C188

"Has all the grain been stored?" Shirou asked.

"Yes, my king. Everything has been properly stored," replied Lucan.

Shirou let out a sigh and slumped back onto the throne. "How is the construction of the greenhouse progressing?"

"The majority of the greenhouses on the eastern side have been completed."

"Is that so? Thank you for your hard work, Lucan."

As he watched Shirou slump on the throne, Lucan felt a pang in his heart and said, "My king, it is you who works the hardest."

Shirou waved his hand dismissively and replied, "Don't worry about me, just focus on your own duties."

Lucan walked to the front of the palace and turned back to look at the king. Shirou, who had previously slumped on the throne, had now straightened his back and was engrossed in reviewing some papers. Lucan couldn't help but feel a sense of bitterness in his heart.

Lancelot had been absent for several days, and Shirou had requested Merlin to use Clairvoyance to check on him. Fortunately, the vision revealed that Lancelot was safe and on his way back.

Shirou breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his focus on constructing the greenhouse and studying the changes he was experiencing. He could feel his own transformation taking place.

It appeared that his beliefs had transformed into an intangible force that drew upon a powerful energy from the abyss of nothingness, manifesting as his own extraordinary power.

Thanks to the black mud, which originated from the Holy Grail ritual, he was able to access his own status panel, similar to the one used in the Holy Grail War. And now, he promptly identified the origin of his transformation.

--Innate skills!

[Leader of Mortal: Knowledge is not an innate gift from Gods or bestowed by divine powers. It is acquired through learning, shared through teaching, obtained through seeking, and passed down from one generation to the next.]

Wisdom of Mortal had increased from D+ to D++, but its ability didn't seem to have changed much. Heroic Mortal had increased from C to C+. In addition, he had gained a new innate skill - [Leader of Mortal].

However, this new skill appeared somewhat peculiar, as it didn't seem to affect Shirou himself, but rather had an impact on others!

Amidst handling his political duties, he managed to squeeze out some time to test out his newly acquired innate skill. To his surprise, he made a shocking discovery - the skill had the ability to bestow innate skills upon others!

After conducting several experiments, he determined that, aside from Wisdom of Mortal and Heroic Mortal, he was capable of bestowing all other innate skills to others. However, he could only grant up to three innate skills at a time, and their ranks would decrease by two major levels!

For most individuals, this innate skill would seem useless. However, Shirou's Heroic Mortal came with a skill library, which contained numerous skills he had copied during the Fourth Holy Grail War and on his journey towards the Root!

Thus, he could extract three skills from his library and bestow them upon others using his innate skill!

The crucial point was that as long as Shirou, as the source of these skills, remained in existence, the skills he granted would be perpetually available to their recipients.

He came to the realization that the [Mortal] series skills he possessed were a complementary set of abilities!

[Wisdom of Mortal] had the power to amplify and reduce abilities, [Heroic Mortal] could copy skills, and [Leader of Mortal] had the ability to bestow skills upon others!

When combined with his Noble Phantasm and Projection, he could essentially create his own heroes!

And not just one or two heroes, but an entire army of them! He could even turn his own people into heroes!

Despite the innate skills being of lower rank and the Noble Phantasms being mere copies, there was no doubt that when combined, these abilities created an extremely powerful army of heroes.

There was a chance of winning!

On one hand, he could utilize Projection to replicate Gae Bolg, and on the other hand, he could use [Leader of Mortal] to bestow abilities upon his soldiers, thereby creating a group of troops at the hero-level!

After scouring his skill library, Shirou finally settled on the three abilities he would grant.

[Mana Burst]

[Battle Continuation]

[Instinct]

[Mana Burst] amplifies strength and agility, [Battle Continuation] boosts survivability, and [Instinct] enhances evasion.

It was truly an all-purpose combination!

The only regret was that even though [Heroic Mortal] had been upgraded to a C+ level, the skills he had copied remained at the C- level.

When bestowed upon soldiers using [Leader of Mortal], their ranks would be decreased by two major levels, falling to an E- level.

E- was practically the lowest ability level for Servants.

Nevertheless, it was still sufficient. The abilities bestowed upon these soldiers, in conjunction with the solidified Gae Bolgs, rendered them low-tier Servants!

However, the [Leader of Mortal] skill had a high magical energy cost. Despite the efficient magical energy recovery from the [Evil Flower], Shirou could only bestow abilities upon twenty individuals per day. Once he had granted skills to twenty people, he would not be able to use Projection to create Gae Bolgs.

Therefore, he made the decision to divide his time - bestowing skills upon ten individuals per day while creating fifty Gae Bolgs.

This placed an additional burden upon him, as he was aware that he would not be able to rest properly for the entirety of the year.

The most crucial aspect was that this cold wave had served as a wake-up call for him. The abrupt cold wave in a land with a temperate oceanic climate could easily result in epidemics and infectious diseases. Thus, he mobilized the populace to clean the streets, maintain proper hygiene, and rallied local doctors to begin constructing medical facilities.

Shirou was frightened by the cold wave, and he feared that his people might contract smallpox for no apparent reason. Hence, he ensured that his people received vaccinations with cowpox and actively promoted this vaccination technology.

Although the people were unaware of the reason behind Shirou's insistence on vaccination with cowpox, his reputation and standing in Cornwall were so high that they complied without question.

The crucial aspect was that smallpox was indeed a dreadful affliction.

Days passed, and Shirou remained vigilant, deeply concerned about the cold wave's impact on his kingdom. He was unwilling to let his guard down.

"Do you have to be watchful even in your dreams?... You'll truly exhaust yourself this way," Merlin remarked, sighing.

"I am aware of the risks. However, I must remain vigilant," Shirou responded resolutely.

He had a lot on his plate and no time to waste. He couldn't afford to relax until Agravain and the others had matured. While Projection and Leader of Mortal gave him a chance at victory, its success hinged on the stability of his nation's economy and internal affairs.

If he could just hold on for three more years, he could create an army of countless heroes. With this mighty force, he could easily handle the Age of Gods' threats, the sea of magical beasts, and the Dead Apostle Ancestors.

Shirou turned his attention to boosting the nation's productivity, hoping that Vortigern would remain focused on fighting Camelot and not turn his sights on him. With gritted determination, he resolved to weather the most challenging years ahead, for he knew that once he got through them, he would fear no one.

...

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