Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 379 The Time Paradox: Uncovering the Root Cause!
Great Britain, London.

With a series of hurried footsteps, a stern-looking man entered MI7 and handed the classified document to a short, stout middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"Has Napoleon already arrived in Paris?"

"Those useless guys in the Mediterranean Fleet can't even handle this simple task."

The middle-aged man glanced at it and angrily cursed. Britain had a fleet patrolling the Mediterranean, which had intended to stop Napoleon from returning to France from Egypt, but the navy couldn't even handle such a simple task.

The meticulous young man opposite said, "Napoleon was protected by Corsican witches."

"When he was fighting in Italy, he also received support from a local Italian magician family."

"If he disguises himself, it will be very difficult for ordinary people to find him."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man took a breath, touched his bald head, and slowly said, "We must be careful that he doesn't launch a coup to seize power. He has a very high level of prestige in France now."

"Especially the military, which almost absolutely supports him."

For MI7, Napoleon posed a far greater threat than other revolutionaries because he was a truly formidable fighter, having decisively defeated the Italian coalition in World War I. While Great Britain held the advantage at sea, it rarely won land battles against France.

The young man opposite handed over another document, saying, "A message from Big Ben."

"A ritual to summon the Holy Grail has been launched in Paris."

"This Holy Grail ritual may far exceed, or even reach, the intensity of the American colonies' independence."

"The British Magic Association has already sent people over there."

"But the academy hasn't made any moves yet."

"Big Ben sent people to try to use magic to seek guidance from Merlin, but just like last time, Merlin did not respond at all."

It's the Holy Grail ritual again.

Hearing this, the short, stout, bald, middle-aged man felt a headache coming on. In the last hundred years or so, people in the mystical world had become increasingly fond of performing Holy Grail rituals. Ever since the monotheistic religions completed the magic for creating the artificial Holy Grail, news of the Holy Grail's reappearance had been circulating throughout Europe from time to time.

During the last American Revolutionary War, the Holy Grail fell into Washington's hands, and his wish upon the Grail was 'God bless America'.

"Her Majesty the Queen must be informed."

The middle-aged man hurriedly stood up and said, "Immediately send someone to notify the Royal Society of Mages. We absolutely cannot let Napoleon get the Holy Grail."

"correct."

"What's going on in the Vatican?"

The young man standing nearby said, "I'm not sure. But they seem to want to take the Holy Grail."

Paris, France.

In the stillness of the night, a muffled thud suddenly rang out, followed by a barrage of gunfire.

In the darkness, a burly figure emerged, dressed in the gear of a Thracian gladiator, wielding a sword and a shield. His agility was superhuman; facing the dense musket fire of the royal guard, he leaped into the air, dodging bullets using the terrain, and then wielding his sword to kill several men in succession. His combat skills were almost at the peak of human potential.

"Champion Gladiator!"

Barton's expression instantly turned serious. He seemed to have guessed the other party's identity and said to the Corsican witch beside him, "Have your people withdraw."

"Mortals are no match for the champion gladiators of the arena."

After saying that, Barton also took out his short sword and shield and walked towards the figure in the darkness.

Firearms were indeed very powerful in that era.

However, due to its slow reload speed, it does not pose a significant threat to Heroic Spirits, especially those skilled in sword and shield combat, who are not afraid of being hit by frontal gunfire.

"Romans!"

From the darkness, a burly figure slowly emerged, no longer paying attention to anyone else, but staring at Balton, who was dressed in Roman-style armor in the distance. A trace of hatred appeared in his eyes, a hatred for Rome, as if it were a fateful duel. He even ignored the summoner's command.

"Slave gladiators".

"Spartacus?"

Barton's expression still carried the arrogance of an old Roman nobleman. He gripped his sword and shield tightly, waved to Spartacus in front of him, and his expression and words were full of contempt.

No matter how much later generations have lauded Spartacus, the Romans throughout history never cared about slave revolts.

Spartacus was chopped into mincemeat by the Roman army.

Thousands of those rebellious slaves were also crucified, stretching from Rome all the way to Capua.

Barton was an old Roman nobleman; how could he not know the leader of this slave revolt?

clang!
Mars shattered.

The cobblestones on the streets of Paris were shattered. Barton's figure was like a rampaging beast. The shockwave generated when the two collided actually shattered the nearby cobblestones. In comparison, Spartacus's fighting skills were obviously superior, but Barton was not afraid at all. Relying on his excellent equipment, he directly clashed with his opponent. He was also a veteran who had been through many battles.

boom!
After a brief exchange, Spartacus suddenly roared as if in a rage, sending Balton flying. Balton slammed heavily into the wall, causing it to crack and create a human-shaped crater.

Upon landing, Barton spat out blood and then planted a golden eagle flag in the ground.

Imperial Eagle Legion.

Spartacus faced the Imperial legion summoned by Barton without flinching. The fighting skills of a champion gladiator were the pinnacle of mortal prowess, and he was undaunted even by numerical superiority. Their duel would not end easily, for Spartacus was not a Heroic Spirit who readily obeyed orders.

Hundreds of meters away.

A sinister and cold figure stared at the distant mansion and said in a deep voice, "Spartacus has already drawn out the spirits that protected Napoleon."

"It's time for someone else to do it."

The words fell.

Immediately, several figures appeared around Napoleon's mansion, including powerful humans and summoned heroic spirits. These people launched an attack on the mansion, and before long, a fierce battle broke out. Some even used high-level magic spells.

At that moment, a ghostly figure suddenly appeared like an assassin. She had disguised herself as a maidservant to Napoleon and, after the Corsican witch protecting him left, immediately drew a dagger and stabbed Napoleon in a vital spot.

——Charlotte Corday (The Assassin) (Four-star Silver Grey)

The assassin who killed Marat during the French Revolution was sentenced to death and executed at the guillotine in Place de la Révolution.

Her appearance meant that there was more than one force that wanted Napoleon dead.

puff.

Blood splattered.

boom.

At this critical moment, Napoleon Bonaparte seemed to unleash his full potential. He drew his sidearm with lightning speed and shot the assassin in the chest.

Charlotte Corday was seriously injured; she wasn't a particularly powerful Heroic Spirit to begin with.

Even so, Napoleon's ability to fight against heroic spirits as a mortal suggests that his own strength was greater than rumored.

This shot gave Napoleon a chance to escape. He jumped out of the second-floor window, and the moment he landed, he began to reload his ammunition despite the excruciating pain. Then he quickly called for help from the others in the distance. Realizing that no one could come to his rescue for the time being, he swiftly entered one of the hidden rooms.

His guards were all killed by assassins with astonishing skill. He had thought that returning to Paris would be a near-death experience, but he never imagined that so many people would want to take his life.

"Is this where my life is going to end?"

"No!"

"If these insects are allowed to take control of France, it will only drag the country into an abyss."

Driven by the will to survive, the wounded Napoleon rushed into the underground chamber, where one of his lovers, the Corsican witch, was setting up a summoning ritual. At this moment, only by finding a way to summon another spirit could he possibly survive tonight's attack.

Drops of blood fell one by one into the magic circle engraved on the ground.

Napoleon Bonaparte had only a superficial understanding of the rituals for summoning Heroic Spirits. After all, he was a general, not a wizard. He didn't even know that it was difficult for mortals to summon two Heroic Spirits at the same time, let alone what kind of relics were needed to successfully summon them.

Surprisingly, as he chanted the incantation taught by the witch, without any sacred artifacts, he actually activated the ritual circle before him. Bang!
At that moment, the basement door was also smashed open, and a scarred man and the female assassin who had attacked earlier appeared. They had dealt with Napoleon's guards and chased him to the outside of the secret room.

Without hesitation, Napoleon raised his gun and fired again. He knew that firearms would hardly kill these heroic souls, but he would never sit idly by and wait to die.

A gust of wind swept through the underground chamber.

Amidst the slightly shocked gazes of the enemy, a dazzling white light suddenly appeared beside Napoleon Bonaparte, followed by the emergence of a heroic and imposing figure. Dressed in a magnificent suit, he resembled both a general and an emperor. He slowly lit a cigar with the muzzle of his gun, then scrutinized Napoleon Bonaparte with a complex expression.

"Are you my master?"

The suddenly appearing heroic spirit possessed a powerful aura, as if it had the courage to challenge everything. It slowly drew its French longsword from its waist, walked up to Napoleon, tilted its head to examine the enemy opposite it, and said arrogantly, "I'll give you a chance to escape."

"otherwise."

"Then die here."

Without the slightest hesitation, the opposing Heroic Spirit immediately launched an attack.

But this valiant man, fighting two against one, was still not at a disadvantage, and even seemed to be in a position of ease. The French longsword in his hand stirred up a raging wind, and then his expression became serious. He said in a deep voice, "The time has come."

"Face the storm!"

A flash of cold light shattered everything in the underground chamber.

boom!
The valiant man drew his pistol, and the bullets he fired were like cannonballs, creating a barrage of fire across the entire area. Even more terrifying was the appearance of a squad of elite soldiers behind him. The dense storm of bullets engulfed everything, shattering the two heroic spirits in front of him into pieces.

Napoleon Bonaparte stared in awe at the scene before him.

For some reason, when he looked up and gazed at the imposing man before him, he had a strange sense of déjà vu. He couldn't help but ask, "What's your real name?"

But the valiant man completely ignored him.

From the moment he was summoned, he seemed to have the ability to act independently. Not to mention that Napoleon Bonaparte was not good at magic, even other magicians would have a hard time controlling him.

"You can stay here until it's all over."

"You can also come with me to face these enemies and meet the challenges of the times."

This valiant man seemed fearless, but when he stepped out of the basement and saw the corpse of the guard who had died beside him, a faint sadness appeared on his face.

"The Coup of 18 Brumaire?"

As the valiant man emerged from the basement, his aura grew even more imposing. His resolute gaze revealed a keen insight into the future. The musket in his hand whirled and fired, and in an instant, a hole was ripped open in the forehead of the magician in the distance, and his figure fell directly off the roof.

"Royalists?"

"Revolutionaries?"

"Do even the Jacobins want me dead?"

"Then come on!"

After he appeared, he completely ignored Napoleon Bonaparte behind him. He was like a highly efficient killing machine, proficient in both melee and ranged combat. Although his swordsmanship was not as good as those of the powerful high-ranking Heroic Spirits, he displayed combat skills similar to gun-fu using firearms, and his strength far surpassed that of others.

at the same time.

Duncan, who was proceeding with the Holy Grail ritual as planned, suddenly looked up at Napoleon Bonaparte's residence with a slight look of surprise.

In the dimensional space, a series of prompts flashed across the projected page.

An anomaly detected in the Holy Grail ritual!

"World-suppressing force under the law of causality detected! ...Unknown mutation node detected!..."

"A heroic spirit not belonging to the current timeline has been summoned!"

"The law of causality has been disrupted."

"An unknown spacetime disturbance has occurred in the Paris region!"

"A backlash from the world's restraining force has been detected. The current node is experiencing temporal and spatial chaos, and the laws of time and space in the root world have been disrupted!"

Is there such a thing?

Duncan looked at the two Napoleons marked from God's perspective, and a hint of excitement finally appeared on his face.

"Have I also manipulated the laws of time?"

"So?"

"Am I almost there?"

His consciousness connected with the Throne of Heroes in the Root World and indeed discovered that the river of human time had become turbulent, and the laws of time and space had been manipulated by his hundreds of years of planning.

This backlash is something the King of Kings, Duncan, can withstand.

An opportunity for global upgrading has emerged.

Although it appeared in a mutated form, Duncan saw a glimmer of hope.

There are many ways to upgrade the world.

However, the loosening of the fundamental principles must have a specific benchmark.

The benchmark of a low-magic world is its numerous forms of witchcraft and magic, which is pretty much self-evident.

In the world of high magic, there are two inescapable benchmarks: time and space.

Leverage the world, unlock its laws.

The first is [space], which represents the world's ability to [transfer through space] and the possibility of creating dimensional planes.

Technology has locked away humanity's future.

To enter the vast universe, one must possess the power of the mystical side, namely the spatial ability of teleportation.

The second is [Time], which represents the ability of mystical forces to manipulate time. However, controlling time is very dangerous and can easily lead to time paradoxes or even time chaos. In many high-magic worlds, there are beings similar to time dragons, who are responsible for maintaining the normal operation of the timeline.

Duncan also made some arrangements, but they hadn't activated them before the Time Law was activated.

After unlocking the laws of time.

The Origin World then had the possibility of casting time magic, and the initial control over the power of time was also one of the signs of the world's ascension.

A powerful heroic spirit, not belonging to this era, has appeared.

The timeline is messed up.

This anomaly will certainly require Duncan's personal attention, but it also means that the power of human beings to control time has become a possibility.

Duncan has been plotting for hundreds of years, and finally he has ripped a hole in the barrier of the real world!
The fundamental laws governing the world began to loosen and flow out.

A world is constantly subject to elemental tides, rising and falling. From the mythical age to the end of the Dharma era, the world remains the same, but the power has diminished. This power has not disappeared, but has returned to the primordial realm that does not belong to the material realm, namely the primordial matter realm.

When the elemental tide erupts, power surges from the source, greatly strengthening the entire world. When the power returns, the world is like a beach after the tide has receded, leaving only a few small fish and shrimp struggling to survive.

Duncan has already drilled a hole; the next step is to use the energy siphon effect (the great miracle triggered by multiple Holy Grail rituals) to find a way to restart the elemental tides.

If it weren't for the world's elevation, Duncan could have used this power to live forever and walk among the earth.

A time paradox is about to emerge.

Duncan has already felt the power of the hole he drilled, which connects to the long river of human history—past, present, and future. Only the surging power of the river of time could cause the future Napoleon to appear in the present.

At this moment, the Holy Grail, which is now gathered in Paris, is almost certainly his to obtain!
Even for Duncan, although the intensity of this Holy Grail ritual was not as great as the American Revolutionary War, the value of the Holy Grail formed this time far exceeded expectations because the future Napoleon appeared here; it could not be described simply by its power intensity.

It contains a loosened time principle!
Until Duncan finds the Time Dragon or any other being with the power to travel through time, this is his only chance to access the Time Realm.

………………

(End of this chapter)