Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 374 France, the Coup of 18 Brumaire!

France, Paris, Brumaire.

As the saying goes, "When the world is in chaos, Ba is in chaos; when the world is at peace, Ba is not at peace."

As a historically significant revolutionary region, Paris can be considered a bellwether for the entire European situation. Even the slightest historical shift will elicit an immediate response from the passionate people of Paris.

At this moment, on a secret path leading to Paris.

A troop of elite French cavalry is escorting a man who is slender but muscular, with a well-defined face, a full forehead, deep-set and sharp eyes, a straight nose, and a strong jawline toward Paris.

This person has very defined facial features. If there is any shortcoming, it is that he is a little short. However, his horsemanship is superb and his agility far surpasses that of ordinary people.

"General."

"We should be in Paris by tomorrow," a French dragoon said excitedly.

Surrounded by these elite French cavalrymen, the short, stocky man at the head of the group had a deep gaze as he stared in the direction of Paris and said in a deep voice, "Don't let your guard down. The royalists' attempts to ambush us will not stop here."

"And those people in Britain will never let go of the opportunity to severely damage France."

Napoleon Bonaparte Duncan looked very serious. Ever since he learned that Britain had also secretly sent spies to stir up trouble in Paris, he immediately abandoned the French army at the front and secretly returned to France from the port of Alexandria in Egypt.

The rivalry between Britain and France has a long history. Even though the historical contexts are different, the rivalry between Britain and France has always been the main theme of Western Europe.

Moreover, France's geographical conditions are truly exceptional.

If Britain wants to have enough say in Europe, it must avoid France at all costs. Even though Great Britain inherited the legacy of the Second Roman Empire and has the favors left by that emperor, the stumbling block in Britain's way will always be France.

At this moment, a clear and beautiful female voice came from among the French cavalry guarding Napoleon. The woman was dressed as a man, with a heroic and spirited demeanor, and said in a deep voice: "During the American Revolutionary War, France provided tremendous support and even played a key role in promoting the independence of the thirteen North American colonies."

"With Paris in turmoil, MI7 will certainly not let this opportunity pass."

"Besides."

"The people of Big Ben also suffered heavy losses during the American Revolutionary War."

At this point, the woman suddenly stopped. Others present might not know, but Napoleon Bonaparte Duncan knew the inside story of the American Revolutionary War. He knew the secrets of the wizarding world and that during the American Revolutionary War, Great Britain was attacked by a coalition of many mysterious organizations throughout Europe.

It is said that the Big Ben Magic Association in Britain even summoned powerful heroic spirits from the Second Roman Empire, but was still defeated by many of America's allies. If the Queen of Britain hadn't chosen to give up her interests in North America, Big Ben would have even been prepared to summon the legendary magician Merlin.

This great war profoundly changed the landscape of Europe, and even the French Revolution was largely caused by it.

Because France incurred a huge debt in support of North American independence, it directly led to the collapse of France's finances.

This is a classic example of inflicting heavy losses on both sides.

Although the independence of the North American colonies dealt a heavy blow to Great Britain's strength, it also dragged the whole of France into a quagmire of financial collapse.

"Watch out!" the woman's voice suddenly warned.

boom!
A gunshot rang out.

The next second, the French cavalryman next to Napoleon fell down, shot right in the forehead, almost killing him instantly. Firearms were still in the development stage at that time. Napoleon did not hesitate to hide behind his horse, relying on his superb horsemanship to lock onto the enemy's position, and then drew a single-shot pistol.

His personal weapon was quite peculiar; it was a rare gun-sword originally used by nobles to hunt wild boars, with a single-shot pistol hidden in the hilt.

boom!
The French cavalry immediately sought cover, but the moment Napoleon looked up, he spotted a dark figure. He swiftly drew his pistol, and the bullet instantly pierced the enemy's skull.

His marksmanship is excellent, but not many people know it.

"General!"

"There are quite a few enemies; there should be an ambush ahead."

A French dragoon drew his sword. He was a charging cavalryman, highly skilled in swordsmanship and equally adept at using firearms. After glancing at the figures in the direction of the woods, he said with a solemn expression, "There are probably over a hundred enemies."

He was the temporarily chosen commander of the guards, and also the one with the highest individual combat strength among the group. Only those with high combat strength would draw their melee weapons to fight at this time.

Upon hearing this, Napoleon's expression turned solemn. He glanced at the enemy's location and immediately ordered his guards to take up advantageous positions. His tactical command ability was extremely strong. Even when facing an enemy ten times his size, he could rely on his dozen or so guards to suppress the enemy and prevent them from advancing.

But this is only temporary; once they run out of ammunition, the enemy will immediately surge back in.

"Is he a member of the royalists?"

"Or is he a British?" someone asked doubtfully.

Their movements were very secretive, but for some reason, after leaving Egypt, they were hunted down and killed many times. Since leaving Alexandria, Napoleon had been targeted by assassination attempts several times.

Just then, a strange black shadow appeared.

He was like an elusive ghost, dodging the French dragoons' gunfire with his agility. At the same time, as he raised his hand, a flash of cold light appeared, and an elite guard next to Napoleon instantly collapsed, clutching his throat.

This is definitely not a skill that an ordinary person should have!
No.

The other party is no ordinary person.

Even after the collapse of the Second Roman Empire, when a lot of supernatural secret knowledge was lost to the common people, there were still very few ordinary people in history who could actually dodge bullets.

The woman in the French cavalry instantly took out her amulet, chanted a few words in a low voice, and the next second a crow cawed, and startled birds flew out from the nearby forest. Then everything came into her view, and she also caught sight of that ghostly figure.

"It's an Assassin assassin!"

The woman's expression changed slightly. She leaped and tumbled to land beside Napoleon, saying in a deep voice, "Not good! Someone has summoned a lower-ranking Heroic Spirit using a secret technique!"

"We are probably no match for them."

Heroic Spirits are not only summoned during the Holy Grail Ritual. The origin of summoning Heroic Spirits in this world is from Norse mythology. After being absorbed by monotheistic religions, it was transformed into the Holy Grail Ritual. While powerful Heroic Spirits cannot be summoned through conventional means, ordinary Heroic Spirits can still be summoned by mages who transcend the boundaries of the Holy Grail Ritual.

The existence of these heroic spirits is similar to the 'summoning of otherworldly divine servants' in derivative dimensions.

Even though Duncan raised the upper limit of the Origin World, ordinary people are still only at the two- or three-star level. Four stars is already the ceiling for mortals, just like in early online novels, where there were only a handful of five-star legendary powerhouses on the entire continent.

The same applies here; in European history, only a handful of individuals have achieved legendary status.

During the American Revolutionary War, a five-star hero summoned by a group of mages could even influence the outcome of a local battle.

However, summoning heroic spirits comes at a high price, and ordinary mages can forget about it.

Summoning otherworldly deities in other dimensions requires at least high-level magic.

Napoleon's expression was very serious. He said in a deep voice, "What do we do now?"

Can you summon heroic spirits?

During the Paris Revolution, some people summoned the spirits of heroes; otherwise, the revolutionary uprising would not have been so easy to succeed. The French royalists possessed a great deal of mysterious power, and it was at that time that Napoleon learned of the powerful abilities of the spirits. They were almost all terrifying beings who could form an army on their own.

The situation was critical, and the woman slowly shook her head and said, "I can't."

"But you can."

As they spoke, the woman took out a hidden package and handed it to Napoleon, who was changing his ammunition. He looked slightly puzzled, but as he took it, he felt its weight and looked down to see a dazzling gold.

"What is this?" Napoleon asked in surprise.

The woman stood up, and as she raised her hand, she chanted a spell. It was as if an invisible energy wave spread out, temporarily forcing back the Assassin assassins in the distance.

"Relics".

"The Eagle Banner of the Imperial Legion".

The woman said urgently, "Hurry up and prepare the summoning ritual."

"I saw a British magician."

"If this continues, we'll all die here."

Without hesitation, Napoleon Bonaparte Duncan took out the pure gold eagle banner and placed it in the center of the magic circle. The next second, a feeling of weakness came over him. Although he was not a wizard, he could feel a power surging into it. Then a strange light appeared.

I do not know how long it has been.

A deep, resonant male voice rang out. He looked down at the diminutive Napoleon before him and said expressionlessly, "Did you summon me?"

"A short Frank." There are no rules for summoning Heroic Spirits, and there are no rules for the Holy Grail Ritual either. The rules were added gradually later. In the beginning, it was just a primitive and disordered use of magical power.

The witch chanted a spell rapidly, and the instant she grabbed Napoleon's arm, several runes appeared on his arm.

She said urgently, "This is a spell to control heroic spirits."

"Do not use it casually."

This witch was from Corsica and had a close relationship with Napoleon's mother. Corsica was a kind of private gathering place for witches, and the local religion was the goddess of witchcraft and magic, Triss. Napoleon grew up on Corsica in his childhood, so he naturally knew some mysterious knowledge.

After the American Revolutionary War, the ability to control Heroic Spirits officially appeared. Before that, once a Heroic Spirit was summoned, it was very difficult to control them.

This is roughly similar to summoning a demon by first casting a 'protective barrier against evil'.

It is difficult to judge the good or evil of heroic spirits.

Napoleon Bonaparte looked up and gazed at the extremely burly man before him. The man was clad in magnificent armor, holding a javelin and a shield, and sported a unique Roman-style helmet that seemed somewhat out of place in this era. However, the man's terrifying aura still made him dare not underestimate him. He mustered his courage, looked into the man's eyes, and said, "Yes."

"I command you to kill all the enemies nearby and protect my comrades."

The summoning of Heroic Spirits has a certain degree of randomness.

He didn't even know who the ritual was summoning.

However, judging from the other party's demeanor, he seems to be the commander of the historically renowned Imperial Eagle Legion.

"as you wish."

The burly man glanced at the short Frenchman in front of him with a slight hint of disdain. In his time, only the Frankish axe throwers had any real strength. Among the many barbarians, the Franks didn't actually have many formidable figures.

However, he respected the fearless courage of the Frankish Templars and Frankish Dragoons.

Since I've been summoned as a Heroic Spirit, obeying my Master's orders is a must. Eliminating some trash is just a piece of cake.

boom!
The ground exploded.

The burly man burst out from behind the rock in an instant, his Roman javelin flying out like lightning, locking onto the enemy commander in a flash, piercing him through the tree and pinning him to death.

The next second, the runes flashed, and the javelin automatically returned to his hand.

Celtic runes.

This scene shocked Napoleon and his men. He finally believed what they had said: that during the American Revolutionary War, the summoned spirits could change the course of a local war.

This is a power that no ordinary person could possess.

A burst of gunfire rang out.

The burly figure used a Roman shield to protect his body, then drew his short sword and leaped more than ten meters away. With a flash of cold light, he directly beheaded a man, blood gushing out. Then, like a tiger among sheep, he single-handedly slaughtered the enemies in front of him with a cold weapon, causing them to collapse in disarray.

A cold light suddenly appeared.

A ghostly figure attacked, and the burly man raised his shield to block and counterattack, while simultaneously slashing with great force, forcing back the enemy in front of him.

A wave of incantation appeared.

More enemies appeared ahead in the woods; they seemed to be wizards from Great Britain.

After the collapse of the empire, much mysterious knowledge was lost, and some folk mystical organizations even emerged.

"Where is the Imperial Legion?!"

Faced with the Assassin's sneak attack, a dazzling golden eagle banner appeared in the burly man's hand. The moment he planted it in the ground, the next second, the figures of elite Roman legions with eagle banners appeared around his body, and a barrage of javelins shot out. The Roman legionary elites at the forefront charged forward with shields raised, while the Roman legionary elites behind them, after throwing their javelins, even picked up the muskets next to the corpse and fired them with practiced ease.

Adaptive principle.

They were all elite soldiers in the army during their lifetimes, and after their deaths they were summoned and given the ability to wield military weapons.

This is a conceptual capability applicable to any military weapon of the current era.

boom!
A Roman legion of several dozen men advanced forward, and the burly man instantly locked onto the Assassin's trail. At his command, the imperial legion completed the encirclement, and he suddenly pulled out a pistol and blew the Assassin's head off with a single shot.

This was almost a brutal massacre.

Even using weapons from hundreds of years ago, these summoned elite imperial legions displayed astonishing military prowess, an almost overwhelming combat capability.

They were all veterans who had survived countless battles.

"Is this what military weapons of the current era are like?"

"It works quite well."

The burly man exhaled a puff of smoke, and the golden eagle banner vanished the instant the elite Imperial Legion disappeared. There were no survivors nearby, from the sniping soldiers to the summoned Assassins, and even the wizards behind the scenes were all wiped out by the Imperial Legion under his command.

"Who is he?" Napoleon Bonaparte couldn't help but ask from a short distance away.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then said, "It should be His Excellency Barton, the Butcher of Lombardy, the Chief Legion Commander of the Second Roman Empire, the Conqueror of North Germania, and the Governor-General of the Baltic and Alan."

Baldur's famous battle was his conquest of the Lombard barbarians, in which he won by force, but the barbarians rebelled again as he continued his advance.

Enraged, Barton exterminated his entire clan, reportedly leaving behind a mountain of heads.

Although he was punished by His Majesty the Emperor at the time, the incident was recorded in history. Barton later became the governor of the northern provinces, with power no less than that of a king. During his rule, he suppressed the barbarian rebellion, completed the initial ethnic integration, and had many legends about him. He even led the imperial army to destroy the barbarian sacrificial sanctuary.

However, in his later years, he also gained a reputation for being somewhat cruel.

—Barton (Butcher of Lombardy) (Imperial Eagle Legion) (High-ranking Heroic Spirit) (Five-star Gold)!

The words fell.

The imposing figure in the distance had already severed the head of the Assassin assassin. Blood and corpses littered the ground, and the spirits of many Imperial Legion heroes gradually dissipated. He then threw the heads of the wizard and the assassin in front of Napoleon Bonaparte.

"British wizards are very difficult to deal with."

Barton stared at the short, imposing man before him and said slowly, "You seem to have gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble."

But as long as it's not Merlin, he can fight him.

Back then, he commanded the empire's most elite Eagle Legion, and even had powerful wizards as his military advisors. When conquering the North Germanic region and the more distant Norse barbarians, Barton killed countless barbarian priests and even forcibly destroyed the sacred domains of the gods.

He once fought as far as the heart of Russia; had logistical support been available, he could have fought all the way to the Far East.

Among His Majesty's many subordinates, Barton would certainly rank among the top three in terms of those who are capable of commanding the Imperial Legion in large-scale operations.

He wasn't an unconventional enemy, and he was a renowned general with a distinguished military record in history.

Not to mention he also has the added bonus of legends about slaying monsters and priests.

Generally speaking.

Even if a Heroic Spirit is summoned through a Holy Grail ritual or ley line energy, and even with the blessing of a sacred relic as a medium, a High-Ranking Heroic Spirit is still the ceiling for ordinary wizards.

As for beings above that level, even during the American Revolutionary War, no immortal Heroic Spirits were summoned.

As for Zeus, Odin, and the Awakened Ones, those are outside the scope of conventional magic.

No matter how magical the Holy Grail Ritual may sound, it is essentially just a wish-granting spell that extends to another dimension, or a miracle spell of legendary or higher level.

Barton was alive during the reign of King Arthur. She was his adopted daughter and a former holder of the Holy Grail. She was renowned in history for her military exploits and briefly held the Holy Grail, hoping to use its power to grant her father immortality.

Only after that did the Holy Grail ritual begin to take shape.

It can be said that Pope St. Patrick I played a crucial role in the emergence of the Holy Grail ritual, since there was more than one Holy Grail at the time.

Although Barton was not good at magic, he had killed a Norse wizard.

Once the empire's expedition begins, it's not something a few Norse wizards can stop; they'll destroy even the sacred sites where gods are worshipped!

………………

(End of this chapter)