The Cornflower Witch Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Crown of Glory

After seeing off the old butler and his attendants, Hylial and Lining returned to the mansion.

Looking at the small white chess piece on the table, the girl was a little curious.

“Lining, do you know the value of this chess piece?”

“I don’t know, Miss Lia,” the maid replied indifferently.

“However, compared to the 20 useless Gold Coins, this chess piece is obviously rarer.”

Gold Coins, or money, were no problem for Madame Faran, but she had very few of these chess pieces in her inventory. Given Madame Faran’s usual style, she definitely preferred this chess piece.

“Is that so?” The girl nodded slightly, then tried to pick up the small white chess piece, feeling the solidified power of the ‘Castle’ phased power within it.

“Can nobles make these kinds of chess pieces?” It was her first time seeing one.

“Only nobles with real power, that is, nobles with fiefdoms, can,” Lining replied.

“Generally, although nobles have the status derived from their fiefdoms, they are not skilled in these kinds of extraordinary secret techniques. They need the assistance of scholars around them to condense and create such chess pieces.”

“However, most of the time, nobles don’t do this. They usually grant the ‘Castle’ phased power directly through an anointing in person, which is simpler and can also establish a loyalty contract with their subordinates.”

“Therefore, these kinds of chess pieces are rarely seen on the market,” Lining explained.

“In that case, doesn’t that mean nobles can mass-produce soldiers or knights with the ‘Castle’ phased power?” Hylial asked.

“They can be mass-produced, provided your territory is vast and your own status is strong enough,” Lining continued.

“For example, a baron can grant ‘Level 2 – Castle’ to their personal guards at most, while a viscount can grant ‘Level 3 – Castle’ to their knights. Each time one is granted, a portion of their own status is permanently consumed.”

“Currently, Viscount Xuefeng has three knights under him, and this is his limit, with the risk of decline.”

“If a noble is stripped of their title or loses their territory, then their knights and soldiers will also gradually lose the ‘Castle’ phased power they were granted.” Hearing this, Hylial couldn’t help but recall Iona, the daughter of the former Viscount Kalen.

“No wonder those nobles in history were so enthusiastic about territory and population,” Hylial thought back to the books she had read.

“So, if a completely ordinary person were to ascend to the throne, wouldn’t they also achieve high-level ‘phases’ in one go?” She mused.

“Yes, there have been several such incidents throughout history. In fact, the process of ascending to the throne itself is a kind of ‘ritual’.”

[Royal Ritual: Crown of Glory] (Castle • Secret Words • Blood Discipline)

‘In the Eighth Epoch, the populations of dragons and fairies dwindled, leading them to gradually withdraw from the mortal continent, carving out new courts in the sky, far from the tainted Twilight Sea. Meanwhile, various weaker races expanded across the continent, leading to a contention among a hundred races. During this time, Moransar, the “Swan King” and the eldest among humans, pioneered the Royal Power School and promulgated the first mortal law code, laying the foundation for the concept of a nation. The process of his ascension, holding the law code, was recorded in countless poems and histories, marking the genesis of the ‘Castle’ phase.’

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Conditions: This ritual requires the wearer of the crown to have enough people swear allegiance (Blood Discipline), with constructed stone towers, high walls, and castles distributed across the territory, symbolizing control over the territory (Castle), and the promulgation of laws and rules for the territory (Secret Words). If you are familiar with the legendary experiences of the ‘Swan King’ Moransar, the more the arrangements align with the legends of that time, the stronger the ritual’s effect will be.

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Summary: This ritual requires territory and sworn allegiance, which are the cornerstones of constructing status. During the ritual, the name of the crown-wearer must be inscribed on the stone towers, high walls, and castles distributed across the territory, and enough subjects must declare their allegiance. The law code proclaimed during the ritual will take effect, and the more residents in the territory who recognize and abide by the law code afterward, the stronger the royal destiny will be.

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Effect: Grants the wearer of the crown the blessing of royal power, elevates the rank of the ‘Castle’ phase, and bestows the ability to grant and revoke the ‘Castle’ class to those who swear allegiance. (The larger the territory and the more loyal subjects, the stronger the blessing will be.)

After taking the chess piece and placing it in the mansion’s underground storage room, Hylial returned to the backyard to rest and read.

…

The next day, she visited Scholar Hyde’s mansion and met her friends after several days apart.

“Oh, Lia has advanced too.” Everyone congratulated her happily.

They had long expected Hylial to advance, but were curious why she wasn’t in a hurry. Now, she had finally advanced.

“Yes.” The girl smiled and accepted their congratulations, and then a few people became curious again.

“What’s the difference between advancing to the ‘Emerald Honey’ phase and ‘Blood Discipline’?”

“Well,” the girl gently touched her chin, recalling the feeling.

“It probably doesn’t emphasize personal physique and combat power as much as ‘Blood Discipline’, it’s more inclined towards cultivation and assistance.” Not all classes focus on combat, but that doesn’t mean they are weak.

For example, for Viscount Xuefeng, if he had a Level 3 – Mist Shadow wizard under his command, the utility and actual help to the viscount would far outweigh two Level 3 – Castle knights.

This is because wizards have various means and master various secret knowledge, providing assistance to the viscount in multiple areas, while what knights can do is relatively limited, especially in times of peace.

After Solin, Mick, and Lei, Hylial was the fourth in her class to advance. Shortly after, Balun, Komia, and others also entered Level 1. However, Balun chose ‘Level 1 – Castle’, while Komia chose ‘Level 1 – Mist Shadow’.

The continuous advancements of the students brought great satisfaction to Viscount Xuefeng, the lord of the territory, who invited them to dinner at the castle.

That night, Scholar Hyde and many students enjoyed a sumptuous dinner, and Viscount Xuefeng generously had tailors make each of them a set of winter clothes as a gift for the upcoming winter.

Compared to light summer clothing, winter clothing requires more material and is often more durable, lasting for many years. This gift was a godsend for some commoner students.

At night, after the banquet, the students dispersed, with only a few staying behind who already lived in the castle.

Iona stood up from her seat, her golden hair reflecting a faint glow in the candlelight. Dressed in a red dress tonight, she looked quite beautiful.

“I’m going back to rest, Uncle,” she said, as she and Viscount Xuefeng were relatives.

“Alright, you go ahead, Iona,” Viscount Xuefeng, who had had some wine, didn’t pay much attention and continued discussing recent matters with Scholar Hyde next to him.

Leaving the brightly lit dining room, Iona walked alone through the long corridor of the castle. As some areas were unlit, it felt a bit chilly in the moonlight.

“Everyone has advanced?” she murmured to herself, her gaze turning to the outside of the castle, watching the students leaving below, her mind filled with various thoughts.

Initially, when she first came to Scholar Hyde’s place, as a former student of the Royal Academy and someone who had already entered the ‘Level 1 – Blazing Sun’ phase, she had a significant advantage over her classmates. This had also soothed her previously somewhat fragile and distressed state of mind.

However, as those young students gradually mastered knowledge and caught up, her advantage was no longer obvious, even making it seem like her progress was slow.

Now, she was just over 17 years old, with an extraordinary rank of ‘Level 1 – Blazing Sun’, and she had mastered two third-stage abilities: 【Breathing Method Lv.3】(Blood Discipline) and 【Golden Needle Swordplay: Thrust! Lv.3】(Blazing Sun). Even at the Royal Academy, she was a student with good grades.

Unfortunately, she was behind schedule. If her father were still alive and provided her with ample resources for cultivation, she would probably have already completed the 【Golden Thorn Apprentice】 class. Her even more distant goal was the ‘Level 3 – Blazing Sun’ class, 【Golden Sun Swordsman】, which is a class of the ‘Blazing Sun School’, exceptionally powerful, often excelling among those of the same rank.

If she could enter ‘Level 3 – Blazing Sun’ before the age of thirty, she would be called a genius. Only then could she return to the upper echelons of the kingdom’s nobility and gain a certain social standing. Otherwise, those great nobles would simply ignore her, making it impossible to talk about rescuing her father and restoring the family’s glory.

Should she continue to wait? She felt that if she kept stagnating like this, she probably wouldn’t have a chance to win the competition in a few months and qualify to enter the Secret Forest.

That’s right, Viscount Xuefeng was her uncle, but in the face of more excellent and promising students, would he really firmly choose her and reserve the spot for her? Iona was uncertain and dared not guarantee it.

Iona’s steps became slower and slower, finally stopping at a watchtower atop the castle, gazing at the night sky.

A silver moon hung high, but surrounding clouds chased after it, causing the moon to occasionally disappear, dim and lightless.

(End of this chapter)