The professors of the Royal Academy of Sciences were experiencing what the King’s officials had experienced some time ago.

The King didn’t care about how they assessed the sewage system in the town, and he simply interrupted their long speeches——the King directly threw them next door to the Lunatic Academy so that they could have a face-to-face debate with Mr. Architect, fellow with the obsessive-compulsive disorder and serious obsession with cleanliness.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The two sides argued with each other, and whoever managed to persuade the other would be able to come see the King again.

Before the pitiful professors had even recovered from the joy of meeting the King for the first time, they found that they were now neighbors with a bunch of lunatics.

However, it was estimated that the officials would not be feeling schadenfreude amusement about this, at most they would be sympathetic to each other…..

Because they were once again “invited” over by the King.

The familiar Rose Palace, the familiar royal guards, and the familiar Head of the Households.

This time, the task was to recount the many records left by the Five Port Alliance, and to reassess the large and small chambers of commerce in the southeast of the original Five Port Alliance system…..After hearing the report from the Head of the Households on the King’s request, the officials all slowly sat down on the chairs.

But this time, their luck was better.

Because the main targets being exploited this time were not them.

——But the two remaining family heads of the Five Port Alliance, Patriarch Dawson and Madam Poisonous Spider.

“You don’t seem to have mentioned this habit of His Majesty.”

Madam Poisonous Spider sat in the moving carriage, looking at the writ for a long time, before turning her head slowly to stare at Patriarch Dawson quietly, her voice cold.

Patriarch Dawson faced the same situation.

The both of them were former leaders of the Five Port Alliance, and no one was more familiar with the many southeast ports and chambers of commerce, large and small, than them. Therefore, the task of forming the “Free Chamber of Commerce” was directly placed on their shoulders by the King.

At first, when the two of them had just received the appointment for the chairman of the Free Chamber of Commerce, they thought it would be an honorable task.

At that time, they actually naively thought that the King had seen their contribution in the Battle of Koszoya and planned to reward them.

But when they finally had an audience with the King, and after listening to the King’s hurried and rapid speech listing his requirements, the expressions of the two people froze on their faces.

They were really just the former leaders of the Five Port Alliance…..

“I believe in your abilities.”

At that time, the King said this with a smile on his face.

Patriarch Dawson, who almost developed a psychological shadow in regards to the King’s smile, broke down in a cold sweat. In his interpretation, the King’s words should be translated as followed:

——If you can’t do this well, then prepare to go to the guillotine.

“What habit?”

Patriarch Dawson was currently looking through the urgently recorded list of the King’s request when he heard the words of Madam Poisonous Spider, and raised his head blankly.

“Making the best use of everything.”

Madam Poisonous Spider said quietly.

Patriarch Dawson, one of the “things” made use of by the King, couldn’t find words to respond for a while.

Outside the carriage, accompanying the two family heads back to the southeast coast, was a cavalry led by a vow knight of the King.

They represented the King’s will, both to help the patriarch Dawson and Madam Poisonous Spider suppress the local nobles, and to monitor the two family heads. Once they were in the process of forming the Free Chamber of Commerce, and committed “mistakes” they shouldn’t have, then these knights would chop off their heads without hesitation.

“This is our only opportunity.”

Patriarch Dawson rubbed his forehead. The people responsible for the establishment of the Free Chamber of Commerce naturally would not just be the two of them. The King’s officials would also arrive later.

“That is a majesty uncaring of conventions and niceties. He even dared to appoint a pirate like Hawkins as admiral. As long as we perform well enough, we may have more chances to be used for important matters.”

“Thank him for making the best use of everything.”

He concluded.

………………

The King who was accustomed to “making the best use of everything” was currently receiving General Sheehan.

At the meeting of the Moon River Fortress, the Bressi Expeditionary Force appeared to be very unwilling, so the handling of the hostage affairs was very protracted. The King estimated that they had been waiting for the Five Port Alliance Incident to take the opportunity to exert pressure and obtain greater benefits while Legrand was overwhelmed.

But they did not expect the naval battle to end so quickly.

After the collapse of the Five Port Alliance, the Bressi expedition lost the reason for further delay. They finally returned Moon River Fortress and the hostages, and quickly evacuated.

General Johan, who had been detained for several months, would arrive in Metzl City in three days.

Before that, it was General Sheehan who was in charge of the formation of the new army who arrived at the palace earlier than him.

The King listened to General Sheehan’s report.

After the big exchange of blood for the county lords in the parliament, the recruitment of new soldiers was much smoother than before. General Sheehan conducted a second screening from the people selected from various places, and formed the first “Iron Rose” cavalry directly under the King, the number of which was a little more than the King originally expected.

This was good news.

This prototype of a “standing army” had already begun to enter training.

After the King listened to the report, he pondered for a moment, and had General Sheehan take his army to the southeast area immediately.

Regarding where to choose the location of the barracks, the King pondered the map for a while, and finally decided on Koszoya.

Koszoya was the former headquarters of the Five Port Alliance. The cavalry could be used as an excuse to “prevent the remnants of the Five Port Alliance” from making trouble. In this way, suspicion would not be so easily aroused, after all, the King had just experienced two rebellions and being more cautious was in line with common sense.

The King knew that news about the upcoming outbreak of the Black Death must not be leaked out.

Even if the cause of the “Black Death” could, to a certain extent, make people more coordinated and support the King’s series of preparations, at the same time, it would certainly cause widespread panic.

Concealment and prevention were the most appropriate choices.

“I hope you can show me something I want. Sir Sheehan.”

The King watched General Sheehan.

General Sheehan took the order from the King: “I shall follow your orders.”

The first mission to be performed by the King’s Iron Rose Cavalry:

Prepare to impose martial law and blockade on the southeast port cities at any time.

A series of plans that were originally scheduled to take place in a longer period of time were compressed and advanced by the King. With the King as the core, Legrand’s governmental agencies spun like a top.

At this time, people were completely oblivious.

They sat in front of their fires, talking briskly about the King’s newly appointed county lords doing a much better job than before, and hoped that the King’s rage would continue to vent on those useless meat and wine sacks.

They were unaware that the King was pulling a long line of safety for them.

……………………

On the other side of the Abyss Strait, the Holy Court.

From small villages to prosperous cities, the shadow of the cross was everywhere on this side of the Abyss Strait. The churches of the Holy Court often stood in the center of the cities here, and in particular, the Kingdom of Bressi in the north used the emblem of the Holy Court in the palace in great amounts. Compared with Legrand on the other side of the Abyss Strait, the Kingdom of God was more brilliant here.

And even more ubiquitous.

The most glorious place among them was the location of the Holy Court.

The Pope’s Hall.

A person walked into this hall, which was shrouded in the glory and will of God.

The light of the candlelight shone down on him. He was wearing a black priest’s robe and had his head down. Many people had seen him in Legrand. He followed the proud cardinal at that time as if he was his guardian, and he was called “Aynauld” by the other.

However, at this time, he was very different from the time when he accompanied the young cardinal, the illegitimate son of the Pope, to Legrand.

The servant-like humility from him had now faded away, leaving only a black iron-like silence.

After the black priest walked into the hall, the door closed behind him.

The candlelight was brilliant, and all the angels mentioned in the holy book were carved on the walls on both sides. Stone inlay art was used, and it possessed a simplicity as well as magnificence. The spokesperson of the supreme god was currently sitting on his ornate chair, reading the holy book decorated with gold.

“Your Holiness.”

The black priest went to the Pope and knelt down.

“You have arrived.”

The Pope closed the holy book, his tone when speaking to the priest in black was very gentle.

“The astrologers have completed the divination.” The black-clothed priest lowered his head and reported, “The Holy Lord’s armies are coming, and their fiery arrows will point to the criminals.”

The Pope laughed: “I thought there was no one but you and me who would understand my meaning…..Don’t be tactful, we all know that the place where the plague will first break out is the Kingdom of the Lord. You are worried.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

The black priest fell silent for a moment.

“The plague a thousand years ago allowed us to establish the Kingdom of God on the other side of the Abyss Strait, but this time the plague may destroy our efforts over these thousand years.”

“I know what you are worried about.” The Pope said lightly. His hair was grayed at the temples, but as the Pope he was already quite young. “You are worried that we will not be able to fight the plague.”

The black priest remained silent.

“This is our Father’s punishment to purge sinners. His arrows point to our enemies. All devout believers will be blessed by Him.” The Pope raised his hand and made the sign of the cross on his chest, “Our enemy is not the plague. It’s not Legrand, but those who should be the lambs of God. You have returned from Legrand and traveled through many countries and cities. You must have heard a lot of voices.”

“I heard noise embedded in the sacred carols.” The black priest lowered his head deeply, “Although the voice is still very weak, it has indeed appeared.”

“No, their voices are not weak.” The Pope’s eyes reflected the candlelight. “In those ports where large numbers of people and ships come and go, the servants of the Holy Lord are forgetting their duties, and the merchants who have been reprimanded in the past are gradually becoming distinguished guests, the sound of falling gold coins overwhelm the sound of sacred chants. The Hermits in the Lowlands are trying to connect with them. Our Eleventh Tax collection has already encountered some resistance.”

“The Holy Lord’s sword will shatter those resistance.”

The black priest gently made the sign of the cross on his chest.

“I don’t want to go to war with them.” The Pope said, “Mortals will never be able to restrain desire and greed. We used to think that a unified nation-state is our greatest enemy, but in fact, even in the nearest place to the Holy Court, once the shadow of greed spreads, our enemies will be everywhere.”

“Do you mean…..”

“Human nature is our real enemy.” The Pope raised his head, “No matter how pious the country, no matter how pious the monarch, they will embark on the path of abandoning us in the end. I have seen that in the future the Kingdom of God will shrink and dim…..Is that something we, as the apostles of the Holy Lord, can sit and ignore?”

The Pope’s voice changed sharply.

“We are still strong now, but how long can we be strong? How long can our strength be supported? With the first voice of opposition, would the second and the third be far behind?”

Under the Pope’s aggressive questioning, the black priest unknowingly broke out in a cold sweat.

“So what should we do?”

He seemed to have returned to the first time he touched the cross. At that time, he was guided by the Holy Father, who was the guide that would give him his holy mission.

“Gather our strength and gather our army.”

The Pope stood up and turned to face the sacrificial image of the Son of God behind him.

“The first black death allowed us to establish an invisible Kingdom of God, and the second black death shall allow us to build a real empire!”

The black priest followed the other’s gaze and looked at the image as well, the Pope’s words causing him to reveal a look of surprise.

What the Pope meant was that he planned to——

The Holy Court planned to establish a real kingdom!

“The thousand-year kingdom is about to be established! We must build an earthly Kingdom of God for the Holy Lord!”

The Pope said sternly.

All the candlelights in the Pope’s Hall shone a white flame in an instant, the fire almost compelling and overwhelming. The angels all around seemed to have really descended down at the words of the Pope. They came from a high altitude, looking down on this land, holding swords and blades that judged the world in their hands.

The sounds of clashing metal echoed.

The black priest stood up in shock, as if he had seen the biggest and most sacred prophecy in the painting of the holy book——

God fell into a deep sleep after winning the thousand-year war for his apostles, but it was only temporary. When a thousand years had passed, evil began to breed and darkness returned, and at that time He would eventually awaken. He would finally come to the world and bring the judgment of the last days. On the barren land of the Apocalypse, the Kingdom of God would be reborn. All believers would revive His glory.

The millennium was approaching.

The Kingdom was coming.

“The Kingdom of God is not built at the arrival of a thousand years, rather we should build the Kingdom for God before He comes.” The Pope turned and said quietly, “We are His servants, His lamb, This is our mission.”

“Our mission.”

The black priest lowered his head slowly and deeply again, pressing his forehead to the icy ground, as if sacred glory gathered in his soul.

“I will go personally for the coronation of the new King of Bressi.” The Pope returned to his seat, “We must not tolerate any surprises.”

“Understood.”

“This time you met Legrand’s King Pureland. What impression do you have of him?”

“He is similar to the rumors but not the same.” The black priest organized his thoughts and described, “I can feel that the brand of madness still remains on him, but he has not completely lost his mind because of his madness.”

“The Rose family is indeed the original Rose family.”

“Will he hinder us?”

“No, he won’t.” The Pope replied coldly, “William III’s methods were clever, but the Holy Court was prepared earlier than him.”

The priest in black waited for his instructions.

“William III is already dead, and his son will be no exception.”

The Pope said slowly.

“Do I need to go to Legrand again?”

“No.”

The Pope vetoed it.

“This time, it’s the sword of God’s ruling.”

The black priest understood.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The sword of God’s ruling referred to the most secretive, frightening, and least-known group of people within the Holy Court. They hid behind the shadow of the cross, and were the weapons of the Holy Lord, who cleansed all the most intolerable sinners for the Lord. Sometimes, he even suspected that these people…..

Were they even human in the first place?

“Pureland, a good name, although broken and fallen, will eventually rise beautifully in the fires of rebirth. Hmph, broken and fallen…..”

The Pope sneered.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

The Holy Court?

The King frowned.

He did not have a good impression of the Holy Court, and the Legrand royal family had had a long history of hatred with the Holy Court. So far, he had not had much experience with the Holy Court’s power himself. Once during the Rose Crisis when the Pope suddenly intervened in Legrand’s battle for the throne. And once when the Ross family of the Five Port Alliance regarded the Holy Court as their savior.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

These two times involving the Holy Court gave people the feeling that it was just going through the motions perfunctorily.

During the first time the cardinal evacuated Legrand in embarrassment, and during the second time the holy artifact that the Ross family wanted to send to the Holy Court was intercepted by the Dawson family, and the Holy Court did not even get a chance to intervene.

In these two times, the Holy Court seemed to be a dispensable piece on the board, and their power was not very obvious.

But don’t forget where the King was standing at this time.

——He was standing in front of the tombstone of William III, and the death of William III was likely to have a close relationship with the Holy Court! Would a king who had unified 36 states not be on guard against the power of the Holy Court? Of course not! So if Legrand’s central power was once again on the rise more than ten years ago, and the Legrand royal family had made sufficient preparations, yet still William III was killed under the power of the Holy Court.

Then was the power of the Holy Court really just what it showed in these two cases?

The King originally thought that they were just waiting for the coming of the Black Death, but Charles’ words caused him to feel that there might be other reasons.

“Who asked you to convey this?”

The King increased his guard against the Holy Court even more in his heart.

“You should have heard of her from Hawkins.” Charles gave the answer, “Walway’s witch.”

“Yes.”

“Before Walway accepted her, she was being pursued by the Holy Court’s inquisitors, her name is Griselda.” Charles explained in detail, “Her prophecies helped Walway avoid many times of bad luck.”

“Apart from this, is there anything else?” The King memorized the name “Griselda”, “Perhaps I can meet her.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Her state right now is special and cannot leave the ghost ship, so she could only entrust me to convey her words. Griselda can’t make an accurate interpretation of this prophecy, she can only say that it is related to the school of fish.”

It was a prophecy, not just a warning.

The King’s expression became even more serious.

School of fish…..

He subconsciously recalled the astrologer’s prophecy retold by the Devil, “…..If they come together, the dead fish will flood the illuminated continent.” The King could not judge whether the witch’s prophecy pointed to a future where the Devil would solve the Black Death or the original future.

If it was the former, then the action taken by the Holy Court might be greater than he estimated.

The King was inclined to this kind of speculation, because the Holy Court was absolutely paying attention to his recent actions.

When the Five Port Alliance was defeated, the Holy Court made no response!

No response was a response in itself.

“Actually, I have some doubts, Your Majesty.” Charles hesitated for a while and asked, “Why are you in a hurry to build a navy? Because the collapse of the Five Port Alliance caused Legrand to lose its old navy? If you are worried about Bressi…..I do not think they will launch another large-scale offense soon.”

The King came back from his thoughts, and he refuted Charles’s speculation.

Of course he knew that Bressi could not launch a second expedition in a short period of time, otherwise they would not make such a big concession at the Moon River Fortress.

“Then why?”

Charles became more puzzled.

“I can feel that your need for a navy seems very urgent.”

After the Battle of Koszoya, the King ordered the counting and numbering of the remaining armed warships belonging to the Five Port Alliance——Charles understood that the King might want to directly incorporate them into the royal battleships.

“I am afraid that it might not be easy to support a large fleet with the power of the royal family currently.” Charles tactfully advised. It seemed that with the Duke of Buckingham present, he knew the royal family’s state of being on the verge of bankruptcy very well. “If you need it, Walway is willing to work for you at any time.”

The King heard the kind intentions in Charles’s words.

“It’s not for Bressi.” He pondered for a while and replied frankly, “It is because I need to seal off the southeastern sea.”

“Seal off the sea?”

Charles looked at the King in astonishment, not having expected to hear this answer.

“Do you mean to seal off one or two ports?”

“No.” The King was silent for a moment, then slowly said, “The entire southeastern sea.”

“You…..” Charles was speechless for several minutes, but finally calmed down and said with a serious tone, “I don’t recommend you do that. No country can withstand the consequences of a sudden blockade of the sea, it will cause a total disaster.”

Sealing off the entire southeastern sea area, one didn’t even need to think about it to know how much turmoil it would cause. The commerce to and from the Abyss Strait would be completely stagnated. Legrand’s foreign exchange of goods would be terminated. Wool would not be able to be sent out, and in exchange they would not be able to obtain necessities from the other side of the Abyss Strait…..The scope of consequences was far beyond what the collapse of the Five Port Alliance could bring.

Not to mention how could small merchants with poor anti-risk capabilities survive such a big move? What about the residents who rely on selling grain to the outside world?

Charles was about to tell the King of the consequences, but the King interrupted him.

“But what if it is compared with the fact that a city of people will become a pile of dead bones in just three days? What if it is compared with at least ten thousand to fifteen thousand people dying every day? What if it is compared with the whole country overwhelmed by the same kind of disaster?” [1]

As the King asked rhetorically, Charles frowned deeply.

“The Black Death.”

The King gave the answer.

When the words “Black Death” were uttered, the air seemed to stagnate for an instant.

The gentle and elegant Charles froze for a long time and murmured: “It turns out to be like this…..no wonder you…..you have already confirmed this, haven’t you?”

Charles obviously knew better than the King how terrible the Black Death in this era was, and his tone had changed from the previous doubtfulness to solemnity.

The King nodded expressionlessly.

“This is actually the case…..Can I ask for some relevant information?” Charles bowed slightly, “I have a slight understanding of the history of the Black Death, and I may be able to offer some assistance.”

The pirates who sail the seas all year round were indeed well informed.

The King pondered for a moment, and selectively informed Charles about the Black Death. He believed that since the witch also predicted the “school of fish”, she might be able to come into use later. Moreover, sealing off the sea itself could not be separated from the help of the Walway pirates.

“I think you overlooked one thing.”

After listening, Charles pondered for a while and said slowly.

“Tell me?”

“The real Black Death outbreak time is not in January.” Charles’s blue eyes stared at the King with a serious expression, “It is very likely…..it has already begun to appear now.”

The King understood what Charles meant almost instantly.

The King got news from the Devil in October that the plague would break out four months later——that was to say, Legrand would be facing the Black Death in January. But before that, before the Black Death broke out in southeast Legrand, it should have already swept across the continent on the other side of the Abyss Strait.

Damn it.

The King understood where the problem laid.

He was deliberately misled by the Devil!

The news given by the Devil appeared to be true on the surface, but in fact it had a strong psychological suggestion——it made people feel that the Black Death swept across many countries at the same time after four months.

This was not the case. In January, many countries would indeed fall into the quagmire of the Black Death at the same time, but before that, the time when each country first became tormented with the Black Death was different.

It was a contagious plague that could spread!

That damn, lying, and insidious fraudster.

Of course, the King had never trusted the Devil, otherwise he would not have made preparations so early. But he was still affected to a certain extent by the so-called “fate line” and the Devil’s words——he had made errors in his calculations of the time.

He made his series of preparations based on the belief that the worldwide outbreak of the Black Death was in January.

It was now already the end of November.

In the King’s original plans, he still had at least a full month to make arrangements for various things.

But in fact, he didn’t have that much time.

If the Black Death had already begun to crop up at this time, then by January, the King would face a completely different international political situation from the initial outbreak of the Black Death. In fact, he must guard against the introduction of the Black Death from now on. He originally had doubts about the Devil, but now his suspicion was only raised to the highest level.

For the monarch, the most terrifying thing was having his arrangements be deviated from the original plan.

Because any of his deviations might have terrifying consequences for the entire country.

The King had to re-examine whether or not the Devil announced the arrival of the Black Death only to prevent the former commander of the Knight Templar from doing it himself?——Just like the trip in hell, the Devil probably had other motives when he announced the arrival of the Black Death…..The bone ring obtained from yesterday’s trip in hell was likely to be related to this matter.

The King’s face was suddenly shrouded in a cold chill.

Charles noticed the change in him: “Perhaps you need some overseas spies…..to monitor the situation across the Abyss Strait for you?”

This was indeed what the King needed at this time.

“The brothers of Wallway are willing to serve you, Your Majesty.”

Charles smiled faintly, as if he was not talking about sailing across the Abyss Strait to a dangerous area where the Black Death might have already appeared.

“You can rest assured that we will not stop at any port in Legrand. If someone is unfortunately infected, he will definitely not set foot on Legrand’s land.”

The King was silent for a moment: “Please be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” Charles stood up straight and smiled, “The ghost ships have their specialness.”

He said with a touch of pride.

The King probably understood why William III and the Duke of Buckingham established such a friendship with the Walway pirates.

——Because they were all the same geniuses of that era.

Charles hurriedly took his leave, preparing to lift the curse and prepare to go oversea for the King.

………………

The end of November.

A series of decrees were issued from the palace almost on the same day:

The King ordered the architect of the Lunatic Academy of Science to come for an audience as well as for the architectural professors of the Royal Academy to immediately make their way to the palace.

The King also ordered Baron Sheehan, who was forming the new army, to come to Metzl Castle immediately.

The King appointed Hawkins to officially become the admiral of the royal fleet.

The King announced the official establishment of the “Free Chamber of Commerce”.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

AN: [1] The outbreak of the Black Death in the Middle Ages can almost be equated with the apocalypse. The data in this article is not fabricated by me, but the real situation during the Black Death pandemic in history. In that era, when the epidemic was at its worst, in Cairo 10,000 to 15,000 people died every day, and Gaza lost 22,000 people and most of the animals within six weeks. The Black Death lasted very shortly once it arrived and often an entire city would die in just three days.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

The slime on the gold coins was really not “a little dirty”. In order to keep this secret for the King, the Duke of Buckingham had no choice but to call over the royal guards after a moment of contemplation.

At first, the royal guards who received the clean-up order thought they were going to perform some kind assassination mission, and they all looked very solemn. But the result was that when they arrived, they discovered that the clean-up order was really “cleaning” in the literal sense.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Duke of Buckingham stood in front of the warehouse majestically and nodded to them without a smile, indicating that they could start.

Royal guards: …..

They felt that their career path had been declining step by step away from being the ruthless overseers of the officials.

But soon, the royal guards discovered that the slime on these gold coins was really not something just anyone could handle. They were extremely corrosive, and when they dripped on the ground, the stone surface would be corroded with small holes. They had to carefully scrape off the slime from the gold first, and then meticulously clean them.

The King did not leave but watched on the side with the Duke of Buckingham.

“Oh, that’s right, don’t throw these things away.” The King thought for a while, “Keep it stored and send some for our Mr. Pharmacist to analyze the properties.”

The King was very interested in the biological components of hell. From the slime of the Lord of “greed and ill-gotten wealth”, he might be able to analyze some properties that made humans and inhumans different.

After all, these slime were the same as the gold coins. To a certain extent, they were hard to come by. Even if it were to be disposed of, that would have to wait for the King’s scientists to judge that it was of no use before being thrown out.

Could the collision of science and mystery bring about something different?

The King possessed some hopes and expectations.

The wealth in the palace of that Lord of hell was piled up like a mountain. Unfortunately, as the Devil said, these gold coins had been piled up in hell for too long, and had been deeply branded by hell. If he took out too much at one time, it would cause unnecessary trouble. Even the current batch of gold coins couldn’t be used directly after washing off the slime.

It was necessary to let the former knight commander of the Templars to further dispel the evil energy remaining on the gold coins.

The process was a bit troublesome, but it was all worth it.

They alleviated the King’s immediate urgency.

“Take a count, and then report the specific number to me.”

The King ordered. He must start thinking about how to allocate these gold coins in advance.

With a focus on the navy while also taking into account the construction of new military weapons and castles, as well as the early investment of the Southeastern Free Chamber of Commerce that he intended to carry out.

The specific number would not be known until the count was completed, but based on estimates, it would be enough to provide preliminary funds for the construction of the royal navy that the King intended to carry out——and only preliminary. The price of building a royal navy was high enough to drive any royal family crazy.

The current Legrand Royal Fleet was formed in the reign of the Mad King Henry.

After the Mad King Henry withdrew the church’s privileges to the Five Port Alliance, a period of turmoil was caused. Although it was put down in the end, the rebellion undoubtedly left a deep impression on the Mad King. The royal family then invested in the purchase of more than fifty galleys, which were organized into three detachments, and those in charge were called “galley captains”[1].

In the early stage of formation, the mighty royal family navy did play a great deterrent effect, but soon, the royal family found that it could not afford to maintain the fleet, so two-thirds of the fleet ended up being sold later. Instead, they continued to requisition large-tonnage merchant ships as wartime armed warships. [2]

This phenomenon of merging the use of merchant ships and military warships had lasted for a long time, so long that it strengthened the arrogance of the Five Port Alliance. It was not until William III unified the 36 states and the royal family’s control increased that the number of royal fleets rose steadily again.

So long as one looked back on the duration of this long period of gradual progress of the royal navy development history, one would be able to understand just what a money burning pit this was.

The King could already hear the sounds of these batches of gold coins being thrown by him into the sea.

He sighed helplessly.

This was the case with the military. Only by burning money could a frightening army be burned from the ashes.

“Aren’t you going to see Charles?”

The Duke of Buckingham said to the King.

“He has arrived?” The King was a little surprised.

He remembered that he allowed Captain Hawkins to convey his permission to Charles to visit the place where William III was buried. But only one night had passed, and Charles had already arrived.

The Duke of Buckingham nodded slightly.

The King understood that the duke had already met Charles.

A dead Legrand King, a current royal duke, a crazy captain, a legendary first mate in charge of the entire pirate fleet…..Such a mismatch of four people actually maintained an unimaginably deep friendship.

“I will go see him.”

The King took over the cloak from the Head of the Households.

………………

St. Wyth Cathedral, the cemetery of William III.

The King wore a red cloak as he stood outside the eternal resting place.

The tomb of William III did not seem to fit his identity as the generation’s most glorious King of Legrand. Although impressive, it was undoubtedly rudimentary in terms of royal specifications. On the tall tombstone, the relief head of William III coexisted with the cross.

A person was standing in front of the tombstone.

The first mate of the Walway pirates, Charles.

His gray hair was combed back and his eyes as blue as the sea. He wore a black coat and his aura was rather gentle and could even be called “cultured”. It was hard to imagine that he was the main person in charge of the infamous Walway pirates from appearance alone——he was more like an old professor at the Royal Academy than a pirate.

“Good day, Your Majesty.”

Hearing the King’s footsteps, he turned and bowed to salute the King respectfully.

“Good day, sir.”

The King stepped forward and stood before the tombstone next to him.

“Thank you for your permission, Your Majesty.”

Charles said. His attitude towards the King was respectful with more traces of gentleness. He was about the same age as the Duke of Buckingham, but the Duke of Buckingham felt like a steel knife that could be pulled out at any time, while he was like fine wine that had settled over time.

“I think this should also be what he wanted.”

The King replied.

“William…..I’m sorry, please forgive me for my impoliteness. But,” Charles stared at the tombstone with sea blue eyes, “This was what he once requested. He hoped Hawkins and I could continue to call him William.”

“Please continue to call him that way.” The King said. He was not familiar with this kind of friendship, so after a brief pause, he changed the subject, “I can pardon the curse for you all at any time.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

Charles placed a hand on his chest, and he bowed to express his gratitude to the King.

“I think it must not have been easy for you to get along with Mr. Hawkins for so many years.” The King raised his eyebrows. It was hard to imagine how a person like Charles could endure thag crazy pirate captain.

A complicated look appeared on Charles’s face: “…..Probably because of such a captain, I have to stay at Walway all the time.”

It looked like along with the Duke of Buckingham, he also felt a headache towards Captain Hawkins.

“You being willing to keep him as Legrand’s admiral really is a great help to Walway.” Charles said sincerely, “I am really worried that one day I will wake up and find Walway’s captain hanged from the mast by his sailors.”

After Charles couldn’t help but express a complaint, he probably also wanted to maintain at least some face for the pirate captain and so changed the subject by beginning to talk about the royal fleet with the King.

The King was not surprised that he knew of his intention to transform the royal fleet.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Your current warships are likely based on that of the Five Port Alliance.” Charles slowly explained his suggestions to the King, “With the Ross family’s “Lavelle” as an example, merchant ships generally erect very tall platforms, and you know that this is to defend against pirate attacks. When sea battles occur, these platforms can be used for shooting and defense.” [3]

“But as far as I know, they didn’t play a big role in the sea battle of Koszoya, and the speed of Walway’s ships seemed to be faster.” The King made his doubts known.

“Yes.”

Charles smiled.

“We demolished the tall platforms, thereby increasing the speed of the ship. Of course, this is a change made out of the consequences that come with our identity, but it may also be a useful idea for you.”

“Tell me.”

“The artillery that your scientist brought.” Charles replied, “If your scientist can continue to improve them, you may consider building a fast warship with artillery in the future. I think this should be what you need.”[4]

“A fine and practical method.”

The King thought for a moment and expressed his approval.

“It is a great honor to receive your approval, Your Majesty.”

Charles seemed to be happy that he could help the King.

The King keenly discovered that Charles’s attitude towards him was a little too amiable, and he succinctly said: “You don’t need to transfer your friendship with my father to me.”

Charles smiled gently: “You are as sharp as William, just as Hawkins said.”

“And?”

The King looked at the elegant old man inquisitively.

“It may be presumptuous to say this.” Charles was silent for a moment, and then smiled helplessly. “He once wrote to me asking if I would be your godfather…..He is really audacious, isn’t he? Having a notorious and disreputable pirate be a noble prince’s——and now the King’s——godfather.”

“However, my letter of reply was too slow.”

Charles raised his head, and the wind ruffled the gray hair on his temples.

“He failed to receive my letter.”

The person who made the invitation had already passed away, so there was no pirate in this world who could be the godfather of a King.

“En…..”

The King pondered for a moment.

“Perhaps being the godfather of a notorious and disreputable tyrant is even worse? The pirate will only be scolded for a lifetime, but the tyrant will be scolded for hundreds and thousands of years into the future.”

“You are not a tyrant, Your Majesty.”

Charles reached out his hand to touch the tombstone of William III, turned his head and smiled at him.

“You will be his pride.”

The King did not answer.

“I came here this time to convey a word to you, Your Majesty.”

Charles stood in front of the tombstone of William III and he stared deeply at the epitaph. There was only a short phrase——for the glory of the Rose.

“Please go ahead.”

“Please be careful of the Holy Court.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

AN: [1] The data and structure of the royal fleet during the time of the Mad King Henry refer to the structure of the royal fleet during the time of King John.

Galleys had high demand for oarsmen and oars. Therefore, the Mad King Henry was forced to reduce the royal navy in the later period because of his inability to support the high fleet, and once again rely on the Five Port Alliance.

[2] In the Henry VII period, in order to encourage the construction of merchant ships suitable for combat, a “shipbuilding bonus” was even established, stipulating that a subsidy for the construction of ships with a displacement of more than 100 tons should be provided at 5 shillings per ton——Liu Jinghua. “The sun never sets.” Beijing: China Literature and History Publishing House. 1999.

[3] The structure of the “Lavelle” is based on the “Sovereign” and the “Regent”, and the naval battle at that time was an extension of the land warfare, and the ship platforms played an important role.

[4] The warship reform carried out during the Elizabethan era was based on this idea and achieved remarkable results.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

There was a smile on the Devil’s face.

The King had never believed that the smile of the Devil was sincere.

His smile was just as unbreakable as his clever words and expressions. At this moment, something crazy, bloody, and evil seeped from that smiling mask——maybe that was the true nature of the Devil.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Devil’s black clothes were like the wings of a crow in the air, and the bone scepter he held in his hand was the weapon he used to kill everything.

This battle could perhaps also be regarded as a performance.

The viewer was the King.

The King watched as the Devil used the bone scepter to cut off one tentacle after another, watched the black butterflies fluttering around the Devil, watched the dark green mist intertwine with the black mist.

The Lord was angered by the Devil, and its tentacles pulled back from the pillars and beams above its head, pulling up an inescapable net in the path of the Devil’s retreat.

“Greedy.”

The rumbling voice of the Lord echoed throughout the spacious hall.

The King felt an invisible pressure, even if he was holding the black umbrella handed to him by the Devil, he could still feel the pressure which was as great as the deep ocean.

The Devil’s phantom-like speed slowed down.

Those tentacles with many weapons attached swept towards him, flinging out those swords and daggers of extraordinary origin like a shower of meteors to rain down on the Devil.

The Devil landed on the ground kneeling down on one knee, the bone scepter in his hand deeply inserted into the hard stone surface of the palace. Countless black butterflies flew up around his body, gathering together and swirling up a cutting whirlwind that swept the swords and daggers that flew his way.

“Immoral——”

The Lord spoke again.

The Devil jumped up from the ground, dragging the bone scepter with its tip still on the ground, and sprinted towards the Lord who was coiled on the throne. Sparks flew everywhere where the scepter was in contact with the ground.

The black butterflies around him had not dispersed yet, and the tentacles blocking the way were cut apart by the butterflies one by one. In an instant, the Devil had approached the throne once again. The Lord’s words were interrupted by the Devil who held the scepter horizontally and stabbed towards the Lord once again

The sound of scales rubbing together echoed as the scales on Lord Manlisk’s head moved in an instant, overlapping and gathering together, forming a huge shield in front——its weakness being its head section. If it weren’t for the Devil launching such a sudden attack in the first place, it would not be stabbed in the eye by the Devil.

“Your Majesty!”

The Devil’s scepter left a deep cut on the scale armor before immediately pulling away and avoiding dozens of tentacles. In mid-air the Devil suddenly raised his voice.

“Please allow me to use your power.”

“Can I completely equate your solicitous behavior with harboring malicious intentions!”

The King was holding the black umbrella, his clothes flapping audibly in the wind.

“Oh! Your Majesty! I am doing this for you!”

The Devil again nimbly avoided several sweeping tentacles. His scepter cut a long twisted crack in the air, and those tentacles were cut neatly by the crack.

“Please use your ring, now!”

“How?”

The King did not stay in place, he directly stepped onto a pile of treasure. The Lord seemed to have fallen into madness, its tentacles attacking aimlessly and indiscriminately. The King leaped across the piles of gold and gems, avoiding the tentacles that whipped around.

“Please order in your own name——”

The Devil flipped in mid-air, his black formal suit spreading out like crow feathers and black butterflies flying in all directions from him. He held the scepter up and cut through the air, several strong winds sweeping out in an instant to cut several tentacles attacking the King into pieces.

“——Please strip the rebellious traitor of all the authority they possess!”

“In my name I order——”

A huge stone pillar fell sideways, and the King leaped up on the stone pillar, using it as a stepping stone to land on the pile of gold on the other side, the black umbrella slipping out from his grip. The King didn’t bother about the fallen black umbrella, and instead stretched out a hand to push himself into a standing position. He saw that the Rose family ring on his finger was beginning to shine and flicker brightly.

“The rebellious traitor to be stripped——”

As if sensing something, the Lord’s tentacles abandoned the Devil in front of him, and turned towards the King, stirring up a strong wind in their wake.

The Devil let out a deep and cold chuckle.

His figure suddenly dispersed, transforming into a black mist that covered half the surroundings, countless black butterflies dancing wildly within. Those tentacles were all blocked by the black mist.

The King’s icy voice resounded throughout the palace.

“——Of all the authority possessed.”

The surroundings fell into a moment of silence. The moment the King’s words were spoken, it seemed that an ancient power and glory was resurrecting and shaking itself awake, the intangible majesty crossing over time and space. The huge throne in the middle of the palace let out a series of crisp sounds and countless cracks appeared on it.

All the tentacles in the surrounding area suffered a serious blow.

They curled up and shuddered, as if some kind of power was quickly being extracted from them.

The Lord on the throne shouted out in disbelief: “Who is that person you brought!!”

Its scales began peeling off one by one.

The black mist suddenly dissipated, and the Devil’s figure reappeared in mid-air. The black umbrella that the King had just let go of was held once again in his hand. He twisted the umbrella handle and drew a thin long sword from within.

“No comment, Mr. Manlisk.”

The corners of the Devil’s lips lifted upwards, revealing a cold smile.

He held the hilt of the sword with both hands, leaped high, and slashed the sword through the tremoring air.

Blood splattered.

The Devil half kneeled on the throne, the sword in his hand penetrating straight through the Lord’s head.

The King stood on a pile of gold and gems with the box containing the dragon bone dagger still in his hand. He panted slightly, the ring on his finger was hot and burning, as if he was wearing a piece of magma instead of a ring.

When that sentence left his mouth, the King felt that some kind of power was also stripped from himself and from the ring.

What was it?

………………

Cold aircurrents hovered in the messy palace.

The owner of the palace had already died on its throne.

Those tentacles hung down lifelessly.

The Devil let go of his grip on the sword, and staggered to his feet.

As Manlisk had said, this battle was definitely not easy for him, which was why in hell there was rarely a direct battle in a domain——under the backing of “authority”, the power of the Lord was not to be underestimated. A Lord was almost immortal and invincible in the domain of authority they held.

The Devil retreated from the throne, his back hitting against the cold stone pillar behind him.

He leaned on the stone pillar and slid down slowly.

He heard the footsteps coming from behind: “Your assistance was very exquisite, Your Majesty.”

The sound of footsteps came close.

There was a loud sound.

The Devil raised his head and saw that the King had opened the box at some point. He drew the pale dragon bone dagger from its golden scabbard.

“Hey hey hey! Your Majesty!”

The Devil’s voice suddenly rose, because the King sent the dagger forward and pressed it to his neck.

“The deeds you did tonight were also very exquisite, Mr. Devil.”

The King said unhurriedly.

His voice was surprisingly soft, but the speed at which the hand holding the dagger thrusted forward was also surprisingly steady.

“I’m only serving you…..Didn’t you want to pardon those pirates?”

The Devil saw the dagger was pressed a little more forward, and he wisely did not speak nonsensically again.

“For you, Your Majesty.”

The dagger stopped.

The Devil raised his hand up and unfurled his fingers.

The bone ring that symbolized the authority of “greed and ill-gotten wealth” lay quietly on the palm of the Devil’s hand.

“You are given an opportunity to explain.”

The King did not press the dagger forward again, but he did not take it back either.

“Your skill at backstabbing is also very outstanding.” The Devil muttered, “I really hope that next time you accuse me of always throwing stones at you when you are down, you will also think about how you treat your loyal knight.”

“My loyal hell knight? Alright then, please explain.”

The King’s dagger was still held steadily against his neck.

Devil:…..

“It’s like this…..” The Devil leaned helplessly on the stone pillar, “As your loyal knight, I must do my best to fulfill your every wish. Since you want to pardon the cursed pirates, what could be more thorough than having direct control of the authority over greed and ill-gotten gains?”

“Why was it I who had to strip it of its authority?”

“Of course it is because you are now the head of the Rose family.” The Devil’s tone was very sincere.

“What do you mean by the rebellious traitor?”

“No need to care about a little rhetoric. A reason must be found to kill someone, yes?” The Devil spread his hands and spoke sincere——nonsense.

“What it said was very much the truth. The entirety of hell’s lies should not even add up to yours, right? Mr. Devil.”

“Well…..shall I say thank you for the compliment?” The corner of the Devil’s mouth turned up slightly, and he smiled at the King, “Of course…..”

Suddenly his voice became faint and drifting, like a poisonous snake meandering pass and flicking out its forked tongue.

“If you really want to know, then I can tell you, my dear Majesty.”

“Do you want to know now?”

The pale face of the Devil was half hidden in the darkness.

The King looked at him steadily and took the dagger back with a cold face, but did not take the bone ring. The Devil solicitously offering a gift waa not a good thing, who knew if it would be a trap like tonight? Who knew if he took the ring that symbolizes authority, his soul would immediately depart to hell?

“Do you need me to help put it on?”

The Devil was full of energy again, and he seemed to be very eager for the King to put on the bone ring immediately.

“Thank you, no need.”

The King politely and ruthlessly refused.

“Ai…..”

The Devil sighed regretfully, and could only hold onto the bone ring for the King for now. He looked at the King’s bone dagger and reminded tactfully.

“The Black Death is coming, Your Majesty.”

“Can these things here be brought back to the mortal world?”

The King reinserted the dagger into the scabbard. He looked around, his eyes falling on the treasures scattered on the ground.

The Devil understood what the King meant.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit aggrieved…..The bone ring of authority was actually not comparable to a pile of mortal wealth in the eyes of the King? This news would cause all the Lords of hell to go crazy!

Seeing that the King seemed to have the intention of drawing the dagger again, he hurriedly explained: “You can, but it is impossible to carry too many out at once. After all, they have been branded by hell. Taking them out in large quantities at one time will attract attention. Of course, if you are willing to accept this bone ring then that is another matter.”

“Can you come and go here freely?” The King pondered before asking.

The Devil understood what the King wanted to do.

Alright, after coachman, he now had a new identity——

His Majesty’s porter.

………………

The next day.

The treasury of the Rose Palace.

The Duke of Buckingham looked blankly at the piles of gold and jewels in front of him…..Who could tell him where these gold coins and precious gems came from? Why was there some kind of suspicious green slime on them——it didn’t seem to be something that the Holy Court could tolerate.

“We need some tight-lipped servants.”

The King stood beside the Duke of Buckingham with a calm expression.

“It looks a little dirty.”

The Duke of Buckingham was speechless.

Your Majesty, does it really just look a little dirty…..?

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

AN: Achievement of mutual backstabbing √

Devil: full of lies

King: cruel and ruthless

One commits murder and one commits robbery, it seems that the partnership is going smoothly…..[deep thought]

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

When the King stepped on the ground, the loud noise in his ears disappeared, and a strange music took its place.

“We’ve arrived, Your Majesty.”

The Devil said as he let go of the King, but he still stood very close to the King.

The King clearly saw the appearance of the land of the Lord of “greed and ill-gotten wealth”.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

It seemed as if this place was built on the bones of some ancient giant whale monster. The place where they just sailed down was the mouth of the giant whale. And now they were in the abdomen of the giant whale, with white ribs propping up the area on top of their heads. The space was vast and huge and permeated with strange smells.

This style of using white bones to construct buildings…..The King subconsciously recalled the palace built by the Rose family in the heart of the dragon.

——Could the Rose family have some kind of connection with hell?

The air was humid and musty, but the surrounding area was not completely without light.

Countless gold, silver, and jewels were piled up everywhere, the gold and gems shining brilliantly. They emitted light that tempted people’s minds and illuminated the surrounding area splendidly and magnificently. The treasures here were piled up like mountains, and from time to time there would be gold coins falling from the void above their heads.

After the King stepped onto the ground, the Devil opened the black umbrella again.

The difference was that this time, he handed the black umbrella to the King: “Forgive me for my brief negligence. I will have to trouble Your Majesty to hold the umbrella for a while.”

The King took the umbrella and looked up at the gold coins that kept falling from the void. They were wet, as if they had just been fished out of the sea.

The Devil explained to the King in a low voice.

The Lord here was in charge of the authority of “greed and ill-gotten wealth”. It often used its own envoy ships to penetrate its power into the oceans of the mortal world. The envoy ships would collect the wealth of sunken ships that had sunk into the bottom of the sea, and then send it continuously here. Among the objects sent over included those human souls captured by the envoy ships.

The wealth that the King saw right now was what it had accumulated over a thousand years.

“The scope of salvage includes the Legrand waters, right?”

The King held the umbrella and raised his eyebrows.

The Devil understood the King’s meaning in an instant.

——The envoy ships had salvaged the sunken ships in the waters of Legrand, and according to Legrand’s law, that wealth belonged to the royal family.

The Devil was actually unable to answer the King’s words for a while.

“You are really a qualified monarch.”

He praised sincerely.

Not forgetting to uphold Legrand’s laws even in hell. Wasn’t this an extremely qualified——to a certain extent——monarch?

“Please keep silent later.”

The Devil told him, and then led the King forward.

The palace of the Lord of “greed and ill-gotten wealth” was built not far in front of them. The palace was very tall, but the architectural style was completely different from that of the mortal world. It was more like a temple than a palace, lined with countless pillars and topped with many beams that look like the ridges of aquamarine creatures.

The top of the palace was too high from the ground, and the light emitted from the treasure was limited, so one could only faintly make out the shadows of what seemed to be many giant snakes coiled around the top of the pillars.

The King walked forward for a while and understood why the Devil had him continue to hold the black umbrella.

There was a continuous drip of viscous liquid from above, and the black umbrella seemed to have a certain power to block the mucus like it did with the rain of sulfur and fire.

As for the Devil himself…..the liquids disappeared before they even got close to him.

“Who dares to disturb the slumber of the great Manlisk?”

The King had just stepped into the palace, when a slow voice, as if countless mucus was stuck in the throat, sounded from the depths of the palace.

The palace was different from the outside. The inside of the palace was exceptionally dark and was surrounded by countless tides of dark green gas, causing everything to seem blurred. The King could only vaguely see an incomparably huge throne placed in the middle of the palace, and some kind of humongous existence coiled around that throne.

“It’s me.”

The Devil said. He seemed to be no stranger to this place.

“Ah…..” The voice was delayed for a moment, “An unwelcome guest…..Why have you come here? The great Manlisk doesn’t welcome you.”

That being said, the owner of the voice did not take any further action, and seemed to be a little wary of the Devil.

The dark green mist around him quickly rolled inward, and after the mist retracted the jewels in the palace sparkled brightly again. The King could now see clearly what the Lord of “greed and ill-gotten wealth” looked like.

Its appearance was a huge sea monster beyond imagination.

It was somewhat like an octopus, with thousands of tentacles. The tentacles were full of suckers and they densely coiled around the surrounding area. The suckers on each tentacle were either sucking bright jewels or sucking white bones. It would seem that what the King had seen coiled on the top of the pillars and beams were not giant snakes, but its tentacles.

In addition, it had a huge skull covered with scales, and a dark red single eye grew in the middle of the skull.

“It’s great to see you, Manlisk.”

The Devil said with a smile.

Lord Manlisk snorted angrily, expressing its completely opposite emotions.

“Strange…..” The Lord turned its huge eye to the King standing under the black umbrella. “Who is this fellow you brought? Why can’t I feel his breath? Where did you pick up this dessert? “

“Be respectful, Manlisk. This is my master.”

Said the Devil.

“Your master…..” Lord Manlisk said slowly, and when it spoke, the tentacles around it squirmed together, “Oh…..the devils’ set of ways. Don’t you even think of getting any wealth from me.”

“Don’t worry.” The Devil said briskly, “Your gold is covered with your saliva, I don’t want it.”

“Then why have you come looking for me?”

“My dear master has a little problem that has something to do with you.” The Devil took a few steps forward. “His servants met your envoy ship at sea. I hope you can forgive those ants for daring to offend you…..He hopes that you can retrieve the contract imposed by the envoy ship.”

The King slightly lifted his umbrella and looked silently at the smiling Devil.

They hadn’t said anything about getting a contract back before they came here.

The Devil put a hand behind his back, and gestured subtly at the King.

“You know…..” The Lord’s scarlet single eye turned to the talking Devil, his eyes revealing a greedy and unkind light, “That would not be any benefit to me.”

“Please rest assured, my master is willing to exchange enough wealth. I have already brought them over.”

The Devil bowed slightly, and three crimson boxes suddenly appeared in front of him.

The Devil’s pale hands flicked at the boxes one by one, and the boxes opened with a “click” and bright light shone out of them. The first box was filled with gold, the second box was filled with gems, and the third box was filled with a dagger sheathed in a scabbard made of gold and inlaid with many precious stones.

“What is that?”

The Lord’s eye was firmly captivated by the dagger.

“The dragon bone dagger.”

The Devil answered.

Heavy breathing sounded in the palace, and the King saw that the dark red pupil of the Lord’s eye expanded in an instant as it stared fixedly at the dagger. There was an uncomfortable rubbing sound coming from above his head as the Lord’s tentacles squirmed and slid across the beams, some of the tentacles dropping down from the beams.

The King squeezed slightly at the handle of the umbrella.

The Devil stretched out his hand and closed the box with a “slap”: “What do you think? Are these enough to retrieve the contract from you?”

“Although it is not up to my standards, based on our friendship, I shall reluctantly agree .” The Lord said, several tentacles stretching out from behind its entrenched throne, and then some gems flew out from the pile of treasures on the left and right. Then the tentacles seem to draw a few times in mid-air.

As the tentacles drew in mid-air, black lines penetrated into those gems.

Then the tentacles extended in front of the Devil, the gems tightly attached to the suckers.

“I give this to you, and you give that to me.”

“No, no.” The Devil refused. He didn’t even look at the gems. “Do you take me for a fool? Mr. Manlisk? Please condense your seal of authority to completely remove the imprints on them, otherwise you don’t even need to think about taking away the treasures.”

The tentacles flexed abruptly, seeming like they might launch an attack at any time.

Suddenly, a rapid air current swirled around the surrounding area and the King heard the tentacles above his head moving as fast as vipers, sliding against the stone pillars and making an unbearable sound in the eardrums.

The atmosphere became tense.

The Devil and the Lord were in a stalemate. The King held the black umbrella and remained silent.

The Lord’s gaze stuck to the box with the dragon bone dagger in the hands of the Devil, and finally it slowly said: “Fine…..the great Manlisk will let go of their souls and forgive their sins.”

“But…..”

Its tone changed.

“You don’t have a thing like credibility, how can I believe that you will carry out the exchange according to the conditions? Will you really give me those things?”

“Hey!” The Devil protested loudly, “Please don’t slander me in front of my master, or discredit my reputation.”

The Lord replied with merciless ridicule: “The lies of all the fellows in the entirety of hell add up to less than yours!”

The King felt that on this point, he supported the Lord.

——Judging from the current situation, the Devil’s invitation to hell was more than just a simple “trip”.

“Alright, fine.” The Devil was a little embarrassed, “I will leave the dragon bone dagger in the possession of my master, while I go forward and take the contract from you. After you give the contract to me, my master will naturally give you it——He’s just a mortal, how about it? Will this do?”

The Lord fell into deep thought and seemed to have a great distrust of the Devil, but he thought for a long time and did not come up with a better way. The Devil indeed had what he wanted.

In the end it had to reluctantly agreed, but there was a condition:

The King must retreat to the palace gate alone.

“My dear master, please trust me.”

The Devil handed the box with the dragon bone dagger to the King, and at the same time quickly spoke in a lowered voice.

Believe in a devil who was full of lies and impure purposes?

The King’s face was expressionless, holding an umbrella in one hand and a box in the other as he backed out of the great hall.

As the King slowly retreated, many tentacles between the beams of the palace above his head moved along with him.

The Devil walked alone to the throne of the Lord: “Alright, now you can condense the seal of authority and lift the mark of contract.”

The Lord’s gaze was fixed on the King, and its tentacles coiled on the throne curled up, a thin tentacled protruding from under the throne. Dark green mist condensed over the tentacle, finally forming a small bone ring. After this bone ring was condensed, a completely different air current seemed to rise in the hall.

The King stood near the entrance of the main hall with the black umbrella.

At this moment, he seemed to hear countless solemn musical instruments, the musical sounds shattering in the wind, as if they were the relics of ancient times.

“Now, it’s your turn to let him give me the thing.”

The Lord used the ring face of the bone ring to stamp on the gemstones one by one before urging.

“Please allow me to check them over first.”

The Devil put the box of gold and the box of gems on the sucker of a tentacle to show that he did not plan to violate the deal.

The Lord took the bone ring back, tightly guarding it in a sucker, and then handed the first of those gems to the Devil.

The Devil picked it up and looked at it for a moment: “Well…..it looks alright.”

“The most unreliable guy in hell actually has the face to say this to others.” The Lord muttered with dissatisfaction.

“You are correct.”

The Devil held the gem and looked up with a smile.

“So——”

The next second, a bone scepter suddenly appeared in his hand, and it pierced at the Lord’s dark red eye at the speed of lightning.

“I’m not here to do business.”

“You damn bastard!”

The tentacles around the throne rolled in an instant, and at that moment, before the Lord’s single eye was protected behind a swarm of tentacles, its angry voice resounded through the entire huge hall, shaking all the pillars and making them let out a frightful humming sound. The ground also shook, and golden bars and gems began to roll down the surrounding mountains of treasures.

“What are you intending to do!”

The Devil did not reply.

There was still a smile on his face, and that smile was like a mask that would never be taken off and fixed forever on his face. He held the white bone scepter that appeared out of thin air. The other end of the scepter was firmly curled by a dozen tentacles, and dark blood was rolling down the scepter.

The Devil slashed diagonally downward with the scepter like one with when wielding a sword.

Those tentacles were covered with a thick layer of mucus, and the tentacles themselves were extremely hard, but when the Devil cut down, deep wounds appeared on those tentacles.

“Do you remember? Who was the last person who died under this scepter?”

The Devil asked with a smile.

The Lord understood his intention now.

An angry voice sounded throughout the palace: “You want to destroy me?! This is my domain! You, a guy who has lost his domain, want to go to war with me in my own domain?! You are provoking the dignity of the great Manlisk!! You will pay for this!”

“Please hold the umbrella well.”

Against the Lord’s wrath, the Devil only turned his head and smiled at the King as always.

The King stood in the palace and watched the sudden outbreak of a fight.

This was a scene that was enough to make all ordinary people tremble in fear. The tentacles like giant snakes waved and slid around at high speeds, and each of the tentacles seemed to have its own awareness. At the same time, they attacked the Devil who suddenly turned hostile and revealed his fangs. The suckers of the tentacles sucked onto long swords and long daggers taken from the mountains of treasure.

Those swords and daggers were no ordinary weapons, and they made crisp metallic sounds in mid-air.

Tentacles, black mist, a sky full of flying blades, and countless raining gold and gems…..

All of this was not a scene that would appear in heroic legends, because the sides of the battle were both evil.

In front of this battle between the Devil and the Lord, the King was as small as all mortals who wandered into here by mistake.

Many snake-like tentacles dropped from the top of the beams. The suckers on those tentacles suddenly opened, revealing countless fangs within. Each sucker was as large as half the size of a grown man in diameter, and they swept toward the King, intent on ripping the King to pieces and devouring him whole.

——Please hold the umbrella well.

The King’s face was expressionless, so calm it was practically indifferent.

The wind was raging, the King was surrounded by countless tentacles coiled like giant pythons, and those tentacles continued to snake and spiral around him. The tentacles approached the King, threatening him, but once it attempted to make contact, they would be shocked away by the black umbrella, and the King under the umbrella remained completely unharmed. In the vortex formed by the tentacles, the King stood upright, holding the umbrella firmly.

He held the handle of the black umbrella, just like holding a sword.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The box containing the so-called “dragon bone dagger” was also held in his other hand, and he did not let go.

The tentacles’ tentative probing were continuously shaken off, and finally they dispersed slightly, just waiting for the opportunity to attack again.

The King’s field of vision was no longer blocked.

He raised his eyes and looked at the battle between the Devil and the Lord.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

“Now, my dear Majesty, please allow me to act as your guide, as we go on a pleasant journey to find the lord who has authority over ‘greed and ill-gotten wealth’.” The Devil said to the King.

He blew a clear whistle.

The surface of the lake of sumptuous fire which was closest to the Devil and the King rippled, and the bone carriage that the King was familiar with rose from inside, bathed in sulphurous fire. The nightmare horses trotted out of the lake at a brisk pace. They obediently trotted to the King and lowered their heads, as if they wanted to nudge against the King affectionately.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

But when the Devil looked at them kindly, they only dared to stand still in place.

“Your Majesty, please.”

The Devil lifted the carriage curtains made of finely broken sickle and bat bones for the King, and then hung it considerately on the side.

The King got on the bone carriage.

This carriage was indeed more suitable for hell. It was exquisite and gorgeous as it rolled on the endless stretch of scorched earth, the non-man made exquisiteness of the carriage complemented the dark red sky and the fiery lakes.

The four skulls on the wheels clacked their jaws and made colliding sounds “Da, Da, Da”. If you could ignore this rather horrifying image, the sounds they made were rather like cheerful folk drumming. The Devil scolded them slightly, and drove the carriage across the black soil of hell.

The King’s journey in hell had begun.

The King saw the carriage passing over the sulfurous fiery lakes with white smoke rising out of them as if it was flat ground. The four skulls on the carriage opened their jaw bones and sucked in the white smoke that got close to the carriage so as not to let them float towards the King.

The carriage moved forward and quickly reached the mountain ridges that the King had seen before.

After he got closer, he increasingly felt that the steep mountain was like a blade, stretching a very long distance, the protruding rocks seeming to be sickles of the god of death inserted on the vertical mountain wall.

When the carriage drove up close to the mountain, the corpses hanging in rows turned around automatically. The King could see clearly that there were ropes as thin as spider silk around their necks, their necks looking almost to be strangled, heads hanging low. As the carriage passed by, some of the corpses’ heads nodded up and down slightly, as if they were saluting the carriage.

“What are those? Why are they hanging there?”

The King asked.

“They are the bodies of the herded souls, a bunch of uninteresting fellows.”

The Devil replied as he waved his whip towards the canine-toothed mountain above, making a crisp sound in mid-air. As the whip sounded, the suspended corpses trembled violently and turned back around, no longer facing the King.

“Hell for herders and the herded is where their corpses can be found. Their clothes are covered densely with maggots, but that is too disgusting, not worthy to enter Your Majesty’s sight.”

The King memorized the key term “the herded”.

The carriage passed through the crisscrossing peaks and onto a narrow valley. Through the carriage window, the King saw countless bones inlaid on the rocks on both sides, as if they were ancient fossils. Some of those skeletons had wings and long tails, some had fin-like spines as well as sharp beaks…..

It seemed that the creatures were pieced together on these two rocky mountain sides without any regard for rules.

“This is the wall of a hundred insects.”

The Devil explained, pointing out for the King to look at the bones that were intertwined and connected together.

“All the fellows who are not recognized and do not belong to any compendium are thrown here. They are called ‘insects’. They must fight with all their strength and live by swallowing each other.”

“Are they dead now?”

“Yes.” The Devil cracked his whip, shattering a skeleton with bat wings and fish tails. “They are long dead…..But in the past, the insects here were immortal, and the fires here burned eternally.”

His words seemed to hide other words.

The nightmare horses whinnied lowly. They pulled the carriage out of this awe-inspiring and yet depressing valley, and left behind the mountain walls with countless bones densely overlapping.

“Please don’t look back, Your Majesty.”

The Devil said in his position in the front of the carriage.

“On this journey, please keep this in mind.”

His tone was a little serious, but soon, he chuckled lowly, the sound cheerful.

“Of course! If you want to, I will definitely agree with both hands.”

The carriage moved forward and passed a long wasteland full of bones. The King clearly saw that among the overlapping bones on the ground, there were many skeletons with its hand stretched out and its finger bones bent upward to grasp something.

The Devil said that this was a very common wasteland in hell that was specially used to throw garbage, and there was nothing much to say about it.

A small piece of skull rolled fearlessly towards the carriage, and the skulls embedded on the wheels seemed to feel provoked, opening their mouths and suddenly spitting out a red tongue of fire, burning that piece of skull until nothing was left.

The King could clearly hear a faint painful wailing.

The carriage drove out of this wasteland before stopping.

“Your Majesty, we are going to change our way of transportation now.” The Devil jumped down from the carriage, opened the black umbrella with one hand, and extended his other hand to the King.

He led the King out of the carriage.

The King stepped on the hard black soil and saw that they were in front of the long winding river.

“This is the long river of hell. All guilty and unpardoned souls will be thrown here, waiting to be sent to the next trial.”

The Devil said, making sure to pay attention to whether he had restrained his aura enough, otherwise it would be a bit troublesome if all of these fellows were unable to move.

Under the circumstances that the Devil intended, the dead souls did not notice him this time, nor did they notice the King standing on the bank of the river. They continued to squeeze forward with difficulty. The King took two steps forward to observe these overlapping dead souls more closely.

Most of them were not whole anymore.

When the King looked around, he only saw the soul of a beautiful woman that appeared somewhat more complete than the rest.

The woman dressed as a noble lady held a man’s head in her arms lovingly as one would treat a lover. However, she had a sharp dagger in her mouth. A headless body followed the lady, moving forward with difficulty. The King keenly discovered that the style of the clothes on these souls were all very old, and no soul wore clothes of more recent times.

The Devil did not explain this.

He held up his black umbrella, raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

“Snap.”

The King saw that not far in front of them, a cloud of white mist appeared on the long river of hell. A small boat without sails sailed out of the white mist.

“That is one of my demonic envoys, Your Majesty.”

The Devil said to the King.

The boat looked very light on the long river. The King could clearly see the “demonic envoy” mentioned by the Devil. It was a monster at a height lower than average and wore a white mask. Spread out behind the demonic envoy were huge black bat wings that didn’t match its body shape at all.

The demonic envoy used its pair of bat wings to row the boat and sail past the dead souls like a gust of wind.

The demonic envoy sailed the boat to the shore, and the Devil led the King onto the boat.

After boarding the ship, the King discovered that the boat only looked small. After boarding it, he could feel that it was very spacious within and standing on it was like standing on the ground.

The Devil led the King to the bow.

“We will sail all the way down to the location of the Lord I mentioned to you.”

Don’t know when but fire rain falling from the sky became heavier and heavier. The Devil held the black umbrella firmly and blocked the fireball-like rain for the King.

In the King’s field of vision, hell became more exotically beautiful and magnificent because of this “torrential rain.” Those red and golden fiery raindrops joined together into a heavy curtain of rain that connected the black earth with the dark red sky. Looking around, the strange black mountains also seemed to have become more beautiful in the fiery rain.

A kind of beauty that was beyond common knowledge.

The King did not dislike this kind of scenery.

The boat traveled very fast, passing through the fiery rain. When it passed a huge mountain wall, something caught the King’s attention.

“What is that?”

The King asked.

He saw a giant eye embedded in the mountain wall, and that single giant eye was as high as ten St. Wyth Church combined. It also seemed to sense the King’s gaze, its pupils turning and looking down at the very small boat when compared to its size.

“That’s the eye of wisdom and true knowledge. It later belonged to hell. Oh, look there, its twin brother is over there.”

The Devil held the umbrella and pointed out for the King.

Following the direction he pointed to, the King saw that there was indeed a closed mouth under the giant eye. Because it was too big and integrated with the mountainous rocks, it was difficult to discover it.

At this time the huge eye embedded in the rocks suddenly began to shed bloody tears slowly.

The mouth under it opened and spoke something.

The voice was thick and heavy like thunder, and was in a language that was by no means human. The King did not understand.

The Devil seemed a little too silent.

“What did it say?”

“Do you really want to know?” The Devil asked back, “that is something spoken by the famous ‘evil and destiny’.”

“Yes, I am certain.”

The King replied.

“It said——”

“The king will never be at peace. [1]”

These words seemed to have some strange magical power. When it was spoken from the Devil’s mouth, the speed of the fiery rain falling down around them slowed down a lot. The King also became silent.

In silence, the boat passed by this mountain wall.

Suddenly, what appeared before the King was an incomparable castle.

From a distance, the King saw that on the barren land, curved snake bones meandered up the dark mountain peaks, the countless spires of the towers leaving impressive shadows on the dark red sky. The King’s breathing slowed slightly.

It seemed that his pupils could only reflect the image of the castle.

The Devil was abnormally quiet, just holding the umbrella next to him and looking at the castle together with him, without giving any explanation.

The speed of the boat picked up at this stage, and within a few breaths, the castle was left behind.

An impulse.

The King wanted to take another look at the castle made up of snake bones and mountain peaks. However, he remembered what the Devil said back at the “wall of a hundred insects”, so he restrained the impulse.

The Devil next to him sighed with regret.

“What place is that?”

“You will know later.”

The Devil changed from the previous loquacious attitude he had in front of him, and only simply said one sentence.

“Now…..”

The Devil hooked the King’s shoulders. The speed of the river picking up was not for no reason. They seemed to have come to the end of the long river on the surface of the ground. It turned sharply down, flowing through a huge hole, and falling downwards.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Devil closed the umbrella and guarded the King in his arms.

“Our journey is coming to an end, Your Majesty.”

He said.

Amidst a loud noise, the King and the Devil as well as their little boat fell down from the big cliff that was nearly at ninety degrees. They were swallowed by the hole that opened like the mouth of a giant beast, swept down into the darkness of its throat.

AN: Welcome to a journey in hell with the King.

[1] Quoted from Shakespeare

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev