Chapter 008: Abraham’s Analysis

Prince Fischer glanced at Alva on the ground, sighed, then turned to Abraham and asked, “How likely is it that Lord Alva can regain some of his strength?”
Abraham, whose hands were covered in rings, slowly placed them on Alva’s forehead. After closing his eyes and sensing for a moment, he said calmly, “Alva merely suffered from excessive consumption of combat energy and external injuries… It seems none of those who attacked him were true experts; otherwise, his injuries wouldn’t be so minor… Still, without a year or two of recovery time, he won’t be able to return to his peak strength.”
Prince Fischer sighed and said, “Then that means I have one fewer capable person at my disposal… Master Abraham, isn’t there any way to help Alva recover quickly? As you know, my elder brother is pressing hard these days, and the capital is closely watching our moves… The difference between having more or less strength is enormous.”
Abraham shook his head and said, “There’s no such method. Even if you asked someone from the Holy Church to intervene, they could at most heal his external injuries. As for the excessive consumption of combat energy, it can only be restored through gradual recovery.”
Prince Fischer sighed again and was about to signal for Alva to be taken away when, seemingly recalling something, he said, “Master Abraham, then is there any way to temporarily restore Alva’s consciousness? I have something to ask him.”
Abraham frowned for a moment before saying, “There is a way, but if we do that, Alva will likely need an extra year to recover.”
Prince Fischer decided firmly, “Do it… Time is urgent. I must find someone to replace Alva. That Du Fan seems promising, but I don’t know his strength right now and can’t test him yet. I can only ask Alva. He must have seen somewhat how Du Fan fought.”
Abraham sighed and said, “Since Your Highness has made up your mind, then I’ll proceed.”
With that, Abraham slowly raised his hands from Alva’s forehead. A black aura emerged from his palms and slowly flowed toward Alva’s face, then entered through his nostrils.
Once all the black aura disappeared, Alva suddenly coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood, before slowly coming to his senses.

When he opened his eyes and saw the two people in front of him, he was shocked and quickly said, “Prince Fischer, Master Abraham…” Before he could finish speaking, Alva’s vision went dark, and he nearly fainted again. Prince Fischer frowned and said, “It’s okay, Alva. Just lie down and don’t move. I don’t blame you… I actually have a few questions for you.” Alva gasped for breath and said, “I don’t know, Prince Fischer…” Before he could finish, Prince Fischer interrupted, “Did you see Du Fan take action?” Alva’s expression changed, and he said, “I… I did.” Prince Fischer frowned and asked, “So what do you think of his strength?” A strange look appeared on Alva’s face before he hesitantly replied, “I’m not sure about his strength… but whatever he does seems very strange. It seems like just saying a sentence makes people want to follow his orders. At that time, I was unconscious on the ground. I heard his words but still woke up. If it weren’t for my lack of strength, I would have almost followed his orders and attacked that bone dragon summoned by Ampere…” Prince Fischer’s expression changed drastically. “You mean… he can make people unconsciously obey his orders just by saying a sentence?” Alva replied with a complex expression, “I think so. Because after he said that sentence, all the remaining warriors and cavalry rushed at the bone dragon without caring about their lives… as if they had all become puppets in Du Fan’s hands… Ampere said… this technique seems to be called something like ‘Spirit’…” “Word Spirit!?” Abraham, who had remained silent until then, suddenly said grimly. Alva glanced at Abraham and said, “Yes, it’s Word Spirit. That’s what Ampere said too.” “What else?” Prince Fischer stared at Alva. Alva frowned and thought hard for a moment before saying, “Later, Du Fan seemed afraid that his secret would be exposed. Before leaving, he set fire and burned all those who weren’t dead. If it weren’t for me managing to escape by sheer luck, I would probably be…” At this point, this top expert in the palace couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. Prince Fischer frowned for a while before calmly saying, “It’s okay, Alva. I know everything now… You’ve suffered such serious injuries for me. I’ll keep that in mind. Just rest well… As for what happens next, Master Abraham and I will surely handle it.”

With that, Prince Fischer gave Abraham a subtle glance. Abraham nodded and snapped his hand again; the dark energy that had entered Alva’s nostrils was quickly drawn out. Alva tilted his head and fainted once more. Prince Fischer didn’t look at him again but frowned at Abraham and said, “Master Abraham, from your tone, it seems that Du Fan’s skill of ‘Word Spirit’ is quite powerful?” Abraham snorted and replied, “‘Word Spirit’ is a ability that alters order through words. It’s a type of mental magic, and also one of the three great secret arts in the legends of the northern barbarians. But this ability isn’t invincible. Its effects vary depending on the opponent’s mental state and abilities. Against high-level magicians or saints, it’s basically useless… But against lower-ranked warriors, it’s almost invincible…” Prince Fischer’s expression changed, and he said, “So, Master Abraham, does that mean Du Fan practices the witchcraft of the northern barbarians? He’s not a magician but a shaman priest?” Abraham shook his head and said, “Your Highness, whether he’s a magician or a shaman priest isn’t important… What matters is that Du Fan knows one of these three great secret arts. It’s likely he knows the other two as well… According to the rules of the Holy Church, practicing witchcraft is already considered heresy. With Anthony’s insight, he must have noticed Du Fan’s skill, yet they still treat him like this… Hmph, it seems the Holy Church has declined.” After a moment of thought, Abraham continued, “Moreover, if he knows this skill, it’s not hard for him to eliminate Aldas in the north. Also, a noble from the Gavin Empire wouldn’t learn such things for no reason. There must be a powerful person behind him, someone at least at the saintly level… With that in mind, everything makes sense. No matter how strong Aldas and Bruce are, they’re nothing in the face of a saint… Hmph…” Prince Fischer looked at Abraham and said, “So, Master Abraham, what are you trying to say…”

Abraham looked at Prince Fischer and said calmly, “Your Highness, those who achieve great things don’t care about trivial matters. Although Du Fan practices witchcraft, that’s not important. What matters is that he has the strength to remain undefeated even against a ninth-level master magician… Coupled with his family background, he is worth considering for alliance. However, Your Highness Fischer, when trying to win over such a person, one must be careful—smart people are hard to manipulate, as they always think they’re clever but end up ruining important matters…”

Prince Fischer nodded and said, “Then I think I understand what you mean, Master Abraham…”

Abraham nodded and said, “Good. There’s one more thing, Your Highness. Today’s incident was fortunate—you weren’t seriously hurt. So from now on, no matter where you go, bring only a few people with you. And… try to avoid places like outside the city.”

Prince Fischer smiled awkwardly and said, “Master Abraham is right…”

Abraham merely hummed in agreement and said nothing more.

Prince Fischer stared at Alva on the ground for a moment before saying loudly, “Someone, take Lord Alva back to the imperial estate on the outskirts of the city to rest. Leave a few people to tidy up everything that happened… Also, prepare an invitation for me. In three days, I’ll host a banquet for the nobles of the capital in the palace’s side courtyard.”

Immediately, people went to carry out Prince Fischer’s orders, and Alva was quickly taken away.

Looking at the empty scene, Prince Fischer sighed and shook his head. After a while, he waved his hand and said, “Enough. It’s getting late. Let’s head back to the capital quickly. It’s time for the morning court meeting. My elder brother will probably try to stir up trouble again. How can I let him get his way this time?”