# Chapter 46: The Pure One
"Sit down."
Just as Joshua was observing Israel's character sheet, the Emperor waved his hand, gesturing for the warrior to find a seat, while he himself returned to the armchair behind his desk. Then he slowly said: "Very few people know about this hidden injury of mine. Teacher Nostradamus is one, Di Mo Er probably understands a bit as well, but Joshua, you are the first to see it for yourself."
At this moment, Israel did not resemble his usual self, full of the majesty of a hegemon. At a glance, he seemed merely a middle-aged warrior with dark golden hair and a calm expression, without any trace of the aura or dignity of a legendary expert.
"Thank you, but no need."
Shifting his gaze away from the character sheet, Joshua, who had already understood quite a bit, had no intention of finding a chair to sit down and chat leisurely with the Emperor before him. He shook his head and said bluntly: "The purpose of my visit to Morlai Palace is for Your Majesty's hidden injury. Anything beyond that is unnecessary."
The warrior's actions were always so direct. Under Israel's somewhat displeased gaze, Joshua stood his ground and began to narrate calmly: "Your Majesty's hidden injury was likely caused by a curse from an Orc Shaman decades ago. It was a cursed arrow imbued with shadow energy. It pierced your lower back. Although it did not penetrate the kidney, it was close to the spine."
"Impressive." Israel had been somewhat displeased that Joshua did not heed his goodwill but instead started speaking on his own. But after hearing this account, his eyes widened slightly, and he murmured in admiration: "Your analysis is absolutely correct."
As if he had not seen the Emperor's surprised expression, the warrior continued his narration.
"At that time, you were likely in the midst of a fierce battle on the battlefield, so you neglected this curse and continued to channel your Battle Qi to fight the enemy." Saying this, Joshua shook his head, somewhat regretfully: "The battle was long, probably exceeding a day. The curse's power, which could have been easily expelled, thus assimilated with your own power, even penetrating into the essence of your life, causing your life force to drain continuously, up to the present day."
"This is indeed a hidden injury difficult to cure. It is no longer a curse but has become a part of your life. To heal it, one must sublimate the essence of life. But a legendary expert has already reached the limit of transcendence in the Mycroft World. This is, in a sense, the ultimate. To sublimate further is almost impossible."
Israel was about to speak when he saw Joshua fumble in his bosom, then solemnly take out a small, transparent crystal. His expression was so grave that even the Emperor could not help but fix his gaze on the crystal.
Without any hesitation, Joshua directly placed the crystal in his hand on Israel's desk. He said in a tone devoid of reluctance: "Unless..."
"Unless I take the first step toward the realm of the divine."
Interrupting the warrior's words, Israel solemnly picked up the transparent crystal from the desk. The moment it touched his finger, it immediately released a violent, lightning-like energy. If it were an ordinary Gold-rank expert, or even an incautious Ultimate-rank who was not paying attention, they would suffer a great loss. But how could the power of a legendary warrior be defied by it?
In less than the time it takes to breathe, the lightning energy dissipated into nothingness, and the crystal was pinched between the Emperor's fingers. He gazed at this seemingly ordinary crystal, filled with emotion: "The first step, condensing divinity."
"This is a crystal containing the power of restless divinity. It should come from the one within the Erebos Box."
Setting the divine crystal aside, Israel was silent for a moment. He turned his head and looked at Joshua, who was still expressionless, and said in a low voice: "You could have kept it for yourself, or found a good time to sell it. Either way, you shouldn't have placed it so easily on my desk."
"Why?"
With the strength of a legendary warrior, Israel could naturally analyze the power within this restless divinity, thereby condensing his own divine power bit by bit and sublimating the essence of his life. This was more reliable than waiting for the agent of the God of Life to come and perform a divine healing ritual for him, and it could also enhance his strength.
But why? He was puzzled by this. Joshua had resolved the Erebos Box incident and unexpectedly obtained a divine crystal. This was not surprising, but the warrior had so generously given it to him. Even someone as magnanimous as Israel could not help but feel ashamed of his inferiority.
"Why?" Softly repeating the Emperor's question, Joshua's expression looked very relaxed. He smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you are a legendary expert. It will take me considerable time to catch up to your strength."
This was, after all, a real world, unlike his previous life. There were no endless wild monsters or dungeons. In fact, if it weren't for the nearly endless Chaos army from the other world, the warrior might not have even reached the Ultimate-rank by now. Thinking this, he shrugged and said: "I want to have a real fight with you, not just a sparring match with suppressed output. If Your Majesty were to die before then, I would be very regretful."
In his previous life, Israel's death was probably around five or six years later. Now that the era had been changed by him, Joshua also knew whether the time of his death would be advanced or delayed. But regardless, to reach the mid-to-high ranks of the legendary realm within five or six years, even he dared not boast so boldly.
"By the way, there are some things to be aware of."
Thinking this, he specifically explained some dangers related to divinity to Israel. As a unique power, one could only learn from others' divinity, not imitate it. The divinity of a battle-loving person was completely different from that of a peace-loving person. A power that was perfect for one person could be poison for another.
In his previous life, the Emperor should have also obtained this divine crystal, yet he still died. It seemed he had not noticed this point. The divinity of the God of Despair and Fortune was indeed somewhat mismatched for a sovereign like Israel. This point absolutely required attention.
"You've done me a great favor, Joshua."
After quietly listening to Joshua's explanation, Israel's expression gradually shifted from solemn to delighted, and then from delighted to calm. He stood up and said to the warrior in a formal and serious tone: "Is this also knowledge from the Sage's legacy?"
Without answering, Joshua remained expressionless, and the Emperor took it as tacit agreement. His gaze became somewhat emotional: "All along, those who treated me couldn't even see the root of my injury. Even if they could, they couldn't propose an effective treatment plan. Even the divine healing ritual of the Church of the Seven Gods, to be honest, was just a desperate measure."
"What do you want?"
Without too many unnecessary words, Israel gazed into Joshua's eyes and said directly: "The demon incident, the Erebos Box, and my injury—you've helped me a great deal, yet I haven't given you the rewards you deserve. But it can't be delayed any longer. Speak, warrior. As long as it's not too excessive, the Empire can fulfill any wish you have."
"What I want?"
Stunned for a moment, Joshua really hadn't thought that far: "That's hard to say."
The reason he had come to treat Israel was simple, just as he had said before. He didn't want such a powerful figure to die so early, without even a chance to fight. Perhaps the warrior had also thought of preserving a legendary combat power for the future Abyss War, but that priority was lower.
So what did he really want? Territory, titles, money—Joshua didn't care about any of them. Glory, opportunities to fight, transcendent materials that could make him stronger—those were more reliable.
But the warrior believed that these things didn't need to be given or rewarded by others. He could obtain them himself. This time, his decision to go to the Far South was for these very reasons.
Some people wanted to become the strongest, just as a man wants to conquer everything, or an eagle wants to fly higher. It was an instinct.
But he didn't have those obsessions. Joshua didn't care about the title of the strongest. Of course, anyone who wanted to become the strongest would have to fight him first—but that was no longer tied to any wish.
"Thinking carefully, there's nothing I particularly want."
After thinking for a long time, Joshua frowned, somewhat surprised to find that he lived almost like a Puritan. But just because the warrior himself had no desires didn't mean the people around him were the same: "However, Your Majesty, do you know how to strengthen a Divine Mechanism?"
His tone was very sincere, with a hint of urgency.
Ying and Lin, these two children had accompanied him through countless battles, loyal and devoted, and had helped the warrior a great deal in daily life. Without them, Joshua couldn't imagine how he would handle the internal affairs of his territory alone. But even so, the warrior understood that they were already struggling to keep up with his strength.
Divine Mechanisms were weapons created by the Radcliffe Family to combat the Chaos monsters of the Famine Evil God lineage. The strength of successive heads of the Radcliffe Family, even with the inherited Order Force, was only around the mid-Gold rank.
And Joshua had already reached the Ultimate realm. The Divine Mechanisms, designed for Gold-rank combat, had some self-enhancement functions, but the improvement was far less than the warrior's progress.
One day, Ying and Lin would surely be unable to keep up with his pace. Thinking of the dejected expressions of the boy and girl because they couldn't follow him into battle, Joshua's heart trembled slightly.
"Strengthening a Divine Mechanism? That is indeed somewhat difficult."
Repeating with some doubt, Israel pondered for a moment, then smiled and said: "But for the Empire, it's just a matter of spending a little more time. Compared to the contributions Lord Radcliffe has made, it's nothing. It just so happens that you're going to the Far South now. I can instruct the people below to prepare. By the time you return from the Far South, the materials and personnel for strengthening the Divine Mechanisms should be ready."
After saying this, he frowned and said: "Is that all? Joshua, this is just strengthening two weapons. Don't you have anything else you want more?"
"...The Winterfell Academy in my territory is short a knight instructor."
Frowning as well, after thinking for a long time, Joshua finally found another thing he probably needed: "They said they've found suitable candidates for warrior and ranger teachers, but a knight instructor isn't so easy to find."
Israel gently shook his head: "This request is even simpler than the previous one. Whether active or retired, you can pick any knight from the five legions. I'm sure they won't refuse your request."
The Emperor was about to continue asking the warrior what else he needed, but he also realized that for someone like Joshua, he preferred to obtain 'what he needed' himself. So he had to let it go.
After finalizing some details about strengthening the Divine Mechanisms and selecting knight instructors, Joshua took his leave. He was always so direct—once he achieved his goal, he left without hesitation.
And Israel sat in the armchair behind his desk, gazing at the divine crystal in his hand, expressionless, not knowing what he was thinking.
"What a young man who cannot be taken lightly."
Clenching the crystal in his hand, the Emperor murmured to himself: "Such pure battle lust. I haven't seen it in a long time."
Saying this, he couldn't help but recall the look in Joshua's eyes that had inadvertently leaked from the corner of his eyes when he was thinking about his wishes earlier.
It was like the most ferocious beast—bloodthirsty, filled with dangerous intent.
"Treating me as prey to be hunted in the future? Is that his wish? To challenge the strong, to constantly challenge the strong."
Not angry in the slightest, Israel instead revealed an excited smile: "That's why he came to tell me the treatment method, to keep me from dying before he can challenge me. No matter—on the contrary, having this kind of courage makes him thousands of times better than those sons of mine who are just waiting for me to die. This is what a true warrior should be: always looking forward, never retreating, never deigning to hide the thoughts in his heart."
But after laughing, his gaze gradually became profound.
"It is precisely because he is so pure that he is exceptionally dangerous."
Saying this, Israel couldn't help but fall into silence.
What if Joshua had no territory, was not a noble of the Empire?
What if he had no subjects to care for, no Divine Mechanisms he cared about, no friends worth paying attention to, no subordinates, nothing to bind him... What if Joshua, such a pure fighter, grew up freely on the continent? What kind of existence would he become?
What if he didn't die in battle, but grew stronger and stronger, always advancing toward the end of the world, the peak of the sky? What a terrifying existence would he become?
Purely pursuing battle, with such talent...
He would eventually drive everything to destruction through battle.
"But fortunately, he is still a person now."
Putting away the divine crystal in his hand, Israel picked up the book on his desk again. He turned his head to look in the direction Joshua had left, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "A person with subjects, with friends, with Divine Mechanisms, and with things worth caring about."
Saying this, the Emperor's expression suddenly froze, as if he had thought of a good idea: "In that case, I might as well just give him that thing directly."
"I think he will definitely like it."