Chapter 195: Chapter 94: The Empire’s Superstar! King Uther’s account can be settled slowly.
Now Duncan has the advantageous condition to actively declare war. In the future, even if he plans to kill King Uther, no one can say anything.
To be honest, King Uther being moved by Igraine’s beauty is nothing unusual. In this turbulent era, it’s only natural for the strong to possess beautiful women. However, he cannot act this way; it’s somewhat shameful and not the demeanor of a king. If he had directly defeated the Duke of Dingtiger on the battlefield, or even killed the Duke of Dingtiger, and then taken Igraine as queen,
no one could have said a word against it!
Indeed, Igraine herself would have accepted her fate, as it is normal for the victor to take everything, including the wives and daughters of his enemies.
The lords under King Uther would also believe that only the strong deserve beauty. To have rightly defeated the Duke of Dingtiger and then take his beautiful wife into the harem would have been a story worth telling and at that time, Igraine was considered a spoil of war.
But now, most of the Lord Knights would find this behavior somewhat disgraceful.
The King of the grand nation of Camelot, master of the realm, behaves so unworthily, and Merlin, supposedly the legendary wise wizard, helps facilitate such actions for King Uther, overturning previous perceptions of them both.
If this matter spreads, even some upright knights may abandon King Uther.
In the mist-covered Avalon, those guardian fairies began to doubt Merlin, believing him to be a prophecy-obsessed person, starting with this event, and they became more inclined to support the rising Duncan instead of Merlin’s prophesied child.
Today’s events were spreading across the entire island of Great Britain like the wind.
Merlin was also imprisoned in Southampton.
This matter continues to ferment in its spread, and upon learning of the situation, Anya immediately began to secretly fan the flames. She had already raised many attendants, drunks, minstrels, doing this kind of public opinion dissemination work.
Now that the opportunity presents itself, of course, it was necessary to let King Uther fall from grace!
Even on the Italian Peninsula of the Empire, there was considerable interest in Duncan’s news.
Entertainment is rather scarce in this era. The people of Rome, when chatting and boasting at taverns or bathhouses, don’t have many topics to boast about. The attention sparked by Duncan was quite significant. Although he had never been to Rome, he was a household name there.
Since the time of Caesar, Romans have greatly esteemed war heroes, thus Duncan had many fans in Rome.
It’s quite similar to how people idolize celebrities in later generations.
Recently, Duncan had defeated the Saxon pirate coalition and recovered the London area, which spontaneously drew cheers and celebrations from the people of Rome.
Believing he was indeed deserving of being the empire hero who slew God’s Whip, defeating the Saxon pirates in just a fortnight.
The people of Rome were elated, believing another pillar of strength was emerging for the empire.
The revival of the empire was at hand.
Even the news of Duncan encouraging agriculture and aggressively developing the London area piqued the interest of many. Romans loved making money and doing business, and the reclamation of the Province of Britannia offered various opportunities, with fleets already heading for the London port.
At this time, news concerning King Uther came across. Although the Roman people did not know who King Uther was—as he was an insignificant king from a remote country—it did not prevent them from condemning an enemy of the empire’s hero.
Additionally, the involvement of the legendary wizard made the spread even more captivating to ordinary people.
All taken as gossip.
Would Duncan adopt Arthur as a foster son?
Give this child of unknown origin an honorable origin?
The Roman people couldn’t help but give a big thumbs up.
Look!
Who dares say Duncan isn’t a legitimate Roman?
The empire’s tradition of adopting children, the broad chest that Romans should have, is not something that can be matched by a rural king from the island of Great Britain.
The empire, when it conquered the Barbarian Race, also adopted and integrated the Barbarians as foster sons.
Much like Great Tang having foreigners buried in imperial tombs.
Some enthusiastic people even compare him to Caesar, boasting that Duncan has the kind of magnanimity rarely seen in ordinary people.
Anyway, spectators never mind the excitement and there’s no harm in a bit of flattery.
But those with real intentions would realize that Duncan was preparing to take action against King Uther.
Emperor Valentinian III of the Empire is now a devoted fan of all rumors related to Duncan.
Although he lives a life of luxury and indulgence, and has a fondness for beauty, he also feels contempt for King Uther. To curry favor with the Roman public, he specifically issued an edict rebuking King Uther and nominally stripping him of his title as King of the Kingdom of Camelot.
Of course, the Emperor couldn’t control who was King of Camelot, but this move was undoubtedly a lowering blow, instantly undermining much of King Uther’s legitimacy.
Valentinian III recently has also been thriving, as everyone says he has a keen eye.
The imperial emperor has finally stood up!
He dared to boldly voice in the Imperial Senate, spitting at those senators with a face full of saliva, as if he could single-handedly battle the entire Senate.
As long as it was related to Duncan, he had to come out to gain some traction and boost his presence among the people of the empire.
And you know what?
Valentinian III indeed accumulated a bit of prestige, especially in the Imperial Guard, making his words more authoritative and his influence more extensive.
This is the external support at play here.
Duncan, far away in the Province of Britannia, never involves himself in the imperial internal political struggles; yet he maintains a strong reputation and strength. Who wouldn’t want to win over someone like that?
It can be said that Valentinian III gained a bit of the legendary level just by tagging along for this long as rumors fermented.
In future historical records, it is inevitable there will be mention of him appointing Duncan as the Governor of the Province of Britannia, after which Duncan gained the rightful claim to lead the British Legion across the sea to aid the empire.