Chapter 244: You Know Why I Called You, Right? (2)
Chapter 244: You Know Why I Called You, Right? (2)
The sins of the three women were thus brought to light.
Had Ava been there, she would have been aghast at such a grave offense, likely demanding to know what they thought they were doing to someone’s precious son.
Patrick stared intently at the three of them and spoke.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked what you’re going to do about it.”
“Well, that is…”
The three of them hesitated.
Seeing their indecision, Patrick scowled deeply.
“Ah… so you’re going to do all that and then refuse to take responsibility?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Uh… um…”
Patrick pressed on without mercy.
“You’ve sullied a man like this, and now you won’t take responsibility? Was I just a toy to you? A passing fancy? You’re just going to use me and toss me aside?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Wait a minute, Patrick, that’s a bit much…”
“The thing is, you see…”
How did these women, who were prominent figures wherever they went, end up in the position of young lords who had trifled with an innocent maiden and now had to take responsibility?
Usually, wasn't it the other way around?
Patrick looked at them and sighed.
“Wow… I see. So that’s how it is. You’re just going to use me and throw me away. I guess this is why they say the only woman in the world you can trust is your mother.”
The three women’s mouths hung open simultaneously.
Then, Patrick declared:
“Fine. Fine. I’ll just consider myself a jilted man. But don’t expect to see me ever again. Let’s just end things here and now.”
At that, Isabella hurriedly spoke up.
“Wa—wait a second.”
“…What? Why? Do you still have something to say?”
“Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll take responsibility, okay?”
“Ho-oh, and how exactly?”
“Mar… Marriage. We’ve been engaged for a long time anyway, so we might as well.”
“Hmm… and the other two?”
“I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”
Elione answered promptly. And as for April…
“Yo—Young Master. I…”
“What about you?”
“I… How could I ever…”
“Ah. So you’re just going to throw me away?”
“…….”
“Wow, how am I supposed to heal this heartbreak? Maybe I should go consult my mother first…”
“I—I’ll do it! I’ll ma… ma-ma… rry you!”
“Marry?”
“Marriage! I’ll marry you!”
“Right. I see. Then that’s that.”
Patrick’s face brightened instantly.
He looked refreshed, as if he had finally resolved a problem he had been putting off for far too long.
“Then all three of you are marrying me, right? From now on, you’re all my women. All three of you.”
Patrick made sure to emphasize the word ‘three.’
The three women nodded in a daze. Then, Patrick spoke in an incredibly gentle voice.
“Alright. Well, I’m going to be a bit busy for a while. So let’s push the wedding to later and just make a public announcement for now. And… uh, you three can figure out the hierarchy amongst yourselves.”
With that, Patrick made a quick exit as if he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Left behind, the three women could only stare at his retreating back with blank expressions.
Did these ladies even realize what they had just absentmindedly agreed to?
* * *
Deep in a deserted forest.
Patrick stood there alone.
With his eyes half-closed and a profound depth in his gaze, he slowly raised his sword and took an opening stance.
Unlike his usual self, he took his posture with meticulous, almost solemn precision, and then the next moment…
Flash!
In an instant, Patrick’s body vanished.
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
First Form
Black and White Twin Dragon Dance
Starting with the first technique of the Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles, he began to execute each form one by one.
Second Style
Great Dragon Cross Sword
Third Form
Flash Dragon Strike
Fourth Form
Twin Dragons’ Chaotic Dance
Fifth Form
Dragon Scale Whirlwind
Sixth Form
Nine Dragons Under Heaven
Seventh Form
Moonlit Night Phantom Dragon
Eighth Form
Radiant Dragon’s Reign
After executing all eight forms, Patrick quietly withdrew his sword and steadied his breathing.
His surroundings were devastated, as if a ferocious dragon had rampaged in a fit of rage.
It was hard to believe that a single human could exert such terrifying destructive power.
However, Patrick himself frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, as I thought…”
Patrick let out a deep sigh.
“I should have spent at least three years stabilizing it.”
During the battle with the White Tiger, Patrick had split his middle Dantian in half, dividing it into two.
He hadn't learned this from anyone.
He had simply judged that he couldn't overcome the White Tiger’s trial otherwise and took the gamble.
Thanks to that, he had managed to win at the time. However, operating with a split middle Dantian brought about severe side effects.
While the Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method was designed to manage two Dantians, that was strictly limited to the lower Dantian.
Patrick was likely the only person in the history of the entire Martial World who had dared to split their middle Dantian in two.
[This isn't my fault. I never told you to go that far.]
If the Founding Patriarch were there, that is likely the excuse he would have made to Patrick.
Regardless, Patrick’s condition at the time had been critical.
It was a miracle he was even alive; he had been on the verge of spending the rest of his life bedridden.
Thus, Patrick had placed his body in a state of suspended animation, focusing entirely on energy circulation and recovery.
Meanwhile, he had been working on a new internal energy method.
The original Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method could not control two middle Dantians.
To regulate and wield them, he needed a new method—one that was an evolution of the original.
Of course, this was no easy feat.
Creating a single internal energy method is a daunting task even for a grandmaster of a generation. If anyone could do it…
‘Done.’
…Well, that’s what geniuses are for.
After being bedridden for half a year, Patrick had finally succeeded in creating a new internal energy method tailored to his body.
In truth, the seed of the World Tree had played a monumental role.
He had faced numerous crises during the creation process, but each time, the seed of the World Tree had stabilized his twisted energy and held his crumbling body together.
Thanks to that, Patrick was able to make bold attempts with his own body over and over again.
Without it, even for someone like Patrick, creating a new method would have been nearly impossible.
At any rate, he had succeeded.
It was a method created by applying the Heart Splitting Art—the foundation of the Yang Energy Divine Art he had stolen from the Wudang Sect in his past life—to the existing Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method. Its name was…
New Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method.
Though the naming showed a certain lack of effort, he now had a way to control his middle Dantians.
All that remained was to govern his body with the new method. However…
“Whew, it can’t be helped. As if it’s in my nature to just focus on martial arts in peace.”
The Prince of the Harbor Kingdom had dealt the final blow, but there were many other variables.
Even while lying down, he could hear everything people were saying, and much of the information he gathered was unsettling.
The entire continent was being swept into war, and Prince Sierion’s movements were suspicious.
While the flames of war had not yet reached the Schneider Territory, it was certainly not a situation where they could sit back and watch like it was someone else's problem.
It might have been better if he hadn't known anything.
But every piece of information that reached him only fueled his sense of urgency.
The very emotions that most hinder the cultivation of a divine art had been steadily piling up.
In the midst of that, the Prince of the Harbor Kingdom had pushed him over the edge, and he eventually had no choice but to wake up. And the result…
“About the 3-Star level?”
Patrick’s current achievement in the divine art was at the 3-Star level.
He needed to be at least at the 5-Star level to bring out its true power, but he had stopped at a mere 3-Star.
“With this, it’ll be hard to beat the crap out of that kitten and get my compensation.”
He seemed determined to get his war reparations.
What a tenacious fellow.
But he had gained something.
Despite only being at the 3-Star level, he was at least stronger than he had been a year ago.
While still lacking compared to the Radiant Dragon Hero of his past life, if he continued to cultivate this divine art, he would eventually surpass his previous peak.
He could see the path now.
A path that led further than he had ever gone before.
“The problem is that it’s so far away.”
Patrick sighed.
Normally, when a martial artist gains such insight, they should ignore everything else and devote themselves entirely to training.
But how could he?
There were more than a few problems that required his immediate attention.
“Sigh… what a life…”
This was just his luck.
Even in his past life, he had been so envious of the elders of the prestigious Orthodox sects who lived comfortably in deep mountains, doing nothing but training.
They could focus solely on their cultivation without a single worry, while their subordinates brought them food, brought them booze, and offered gifts on every birthday…
“Damn it, if I had been able to train that comfortably, I would have been ten times stronger. I would have wiped out the entire Unorthodox Faction Alliance by myself, and cleaned out the Demonic Cult and the Blood Cult as a bonus.”
But what could he do?
In both his past and present lives, elegance and leisure were simply not in Patrick’s destiny.
“Young Master, they say the preparations are complete.”
April approached and reported to Patrick.
Hearing her words, Patrick sheathed his sword and spoke.
“Good. I’m coming now, so have everyone ready.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Double Dragon Patrick Schneider.
He had stepped back out into the world.
* * *
The Harbor Kingdom.
When people heard the name of this nation located in the south of the continent, they immediately thought of Dwarves.
The relationship between the Harbor Kingdom and the Dwarves was that inseparable.
Their bond dated back to the very birth of the Harbor Kingdom.
A long time ago.
A passing Dwarf happened upon a newborn baby abandoned on a battlefield and took him in out of pity.
Though they were of different races, the Dwarf raised the human boy with great care.
The boy grew up healthy in the Dwarven village, and when he eventually went out into the world, he became a mercenary who made a name for himself in an era of war.
His mercenary group grew in power with the support of Dwarven weaponry, eventually reaching the point where they were recognized as a sovereign nation.
That was the founding legend of the Harbor Kingdom.
It was not a myth or a legend, but a historical fact.
Because of this, the relationship between the Harbor Kingdom and the Dwarves was exceptionally close.
As long as one was a Dwarf, they could visit the royal palace at any time and stay as a guest.
However, as time passed, the humans changed through the generations.
The royals who had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Dwarves, drinking beer and calling them brothers, had all returned to the earth.
The descendants of the Harbor royalty began to distance themselves from the Dwarves, and after several generations, there were even those who frowned at the mere sight of a Dwarf inside the palace.
The long-lived Dwarves accepted this fact with bitterness.
Even if the sentiment wasn't what it used to be, the Harbor Kingdom remained a shield that protected the Dwarves, and the Dwarves paid their dues by providing weapons and works of art.
As long as they remained in a symbiotic relationship where each needed the other, they thought their ties would remain intact.
The problem arose when the Dwarves decided to migrate.
The veins of the Iron Mountains seemed like they would never run dry, but nothing lasts forever.
Eventually, the ore in the Iron Mountains hit bottom, and the Dwarves decided to leave in search of new lands.
Since they were a race that could not live without mineral veins, it was a perfectly natural decision.
The problem was that the Harbor Kingdom was horrified by the news.
From the perspective of the Harbor Kingdom, whose primary industry was trade with the Dwarves, their migration was a catastrophic event that threatened the very survival of the nation.
The royal family personally attempted to persuade them, but the Dwarves’ stance was firm.
To a Dwarf, being told to settle in a place without mineral veins was like telling a fish to live out of water.
When persuasion failed, the Harbor Kingdom forcibly blocked the Dwarves’ migration.
Naturally, the Dwarves revolted, and eventually, the two factions, their interests now irreconcilable, entered into a state of war.
And that civil war had been continuing for a year now.