Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 166 Ascending the Throne! Augustus (Combined)

Just a few months ago, the empire was in ruins, and even the Italian peninsula was in danger of collapse.

But from the moment Duncan led his army into Italy, messengers brought good news every day.

Three months ago, the Visigothic Kingdom admitted defeat, ceding the occupied Gaul province and even abandoning its capital, Toulouse, moving it directly to the Iberian Peninsula. It also paid substantial war reparations and annual tributes. The Visigothic Kingdom is now severely weakened and can only be described as barely clinging to life.

It didn't take long.

After the false emperor Maximus was killed, the Imperial Senate was purged. Although Governor Duncan of Britain did not ascend the throne, he abolished the Senate in the name of the imperial central government, reorganized a new cabinet parliament system, and allowed non-aristocratic Roman citizens to become grassroots officials.

Although this move displeased the Eastern Roman Empire, they dared not say much due to their powerful military strength.

Some nobles and elders, however, fought desperately against the rebellion and even plotted to launch a riot.

Severus slaughtered so many that blood flowed like a river.

Before long, new battle reports came from the front lines: the British Legion had reached the border of Pannonia, and yet another imperial province had been recaptured.

About a month later, good news came from Carthage: the North African region had been almost completely recovered, the Vandals had been exterminated, more than 80,000 people had been slaughtered, and almost all adult men had been killed.

This not only terrified the nobles of the Empire's Senate, but even the envoys from the Eastern Empire slunk away.

The extermination of the Vandals shocked and terrified many people, even reducing resistance to imperial reforms.

When Duncan led his army back to Italy, the entire Italian peninsula had been pacified. The newly reorganized imperial central government then issued its first decree, exempting all provinces within the empire, from Britain to Gaul, and from Carthage in North Africa to Rome in Italy, from taxes for one year.

The Senate was wiped out.

However, the people of the entire empire enjoyed the benefits. After so many years of war, everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Reducing taxes for a year was equivalent to distributing money to the poorest people.

The people of Rome were absolutely ecstatic!

As Duncan led his army into the wide avenues of Rome, people along the way showered him with flower petals, and some even shouted the names of Augustus and Caesar.

A massive, dark mass of people knelt down; without the need for an army to elect him, the Roman people themselves proclaimed the great Duncan as emperor!

"Your Majesty the Emperor!"

"Augustus!"

A wave of cheers made Anya blush with excitement, her delicate body trembling slightly. She had to lean against Duncan to keep her balance. Even the usually calm Raven Queen Triss was excited. She looked towards the Pantheon, then turned to the man beside her, her eyes filled with infatuation.

This is already a miracle.

In just two years, this man rebuilt the empire and was hailed as emperor by the Roman people. He even suppressed monotheism, forcibly delegating divine authority and maintaining a certain balance of faith.

Although there may be further conflicts in the future, at least they will not be as devastating.

Duncan gazed at the cheering crowd around him, holding the Raven Queen Triss in one hand and Anya in the other, raising their hands high as he basked in the cheers and shouts of the Roman people, letting them share in the glory that belonged to the Emperor of the Empire at this moment.

In an instant!
The deafening cheers made the whole of Rome boil with excitement.

dong dong dong.

As the sound of war drums rang out, elite cavalry units began to enter the city from behind the slightly calmed Roman populace. They would not directly garrison the city, but instead circle around, passing through the triumphal arch and leaving the city, serving as a sort of parade to boost the morale and fighting spirit of the imperial people.

Leading the procession were Duncan's general's guards, dressed in heavy armor. Some of them hadn't even wiped the blood off their armor, the dried blood seeping into the inner lining. Some of the general's guards' armor also bore the marks of swords and spears.

A chilling, ominous atmosphere gradually silenced the entire city of Rome.

Duncan was now standing on the high platform in front of the Arc de Triomphe, surrounded by the crowd. To his right was Queen Raven Triss, and to his left was Anya. Behind them, Queen Lysinia and the two princesses were a step behind. Igraine had also appeared at the back of the crowd, looking excited.

Sonorous!

A chorus of swords being drawn.

Hundreds of generals and guards drew their long swords from their waists, some with chipped nicks on the blades. They raised their swords in unison, turned to look in the direction of the emperor, and then, with their swords held upright before them, the figures of battle-hardened veterans passed through the towering and majestic triumphal arch ahead.

No one needs to crown him emperor; Duncan is the emperor simply by standing there. These veteran soldiers who follow him in his conquests will crush any enemy who tries to stand in the way of their great emperor.

The Roman civilians nearby were momentarily at a loss for breath. Despite the fact that there were only a few hundred cavalrymen, they felt a chilling aura of death rising from a mountain of corpses.

At the rear of the column were some rather different general's personal guards.

They, too, looked fierce. With the help of their comrades, they mounted their warhorses and, with the assistance of the cavalry on both sides, passed through the Arc de Triomphe amidst the attention of the crowd. Some of them had lost arms, some had lost fingers, some limped, and some had blood-stained bandages wrapped around their abdomens.

These fierce guards were almost all wounded, but that did not stop them from standing tall and proud as they welcomed the Roman people's inspection, shouting the name of 'Augustus'.

As the game progressed, Duncan made fewer and fewer forced charges into the paint.

He discovered that far too many of the generals and guards who had followed him on the British Isles had perished, and those remaining were mostly wounded or disabled. From the time he defeated the Visigoths and marched into the Italian peninsula to fight the Vandals, Duncan consistently concentrated his superior forces as much as possible.

Because he knew that the generals and guards who risked their lives to protect him on the battlefield also longed to return alive. At first, Duncan had no choice, but later he could no longer take such risks.

Duncan may not die, but what about the generals and guards who followed him and were willing to take the blows for him?

Ultimately, in the decisive battle against the Vandals, he waited until the main force from the rear arrived before engaging in combat.

An adventurous battle might indeed result in an epic campaign and earn extra legendary status, but how many of his generals and guards would have to die in the process?

In just one or two years, there were few familiar faces among the generals' guards brought out by Britain.

Duncan preferred to try other ways to gain legendary status, at least to let some people survive to the end and see the day the empire is rebuilt.

Following his forceful charge, the casualties among his personal guard cavalry were staggering.

One by one, fluttering flags appeared.

As the core of the general's personal guard passed through the triumphal arch, the sound of hooves echoed from behind. The figures of the Lager heavy cavalry, the Salmatians, and the Frankish dragon knights appeared. The Roman people even saw two or three hundred Hunnic riders at the back of the crowd, who proudly held their heads high and clenched their fists to offer their loyalty to the great emperor.

The cheers from the crowd erupted once again.

As people spotted the eagle flag fluttering in the distance, cheers surged like a wave towards the Arc de Triomphe.

"Eagle Flag!"

"It's the Legion's Eagle Banner!"

"The Golden Eagle Banner of the 20th Legion!"

One of the Imperial veterans, trembling with excitement, pointed to the pure gold eagle banner flying high in the distance and shouted to the surrounding crowd, "That's the Imperial Legion stationed in the Gaul Province!"

"I also served in the Lesser Germania."

Barton and the other imperial legion commanders did not ride horses. He walked at the front of the procession in a Roman-style general's armor, followed by standard-bearers and buglers. In front of the fluttering banners, a tall and burly soldier was temporarily selected to raise the pure gold legion eagle banner high. He appeared very excited and did not know how to control his expression, so he could only force a straight face and march in.

The Roman people naturally responded with even more enthusiastic cheers to the empire's own army.

As the Imperial Eagle Legion marched through the Arc de Triomphe, the British Legion, the Barbarian Foreign Legion, the Gallic Warriors, the Frankish Hoplite, and other units soon appeared one after another. The Imperial Legion was more disciplined, marching in perfect unison, while the units behind it were more scattered. By the time the Celtic warriors with indigo tattoos appeared, the entire formation could no longer be maintained, even as a square.

But the Gallic warriors stood tall and proud, and the Roman people cheered them on enthusiastically.

Duncan only dispatched a portion of his elite troops to inspect the troops passing through the Arc de Triomphe; some troops, lacking discipline, remained obediently stationed outside.

After the numerous legions passed through the Arc de Triomphe, the crowd gradually fell silent.

They saw groups of wounded soldiers, most of whom could walk, though many were missing limbs. But this did not stop them from receiving the attention and cheers of the imperial people. However, the sight was so shocking that many people gradually fell silent, and some even secretly covered their faces and wept.

The war has lasted too long.

They were not the only ones suffering; so were the warriors who fought on all sides.

The rebuilding of an empire comes at a price!

Even the invincible Duncan could only lead them to victory, but could not guarantee who would survive in the end.

As the last legion crossed the Arc de Triomphe.

Countless eyes of the imperial people turned to Duncan on the distant high platform. He was now standing on the highest step, looking at the Roman people before him, and slowly raised his hand to signal to them.

"Augustus!"

"Your Majesty the Emperor!"

God bless Rome!

The cheers spread like waves in all directions.

Queen Raven Triss appeared in a magnificent high priestess robe. Behind her, many polytheistic priests looked excited, while the monotheistic priests and bishops not far away had complicated expressions.

Everyone held their breath.

Queen Raven Triss made her first public appearance, as the High Priestess of the Empire. She walked step by step to Duncan, then slowly knelt on one knee and presented the crown in her hands to Duncan.

This doesn't conform to ancient traditions, but many people feel it's only natural.

Duncan viewed monotheism and polytheism equally.

Upon seeing the high priest of the Imperial polytheistic church kneel before Duncan and offer the crown belonging to Augustus, the monotheistic bishops and priests not far away sighed softly. They knew that at this moment, royal power had completely overwhelmed divine power, and unless the true god descended, no church could shake royal power.

This applies to monotheistic religions as well as polytheistic religions.

Duncan looked down at the Raven Queen Triss, who was kneeling on one knee before him, and slowly reached out to pick up the crown that symbolized the Emperor of the Empire, placing it directly on his head.

this moment.

He was the emperor of the empire.

He is Duncan Caesar Augustus.

Above the clouds.

Before anyone knew it, phantoms invisible to the naked eye began to appear. The first to appear were the guardian nymphs of Avalon. Tethys's appearance changed again. She went from being a young and beautiful lake nymph to a graceful and loving woman in her thirties. The guardian nymphs behind her also lost some of their allure and became more dignified, graceful, and full of maternal aura.

Immediately afterwards, the phantom image of Minerva-Athena appeared.

Her illusory image gazed at Duncan before the Pantheon, her expression complex, seemingly surprised that a mortal could have achieved this, helping a fallen pantheon to be restored. Finally, she removed the crown of victory, offering it to Duncan as if lifting him up; the crown then transformed into a stream of light, dissolving into the heavens and earth, merging into the destiny of this newborn empire.

creak.

The heavy door opened.

The Pantheon doors, which had been closed for decades, slowly opened, and one after another, polytheistic priests filed in, their expressions excited. They quickly swept away the dust, and then Queen Raven-Triss handed a torch to Duncan.

Duncan, wearing a crown, rested his right hand on the Oathkeeper's sword and took the torch with his left hand, throwing it into the altar in front of him.

boom!
A cluster of sacrificial fires was lit.

The Olympian fire, extinguished for decades, was reignited, and the long-sealed statues seemed to regain a glimmer of light. The most obvious of these was the statue of Diana Artemis, which for a moment seemed to have the phantom of a beautiful goddess gazing at Duncan as he rekindled the sacrificial fire.

Duncan slowly opened his mouth and issued his first decree as Emperor: "Restore the Olympic Games!"

"The Olympic flame will begin in Athens, Greece, and spread throughout the entire empire."

boom!
Duncan's voice seemed to be interfering with some kind of law. In the distant Balkans, in the Greek city-state of Athens, a flame suddenly ignited out of nowhere.

Words spoken are law, and their decrees are followed by law.

With the authority of an emperor, Duncan caused the long-extinguished Olympic flame to suddenly blaze again, and within the temples of Athens, the aura of the sacred realm gradually spread.

The Olympic Games have resumed!
Although Greek polytheism can no longer recover to its former glory, the factions within the pantheon will be reshuffled as the Olympic Games take place.

But Duncan's pace did not stop.

After the Emperor arrived at the Pantheon, the monotheistic citizens of the Empire felt a slight unease, because monotheism had been spreading for too long and polytheism was simply no match for it, and they were unwilling to convert to polytheism.

If the emperor favors polytheism, they will likely face religious persecution in the future.

The Vatican.

Queen Raven-Triss's figure had disappeared at some point, and numerous bishops welcomed the arrival of the Imperial Emperor. Of course, there were also densely packed generals and guards all around, their cold gazes fixed on everyone present.

Pope Leo I rose expressionlessly, then gazed at St. Patrick before him, slowly picking up the papal crown beside him. Duncan, holding the Oathkeeper, ascended the steps step by step.

Under the watchful eyes of countless church priests and believers, he received the papal crown from Pope Leo I and slowly placed it on St. Patrick's head.

"In the name of Augustus!"

"Appoint Saint Patrick as the next Pope!"

On this day, Leo I abdicated, and Saint Patrick I became the new pope.

Under the spotlight.

Sonorous.

Duncan slowly drew the Oathkeeper's Longsword. This ordinary forged steel longsword suddenly shone with a dazzling light visible to the naked eye. For a moment, it was as if hymns were being sung all around. Above the Roman Catholic Church, it seemed as if phantoms of angels appeared, causing countless believers, hermits, and priests to tremble with excitement and kneel down in devout worship.

But it all seemed like an illusion; soon when everyone else looked up, everything had vanished.

The foundation of monotheistic beliefs is still too strong.

Even during the great decline of mythology, monotheism still displayed a momentary miracle, completely overshadowing the Pantheon, whose sacrificial fire was rekindled by Duncan.

The direction of the Pantheon.

Queen Raven-Triss gazed at the Gates of Heaven and the phantom of angels that appeared in an instant, and couldn't help but sigh softly. She feared that hundreds of years from now, monotheism would still completely overwhelm polytheism. Although there would be no such brutal bloodshed, polytheism would be no match for it in terms of competitiveness.

Duncan walked out of the Vatican, and when he looked up to the north, he saw the Valkyries hovering in the air.

The Valkyries made their first appearance outside the battlefield.

Their appearance was not to take away the souls of the fallen warriors and then offer a gift to Duncan. A dragon-shaped horn turned into light and shadow and then the phantoms of the Norse gods appeared at the end of the line of sight. Odin, the one-eyed god, stared at Duncan, and behind him were the phantoms of Thor, Freya, Thor and other Norse gods.

Greater Germania could not stop the rise of the new empire.

The Norse gods also had to seek change, searching for a way to continue their lineage between monotheism and the Greek pantheon.

The Age of Gods has come to a complete end!

Duncan used his supreme royal power to suppress the faith in the gods. Whether it was monotheistic or polytheistic, the church of the gods had to submit to the supreme royal power.

The struggle over faith will continue.

But for at least the next one or two hundred years, the religious conflicts within the Church of God will shift from the open to the shadows, and even supernatural forces will remain hidden behind the scenes.

These are the rules set by Duncan: the mundane is mundane, and the extraordinary is extraordinary; they too must be bound by these rules.

Merlin's foresight did not come to pass; the saints of the church did not unite to fight Duncan. St. Patrick's ascension to the new pope was the result of a compromise among various factions.

By sacrificing the entire Vandal race, Duncan crushed all obstacles!
After the Pope's coronation ceremony was completed.

Under Duncan's strongman rule, the Roman Catholic Church was also forced to carry out reforms, and a resolution called 'Religious Reformation' has appeared in the Imperial status bar.

Everything seemed to be going well.

But there is one thing that makes many people uneasy: Emperor Duncan has no children to this day.

This is like a thorn in the side, making many people feel uncomfortable.

Now it wasn't just Anya who was getting anxious; even Duncan himself was starting to have doubts. They'd tried everything, even increasing the number of men around him to sleep with, but still, nothing had happened.

Now we have no choice but to try unconventional methods.

Duncan has already taken Princess Eudoxia and Princess Placidia as his concubines, but has not yet appointed a queen. He has also tried some of the women chosen by the Raven Queen and Anya. The number of women attending him in bed, including carefully selected noblewomen, has now increased to nearly double digits. The fact that none of these women have become pregnant is truly worrying.

The empire moved its capital back to Rome.

Just as the great purge of the Imperial Senate was completed, some minor backlashes erupted. In the mouths of some ill-intentioned remnants of the nobility who had survived, the great conqueror, Emperor Duncan, was also labeled as 'infertile'.

Such matters can be big or small, but when they involve an emperor of an empire, they become a source of instability.

Severus was practically in a rage!
Before the news even reached Duncan's ears, Severus, in league with Anya, began to secretly deal with the situation. At least a hundred people were arrested in a short time, and even the source of the rumors, some of whom were related to the Senate nobility, had their homes ransacked.

But the more you suppress such rumors, the faster they spread.

Before long, governors and officials from all over the country began sending all sorts of beautiful women and secret formulas for conceiving offspring to Rome. Quintus was probably the most enthusiastic of them all. He was now the governor of the province of Outer Gaul and he was particularly concerned about this matter every day. He had already sent several batches of beautiful women and various precious medicinal herbs.

Queen Raven Triss also began to revive the worship of deities related to family offspring.

Severus killed a lot of people during this period.

In some parts of Italy, some church believers claimed that the emperor's lack of monotheism was the reason he was unable to have children, and in a fit of rage, Severus beheaded dozens of them.

As for Duncan now, he's become somewhat numb.

In his past life, he was quite fond of beautiful women, but now it's like he's just completing a task, and he's become a bit numb.

He's almost indifferent to whether a woman is beautiful or not.

Duncan felt the problem lay with himself; he had fused with too many extraordinary bloodlines, so it couldn't be an issue of activity. It was more like an ordinary woman being unable to bear his offspring. But if that's the case, it was rather illogical that Anya's chosen candidate, Igraine, hadn't made any move.

Inside the Roman Imperial Palace.

Anya has also recently secretly executed more than a dozen servants because she discovered the source of the rumors about the emperor's infertility, with some clues pointing to the court attendants.

During the reign of Valentinian III, the palace was infiltrated like a sieve.

Given this precedent, a secret organization similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard is necessary, although its current scale is not yet large.

In order to have a legitimate offspring as soon as possible, Anya had not received any favors for several months.

Queen Triss the Raven tried many methods, but even with Hera's blessing, they still reaped no rewards. Now, Queen Triss the Raven has traveled to the island of Britain to discuss the possibility of reincarnation with the guardian fairies.

Simply put, it's about finding a supernatural being similar to a god, and being reincarnated as Duncan's offspring.

However, doing so is also very risky and carries certain hidden dangers.

Inside the palace.

Duncan stared blankly at the beautiful woman Anya had arranged to serve him in bed. Suddenly, he felt a loss of interest. He thought that not having children wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He could handle doing this with a purpose in mind, but his passion was almost gone.

It feels like clocking in and out every day. I just finished dealing with government affairs, and then in the evening I'm already lining up to wait for him to pick my name.

Dimensional space.

For the first time, Duncan didn't have much physical interest in that area. He used to only enter the dimensional space in a fighting state, but this time he entered the dimensional space in a special state.

At this moment, he felt as if he were playing a VR game from his past life.

Unlike leading an army to conquer all sides, the projected page is basically similar to the adult games in my previous life. Under God's perspective, Duncan's five senses are weakened, and his sense of pain and touch is also dulled, so it is basically incomparable to the personal experience. It is similar to the games I played in my previous life, except that there is still a slight tactile connection to virtual games.

This is genuine burnout.

Duncan never imagined that he would ever experience burnout. He directly entered a dimensional space, completed the task from a God's-eye view, and manipulated it through his mind.

But just as Duncan was about to call it a day...

Suddenly, he noticed a unique rocket launch symbol on the projection page of the dimensional space. When he focused his mind on it, a special prompt appeared.

"Have you conceived any children?"

(Gender can be selected.)
(When the human form transcends the limits of mortals, it cannot reproduce through conventional means and must consume Legendary Points.)
"Should we infuse it with extraordinary bloodline?"

(Can consume Legend Points to infuse offspring with extraordinary bloodline. The bloodline must be one's own extraordinary bloodline, and only one mythical bloodline can be infused.)
(The mythical bloodline inherited by offspring can be passed down, but it gradually weakens as the bloodline is passed on.)
Duncan instantly perked up.

So that's where he was waiting!

He's been doing it himself all this time. If he'd known, he should have just switched to God's perspective. It's practically like playing a video game.

no!
Duncan immediately refused and then had a maid bring Anya to him.

If this method of consuming legendary points to conceive offspring is used, then the first person he thinks of is Anya, because he has other plans for Raven Queen Triss. Raven Queen doesn't seem to like worldly power and doesn't care much about offspring, so Duncan is considering whether or not to help Raven Queen ascend to godhood.

Anya was the one who longed for all of this the most.

Undoubtedly, all other candidates must rank behind Anya. If only Legend Points can be consumed, Duncan will certainly not have many offspring. He will probably only have three or four, just enough to reach the threshold of Father of Europe and King of Kings.

Anya was summoned over, looking completely bewildered.

Then, Duncan picked her up and threw her onto the bed. At this point, there was no need to think about romance; getting down to business was the priority.

"To bear children".

"Infuse with extraordinary bloodline—the bloodline of the dragon!"

After a flurry of activity, Anya's delicate body was flushed. Suddenly, her whole body trembled and twitched. In that instant, she felt the magic power within her body stirring. Then, it was as if a vortex of magic had drained all the magic power from her body, concentrating it all in her lower abdomen.

Anya was overwhelmed with excitement, for she sensed the breath of life, a magic that did not belong to her, growing within her.

The magical vortex acted like a water pump, constantly drawing energy from her mana pool.

This is a characteristic of extraordinary bloodlines.

Anya had almost lost her original spellcasting abilities, and it wasn't until the birth of this child that she was able to regain her witch powers.

Dimensional space.

With a thought, Duncan conjured up the King of Hearts card, which then transformed into a stream of light and merged into Anya's lower abdomen.

Since this is the only option, let's go all in.

Duncan consumed a significant amount of Legend Points in one go, infusing them into the Dragon Bloodline, and at the same time bestowed the power of destiny he had condensed upon Anya's offspring.

This is the future heir to the empire!
At this point, Duncan has given almost everything he can. How long his vast empire will last depends entirely on the success of his descendants.

At least the first few emperors are not a concern. The second generation will most likely be a wise ruler. However, the descendants may not be able to inherit the dragon's bloodline. After four or five generations, the bloodline may become increasingly diluted, and the descendants can only rely on the awakening of the bloodline.

Duncan's plan was for the Empire and Britain to inherit the bloodline of the dragon, Germania (the German region) to inherit the bloodline of the giants, and the Franks to inherit the bloodline of the Holy Grail (the bloodline of the angels).

If the Church truly becomes dominant in the future, the Frankish bloodline may replace the British dragon bloodline.

But you never know.

If the Norse pantheon were to rise to power, the German giants might one day reign supreme.

Duncan made his decision after careful consideration. The core factor was definitely the Dragon Bloodline, but the Giant Bloodline and Angel Bloodline could be planned in advance.

In case anything happens to the empire in the future, it will have more possibilities.

He couldn't predict what would happen two or three hundred years from now, so he could only make several preparations. A normal dynasty would change every two hundred years or so. After the decline of the dragon bloodline, perhaps the giant bloodline and the angel bloodline could take its place and continue the empire.

The empire that Duncan built almost completely covered the later Carolingian Empire.

Now that he can push the empire to even greater heights, the empire's destiny will be even stronger.

It is now 453 AD. If the empire does not produce any absurd emperors, it should last until more than 700 AD. If he destroys the Eastern Roman Empire, he can also seize part of the Byzantine Empire's fate.

A thousand-year-old empire is a bit difficult.

If the descendants are capable, the lineage could continue for five or six hundred years, until around 1000 AD. There is still a good chance of that.

If some outstanding figure were to emerge from the descendants and continue the legacy of the Holy Roman Empire, it might indeed last for a thousand years. However, the royal bloodline would most likely have been replaced.

Duncan personally feels that the angelic bloodline inherited by Frank has a better chance of rising to power. Currently, it's destined to be the era of the dragon bloodline, and Britannia will fully support it.

Duncan essentially bet on all three camps.

At this moment, Anya, who had given so much, finally received the most generous blessing!
………………

(End of this chapter)