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[FMMIKA] Chapter 183: Greed and Desire
🕑 Added 2023-09-14 19:22:14 +0000 UTCAs XX looked at Artorius with astonished wide eyes and an expression of disbelief, he declared decisively:
"I'm going to find them! Bring them all under my command and give them equal love!"
"Eh? Ehhh?!"
Watching Artorius's excited expression, XX was completely dumbfounded.
"N-No, it's just that..." As she dressed, XX said to Artorius with a panicked tone. "Calm down a bit, Artorius! Do you even know what you're doing?!"
"Of course I know."
Artorius said without hesitation, walking towards the palace's entrance. Of course, he didn't forget to greet the Einzbern maids along the way.
"B-But..."
Listening to Artorius, XX basically understood.
Maybe it was because of his passionate nature, or maybe it was his responsibility as a son.
In any case, for whatever reason, Artorius was prepared to take care of hundreds of Artoria Species stranded on Earth. From the god-level leaders to the errand girl 666, he was going to take them all and have a great time.
This was something XX definitely did not want to see.
If possible, she wanted to have Artorius all to herself. Even if she couldn't have him all to herself, she hoped it wouldn't be more than two digits.
Two digits were already unbearable, let alone hundreds. And to make matters worse, these hundreds of Artorias were her mortal enemies. Just the thought of them being in Artorius's arms, getting pampered and petted, made XX feel like she was going to explode.
These were hundreds of dangerous Artorias, after all.
In general, a single Artoria had the power to destroy all life on a planetary surface.
Even on Earth, a relatively unique and gifted planet, if all the Artorias banded together, they could dominate the world.
In the Age of Gods, they could brawl with Zeus and in modern times, they could take on Crimson Moon.
Considering all of that, Artorius actually wanted to recruit them all? What made XX even more incredulous was that she actually believed he could really do it!
Whether it was physical or mental, he could handle it all. After all, he was Artorius, the son of all Artoria Species in the universe. As long as he acted a bit spoiled, showed a little noble temperament, and then demonstrated his kingly aura and strength, at least seventy percent of Artorias would listen to him. After more effort, at least ninety percent would fall under his control.
With ninety percent of Artorias helping out, any problems would be a piece of cake.
"But, if there are so many, won't Artorius be overwhelmed...?" XX muttered, not entirely sure. "But, he has Avalon and Third Magic."
In the Servant Universe, True Magic was common things. XX, X, along with a bunch of Artorias labeled A to Z, could all coexist. That was because of the Fifth Magic.
Everyone was also immortal, with unlimited resurrection and nearly infinite magical energy; that was because of the Third Magic.
Roaming, time travel, and occasional visit to parallel worlds; that was because of the Second Magic.
In this sense, even if Artorius wanted to keep pampering the Artorias forever, it wouldn't be impossible.
"But..."
"Don't overthink it, feel it with your heart..." Artorius said seriously to XX. "Before, you were betrayed by your own sisters and ended up like that. Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to reclaim everything that was once yours?"
"That..."
XX unconsciously wanted to say she didn't want to.
Maybe she had thought about it before, but now that Artorius was more enticing, she had completely lost interest in them.
Leader of the Artoria Species, having subordinates numbering in the hundreds and having the might to suppress galaxy, did any of that compare to the allure of Artorius? Not at all.
"So, tell me, where is that Artoria Species organization you belong to now? We're going to take back everything that belongs to you."
"Even if you say that..." XX unconsciously wanted to object, but before she could voice her objections, Artorius grabbed her hand.
"Let's go! We're going to take back everything that belongs to you absolutely! C'mon, tell me, where is your organization now?"
Though Artorius was strong, he still needed to discuss tactics and strategies. It was best to start with the weaker ones.
Both the Order of Avalon and the Dark Rounds had great strength and strong unity. Only XX's Holy Lance Sisterhood had ended up in this somewhat weak state because of the rebellion.
With XX in his hands, Artorius could confidently bring her back as the leader, summon her subordinates from the Holy Lance Sisterhood, and they would come rushing over to be pampered by him.
With the Holy Lance Sisterhood as his footing, Artorius could smoothly bring the Dark Rounds and the Order of Avalon under his control step by step.
'With so many mothers helping, the empire's power will definitely skyrocket. We won't just conquer Earth; we'll be able to expand beyond it into the galaxy earlier than planned.' Artorius thought excitedly.
Thinking about it, he felt a little thrilled.
The next moment, they left Orleans and arrived at a remote farm on the outskirts.
Unlike the city with its night markets, the villages and manors in the countryside were all pitch black. Everyone was already asleep, conserving their strength for the labor of the following day.
'So, what should we do next in terms of development? Should it be like in the Servant Universe? Abandoning physical body and becoming an energy being like Servant?'
This option had been a good choice before, but Artorius still wasn't quite sure.
Because losing one's physical body and becoming an energy being had both advantages and disadvantages. Looking at the Servant Universe, it had transformed from a single region on Earth to a super-civilization spanning the entire galaxy in a short time. It had arguably surpassed most parallel worlds in Nasuverse.
But this also had its downsides, as it almost completely ruled out the possibility of further advancement.
In the Servant Universe, everyone was an energy being without flesh.
You could have all the intimate moments you wanted, and all the pampering you desired. But having children was basically out of the question.
There, creating new life could only be done in two ways.
One was to use the Fifth Magic to infinitely split a single individual across different time periods, similar to the Artoria Species.
The other was to use cloning technology for replication.
But whether it was cloning or using the Fifth Magic, strictly speaking, it was just copying existing individuals rather than creating entirely new life.
From this perspective, the humans of the Servant Universe had also lost their 'future'.
When mingling within a single galaxy, this wasn't much of an issue. But if you wanted to break out of your own galaxy and venture into the depths of the universe, the foundations of the Servant Universe would seem somewhat lacking.
'So, if possible, it's best to keep the physical bodies intact. It makes it easier to increase the population...' Artorius thought to himself.
As time passed, he was starting to feel a bit greedy.
In the past, civilizations like the Servant Universe, which had completely transcended Earth and ventured into the galaxy, had been quite enviable. However, with new options before him, he found the Servant Universe's achievements less impressive.
Men were always like this.
Greed and desire were the driving forces propelling humanity forward.
When he didn't have something, just having X or XX made him happy. But when he actually had them both, he wanted more. If this time, Artorius could truly capture hundreds of those Artorias, then the next time, he might want even more.
"I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing..." Muttering these words, XX eventually followed behind Artorius, heading toward the location where she knew the Holy Lance Sisterhood was.
After betraying XX, YY had indeed left with her people to find a new hideout. But XX was, after all, the elder sister of those bunch of Artorias. Saying she had no information would be nonsense.
"At a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city."
XX directly contacted her trusted informant within the organization and quickly pinpointed YY's location.
"Shouldn't we prepare a bit more?" XX still hesitated. "There must be over a hundred of them. If it comes to a real fight..."
"Don't worry, we won't fight." Artorius said calmly.
By now, the sky had turned completely dark, and under the moonlight, the once Dragon Emperor now in the 'Ikemen form' looked so handsome that XX was momentarily stunned.
"With me here, all the Artoria Species will keep the peace."
Saying those words with confidence, Artorius took XX's hand and continued:
"All Artoria Species like me."
"All Artoria Species will listen to me. Isn't that right, XX?"
"..."
Although she wanted to refute him, XX had to admit he made sense.
Just as earlier, she wore a cute and sulky expression to convey her dissatisfaction to Artorius but was instantly charmed by his tenderness.
At this moment, they appeared more like siblings or a couple rather than mother and son.
Of course, XX didn't mind it that way.
'For now, let's trust him. Let's do as he says, for now.'
Thinking like that, XX's heart became very sweet.
However, the next moment...
"Hmm!"
Sensing danger, Artorius turned around and saw a slender figure of a girl rushing toward him. She had tears in her eyes, pursed her lips, and was clutching a dagger while aiming it at his waist.
In the moonlight, he clearly saw her face.
It was Artoria Face.
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