New Revelation

Yuna and Antoine exchanged glances, their thoughts diverging.

Antoine thought, *Avril has been enrolled for over a year, and there's been no discernible progress in her relationship with Francis. It seems this engagement is not fated to be. In that case, there's no need for me to champion Francis; I should instead remain loyal to the empire and voice sentiments that align with His Majesty's wishes!* With this in mind, he stated, "Your Majesty, Francis's achievements are indeed exceptional, and he must be rewarded. Yet, this reward cannot be overly substantive! My counsel is to grant him honorifics, but no true authority!"

Yuna mused privately, *Could I possibly re-enter the succession for the throne, unhindered by my status as Crown Prince McAllen's fiancée? My Imperial Father's attitude will be crucial! Yet, Francis is at the front lines, and he possesses the backing of the Holy Church… it would be wisest to offend neither side!* She then said, "Imperial Father, your daughter's proposal is to reward him, lavishly reward him, but to bestow all honors upon Francis personally, rather than upon Durkes City!"

Bargnar slowly closed his eyes, lost in thought for a moment, then spoke, "Both of your arguments possess considerable wisdom! Since that is the case, I shall make an exception and bestow upon Francis the title of Third-Class Duke, advancing him three ranks and granting him the rank of General! Among the generals under Francis's command, those with merit shall all be promoted and ennobled, and even those without shall be handsomely rewarded with gold. However, his fiefdom shall not be expanded; it shall remain the eight hundred li along the Newin River!"

Pausing, Bargnar further instructed, "Antoine, draft for me a confidential imperial decree, admonishing Francis for his unauthorized expansion of the Second Legion! According to Imperial Iron Law, a fiefdom with a population of three hundred thousand is permitted to maintain only three thousand regular troops. He has now unilaterally expanded his forces, integrating fifteen hundred wounded soldiers into his army, causing the regular forces of the Newin River territory to swell to four thousand five hundred men. This constitutes a blatant violation of Imperial Law. However, in consideration of his immense service to the nation, he shall pay a sum of atonement gold to be absolved of his transgression!"

"Your Majesty is truly sagacious!" Antoine, seizing the opportune moment, offered his lavish praises.

Bargnar further commanded, "Antoine, there is one more matter you must handle for me with utmost dispatch! According to insider reports from the Sigurd Legion, in this recent conflict, Francis's Chief Steward, Porter, and First-Class Commander Dud, who was the true military strategist of the Second Legion, were the actual masterminds. Ascertain their backgrounds as swiftly as possible, especially Dud's! If feasible, drive a wedge between them and Francis, and win them over to my side!"

Antoine's expression immediately turned serious, and he bowed before withdrawing.

Yuna offered a winsome smile, embodying a charming, girlish air, and waved at Bargnar, "Daddy, congratulations on expanding your dominion, achieving a monumental feat worthy of the Sage Kings of old!"

*Does this girl truly believe she can sway me with such familial pretense?* Bargnar scoffed coldly, his gaze following Yuna as she exited. He then gently, but deliberately, tore Du Chen's military report into shreds…

Slowly tapping on the desk, Bargnar addressed the empty Grand Council Hall, "Esteemed elders, from this day forward, Francis shall be designated as a top-tier surveillance target. The entire Second Detachment of the Verne Shadowblade Legion shall infiltrate Durkes City, but they are strictly forbidden from engaging Francis directly! Their paramount task shall be… to meticulously monitor how Francis intends to handle the thirty thousand exceptionally sturdy beastmen captives, who, once armed, could instantly form an elite fighting force!"

…

Days later, the imperial decree of commendation reached the front lines. By then, Du Chen's Second Legion occupied a rather unique and delicate position.

Following the resounding victory at Star River, Francis, incensed by Arges's betrayal, publicly challenged the Marshal to a duel to secure justice for his three thousand brothers-in-arms. He ultimately relied on the divine power of Du Chen, the Divine, to utterly humiliate Arges, leaving him utterly disgraced and stripped of all face! This sensational news spread like wildfire across all major war zones. Coupled with the Second Legion's formidable military accolades, it rendered the soldiers of the newly formed Sigurd Legion command unable to even look the Second Legion in the eye.

Arges, proving to be a decisive and unencumbered man, simply restructured the command. He detached the Second Legion, tasked Du Chen with spearheading the establishment of a logistics support headquarters, and dispatched the Second Legion a full hundred li away.

By the time Du Chen received the imperial commendation, he was already stationed at the logistics headquarters, a full hundred li distant from the main command.

It was now late March, and the weather was steadily warming. Du Chen sat in his tent, the warming stove already removed, and chuckled, casually shaking the commendation decree. "His Majesty Bargnar is truly 'generous' indeed! Besides myself, Dud has been promoted from First-Class Commander to Lieutenant General and bestowed the title of Third-Class Marquis! Aliza has advanced to Major General and granted the title of First-Class Earl! Porter, while you lack a military rank, you've still managed to snag yourself a Third-Class Marquis title! In this battle, the least fortunate among my three thousand brothers-in-arms still reaped a bounty of over a dozen Gold Coins! Even Alex, who holds no significant connection to the military, received the hereditary title of a minor Duke simply by virtue of being my sole heir!"

Porter chuckled, "He truly is 'generous'! You're likely the youngest General in the Empire's history, hehe, a General who can only command a single Legion!"

"And behold, a confidential letter of reprimand!" Du Chen remarked, casually tossing aside the commendation decree. Frowning, he continued, "Reading its contents, tsk tsk, it's practically a stark warning to me—'Expand your army again, and we'll eliminate you!'" He sighed, "Never mind Bargnar; this situation was anticipated. But what are we to do with these beastmen captives? Over thirty thousand of them! My camp is rapidly becoming a full-blown prisoner-of-war facility. My three thousand brothers are on constant rotation, utilizing sacred artifacts of war to guard the captives, and we're even finding ourselves short-handed for tending to our own wounded!"

Captives presented a monumental challenge for Du Chen. They were unlike captured equipment, which could simply be packaged and entrusted to the Holy Church for aerial transport via their flying squadrons. Conveying over thirty thousand captives from the Northern Great Plains to Durkes City in the south would be nothing short of a small-scale population migration, fraught with excessive risks and innumerable complications! Moreover, a sudden influx of thirty thousand beastmen captives into the Newin River region, with its total population of merely three hundred thousand, would undoubtedly unleash a cascade of severe social and political upheavals!

Porter adjusted his glasses, then mused, "Historically, all nations have employed four principal methods for dealing with captives: execution, release, enslavement, or conscription into soldiery! Which of these will you adopt as your guiding principle?"

Du Chen rubbed his nose thoughtfully. "Slaughtering thirty thousand captives? The Divine Envoy of Du Chen, the Divine, would never commit such an act! Releasing thirty thousand beastmen who, once armed, instantly transform into elite warriors during wartime would only invite catastrophe upon Lanning's common folk! Enslavement… selling them to others? I hardly lack that paltry sum of gold. As for employing them myself, could my mere three hundred thousand subjects truly hope to subjugate thirty thousand beastmen?"

Porter frowned deeply. "Then you intend to conscript them as soldiers? But even if you *could* utilize them, Bargnar would never, under any circumstances, permit you to command a standing army of thirty thousand beastmen!"

Du Chen rose to his feet and began walking out of the tent. "The future trajectory for Durkes City's growth lies in establishing formidable deterrent power! Guided by this principle, my approach is… hehe, do you recall the Battle of Auerbach Grand Canyon I once spoke of? The cunning of the beastmen's upper echelons should certainly not be underestimated, but these common beastmen are far too easily misled—just consider the Daobet people under my command!"

Porter's eyes gleamed with understanding, and he stared wide-eyed at Du Chen. "Francis, sometimes you truly are… something else!"

Du Chen smiled knowingly. "This matter is now entrusted to you and Deboning. For the time being, keep a tight watch on those captives; we'll commence operations once Dus returns! Oh, and General Ledo, that craven who fears death, can be quite useful! I shall go meet with him first!"

Just as he finished speaking, Deboning entered, a look of mingled amusement and exasperation on his face, a small, intricate box dangling from his hand.

Du Chen laughed, "Deboning, what's with that expression? Esteemed Titled Battle God, has General Ledo, under your supervision, proven to be troublesome?"

Deboning offered a wry smile. "Ledo is, surprisingly, quite obedient. Furthermore, being a craven who fears death, he's been diligently assisting us in managing the captives and even divulging beastmen intelligence… he's performed admirably in all respects. And what's more, just now he presented me with what the beastmen consider their most esteemed gift… though I suspect Flaying would appreciate this offering far more!" He then handed the small box to Du Chen.

Upon opening the box, Du Chen exclaimed in astonishment, "This is…?" Inside lay a small piece of skin, undoubtedly beastman hide, adorned with tribal paint and emitting a truly foul stench!

Deboning explained, "The beastmen's customs are quite peculiar. After Crown Prince Salon's death, Beast Emperor Rebadon collected the tattooed skin remaining from his sky burial rituals. He then distributed these pieces among his various commanding generals, proclaiming that by carrying skin imbued with the bloodline of Orbach's Supreme Father God, the generals would gain unparalleled strength in battle… Personally, I would much prefer they gifted me a bone!"

*This… this is Salon's skin?!*

Du Chen suddenly felt a wave of profound nausea. While he had indeed worn human skin masks in the past, those had been meticulously processed and refined by Flaying. Now, to have a raw piece of skin, clearly torn from a carcass by vultures, presented before him, was utterly sickening!

"What purpose does this object serve?" Du Chen muttered, caught between exasperation and amusement. "Beastmen truly are…" The most significant piece of Salon's skin was already in Flaying's hands; keeping these useless remnants would only invite ill fortune! Nevertheless, as this artifact originated from Salon's very being, Du Chen delicately pinched the skin with two fingers, covering his nose, intending to meticulously examine the peculiar properties of the tattooed tribal paint. But just at that instant…

*Sizzle!*

The moment Salon's skin made contact with Du Chen, thick black smoke immediately billowed forth! Though the piece of skin was no larger than a palm, the smoke that erupted resembled the dense cooking fumes from a military Quartermaster's kitchen; almost instantly, the tent was completely choked with it!

"Damn it!" Du Chen cried, flinging the noxious skin away. Deboning instinctively conjured a fierce gust of wind to disperse the thick black smoke, while Porter, utterly overwhelmed by the acrid fumes, was shedding copious tears and mucus, coughing uncontrollably!

Deboning exclaimed in alarm, "This is… Young Master, it appears that an extremely malevolent power of The Undead has clashed with the most sacred, holy energy! Damn it, I've examined this very piece of skin countless times before and detected no abnormalities! Porter, you must step outside immediately; this skin is certainly not right!"

Du Chen stared intently at the half-burnt piece of skin on the ground, his gaze then snapping to Deboning. He spoke slowly, deliberately, "The sacred power, of course, is my own. As for the extremely malevolent power of The Undead… it must have originated from this very skin—Salon was indeed afflicted by a highly insidious Undead virus before his death, a virus potent enough to evade even your keen perception! However… that black smoke from moments ago seems oddly familiar to me!"

"Familiar?" Deboning paused, momentarily stunned.

Du Chen stated with a grim expression, "Do not forget, I was once Philip's personal assistant. While my mastery of alchemy has yet to reach the Grandmaster level, it certainly far surpasses that of an ordinary apprentice!"