The Rewards

Du Chen suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to laugh out loud! Arges's long-standing animosity towards Francis was actually due to *this*?

Indeed, for a man to return from a year-long campaign to find his wife had given birth after a fourteen-month pregnancy, to a child with golden hair and blue eyes—traits unheard of in their millennia-old family lineage—such a man's psychological imbalance, leading to his subsequent actions, wasn't entirely incomprehensible. No matter how exalted Arges's status or how formidable his power, he was, first and foremost, a man who profoundly valued his 'face' and honor!

Yet, Du Chen still wanted to laugh. Francis not Arges's biological son? What a joke! Let's first examine the genealogies of Saint Kaine and Yetha!

Phil's ancestors traced back to Yessar God, while Arges's lineage stemmed from God Sigurd! Given that the Holy Yessar Church's bloodline, due to the inheritance of divine power, possessed very similar features across generations, then considering Francis's appearance and the deductions from the Grand Matriarchs' Clues, Yessar God's identity was practically screaming for recognition...

Wolf!

And who was Wolf? Sigurd's own flesh and blood, his younger brother—in truth, Arges and Phil were distant relatives through their shared ancestry!

So, if Arges and Phil bore a child with golden hair and blue eyes, strikingly similar to Wolf, what exactly was there to suspect?

A fourteen-month pregnancy? Setting aside Phil's numerous ordeals—Philip's Spirit Seed, the Battle Qi Inheritance, Margaret's capture at Water's Embrace Lake, and so on—any minor issue during these events could have easily delayed Francis's birth by several months. Moreover, for Phil, a formidable Battle God herself, whether she could personally postpone a child's delivery was a question worth debating!

Of course, these were mere deductions, but Du Chen possessed irrefutable proof—Flaying had always been by Phil's side and could attest to Francis's true parentage!

Clink, clank, clang... The crisp sound of two longswords clashing echoed. In an instant, Du Chen and Arges exchanged over a dozen blows. Du Chen used neither a new Secret Technique nor his Lotus Sacred Artifacts. Relying solely on the Vanishing Snow Sword and his inner strength, he steadily forced Arges to retreat.

As their two longswords intertwined once more, Du Chen fixed Arges with a chilling gaze. "Arges, do you know of Wolf!?"

Arges roared, surprised by Du Chen's strength, but his voice was filled with hatred. "Wolf? Is that the name of the scoundrel who defiled Phil!? Damn him!"

Du Chen mused inwardly, *He doesn't even know his own ancestor. The damned one is you!*

Their swords met again. Du Chen snorted coldly. "Then do you know my mother's true strength?"

Arges paused for a fraction of a second, but his longsword suddenly accelerated. "Phil is merely a Sixth-rank; what 'true strength' could she possess?"

Du Chen looked at him with pity. "You pathetic fool, you know nothing, yet you make wild guesses and slander Phil! I genuinely don't know what my mother ever saw in a scoundrel like you; you are utterly unworthy of Phil!" As he spoke, his longsword transformed, conjuring ice and snow. The surroundings, for a hundred meters, became a world of frost. Crystalline, lotus-shaped snowflakes descended from the sky—this was Du Chen's publicly known signature Secret Technique: Vanishing Snow Burial of Petals!

Arges roared in fury, raising his longsword high. A thousand layers of rolling flames surged forth, his Sigurd's Secret Sacred Flame Sword meeting the descending snowflakes.

Ice and fire intertwined; the snowflakes extinguished the flames, coalescing into a single snow lotus that hovered by Arges's side. With a single bloom and wilt, Arges crashed to the ground!

"Marshal defeated? A peak Eighth-rank Marshal defeated by Francis, who hasn't even graduated?" The distant soldiers couldn't understand the dialogue, but they watched with their own eyes as Arges was utterly routed by Du Chen!

Covered in ice and snow, shivering uncontrollably from the cold, Arges stared at Du Chen in disbelief. "You, you bastard's strength..."

Du Chen stepped forward, leaning down to stare at him. "As I said, you pathetic fool know nothing! I am Du Chen, the Divine Envoy, blessed with the transmitted divine power of Du Chen, the Divine. What's wrong with defeating you?" He leaned closer to Arges's ear, whispering, "You pitiful wretch, Phil's true strength far surpasses my own, yet you remain utterly ignorant, making wild guesses... Fool! Idiot!"

Charles, standing nearby, had been stunned speechless. Only now did he react, lunging before Arges and pointing at Du Chen. "Francis, do you dare commit patricide!?"

With a slight flick of his longsword, the icy tremors flung Charles away. Du Chen leaned down again. "Arges, are you closing your eyes to await death?"

Arges snorted coldly, his eyes still tightly shut. Du Chen chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't kill you! Not only would I bear the ignominy of patricide, but with Lanning's million-strong army losing its Marshal, the advantage Lanning has just gained in this war would vanish, and the civilians in Lanning's northern provinces would once again be plunged into endless warfare..."

Arges's eyes snapped open. "You bastard, you're this kind-hearted!? Hmph!"

Du Chen shrugged, standing upright. "Whether I'm a good person isn't for you to decide! Marshal Arges, the days ahead are long; we'll have plenty of time for more... amusement." With that, Du Chen cast a cold glance at the tens of thousands of Lanning soldiers surrounding them, ready to rescue their Marshal. He snorted and strode towards his own tent. "Marshal Arges, according to Lanning military regulations, to incentivize lords to fight valiantly, all spoils of war captured by private armies belong to my domain! I hope you won't attempt, in front of so many people, to seize the paltry spoils from this poor soul whom you betrayed!"

In the wind and snow, Arges lay dejectedly on the ground, surrounded by tens of thousands of his own troops, a picture of desolation and loneliness. But then, he suddenly startled awake. "Phil? Phil's true strength? What... what in the world is going on!?"

Several days later, in the Grand Council Hall of Lanning's Palace of Versailles!

A military report lay on the desk before Bargnar. All the princes, Princess Yuna, and the full court of ministers stared intently at this report! After a long silence, Antoine asked, "Your Majesty, what military report is this? You've even sounded the Golden Drum of Versailles, summoning all the Imperial Capital's nobility for celebration. Is it a great victory on the front lines?"

Bargnar maintained a faint smile on his lips. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the military report. "Antoine, read it aloud! Let everyone hear what a glorious battle my frontline soldiers have won!"

Antoine's eyes lit up. He unfolded the military report and read aloud, "Fallen Gods Era 1280, March 12th: Our Second Army Corps' subordinate, Francis's Second Legion, at the Star River, three hundred miles north of Heaven's Ocean Pass, with three thousand soldiers, shattered the Eighth, Ninth, and Thirteenth mixed beastmen Legions. Total enemy forces annihilated: one hundred thousand and three thousand. Prisoners captured, including General Ledo: thirty-one thousand eight hundred... Long live Lanning!"

Before he could finish, Antoine cried out, his resolute face flushed with extreme excitement!

Bargnar waved, signaling for everyone not to rush their cheers. "Antoine, continue reading!"

Antoine stared dumbfounded at the subsequent content, only managing to read after a long moment: "In this campaign, the First Soldier of the Beastmen, the Golden Behemoth Battle Array, chose death over surrender, its entire army annihilated! The Second Legion captured ninety-six thousand sets of armor and forty-eight sacred artifacts of war of Sixth-rank or higher, including... a Ninth-rank Earth-Battering Cannon!" Antoine's throat felt dry; he swallowed, then continued, "Our side, our side sustained... three injured, and zero... fatalities!"

A deathly silence fell upon the Grand Council Hall. After a long pause, the suppressed atmosphere seemed to reach its zenith, erupting in an instant! "Long live Lanning! Long live Saint Bovin, our ancestor!" the entire court roared!

Bargnar slammed his hand on the table and rose, declaring, "The front lines have completely seized control of the entire war! Victory in this campaign will arrive within a month! Issue orders to Marshal Arges on the front: for this coming month, he is to strike fiercely while simultaneously forcing the beastmen to cede territory, pay indemnities, and sign a treaty of surrender! As for the rest of you..." He surveyed the excited crowd. "Go prepare the celebrations! Commemorate Lanning's imminent expansion of its dominion! Antoine, you stay!"

The various officials cheered as they departed the Grand Council Hall, but no sooner had they dispersed than the leading figures from almost every faction changed their expressions, their eyes growing grim and silent as they walked towards their respective residences.

Inside the Grand Council Hall, Bargnar and Antoine had also completely lost their earlier festive mood! Glancing at Yuna, who was slow to move, Bargnar asked, "Yuna, aren't you going to prepare for the celebrations?"

Yuna mused inwardly, *Celebrate? With my status as Salon's fiancée, how can I celebrate?* She smiled faintly. "Congratulations, Imperial Father, on your imminent expansion of dominion and achievement of Sage King's great enterprise! But... your daughter has something she wishes to say to you..." She knew her status had plummeted rapidly after the Salon incident, so without waiting for Bargnar's reaction, she quickly added, "The crux of this military report isn't how glorious the victory was, but rather how much Francis's power has exploded!"

Antoine nodded. He had already known the contents of the report; his earlier performance was merely to cooperate with Bargnar. "Your Majesty, the Princess Royal is right. In a single battle, Francis captured equipment for a hundred thousand men and forty-eight sacred artifacts of war, and these items were immediately transported back to his domain via the Holy Church after inventory... Alas, if Francis is given ten years to gather a population, he will likely break free from your Majesty's control!"

Yuna shook her head. "It won't take ten years. Your daughter has been observing Durkes City. With the favorable treatment and financial resources of Francis's domain, if he simply opens his gates to receive refugees, he could gather enough population to sustain a hundred-thousand-strong army within one or two years..."

Bargnar frowned and shook his head. "But with such a grand victory, although I know I must restrict Francis, I must also reward him, giving him even greater strength!" Gazing at the faintly visible Grand Cathedral outside the main gate, he murmured, "Behind Francis, there is still the Holy Church!" His gaze lingered between Yuna and Antoine. "Tell me, what should we reward Francis with?"