novelraw Chapter 169 Marshal Gaius's Huge Reward: Is Cardan Really Going to Become Xia Fa's Adopted
Chapter 169 Marshal Gaius's Huge Reward: Is Cardan Really Going to Become Xia Fa's Adopted
Chapter 169 Marshal Gaius's Huge Reward: Is Cardan Really Going to Become Xia Fa's Adopted Son?
The aroma of cigars, carrying the scents of musk and pine, wafted gently through the study.
A red pine cigar from the Bo Yue Empire had appeared between Marshal Gaius's index and middle fingers at some point.
The Boyue Empire is famous for its cigars, with the most premium being the red pine cigars from Red Pine City.
Each red pine cigar is marked with a unique pine needle emblem and is numbered.
At that moment, Xia Fa clearly saw that Marshal Gaius's cigar had a number and insignia.
Of course, it would be strange for a ruler, the Grand Marshal of the three armies of the Augu Kingdom, not to be smoking a Bo Yue Red Pine cigar.
"It's been so long since I've smoked, probably hundreds of years. I'm in a good mood today, want one?"
Marshal Gaius, who was a tough soldier and iron-fisted general at the family banquet, now showed an approachable side.
Xia Fa shook his head:
"No, thank you for your kindness, Marshal."
He still drinks alcohol occasionally, but he really doesn't smoke.
Marshal Gaius paid no attention, and casually pulled out a metal lighter, stained with dark red blood.
With a "pop," the lighter cap opened, and the cigar cap was cut off by the invisible air.
Holding a lighter, he slowly smoked the cigar, quite meticulously, making the tobacco aroma, a blend of musk and pine, even stronger.
Despite being the master, he could light this red pine cigar with a single thought.
"You should be familiar with the political landscape of our planet, Caligi, and the Star Coin Continent, right?"
As the ruler smoked his cigar, he spoke slowly, with a hint of smirk in his voice.
Xia Fa nodded, briefly recalling what he had read in history and geography books:
"On the Star Coin Continent, the Augu Kingdom, the Wave Moon Empire, and the Cloth Bag Dynasty stand in a triangular formation, like the three vertices of a round coin, with the Baron Ocean in the middle, and either a great strait or a continuous mountain range at their borders."
Marshal Gaius then finished smoking his cigar, lit the center of the cigar with the bright yellow flame, took a leisurely puff, and exhaled a cloud of smoke several seconds later.
He leaned back in his golden chair, a relaxed smile on his face, before looking at Xia Fa:
"That's right. Caligia has a total of twenty-two continents. Although our Star Coin Continent is not the center of Caligia, it is not isolated either. In terms of strength alone, it is about the same as the strongest of the other twenty-one continents."
Xia Fa's eyes flashed. He only learned in the last few days that there were twenty-two continents on the planet Caligel.
The other continents are the Continent of Justice, the Continent of Chariots, the Continent of the Wheel of Fortune, and so on—all named after Tarot cards.
But what's amazing is that tarot cards have never existed in this world.
The book "The Mystical Exploration Record of the Fog People" provides a detailed description of the planet Caligia.
The "Mist Realm" inhabited by the Mist People is, in a sense, both a realm of mystery and a vast landmass wandering in the universe.
In this situation, they are able to observe and record those famous life-bearing planets from an outsider's perspective.
Caligi is one of them.
In that book, Caligari is described as "one of the greatest and most magnificent life-bearing planets."
There are two reasons for this. One of them is that although Caligia is just a planet, its size is comparable to that of a supermassive star, and its extent is unimaginable.
Even a demigod, flying from one end of Caligia to the other, could never finish the journey in a lifetime.
As for the other reason, "So, you should also know that although our twenty-two continents are built around the most abundant and richest land god kingdoms of the 'Silver Universe' and the 'Nature Monarch' on the planet Kaligi, in this era when the nine great gods hardly respond to prayers, the gods simply cannot care about the war between humans and demi-humans."
As Marshal Gaius spoke, he exhaled another puff of smoke, the faint scent of musk and pine adding to the study's serene and elegant atmosphere.
Xia Fa pondered and said:
"Marshal, you mean—"
He had a vague idea of what was going on, but he wasn't sure.
The reason why the planet Caligia holds such a high and special position in the entire universe is because it belongs to the [Silver Universe], one of the nine righteous gods.
Both the [Nature Monarch] and the [Nature Monarch] established their earthly divine kingdoms on the planet Caligi!
If we're really going to compare, only Adre, with its "Absolute Defense" earthly divine kingdom, and Panridas, with its "Paradox Joker" earthly divine kingdom, along with several other inhabited planets where the earthly divine kingdoms of righteous gods reside, can be considered comparable.
During the first and second ten thousand years of the universe, the planet Caligia was home to the divine kingdoms of the Silver Hundred Universe and the Natural Monarch, where gods would even walk on the earth and descend upon the world. This resulted in almost no wars occurring on the twenty-two continents.
Even if it happens, the gentle and kind God of the Silver Universe will intervene to stop the war between the two sides.
But in the third ten thousand years of the universe, the true gods had long resided in their earthly kingdoms and never came out again. The greed in the hearts of humans and demi-humans was like a demon, and wars naturally began to break out frequently.
Marshal Gaius placed the cigar on the desk, and just as it was about to touch the surface, it floated up on its own.
He stood up, walked to the window, turned his back to Xia Fa, and put his hands behind his back.
At this moment, his back gave Xia Fa an unshakable feeling, as solid as rock and as cold and hard as steel, but it also seemed to be carrying a lot, so much that it was hard to breathe.
Marshal Gaius's voice slowly rose, sounding as if it carried the dust of history, its weight sweeping over Xiafa.
"Around 1,300 years ago, the balance between the three kingdoms of our Star Coin Continent, where each kingdom had only one ruler, was broken."
"The Cloth Bag Dynasty has seen the emergence of a second ruler."
"Under those circumstances, our Augu Kingdom had no choice but to cooperate with the Boyue Empire and join forces to fight against the Budai Dynasty."
"The ruler of the Augu Kingdom at that time was naturally me, while the ruler of the Wave Moon Empire was Emperor Williams."
"When two rulers clash with two rulers, neither side has an absolute chance of winning. They might even suffer heavy losses, allowing other continents to reap the benefits. Therefore, this peaceful situation has been maintained."
"Until—six hundred years ago."
"Six hundred years ago, the Crimson Agents emerged in the Wave Moon Empire."
"No one knows the past of this extraordinary monarch. All that is known is that he seems to be a local nobleman in a remote town in the Wave Moon Empire, but his family has fallen into decline long ago. He has a noble title but lives a life worse than a commoner with a respectable job."
"But this is the only piece of his past that Octavian and I have been able to find in the past over the past six hundred years."
"In short, after the Crimson Agent appeared on the Star Coin Continent as an extraordinary monarch, he did not choose to become the emperor of the Wave Moon Empire. Instead, he joined the Cloth Bag Dynasty with a madness that is hard for ordinary people to understand."
"He is clearly human and does not have the cloth bag he was born with, but he chose to join the Cloth Bag Dynasty and prepare to unite with the two rulers of the Cloth Bag Dynasty to deal with the Wave Moon Empire and the Augu Kingdom."
Xia Fa was quite surprised when he heard this.
This Crimson Agent is not only a madman who would shoot himself in the head, but unexpectedly, he is also a traitor, so insane that he helps the enemy against his own country.
Not to mention, he is now inducing refugees to become snow demons out of control, and seems to be collecting something. Xia Fa felt that there were more and more mysteries surrounding this extraordinary monarch.
He didn't speak, but listened quietly.
Marshal Gaius remained with his back to him, the lights from the palace gardens shining in, making his figure appear extremely tall and casting a golden outline around him.
"Our planet, Calig, with its twenty-two continents, is dominated by extraordinary individuals, unlike those life-bearing planets on the edge of the universe where even secret codes are unknown."
"In this situation, wars between nations cannot be like those between ordinary people, where soldiers' lives and corpses are used to fill the battle lines."
"War will only be decided by the rulers, accompanied by their angels and demigods, in a very short time!"
"Each ruler possesses the ability to destroy a nation. Therefore, the number of rulers in each nation determines the success or failure of the war. Six hundred years ago, to be precise, six hundred and twelve years ago, the Cloth Bag Dynasty had two rulers. Moreover, as demi-humans, Cloth Bag People, their innate extraordinary talents also played an unexpected role when they became rulers, making them extremely difficult to deal with."
"Then, the Cloth Bag Dynasty gained another extraordinary monarch, the Crimson Executor."
"A single transcendent monarch is enough to deal with two or three rulers, let alone a transcendent monarch plus two rulers."
"To deal with me and Emperor Williams?"
At this point, Marshal Gaius sighed deeply. From his tone, Xia Faguang could sense the immense difficulty that had been faced at the time.
And just how much pressure they are facing.
Marshal Gaius continued:
"At that time, the destruction of me and Emperor Williams was only a matter of moments. The people of our two nations were about to become slaves of the Cloth Bag Dynasty, needlessly providing 'anchor points' for those two rulers and the extraordinary monarch, the Crimson Agent."
"Of course, in a sense, conquering other countries and making their people your own is also a form of conquest."
Providing themselves with "anchor points" is the fundamental reason why rulers wage war, and also the fundamental reason why their greed is stirred up.
"The higher one's rank, the easier it is to lose control of one's inner power and extraordinary abilities, leading to a loss of control. Only by having as many anchor points as possible can this be resolved."
"Anchor points are a fatal temptation for every ruler."
"With war imminent, Emperor Williams used his ancestral sealed artifact, numbered '00016,' to briefly repel the attacks of the Crimson Executor and the two Overlords."
"But we both understand that this won't last long. Once they break the seal, our destruction and the fall of our nation will be imminent."
"But at this time, Octavian found me."
"Back then, he was just a general under my command."
Xia Fa listened more and more intently, and began to ponder the matter.
According to Marshal Gaius, the higher the rank of a transcendent being, the more likely they are to lose control due to the inability to control their secret power and transcendent abilities.
However, although he had only signed three secret contracts, two of them were of the highest level!
Logically speaking, with each of the overlord-level secret contracts being of the "overlord" level, and with that unparalleled power, shouldn't it be even more difficult to control?
But why is it that even though I've signed two overlord-level secret contracts at the Eagle level, there's never been any sign of things getting out of control?
After much thought, Xia Fa realized that the only possible cause was the strange electric current at the base of his spine.
But this doesn't mean you don't need an anchor point. It's just that you'd probably need one only if you attained a true angelic or sovereign position.
This anchor point is indeed a difficult problem, but Xia Fa is not worried. After all, it will take some time before he becomes an angel or even a ruler.
Marshal Gaius's voice rang out again, heavy and filled with emotion, echoing in the study.
"Octavian was an angel at that time, and he was my most capable and trusted angel under the devil. I almost regarded him as my confidant."
"After learning of the sudden emergence of the Crimson Agent, this extraordinary monarch, and the impending fall of our Augu Kingdom, he appeared in this palace late one night."
"And it's this study."
"My most trusted general came to me on his own initiative. I knew then that it must be something of utmost importance."
"Sure enough, Octavian said something that was completely unexpected, but also extremely surprising."
Marshal Gaius finally turned around, returned to his desk, picked up the floating cigar, and took another puff.
At this moment, the heavy pressure on his face was gone, replaced by a faint smile, which, for some reason, made him appear even more dignified and solemn.
His eyes always seemed to hold the power of a lion.
"Octavian only said one sentence at the time, but that one sentence made me so happy that I couldn't sleep all night."
"He meant that he had already understood his eighth secret contract and only needed to sign one more to become the ruler."
"But that's not the key point. The key point is that the ninth secret contract actually belongs to the Star Spirit Master!"
Xia Fa was startled, and his pupils involuntarily contracted slightly.
As the Star Spirit Master, he certainly knew that it was one of the ten overlord-level secret contracts!
Therefore, even when His Majesty Octavian, the current emperor of the Kingdom of Augu, was an angel, he was unable to sign a supreme-level secret pact.
It was only when he became the ruler that he signed the "Star Spirit Law Master" hegemonic secret contract?
Having just become the ruler, he naturally became an extraordinary monarch—Emperor Octavian. This life seems pretty awesome.
Marshal Gaius's resolute and rugged face, so characteristic of a soldier, was now filled with a look of reminiscence:
"The moment Octavian opened his mouth, I knew what he wanted."
"Being a transcendent monarch is not easy, especially since he only achieved his goal with the ninth secret contract. His spiritual intuition guided him to the overlord-level secret contract."
"In this situation, to ensure a smooth signing and a successful ascension from angel to transcendent monarch, there is only one key—"
Xia Fa tentatively asked:
"Enough anchor points?"
Marshal Gaius gave him a look of considerable appreciation:
"That's right, a sufficient anchor point, and it must be an anchor point provided by the people of an entire nation!"
"Fortunately, Emperor Williams was able to use the 00016 seal to hold off the Crimson Executor and the two rulers of the Cloth Bag Dynasty, giving us a few precious days, but in reality, he was almost at his limit."
"That night, Octavian and I discussed it all night."
"The very next morning, I immediately abdicated and made Octavian the emperor."
"Not only that, we also held a three-day, three-night celebration throughout the country. Death row inmates were executed immediately, serious offenders were sentenced to death, and minor offenders were exiled. People of all social standing, status, and age received food, wine, and gold pounds."
"I even immediately joined forces with Octavian to build the Selenes family's mint and establish the Selenes Bank."
"Among the gold pounds that the people received, there would certainly be a royal gold coin, with a relief bust of Octavian on the obverse and the coat of arms of the Selene family on the reverse."
"For three whole days, the people gradually learned and accepted the fact that Octavian had become emperor."
"In the hearts of all the people of the Kingdom of Augus, Octavian became the emperor, while I abdicated and became the marshal of the three armies, only in charge of the army."
"The effect of such anchor points is astonishing. Octavian, who was an angel at the time, could directly enter the realm of the Overlord without taking the out-of-control suppressant."
"So, three days later, that night, in this very study, under my protection, I personally witnessed him sign the supreme-level secret contract of the Star Spirit Master, becoming a transcendent monarch!"
Marshal Gaius, his usually composed and resolute face betraying a hint of envy, continued:
"Even with the support of the people across the country, things almost got out of control during the signing process. Fortunately, in the end, the incredibly resilient spirit honed over many years in the military and on the battlefield of the supernatural pulled us back."
"The situation has suddenly reversed. Our Augu Kingdom and the Boyue Dynasty have joined forces, and now we have two rulers and one extraordinary monarch, making us evenly matched with the Cloth Bag Dynasty."
"Seeing that there was no profit to be made, the Crimson Agents left and ceased to be allies of the Cloth Bag Dynasty."
Xia Fa asked rather strangely:
"Since becoming a transcendent monarch requires the support of an entire nation's populace, then the Crimson Agent—"
Marshal Gaius frowned slightly at this moment, his eyes filled with recollection and contemplation:
"This is also one of the mysteries surrounding him, perhaps even one of the biggest mysteries."
"It is possible that when he was an angel, he wandered to other inhabited planets in the universe that were not ruled by superhumans and established the people's faith in him."
"It's not difficult to establish your own faith on a planet where there are no superhumans."
"The difficulty lies in finding, in this era, a planet that has not yet been visited by angels, rulers, or even gods, and which has never given birth to any extraordinary beings."
"After all, on such a planet, an angel could easily display his secret abilities and be worshipped as a god by mortals, thus securing the anchor point."
"Of course, another possibility is that they joined some secret heretical organization, which allows them to stabilize their minds in ways and at costs that are unimaginable to ordinary people, or with the help of secret treasures and sealing artifacts."
"There's another possibility: he might have naturally extremely stable mental strength and an incredibly resilient will. However, the probability of that is extremely low, almost as low as the probability of signing a top-tier secret agreement. Good things can't always happen to him, can they?"
After Marshal Gaius's detailed explanation, Xia Fa understood a little better and gained quite a bit.
But if that's the case, then almost all the life-bearing planets in the universe that are capable of establishing their own beliefs have been divided up by the first arrivals.
Xia Fa felt a toothache and wondered if the statues erected for him by the refugees and people of Putet Farm would be of any use when he became the ruler. Because he had won ten million acres of potato fields for the Kingdom of Augu, Putet Farm, where those ten million acres of potato fields had come from, was now filled with his statues.
Some people even go to his statue every day to pray.
When Xia Fa first saw the news in the Augusta Morning Post, he was quite embarrassed, feeling that he was unworthy of his position.
After all, he was not a god, not even a ruler or an angel, and he could not hear the people praying to his statue.
But now, Xia Fa feels that these statues are still very useful!
I estimate that once I advance to the level of a demigod, I will need the function of an "anchor".
"It's a pity that the people of this world rely too much on secret abilities, which has led to slow scientific development. Otherwise, there would probably be quite a few statues of me around those ten million acres of oil fields."
Xia Fa thought to himself jokingly, and even considered whether he should wait until his status and position were high enough before guiding the development of science, especially modern industrialization, in the Kingdom of Augu.
Just then, Marshal Gaius's words interrupted his thoughts.
"Octavian appeared out of nowhere, and the crisis was over."
"He became an extraordinary monarch, and he needed the people as an anchor at all times, so I simply let him continue to be the emperor, and I will just be my marshal."
"But no one could have predicted that the very next day after the Crimson Agents announced they would no longer help the Cloth Bag Dynasty, Emperor Williams of the Wave Moon Empire immediately turned around and allied with the Cloth Bag Dynasty."
"Then, the Cloth Bag Dynasty and the Wave Moon Empire joined forces to deal with our Augu Kingdom."
Xia Fa was slightly taken aback:
"this-
Gaius shook his head and smiled:
"This is what they mean by 'there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.' Think about it: the Crimson Agent is gone, and the five pirate emperors at sea value freedom and adventure, and they're unlikely to ally with any nation. In this situation, which of the three nations on the Star Coin Continent is the strongest?"
Xia Fa suddenly realized:
"Is this our Augu Kingdom?"
Gaius nodded slightly:
"Indeed, back then, or rather, even now, we have a transcendent monarch, a sovereign. As long as the Cloth Bag Dynasty and the Wave Moon Empire do not join forces, Octavian and I can wipe out their rulers of demigod rank or above within a day and incorporate their vast lands and hardworking people into the territory of the Augu Kingdom."
As he spoke, a look of understanding appeared on his face:
"In this situation, with anchor points provided by the people of two more countries, I could sign several more secret agreements!"
Xia Fa was also moved by what he said, and suddenly realized that he had made a mistake in his thinking.
Exactly! Why bother looking for life-bearing planets in the universe that haven't established faiths or have superhuman beings? Especially when it's practically impossible to find them now.
If I were to become the ruler, I would be far stronger than the Emperor of Mystery. Then, wouldn't it be easy to conquer the Cloth Bag Dynasty and the Wave Moon Empire?
Since only rulers, angels, and demigods are qualified to participate in wars between superhumans, and it doesn't harm the common people, he is absolutely willing to participate.
"Interestingly, although the Cloth Bag Dynasty has been allied with the Wave Moon Empire for more than 600 years, the Cloth Bag Dynasty is always afraid that the Wave Moon Empire will give birth to another extraordinary monarch, and also afraid that the Crimson Agent will suddenly return to the Wave Moon Empire."
Xia Fa thought for a moment, then hesitated and said:
"Because if the Boyue Empire also had a transcendent monarch, the situation would become one where our Augu Kingdom and the Boyue Empire join forces to conquer the Cloth Bag Dynasty, and then divide their land and people equally?"
Gaius laughed:
"Brilliant! That's exactly right. When our strength is equal to that of the Wave Moon Empire, neither of us will need to be too wary of the other, and naturally the Cloth Bag Dynasty will suffer. This is the game between nations; there are only interests, never allies."
Xia Fa couldn't help but sigh, because it seemed to be true.
The main reason is that war doesn't harm the common people, and the rulers don't have any moral constraints, so what do they have to worry about?
But immediately, a new question arose in Xia Fa's mind: "If that's the case, shouldn't the Augustus family and the Selene royal family have absolutely no animosity? Why would the Selene royal family have issued that law?"
What he was referring to was, of course, the law promulgated by the Selene royal family after Octavian ascended the throne, which stipulated that "any surname other than Selene is no longer exclusive to nobles, and commoners may also use it."
This very law has been regarded by the people for six hundred years and even now as a means for the Selene royal family to weaken the power of the Augustus family.
Because, over the past six hundred years, many commoners with the surname Augustus have indeed emerged in the Kingdom of Augustus.
Gaius's emerald eyes, however, took on a deeper meaning:
"Do you think that over the past six hundred years, since our Augustus family followed this law and began recruiting young people with the surname Augustus who were not of our blood but were exceptionally talented, our family has become weaker or stronger?"
Xia Fa suddenly realized how brilliant this move was.
Yes! Although many people have started to use the surname Augustus, doesn't that mean that within the territory of the Augustan Kingdom, there will always be a continuous supply of outstanding young people for the Augustan family?
Gaius's tone carried a hint of smirk:
"Nobles are most concerned about their reputation, but with this law in place, and considering the change of the throne, our Augustus family can simply recruit some outstanding young men with the surname Augustus, and no one will say anything. Besides..."
His dignified gaze, tinged with admiration, fell upon Xia Fa, and he slowly said:
"Aren't you the best example in six hundred years of this law that has benefited our Augustus family?"
Xia Fa chuckled inwardly. Now that he mentioned it, it seemed that he had indeed already found out the truth, even asking the neighbors on Daniel Street. He confirmed that he had neither the blood of the Augustus family nor the blood of the Selene royal family.
Back then, it seems that my grandfather, unable to find a job, changed his surname to Augustus in a fit of anger and added the middle name "De" so that others would look up to him when he was looking for a job.
Then, under these circumstances, Grandpa actually found a job, which enabled him to get married and have children, including Xiafa's father, and then Xiafa herself.
Grandpa probably never imagined that decades later, he would actually become a member of the Augustus family because of this surname.
"Of course, only members of our two families with angelic ranks and above know about this matter. As for the fact that it will lead to open and covert struggles between the young people of the Augustus family and the Selene royal family, that's just a smokescreen. Anyway, as long as there is no bloodshed, it's fine. It can even motivate them to treat each other as rivals and grow together."
Marshal Gaius then changed the subject:
"Alright, now that you know this biggest secret and past that is important to our two families, your status is no less than that of the three angels, including Little Chalcos. If you have any questions or needs in the future, you can ask me."
At this point, Xia Fa perked up and said without hesitation:
"Master Yuan, do you know about—the proof of eternity?"
Marshal Gaius's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his cigar. This usually calm and collected commander-in-chief suddenly widened his eyes:
"Where—where did you hear about this?"
Xia Fa also smiled meaningfully:
"You forgot, I am the signatory of the Silver Throne, and all sorts of people will come to me on their own initiative."
Marshal Gaius suddenly realized what was happening, but he sighed deeply.
"Regarding the 'proof of eternity,' I, like you, only know these five words; I know nothing else. I can swear this oath to the true God I believe in, the Lord of Nature."
Although the nine righteous gods rarely respond to prayers anymore, oaths sworn in their name are generally true.
Xia Fa was aware of this.
But then Marshal Gaius continued:
"If I had to say what else he knows, it would be the only Mysterious Emperor on our planet Kaligi, a being revered by all twenty-two continents. This time, he emerged from the Earthly Kingdom of the [Nature Monarch] in search of the 'Proof of Eternity'!"
Xia Fa appeared quite surprised, as if he had never heard of it before, but inwardly he was genuinely curious.
So even Marshal Gaius didn't know that two supreme-level secret contracts plus an eternal certificate could allow the ruler to transcend and become a god.
That fat boss really did me a huge favor by telling me this forbidden knowledge that even the ruler didn't know.
Xia Fa thought for a moment and then asked:
"My lord, you said you signed fifteen secret agreements. How did you manage that?"
Marshal Gaius smiled:
"This knowledge of mysticism is nothing special. I'll give you a book on mysticism later, compiled and perfected by the successive rulers and angels of our Augustus family."
"In short, the most important thing is the first nine secret contracts, because only in the first nine secret contracts can a superhuman's spiritual intuition guide them to the overlord-level secret contracts."
"But after signing the nine secret contracts and becoming the ruler, you can continue to try to sign secret contracts, but this will greatly increase the risk of losing control."
"Furthermore, after signing the nine secret contracts, if the difference between signing other secret contracts and signing more than two or three more than other rulers is not significant."
"I was able to sign the fifteenth secret pact because, even now, I still enjoy the image of 'the former Emperor' and 'the current Marshal of the Armed Forces' in the hearts of the people of the Augu Kingdom, but it's difficult to make any further progress."
"Even so, the six extra secret contracts only make my strength barely comparable to that of a transcendent monarch, and that's only if that transcendent monarch has signed nine secret contracts."
Marshal Gaius explained in great detail, even mentioning his own anchor point, as if he truly regarded Xiafa as a junior with his own bloodline.
Many of Xia Fa's doubts were thus resolved.
No wonder, as fellow extraordinary monarchs, he always felt that Patriarch Osius and Dictator were far superior to the Scarlet Agents.
Judging from this, the secret agreements these two signed must have exceeded twenty, right?
"Only with the first nine secret contracts will spiritual intuition guide you to the supreme-level secret contracts—"
Xia Fa pondered, wondering if this would prevent him from achieving his "great goal" of signing all ten hegemonic-level secret agreements.
However, on second thought, it seems that I don't need to be subject to this restriction.
After all, the fact that he was about to sign the third hegemon-level secret contract was already very unconventional. In the more than 30,000 years since the birth of the universe, only one emperor of secrets had signed two hegemon-level secret contracts.
Then, wouldn't an existence capable of signing three hegemon-level secret contracts be extremely rare throughout the entire universe?
However, on the other hand, even his own "Silver Throne" was already extremely rare in terms of signatories.
According to the young miner who had no facial features, there have only been a handful of such individuals in the entire universe over the past 30,000 years, perhaps even just two.
They are also respectively the strongest of the nine righteous gods, the [Absolute Defense], and the "Story Answerer" who ranks among the top three in terms of physical form.
It is estimated that the other signatories of the hegemonic-level secret agreements were likely the signatories of the other six hegemonic-level secret agreements.
He was about to ask again about the effects of the overlord-level contracts such as "Star Spirit Mage" and "Primal Stomach" when Marshal Gaius stood up.
"Alright, I have things to take care of. I've already been delayed for a while because of you, but of course, I'm happy to."
The moment Marshal Gaius stood up, the red pine cigar in his hand disappeared, and the relaxed look on his face vanished, replaced by his usual serious military bearing.
"Is there anything else you want? Feel free to ask, and if I can, I can fulfill it for you right now."
Xia Fa thought about it carefully and realized that the only thing he lacked right now was money.
It's impossible to ask Marshal Gaius to kill the Crimson Agent; at best, the two would fight to a draw.
Since he had already joined the Augustus family, and the patriarch had personally inquired, Xia Fa, shamelessly, said:
"I'm short of money, could you give me 800,000 gold pounds?"
This was the amount he came up with after careful consideration. His Majesty Octavian rewarded him with one million gold pounds, and Prince Justinian also gave him one million gold pounds as a reward.
But that was only after all, he had either made a significant contribution to the Kingdom of Augu or captured a demigod-level Mist Scale Dragon cub for Prince Justinian.
Since I haven't done anything for the Augustus family yet, asking for 800,000 gold pounds should be about right.
Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, Xia Fa noticed that Marshal Gaius's expression suddenly turned silent, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
He felt uneasy. Had he asked for too much?
Unexpectedly, Marshal Gaius produced a bank draft the next moment, a bank draft with a roaring lion crest in the upper left corner:
"From now on, you are a core member of our Augustus family, with a status equivalent to that of an elder. You're too frugal with just 800,000. Here is a bank draft for 1.5 million gold pounds. You can cash it anytime."
It must be said that Marshal Gaius's words truly made Xia Fa feel the domineering aura of a marshal.
One million five hundred thousand gold pounds!
This is truly a wonderful surprise!
Xia Fa did not refuse, accepted it with both hands, and immediately put it into the black bag.
In this way, his assets had reached 3.5 million gold pounds.
In this case, buying a top-tier secret contract should be enough, right?
"Thank you very much, Marshal!"
Marshal Gaius nodded slightly, casually pulled a book with a dark brown cover from the bookshelf, placed it on the desk, and then turned and walked out of the study.
He had just taken a step when his figure flashed and disappeared.
Xia Fa quickly picked up the book and put it into his pouch. Then, he felt the scenery around him blur and found himself back in the garden.
The banquet hall was bathed in golden light, and the glass windows that Pompeii had smashed had been replaced with new ones.
Meanwhile, the entire Augustan family, from angels to demigods and the youngest members, were waiting for him to appear in the garden.
Upon seeing him appear, the members of the Augustus family, led by Cardan, swarmed around him.
The two angels stood aside, watching with smiles on their faces.
"Shafa, let me interview you. When you entered the Silver Throne state through Rhine Silver Mercury, what special sensations did you experience?"
"Xia Fa, do you take on followers? We're all family, I feel like I could become one of your trusted confidants!"
"Shafa, I have a daughter who just turned twenty-two this year. She graduated from Minerva University. What do you think?"
Not only the younger generation, but even the demigods spared no effort to win him over. But just then, a voice with a mocking smile suddenly rang out.
"Don't rush to introduce a wife to Xia Fa. First, we need to help Xia Fa adopt a son, a son who is over fifty years old."
This statement was quite strange, and everyone turned around curiously to find that it was actually said by Axo, an elder of the family.
Beside Axor, Cardan, also a family elder, seemed to suddenly remember something, and his expression changed drastically.
Patrice asked curiously:
"Uncle Yaxor, what—what do you mean? I don't understand. Why are you giving Xia Fage a son, and one who's over fifty years old at that?"
Frederick, the only one among the younger generation of the Augustus family to achieve the demigod status, had unknowingly changed his address to Shaphat to a respectful one, and was even somewhat shameless, making many people click their tongues in disgust.
Yaxor smiled meaningfully, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small camera.
Upon seeing the camera, Cardan's face turned completely panicked.
"Axo, what are you doing carrying around a secret artifact like the 'Reproduction Camera'?! You, you, you—"
Seeing this, everyone became even more curious.
What exactly is the Elder of Axo trying to do?