An Interrupted Philanthropy

Outside, Du Chen briefly explained Sherine's physical condition to Porter, his face grim. The feeling in his heart was akin to the time his master from the Clandestine Circles in his previous life suffered from a grave illness, on the verge of passing from this world.

A heavy stone seemed to weigh on his heart. Porter quietly explained Sherine's medical history to Du Chen, but it was all largely meaningless now. Firstly, Du Chen couldn't understand the strange names of the diseases, and secondly, Sherine's constitution had long since crumbled from her chronic illness. Had it not been for her innate high-level battle qi and profound medical skills, she would have...

In short, Sherine's situation was that her natural lifespan was drawing to a close; the inescapable law of life, old age, sickness, and death had descended upon her.

A moment later, Sherine's cough echoed from the secret chamber. Porter rushed in to attend to her. Du Chen, however, did not enter. Instead, he quietly asked Deboning, who had just arrived, "Is there any way to extend one's life?"

Deboning gave a helpless smile. "Young Master, you are not far from becoming a Six-Star Battle God, so you should already understand that the ultimate destination of the Battle God's Path is eternal life. Before reaching that pinnacle, no one can live forever!" He sighed in disappointment. "I will die, and so will you, Young Master. Even Divine Emperor Prince, who was rumored to have achieved the Five Elements Unity and led the Holy Alliance to victory in the War of Fallen Gods, did he not also pass away peacefully after the War of Fallen Gods?"

"What if she transforms into one of The Undead after death, and I then use a sacred artifact to convert her?" Du Chen blurted out, only to immediately dismiss this hypothesis himself. In truth, transforming into one of The Undead after death required extremely stringent conditions. In fact, apart from those blessed with a naturally plant-elemental body, no one could be certain of becoming one of The Undead after death to prolong their existence. Otherwise, if everyone could become one of The Undead after dying, the Three Continents would have long since been dominated by The Undead, Philip wouldn't have needed to painstakingly create his Undead army, and the Grand Matriarchs wouldn't have required many plant-elemental generals to jointly cast spells when they converted The Undead to suppress Kuban back then.

According to Battle God theory, Sherine was a metal-elemental Battle God, which completely contradicted the direct condition for becoming one of The Undead: a Battle God Body brimming with plant-elemental properties. After her death, she wouldn't even have a chance to become one of The Undead! Moreover, The Undead are not truly immortal; they are merely energy bodies and also have a day of ultimate dissipation!

"Alas, eternal life... what meaning does it truly hold?" Du Chen suddenly shook his head and sighed.

Deboning looked puzzled. "Young Master, how can eternal life be meaningless? For countless years, generations of Battle Gods have pursued nothing but eternal life!"

Du Chen offered no explanation. This sentiment, Deboning didn't understand, nor did anyone else. Only Du Chen himself could truly grasp that feeling: 'I will not die, but my loved ones will...' This was the tragedy of the immortal.

After guarding the library overnight, Sherine's condition improved slightly the next day. Under Porter's care, she recovered quickly, but she appeared even more sickly than before.

A heavy-hearted Du Chen returned to the Belkus. However, he soon received some surprisingly good news: for some unknown reason, last night's husband recruitment event concluded without a decision. No one managed to marry Frinda in the end, and Betty and Somiya subsequently left Battle God Isle without even a greeting to Du Chen, as if they had completely forgotten his existence!

Du Chen was greatly astonished. "Hey, I haven't even fabricated a beloved yet, and you've already left?!"

He didn't know that a delightful misunderstanding had already occurred, and this charming misconception was still unfolding. What even more delightful consequences it would trigger in the future, Du Chen certainly wouldn't know now!

Nevertheless, Du Chen was quite pleased to be free from the entanglement of the two families!

Yet, his joyful mood didn't last long, as it was utterly extinguished by a letter...

The letter wasn't mailed; it was personally delivered by an official from the Newin River territory to their liege.

At this moment, the official trembled under Du Chen's furious gaze. "My... my Lord, you are not mistaken. Your territory has indeed fallen into this state!" Heavens, why had he been saddled with such an ill-fated task—to clearly explain the dire situation within the territory to Du Chen!

"Damn it!" After reading the details in the letter, Du Chen, who usually presented a gentle, refined, and benevolent image to outsiders, couldn't help but curse. For the first sentence of the letter was... "To our esteemed Lord, your capital, Newin Port, which holds over half the population of your territory, has been tragically plundered, with over a thousand commoners dead and countless injured. Moreover... the port's economy, which had just begun to show signs of recovery, has been set back to its original state, even worse than before the great flood!"

In other words, Du Chen's substantial investment of hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins, poured into the commoners along the Newin River without hesitation, had mostly gone down the drain!

More directly, Du Chen's super-philanthropic endeavor to "bring happiness to 300,000 commoners" had been almost completely severed midway, becoming stillborn!

With heaven and earth so vast, and good deeds being the greatest, how could Du Chen not be enraged?!

Stealing a glance at Du Chen's furious face, the official explained in a low voice, "My Lord, as you know, the Newin River region has always faced three major challenges: rampant banditry, incessant floods, and Merfolk harassment. This time, it was a large number of Merfolk who plundered your capital..."

"Enough!" Du Chen slammed his hand on the table and roared, "What were the troops in the territory doing? What was the Imperial Navy doing? How could mere, foolish Merfolk break through Newin Port's sea defense fortress and easily sack the urban area?! And practically dismantle my territorial capital?! Are my army and the Imperial Navy nothing but mere decorations?!"

The official was too terrified to continue speaking. Although Du Chen's reputation for benevolence was widespread, that was primarily among commoners. The Lord's attitude towards officials, however, was exceptionally strict, even harsh. After Du Chen executed dozens of corrupt officials in one swoop and promulgated the decree, "Those who embezzle more than ten Gold Coins shall be executed without mercy," he gained another nickname among the officials: "The Butcher Lord, least like an aristocrat!"

Du Chen suppressed his anger. Seeing that this official was not a confidant from the Charitable Foundation, he impatiently said, "What exactly happened? Explain it clearly to me!"

The official lowered his head and whispered, "Ten days ago, countless Merfolk exploited their ability to conceal their aura, sneaking near the port. They launched a sudden attack. Just as the port guards discovered the Sea Clan's sneak attack and prepared to defend, they found..." He looked distressed.

"Found what?!" Du Chen demanded impatiently.

"They found... that the bandits within your territory had already infiltrated the city and, in collusion with the Merfolk, seized control of the sea defense fortress! As a result, Newin Port fell within half an hour!" He paused, stealing a glance at Du Chen's expression, then quickly added, "However, under our command, your army, upholding your principle that human lives are paramount, abandoned important buildings like the banks and focused on protecting the commoners' retreat. Thus, fewer than a thousand commoners perished this time..."

Du Chen was so angered by the official's supplementary explanation that he laughed. A classic case of shifting blame and seizing an opportunity to claim credit! However, if the official's account was accurate, then the situation was truly extraordinary.

"I understand the Merfolk problem. But those beasts previously only plundered coastal villages and captured humans as provisions. Why did they launch such a large-scale attack on the port this time? Are the Sea Clan declaring war on the Lanning Empire? And what about the Imperial Navy? It might be excusable for other lords to remain uninvolved and not send troops, but why didn't the Imperial Navy protect my territory?! Have you investigated all this?"

The official was rendered speechless. "This, this, we are still investigating!" Seeing Du Chen's displeased expression, he hurriedly added, "However, the Imperial Navy did provide an explanation: they too wished to protect Newin Port's commoners, but His Majesty Bargnar adopted a 'scorched earth policy' against the Merfolk harassment in the south. Therefore, there were very few naval warships near your territory, and by the time the Imperial Navy's support fleet arrived, the Merfolk had already retreated..."

"Is that truly the case? Hmph! What is His Majesty Bargnar's attitude towards this incident?"

"Uh, My Lord, Merfolk harassment has been ongoing for a long time. This time, their collusion with land-based bandits caused great damage, but His Majesty can only offer solace and compensation, and order the Imperial Navy to strengthen protection around Newin Port..." His words, in Du Chen's ears, carried two other meanings: First, Merfolk had been harassing the Empire's south for over a decade; if there truly were a solution, His Majesty Bargnar would have found it long ago. Second, you, Francis, are the master of the Newin River region. The title of Lord isn't for you to flaunt. As a Lord, you must be responsible for your people. However, this matter is indeed peculiar, so go ahead and act; the Empire will give you sufficient support!

Du Chen knew he couldn't extract any more information from the official. These old bureaucrats within the territory were all masters of debauchery and revelry, but when it came to military and political affairs, they were barely capable of avoiding creating more trouble!

"Have you discussed how to resolve this matter? Do you have any suggestions?" Du Chen asked again.

"I, we hope you will personally return to the territory to handle this. After all, the losses this time are enormous, and the authority required to manage them is consequently very great. Unless you are present, we will encounter many inconveniences in handling it!" While the words held logic, it still sounded, no matter how one listened, like they were dumping the messy situation on Du Chen.

"Hmm, I understand. You may return to the territory immediately. I will personally go there to deal with this matter..."

After dismissing the official, Du Chen couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! Colluding with inland bandits to attack a human city? Only savage Merfolk could do such a thing!" He turned and yelled towards the door, "Deboning, fetch Gode, who's currently performing a good deed! I want to ask him how he, the Sea Clan prince, explains the Merfolk of his Sea Clan dismantling my capital!"