Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 377 The Holy Grail Judge

Duncan sensed a tremor from the fundamental laws.

As he formed a contract with Catherine before him, her gradually dissipating figure stabilized again, her expression seemingly showing a hint of disbelief, and even more so, a deep shock and horror in her eyes.

In the legends that have lasted for hundreds of years, there are countless stories about Emperor Duncan.

Among the most common rumors circulating in the mysterious world is that Emperor Duncan possesses terrifying magical power comparable to that of a god, and that his very existence can distort nearby natural phenomena and even create a unique surge of magical power around him.

This is also a major reason why Duncan has many powerful people around him. Even an ordinary person who follows him for a long time may awaken a trace of supernatural power under the surge of magic.

Duncan was like a magical vortex, able to influence everything around him like a dragon.

At that moment, the incredibly shocked Catherine confirmed this.

What we see before us is merely one of the heroic incarnations of that great emperor. According to the legend that he slew gods and reshaped the Celtic pantheon, summoning the complete form of Emperor Duncan is virtually impossible.

Even if he were willing to respond and rise from the Throne of Heroes, he could at most summon the appearance of one of the Grand Heroes.

— Catherine (Assassin) (Magician) (Usurper) (Five-Star Gold)

Dual-career model?
The royalist magicians were actually quite capable.

The Catherine before me must have been in her recent form shortly after ascending the throne. She was elegant and beautiful, exuding a confidence and pride that came with great power. Power is a great tonic for men, and it is the same for women.

In this form, Catherine resembles a high and mighty Russian empress, her beauty exuding a touch of domineering and ruthless charm, making her the epitome of a noblewoman.

Basically, the aura she exudes at this moment is no less than that of Wu Zetian in the Western version when she first ascended the throne.

If it weren't for her queen-like beauty and aura, she might have been casually killed by Duncan before she could even utter the words "Your Majesty."

The King of Kings must conquer and rule over other kings, including queens and empresses.

"It has great growth potential."

"She lost to Barton because she had only recently been promoted to a high-ranking Heroic Spirit by the world. If she had been given hundreds of years to develop her legend, her strength would likely have reached a level exceeding six stars."

Duncan looked the beauty up and down. Her snow-white, full breasts under her gorgeous palace dress were incredibly tempting, and she even resembled the actor who played the emperor in his memory.

The power of a Heroic Spirit consists of two parts.

One is one's own strength, that is, one's combat power in life. This is the most fundamental part and will not change because of anything.

Another aspect is the legends surrounding the hero, which are related to historical achievements, myths, folk tales, and so on. Similar to the power of faith in gods, these legends can greatly enhance the hero's strength. However, if the legends disappear, the hero will become very weak.

Immortal heroes are an exception, because their immortal achievements cannot be erased from human history.

Just like when you talk about Western history, no one can bypass the Scourge of God, let alone erase its existence.

No country or emperor could accomplish this.

Catherine possessed certain mystical knowledge during her lifetime. As for her identity as an assassin, it was probably a power bestowed upon her by legend, as she herself was not particularly skilled in combat.

"However, her riding skills are very high, actually A-level. It seems that she is the legendary person who likes and is good at riding horses."

"Ok?"

"How can she still have the ability to dominate men?"

"Succubus?"

"There is actually a bit of the bloodline of a female demon from the classical era."

It is extremely thin.

He is no match for Merlin, the son of a dream demon.

Duncan used his God's-eye view to examine Catherine in front of him. She was now considered a Heroic Spirit Servant summoned by Duncan, a green, controllable unit, and he could view some of her attributes.

Catherine's most attributes are C, except for riding skills and stamina, which are good. Riding skills are A and stamina are B+. Most of her abilities are average, and her Noble Phantasm is not particularly powerful. Her only attribute is luck, which is also A.

"Is it because she's a top-tier young married woman that she has such good stamina and superb riding skills?"

"Magic power can increase with legends."

"It appears to be a spellcasting-oriented Heroic Spirit, with some assassin-like abilities."

Duncan understood.

Can fight!

It can produce milk!

They may not be top-tier Servants, but in a few hundred years, they can be considered near-top-tier Servants.

Among the many heroic spirits summoned in Paris this time, Ekaterina in front of us can probably be ranked in the second tier. However, she is difficult to fight head-on. If she encounters a berserker, she may be directly suppressed or even killed due to insufficient physical strength.

—Duncan Augustus Caesar (The Arbiter) (Grand Knight) (Six-Star Gold).

"Because I answered the call."

"So he was given the status of an adjudicator?"

Duncan turned and walked towards the church. Ekaterina put away her weapon, and a luxurious red and gold court-style lace dress appeared on her body. With a click of the button, she changed her clothes. The neckline was quite low, and her full breasts trembled slightly, as if she felt that the dress would be difficult to walk in on the Parisian ground and that she would easily step in some excrement. So she touched the ring on her hand and quickly changed into a dashing men's outfit, but it still could not hide her beautiful and elegant face.

The gunshot wound on her shoulder had disappeared by now.

Heroic Spirits can naturally recover using magical energy, and after becoming a Servant under Duncan's contract, she gained a regenerative ability.

Duncan is not a participant in this Holy Grail War in Paris; he is the chosen arbiter.

"Because the future is uncertain, should I be the one to make the decisions?"

"The future of humanity."

"The French Revolution was indeed one of the turning points in history."

Duncan leaped lightly and landed on the top of Notre Dame Cathedral. Catherine used magic, as if she were riding the wind, and followed him lightly. Her Majesty's physical abilities were even more exaggerated than the legends said. She didn't even use magic; she did everything by relying on the most basic physical strength.

In the legends surrounding Duncan, it was commonplace for him to single-handedly charge into battle against thousands of enemies.

This terrifying physical ability caused Ekaterina, who was following behind, to tremble slightly. She suddenly felt that many of the legends about Emperor Duncan might be too conservative.

The wind in Paris is very noisy.

Duncan stood atop Notre Dame Cathedral, looking down at everything below. He then raised his palm, channeling a wisp of the power of law, and uttered a word that Catherine couldn't quite understand.

——"The law of cause and effect!"

boom.

In an instant.

Ekaterina felt an extremely terrifying surge of magic, but she was confined to a range of less than three meters around Duncan's body. Even affected by the magic vortex, her face gradually flushed and her expression became excited, as if she were drunk.

In World of Warcraft, there is a blood elf disease called 'mana addiction'. Ekaterina has the abilities of a magician, and her current state is similar to 'oxygen intoxication'. It is due to the irrigating of mana vortex, which has exceeded the upper limit of her own mana pool.

He was intoxicated, and as if addicted, he showed signs of euphoria.

Duncan's consciousness resides in a dimension beyond which, and with the deduction of causality, all future possibilities are incorporated into the Great Derivation Technique.

After acquiring a portion of the laws of the Eastern Heavenly Dao in the previous world, Duncan's causality became even more powerful.

—"A Turning Point in History (The French Revolution) [In Progress]!"

—"A Turning Point in History (The Coup of 18 Brumaire) [In Progress]!"

Under Duncan's law of causality, everything is incorporated into the calculation.

The French Revolution was about 70% complete, while the Coup of 18 Brumaire had only just begun. These were facts that Duncan could hardly change, while the evolution of causality represented one of the many possibilities for the future.

The Holy Grail embodies the ideals of freedom, equality, and fraternity of the new era, and also contains the laws governing all of human history in the old era.

—The shattered "Wings of Freedom" requires the collection of three fragments (equality, fraternity, and liberty) to realize the wish for a miracle. After the Holy Grail ritual is initiated, the people's "free will" and "fear" can be transformed into magic, and revolutionary ideals can enhance the abilities of different heroic spirits.

[The adjudicator can interfere with the operating principles of the Holy Grail ritual, imposing additional rules on this ritual, but must possess the corresponding abilities and rank.] [The ideological transformation of the modern era has begun; the flames of revolution will extinguish the ashes of history.]

Only enlightened heroes can enjoy the blessing of revolutionary ideals through their faith.

No wonder Catherine couldn't even beat Balton.

One of her achievements was suppressing serfs, further strengthening the serf system, and expanding the power of the nobility. It can be said that she was inherently restrained by the revolutionary tide, while Barton was flexible and adaptable, and adapted to firearms in half a day. His strength was probably even beyond what was expected.

However, she was well-suited to the French royalists, as she was also one of the conservatives and needed to be severely suppressed.

—The revolutionary camp.

—Jacobins (White Terror) Branch 1: The most radical revolutionary camp, eliminating the privileged class through extreme means. The reign of terror will enhance the transformation of magic. They possess the historical reckoning treasure 'Judgment of the Guillotine'. The higher the people's support, the higher the people's anger, and the greater the power of this treasure. It also has an 'instant death' effect.

The extreme anger of the common people could potentially transform into forces of violence and tyranny. (Note: Similar to the Huang Chao Rebellion, but with less brutal killing.)
—Causal deduction (victory): The Jacobin Club is re-established, and the ultimate physical trial is carried out on all privileged classes within France. The 'guillotine' grants equal power to all, disregarding all the powers of the monarchy. (Requires popular support and popular anger.)
Virtue is Terror (A+): Robespierre's abilities are greatly enhanced, and the anger and hatred of the people will evolve into a reign of terror.

Uncorrupted (EX): The Heroic Spirit Robespierre ascends to become an Immortal Heroic Spirit, and his ideals will permeate the French Revolution.

"Liberty, liberty, how many evils are committed in thy name... but if it must be watered with blood, I will bear it all." — Robespierre

Final outcome: The heroic spirit summoned during the ritual was devoured by Robespierre, who then ascended to become an immortal heroic spirit.

The Jacobins established the "Eternal Republic," using extremely radical means to eliminate the privileged class, achieve social equality, unify France through terror, and trigger an attack from the entire European world.

hiss.

Something.

Although Duncan only saw one of the futures predicted by causality, the outcome of this calculation evoked a sense of 'fatherly' love.

—The second branch of the Directory (conservatives): internally facing the restoration of the monarchy and the democratic movement, and externally facing the anti-French coalition war.

But Paul Barras of the Directory was merely a smooth talker, a smooth talker, and a manipulator of power. In contrast, the people had a greater appreciation for the hero who rose to prominence during the war, Napoleon Bonaparte.

—Causal deduction (victory): The Directory suppressed the forces of extremists, royalists, and liberals. Paul Barras used his skills to win over allies and maintain relationships through salons, parties, and mistresses. However, France was ultimately destroyed by the siege of other European countries, the revolution failed, and France was divided up by various forces.

Paul Barras.

The head of the Directory in France, with countless mistresses, was the one who initially recalled Napoleon and authorized him to use cannons to bombard the streets of Paris to suppress the royalist rebellion. Napoleon's reward was marrying Josephine, his mistress abandoned by Barras, and taking command of the Army of Italy.

During his time as Inspector, Barras was corrupt and extorted bribes, and had so many mistresses that he had to give them away to make ends meet.

When Napoleon married Josephine a few years earlier, she was still Paul Barras's mistress. In his memoirs, Barras claimed he was tired of her and even described her as a "seductive whore."

This Mrs. Josephine was a widow in her early thirties, renowned in Parisian aristocratic circles for her beauty and exceptional skills.

—Napoleon's camp, branch three: Napoleon became increasingly dissatisfied with other forces in the revolution, believing that these vermin could not save France at all.

He decided to launch the Brumaire Coup.

—Causal deduction (victory): Napoleon successfully seized power in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and established the Consulate. After consolidating power, he was crowned Emperor, and the First French Empire was established. Napoleon began his destiny of leading France to challenge the whole of Europe.

[Warning! Napoleon knows of the Holy Grail's existence and may seize it to fulfill his ambitions and desires.]

Napoleon was a true political creature.

One thing you can tell from the fact that he was willing to marry a philandering widow older than himself in order to climb the social ladder is that he is currently on one side of the causal chain.

Duncan continued looking down.

Besides the revolutionary camp, there were also camps of foreign forces, such as Great Britain attempting to overthrow France, as well as the royalists, liberals, and chaos factions, etc. Basically, their strengths were roughly equal, and each had its own calculations of causality for victory.

The royalists didn't even need to do any calculations; Duncan knew the outcome of their victory even with his eyes closed.

“The Governor’s government has the power.”

"Napoleon had an army."

"The Jacobins have a guillotine."

“These three forces are all strong, but the script clearly does not meet the intensity I require, and it is even less able to activate the ritual of the magic node.”

"so."

"As the arbitrator, I must mobilize other forces as well."

"The troublemaker of Great Britain."

"How could we do without it at this time?"

Duncan acted as if he were editing a script, adding British forces, European royal interference, church conservatives, and other elements to the causal chain. He wanted to mobilize his hidden power to drag all these forces into the mess.

Now that the Holy Grail has appeared, the current Pope can't stand it any longer. The Secret Order, the Inquisition, and the Brotherhood of Witchers all have to come here.

The top of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Catherine stared in shock at the scene before her. Although she did not have the ability to see the cause and effect, she could sense that His Majesty was casting some kind of very powerful magic, a magic related to fate, prophecy, and the future.

The last person to possess such prophetic abilities and glimpse into fate was the legendary magician Merlin.

At that moment, she was even somewhat glad that she had been decisive enough in kneeling.

at the same time.

Inside Napoleon's secluded residence, a noblewoman, though not young, still possessed a captivating charm.

Mrs. Permont.

Napoleon's mother's close friend, also a Corsican, was 25 years older than him, and her family had a strong influence in Paris.

Several years earlier, Madame de Permont's husband had died, and Napoleon took this opportunity to try to get closer to her, even proposing a marriage alliance (such as arranging for his sister to marry Madame de Permont's son), but she refused.

In a moment of desperation, he knelt down on one knee to confess his feelings, but she did not accept them.

Madame Permont was stunned by Napoleon's actions, then burst into laughter, stroking Napoleon kneeling on the ground like a mother stroking her child, and said: "General Bonaparte, you may be a good priest, but not a good lover."

Although he failed, Napoleon was not discouraged and turned to pursuing other noblewomen.

Anyway, there are plenty of beautiful women in Paris.

Napoleon's initial pursuit of Madame Permont was solely for the political resources she held. A noblewoman 25 years his senior, no matter how beautiful, was only someone he could indulge in occasionally.

True political beings don't care about these things at all.

Several years later.

Mrs. Permont remains beautiful and well-maintained. Rumors circulate that she has some witch blood, and it seems there is some truth to that.

When Napoleon pursued her, he was 26 years old, while she was about 55.

Madame Permont was now nearly sixty years old, but when she appeared, Napoleon Bonaparte still rushed to greet her and even kissed the back of her hand, which was gloved with silk.

The support he received when he expressed his love back then has now been earned because of his achievements on the battlefield.

Madame Permont's presence here at this moment suggests that her family is highly likely to support Napoleon's rise to power in the upcoming Coup of 18 Brumaire.

Their relationship sounds quite outrageous at first glance.

But considering the later French presidents and his elderly wife, it's not surprising at all, because France is indeed so romantic and unrestrained.

In Parisian aristocratic circles, it's considered shameful to attend a party without having one or two lovers.

………………

Jacobin Club, the secret room.

A burly man with sharp eyes stared at the object in his hand, his expression hesitant, and asked, "Whose sacred relic is this?"

The cloaked figure before them slowly said, "Spartacus."

(End of this chapter)