Seeing Duncan seemingly moved, the Crow Queen - Triss immediately said, "I can give you a large sum of money."
Duncan hesitated: "I’ll think about it."
The Crow Queen - Triss did not insist, for she was determined to journey across the continent in search of the child of destiny foretold by prophecy, to prevent a tragic fate for her kind in the millennia to come.
For this great ideal, she was willing to give everything, even sacrifice herself if necessary.
She needed to find that peaceful nation which in the future Dark Ages could shelter witches and other innocent Supernatural Power Users, so that their legacy could witness the dawn of the Enlightenment Era a millennium later.
In the end, witches are also mere mortals.
Though the Crow Queen - Triss was very powerful, it was still inconvenient to travel the continent alone. Duncan’s strength was evident to all; many times, swords were easier solutions than Witchcraft.
A night without words.
The next morning, Duncan had not yet decided how to respond to the witch when his door was knocked.
Outside the door was an injured guard leader, supported by another person.
The guard leader was named Catus, actually a privately armed force kept by the imperial aristocracy, existing in the form of caravan guards while also protecting their own business interests in the guild.
Catus’s face was pale. He sat down with the help of another, looked sincerely at Duncan, and said, "Lord Duncan."
"Do you have any plans for the future?"
Duncan’s expression turned slightly strange as he softly replied, "I haven’t decided yet."
Catus glanced at him and pressed on, "The empire has become increasingly turbulent over the years, with the Barbarian Race frequently invading, and the Asia Region is also precarious."
"There is constant strife among the empire’s internal factions, and the Barbarians are gaining power in the military!"
"Have you ever thought about taking advantage of this chaotic era to make your mark, Lord Duncan?"
As soon as the other person spoke, Duncan knew what he wanted to do.
He just didn’t know which great noble’s subordinate he was, whether an old established noble of the empire or a newly risen Barbarian noble. It’s worth noting that even the tamed Barbarians assimilated by the empire now consider other tribal races as barbarians, and the early Barbarians conquered and assimilated by the empire even despised those Barbarians accepted by Constantine I.
The Barbarian disdain hierarchy has been iterated multiple times.
The empire’s legitimacy indeed rests with the Barbarians.
If Duncan in his past life had been a ’Jing Luo’, he might have agreed, but he truly hadn’t considered siding with the empire right now, having seen so little of its virtuous deeds along his journey.
The collapse of the empire.
With his abilities, trying to turn back the tide would probably be futile, but the name ’Augustus’, an imperial emperor, indeed has a certain allure.
Just like how it’s hard for Easterners to understand the allure of the One Ring, but if you engrave ’Mandated by Heaven, longevity and prosperity’ on it, they instantly understand.
Duncan pondered, "I’ll think about it."
Traveling with the Crow Queen - Triss undoubtedly involved engaging with the Supernatural Power world, while choosing Mercenary Catus was the path of mortal achievements. Most of his future energy would likely be geared towards the ensuing chaotic times, as the empire’s collapse signifies the official start of the medieval era.
Seek longevity, magic, and beautiful witches? Or the name of Augustus?
The era of mortals begins.
The last myth is about to end, and supernatural powers are destined to hide in the darkness.
Duncan saw the other off.
He fell into contemplation, finding no answer for a long time, until suddenly he had a flash of inspiration and decided to enter meditation, preparing to examine the cause-and-effect settlement from a god’s perspective.
He should be at some turning point of destiny now, and the Law of Cause and Effect in Dimension Space is bound to change.