The next day, Eren woke amid a sprawl of naked bodies. After getting dressed, he walked out of the tent.
Outside, watching people coming and going, he profoundly understood the changes the Power of the Giants had brought him. What he had gained was power, not rights.
In Chinese, power and rights differed by a single character, yet there was a world of difference between them. Rights involved exchanging interests with all kinds of people to create a mutually beneficial partnership for oneself and others.
Power, however, was the authority that came from one's own overwhelming strength. It relied on personal strength, and unlike rights, although it also involved exchanges of interests, it did not depend on them.
It was like the Targaryen Dynasty that had once occupied the Iron Throne. Aegon Targaryen the Conqueror had conquered the continent with the three dragons he and his sisters possessed, and the Targaryen Dynasty had dominated Westeros through its dragons.
But after losing its dragons, House Targaryen's fortunes had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Although exchanges of interests had kept it on the Iron Throne, the Targaryens without dragons were like a tiger without teeth.
Dragons had an enormous impact on the Targaryen Dynasty. In this age of cold steel, with no planes or missiles in the skies and no gods manifesting in the world, flying dragons were the embodiment of strength.
If the Targaryens still had dragons, even Robert raising an army would pose no threat to them.
The largest dragons could reach two hundred meters. Weapons like the dragon-slaying ballistae that appeared later were mere needles to a two-hundred-meter dragon. Those ballistae could only bully Daenerys Targaryen's little dragons, which were barely a few years old. Daenerys Targaryen had simply been too impatient. If she had let them grow for a few more years before going, it truly would have been the arrival of a sovereign.
Eren stood on the steps outside the tent, thinking. Through his research into the Coordinate the night before, he had successfully worked out a way to let others transform into intelligent Titans, but the drawback was that he had to separate out one of his own Titan powers.
And Eren could only separate out the Female Titan, Jaw Titan, and Beast Titan. He could not bear to part with his other Power of the Giants, while separating out these three would not diminish his combat strength.
The Female Titan was dispensable, the Jaw Titan was only useful for biting, and the Beast Titan represented the animal within his heart. All three were dispensable abilities to him, so parting with them would not hurt.
Although he could separate out the Power of the Giants, he had to decide on the recipients. Nor could he give away all three at once. He could only give out one first. Scarcity made things valuable, and each one used was one fewer left. Moreover, to ensure that future holders of the Power of the Giants remained at their peak, he had to impose a lifespan limit.
Although Eren could reclaim the power directly, if he took a subordinate's Power of the Giants away when they had done nothing wrong, over time his subordinates would become estranged from him.
Moreover, for someone granted the Power of the Giants to transform, Eren had to mold a Titan body for him in the Coordinate Space, then transmit it through the Coordinate before the person in the real world could successfully transform.
So it would be better to impose a lifespan limit from the start and tell them that inheriting the power would shorten their lives. That way, they would be mentally prepared, and it would be their own choice.
The lifespan limit was also intended to prevent future holders of the Power of the Giants from growing old, losing stamina, and being unable to maintain their transformations for long. Wouldn't that render the Power of the Giants useless?
Therefore, the Power of the Giants had to pass to a new holder within a set period to ensure that its holder always retained sufficient stamina. Eren set that lifespan at fifteen years. This would ensure that even a candidate who was already thirty could remain at peak physical condition after receiving the Power of the Giants.
After much consideration, Eren decided to give this ability to Modun. First, Modun was the deputy commander of the Guard Corps, making him a direct subordinate whom Eren had personally promoted.
Second, Modun had defeated ten men in the earlier tournament, so his fighting ability and stamina were assured.
Third, Modun was now in his twenties, and fifteen years later, his physical condition would still be near its peak,
without declining too badly. Taking everything into account, Modun was the most suitable choice. As for the other three commanders, Eren would consider them later when circumstances allowed.
Eren said to the soldier standing guard ahead, "Go fetch Modun. I have something to discuss with him."
The soldier saluted Eren, then set off to find Modun.
Eren turned and entered the tent. Before long, Modun arrived and gave a military salute upon entering, placing his right hand over his heart. Since the earlier adoption of a uniform salute, Eren had made this the standard.
After Modun saluted, Eren rose from his chair.
"Modun, you were the only person in the tournament I held across the entire empire to defeat ten opponents in a row. I have great respect for your valor. Now the time has come for you to dedicate your heart to the empire."
Although puzzled inwardly, Modun still answered, "It is my duty to dedicate my heart to Your Majesty and the empire."
Eren was very satisfied with Modun's attitude and continued, "Next, I will grant you the Power of the Giants."
Modun's expression shifted slightly at this, thinking Eren intended to turn him into a mindless Titan. Seeing this, Eren said:
"Rest assured, I am not turning you into one of those mindless Pure Titans. I am giving you the power to transform into a Titan at will, just like me. But your power will be a weakened version of mine, and your transformation will only reach a little over ten meters at most."
At the first part, Modun looked startled, then ecstatic. Although it was a weakened version and his transformation would only stand a little over ten meters tall, that was already enough for him. A height of a little over ten meters was enough to sweep across a battlefield.
Looking at the delight on Modun's face, Eren continued:
"But this power comes at a price. After all, you are not me. You are not someone chosen by a god. Not everyone can withstand divine power. Although it will give you the power to transform into a Titan, once you accept it, you will only have fifteen years left to live. This is both a divine blessing and the price of gaining power."
After hearing this, Modun did not mind only having fifteen years to live after gaining the transformation. The Dothraki were a people who lived on horseback. Growing up from an early age among a people surrounded by slaughter, they all knew in their hearts that one day they would die in some battle. Among the Dothraki, few lived past forty-five.
Modun was twenty-five that year. In fifteen years, he would be forty, and among the constantly warring Dothraki, forty already counted as a long life.
Modun said excitedly to Eren, "Your Majesty, I am willing to accept this power. Dedicating my heart to Your Majesty and the empire is my lifelong wish."
Seeing Modun agree, Eren had him kneel and open his mouth. Eren stepped forward, cut his palm with a knife, and dripped blood into Modun's mouth as he said:
"Great god Yeager, grant the warrior before me divine power. From this day forth, divine revelation shall be the path you follow, and divine guidance shall accompany you throughout your life. After your death, your soul shall ascend to Valhalla and remain forever by the god's side."
After speaking, Eren entered the Coordinate and used the central pillar of light to separate out the Jaw Titan Power, sending it into Modun's body through his blood.
After leaving the Coordinate, Eren helped Modun to his feet and said, "From this day forth, you possess an immortal body that will constantly regenerate as long as your head is neither pierced through nor severed. The Power of the Giants will now remain with you as well."
Eren then told Modun how to transform into a Titan and had him find an open space. At the same time, Eren summoned two fifteen-meter Pure Titans to guard against Modun going berserk after his first transformation.
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