Chapter 80 - Modifications and In-Laws

Chapter 80 - Modifications and In-Laws

According to the information Charlotte had gathered, the techniques of a 'Chimeric Beast Artisan' could work on most mammals. The few mammals deemed "ineffective" were often simply due to excessively high mortality rates. Therefore, Charlotte reasoned, there was no logical reason it shouldn't work on humans.

Cliff Chapman was finally persuaded by Charlotte. Ever since his son was born, he had searched everywhere for a miracle that could grant him limbs. Now, his son was over ten years old, and he still had no leads. Honestly, Cliff Chapman had gradually been losing faith, beginning to doubt if any miracle capable of curing congenital disabilities truly existed in this world.

Rather than pinning all hope on a miracle, perhaps trying other possibilities was worthwhile.

Ignoring Miss Mellerfeld's suggestion about giving his son eight arms – which clearly sounded like a joke – Cliff Chapman ultimately agreed to serve Charlotte.

Charlotte then produced the two booklets detailing the Royal Griffin Knight Order and Sokoya Citizen Soldier disciplines, stating her requirements: "I need to make some modifications to the Citizen Soldier discipline…"

The abilities of the Sokoya Citizen Soldier discipline were: Wing 1 - Stalwart, Wing 2 - Stone Throw, Wing 3 - Berserk Ram, Wing 4 - Phasing Arrow, Wing 5 - White Whale, Wing 6 - Black Flag, Wing 7 - Void Step.

Wing 8… there was no Wing 8.

A major reason for the popularity of the Royal Griffin Knight Order discipline was its completeness. The publicly available training method for this path had been proven to allow cultivation up to the level of a Divine Grace Adept, which was above Wing 9.

Supernatural disciplines like the Sokoya Citizen Soldier path, though widespread, were incomplete, only allowing cultivation up to Wing 8. There was nothing beyond that.

Many similar incomplete disciplines circulated on the Eagle Continent. The reasons for incompleteness generally fell into three categories: first, powerful factions or individuals hid the higher-level cultivation methods, treasuring them selfishly and refusing to make them public; second, parts of the cultivation method were lost during its long history of transmission, rendering it incomplete; third, the discipline itself was originally an unfinished product.

Charlotte didn't know which category the Citizen Soldier discipline fell into, nor did she particularly care. Wing 8 was already sufficient for her purposes.

"First, replace the Wing 3 ability 'Berserk Ram' of the Citizen Soldier path with the 'Eagle Eye' ability from the Royal Griffin Knight Order path. Second, move the Citizen Soldier path's Wing 2 ability 'Stone Throw' to the Wing 1 position. Third, move the Citizen Soldier path's Wing 4 ability 'Phasing Arrow' to awaken at Wing 2," Charlotte stated all at once.

Phasing Arrow was another ranged attack ability in the Citizen Soldier path that Charlotte considered divine. It allowed the practitioner's arrows or javelins to briefly disappear upon hitting the target, seemingly entering another dimension to continue their flight. With this ability, their projectiles could bypass shields, pavises, and even relatively thin city walls to injure soldiers behind cover.

After listening, Cliff Chapman pondered for a moment, then couldn't help but give a wry smile. "Your Ladyship might think your first request is the most difficult, but it's actually the simplest of the three. The other two requests are rather troublesome."

"Oh? Why is that? Could you explain it to me? I'm not very knowledgeable in this area," Charlotte asked curiously.

Cliff Chapman thought for a moment, then excused himself briefly. He returned carrying several wooden blocks of varying lengths. "Some instructors, when teaching disciples, like to compare supernatural disciplines to ascending a building. Each wing is like a step on a staircase. I sometimes use this analogy too. However, the staircase in this building is quite unique. Its second step isn't built upon the first; rather, it's built directly on the ground level, like this..."

Cliff Chapman arranged the wooden blocks into two staircases, from lowest to highest. Both staircases were roughly the same height and consisted of twelve steps each. He gestured for Charlotte to look.

"You see these two staircases? Because the ultimate destination for all supernatural disciplines is the Divine Lord Ig, the total height of all paths' steps is the same. There are only slight differences in where the twelve steps are divided."

"If we were to swap the second steps from each side," he continued, "even if it makes the staircase look uneven, the problem isn't severe. The first step is still lower than the second, and the second is still lower than the third. A person can still ascend step by step – assuming, of course, we ignore the structural integrity of the building itself in this ideal scenario."

"However, if you swap the positions of Wing 2 and Wing 1, regardless of whether they belong to the same discipline," Cliff Chapman swapped two blocks in one staircase, "you encounter the problem where the first step is higher than the second. This disrupts the entire cultivation system. Swapping Wing 4 and Wing 2 is even more troublesome."

Charlotte looked at the wooden blocks before her, clicked her tongue, and said, "But you said 'troublesome,' not 'absolutely impossible,' right?"

Hearing this, Cliff Chapman hesitated before nodding. "Indeed. But the amount of work involved is substantial. I might not be able to handle it alone."

"No problem, as long as it can be done," Charlotte clapped her hands together. "I'll find you an assistant later. Do you know Ferguson?"

"Mr. Ferguson?" Cliff's face lit up with pleasant surprise. "If he can participate as well, the success rate of this project will definitely be much higher."

Cliff Chapman's reaction surprised Charlotte – it seemed that oddball named Ferguson really was an incredible talent.

Charlotte arranged with Cliff Chapman that his family would travel with her to the Lanwan Viscounty after the Holy Grace Festival, and then she departed from the Chapman residence.

After leaving the Chapmans', Laina, still brimming with fresh energy, expressed a desire to wander through the marketplace. Charlotte didn't dare let Laina go shopping alone; who knew what kind of commotion that would cause. So, Charlotte directed her carriage to detour through a nearby market area.

Platinum City boasted numerous shops, selling goods from nearly every nation on the Eagle Continent. The air just smelled a bit foul.

The streets teemed with people, shoulder to shoulder. The air just smelled a bit foul.

Theaters along the street offered various song, dance, and drama performances. The air just smelled a bit foul.

...

After strolling around for a while, Laina herself couldn't stand it anymore and asked Charlotte to take her home.

Once Laina was safely delivered home, Charlotte finally headed back to the manor where the Mellerfeld family was staying.

Returning to the manor, Charlotte encountered the belatedly arrived Count Philip and his family.

Count Philip and Jose Mellerfeld stood near the burning fireplace, discussing matters related to their territories. From their furrowed brows, Charlotte could tell that things hadn't been going well recently in the Green Plains Duchy and Quake Forest County.

"Charlotte, you're back!" The carefree Monica happily grabbed Charlotte's hand as soon as she saw her.

"Eh? Sister Monica, are you here alone?" Charlotte looked around, puzzled. "Where are the three cousins, and Andre?"

The three cousins weren't important; Charlotte mainly wanted to know where Andre was.

His fiancée had arrived, surely her foolish brother hadn't gone off on a date with some other young lady again?

Fortunately, Monica's answer wasn't too outrageous: "Tomorrow is the Holy Grace Festival. Apparently, there's a grand service at the Cathedral of Radiance today, and many young nobles are attending. My brothers and Andre were invited to pray to the Divine Lord."

Charlotte nodded. She believed that answer… like hell she did.

Charlotte had witnessed the services at the Cathedral of Radiance before. It had to be said, an Archbishop of Vetran Kontaou's caliber, no matter how greedy, possessed professional competence. The services he presided over were always sacred, grand, solemn, and dignified, never disgracing Divine Lord Ig in terms of presentation.

But solemn and dignified also meant tedious and boring. The young nobles of Platinum City usually avoided such occasions like the plague. They wouldn't go to pray themselves, nor would they likely invite Andre and the others to do so. Andre and the three cousins had definitely gone off somewhere to have fun but couldn't tell Monica, so they fobbed her off with this excuse.

However, with the three cousins present, Andre surely wouldn't have the chance to mess around too outrageously. Charlotte couldn't be bothered to expose the men's lies.

Still, it was rather unfair of the four of them to go out playing, leaving Monica all alone at home. Charlotte thought for a moment, then suddenly suggested with a smile, "Sister Monica, shall we go fishing?"

"Hmm? But I just saw that the lakes near the manor are all frozen over?"

The climate in Quake Forest County was mild, not particularly cold even in winter, so Monica was somewhat unfamiliar with the current world of ice and snow.

"It's okay, you can still fish when it's frozen!" Charlotte insisted, pulling Monica out the door again.

Platinum City, Imperial Palace.

In a spacious, warm reception room, Emperor Leopold, his face heavily powdered, sat opposite a richly dressed man with a round face and a portly figure.

This man was Emperor Leopold's son-in-law, Duke Panma, Madachi Tone.

Nearly everyone in the Aolan Empire knew that Marquis Brown Lekman of Blackrock Castle was the one who defeated the Edisans thirty years ago, turning the tide and saving the Aolan Empire.

However, few knew that Brown Lekman's ability to penetrate deep into the Edisan Empire's heartland with a small elite force, forcing the Edisans to withdraw troops to defend their homeland, owed a significant debt to the fat man sitting before Leopold now, Madachi Tone.

Saying "significant" might not even be accurate enough. If truly calculated, Madachi Tone's contribution was certainly no less than Brown Lekman's. The reason this "highly meritorious" Duke's fame within the Aolan Empire paled in comparison to the Marquis of Blackrock Castle was simple – his merits were earned through surrender.

Thirty years ago, when the Edisans invaded the Aolan Empire through the western pass, Madachi Tone was still an Edisan noble, holding the title of Marquis. He and another Edisan Duke were stationed to defend the eastern pass, facing off against Marquis Brown Lekman of Blackrock Castle.

As it happened, Madachi Tone had some conflict with his colleague. When Brown Lekman launched a fierce counterattack, Madachi Tone switched sides mid-battle, opening an unobstructed path for the Marquis of Blackrock Castle's advance.

Naturally, the Aolan Empire couldn't vigorously publicize the merits of someone gained through such betrayal.

Nevertheless, Madachi Tone, as a powerful vassal lord, already possessed considerable strength. Furthermore, having remained on the sidelines throughout the war without participating in any battles, his forces suffered virtually no losses.

After Emperor Leopold ascended the throne, seeking to appease such a powerful figure, he immediately enfeoffed Madachi Tone as a Duke. Later, after Madachi Tone's wife passed away, the Emperor married off his only biological daughter, Princess Cassandra, to him.

At the time of the marriage, Princess Cassandra was only thirteen years old, while Madachi Tone was already over fifty.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Emperor Leopold looked at his son-in-law, who appeared older than himself, then at his grandson standing beside him, and couldn't help but sigh softly. "Cassandra didn't come?"

"Her Highness the Princess said she was feeling unwell and couldn't undertake the long journey," Madachi Tone explained with a beaming smile.

Emperor Leopold desperately wanted to believe his daughter truly couldn't return due to health reasons, but he couldn't deceive himself.

Marrying the young Cassandra off to Madachi Tone hadn't been done without guilt on Leopold's part. However, he had always told himself that reality forced his hand, that he had no other choice.

Yet now, approaching the end of his life, Leopold couldn't help but reconsider his past decisions.

Had he truly done the right thing?

His daughter's hatred for him had reached such a point that even with him dying, she was unwilling to see him one last time.

Emperor Leopold's crestfallen expression didn't escape Madachi Tone's notice, causing the smile on Madachi's face to widen further.

"Eddie, come here."

After a moment, Emperor Leopold collected himself and beckoned to his grandson.

The young boy beside Madachi Tone walked over to Emperor Leopold. The Emperor pinched the boy's delicate little face and asked kindly, "How old is Eddie this year?"

"Twelve," the boy replied crisply.

"Twelve years old," Emperor Leopold's voice suddenly deepened. "Then he's about old enough to inherit the ducal title."

Madachi Tone froze for an instant upon hearing this, then his expression changed drastically.

Emperor Leopold slowly rose to his feet, took his grandson Eddie's small hand, and started walking towards the door.

"Your Majesty…"

Madachi Tone tried to stand and follow, but suddenly two strong hands clamped down on him from behind, forcing him back into his seat.

A squad of capable palace guards flooded into the reception room.

Leopold paused at the doorway.

Eddie looked back and forth between his grandfather and his father, appearing somewhat bewildered.

"Duke Panma, you have failed for many years to dispatch knights in service to the Empire, cough cough… I have no choice but to strip you of your title," Leopold said, coughing lightly.

"What kind of charge is this? Your Majesty, you explicitly allowed me to pay scutage in lieu of knightly service! You cannot go back on your word!" Madachi Tone struggled, roaring in anger.

Emperor Leopold paid no heed to Madachi Tone's words, continuing, "Please extend your stay in the palace for a while. I will entrust your title and lands to Eddie and his mother."