Chapter 14: Unforgettable at a Glance
The old butler omitted the rest of his words, but his eyes shone with an enigmatic glow, tinged with a hint of anticipation.
Upon hearing the butler's words, the duke revealed a quite surprised expression. Naturally, he was aware of Armand's prowess; his leadership skills even surpassed his own, enough to rank among the continent's famous generals. And it was largely due to Armand that he had defeated the tripartite alliance under disadvantageous circumstances.
The strength of the Seven Stars was something the duke had anticipated. But Armand's omitted final sentence left him not just astonished, but utterly startled.
Even Armand couldn't accurately gauge Heijin's true level? So what kind of existence was Heijin's talent?
Silence once again enveloped the study, as quiet as a forest at night.
The duke's brows furrowed tightly together. Until now, he began to seriously consider matters that could not be ignored. Heijin was an idiot, a fact universally acknowledged in the imperial capital. In seven years, there had been no signs to suggest he was a genius. Perhaps even a random playboy from among those aristocratic offspring would be enough to trample Heijin into the ground.
Yet now, he had demonstrated a level comparable to a genius in the royal academy's entrance exam. Was this a miracle, or did it contain some deeper mystery?
The duke couldn't figure it out. In fact, he could never have imagined that the fat boy was actually a figure from another world capable of rivaling the military deity.
As his thoughts turned, the duke also recalled the accident seven years ago. To save Qingyin, the fat boy had his brain damaged, becoming dull and clumsy. He couldn't practice either martial arts or magic, and even couldn't understand books meant for children.
Thinking of this, the duke's fingers instinctively tightened, and with a "thump," an indentation appeared on the hard desk.
"If it weren't for those three bastards, Heijin would have kept his intelligence and could have made it onto the potential list now…" The duke's eyes were tinged with anger.
Looking at the duke, the old butler shook his head slightly. The Roselle family had only Heijin as their sole heir for three generations, but this heir had become an idiot seven years ago. As an elderly man in his twilight years, he had to helplessly watch his grandson become an idiot, unable to seek revenge and enduring heart-wrenching pain. Who could accept such a thing?
But now that Heijin had returned to normal, the duke's anger could finally be unleashed—anger that he had suppressed for seven years, perhaps even for a lifetime. When it erupted, it would be like molten lava.
Shortly afterward, the duke seemed to think of something, and the anger in his eyes retreated as quickly as a tide. Then his brows furrowed tightly again.
Looking at Roselle, the Lionheart Duke, Armand knew exactly what he was thinking and couldn't help but laugh helplessly before glancing at the document in his hand.
On the white paper filled with dense black text, two red slashes stood out glaringly. They documented two things that were very "unfavorable" for Heijin.
The first thing is shooting horses, which is a taboo. On the Silver Moon Continent, every knight takes pride in their victory through upright, noble, and fair battles. Those despicable and underhanded tactics are despised by all knights. Just like in a duel, if you win with your true strength, you will gain respect from everyone. But if you win through underhanded means like using lime powder or poison, you will be despised by those who consider themselves "noble."
The second was that Heijin chose to "flee" even when he could have expanded the battle's outcome.
Neither of these two things was acceptable to Roselle Duke, a stern and upright marshal.
So one thing was certain: the fat boy was in trouble. Before Roselle Duke planned his life for him, Heijin would first have to face punishment.
And this "punishment" was something no one would willingly accept.
"Armand, help me…" The duke was about to speak, but his words were interrupted by hurried footsteps.
"Duke, old butler, it's not good. The ducal mansion is surrounded by people from the royal academy, and some nobles have also arrived upon hearing the news," a servant said, unable to stop the sweat from pouring down his forehead.
"What?" Roselle slammed his hand on the table and stood up, furious like a provoked lion.
Since when had the ducal mansion become a target for anyone to exploit?
At this moment, Armand was slightly more composed, asking the servant, "What's the reason?"
"Those people from the royal academy want to seize the Warlord's Order, saying it's in Master Heijin's hands," the servant quickly replied.
"The Warlord's Order? Heijin?" Roselle and Armand exchanged glances in surprise.
No one was unaware of the Warlord's Order. Possessing it meant having the right to make one request of the Warlord.
Although it was just a right to make a request, there had never been a case on the continent where the Warlord had refused a request made with the Warlord's Order.
In other words, possessing the Warlord's Order meant having a 90% chance of fulfilling a wish, whether it was murder, wealth, power, or even demanding the annihilation of a country—of course, referring to those scattered, small kingdoms with just a few hundred miles of territory and tens of thousands of people.
A doubt arose simultaneously in the minds of Roselle and Armand: how did Heijin obtain the Warlord's Order? Such a thing should never have appeared, nor should it have been in Heijin's hands.
"I'll go find Heijin. Armand, you handle those people at the gate. If necessary, you can use extreme measures. The ducal mansion has been too quiet for too long. Some people have forgotten that it still houses a marshal who once defeated a united enemy force," Roselle said in a deep voice.
Armand nodded and walked out the door with the servant.
"Blessing or curse?" Duke Lionheart murmured as he watched Armand leave.
The fat man had already learned every detail of what happened outside from the servant's account. However, he didn't have any sense of guilt for being the culprit.
He simply asked Qingyin to bring him a book and began to study diligently.
"The Development History of the Silver Moon Continent" was a book as thick as a brick, one that almost no one was willing to read. This book recorded the history of the Silver Moon Continent's development over thousands of years, the rise and fall of every country, the existence of every race, and the battles between nations...etc. It was basically an encyclopedia.
Although this book was comprehensive, almost no one except for those old scholars with thick glasses was willing to read it. On the one hand, people who grew up on the Silver Moon Continent already knew everything they needed to know about their surroundings and didn't need to read this book. On the other hand, this developmental history was too thick and too large to finish reading in less than a year or two.
Spending that much time reading a useless book would be a complete waste.
However, the fat man read very carefully, with such a serious attitude that it almost seemed like he was holding a deeply profound book on magic theory or a powerful fighting qi technique.
Watching the fat man studying diligently, Qingyin placed a cup of freshly prepared energizing liquid beside him and shook her head.
Even Qingyin was very puzzled by the fat man's behavior. A history book, a completely useless history book, why was he putting in so much effort? Even if it was to fill in the seven-year gap and understand the current situation of the Silver Moon Continent, he didn't need to be so serious, did he?
Qingyin was somewhat confused, but the fat man had already started murmuring questions. "Qingyin, how did the Magic Dynasty fall? According to the book, the Magic Dynasty was ruined by a treacherous prime minister, and then due to the struggle for power between the imperial power and the prime minister's power, the country fell into decline, allowing the Empire of Faith to seize the opportunity. But how could that be? A dying camel is bigger than a horse. Even if the Magic Dynasty had fallen into decline, it still had more than 10,000 magicians. Based on my previous understanding of magicians, if these 10,000 magicians cast spells simultaneously, they could flatten the Empire of Faith."
"..." Listening to the fat man's words, Qingyin was stunned. The Magic Dynasty was a very glorious country two thousand years ago, occupying almost 70% of the entire Silver Moon Continent. The remaining 20% of barren land was in the hands of the orcs, and the remaining 10% was in the hands of two or three small, fragmented countries, with the Empire of Faith being the largest. According to history, because the prime minister and the 19th emperor of the Magic Dynasty competed for power, the internal strife caused the country's strength to decline, allowing the Empire of Faith to seize the opportunity and join with the remaining small countries to destroy the Magic Dynasty.
This was the general record in history. However, Qingyin clearly remembered that the history book did not record that the Magic Dynasty still had 10,000 magicians left. Where did the fat man get this information?
Qingyin turned her head and looked at the page the fat man had flipped to, her face slightly blushing. When she looked at it, she was somewhat surprised. There was no record of 10,000 magicians in the section about the decline of the Magic Dynasty.
"Heijin, where did you hear that the Magic Dynasty still had 10,000 magicians left?" Qingyin asked the fat man in confusion.
"Here... The Magic Dynasty had fallen, and the fallen Magic Dynasty didn't even have one-tenth of its strength at its peak. But what is inspiring and forever memorable is that even though the Magic Dynasty had fallen, it still bravely fought in the war against the orcs. The light of the stars illuminated the sky, and on that barren land, a brand new star map appeared." The fat man's chubby fingers gently traced a line of text in the book. That was the only glorious record of the decline of the Magic Dynasty.
"..." Looking at that line of text, Qingyin still didn't understand because there was no record of 10,000 magicians there. Until the fat man spoke a sentence.
"I remember that the Magic Dynasty should have had 130,000 magicians at its peak, with a ratio of one magician to every 100 citizens. And the record about the star map here was only described once before, which was when the Magic Dynasty was established. The first emperor of the Magic Dynasty, Emperor Tansien, commanded tens of thousands of magicians to form the most powerful magic array in the history of the Silver Moon Continent, the Star Magic Array. Based on the latter theory, to form the Star Magic Array requires a very large number of magicians, definitely over ten thousand. And since it's less than one-tenth, it could only be around ten thousand." While analyzing, the fat man flipped through the book with a rustling sound. Two examples separated by dozens of pages were overlapped by the fat man.
Looking at the fat man, Qingyin had already forgotten his analysis and his question at this point. She was only thinking about one thing: how did the fat man manage to find what he wanted so clearly and quickly in dozens of pages of the book?
"Photographic memory? No, it's not just photographic memory. He also firmly remembers the most important parts." Qingyin murmured in her heart.