Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 169 The Tyrant Takes Over
Roman palace.

As the sound of hooves rang out, Severus led a squad of his personal guards in a hurry. After dismounting at the palace gate, he immediately stopped a captain of the imperial guards and asked in a deep voice, "Where is His Majesty?"

"In the palace?"

The commander of the royal guards looked troubled and said cautiously, "His Majesty has left Rome with his personal guard."

"It is said that they went to the province of Britain."

what?
Why did the emperor travel to Britain at this time?

Severus frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Is Her Majesty the Queen here?"

The commander of the Imperial Guards nodded and said, "Here."

"Do I need to report this?"

Severus immediately nodded and said, "Go right away."

"Immediately send a messenger to the province of Britain to say that the missionaries the church sent to Thrace have been arrested by the people of the Eastern Empire."

Religious conflicts are now escalating.

Protestant ideas were denounced as heresy, but this did not stop them from spreading. Missionaries sent by the Western Empire were already active in the Balkans. Originally, it was just a civilian missionary activity, but things changed after the missionaries were arrested.

Severus keenly sensed a pretext for war, but ultimately, it was Duncan's decision to make that.

It didn't take long.

Anya's maid led Severus to the rear hall of the palace. As they passed a side hall, he saw a young scholar scratching his head and writing furiously. This man was named Livis, from the Greek peninsula. He was a court advisor and historian who also recorded the emperor's daily life.

The West has never had the habit of revising history, but since Duncan is here, we'll revise it a little.

Severus walked over curiously to take a look. He picked up a roll of parchment, flipped through it, and frowned. He said in a deep voice, "This is what His Majesty asked you to record?"

The young scholar looked somewhat alarmed and stood up, saying, "Yes."

"His Majesty has already reviewed it once."

Severus looked slightly helpless. There were some things he really wanted to delete, but in the end he put them back.

Duncan's daily routine is quite interesting.

For example, in the first half of this year, Duncan was diligent in his duties for about a month, and then took Anya, Princess Eudoxia, Princess Placidia and others on a hunting trip to the eastern suburbs. In the end, he actually abandoned the affairs of state and took a group of women to Sicily for a trip, and even turned the local governor's mansion into his own palace.

This is clearly inconsistent with the image of the emperor as wise and powerful.

However, not long after the emperor returned to Rome from his two-week trip to Sicily, he immediately became incredibly diligent again, personally handling everything and rarely even visiting his harem. This situation would last for about a month, and then one day the emperor would suddenly abandon his duties, handing over state affairs to the cabinet and immediately taking a group of women on a trip.

The emperor was truly diligent when he was diligent, but he was also truly absurd when he was absurd. Some of his extravagant and pleasure-seeking behaviors were no less than those of Valentinian III, and perhaps even more so.

The entire record of the emperor's daily life is filled with a strong sense of disjointedness.

At first glance, he appears to be a wise ruler, but upon closer inspection, his writings are filled with absurdities, such as continuing to play music and dance, making him not much different from a tyrannical ruler who indulges in pleasure.

It's impossible to keep Duncan trapped in the palace.

In fact, he was a complete tyrant who had no interest in diligently governing. He would delegate any task that could be handled by others, and if all else failed, he would entrust it to a human body.

The state of a wise ruler who is diligent in his duties is entirely managed by a human body.

When the emperor goes hunting, takes his harem on excursions, or goes out alone, it means he has taken matters into his own hands.

The final result was that the first human host became a combination of a wise ruler and a foolish ruler.

Even emperors need rest.

Over time, everyone knew that the emperor would be diligent for a period of time, and then suddenly one day he would shirk his duties and become lazy, sometimes even disappearing altogether. Fortunately, the empire's provincial system was quite well-established, and the regional governors were capable of managing affairs. In addition, a group of scholars from the Greek peninsula formed the court advisory group, so the emperor's occasional lapses in attention did not cause any major disruptions.

Duncan's absences usually last no more than half a month. Once he's had his fill of fun and comfort, the diligent emperor will return.

And now is precisely the time for the 'tyrant' to take the throne.

Britannia. The Land of Shadows.

Duncan arrived in Ireland under the escort of his bodyguards, including Courlin. As soon as the ship docked, he saw Merlin and the others standing at the port to greet him.

Ireland was relatively underdeveloped, with no particularly large ports, and Duncan only brought a personal guard of a few dozen men.

"His Majesty."

Welcome to Ireland.

Merlin was still dressed as a scholar and advisor, but in appearance he was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties with a thick beard and hair. This guy had lived for over a hundred years, and few people had seen his true face. Because he was skilled in transformation magic, Merlin often appeared in different appearances.

—Merlin (Legendary Magician) (Chief Dean) (Four-Star Gold).

This guy recovers his strength exceptionally quickly.

Although his blindness has not been restored, he can basically live like a normal person thanks to his unique transformation magic.

Duncan stepped off the deck and gestured to Courrin beside him. Soon, most of the Gallic Oath warriors remained where they were, while he took only three bodyguards and boarded the carriage arranged by Merlin.

Merlin sat in the coachman's seat, and with a gentle wave of his hand, the horse started running on its own.

The surrounding scenery rushed past.

After traveling for several hours, the images on the projected screen gradually overlapped, as if in a place outside of reality, the gate to another world was slowly opening, and the mist of the dense forests around separated reality from the other world. Finally, the overlapping images changed, and a world similar to a demiplane gradually emerged.

The mist dissipated. When Duncan stepped down from the carriage, a vast grassland stretched out before him, and the forest behind him marked the entrance. It resembled a paradise in the East, commonly referred to as a fairyland in areas of Celtic belief.

—The Land of Shadows (The Land of Blessings).

At this point, the markings on the projected page have completely changed, and Duncan is now in a realm outside of reality.

In the distance, you can hear the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

Unlike Avalon, the Land of Shadows is not an island, but rather a corner of the mainland, accessible only through special means, making it difficult for ordinary people to reach. At the edge of the field of vision are two castles, one built near the coastline, a magnificent castle with a predominantly black hue, nestled amidst numerous reefs and cliffs.

That is Scáthach's fortress, the place where warriors were trained in Irish legend.

However, it doesn't look like a physical object. From Duncan's position, it appears as a phantom reflection, shrouded in a thin mist. Only when you get close enough can you clearly see the magnificent military fortress.

The other castle was built recently.

However, it looks more like a college, covering a very large area and surrounded by a large circle of willow trees.

"The Land of Shadows lies between reality and the afterlife."

Merlin then turned around and said, "Here, our spellcasting abilities will be greatly enhanced."

After saying that, he gently raised his hand, and it transformed into an owl.

Duncan mounted his horse.

As the distance gradually closed, a five- or six-meter-high wall came into view, and a moat surrounded the castle. Merlin landed and transformed into human form, chanted a spell, and a stone bridge appeared out of thin air, leading to the academy gate that was still under renovation.

"It's a bit like turning fossils into clay and sculpting stone."

Duncan looked slightly surprised. After he rode across, the stone bridge turned back into dirt.

"His Majesty."

"His Majesty!"

Upon entering the academy, several male and female wizards immediately came to greet them, led by a sage from the Druid Order, an elderly Druid named Asquith. The academy currently has only a couple hundred people, mostly members of the witch council and the Druid Order.

There were also some wandering male wizards here, who gradually joined the wizarding academy founded by Merlin.

However, I didn't see any particularly strong ones; most of them were marked as two or three stars.

"Your Majesty, please follow me."

Merlin pointed to the room on the side. As soon as Duncan entered, he saw runes engraved on the walls, and a desk piled high with scrolls. Behind the mountain of scrolls, a wizard dressed in Germanic style was writing furiously.

Inside the room, Merlin handed a scroll to Duncan and said slowly, "This is the revised rune magic."

— Rune Scroll (Strange Item).

Duncan was already able to understand runes. He took the scroll and quickly examined it. While reading the runes, his magic power stirred slightly.

Crackling!

Before anyone knew it, faint sparks of electricity appeared on Duncan's fingertips, and outside the room, the wind and clouds suddenly surged, with thunder rumbling from the churning dark clouds.

Merlin looked very surprised and quickly stopped him, saying, "Your Majesty."

"Do not chant incantations."

"Simply observe it silently in your mind."

Duncan's magical power has always been no less than that of others. After Merlin finished organizing the runes of the Middle Ages, he immediately gained the ability to cast spells. The surging magical power within him caused anomalies in the outside world, directly producing effects similar to magic.

Duncan instantly realized what was happening, put down the rune scroll in his hand, and the mana pool returned to calm.

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It seems His Majesty is very skilled in Thor's runes."

In this world, Thor is the God of Thunder, not the God of Hammers.

Duncan closed his eyes, sensed it for a moment, and nodded, saying, "That's right."

"I seem to be more attuned to lightning."

Logically, Duncan's dragon bloodline should make him more adept at water elemental magic, but in reality, when his magic surges, it's the runes representing lightning that react the most. Especially those runes symbolizing war; Duncan senses them with just a glance.

Strands of electricity danced in Duncan's palm, and his mana bar began to slowly decrease. In the Land of Shadows, his spellcasting ability was also enhanced.

Merlin stood up, picked up another scroll, and respectfully handed it over, saying, "This is the Druid's Polymorph spell."

"However, Your Majesty, please do not attempt this lightly."

"If a transformation spell goes wrong, it is very difficult to undo."

Duncan took a look and saw that they were all Druid runes. Merlin had also made a lot of progress during this period. The originally chaotic spellcasting system of the Middle Ages was gradually being reshaped in his hands. Currently, he was organizing the Transmutation School and the Evocation School.

Merlin himself was a master of prophecy, so there was no need to worry about the schools of prophecy; in total, four or five schools had already been organized.

Currently, the mainstream runes used in wizarding academies are Druid runes and rune runes.

………………

　Chapter Two will be a little later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)