Imperial Crown.

Chapter 405: The Embers of a Generation

Many thanks to Qidian Dad [Book Friend 20220427003729598] for the 100 reward!

Tomorrow's update time: 11:30
……

The next day, Eagle Town Arena.

"Deep Sea Whale Attack!"

Julia shouted, tapped her legs on the ground, and jumped high like a bird.

The void fighting spirit exploded in that petite body.

Just like a divine brush tearing open the paper called the sky, a blob of ink spread out, coating Julia with a dark color as if hundreds and thousands of years of time had passed.

The morning sun shines brightly, but it cannot penetrate the armor constructed of void fighting spirit on Julia's exquisite body, reflecting a dreamy and transparent texture like amethyst.

Julia swung her sword fiercely, and the fighting spirit around her vibrated violently, as if even the space itself was shaking.

Wherever the sword passed, the fighting spirit in the void gushed, condensed, and expanded, forming huge black shadows, like a killer whale that had smelled the smell of blood, leaping and swimming from the void, and swooping down!

Shadows roam.

At this moment, the arena looked like the bottom of a lake with shimmering waves.

Where the killer whale landed, deep pits appeared on the solid brick and stone ground, like a chocolate cake poked by a naughty child's finger.

boom--

After a brief silence, chaotic-colored light exploded from the deep pit, the earth was shattered into sand, and it rose into the sky like a volcanic eruption!

The entire arena was shrouded in dust and fell into shadow.

A black dot was thrown out and with a thud it knocked down a section of the wall.

Just as Julia was about to use her second move, an arm stretched out from the collapsed bricks:
"That's it!"

pat.

Julia fell to the ground, and the void fighting spirit around her body was restrained. Just as she was about to pull the person up, she heard a loud crash, and the hyena, wearing armor, sat up from a pile of rubble.

Lifting his visor and spitting out a mouthful of dust, the hyena stared at Julia with one eye wide open and one eye narrowed, as if he was participating in an Eric imitation contest.

"Are you okay?" Julia asked carefully.

"It's okay, what could happen!" Hyena suppressed the shock and surprise in his heart. He couldn't understand how Julia, who was only level 2 before, could suddenly be reborn.

He had also been strengthened by Raven, but the effect was not that significant!

"Your fighting spirit has improved greatly this time, but there are still flaws in your use of fighting skills. Don't be too proud."

Julia nodded seriously: "Yes, I feel it too. Could you please practice with me again?"

Upon hearing this, the hyena stood up with a bang, and a few bricks flew into the air.

What a joke! No matter how tough he is, he is only at level 2 at the moment. If he takes another blow, he might even lose his life.

But the dignity and face of our predecessors cannot be lost.

"Ahem!" The hyena cleared his throat. "I have another shift today, so that's all."

"Practice well on your own and be careful. The arena still has to be open at night."

Having said that, he strode out of the arena without waiting for Julia to stop him.

Seeing the hyena leave, Julia frowned:

"Everyone is acting weird today."

This is true for the hyena, for Petty, and for the Earl.

When they met this morning, Sister Patty looked at her very strangely; and the Earl inexplicably gave her a seven-day vacation.

Yesterday’s practice was obviously very successful!
However, the enhancement method that required nudity was embarrassing, which made Julia very resistant.

After waking up today, Julia noticed the changes in herself.

The fighting spirit rushed from level 2, 4 stars to level 3, 7 stars in one breath. Even so, Julia still felt that some essence in her body had not been fully digested.

If you continue to consolidate, reaching level 3, 8 stars is just around the corner.

It was precisely because of the surge in fighting spirit that Julia invited Hyena to the arena to compete—

After all, he has been at level 2 for a long time, and can help Julia calibrate her own strength positioning.

Now it seems that it is still not clear enough.

Otherwise, why not wait until Knight Eric is free and go and spar with him?
……

Eagle City, meditation room.

There was no trace of the green mist in the room anymore, only a few bloodstains remained on the floor.

"call……"

Raven opened his eyes and moved his body in a relaxed manner, listening to the crisp sound of his joints. He felt numb and relaxed, but also a little scared.

I was trying to absorb a magic core and was almost absorbed by it!
The 7th-level magic core is not comparable to the 6th-level one, and Raven was prepared for this.

But unexpectedly, the energy contained in this magic core belonging to the Hydra lizard was so huge and difficult to control.

Fortunately, Julia arrived in time, giving Raven someone to relieve his stress.

Otherwise, even if you can barely absorb this energy, you will have to stay in bed for several months afterwards.

With huge risks comes huge rewards.

First of all, under the influence of the huge amount of life energy in the magic core, his body acquired some of the characteristics of the Hydra lizard and possessed extremely powerful self-healing abilities.

Now, even if a limb is cut off, it can grow back automatically in a short time.

However, hand-to-hand combat is only the last resort. For Raven, the biggest benefit is the improvement in his magic power.

魔力储量翻了一倍还多，从4阶4星成长到了4阶9星，达到了魔力极限的97%。

This speed is unprecedented, if not unmatched.

Next, you can prepare for advancement to level 5.

If a magician wants to advance to level 5, in addition to increasing his magic power to the limit, there are two other necessary conditions.

The first is to continuously hone and strengthen your mental strength until the “secret core” is born.

The second is to engrave a magical circuit called "Astral Body Structure" in the body.

When this structure is completed, the magician's connection with the astral world will be closer, which is equivalent to having his own body in the astral world.

Both of these steps can only be carried out after the magic power has grown to its limit.

It is also the starting point for a magician to truly begin to get in touch with the essence of the world.

Of course, there is a quicker way, which is to buy the "Star Potion" and drink it.

This potion will help the magician quickly form a "astral body structure" in the body.

However, a magician who is truly ambitious will not take shortcuts in this step.

"Tsk, knights are much happier..."

Raven sighed. At least the knight wouldn't have to go through so much trouble in the process of upgrading from level 4 to level 5. All he needed was the corresponding materials.

Now that his magic power has grown to 4% of the 97th level, Raven is ready to make a concerted effort to grow his magic power to the limit, and then rest for a short while.

But before Raven could raise his magic power to the limit, bad news came -

Gordon Sr. passed away.

Died peacefully in his sleep.

This is not something that happened suddenly.

Raven allocated a sum of gold coins, and Fiona began to prepare for old Gordon's funeral and posted the obituary on the Sky Eagle platform as soon as possible.

Word spread quickly.

On July 1203, 7, 13 days after old Gordon passed away, his funeral was held as scheduled.

The funeral was held at the Eagle Town Church.

The coffin was placed in the center of the church hall.

Old Gordon's remains were carefully groomed, his sparse white hair was neatly arranged, and his monocles were embedded in his eye sockets. He looked kind and peaceful in his calmness.

Fiona stood aside in mourning clothes, with decent makeup, but it couldn't hide the bloodshot eyes.

Poirot came with his wife to express his condolences. "Uncle Poirot," Fiona saluted, "Thank you for coming to my grandfather's funeral."

Poirot took off his hat in return, then bowed slightly to old Gordon's coffin.

Before he could say anything, his eyes were already red, his hunched back could hardly straighten, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

Poirot was born in Mon'en City and came to Eagle Territory in pursuit of high rewards.

Within a few years, Baron Donald began to become moody.

As the territory shrank, people around Poirot were driven away and fired one by one. Even the grooms and gardeners were driven out of Eagle Castle to fend for themselves.

At that time, Poirot had settled down in Eagle Town. He needed money the most as his parents needed support and his wife was seriously ill.

It was old Gordon who insisted on keeping him, and even though the Griffith family was in financial difficulties at the time, the annual salary of 8 gold coins was never reduced.

If it weren't for old Gordon, Poirot's family would probably have been destroyed long ago.

Wiping away the tears from his eyes, Poirot stood up and whispered to Fiona:
"A good man like Mr. Gordon will surely rest in peace beside his ancestors."

Fiona nodded: "Well, you should also take care of yourself, Uncle Poirot."

Supported by his wife, Poirot wiped his tears and walked aside.

But there was no trace of sadness on Fiona's delicate face.

"Uncle Eric." Fiona bowed again to the new guest.

Eric came with his wife and son.

After paying their respects to old Gordon, his wife and son walked aside first, but Eric stopped.

To be honest, Eric and Gordon Sr. didn't have much personal relationship, and their early relationship was not pleasant.

But old Gordon was the person who walked with Eric during the most drastic period of change in his life.

As long as old Gordon was alive, Eric felt that he was not that old.

But now, old Gordon is gone.

“People who are good at fighting usually don’t have a reputation that shocks the world.”

Eric suddenly remembered what the Earl often said.

This sentence not only refers to the knights who lead troops into battle, but also to people like old Gordon.

When old Gordon was still conscious, the army's logistical supplies were always smooth and Eric didn't have to worry about it at all. Before he felt that the supplies were insufficient, the next batch would already have arrived.

But things changed after old Gordon became confused and Fiona took over the relevant work.

It cannot be said that Fiona did not try her best, but there were always some inconsistencies in the details.

Eric had to devote some time and energy to things that he didn't need to worry about in the past.

At times like this, Eric would understand more clearly why old Gordon, a man who had never been to the front line, was among the first batch of knights.

"Uncle Eric, please don't be so sad." Fiona said softly:
"My grandfather and I are very grateful that you can come here."

Eric came back to his senses, realized he had been standing there for too long, and nodded:

"……Feel sorry."

There were many visitors who came to pay their respects.

Normally speaking, there wouldn't be many people attending a knight's funeral.

The nobles who were his fiefdoms would be there, as would colleagues from the same fiefdoms, and then there would be the knight's own retainers.

But at old Gordon's funeral, nobles from the five northwestern counties came collectively to pay their respects, even though they were not invited.

The funeral started in the early morning and ended in the evening.

"My Lord Count!"

After a low salute, Raven came to old Gordon's coffin with a solemn expression.

Although he had already accepted the reality, it was not until this moment, looking at the lifeless body in the coffin, that Raven had a real sense of old Gordon's death.

Touching the wrinkles on old Gordon's face and smelling the stiff corpse that emitted a slight stench, Raven inexplicably developed an absurd feeling of "as if in another world".

It turns out that all this is not about making a movie or writing a novel.

But it is real life, the present that can be seen and touched.

After bowing, Raven turned around and faced the nobles:
"Today is an extremely heavy day, especially for the Griffith family."

"Gordon Ramsay, my butler and knight of the House of Griffith, has passed away."

"His achievements are obvious to all, and his contributions are beyond words."

"…Duty, obligation, loyalty, these are the things we always talk about but always ignore. They are the principles that Knight Gordon has practiced throughout his life."

"When the entire Griffith family was heading towards decline and endless darkness, it was Knight Gordon who burned himself, leaving behind the hope that the flame would continue."

"The Griffith family will always remember his dedication."

After saying this, Raven took off the Griffith family emblem on his chest, placed it in old Gordon's coffin, and closed the coffin lid for him with his own hands.

Applause broke out and echoed in the church.

Everyone had a solemn look on their face, but their thoughts were different.

Among the officials at all levels of the Griffith family, some envied the honor of old Gordon, some aspired to follow old Gordon's example, and some simply mourned for old Gordon.

But the nobles' thoughts were much more complicated.

Most of them came because they knew that Raven valued old Gordon and wanted to use this opportunity to strengthen their connection and interactions with Raven.

But some people have different thoughts.

Old Gordon has only one descendant, Fiona, and his title and territory will also be inherited by Fiona.

An introverted and unsociable girl will always become vulnerable when she loses her only relative.

As long as he takes this opportunity to get into her heart, he can take old Gordon's inheritance.

But to the disappointment of these people, Fiona was not as introverted as rumored, nor did she show any signs of collapse. She responded to the mourning of the nobles naturally and appropriately.

From the mass performed by the priest, to the moving of the coffin for burial, to the reception after the funeral, Fiona's words and actions were impeccable, and she dealt with all the overt and covert probing and attempts to approach her.

Throughout the entire funeral, no emotion was shown.

However, Howell, who had been paying attention to Fiona, restrained his impulse. He felt unreasonably that any communication at this time would be a burden to Fiona.

The funeral lasted for five days, and Fiona was also busy for five days, leaving all the nobles who wanted to take advantage of the situation disappointed.

July 7, night.

As the last group of funeral guests left, Fiona finally got rid of the busyness and returned to Eagle City.

She wanted to go back to her room to rest, but when she came to her senses, she was already sitting at her grandfather's desk.

This table has been with old Gordon all his life. After Eagle City was built, it was specially moved from Eagle Castle.

On some peeling paint tables, you can still clearly see the indentations left by the ink bottles.

call--

A gust of wind blew, and the half-closed door suddenly opened, hitting the wall with a loud bang.

Fiona just sat there in a daze, without any reaction.

The soft curtains were blown by the breeze, ruffling her long silver hair, which then undulated and caressed her slightly pale cheeks. However, she remained motionless. Under the glasses lenses that were as thick as the bottoms of bottles, her lifeless eyes were out of focus. She was as unconscious as a puppet with its strings cut. Even the rhythm of her breathing could not be seen clearly, as if she was separated from this world and had nothing to do with it anymore.

Footsteps were heard, and Raven, who had already walked past the door, took a few steps back and walked back.

Looking at Fiona who was sitting stiffly in the chair, Raven said softly:

"Thank you for your hard work during this time."

patter
Tears as big as beans flowed down Fiona's eyes, continuously and uncontrollably.

"..." Fiona's facial features were twisted together, her lips and teeth opened and closed, but she couldn't make any decent sound.

Fiona's silver hair slid down from her shoulders. She slowly lowered her head and wrapped her hands around her knees. The knuckles of her slender fingers were arched and turned pale, as if her whole body was on the verge of breaking. Only in this way could she gather herself together. Her toes landed on the ground, but her heels were hanging on the crossbar of the chair. She was twitching and trembling, and the trembling quickly spread throughout her body, like a confused puppy abandoned in the rain.

"Ugh...!"

The breakdown that had been suppressed for more than half a month finally came out at this moment.

……

(End of this chapter)