Chapter 337: Chapter 166: Imperial Reforms Dimension Space.
Duncan began to organize what he had gained during this period.
As his power grew, the chances of achieving epic victories became fewer, mostly resulting in major victories, but not epic ones. Even winning with fewer troops in famous battles didn’t count as epic victories. However, this did not affect his accumulation of Legendary Level. In the process of destroying the Frankish tribes, Duncan earned 4 points of Legendary Level, and later, after defeating the Western Gothic Kingdom and killing Torismund, he gained another 10 points of Legendary Level in one go, which was second only to the major achievement of killing God’s Whip.
However, the Legendary Level granted by the Pseudo Emperor Maximus was pitifully small. Together with the Imperial Senate, he only gave Duncan 2 points of Legendary Level.
Fortunately, in the subsequent war against the Vandals, Duncan gained 4 points of Legendary Level in one sweep.
Now, with the gradual accumulation of other points of Legendary Level, Duncan had almost saved up 23 points. But not long ago, he had used 8 points in one go, 3 for nurturing offspring, and 5 for engraving the Mythical Bloodline.
The final projection page displayed—"Legendary Level: 15/63."
The cost of Legendary Level for nurturing offspring was quite high.
If he hadn’t engraved the Mythical Bloodline, consuming only 3 points of Legendary Level wouldn’t have been stressful at all.
But this is an initial investment, and future returns will gradually manifest. Over time, his primary human form might also be deified by descendants. The founder of the Frankish Kingdom, Molov, Duncan’s defeated enemy, was originally deified by descendants in history.
While not a genuine Divine Spirit, such deification in historical legends can also grant a faint thread of divine power.
As long as the legacy lasts long enough, the concentrated divinity will grow stronger.
The Legendary Level invested now will convert into divinity values in the future.
There have been more than just one or two historical figures who were deified, with some even becoming True Gods, like the God of Wealth who passed through five barriers and cut down six generals.
"Even just for three offspring, 24 points of Legendary Level would be consumed."
Projection page.
Duncan sat on the sofa, and with a slight lift of his hand, a cup of coffee appeared from thin air.
His Creation Ability was becoming increasingly proficient.
Unfortunately, it could only be used within the Dimension Space; once in his human form, it was ineffective. At this moment, the Dimension Space had turned into a palace, somewhat resembling a miniature version of the Roman Imperial Palace, because he didn’t have much to reference and wasn’t very skilled in architectural design.
It could be used barely for now; he would gradually furnish it in the future.
He opened the national page to check other ways to acquire Legendary Level.
The transfer of the Mythical Bloodline to offspring consumed the same as his own engraving. The primary human form was already close to being a Demigod, meaning offspring would inherently have better physical traits than ordinary people. Now, with the passing down of the Mythical Bloodline, they would essentially be born as awakened Transcendents.
(Born with Magic Power.)
However, if he’s going to do it, he aims to do it to the best of his ability.
Duncan was willing to invest a bit for future gain.
Right now, the empire didn’t have many formidable foes. It would become increasingly challenging for Duncan to acquire Legendary Level through warfare, similar to slaying Lu Bu during the Three Kingdoms era; defeating second or third-rate generals wouldn’t create much of a stir.
He’s now quite close to achieving the martial accomplishments of God’s Whip, Attila, with the Legendary Level he could obtain through martial prowess reaching its limit. Now, he could only find solutions through civil governance.
"Conquering Great Germania could provide some Legendary Level, but not much."
"Destroying the Eastern Roman Empire, severing the lifeline of the Byzantine Empire, could result in a generous amount of Legendary Level."
"Conquering other powers would likely yield little Legendary Level."
In this era, it’s not feasible to wage wars far and wide.
The current stage of civilization limited the empire’s extent; without the geographical advantage of the Mediterranean, the Roman Empire could never have expanded to such vast territories. Conquered places far away could not be managed, only granted away somehow.
Civil and Martial Governance.
Duncan, now as an emperor, had to put effort into civil governance.
Opening the projection page on the kingdom interface, independent national events emerged.
—"Educational Reform [Civil Governance]: Implement education reform and enact school establishment bills to break the monopoly of knowledge by the nobility and the church. Completion will trigger the special national status of Artistic Enlightenment and significantly enhance the cultural level of the citizens, reducing the number of illiterates.
The education level of the empire will gradually progress from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment Era over time."
(Can obtain 5 points of Legendary Level.)
—"Religious Reformation [Civil Governance] (In Progress): Reform the religious systems of Monotheism and Polytheism to strengthen royal power and weaken divine authority. It may cause religious unrest, but succeeding will increase compatibility of beliefs and raise tolerance towards heretics and pagans."
(Can obtain 5 points of Legendary Level.)
—"Judicial Reform [Civil Governance] (In Progress): Reform the original national judicial system by establishing local courts, creating an oversight institution, and forming the Cabinet Council, significantly enhancing the country’s legal system. The subsequent step would initiate the ’Separation of Powers’ system.
A new imperial code must be enacted, replacing traditional blood vengeance with law, drastically reducing turmoil."
(Can obtain 5 points of Legendary Level.)
——"Land Reform [Civil Administration] (in progress): omitted."
Duncan scrolled down and found that none of the reform options were simple.
Currently, the progress bar for religious reform is the most advanced, having reached about over ten percent, judicial reform is only at six percent, while land reform, possibly due to numerous deaths over the years, has made relatively decent progress.
To gain Legendary Level status through civil administration, it will still take several years. However, the advantage is that even under entrusted management or seclusion, the initially planned reforms will continue.
Yet, due to the reforms, there is some unrest in the local areas, necessitating the deployment of troops to suppress the situation.
Time flies by rapidly.
After confirming that Legendary Level status could facilitate childbirth, Duncan became much more industrious, often handling affairs day and night laboriously, hoping that if fortune favored him, it would save 3 points of Legendary Level status.