of the Brave, but inherited it unintentionally after killing the previous hero, and if possible, he didn’t want the Power of the Brave, he just wanted to be an ordinary civilian.
The villagers attending the trial from the Village of Heroes jeered loudly, wholly unbelieving of Lox’s words.
The Judgment Elder responsible for the trial posed another question: "Have you ever been grateful for acquiring the Power of the Brave?"
Lox did not lie, and truthfully answered, that because of the Power of the Brave, he embarked on a different life journey, making many cherished friends, indeed feeling grateful for having received it.
Halfway through his words, Lox suddenly realized the Judgment Elder’s intention, hurriedly adding that he was not happy because of the power of the Power of the Brave itself, but because of making companions during his journey.
The scene was filled with hisses.
Once a stereotype is formed about someone, denying that stereotype appears to be plain evasion to others.
Even if Lox was just stating the facts, others would nitpick his words, turning them into arrows of attack.
The Power of the Brave is the symbol of the Village of Heroes, sacred and inviolable, only inheritable by those from the Village of Heroes, outside members are unqualified to inherit it.
If we were to make an analogy, the Power of the Brave is like a crown, only those of the Royal Family can wear it.
If someone outside of the Royal Family wore the crown, even if it inadvertently came to rest on their head, it would be considered a high crime worthy of death.
The accusation, merely tarnishing the crown suffices.
Lox knew how to appease them...
By behaving like a lackey, kneeling and slapping his face, saying as he went: "I deserve death, I deserve death, I know my wrongs," perhaps could make them let go of the matter.
But...
Lox thought of one thing, since they so valued the "crown," why did they not take back the "crown" from him after he inadvertently acquired it?
The people of the Village of Heroes were nothing but cowards.
They wanted the honors and rights of a king, but not to bear the responsibilities.
They feared taking the crown, thus behaved arrogantly and aggressively.
In his repeated clarifications, Lox gradually lost patience, even though some conscientious elders of the Village of Heroes helped him, it was just a drop in the bucket.
Looking up at the elders of the Village of Heroes repeatedly attacking him, Lox saw only decay.
These self-righteous bullies, leaning on age and status, were the real rulers on the throne, the dispatched heroes mere puppets.
The crown was real, the king was not, which was truly ridiculous.
Lox couldn’t help but scoff.
No matter the place, there are always stupid and laughable people.
Ultimately, Lox decided to fight back, leaving the elders of the Village of Heroes speechless.
Lox completely lost the opportunity to restore his reputation.
At that time, Lox didn’t realize the severity of the problem, still naively believing that although the Village of Heroes had such old fossils, the majority should understand his actions as long as he treated them sincerely, one day they would understand him.
Because of the Power of the Brave, Lox ultimately stayed in the Village of Heroes.
Lox attempted to build trust with some young people, to integrate into the Village of Heroes.
But it turned out, hearsay was terribly destructive.
Once the image of a "thief" was established by someone with intentions, in this relatively closed-off Village of Heroes, in this isolated and helpless Village of Heroes, it was hard to prove innocence.
Lox recalled a story he had heard, about a noble teacher who, due to colleagues’ jealousy, was falsely accused of defiling his student and imprisoned, during his imprisonment, his "exploits" spread all over, and even though he finally barely proved his own innocence, no one ever believed him again, he spent his life proving his own innocence, passing away in melancholy.
Lox knew, unless stronger evidence was provided to prove his innocence, his life would be labeled by the Village of Heroes.
After much deliberation, Lox still decided to prove his innocence, while investigating the book Nanata Liu Li mentioned.
Of course, the Village of Heroes wouldn’t allow Lox to leave easily, but under the threat of not returning the Holy Sword, they finally agreed for Hero Lox to gather evidence to prove his innocence, with the condition that Lox must completely hide his identity and intentions.
Lox agreed.
He returned to the continent, starting his journey alone.
Lox’s strength at that time was the pinnacle of the world, no Underground Maze could defeat him, he successfully found the ancient text Nanata Liu Li mentioned.
This time, Lox took the original, leaving only a copy.
Lox wasn’t keen on Nanata Liu Li’s work, but remembered she mentioned that the Nine-Life Cat Demon excelled in ancient texts, if he found the Nine-Life Cat Demon to help, interpreting the ancient text wouldn’t be an issue.
Speaking of the Nine-Life Cat Demon, Lox naturally thought of his former companion, Scarjade.
Under Scarjade’s guidance, Lox went to the Nine-Life Cat Demon’s kingdom, learning the entire truth about this world.
In his shock, Lox also remembered one companion after another he had slain.
The fallen companions... were they also, like him, misunderstood, with unspeakable secrets?
Treasure the rare trip to the Nine-Life Cat Demon’s kingdom, Lox decided to pursue the truth to the end.
After learning about his uncle Clochi’s story, Lox’s mindset underwent a major transformation.