The First Magic World War

Charles didn't stay at Arcadia Port and soon returned to Strasbourg.

Wood Brandon had let him know about the might of the Van Gaal Family's Secret Technique, and he realized that he had progressed too quickly in his cultivation and indeed neglected many things.

The first special ability of the Van Gaal Family's Secret Technique was the Spirit of the Mirror, something Charles hadn't expected to be so profound. When cultivated to a higher level, it could manifest as a Spiritual Hunting Dog, and he had almost suffered a great loss under the claws of these conceptual magical creatures.

Charles still had to wait until the last day of the one-month deadline, so he made no moves and instead began to study the first special ability of the Infinite Mirror Realm, the Spirit of the Mirror, at Machu Picchu!

He had killed too many Spirits of the Mirror in order to expand the Mirror World and knew the weaknesses of the Spirits of the Mirror like the back of his hand, but he had never thought about enhancing this particular ability. Having Wood Brandon as an example, and now being at the Nineteenth Rank, a few days of intensive study brought him substantial gains, allowing him to condense a second Rune of the Spirit of the Mirror.

When the second Rune of the Spirit of the Mirror took shape, a small creature appeared in Charles' Mirror World!

Or perhaps it should be said: a group of small creatures.

Spiritual Cloud Cats!

The Spiritual Cloud Cats are also conceptual creatures that can coexist in countless Mirror Worlds, just as a person can appear in countless mirrors simultaneously.

They can't fight, but they can observe the entire Mirror World on behalf of their master and even serve as a communication tool.

If the worlds of two mirrors have merged, and each mirror is held by a different person, they can communicate through the Spiritual Cloud Cats—even though...

Well, they can't actually continue, as this creature can only transmit voice messages and can't transfer images, making something like a video call impossible.

Another intriguing feature of the Spiritual Cloud Cats is that they are naturally pets of the Sage of the Mirror. So when these little creatures appeared in the Mirror World, Charles found that there was now a "long-haired pear blossom" next to his Sage of the Mirror.

Yet three young Agile Cats had appeared beside Charles, and he now somewhat missed the three Agile Cats he had at home. Because he was rarely at home, these three Agile Cats had grown up and become more well-behaved, but Charles hadn't gone back to see them during his last infiltration of Strasbourg.

Spiritual Cloud Cats are conceptual creatures and thus do not have a fixed form; each "Spiritual Cloud Cat" looks different, but in reality, each "Spiritual Cloud Cat" is the same one, despite their disparate appearances, their core remains the same.

Charles initially wanted to continue improving on the Spirit of the Mirror, but the month's deadline had already arrived, so he notified Antonio and quietly called over Isemeren and Gareth.

On the last morning of the one-month deadline, he audaciously initiated the battle to storm the city.

For the entire month, Antonio had made no movements, which had led the Axlers in the city to think that the House Brittany dared not make a move.

They could not imagine that Charles would strike like thunder, especially with Antonio and Isemeren, two twenty-fourth Peak Holy Order, almost unstoppable. Even Asturias could only fend off Gareth, who was entangled with him, watching helplessly as the troops of House Brittany rampaged through Strasbourg. The previously high-leaping, merrily bouncing Axlers were now surrendering in droves…

Asturias was heartbroken and furious, breaking away from Gareth and making a breakthrough.

Antonio, after all, also had the blood of the Axel Clan running through his veins; not only did he not pursue this strong member of the Axel Clan, but he also stopped Charles Mecklen from releasing "Isemeren"; Charles could only watch helplessly as the strong member of the Axel Clan disappeared into the sky, lamenting, "Mercy is a noble virtue for a monarch!"

What more could Charles say?

He had stopped Antonio from intervening in the judgment of the Axels.

And he righteously told Antonio, "You are the Crown Prince, the future Emperor, you should not be tainted by the dirt of the Axel Clan. Let Ebner Sumei and I handle this matter. Even Krel Brittany should not intervene."

Antonio knew that Charles was right and could only reluctantly let go and obey Charles's instructions, returning directly to the frontline with the army to report the suppression of the rebellion to the Old Emperor of Brittany.

Charles had crossed over as a minor character, although he had joined the Old Earl of Brittany in rebellion and became a rising political star in the new Brittany Dynasty, this was his first time in full control over Strasbourg without any restriction.

With the old emperor absent, Antonio absent, the nobles supporting the Emperor of Brittany absent, the rebellious nobles...

Well, weren't they all prisoners?

Charles first sentenced those Axels, who were vying to become emperor in the rebellion, to hanging. Then, he sent private documents to several old neutral nobles, asking them to plead for leniency.

Originally anxious, the neutral nobles were instantly revitalized, collectively pleaded, and Charles heeded their advice, relegating these Axels to the Agres Sea, allocating islands to them as their new domain, confiscating their original lands but additionally granted clemency, allowing them to take their wealth and loyal followers.

As for those nobles who sided with the Axels, Charles employed a more conciliatory approach, allowing them to buy their redemption!

And he set clear prices for each charge of rebellion. Many nobles, who lived lavishly on taxes and pensions and had no savings, were forced to sell their titles and lands to purchase indulgence certificates.

Originally, what Julius Axel VI dreamed of was simply to convert the Behemoth Duchy into a directly administered region. For this goal, the old king played numerous political maneuvers, saw the death of two dukes of Behemoth, and barely achieved it.

Within just over ten days, Charles had reduced the nobility of Fars by a third, transferring countless noble domains into directly administered regions, making them lands under the direct jurisdiction of the Royal House of Fars, at least twenty times what Behemoth was.

When this news reached the ears of His Majesty McClain Brittany, the old emperor genuinely felt, "This damn scoundrel, for Anne's sake, really can do anything, even managing to handle the empire's most troublesome noble domains. How much more potential can he push out..."

The Emperor of Brittany suddenly regretted not trying harder in his younger years. If he had had more daughters, having more sons-in-law like Charles Mecklen, how could the House of Brittany not prosper, and the Brittany Dynasty not last for ages?

As for whether Fars would still carry the Brittany name in the future?

The Old Earl wasn't really worried, Charles's only domain in Fars was the Southseraph region, which originally was beyond the empire's control anyway, and his Duchy of Mecklen mainly consisted of territories of the old Black Phoenix Dynasty.

Hmm, with a few more sons-in-law like this, the other three empires might as well give up.