Chapter 15: Ancestors Conquered The World, Descendants Squander The Fortune
Twenty thousand men died in battle.
This is absolutely not a number that can be glanced over and dismissed.
One must know that on this Sea, often one island is one country. Superpowers like Alabasta, which possess six hundred thousand in the Standing Army, are rare even across the entire world. Most small countries have a total national population of just over ten thousand people, or even fewer than ten thousand.
Once the news of twenty thousand men dying in battle spreads, it will undoubtedly be major news, especially since it includes several Great Pirates with bounties over one hundred million.
The Magic Ball Sorcerer had his brain shattered by Elus.
The Skull Hunter Demon had his neck broken by Fran.
The Black Beast Tadra was directly turned into a pile of meat paste.
The Strangling Ghost Farrug became a captive.
The Ghost Sword Venkura was fortunate; he was let go by Elus to carry a message to Umit.
Actually, there was another particularly notable figure: His Majesty the King of the Amento Kingdom, Nebri IV. This puppet favored by Umit was not as lucky as Venkura. Under Umit’s subordinates, he was at least kept with some degree of treatment because he was still useful, but now that he has fallen into Elus’s hands, his fate is yet to be known.
However,
The Eckmond Kingdom and the Amento Kingdom have no friendship to speak of.
————
“Nebri IV, that unlucky bastard is still alive?”
The Den Den Mushi vividly mimicked His Majesty the King’s surprise.
“Yeah!”
Elus sat on the sofa, holding the Den Den Mushi as he reported the battle situation to his father far away in the Royal Palace.
“Father, should we take this opportunity to swallow up the Amento Kingdom?”
“The Amento Kingdom? No need.”
Bikahi Island, Royal Palace.
The sixth king of the Eckmond Kingdom, Sokachio Berville, sat in the armchair of his study, leisurely puffing on his cigar. “The Amento Kingdom has nothing of value. Those few iron mines have some worth, but sadly, since last year, the New World’s steel production has been in surplus. Pig iron can’t even fetch a good price now.
You think why the Nebri Family is recruiting pirates willing to submit at this time? The Nebri Family has long been preparing to resolve domestic famine and rebellion through foreign wars. They just didn’t expect to fall into Umit’s scheme.”
“In short! You can go take a look at the Amento Kingdom, but it’s best not to take those godforsaken islands. There’s little benefit in occupying them, but plenty of trouble, not worth it, not worth it.”
“I see!”
Elus agreed.
He did not doubt his father’s judgment. As a king, Sokachio Berville’s insight and ability were reliable. Though he had many immature moments in his youth, under Elus’s grandfather’s guidance, Berville is now a qualified king.
Although in terms of martial power, Elus could already thoroughly thrash his own father, in terms of the qualities required to be a king, he still needed to learn.
Moreover,
Being a king is nowhere near as enjoyable as being a prince?
Especially as the Crown Prince destined to become king, with no worry of fratricide, and no fear of his still young little brothers seizing power, in this situation, compared to sitting in the Royal Palace handling major events of state, being a prince was far more free.
At least, until he grew tired of this freedom, Elus had no intention of taking over from his father.
“By the way, I had someone send a message to Umit, saying I’ll eventually come to take his head.”
“······El, you······” In the study, Berville stopped puffing clouds of smoke, tossed the premium cigar that he’d only smoked a few puffs of into the ashtray, paced back and forth in the study, and only after several laps did he control his somewhat aching brain.
To be fair, even if Umit was scheming against the Eckmond Kingdom in the shadows.
But as long as he didn’t openly make a move, Berville actually had no intention of directly clashing with Umit. Umit was the King of Maritime Transport, one of the magnates of the Dark World. In terms of true power, the Eckmond Kingdom’s over two hundred years of accumulation might not even match up to Umit.
However,
No helping it, who let him have such a troublemaking son?
Berville sat back down in the armchair, holding the Den Den Mushi as he asked: “El, are you really confident you can deal with Umit?”
He knew his eldest son had long surpassed him in martial power.
Precisely because Elus was even stronger than him, he couldn’t judge whether his eldest son could truly deal with a Dark World magnate like Umit.
“You have to understand, those Great Pirates with bounties over one hundred million are just Umit’s lackeys. Leaving aside how powerful Umit himself is, he definitely has guys under him even stronger than that Ghost Sword or Black Beast······ So, El, let me ask you, do you really have the confidence to deal with Umit?”
“I’m not certain how powerful Umit is, but······ as long as he doesn’t have martial power on the level of the Four Emperors or the Three Admirals, I should be able to kill him.”
Elus said as such.
This confidence naturally had its foundation. Although the Hogyoku still hadn’t fully recovered, through years of tireless effort, it had regained some vitality. Especially this time, with over twenty thousand fresh souls added, the Hogyoku’s power had recovered a bit more.
Even just this bit of power had successfully further enhanced Elus’s strength.
His Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit had finally awakened.
“Since that’s the case, then do as you wish!” Berville didn’t hesitate long before giving Elus straightforward support. “This kingdom will be yours sooner or later anyway. Do whatever you like! Even if you unfortunately squander the family fortune······ there’s no helping it. Ancestors conquer the world, descendants squander it; these things happen all the time.”
Elus on the sofa rolled his eyes.
He was the great treasure of a man with a ceiling-level title of prestige. Given enough time and enough souls, he would eventually stand at the pinnacle of this world.
“Leave it to me!”
Elus didn’t explain much.
There was no need to explain either. Compared to words, producing a perfect result was the most powerful proof.
The Sokachio Family’s over two hundred years of effort and struggle would not decline in his hands. On the contrary, he would lead the Sokachio Family to higher peaks and behold scenery from even greater heights.
“Speaking of which, what should be done with this Nebri IV?”
Elus recalled the original topic.
“Ah? Of course······ make the Amento Kingdom pay to ransom him back. Of course, if someone is willing to pay, that’s best. If no one wants to buy back that unlucky bastard······ then send him to where he belongs, so as not to waste grain.”
Berville said indifferently.
Compared to Elus preparing to fight the King of Maritime Transport, a mere Nebri IV truly held no importance.
