Hyper-Dimensional Player-Chapter 394 - 22: The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets
Great Britain. London.
London has become much more prosperous now, thanks to the development of productivity, and the population has experienced explosive growth.
At this time, in an inn near the Thames River, accompanied by the creaking of the opened door, a burly and fierce figure, appearing like a pirate, stepped inside. After entering the hall, he first observed his surroundings, then sat in the far right corner.
Soon after, a gentleman-like, elegant man walked in. He looked to be around forty, and notably, he was wearing a skirt.
Although Great Britain had a large number of Anglo-Saxons, their culture hadn’t become mainstream. The mainstream culture of Great Britain had always been Roman-Britannic, Celtic branch, Welsh culture, Scottish culture, Irish culture, etc. It wasn’t until the completion of cultural integration later that the Germanic cultural characteristics appeared, mainly around Kent.
A British gentleman in a skirt?
The pirate-like burly man’s lips couldn’t help but curl into a slight smile, but he eventually held it back, after all, the other person was his sponsor, his financier.
He actively got up to greet him, respectfully saying, "Juan Delacosa."
"Pleased to meet you, Sir Drest."
The British gentleman on the opposite side was followed by several attendants, one of whom had an intense gaze and seemed to be a retired soldier, with a tattoo on his neck. His gaze swept over Juan’s waist as he stood in front of the financier, reaching out his hand towards Juan.
Juan was initially unclear, but upon following the person’s gaze, he realized and handed over the Flintlock Gun from his waist.
It was a single-shot Flintlock Gun, with a very vintage design, similar to Captain Jack Sparrow’s in Pirates of the Caribbean.
This thing was currently a rarity, very expensive, and not something just anyone could get; Juan got his hands on one through some connections, using it as a last resort to save his own life.
Soon, a servant led them into a room.
Upon entering the room, Sir Drest sat at the head seat. He glanced somewhat arrogantly at Juan, who appeared nervous, and passed a contract to him saying, "Where are the sailors you recruited?"
Juan glanced at the document, his gaze resting on a special emblem at the end of the document.
It was the emblem of the Secret Magic Sect, which looked like a pentagram eye.
Juan slowly said, "They’re all in the port area."
The other person was said to be a descendant of the Duke of Drest, quite powerful in Scotland, and one of his financiers. As for the person’s background, they were likely from the Polytheism faction of the island, though it was unclear which specific group, as long as they were willing to sponsor him it’s fine.
Juan, in his early years, also studied mysticism and even knew some Voodoo rituals.
His grandfather was a real pirate.
Pirates couldn’t learn proper mysticism knowledge and had to resort to robbing from African Voodoo teachings, learning a mess of things.
A few decades ago, Juan’s family transitioned and cleaned up their act to become navigators.
Sir Drest carefully scrutinized Juan, intuitively sensing that this person was not only a skilled navigator but also a pirate at heart. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Are you planning to continue exploring the New World?"
"Or head to Africa to explore the eastern route?"
In recent years, with the support of the Britain Kingdom, Europe had gradually begun external exploration entering the Age of Discovery. African black slaves had even appeared long ago, although they hadn’t been widely adopted yet.
In the Britain Kingdom, exploring the New World had always been a hot topic.
Those successful navigators could not only achieve fame and success but even have the chance to receive a title, and in the past few decades, many outstanding navigators have emerged.
Juan pondered for a moment and then said, "I plan to travel along Africa to reach the New World."
"Looking for the northern route of the New World."
South America had been discovered for some time.
The person on the opposite side pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I can sponsor you with three ships, the Ponce, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Kent."
The generosity of the person in front of him was somewhat unexpected to Juan.
But just as he was about to stand up to express his thanks, Sir Drest spoke again, saying with a serious tone, "However, exploring the New World is not a suitable choice."
"It is said that a navigator named Columbus has already set off once more from Spain."
"You might as well head east along Africa."
East?
Upon hearing this, Juan remained silent for a long time before tentatively saying, "East?"
"Are you referring to India, Sir?"
About six years ago, a navigator from the Iberian Peninsula named Gamma discovered India, and since then, the Britain Kingdom had actively developed the sea route to India. It was said that the Britain Kingdom had already established a colonial point in Africa as a relay point to India, and there were even rumors that the Britain Kingdom was preparing to conquer India.
But this rumor had no basis yet.
Sir Drest slowly shook his head and said, "No."
"It’s farther away."
Then, he took out a world map on parchment, pointed to the position on it, and said in a low voice, "Here’s Malacca, Ryukyu, Japan."
"I hope you can discover Japan."
Where did this map come from?
Juan instantly realized the enormous value of the map before him, and as he looked at the continental shelf of the East, he exclaimed, "Is this the Silk Country?"
"Who drew this map?"
Sir Drest replied expressionlessly, "That’s not something you should be concerning yourself with."
"If you agree, just sign this contract."
Although the situation deviated somewhat from what was expected, Juan pondered a bit and still picked up the pen to sign the contract.
Scholars now refer to Europe as the Age of Discovery.
But pirates call it the Age of Exploration.
African gold, slaves, and ivory have sparked the fervor of European nobility, and there are those intrigued by the indigenous cults of the New World. It’s said that missionaries are eager to go there to preach.
However, no news has returned since, possibly they’ve already been cooked by the natives.
The Britain Kingdom discovered South America earlier than India, and Juan’s mention of heading to the New World was actually aiming to discover the geography of North America.
"Where is this?"
After signing the contract, Juan continued to study the world map before him, curiously pointing to a landmass and asking, "Why don’t we head here?"
Sir Drest responded indifferently, saying, "Australia."
"A barren land."
"If you have time in the future, you may try to find a route to it."
Having said this, Sir Drest stood up and said, "Tomorrow, I will arrange personnel to accompany you to the East."
As the words fell.
The arrogant British gentleman had already risen and left, with his attendant returning the flintlock gun to Juan.
Half an hour later.
Sir Drest entered a secret mansion in London, the arrogance now gone from his demeanor. He respectfully took off his coat and donned a black magic robe, bowing as he entered a secret chamber, saying, "Priestess."
"We have covertly funded more than ten navigators, hopefully, they can find a route to Japan."
In front was a kneeling female priestess in prayer.
She looked to be in her thirties, her expression serene, features gentle, resembling a well-off noblewoman. At this moment, the priestess rose slowly and gently pressed a mechanism, causing the shrine before them to be retracted into the chamber. At the center of the shrine was a statue of a goddess whose face was indistinct, adorned in a luxurious black robe, its skirt flowing like blooming black roses, with a black crow perched on its shoulders.
Around fifty years ago, the legendary Banshees joined the belief system of the Secret Magic Sect, transforming the legend of the war goddess Morgan into the crow on the shoulder of the Crow Queen Triss.
Such things were unthinkable before, but times have changed, and the status of divine spirits has shifted.
Secret Magic Sect.
It is a secret sect, tracing a legacy of over four hundred years on Great Britain, with few members, most of whom belong to families of the Extraordinary World wizards.
These people also serve Emperor Duncan.
"Very well."
The priestess nodded with satisfaction, saying, "Find a way to pressure the parliament members in London to prioritize the conquest of India."
"India is the jewel in the crown of Britain!"
Upon hearing this, the knight hesitated, cautiously saying, "India also has indigenous cults."
"If we intervene, will it...?"
Hearing this, the priestess replied with a cold expression, "This is not something you should concern yourself with."
Upon hearing this, Sir Drest quickly displayed a fearful and respectful expression, bowing, "Yes, Priestess."
Soon after he departed.
The priestess secretly summoned another person, instructing the servant before her, "Send someone to contact the Archbishop of the Britannia Province."
"The conquest of India should also involve the church!"
"And additionally."
"Notify Pope Patrick V in secret, not to waste missionaries on the indigenous tribes of South America or the Voodoo cults of Africa, let the church send some people to India instead."
The conflict between polytheism and monotheism in Europe has slightly eased over the years.
With the advent of the Age of Discovery, the primitive religions of South America and Africa have entered people’s awareness, along with the recently discovered Hinduism. The mythology of this sect is rather exaggerated, causing many church hermits who believe in God to scoff.
The current Britain Kingdom has basically abandoned the policy of contesting dominance in Europe; however, with the progress of the times and the Enlightenment of ideas, a new concept of the empire has emerged.
—— The Empire on which the sun never sets.
The Britain Kingdom is now a ’Monarchy Constitutional System’, with the current monarch being a descendant of Duncan XII, Queen Isabella I, who is also the queen of Spain, and a powerful Secret Art Master.
The story of this queen is quite legendary, it is said she was born with ice-blue eyes, once drifted to the Iberian Peninsula, and later was found by polytheist priests, soon ascending the throne as Queen of Britain.
The Age of Exploration was vigorously supported and initiated after she ascended.
Europe is currently still a chaotic mess.
The Britain Kingdom, being isolated off the coast, does not intend to engage in the European chaos, thus shifting its focus to expanding colonial points, having already established the first settlement in South America, while a large number of navigators are currently exploring North America along the coast.
As for India, it isn’t really a complete national concept, but rather resembles a religious region.
The idea to conquer India was proposed by Queen Isabella herself.
However, to achieve this, one must first conquer Hinduism, the land there being frequently conquered suggests the natives may already be accustomed to it. Among the various mythological systems, undoubtedly Hindu mythology boasts the most, though the harsh truth of history is that this place has perpetually been a land of the conquered, even its myths are continually evolving, with many indigenous deities having fallen into corruption.
On a secular level, it’s basically overwhelming.
Yet in the extraordinary world, it’s hard to say, the early primitive Pantheism of South America did claim the lives of many colonizers, only improved slightly after the Hermitage priests arrived at the colonies.
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