Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 195

<195>

The idea of a magic cannon used by the Titans wasn’t originally mine.

Anyone developing new weapons would think of it as soon as they saw the Titans. In the ‘future,’ it was developed simultaneously in several countries shortly after the Titans appeared on the battlefield.

Anyway.

The important thing is that, in addition to the existence of high-level magic awakeners, a means to intercept airships from the ground has been prepared.

Although the Hamel Empire’s airship power overwhelms us, we can cope with it sufficiently if we strategize well.

Next, the Hamel Empire’s high-level magic awakeners.

Just looking at the 8-star level, there are officially nine, including Charles. That’s a lot. It’s a lot, but I’m not more worried about them than the airship power.

The source of that confidence is myself.

I was the one who beheaded Etrim, who claimed to be the god of a nation. Ah, of course, Barisada had almost killed him.

You could consider him a demigod.

The only downside is that I can only exert my full power within the influence of the Lionel Kingdom.

This is a bit of a complex issue, but it’s easier to understand if you think that demigods or gods who haven’t ascended and are still bound to the earth have their own domains.

For example, in my case, it’s the Lionel Kingdom and Arya, and for the Golden Dragon Aurelis, it’s the entire Hamel Empire.

That’s why I couldn’t secretly infiltrate the Hamel Empire and assassinate Charles or the Seventh Prince.

That doesn’t mean I can’t swing a sword even once within the Hamel Empire. I could probably take on three or four 8-star knights at the same time.

However, that’s just a prediction.

Although the probability is low, that alone might cause the Golden Dragon Aurelis to go crazy like Etrim.

If possible, I want to avoid Aurelis’s involvement like Etrim in the war with Arya.

I subtly reached for the sword at my waist.

It’s already been over three years since she fell into a deep sleep. There’s no telling when she’ll wake up.

In Etrim’s case, things worked out well thanks to her. I can’t expect that kind of luck again.

“Your Majesty, do you have a plan in case they invade?”

Bert asked me, who was lost in deep thought. At the same time, the people in the conference room, who were discussing the Hamel Empire’s invasion, simultaneously closed their mouths and turned their attention to me.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“I’ve been listening to your opinions and found one thing in common. If anyone else has noticed it besides me, speak up confidently.”

Everyone looked at me with puzzled eyes.

I waited for a while, but no one answered. I thought of Julian, who is the governor of Arya. Would he have guessed the answer?

Slightly disappointed, I was about to open my mouth when.

“Is Your Majesty perhaps pointing out that we are focusing on ‘defending’ against the Hamel Empire’s invasion?”

A close answer appeared.

The protagonist was Clian. I gave him a slight smile at his question.

“Surely! A preemptive strike?”

“Your Majesty! Are you thinking of striking the Hamel Empire first?!”

“T, That’s absurd!”

The State Council hall became noisy.

This was probably because the thought of us attacking the Hamel Empire in reverse had never occurred to them.

It’s not that I don’t understand.

‘Defense and attack are different.’

Although not as much as in the past when we had to climb the walls, the defending side is still much more advantageous.

Just looking at the Hamel Empire’s power that Milroa has put on the screen, it’s not easy to imagine us invading them first.

However, there is one thing the people in the conference room are misunderstanding. I have no intention of giving up the advantages of defense at all.

My plan was to deliver a fatal counterattack to the guys who attacked first and then push them when they were groggy.

I scanned the people in the conference room once.

From today, everyone here will be under intensive surveillance by the Royal Secret Service and my direct intelligence unit. As such, what happens at today’s State Council meeting must never leak out.

***

The noisy State Council hall became quiet at once. This was because Evan’s gaze, as he scanned them, was unusual.

Clian swallowed hard.

‘To think he was really considering an attack.’

It was a word he threw out, wondering if Evan’s actions, which had been beyond imagination, might be possible. Even as he spoke, he doubted it.

But it turned out to be true!

In fact, there was a reason why Clian could think of attacking the Hamel Empire.

‘Is the completed new weapon that great?’

He was the Minister of Finance and Economy.

He had noticed that Evan was developing new weapons at the cost of enormous funds.

He estimated that enough funds had been spent to build two, or possibly even three, more large airships.

However, he didn’t know the identity of the new weapon. Even when he asked indirectly, Evan just smiled and told him to look forward to it.

That Evan is now standing up from his chair.

‘Is he planning to reveal the new weapon here today!’

Sensing this, Clian focused all his attention on Evan’s words and actions.

“First, I need to correct your misunderstanding. I have no intention of launching a preemptive strike against the Hamel Empire.”

“Ah······.”

Some people nodded slightly, as if to say, “That’s what I thought.” Then, one of them tilted his head and asked Evan.

“Then what did Your Majesty mean by smiling at Duke Clian’s words?”

“An attack doesn’t necessarily have to be a preemptive strike. The war with Arya wasn’t started by us first, was it?”

At Evan’s words, some people’s eyes widened.

They were reminded of the Kingdom of Arya, which had suffered fatal losses after provoking them first, and as a result, its capital was occupied in just 20 days.

“Your discussion is missing what happens after we successfully defend against the Hamel Empire’s invasion. Isn’t that right?”

The conference room was silent for a moment.

Milroa, who knew the kingdom’s power most thoroughly after Evan, cautiously opened her mouth.

“Does Your Majesty believe that our kingdom will have the strength left to attack their homeland after defending against their invasion?”

“What do you think, Duke Milroa?”

“We’ll somehow manage to stop them. We haven’t been just sitting around while the Hamel Empire is caught up in civil war. We could also try to negotiate with Aden or the Aimen Empire, which don’t have good relations with the Hamel Empire. But… Your Majesty probably doesn’t want other countries to get involved if possible, right?”

Milroa’s words contained the meaning of telling him to reveal the new weapon he was hiding.

She was honestly a little disappointed in Evan.

How could he keep the identity of the new weapon being developed a secret even from her, who oversees the Royal Secret Service?

Of course, Milroa had more information than others, so she had somewhat guessed what the new weapon might be.

It was decisive that key knights of the royal family, such as Adol, Berok, and Vernon, had secretly participated in its development since last year.

‘A project involving high-ranking knights. An enormous development cost. And magic superconductors and Stella…’

Milroa had once brought up the story of a large golem ridden by a knight among the new weapons of other countries at a State Council meeting in the past, only to be ridiculed.

It’s not strange that she inferred that a Titan was being developed.

“As Duke Milroa said, I don’t intend to ask for help first unless another country requests it first. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Evan approached Milroa and held out his hand to her.

“Why don’t you hand that over and take your seat?”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

Evan received the magic tool for manipulating the screen.

After confirming that Milroa had returned to her seat, he looked at the State Council participants and smiled meaningfully.

“I will now reveal the secret weapon that the kingdom has been preparing in this place.”

With the sound of the magic tool’s button being pressed, the screen displaying the Hamel Empire’s power went dark.

-Whoosh.

It was a desert with red sand blowing.

“The Bego Desert?”

Someone’s voice.

A notorious magical region located in the desert that must be crossed to reach the Western Continent. It was unmistakable because of the blood-red sand.

It was called the most dangerous of magical regions, untouched by humans, where powerful magical beasts stronger than Seori and Yeom, the rulers of the Shadow Forest, fought all the time.

“Huh? It’s Sir Adol!”

“Vernon and Berok are also there.”

The protagonists of the video were Evan’s escort knights. They were looking at the red desert with tense expressions.

Soon, a gaunt giant holding the bones of a house-sized magical beast appeared. It had the head of a dog and the wings of a bat.

“It’s Arus!”

“Arus?”

“A 7-star magical beast!”

“Then isn’t it impossible to fight with that power?”

“Of course! Arus is a beast that even a large-scale subjugation force including a 7-star knight has failed to defeat.”

The conference hall became noisy.

“Uh… but Sir Adol, wasn’t he waiting at the door earlier?”

“Ah! I saw him too.”

“That means…”

“They caught Arus with just them?”

Everyone swallowed hard and began to focus their eyes and ears on the screen. The viewpoint that had been showing the knights moved, and a steel giant appeared.

The people in the conference room couldn’t help but think of the Titan giants, who were said to have become extinct before humans appeared in the world.

“Huh?”

“That’s!”

“Is that the weapon Your Majesty prepared?”

“Doesn’t it look like the giant golem that Duke Milroa mentioned before, ridden by a knight?”

“Could that really be true!”

The knights in the screen boarded the Titan with solemn expressions, regardless of the commotion in the conference hall.

Among them, Adol’s Titan particularly caught the eyes of the State Council members. This was because its right arm was a house-sized magic cannon, connected to thunder.

-Wooong, wooong, wooong.

An enormous amount of energy gathered in the thunder’s muzzle. As a result, the screen filmed by the video sphere flickered and was barely visible.

-Kuh-eong! Krrrr!!

Arus, who had appeared majestically, felt threatened and leaped high, spreading its wings wide.

-Kwaaaang!! Urrreung!!!

The sound of thunder that came through the screen shook the conference room. Some State Council members even covered their ears without realizing it.

The screen was briefly white due to the tremendous light. And those who saw the screen that soon returned to normal were speechless.

“Th, That’s…”

“It blew off Arus’s arm!”

A 7-star magical beast can only be significantly damaged by a 7-star mage’s arcane magic.

This meant that if Adol’s aim had been a little more accurate and hit Arus’s head, he could have caught a 7-star magical beast in one blow.

-Let’s go, Berok!

-Don’t order me around!

Soon, Vernon and Berok’s Titans rushed towards Arus with their respective weapons.

-Krallalalala!!!

A fight broke out between Arus, who was angry after losing an arm, and the two Titans.

No, it wasn’t a battle. It was more like a hunt.

The Titan’s weapons, which contained the aura of a hundred 6-star knights, were butchering the 7-star magical beast Arus, with a little exaggeration.

-Kuaaaaaaaa!!

-Let’s send him off quickly, Berok!

-I know! I’ll finish it!

The Titan’s greatsword, which was a giant version of Berok’s sword, finally beheaded Arus, and the screen went off.

“······.”

“······.”

For a while, the conference room was filled with silence.

No one opened their mouth. That’s how shocking the Titan’s video that Evan introduced was.

Most of them experienced the same feeling they had when airships first appeared in the world.

That was the same for Clian.

“How many, how many of those giants does the kingdom possess?”

He asked Evan with a slightly trembling voice.

“A total of 9. Two more are scheduled to be produced in about two months.”

Clian closed his eyes slightly and imagined.

The Hamel Empire’s army crossing the border to recapture the northwest of the kingdom. Steel giants to meet those guys.

With the sound of magic cannons roaring like thunder, their airships would crash to the ground, and the knights commanding the soldiers would be trampled under the feet of the giants.