The Three Million Benevolence

"Greetings, Princess!" The words, though hesitant, finally spilled forth.

Lancy, tears streaming down his face, crawled on his knees before Porter, prostrating himself and sobbing, "Oh, Princess Liana! This old servant never thought he'd live to see you again!"

Porter's eyes also reddened, two streams of clear tears tracing paths down his cheeks. He quickly helped the old man up. "Lancy, are you truly the only one? What of the others?"

Lancy wept, "The others are either still enslaved, or... they are dead! Half a month ago, Bog Island was engulfed in flames. Quame led seven or eight thousand of us to escape in the chaos, even seizing some treasures from the Sea Emperor. But... but we never anticipated the Sea Emperor himself would lead a grand army in pursuit the very next morning. This old servant, relying on the secret of 'The Blade' I knew from back then, stole 'The Blade' from the Goddess's Palace amidst the conflagration and disguised myself as a woman to walk on water, barely escaping with my life... But Quame and the rest... they were all slain by that damnable Thanes!"

"Thanes! I swear, in this life, I will take your fish head!"

Porter *smashed* the headboard to splinters with a furious blow, veins throbbing on his forehead. Du Chen had never seen him so incandescent with rage!

Lancy continued to sob, "Princess, how... how are you here? What about the three hundred thousand displaced citizens who escaped Bog Island with you five years ago? Surely, they haven't..." A terrifying, bloody possibility struck him, and his face instantly turned ashen.

Porter quickly reassured him, "No, they are well! I've settled all of them..." He briefly recounted his experiences over the years. Seeing the old man heartbroken with grief, Porter sought a comforting topic, "Don't worry, I received letters from them recently. They say your grandson is now six years old and a good child! And I, serving as the Head Steward in Francis's territory, am also doing well!"

"As long as Your Highness is safe, that is all that matters. The thousands of lives lost by the Goddess's Guard back then were not in vain..." Lancy wiped away the cloudy, aged tears from the corners of his eyes, then glanced at Du Chen. "If that's the case, he truly is a good man. This old servant was overly suspicious before!"

Porter wiped away his tears and forced a smile, "Indeed, not long ago, a large-scale malaria outbreak struck the highlands where the displaced citizens were living in seclusion. It was thanks to his Gold Coins that your grandson and the other children were spared!" He broke into a teary smile, "This guy seems like a good man, but he's quite rotten on the inside. Though, ultimately, he's still a good man!"

Lancy was bewildered by this string of descriptions, but one thing became clear: his grandson had survived because of Francis! The old man turned, and with a series of heavy *thumps*, kowtowed several times to Du Chen.

Porter added, "Grandpa Lancy, you must be careful what you say. Francis doesn't know I'm wearing 'Wisdom'!"

Lancy stiffened, stunned for a moment, then spoke, "Lord Francis, this old servant's true name is Lancy, the Head Steward of Miki Duchy. I truly owe you an apology for my earlier conduct!"

"Old man, please rise, you're still injured!" Du Chen chuckled, helping the elder up. "You needn't blame yourself; in such circumstances, even I wouldn't have spoken the truth. However... what language were you speaking just now?"

Du Chen had indeed heard Lancy and Porter's conversation, but he hadn't understood a single word – they were speaking their native tongue, Miki language!

...

After the language barrier was clarified, Du Chen looked at Porter with an amused, knowing smirk, finding the situation incredibly funny.

Porter glanced awkwardly at Du Chen, then decided to just blurt it out, "Actually, I am a Miki. My ancestor is Miki, the Goddess of War and Wisdom, and I am the little Prince of Miki Duchy. My true name is... well, just call me Porter. I've grown accustomed to that name."

Du Chen clicked his tongue, then abruptly asked, "Your maternal ancestor is Miki Goddess, but what about your paternal lineage?"

As soon as he said this, Lancy repeatedly shot glances at Porter, then explained, "Francis, I apologize, but the paternal ancestors of our Miki Duchy are an absolute secret. The little Prince cannot reveal it. If you must blame someone, blame this old servant!"

Du Chen sneered, "What's so hard to say?"

"Indeed, what's so hard to say?" Porter shrugged. "To put it plainly, we Miki are children with mothers but no fathers. In truth, none of us know who our paternal ancestors are, because Miki Goddess herself refused to reveal her husband's identity... It's quite embarrassing to admit, which is why it was listed as the Duchy's highest secret!"

Lancy stamped his foot, "Oh, Prince, why did you have to reveal it!"

"The nation is gone; why do you still care about such things?" Porter said with a touch of melancholy.

Du Chen scrutinized Porter up and down. "Porter, from now on, call me 'cousin'! As far as I know, Miki Goddess only ever had one man in her life—my ancestor, Wolf!"

Lancy was dumbfounded. "By the heavens, are you truly serious? Then we are relatives?!"

Porter also stared at Du Chen in shock. Du Chen nodded, "I've gained quite a lot this time; I'll tell you slowly in the future. But there's no doubt we share a common ancestor! Wolf's Divine Pet, Snoopy, can attest to it!"

Porter cocked his head, eyeing Du Chen askance, "You big dummy, are we really relatives?"

"Absolutely true! My brother, let's first talk about the matters of your Miki Duchy!"

Porter felt an utterly bizarre mix of emotions, secretly murmuring that at least they were distant relatives. He then began recounting his story from the beginning: his innate talents since birth, the Sea Clan's raid on Miki Duchy five years ago, the Miki King's martyrdom, and how he, Porter, had broken through with the protection of the Goddess's Guard to Battle God Isle, where he became an apprentice to Sherine, who had some acquaintance with the Miki Queen Consort from years past.

His tale was ninety percent truth and ten percent fabrication. Du Chen, even with Beibei as a witness, felt no suspicion. Rubbing his nose, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me about these things before?"

Porter shrugged, a bitter smile gracing his lips.

Putting himself in Porter's shoes, Du Chen could understand his predicament. After pondering for a moment, he folded his arms and asked, "You share a national vendetta with Sea Emperor Thanes. Only three hundred thousand of your citizens escaped; the rest are enslaved by Thanes... Do you wish to restore your nation?"

Porter's smile grew even more bitter. "There's no need to speak of restoring the nation again. Even if the Divine Emperor were resurrected, he couldn't possibly contend with the entire Sea Clan! Ouch!"

Du Chen flicked Porter's forehead. "Why have you suddenly become so foolish, boy? Must restoring the nation necessarily mean war with the Sea Clan? The Sea Clan has always held no interest in the land. It's not impossible to reclaim your territory from them through peaceful means!"

Lancy had initially found Du Chen and Porter's intimate gestures a bit odd, but upon hearing the hope of national restoration, his heart suddenly thumped. He urgently said, "Yes, that makes perfect sense!"

But Porter shook his head. "Do you think I haven't considered these things? The crucial point is that I've never understood why Thanes occupied Bog Island, and then ruled it at such great cost in resources and manpower... It's clearly a losing business! The Sea Emperor isn't a fool; he wouldn't engage in a losing venture! Until we figure out why Thanes occupied Bog Island... everything else is just empty talk!"

"That's not simple?" Du Chen clapped Porter's shoulder. "The Sea Emperor won't speak of it, but can't we investigate it ourselves?"

"How do we investigate? Bog Island is in the center of the Grand Delta Sea, directly under the Sea Emperor's rule. It's forbidden territory for the Sea Clan; even landing there is difficult for us!"

Du Chen narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Coincidentally, the Pontiff has tasked me with a trip to Bog Island under the banner of the Holy Alliance, because... the body of Miki's ancestor has gone missing!"

At this, Porter was three parts shocked, three parts pleased, and four parts utterly enraged. His ancestral grave desecrated, his ancestor's body missing – who wouldn't be furious? Porter's face instantly darkened, grinding his teeth in anger.

Du Chen continued, "Don't rush. Deboning and I will first handle Lanning's side. You prepare yourself, then come with me to Bog Island! This time, I will definitely reclaim Bog Island from the Sea Emperor for you and liberate the people under his rule!"

*Thud*, Lancy immediately fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face, clutching Du Chen's hand. "Lord Francis, whether it succeeds or not, my three million Miki citizens will remember your heartfelt words today!"

Porter, however, was somewhat hesitant. "Francis, becoming an enemy of the Sea Clan will come at a great cost... I don't want you to risk opposing half the world's beings for my sake..."

Du Chen patted his chest. "No brother of Francis will ever suffer injustice!"

Though he spoke with such certainty, Du Chen still had some confidence. While he genuinely helped Porter restore his nation out of brotherly affection, the other half...

Porter's eyes were slightly red again. Du Chen and Deboning had already reached the door when he suddenly turned back and asked, "Lancy, how many people did you say were in Miki Duchy earlier?"

Lancy said indignantly, "Before the nation fell, we numbered five million. After Thanes' massacre and enslavement, and the subsequent exodus, there are still roughly three million people on the island enslaved by that damned Thanes!"

Du Chen nodded slightly and exited.

From this moment on, the "Great Benevolence of rescuing three million slaves from the tyrannical aggressor and granting them freedom and a future" was officially initiated. *Damn it*, three million people! While not literally three million lives, if he truly could liberate them, then the Fifth Trigram should almost certainly fully blossom, right?!

Sea Emperor, for the sake of Butt Blossoms, this daddy will use any means necessary to torment you to death!

...

Du Chen and Deboning returned to Durkes City to handle some miscellaneous affairs, then led a contingent of the Durkes City Defense Army to the border between their territory and Rick Province. Arges's tens of thousands of troops were stationed there!

Glancing at the sprawling military camps nestled among the hills, Du Chen smirked coldly. "Arges, we meet again!" He strode boldly into the camp.

The Sigurd Legion soldiers guarding the camp gate immediately raised their spears. "Halt! Who goes there!?"

Du Chen declared loudly, "Do you not recognize me? Francis, Grand Duke of Lanning Durkus, here to meet Marshal Arges!"

The soldiers exchanged glances. One went in to report and soon emerged, shouting sternly, "By Marshal's Military Edict, Commander-in-Chief, Three-Star General Francis is ordered to report his presence at the gate!"

"Report his presence at the gate?" Du Chen's eyebrows immediately shot up. *Arges, this daddy really doesn't need to bother with anyone else when I have you to annoy!*

Du Chen coldly commanded, "Brook!" Waving his hand towards the camp gate, "Display the Du Chen's Divine Cult Golden Token for me, and lead the brothers to clear the way! I'd like to see who dares to order *me* to report my presence at the gate!"