The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 88

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Strongest in Our Neighborhood (88)
“If you know who I am, kneel. I do not grant you the privilege of standing upright to face me.”
“We greet a great presence.”
Thump.
The moment the Superior Officer prostrated himself, not only the people on his ship but those on every other vessel bowed down toward Virus.
Unlike his intervention at the time of Gnoxcasarsis, Jang Gain simply watched in silence this time.
“All you did was spread your Sea Fog and create a Reef Zone to prevent large ships and warships from passing through, and then you ground up the prisoners you’d captured to pave a path! Today I’m going to reduce all the labor you’ve put in thus far to nothing. Gumur, the highest-ranking Spirit of the earth.”
Chuckle-chuckle-chuckle-chuckle…….
The moment Virus finished speaking, the seawater suddenly churned violently despite no wind blowing. Then, moments later, an enormous boulder shaped like a human head rose up through the water’s surface, parting the waves.
-It’s been a while, Virus.
“It’s hardly been a few years—not ‘a while.’ Anyway, those humans have been busily chiseling away at that Reef Zone you created, making a path where warships can pass. You see that?”
-Heh, so they have. They must have labored tremendously. Humans are relentlessly persistent, aren’t they.
“Make this place into a Reef Zone again where warships cannot pass.”
-Understood. But to do that, I’ll need a great deal of mana. Your current human form doesn’t have enough mana for this task.
“Got it. I’ll return to my true form.”
Virus leaped from the ship into the Sea Fog and transformed into an enormous dragon exceeding one hundred meters in length.
“Gasp!”
“Breathe!”
“Choke!”
The people on the ship, witnessing Virus’s mystical form half-concealed by the Sea Fog, pressed their noses flat against the deck in prostration.
Boom, boom-boom, boom-boom-boom…….
Moments later, as the highest-ranking Spirit of the earth exerted its power, the surrounding seawater turned turbid, and an ominous resonance thrummed through the deck beneath their feet.
Through Qi Sense, Jang Gain felt enormous boulders rising up from the seafloor that countless people had carved away with pickaxes.
‘Changing terrain this easily? Isn’t this the kind of power only a god could wield? My Superior Spirit Sirion couldn’t even poke his head above the surface at this scale.’
“O Dragon! I beseech you—have mercy upon us. Please, spare our lives!”
Just then, one of the prisoners, shackled at the legs, lifted his head between the veils of Sea Fog toward Virus and cried out, then pressed himself so hard against the deck that it thundered under the force of his head.
“What? Did I not just spare your lives?”
“This is not sparing us, Your Majesty. Once you depart, we must return to the seawater to labor with our pickaxes. Six of us died today alone. Please, I beg you—have mercy on us.”
“Hmm! Then what do you wish me to do for you?”
“Allow us to return to our homeland, we beseech you.”
At that moment, one of the Bermuda soldiers suddenly leaped to his feet, drew his sword, and shouted at the prostrate prisoner.
“You fool! For a prisoner to presume such——”
Crack.
In an instant, Virus flicked his finger, and the soldier’s head burst apart.
Thud.
The soldier collapsed without even comprehending how he had died.
“Are you stupid, or simply unable to read the room? How dare you bluster in my presence. Does anyone else feel brave? Step forward now. Don’t make me waste my effort on this repeatedly.”
As Virus scowled and swept his gaze across the Bermuda soldiers, they lowered their heads without daring to meet his eyes.
“It seems there are no more fools eager to step forward and die.”
“…….”
“These prisoners of yours—they’re soldiers of the Cram Empire?”
“Yes. Most are Cram soldiers, though some are fishermen from the Quardo Coast.”
“Why are fishermen being held as prisoners?”
“When Bermuda soldiers occupied the Quardo Coast and the surrounding islands, they captured and imprisoned them all.”
“All right, Gain. What do you think I should do?”
Virus tilted his head and turned to Jang Gain for his opinion.
“The Bermuda Maritime Alliance has taken Cram soldiers as prisoners. I’m certain the Cram Empire is doing the same with Bermuda’s soldiers.”
“That seems likely.”
“It would work well to arrange a prisoner exchange between both sides.”
“Ah! That’s a good idea. That way neither side needs to execute their prisoners, and no one harbors resentment.”
“Who is the commander-in-chief of the Bermuda Alliance?”
When Jang Gain asked the soldiers, the Superior Officer slightly lifted his head and answered.
“It is Druper of Alpana Kingdom, Your Majesty.”
“What? A king is here commanding the battlefield?”
“Yes.”
“The Cram Empire also has the Emperor serving as commander-in-chief. But don’t most kings and emperors typically just give orders while the nobles and knights wage the war?”
As Jang Gain tilted his head in confusion, Virus spoke up.
“Originally, Bermuda and Cram had no bad blood between them. But the tragedy began when the Crown Prince of Alpana Kingdom married the Princess of Cram.”
“Shouldn’t a political marriage strengthen relations between them?”
“Normally it should, but unfortunately the Cram Princess was poisoned by someone. And the culprit has never been identified. After that, relations between the two nations deteriorated rapidly, and a bloody war began.”
“Wait, so the Emperor of Cram marched out to avenge his daughter’s death, but why did the King of Alpana march out?”
“Not long after, the Crown Prince suddenly died as well. The King of Alpana suspects the assassin was sent by Cram.”
“Then it should be a conflict between Alpana Kingdom and Cram Empire, but why are the Bermuda Maritime Alliance and Cram Empire fighting?”
“At first, only the two of them fought. But the power gap was too great for it to matter much, so the King of Alpana sought aid from the Bermuda Maritime Alliance, which he belongs to, and that’s how the conflict escalated.”
Jang Gain tilted his head as he listened to Virus.
“So even if you tell them to stop the war, they won’t listen?”
“Exactly. That’s why I laid down Sea Fog and created the Reef Zone to make it impossible for them to wage war at all.”
“It’s complicated. It doesn’t seem like reconciliation will be easy, so I suppose we should just have them exchange prisoners.”
* * *
“Yes! This is it. This is the grip you need to hold a sword!”
Three days after receiving treatment from Aleingde Mir, General Kairosx unwound the bandage from his shoulder and smiled with satisfaction as he felt his fingers obeying his will and the returning strength in his grip.
He glanced sideways and saw the healers hunching their shoulders.
“Wretched things, calling themselves healers. Tsk! I don’t even want to look at your faces—get out of my sight.”
“Yes, sir. Of course, understood.”
As the healers hurried away, General Kairosx fixed his gaze on the composed Aleingde Mir and his apprentice.
“The mage Maraing told me you’re a mage who doesn’t maintain a fixed residence anywhere. How about taking up residence with us in the Bermuda Maritime Alliance? Better yet, if you’d settle in Alpana Kingdom.”
“I’m afraid that would be difficult, as I’ve never cared for being tied to one place.”
“A mage of your caliber—I could petition His Majesty at once to grant you the rank of Count and lands to go with it.”
“I appreciate your kindness, General, but I must respectfully decline.”
“Tell me—is there something else you’d rather have besides a countship and lands?”
“I suffer from the Wanderer’s Curse, which is why I can’t bear to be bound to one place.”
“A mage who spurns titles and estates—that’s something I’ve never heard of. Well, should you have a change of heart someday, do get in touch.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Ah, one more thing! Maraing mentioned you have some skill in crafting Chimeras?”
“Yes, I’ve studied Chimeras for a long time and have become rather skilled at making them.”
“The Chimeras our mages possess are rather crude. I’m curious what yours are like. Would you be willing to show me some? If they’re decent, I’d be interested in purchasing a few.”
Aleingde Mir listened to General Kairosx and began calculating mentally.
‘I’ve heard that plunder from years of raiding Cram Empire has piled up like mountains…… I might be able to extract a bit more.’
He had already received a hundred thousand Gold as payment for healing the General’s arm, so his coffers were not merely full but near bursting—yet human greed knows no bounds.
“I did hear the war situation isn’t favorable, and it occurred to me what Chimeras the General might need.”
“Ho! Then show me what you have.”
“Of course.”
Aleingde Mir opened the Sub-space within his Robe and withdrew a Wyvern, an Ogre, and an Iron-Clad Manta.
“This Chimera Wyvern was modified from flying monsters. You can ride it to fly through the sky, and it’s strong enough to devour lesser monsters. The second one, the Iron-Clad Manta, has a crystal chamber in its mouth large enough for two people, and can breathe underwater for about an hour. As for the Ogre…”
As Aleingde Mir explained the Chimeras, he studied General Kairosx’s face, which bore a lukewarm expression.
‘He doesn’t look particularly interested. Perhaps selling Chimeras was a mistake? No, never mind…… Wait, now that I think about it, there’s one more thing worth selling.’
After finishing his explanation of the Ogre, Aleingde Mir opened his Sub-space again and withdrew Dragon Fangs and scales. The General’s eyes, which had been dull with indifference, suddenly gleamed with interest.
“Hmm! What is that? It doesn’t look like a Chimera—it looks like the teeth of some enormous monster.”
“These are Dragon Fangs and scales.”
“What! Dragon! Dragon Fangs and scales…… Could it be…… a Dragon Bone Knight?”
“Yes, I’m impressed you recognized it immediately.”
“A magical weapon rivaling the Death Knight—there’s no way not to know. But a Dragon Bone Knight isn’t a Chimera—are you selling it?”
“Yes, if the price is right.”
“How much are you asking?”
“Ten thousand Gold.”
He had bought it from Jang Gain for a thousand Gold, but realizing he’d sold far too cheaply, he’d agreed to give the Dragon an additional four thousand Gold and had kept it in storage since.
“Ten thousand Gold! Hmm, my expenses have been considerable with healing my arm, and my funds are rather tight. Could you lower the price?”
“Lower it? Hmm, I’m afraid I cannot. I’ve made a promise to the Dragon that the proceeds from this sale must go to him.”
The moment Aleingde Mir heard the request for a discount, he realized the General had no more money to spare. He began putting the Chimeras back into his Sub-space.
“You promised the money from this sale to the Dragon? What do you mean by that?”
“These Dragon Fangs and scales aren’t actually my property—they belong to the Dragon. I’m merely an agent selling them on his behalf.”
He subtly emphasized his close connection to the Dragon, partly to prevent the General from suddenly turning hostile and seizing his Chimeras by force.
“A Dragon using an agent to sell his own teeth and scales? That’s the first I’ve heard of such a thing. Are you perhaps lying to me because you don’t want to lower the price?”
“No matter what, I’d rather give you the discount than resort to falsehood. Why would I lie?”
“Then give me the discount. The whole thing sounds like a lie to me.”
“I cannot. The Dragon said he must receive at least ten thousand Gold.”
“Very well then—I’ll pay you the ten thousand later. Just hand it over for now.”
“I cannot do that without immediate payment in full.”
“No credit? That’s suspicious. Are you planning to sell the Dragon Bone Knight to Cram Empire?”
“How could I possibly do such a thing?”
“Judging by appearances, you’d sell to anyone with enough coin. If a Cram nobleman offered ten thousand gold, you’d take it, wouldn’t you?”
“Hmm, to be honest, if someone offered ten thousand gold, there’d be no reason to refuse. I intend to sell to whoever pays fair value, regardless of which side they’re on.”
“You’re selling a magical weapon as powerful as a Death Knight to an enemy nation? You think I’m just going to stand by and watch?”
General Kairosx’s sudden intimidation caused Aleingde Mir’s expression to shift into bewilderment.
“Pardon? Why are you suddenly being unreasonable? The Cram Empire is an enemy of the Bermuda Maritime Alliance, not of me. I have every right to sell to whoever offers payment.”
“The Dragon Bone Knights you sold will kill our soldiers—that much is obvious. I can’t allow you to peddle magical weapons to enemy nations that will slaughter my men.”
“This is circular reasoning. If you wish to acquire the Dragon Bone Knights, you need only purchase them with ten thousand gold.”
As Aleingde Mir spoke, his eyes moved across the mages and knights who had encircled him, and he swallowed hard.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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