The First Magic World War

Antonio looked at Charles with the same gaze as one might look upon the "Evil God," breaking his head over how outrageously whimsical the plan was.

Gareth was also from the older generation of powerhouses, his age not too far from that of Duke Mosley; in fact, he was two or three years older than Kresto and five or six years older than Midaphis.

Well, he might even be older than Charles's biological father.

Alas, Antonio was not a transmigrator; otherwise, phrases like "This wretch has no respect for his parents..." would have surely popped into his head.

Gareth looked bewildered and asked, "Are you my father? Then who am I?"

Charles spoke with righteous fervor, "Gareth Mekelen!"

"You are Gareth Mekelen, my dear and only son, Charles Mekelen!"

"Initially, you were the sole heir to Count Mecklenburg's Domain, but because you were so engrossed in martial arts, you gave up your inheritance right. Still, I will always welcome you, my son!"

If it weren't for Antonio being right there, Charles would have certainly found Gareth a mother.

Hmm, Anne wouldn't be quite right, but the senior would do just fine!

If all else fails, Princess May or Miss Sophia Garanord would surely suffice.

After all, they wouldn't be seeing each other, and this flimsy lie wouldn't be busted unless spoken of.

But with Antonio present, Charles dared not talk nonsense, leaving behind a massive loophole.

Upon hearing his name, Gareth indeed felt it was familiar. When he looked at Antonio and Charles, although Antonio seemed more familiar, Antonio also looked too young...

When he looked towards Charles, what emerged in his mind was an image of a silver snake tail frantically thrashing about!

This little snake seemed to be exceedingly joyful over something so delightful it couldn't contain itself.

Hmm, Gareth naturally conjured an outrageous yet utterly logical notion in his mind, "My father is quite youthful."

He hesitated for a moment, then called out, "Daddy!"

Charles, greatly comforted, touched Gareth's forehead and tenderly said, "Son! You were gravely injured in your battle with the Evil God Anululu. I can't express how worried I was for you!"

"Your awakening is a reason for us to sincerely thank the Serpent of Destiny!"

"Later, I will take you to pay your respects at the Serpent of Destiny's Temple, and you must prepare the finest offering."

Gareth nodded slowly, and the silver snake tail that emerged in his mind suddenly stiffened, trembling continuously. After a while, it started thrashing about even more crazily than before, as if it were even more excited.

Antonio, feeling like he had a Small Beastman inside his head, had a deep sense that either this world or Gareth had to be broken!

He didn't want to expose Charles's lies, so he could only wait until Charles had comforted his "son" and came out to quietly ask, "What if he regains his memory?"

Charles shrugged and said, "So what if he does? I've already gained an advantage."

"Besides, it's not so easy after the Evil God has shattered one's soul..."

Hmm, Charles immediately thought of a counterexample, himself, whose soul had been shaken to bits by the struggles between two Great Evil Gods, only to be perfectly restored.

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But he immediately stopped worrying about it!

After all, he had already gained an advantage, so who cares?

Anthony asked a second question, "What if someone tells him his real identity?"

Charles laughed heartily and said, "Don't worry about that, I'll tailor-make a novel for him, making everyone in this world believe that he's my son!"

"How could a few mere trolls reverse the original work?"

"There are no doujinshi in this world."

Anthony didn't know the terms "trolls" or "doujinshi," but it sounded reasonable to him. When someone's experiences are written into a novel that sells exceedingly well, even unrelated people will believe it to be true, let alone someone deliberately brainwashing?

He felt sympathy for Gareth and said, "I hope, in your writing, Gareth's childhood won't be too miserable."

"The latter half of his life is already destined to be a tragedy."

"Let his childhood be joyful then! Even though it's all fake."

Charles readily agreed and the two of them, with just a few simple sentences, decided on a happy childhood for Gareth. Charles even decided to give him a little tagline, making Gareth, when he was younger, often taken home by a big sister, who would give him "baths" and treat him to delicious "big buns."

Who would dare say that such a childhood wouldn't be happy?

Even though Gareth had lost his memory and had been toyed with by Charles, the two of them didn't dare let him join the battlefield.

Anthony planned to initiate the battle against the Duchy of Mosley soon after, and Charles thought there was no problem. Without the protection of the Evil God, Mosley was "a pushover."

After briefly regrouping for a couple of days, they set out with their respective Knighthoods to again mount an offensive against the Duchy of Mosley.

During this period, due to insufficient military strength, neither of them had dispatched scouts, so when they saw that the allied camp of the Kingdom of Oslo was nothing but ruins, both were taken aback; they hadn't expected Mosley to have fled.

The two then attacked the Duchy of Mosley and, encountering almost no resistance, swept through like a hot knife through butter.

They quickly divided the tasks. Anthony led two Knighthoods to siege cities, to take over other nobles' domains, while Charles continuously received the surrender of various local militias behind and seized the wealth of the traitorous nobles.

After a little over a month, they finally conquered the entirety of the Kingdom of Oslo. Anthony also came to understand why Charles's Westwind Knights were so numerous; Charles had unearthed Oslo's entire wartime potential and turned these "wartime potentials" into a huge trading company.

The two soon received word that Mosley had fled to Black Phoenix...

Upon receiving the news, they mourned for Duke Fars for a while, then began preparations to return to Strasbourg.

Becaue the coronation of His Majesty Brittany was imminent, and as the most important people at the ceremony, they had to be present.

Charles took with him the troops conscripted in the Kingdom of Oslo, sending them all to South Serif, and handed over the administrative power of the Duchy of Mosley to Anthony.

The Old Earl of Brittany had already promised him the territory of South Serif; if he annexed the Duchy of Mosley as well, it would be a bit too much of an expansion. Moreover, Charles was going to obtain a portion of Black Phoenix's territory in the future. Giving the Duchy of Mosley to Anthony would help him gain a solid foothold in the Brittany Dynasty.

In this world, is there anything that gives better value for money and returns than bribing the future Emperor?

Isn't Anthony destined to be the future Emperor of Fars?

As soon as the two set off, they were met halfway by messengers from Strasbourg, urging them to hurry back to attend the coronation of the Emperor of Brittany.

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