Combat

Kronos looked away. "Why wait for me out here? We could have met inside the base."

"To show how much we value you, of course. Mostly, though, I wanted to apologize." Philip was a genuinely charismatic man. Had his father not died so suddenly, he would certainly have been capable of uniting the entire Conservative Party.

"There's nothing to apologize for. It's a minor matter. A little friction in politics is perfectly normal. I understand." Philip's words naturally reflected Duke Negan's attitude, and Kronos was happy to accept the offered way out.

The two walked into the base side by side, chatting as they went.

Philip said quite bluntly, "My uncle Aguesid was actually behind this incident."

Kronos had naturally heard the name. "The prime minister? Why? I feel that handling things this way would easily provoke resentment. The Argel Family may not compare to the Negan family, but wasn't he worried about a backlash?"

"Yes. The Argel Family has stayed out of the public eye for so many years that plenty of people thought you'd fallen on hard times. Pride makes people do foolish things!" Philip said with a sigh.

Hearing that, Kronos understood at once. Duke Negan wanted to give the prime minister a warning. Otherwise, with the Negan family's resources, there was no way they would be ignorant of the Argel Family's circumstances.

But that was a family matter. As an outsider, Kronos had no right to interfere, so he said nothing.

Philip was clever as well. Seeing Kronos fall silent, he suddenly realized that his words had been too ambiguous and could easily cause a misunderstanding.

"Don't misunderstand, Kronos," Philip began to explain. "My father and uncle aren't at odds. But quite a few things have happened lately that have unsettled my uncle, and he's started rushing things. That's why my father wanted to give him a reminder."

Kronos studied Philip's sincere expression, then activated the Eye of Time without hesitation. Sincere though he looked, it was best not to take a politician's words on faith.

Philip was a Beyonder, a Sequence 7 Interrogator of the Justiciar Pathway. He neatly filled a gap in Kronos's test subjects. Kronos had already experimented on Sequence 9, Sequence 8, and Sequence 6 Beyonders. A Sequence 7 was precisely what he lacked.

Tracing backward along Philip's timeline, Kronos saw him arrive at the Navy Base in a hurry that very morning. He saw Duke Negan tell him the previous night to build a good relationship with Kronos, and he also saw the prime minister looking thoroughly embarrassed.

That meant Philip's sincerity was genuine. This was good; after all, nobody wanted Duke Negan as an enemy. The current situation was ideal. The family had used this incident to return to the public eye and had established good relations with the three most powerful families outside the royal family, all in one go.

With his answer secured, all that remained was to test his limits against a Sequence 7. He continued tracing the timeline backward, only to stumble upon a little adult film. What an eyesore!

Once he reached the early hours of the day before yesterday, he could go no farther. His limit this time was three days.

"Did something happen? Why would the prime minister lose his composure?" Kronos had already seen part of the reason, but he still needed to give Philip an opening.

"Ah!" Philip let out a long sigh. "You've heard of the Corn Laws, haven't you?"

Kronos nodded, then answered inwardly, Not only have I heard of them, I know far more than you imagine.

Philip continued, "A few days ago, a member of parliament suddenly proposed repealing the Corn Laws. That would be a devastating blow to nobles who rely on income from grain. We initially thought the proposal had come from the New Party."

"But after looking into it carefully, we discovered that this member of parliament was one of His Majesty George III's men. That alarmed my uncle. He feared the king was preparing to support the New Party, which led to this incident. His main aim was to bind the Argel Family to the Conservative Party as quickly as possible."

Kronos knew the plot, so he naturally understood what the repeal of the Corn Laws meant. It marked the beginning of George III's ritual to advance to Black Emperor, and nobody could stop it.

Yet the laws had only been formally repealed after nearly two years of deliberation. That was probably meant to give the Conservative nobles time to cut their losses, but the Negan family had concealed this information.

If people learned that the king was pushing it forward, they would assume he intended to support the New Party, shaking their camp's morale. So nobody knew. Everyone thought it was merely a dispute with the New Party that they had ultimately lost.

In the end, large numbers of nobles went bankrupt. They had no choice but to dismiss their farmers and sell off their property. Some even had to borrow from New Party bankers to maintain their lifestyles, further weakening the Conservative Party's influence.

Vast numbers of farmers lost their jobs and flooded into the cities, providing factory owners with an abundance of cheap labor. But the factories ultimately had no need for so many workers, and a large portion of them became vagrants.

What followed was the most important part. These vagrants made things tremendously convenient for George III. He could seize a batch of them to build his pyramids without anyone noticing.

Even someone as shrewd as Duke Negan could not have foreseen these things. But Kronos could not advise them to release the information either. Once it leaked, who knew how many opportunistic nobles would immediately switch sides?

So Kronos could only advise, "In this country, if His Majesty wishes to enact a rule that benefits the New Party, nobody can stop him. All you can do is cut your losses in time."

Having said that, Kronos had done all he reasonably could. Anything more would have overstepped his bounds.

Philip fell silent. He understood that reasoning perfectly well, but great noble houses such as the Negan family and the Levett Family did not care about these losses. What mattered to them was influence.

After dinner, Kronos told Philip that he wanted to practice combat and asked him to find an expert to serve as his sparring partner.

"Does it have to be an expert? Think it through. There may be plenty of nobles in the navy, but there are even more talented people. Those experts might put you on the floor with one hand."

Kronos laughed heartily. "That's exactly the kind of expert I'm looking for. I've advanced to Sequence 8, Melee Scholar. Ordinary soldiers can't beat me."

Philip understood immediately: Kronos wanted to digest his potion. Although the orthodox churches kept the Acting Method from the public, families with long-standing legacies already knew about it.

Philip said no more and immediately sent someone to summon the Navy Base's combat instructor, the best hand-to-hand fighter in the entire base.

Although he was not a Beyonder, most Sequence 8 Beyonders could not defeat him. He reportedly had victories against Pugilists-the Warrior pathway's Sequence 8-Provokers-the Hunter pathway's Sequence 8-and Barbarians-the Lawyer pathway's Sequence 8. Those could be considered the three strongest Sequence 8s in terms of combat ability.

The instructor arrived shortly afterward. Once Kronos explained what he wanted, the instructor showed no surprise. His daily work consisted of either training soldiers or sparring with officers. He was long accustomed to it.

The two went to the training hall, took their stances, and began sparring.

Kronos had read many books on combat at home. They contained plenty of theory as well as explanations of various fighting moves. Those moves leaned more toward free fighting and were all straightforward, orthodox techniques.

The combat instructor was somewhat different. He mainly used those same orthodox techniques, but mixed in plenty of subtle moves aimed at vital points. Still, he only reached out briefly before pulling back, so they caused no harm.

Kronos had activated his Eyes of Mystery Prying as soon as the fight began, so none of those subtle moves escaped his notice. They were vicious, highly practical techniques that interested him greatly, and he committed them firmly to memory.

As Kronos followed the routine of fighting, observing, discovering, and memorizing, his potion began to diminish at an extremely slow rate. Slow though it was, he was indeed digesting it.

Originally, Kronos had planned to try his hand at the Navy Base today, then return to Backlund after receiving his rank tomorrow. He would then work on digesting his potion at a naval club.

Now, however, he felt he ought to change his plans. This instructor was exceptionally skilled. Kronos did not believe the comfortable coaches at those naval clubs could surpass him. Perhaps he should stay a little longer and leave only after learning everything this instructor had to offer.

During a break, Kronos sat down beside the instructor. "Instructor, what's your name?"

The instructor was easygoing too. He smiled and said, "Just call me Gner. Gner Bazel."

"You're really impressive. I couldn't even fight back. I could see those little moves of yours. If you'd been serious, I'd probably have been finished in three moves!" Kronos feigned excitement to build rapport.

"Oh? You could actually see them? That's quite something. I've sparred with plenty of young nobles, but none of them ever noticed. They all thought my reputation was undeserved," Gner Bazel said, looking forlorn.

Kronos felt that Gner must have a story behind him. Otherwise, someone so capable would hardly be tucked away here working as an instructor.

An instructor might appear to hold a high position, with authority over many soldiers, but that applied only on the training ground. In reality, it was merely a post where one waited for retirement. Yet Gner was only around thirty, and he was already waiting to retire.

Kronos did not press him about it. This was clearly a sore spot for Gner, and it was best not to keep reopening the wound unless he had a way to resolve it completely.

"Gner, what were those moves you used? I've read plenty of books on combat, but I've never seen them before."

Gner made no attempt to hide it. "Those aren't fighting techniques. They're techniques for fighting for your life on the battlefield."