Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 185

<185>

Thanks to advancements in communication, news from the continent, which used to take fifteen days by ship, now arrives in just two days at the latest.

『Lionel Kingdom’s Astonishing Victory』

『The Fall of Arya, a Maritime Powerhouse』

『The Battle of Caros Strait: A Moment Etched in War History』

In just three days, even the detailed progress of the battle in the Caros Strait had spread far and wide.

Those with military insight couldn’t help but pay close attention to the future actions of the Lionel Kingdom. This included Charles Han Hamel, the 19th Prince of the Hamel Empire.

Sitting on a sofa, he meticulously read every word of the article, lost in thought. He then folded the newspaper and looked at the man across from him.

Klaus Lovitz.

His aide was staring intently at a map of the Caros Strait spread out on the coffee table. His body was here, but his mind seemed to be in the Caros Strait.

Klaus was gnawing on his lower lip.

Charles knew that this unsightly habit emerged when something displeased him.

“Klaus.”

“······.”

“Klaus.”

At Charles’s repeated calls, he startled and looked up.

“Yes? What did you say?”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“Ah, yes. But why did you call me?”

“What’s bothering you so much?”

At Charles’s words, Klaus finally felt the pain from his abused lip.

“Ah… There’s something that keeps bothering me about the recent war between the Lionel Kingdom and the Arya Kingdom.”

“Something bothering you? What is it?”

“The Apostles, Etrimm and Michael.”

Michael, the Apostle of Danar, who sliced down Etrimm in one strike and disappeared.

Charles frowned slightly.

It was about humans.

He, too, disliked the involvement of beings like Etrimm and the Apostles of God.

“Although the Pantheon [a council of gods] did not recognize him as a god, Etrimm was clearly an existence that had attained ‘divinity.’”

Charles nodded.

No one denied that fact.

“That Etrimm even manifested himself to attack the Lionel Kingdom’s airship returning from Horizon. As Your Highness knows, it’s historically unprecedented for a being with divinity to directly harm humans of another faction for the benefit of one faction.”

As Klaus said, it was an unusual event.

Even considering Aurelis, the Hamel Empire’s guardian dragon.

Even though the Empire’s national power was declining day by day due to internal strife, it was taking no action.

The exact reason was unknown, but the prevailing theory was that intervention in the mortal world led to the weakening of divinity.

‘Enough for an ascended being to be reduced to a mere trifle again.’

Charles guessed that this theory would gain even more support among theologians as the miserable end of Etrimm became known.

“Are you concerned about why Etrimm was willing to risk his downfall to step forward?”

“That too, but… I can somehow understand that because Etrimm wasn’t a proper god. What’s more concerning is Michael, the Apostle of Danar.”

“Why?”

“Danar is a god who has been asleep for a long time and has only just awakened. Does he really have the capacity to send an Apostle to earth who can deal with Etrimm, who had attained divinity, in one strike? And not just once, either.”

At Klaus’s question, which seemed to be seeking an answer, Charles shook his head. He had no way of knowing the circumstances of the gods. Nor did he care.

“That sounds like a question for theologians.”

“I know better than those humans. I suppose I asked a pointless question.”

Klaus looked disappointed.

Seeing Charles’s eyebrows twitch, he quickly spoke again.

“Actually, besides those things, there’s one more thing that’s been subtly bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“Didn’t we recently see the secret weapon that the Master of the Ivory Tower is developing?”

The imposing figure of the steel giant flashed through Charles’s mind.

Titan.

It was called Juggernaut. He had even ridden in it himself.

It was still far from being used on the battlefield. Terrible engine output and weak outer armor. A 6-star knight would probably be stronger fighting without the Titan.

But Charles and Klian recognized the value of the Titan.

Just like the airships in the sky and the ironclad ships at sea, Titans would dominate the land in the future.

“Why are you suddenly talking about the Master of the Ivory Tower’s secret weapon?”

“You were reading the newspaper so diligently; didn’t you read the part describing Michael, the Apostle of God?”

A strangely unpleasant question.

Klaus was good at walking that fine line, where getting angry would make him seem petty.

Charles frowned and tried to picture Michael’s appearance as described in the newspaper articles.

The descriptions were all over the place, but if you gathered the common points…

Charles’s eyes narrowed.

If you put wings on the Titan Juggernaut that the Master of the Ivory Tower was developing, it would resemble the descriptions of Michael.

His expression stiffened for a moment before he said firmly.

“You’re not going to tell me that the Lionel Kingdom is operating a Titan that’s far ahead of the one the Master of the Ivory Tower is developing, one that can even fly, are you? I’ve ridden in the Juggernaut, but it’s impossible to move its wings in that state.”

Klaus smiled at Charles, who had become more talkative, and replied.

“When did I say Michael was a Titan? I don’t think that’s possible either. Of course not. Titans, with the Lionel Kingdom’s technological prowess that struggles to produce large airships on its own? But… it seems like Your Highness is concerned as well?”

Charles shut his mouth. He realized he had gotten a little excited.

‘It’s speculation.’

It was as absurd as the rumor that Evan Lionel had defeated Etrimm when the Golden Dragon was attacked.

A problem not worth further consideration.

Even knowing that, the image of a Juggernaut flapping its wings wouldn’t disappear from Charles’s mind.

Charles shook his head, cleared the image from his mind, and looked at Klaus.

While he was lost in thought, Klaus was cutting an apple with a paring knife on the table.

“Stop with the ridiculous fantasies, and let’s think about what kind of actions the Lionel Kingdom will take in the future. That would be more constructive.”

“What else could there be?”

Klaus tapped a part of the map on the table with the knife.

It was the capital of the Arya Kingdom.

“I heard that Evan Lionel has risen from his sickbed. There’s no way that man would miss such a golden opportunity. He’ll naturally advance towards the capital of Arya.”

“You’re telling me something anyone who isn’t an idiot could figure out.”

“That’s how delicious the current situation of the Arya Kingdom is. Like this apple that I’ve cut so beautifully.”

Klaus crunched on an apple cut into the shape of a rabbit.

“I understand Your Highness’s feelings well. You want to rush over there and interfere right away, don’t you?”

“Hmm….”

“You must be patient. Becoming Emperor comes first. It’s actually a good thing. If you conquer the Lionel Kingdom after becoming Emperor, won’t the Arya Kingdom follow?”

Although he said that, Klaus wasn’t entirely at ease either.

To be honest, he didn’t expect the Arya navy to be annihilated so futilely.

‘Julian, and Loire….’

Talented individuals who deserved to be recorded in history, who had been overshadowed by Evan Lionel, made their names known to the world through this war.

Perhaps conquering the Lionel Kingdom after Charles becomes Emperor would be quite a difficult task. If they win this war with Arya, what unexpected actions will they take next….

He recalled the reason why the Arya Kingdom drew its sword against the Lionel Kingdom.

‘Rak K, and Stella….’

The commercialization of the magic superconductor by Rak K and the emergence of Stella, which would reshape the world economic order.

No country in the world welcomes the growth of its neighbors. And the Hamel Empire is no different.

If Charles ascends to the throne and draws his sword, his first target will undoubtedly be the Lionel Kingdom.

‘I need to move the plan forward a bit.’

This was no time to be complacent.

The National Bird was about to reveal itself to the world. He had to resolve the Empire’s situation as quickly as possible and advance towards the Lionel Kingdom.

Now that Rak K and Stella had appeared, the mass production of the Master of the Ivory Tower’s secret weapon, the Titan, was no longer just a dream.

Crunch. The aftertaste of the apple Klaus bit into felt strangely bitter.

‘….’

Once again, the image of Michael, as described in the text, flashed through his mind.

It must be a coincidence, right?

It must be a coincidence that the amazing technologies the Lionel Kingdom has unveiled to the world happen to be exactly what the Titan needs.

***

July 13, 503 of the Royal Calendar.

A large fleet transporting the vanguard of the Lionel Kingdom set off towards the Arya Kingdom mainland.

The target was Nagapo Port, their largest port.

Along the way, the Arya fleet ambushed the transport fleet. It was a threatening force, scraping together the remaining warships, including ironclads.

But there was no damage.

Rather, by capturing their ships, our navy’s strength increased rapidly.

The reason was simple.

Otto, the King of Arya, who had heard of Etrimm’s disgraceful retreat, completely scrapped the instructions he had given and began to re-document all kinds of classified information.

Having come to know their movements through the [Library], there was no reason for me to fall victim to their ambush.

July 14, 503 of the Royal Calendar.

The Kingdom’s forces set foot on the mainland of the Arya Kingdom.

They probably couldn’t have imagined that their navy wouldn’t be able to hold us back for even a day.

Their forces had not yet gathered for defense. We seized the opportunity and immediately occupied the castle.

Nagapo Port of the Arya Kingdom fell into our hands so easily.

July 19, 503 of the Royal Calendar.

We seized three castles in just five days.

It was the result of a rapid advance, leaving behind only a minimal occupation force. We were able to easily subdue the disoriented Arya forces.

This morning, the follow-up troops that had departed from the Kingdom arrived at Nagapo Port.

The soldiers were quite fatigued, and we plan to rest for the day while waiting for the follow-up troops to join us.

July 20, 503 of the Royal Calendar.

The follow-up troops led by Bert joined us.

Our next target is the largest granary of the Arya Kingdom. Bert, full of enthusiasm, forgot his age and volunteered to lead the vanguard.

He confidently approached their castle and returned to our ranks with the head of an Arya 7-star knight.

He personally proved that the reason an old general survives is because he is strong.

July 26, 503 of the Royal Calendar.

All of the Lionel Kingdom’s follow-up troops have arrived.

The vanguard is now only two castles away from the capital of Arya.

July 29, 503 of the Royal Calendar.

The capital of the Arya Kingdom is within sight.

Their defenses are strong.

We had to capture it as soon as possible.

The day before yesterday, one of their large airships was repaired and took to the skies. Fortunately, the Golden Dragon had also hastily completed its repairs and came to support us, so we were not pushed back in the aerial battle.

It was a race against time.

We had to seize the royal castle before all the airships they were repairing were completed.

It was a problem that their airship power was superior to ours, but the airship fleet consumed so much money that it cut the number of days our war could be carried out in half.

August 2, 503 of the Royal Calendar.

I beheaded the commander of the Royal Guard, who was called the sword of the Arya Kingdom.

The Arya Kingdom forces simultaneously dropped their swords and raised their hands at the sight of me raising his head. The battle ended like that.

We broke the flag of the Arya Kingdom hanging on the Arya Kingdom’s royal castle and hung the flag of the Lionel Kingdom.

It had only been 20 days.

Otto Arya is… fleeing, abandoning the people of the capital.