Chapter Four: Schemes and Decisions

Three years ago, the current Earl of York was still the Duke of York, and the Duchy of York itself was one of the three great provinces in the eastern part of the kingdom.

At that time, the Kingdom of Gambis and the Lant Empire erupted into war over a territorial dispute. What shocked everyone was that His Majesty, Emperor Neovist of the Lant Empire, turned out to be a legendary Gold Knight. Under his command, the long-declined Unicorn Knights of the empire won victory after victory, ultimately defeating King Lane’s Swift Dragon Knights. Although King Lane was himself an experienced Gold Knight and managed to wound Neovist in their duel, he nonetheless fell in battle and died. Of the three great provinces, two were breached, and the two dukes were ordered hanged by the emperor.

The Duke of York, terrified out of his wits, abandoned his post without a fight while Princess Royal Roland August led the Glory Knights to confront the Unicorn Knights. Yet he had not expected that, despite being only twenty-five, Princess Roland had already advanced to Gold Knight. While the Lant Emperor withdrew to the rear to recover from his wounds, she used extraordinary water-based swordsmanship to severely wound Adrian, the Unicorn Knights’ captain and a Gold Knight himself, thereby stabilizing the situation. In the end, through the mediation of the Church of Radiance and the Kingdom of Naville, Gambis ceded the three eastern provinces, including the York lands, to Lant. Both sides signed an armistice.

After the war, Princess Roland was furious at the Duke of York for his cowardly flight and sought to strip him of his noble status. However, the York family pledged allegiance to Archduke Williams, King Lane’s brother. Under his protection, and after paying a hefty penance, the Duke of York was demoted to Earl and appointed governor of the Centaur Hills by the Archduke.

“Although Earl York has lost his duchy and title, his actual strength remains largely intact. He commands at least five Silver-ranked Grand Knights, and his hidden power is even harder to gauge.” Lord Abel produced a parchment map, showing the distribution of territories in Centaur Hills.

“Right now, the York family’s chief concern is not regaining the ducal title, but expanding their lands to the size of the former duchy, so as to resettle the York family’s vassals. Only then can their strength remain whole. Victor, look, your barony is positioned just north of Earl York’s territory, conveniently separating York lands from the family’s other holdings.” Abel indicated several spots on the map.

“So Earl York masterminded this attack in order to seize my territory? But there’s something I don’t understand: if Earl York is so powerful, why did they place my territory in this tempting position to begin with?” Victor voiced his doubts.

“Since the death of King Lane, the kingdom has yet to name a new king. There are presently three candidates for the throne,” Abel explained. “First, Prince Edward, child of King Lane and Queen Catherine, but he’s only seven years old; he was four when the late king passed, and by law cannot inherit the throne until age twelve.

Second is Princess Roland, the late king’s only child by Queen Irene. Yet Queen Irene was the daughter of a mere lord, her status lowly, and she died young. Thus, Roland’s bloodline is disparaged by the Senate. However, Roland commands the loyalty of the kingdom’s three great knightly orders, and the Minister of War, Marquis Goron, is a key supporter. In fact, Her Highness controls more than half the kingdom’s military power. But the princess has no desire to become queen and only wishes to support Prince Edward’s ascension,” Abel added regretfully.

Indeed, if the king’s eldest daughter had wanted the throne, she would have long since claimed it, and the political situation in Gambis would not be so turbulent.

“The last candidate is Archduke Williams, King Lane’s brother. The Archduke is humble and enjoys the support of many regional nobles, commanding high prestige in the House of Lords and significant influence in the Senate. It’s said he has close ties with the Church of Radiance, and it was he who persuaded three cardinals to pressure the Emperor of Lant into the recent armistice,” Abel sneered. “The York family now serves as the Archduke’s lackeys.”

“Victor, our Marquess is a close friend of Queen Catherine and naturally a staunch supporter of Prince Edward. We cannot sit by and allow Williams’ power to grow unchecked. Partitioning Earl York’s lands is only logical—not only is your barony placed to divide his holdings, several other families loyal to the prince have been similarly situated. We just didn’t expect the Yorks to strike at us first.” Abel stood, pacing back and forth.

“So what should I do?” Victor asked.

“These past days, Earl York has repeatedly refused my requests for a meeting, citing pressing affairs. He clearly has no intention of seeing me—he’s likely already dispatched an envoy to the Senate in the capital to work the matter from there. I must return to the capital at once to meet with Lady Sophia; the outcome hinges on the Senate’s verdict. If we prepare in advance, we won’t let him succeed.” Abel stopped and turned to Victor. “To prevent him from sending assassins after me on the road, I can’t leave you any guards. For the next month, Earl York may try to pressure you—just feign lingering injuries and confusion, and stall him for a month. He won’t risk his noble reputation by harming you directly.”

Hearing Abel’s plan to leave him alone in Blackfort to delay Earl York, Victor thought to himself: I suspect you care little for my safety. If Earl York simply tosses me into the wilds, they might never even find my body. But, alas, I am no longer the plaything to be manipulated at will.

Victor masked his true feelings with a look of earnestness and said, “Master, I’ll follow your instructions. Please return swiftly.”

Standing at the window, Victor watched as Lord Abel’s carriage, surrounded by dozens of guards, headed toward the capital and gradually vanished from sight. A trace of coldness crept into his expression.

Lord Abel had no idea that the original Baron Victor was long since gone. When Zhang Xiaoqiang sifted through the young baron’s memories, he discovered that at the moment of death a strange demonic visage appeared in the sea of consciousness. The demon’s eyes blazed with crimson light, and in an instant, the baron’s soul shattered. This indicated that the baron had been murdered in his coma by some extraordinary power.

Earl York was unlikely to be the culprit; for a novice young baron, the Yorks had myriad ways to manipulate him, and killing him would only invite trouble, not benefit.

However, the faction supporting Prince Edward was another matter. Sacrificing an insignificant baron would allow them to assert control over the new territory, providing ample justification to censure the Yorks or deploy more military force to Centaur Hills.

Moreover, though the young baron’s soul was destroyed, his body remained alive but comatose and would have died in a few days. Had Zhang Xiaoqiang’s soul not transmigrated, Lord Abel would have arrived just as the baron died at Blackfort.

The thought sent chills down Victor’s spine. In his mind appeared the image of a beautiful woman—could it have been her? Lady Sophia Wimbledon?

After pondering by the window for a while, Victor turned toward a chair in the room.

It was a newly crafted silver fir armchair: plain in design yet sturdy and solid, exuding a fresh scent of raw timber.

Victor extended his fair, slender hand, pressing lightly on the chair’s back. With a gentle exertion of his arm and a lift of his waist, he sprang up, landing steadily atop the chair back.

He twisted his waist, adjusting his balance; soon the chair’s two front legs rose off the floor. Shifting his weight to his left leg, the right rear leg also lifted, and yet Victor remained poised atop the chair back. Anyone witnessing this astonishing scene might think Victor and the chair had become weightless, hovering in midair.

Has the X-3 chip granted me such control over my body?

A glimmer of light flashed in Victor’s eyes as he leapt from the chair back to another chair, landing naturally and adjusting his balance until he stood firmly once more.

After a few vaults from back to back, Victor somersaulted and landed lightly on the floor, exhaling and closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his vision had changed.

Looking at the chair, data arrays appeared before his eyes: the chair back stood 110 centimeters high, the seat 50 centimeters wide. He hefted the chair—35.74 kilograms—squeezed it—hardness 1290 BF. These figures surfaced and faded at will, never feeling awkward or intrusive. Closing his eyes and inhaling, he could call up readings for skin temperature, air humidity—whatever he wished.

Victor glanced at a candle burning on the wall, picked up a disc from the table, closed his eyes again, and with a flick of his wrist sent the disc spinning toward the candle. With a soft puff, the flame was extinguished; the disc spun back before striking the wall. Guided by the sound, Victor caught it firmly out of the air.

Opening his eyes, he saw that aside from the candle being snuffed, nothing else had been disturbed.

He felt slightly more fatigued than at the start of his tests, so he exited data mode and rolled his neck, finding no major discomfort.

This is a world of extraordinary powers. My state must count as a kind of supernatural ability, though it drains stamina faster than normal. But now’s not the time to test X-3 further. I’ll find another opportunity to discover more of its functions. From now on, I’ll call this data mode “Overlimit.” Victor mused silently.

He remained puzzled that a biochip had traveled with him to this world, but chose not to dwell on it—possessing such powers was a source of delight.

Suddenly, Victor’s keen hearing caught the soft footsteps outside the door. After a moment, a stern elderly man’s voice sounded from the hall.

“Lord Victor, the Governor requests your presence. Please accompany me for an audience.”

So they’ve come. Victor’s lips curled with a hint of a smile.