Chapter 18: Black Prince
The recapture of Whale Belly Island and Whale Head Island did not take much time.
The main force of the Amento Kingdom’s fleet and the pirate forces dispatched by Umit had already fallen on the port land of Whale Tail Island. Relying on the meager remnants left behind before heading south was simply not enough to stop Elus’s offensive. With overwhelming power, he crushed all resistance like dry rot, and the entire Toothed Whale Sea Area once again returned to the Eckmond Kingdom’s territory.
Then,
Elus’s fleet continued north, but did not enter the sea territory of the Amento Kingdom.
When the news of the Amento Kingdom’s main fleet’s annihilation at Whale Tail Island reached home, Nebri IV’s brothers and sons immediately began a civil war for the throne. The Amento Kingdom had already devolved into chaos, and a nation that was already weak on the outside had completely exposed its soft and incompetent reality.
In this situation, Elus extinguished the idea of profiting from Nebri IV. It wasn’t that no one would buy, but rather no one could afford the price. Nebri IV’s brothers and sons mortgaged future national tax revenue, and each one made outrageous demands without sincerity. If he were to be sold, they might even have to invest money to make up for it.
There was no profit to be made from such a losing business.
So,
Nebri IV hanged himself in his cabin on a dark and windy night.
Elus shifted his gaze away from the unprofitable Amento Kingdom and looked towards the real prize. Compared to his own country, which was on the verge of falling apart and pinching every penny, Umit, the King of Maritime Transport, was the true gold mine, an endlessly productive money tree.
“Aliye Shipping Company.”
“Gem Sea Shipping Company.”
“Heavenly Commercial Shipping Company.”
“Dallama Kingdom Shipping Company.”
One by one, names were announced. Each name represented the overlord of maritime transport in one or several sea areas of the New World. At the same time, these overlords were ostensibly independent companies and enterprises, but in reality, their actual controller was Umit, the President of the Black Water Association.
And all of this intelligence was bought by Elus at a great price.
With only the Eckmond Kingdom’s own influence, it was impossible to uncover Umit’s intelligence. However, the Eckmond Kingdom had one advantage: it had plenty of money.
With billions of Beli thrown into it, the intelligence that was originally not for sale was eventually delivered to Elus.
“Which one is closest to us?”
Elus asked, sitting behind his desk.
“It’s the Dallama Kingdom Shipping Company, which monopolizes all maritime transport business in the entire Green Pillar Sea Area. It’s the closest to our current location. If the fleet sails at its current speed, it will only take about three days to arrive,” Dillon replied matter-of-factly, sitting on the sofa.
“Green Pillar Sea Area… the origin of emeralds?”
Elus tapped his fingers on the table.
“That’s the one!”
Elus found the location of the Dallama Kingdom on the sea chart and immediately circled it with a red pen, while asking, “Do you have detailed information on this Dallama Kingdom Shipping Company?” His gaze swept over the faces of the four aides-de-camp sitting on the sofa.
In the end, it returned to the most reliable Dillon.
“The Dallama Kingdom Shipping Company is nominally a company established by the royal family of the Dallama Kingdom. In reality, the true master of this company is Umit. The royal family of the Dallama Kingdom only has the right to dividends and no actual control over the company. The information provided by the intelligence agency is only this, there is no more.”
“However, I do know some information about the Dallama Kingdom. Your Highness, would you like to hear it…?”
“If you know it, tell me. I won’t look at the files separately.”
Elus picked up his cup and took a sip of the hot coffee milk. The mellow aroma in his mouth made his mood even more pleasant.
“The Dallama Kingdom is considered a strong nation in the New World,” Dillon said, putting down the document he had nearly worn out. “Because it is rich in emeralds, the country is quite wealthy. However, the Dallama Kingdom’s emeralds require external sales channels to convert those stones into Beli and other supplies. Unlike our Eckmond Kingdom, the Dallama Kingdom has not established an independent transportation system.”
The complexity of the New World extended far beyond the bizarre magnetic fields and special sea areas; it was more complex due to the various disputes between the Navy and pirates, pirates and pirates, kingdoms and navies, kingdoms and pirates, and kingdoms and kingdoms, turning the entire New World into a super-sized vortex.
Here,
no one could stay out of it; everyone had to struggle within this massive vortex.
Even the Four Emperors were in a state of mutual restraint. If it weren’t for the disputes among the Four Emperors, the Navy might have already been completely driven out of the New World, rather than having a few remaining branches barely surviving in the New World. For powers at the level of the Eckmond Kingdom and the Dallama Kingdom, it required sufficient wisdom, martial power, and luck to survive better in this vortex.
The Eckmond Kingdom was very lucky, and the wisdom of its past kings was not bad. They successfully sought the protection of the World Government, and through generations of accumulation, they used the power of the Navy to build their own transportation channels, free from any constraints. Even though the Navy was currently being suppressed by the Four Emperors and constantly retreating, it was still under the jurisdiction of Paradise and the Four Seas, so the Eckmond Kingdom’s coffee business was not significantly affected.
However,
not every nation in the New World was as lucky as the Eckmond Kingdom.
The Dallama Kingdom was one such example. Because all the maritime transport forces in the surrounding sea areas had been annexed by Umit, they were eventually forced to join Umit’s maritime transport system, becoming a small part of this massive structure.
“…In summary, the Dallama Kingdom and Umit are outwardly in agreement but inwardly at odds. If Umit’s control over the New World’s maritime transport business were not so strong, the Dallama Kingdom would have likely fallen out with Umit long ago. Of course, this does not mean the Dallama Kingdom wishes to see anyone replace Umit’s position. They would probably prefer to see Umit completely collapse, and the integrated maritime transport system of the New World once again disintegrate into scattered fragments. Only then would the Dallama Kingdom have a chance to break through its predicament.”
Dillon finished his final explanation.
Beside him, Kappas was already sleeping soundly, drooling.
Opposite him, Dick was scratching his head so much that his hair was almost worn off from boredom.
Eschbach, on the other hand, was listening attentively, but it was clear he wasn’t genuinely interested in such matters; he was just listening intently.
As for Fran,
being a personal maid, she was not concerned with anything outside of Elus’s private life.
The four aides-de-camp had shown their distinct personalities since childhood. The kingdom’s elite teachers did not forcibly distort their personalities but chose to teach according to their aptitude. Besides the essential martial power, their education followed their respective interests.
For example, Dillon, who valued rules, could serve as the Minister of Justice in the future, and being skilled in financial management, he could also handle the kingdom’s internal affairs, making him the top talent among the aides-de-camp.
“Dallama Kingdom… Dallama Kingdom Shipping Company… I don’t care what their intentions are. What we need to do is defeat Umit, replace Umit. Whoever is not convinced, we will fight them until they are convinced. Umit is no longer young, and it’s time for someone else to take his place.”
Elus stared at the sea chart on his desk.
“Ever since the Four Emperors, Seven Warlords, and Navy, the three major powers, have been in a state of checks and balances, a situation where they mutually restrain each other, there haven’t been any… earth-shattering major events happening in the New World for a long time. Whether it’s the Four Emperors, the Seven Warlords, or the magnates of the Dark World, they’ve all crowded out all the space at the top, which is very troubling!”
“Kappas, you idiot, stop sleeping. If your drool stains my sofa, I’ll throw you into the sea to fish for sharks later.” Elus slammed the table.
Kappas, still drooling, yawned, straightened his back with apparent effort, casually wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and then, with his eyes still half-closed and hazy with sleep, looked at Elus behind the desk. “Your Highness, what are you up to again?”
Elus felt a bit sleepy just listening to that weak, tired voice.
“Kappas, you… tsk! You fellow is simply… ” Elus rubbed his forehead. “Dallama Kingdom Shipping Company, I’m entrusting it to you to suppress. No matter what you do, I want the Green Pillar Sea Area to be freed from Umit’s control.”
“Huh? Is it that troublesome?”
Kappas wore a pained expression.
However, Elus didn’t bother looking at this fellow who was lazy to the bone anymore. “Eschbach, Gem Sea Shipping Company, go and crush them.” He gave orders to Eschbach, who was the largest.
“Dick, Heavenly Commercial Shipping Company, there’s no problem entrusting this to you, right?”
“Your Highness, please rest assured! I guarantee I will complete the mission.”
Unlike Kappas, who was too lazy to even move, Dick showed no resistance to new missions and happily accepted them.
“Eschbach.”
Elus turned his gaze to the largest aide-de-camp.
“Aliye Shipping Company… this is your mission. Don’t be too soft-hearted. This is the New World, a paradise for villains. Don’t waste your goodness.”
These four companies were only a part of Umit’s Black Water Association. Even if they were all destroyed, it wouldn’t cripple him. The King of Maritime Transport in the New World wasn’t so easily dealt with. However, this was just a signal.
A signal to attack.
Letting Venkura go was a notice, and the subsequent actions were the signal to attack.
He intended to defeat Umit in all aspects in the most legitimate and righteous way, and then replace him.
“Black Prince? Uh, who gave this nickname? Couldn’t they have a bit more taste?” The aides-de-camp retreated to make their preparations. Elus picked up the day’s newspaper and started reading. After just a few glances, he found intelligence about himself.
The battle on Whale Tail Island, although quickly learned of by the magnates of the New World.
Strictly speaking, this event wasn’t really a major event in the New World. It was just a common war. It was just that a few more people died this time. Even in the New World, battles with tens of thousands of deaths at once were rare. Wars among pirates were usually on the scale of hundreds or thousands.
The Whitebeard Pirates, not including their subordinate forces, had only about sixteen hundred people when all sixteen divisions were combined.
The scale of such a war was inherently not large.
However, a small number of people did not mean insufficient destructive power. In this world where individual combat power broke through the heavens, tricks like tearing apart warships with bare hands were trivial. Therefore, such large-scale casualties generally only indicated the appearance of a Tyrant.
“Speaking of which, it took this long to get a title? I really was too inconspicuous before, wasn’t I?”
Elus read it over and over. The short text generally described his brutal achievement of annihilating over twenty thousand enemy soldiers in one battle, publicizing the savagery of the “Black Prince.” It was completely uninformative, just idle gossip for the idlers in the taverns.
“But… for now, it’ll do! No matter what it is, one must move forward step by step.”
Elus shook the newspaper and began reading from the first page.
