Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 184

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Caros Port.

The largest port in the Lionel Kingdom, and the closest to Stone Coffin Island. It was from Caros Port that the bridge connected, the same bridge that the Lionel Navy blew up while retreating from Stone Coffin Island.

With domestic and foreign ships constantly arriving and departing, and taverns open around the clock, Caros Port had enjoyed remarkable prosperity since the outbreak of the Red Star Fever, bustling so much that it earned the nickname ‘the port without night.’

Recently, however, Caros Port has become more like a ghost port.

The reason, of course, is the war with the island nation, Arya.

The residents of Caros Port were more aware of Arya’s naval power than those inland. They also knew that a terrible massacre would occur if Stone Coffin Island fell and the Arya forces came ashore.

Therefore, the residents of Caros Port were fleeing westward.

“Mom… I’m hungry…”

“Just bear with it, Roy. Later, when we rest, Dad will get something to eat with the other men. Then you can eat your fill.”

Roy was a little boy fleeing with his parents.

‘Lies…’

He had already been fooled twice by those same words.

Yesterday and the day before, Dad and the other men had only brought back a few handfuls of strange greens that barely filled their stomachs.

Roy, about to pout and complain, shut his mouth tightly when he saw his mother’s face. Even a little boy could sense the heavy atmosphere. His mother’s expression was troubled.

It wasn’t just his mother.

Mr. Cooper from the bakery and Mrs. Johannes from the fruit store, who were also fleeing, all wore dark expressions.

It was all because of those awful Arya invaders.

‘I’m hungry…’

As Roy was holding his mother’s hand and walking weakly, the people at the front suddenly became agitated.

“What’s going on…”

“I’ll go check, honey.”

Roy’s dad, with a stern expression, moved towards the front.

The men at the front were stopped and talking seriously. He was curious about what they were looking at, but he couldn’t see anything.

Then he spotted Cooper, who ran the bakery.

“Cooper, what’s going on?”

“Ah, it seems another group of refugees is approaching from the front.”

Roy’s dad’s expression turned serious.

Until now, there had been no major incidents even when they accidentally encountered other refugees. But there was no guarantee that luck would last.

Before he got married, he had almost died several times while working as a peddler. He knew very well that a starving group of refugees could quickly turn into a gang of robbers.

“I hope nothing happens.”

“I hope so… Could you help me see too?”

“Okay, just a moment.”

Cooper was big and strong.

He quickly made space for Roy’s dad to see.

‘Huh?’

Roy’s dad, who had good eyesight, widened his eyes when he saw the faces of the refugees on the other side.

‘They’re smiling?’

It was incomprehensible.

The Arya invaders who had destroyed Stone Coffin Island might land on the mainland and start a massacre at any moment…

“Hey! You can go home now!!”

His thoughts were interrupted by the shout from the front.

“What are they saying?”

“They said to go home, right?”

People buzzed with confusion.

“We won! We won! Our navy turned all the Arya invaders into fish food!!”

It was unbelievable.

‘How?’

Even someone who had only overheard snippets of conversations in the taverns of Caros Port knew that the naval power of the Lionel Kingdom and the Arya Kingdom were vastly different.

Roy’s dad suspected that they might be a gang of robbers trying to lower their guard with lies.

“Ha, they don’t seem to believe us. Look at this!!”

A piece of newspaper blew in on the wind.

『[Breaking News] The Lionel Kingdom’s Great Victory! How Did Our Forces Destroy Arya’s Ships?』

It was truly miraculous news.

***

“Attention!!”

The navy men moved in unison to the shout of the naval officer, who was shouting at the top of his lungs. I, too, straightened my posture like them.

Solemn music played.

“Salute to the kingdom’s warriors!”

At the officer’s voice, everyone saluted together.

It was the day of the memorial service for those who had sacrificed their lives for the kingdom in the naval battle with Arya, which began on Stone Coffin Island and ended at Woldolmok.

Because the battle took place in the Caros Strait, the domestic media named it the Caros Great Victory and celebrated the great victory.

‘A great victory…’

My mouth tasted bitter.

A great battle in which one out of every three who set sail together did not return. Most of them didn’t even have their bodies recovered.

Familiar faces were seen in the memorial service photos.

They were the crew of the Kaikanik.

Four years ago, they had miraculously survived the attack by the Joe Bailey pirates, but this time they could not set foot on land again.

I heard that they bought time for our forces to retreat safely to Woldolmok.

‘If only I had woken up a little earlier…’

The unfamiliar self-reproach weighed me down.

After the memorial service, which left my heart heavy, I had some time before my next scheduled duty, so I sat on the sofa and unfolded the newspaper.

『Danar’s Apostle Michael Appears Again. Slices Etrim in One Strike and Disappears!』

『The First Queen’s Injury, Fortunately Not Severe』

『World Powers Surprised by the Kingdom’s Victory』

『Aimen Empire Sends a Message Congratulating the Victory』

『Caros Great Victory: Exploring the Great Progress That Will Be Recorded in the History of War』

I was reading the articles for a while when Alfonso spoke to me.

“Your Majesty, shouldn’t you get some sleep, even if only a little? You were unconscious for over half a month, and you came straight to the east as soon as you woke up.”

I put down the newspaper for a moment and looked at him.

“I won’t collapse, so don’t worry. Duke Schuetz said I’m fine, too.”

“That’s… He said that even when Your Majesty was unconscious, your body was normal. Frankly, I don’t trust Duke Schuetz’s words anymore.”

It wasn’t just empty words, but my body was genuinely fine. Rather, it was full of energy.

Even in these small things, I could feel that I had reached the realm of 9 stars [the highest level of mana mastery].

The reason why fatigue is recovered when practicing mana cultivation is because the mana stored in the body is discharged and fresh mana from nature is received.

But now, the stars in my core continue to create fresher mana than the mana of nature. That’s why I don’t feel fatigue.

Rather, I wonder if I can sleep.

Ah, if I think about Barisa, who enjoyed sleeping, it seems like there won’t be any problem at all?

‘Are she and I a little different?’

I shouldn’t understand the realm of 9 stars based on Barisa.

She has had nine stars in her heart since she had memories. Maybe she was like that from birth.

For that reason, even when I was desperately climbing the wall to reach 9 stars, she couldn’t give me proper advice.

Well, now that I’ve reached the realm of 9 stars, the advice I can get from her is very valuable.

For example, now, beyond blurring the eyes of the world and building a mental landscape…

“Your Majesty, it’s time.”

At Alfonso’s words, I folded the newspaper and got up from the sofa.

And the place I moved to was the war room.

The generals and Julian were already there, taking their seats.

Reina and Fran were not there.

Reina needed treatment, and Fran was much more helpful in the lab than on the battlefield, so both were sent back to the capital.

“Loyalty!!”

After responding to them, who stood up as a group and saluted, I sat down in my seat. After confirming that everyone was seated again, I slowly opened my mouth.

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for your hard work even while I was away. Thanks to you, the misfortune of the Arya invaders setting foot on the kingdom’s territory did not happen.”

“You flatter us.”

“We just did what we had to do.”

While saying that, everyone had a proud look on their faces.

“But, Your Majesty, is it really okay for you to move like this?”

Navy Admiral Derek asked with a questioning look.

Our forces know that I was imbued with Danar’s power when Etrim appeared in the Midra Triangle.

[Faith] also rose, and it was easy to explain to the outside, so I just let them know.

“Ah, Duke Schuetz guaranteed it, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Even though I name-dropped the world-renowned healer Schuetz, the suspicion in his expression did not disappear.

Well, I understand.

It is a well-known fact that accepting the power of God into the body puts a tremendous burden on the body.

There is one person in each order who accepted the power of God and showed a great miracle before being embraced by God… Ah, the Danar Order doesn’t exist yet.

“There’s really nothing to worry about. In the first place, I wasn’t such a weak human being.”

But most of them were ordinary priests. There was no one like me who accepted the power of God in the realm of 8 stars.

In fact, those who accepted the power of God in the position of archbishop or so often only barely saved their lives.

There is no case like me who walked around normally.

“Hmm… I see.”

Derek reluctantly nodded.

I took my eyes off him and looked at the others.

“Then let’s think about what to do in the future.”

At the end of my words, Julian’s eyes lit up.

“The sea route is open. We must set foot on Arya’s land this time!”

His words were the beginning.

“That’s right! Etrim’s head was cut off, and Lichid Pross’s body was confirmed. Now is the weakest time for those invaders since the founding of the Lionel Kingdom!”

“Limited to the army, our Lionel Kingdom is superior to those invaders.”

“The variable is their airship fleet. We must advance before their airship fleet is repaired and floats in the sky again.”

Their opinion was that as soon as the meeting was over, they should attack the mainland of the Arya Kingdom.

There was nothing wrong with that.

In the Caros Great Victory, those invaders lost 80% of their naval power that they were so proud of. It was an opportunity that would never come again to advance while waving the flag of the Lionel Kingdom in their territory.

If only one more thing was prepared.

I looked at Julian and asked.

“What about supplies? I heard that 80% of the military supplies were burned when retreating from Stone Coffin Island.”

“… Count Clian will somehow…”

He muttered softly and avoided my gaze.

If Clian was here right now, he would have run to him and grabbed him by the collar.

“That local procurement is…”

Someone said in a hesitant voice.

I shook my head slightly.

I don’t deny that local procurement will be quite helpful for food and drinking water. But it is impossible to supply all military supplies.

Especially magic stones [used to power magical devices and weapons].

“Still! Even if we starve to death, we must occupy the capital of the Arya Kingdom this time! If we can plant the flag of our country in their royal castle! Any damage can be made up for!”

Julian’s eyes were bloodshot as he spoke with such force.

Following him, Navy Admiral Derek opened his mouth.

“I will open the vaults of the Blant Marquis family.”

The eyes of the people in the conference room widened at his words.

“Are you serious, Marquis Derek?”

“Would I lie? If it’s Your Majesty… I believe you will pay the price properly later.”

“Then! We will also open the vaults of the Laurent Count family!”

“The Palos Count family will also participate!”

“Our Birmil Count family will also…”

.
The declarations of the generals to release their family’s assets continued.

I calculated in my head.

If nobles from all over the country release their assets for the Arya conquest in addition to them…