SHK CH 537 (Patreon)

A world of ice and snow.

This was the sight that greeted Sol when he appeared above the battlefield where the army of Lustburg retreated and left the place for the White Knight to show his might.

As far as the eyes could see, ice covered the ground, freezing to death encased in it.

In a way, one could say that it was a work of art. It was a beautiful gift to the dead, as thousands of bodies would forever be kept in the ice coffin.

“How interesting.”

Sol muttered, admiring the effect of this field. This was a level of power he did not expect from anyone in the mortal world expect Blessed and a Few others.

This was definitely not comparable to a King. But this was without a doubt far above what any normal Duke could do.

Sol smiled and looked up, his eyes becoming complicated. Ever since his small realization, the world he could see started to change.

This went beyond the simple thread of Fate. He could see more, he could even hear more. He had a feeling that Setsuna's power as well as Lilin’s mixed and enhanced his one power and divine weapon in a way he could still not completely explain.

A river. A large stream or was it a tree?

Sol chuckled and ignored the vision in the sky. Even if the world he could see changed, it would not change him.

At least he hoped so.

Taking one step, he seemed to glide through to space and finally teleported in front of the only part of the battlefield that wasn’t covered in ice.

There, he could see a young man clad in shining armor with his sword planted in the ground. His breath was weak and his aura feeble. Clearly, this attack had not been easy.

“Your Majesty.”

“You have done a great service.”

“I have only done my duty.”

Sol nodded, not caring about White's words. As a king, merits was something he always had to keep his mind.

Soldiers were not his family and friends. Expecting them to fight for his rise without rewarding them properly was bullshit.

But there was a problem—

“Do you know? Soldiers like you are actually the most troublesome.”

Sol grinned amicably and White nodded, understanding what he meant. No matter how it looked, he was the White Knight. This was the highest rank a Paladin could attain in the Church.

In terms of rank, he was not inferior to a Duke in terms of authority and may even surpass them. After all, all kingdoms were in fact Theological empires.

This means that there was no higher position to reward him with.

The church and the royal power did not mix.

So White could not receive land. He could receive riches but he did not need it.

“Sigh. No matter. Even if you cannot receive a noble title, I can bestow one to your bloodline. Your children will be nobles from birth. Though I will have to decide later what kind of rank I will give. But I think it will be at least Earl.”

White twitched and opened his eyes wide with disbelief.

A hereditary earl rank.

He thought Sol would give him some Baron fiefdom for his progeny at most and this was the norm.

Earl were highs ranked nobles just below Duke and Marquis.

This was far beyond his expectations.

“You too kind.”

“I am kind indeed. But powerful men need to be rewarded.”

Saying so, his eyes started to shine as he looked at White. White shuddered as he felt the gaze on him.

He felt like he was being peeled one layer after another, taking away all secrets his body could hide and observing even his very soul.

“Interesting.”

Sol muttered again for the second time, “You fused with your spirit?”

He muttered. Looking at White, he could see so many tangled lines and thread. It looked like the Fate of two individuals had been fused forcibly together, mixing and resulting in the current situation.

It was easy for him to interfere from there and understand what made White so Strong suddenly.

He didn’t just use his contracted partner as a battle aid. But fused and used his power. One might think that it was stupid to do so. After all, having an ally next to you should be better, and — They weren't completely wrong. But it was a matter of perspective

If fighting alongside the partner gave a result of 1+2= 2. Then fusing would give a result of 1+1 = 4 or even 8 depending on the level of fusion.

“You are quite courageous. Do you believe in your partner this much?”

Sol immediately noticed the flaw in whatever they were doing. The core of this technique was none other than the Penguin itself.  Once he decided to go crazy, hurting White would take just a thought.

“Your Highness, do not spread disharmony in our midst. The two of us are great friends..”

A gentleman like Pengui appeared out of White Knight's body and continued to speak.

“This is no deep secret. His Zone and mine are similar and our power share the same origin. Since I am but a spirit I decided to use his body as well as my soul to fuse with his.

The results are what you see.”

“Ohhh…”

Sol mused. He could see how the white knight seemed disappointed and he understood. Even if it was him, he would be quite unhappy if all his secrets were divulged so easily.

He chuckled, “This technique is beautiful for those stuck at the basic level.”

He felt like his luck was once again at work. There were many humans and even with how low the chance of awakening with enough CP was, there would still be many who wished to gamble and see and see.

Sadly, the reality was cruel.

Those born in high clans had powerful techniques passed down from generation to generation.

The majority have nothing. Could only rely on gambling and many of them would only find despair in the end.

“Rise.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Standing up, White Knight furtively glanced at Sol again before lowering his head.

The king was not to be looked at.  At least not at his level.

Doing the opposite was worthy of death.

Those were the rules established during the birth of the Bloody Queen. One of Lustburg ancient Kings and Queens.

“This technique is not really suitable for learning your highness. We managed to do so because of the similarities in our power or rather because I decided to follow his path. But for most people —”

Sol raised a hand, “I understand. In the end, everything that matters is strength. You see the negative. But for many, this is more than worth it.”.

Only geniuses could talk about something as lofty as following their own path. Sol was sure that even if he said the technique had some deadly flow, 7 out of 10 would still learn it.

Power was a capital and an insurance. Without it, all your words and righteousness were useless.

“Then Your Highness. Might I ask what will happen next?”

“Next, huh?”

Sol looked up, his eyes deep, hiding an unfathomable light. Slowly, the moment was approaching.

A malevolent grin formed on his face,

“Let Wratharis bask in the illusions of success for one more week.”

After this — They would only mourn.