Ch.34 Allies and Friends(?) (Patreon)

"This is King Everwood of the Everwood Empire!" I shouted. "I'm about to blow up your ports and demolish Port Town. You have thirty minutes to evacuate your citizens and clear out. Anyone who remains or decides to attack—will die."

Sailors and merchants yelled at one another, rushing to find telescopes or communicate with the people on the wall to get more information. Most could only see the bright green glow of the massive amplification circle in the distance, not the ship.

Once they confirmed the Everwood Empire logo was on my ship, the merchants immediately packed up to leave.

If there was one group that understood me and my capabilities—it was merchants.

"How’s the evacuation going?" I asked. Thea gripped my sleeve with her eyes closed, controlling dozens of Jamas, a blue-feathered waterfront bird that blended into the water. "Women and children are fleeing through a mountain pass, but some are refusing to leave and are cheering on soldiers."

"Equipment?" I asked, using my superhuman sight to count the incoming trebuchets.

"They’re rolling in another six trebuchets, and they’re lining up archers with fire arrows," she responded. "They’re also loading up two battleships with fifty soldiers apiece."

"Okay, cover your ears," I ordered, activating the massive 10-foot amplification circle on the deck, engulfing the boat with green light.

"I repeat! This is King Everwood! In ten minutes, I’ll be destroying Port Town’s harbor and its buildings. Anyone who stays around or attacks will die! This is your final warning!"

Thea’s eyebrow twitched when one of her birds picked up the verbal response from some soldiers. "Let’s start early and slaughter all of them," she requested. "Their women and children haven’t made it that far yet, so there’s still time—"

I ruffled her hair with a complex smile. "We’re here to destroy their port, not to kill their people."

She pouted. "But the things that they’re saying about you…."

"Don’t worry about it," I replied. "People can say whatever they want about me, as long as I win."

Thea turned to me with furrowed brows. "Even if they’re saying…."

My eyebrow twitched, and my head twitched. "Don’t murder them, Ryker," I muttered. "Sticks and stones can’t break my bones, and their words won’t get them murdered. But that doesn’t mean it has to be me who murders—"

"Their ships are approaching!" Eris interrupted. "You want us to blow them to hell?"

"Perfect timing." I turned to her with a crazed smile. "Waste ammo to ensure the ships sink faster than their stomachs. Make the psychological impact as devastating as possible."

"Aye!" Eris grinned, turning to her troops. "You hear that, boys?! Treat these people like Rorsaka, and don’t let up!"

The sailors grinned and packed the mounted cannons, aiming at the ships filled with soldiers, raising their swords, and preparing fire arrows in the distance. "Fire!"

BOOM! Boom, boom, BOOM! Boom-boom-boom! BOOM! Boom, boom!

A bombardment of thirty massive cannonballs cut across the water at 150 meters per second, hitting the water in front of the ship and skipping like skipping stones multiple times before hitting the ships with savage fury. Wood shrapnel exploded from the boats, and soldiers flew over the side. One lucky hit tore straight through the front of the ship, creating a hole through the entire hull and filling it with water. Other cannonballs cracked through the masts, causing a few to hit multiple people like bowling balls. Both boats were shredded like confetti within a few seconds, toppled over, and sunk.

The corner of Thea’s mouth curved into a satisfied smirk as she listened to the reaction of the people onshore.

"Dumbfounded?" I asked.

"Devastated," she grinned. "They’re not talking shit anymore."

"Don’t get excited about death and suffering," I sighed. There was a part of me that also wanted to get excited, but there was now an emotion deep down that was constantly gnawing at me like a mouth sore, constantly reminding me of my humanity, mission, and the value of human life.

Thea’s ears drooped.

"You can smirk over victory," I clarified. "Just no… grinning."

Her ears perked up again with a bright smile, and she turned back to the shore, closing her eyes and resuming her mental links with the birds.

“The idiots are preparing trebuchets despite knowing that the reach isn’t far enough," Thea scoffed. "That means they’re… a demonstration?"

I smiled, hearing her compromise. "That means they’re a demonstration,” I confirmed. “Start the bombardment of the port! Remember that our real enemy hasn’t arrived yet, so conserve ammo!"

Eris grinned and put her leg on the bow’s railing. "You heard ’em, boys! Blow ’em to hell!"

To the Ironfall soldiers' horror, we didn’t get any closer to the shore when the next round of explosions went off. By the time they comprehended it, massive steel cannonballs had crashed down on them. When the cannonballs hit the port and pier, wooden shrapnel flew from the explosion, and people fell into the water; when the cannonballs hit solid ground, they exploded like massive frag grenades; and when they hit the stone walls behind them, the walls exploded and toppled. As for those directly hit, their bodies simply disappeared in a plume of red mist.

The cannonballs spared nothing—not the people, trebuchets, or buildings. They shattered walls, sank ships at the port, and pulverized rooftops. It was absolute annihilation.

The scene perfectly reenacted the British bombardment of Canton during the first Opium War. Within only thirty minutes of relentless bombardment, the entire city was in ruin, reduced to rubble in a blink of an eye, taking countless soldiers with it.

"That’s enough," I said, raising my hand. "We came here to destroy their ports and send a message to the world. I’d say we accomplished that—don’t you think?"

Eris’ crew cheered and released war cries. While they couldn’t see the devastation onshore, Eris, Thea, and I could, and that was enough. Everyone else could be spared from the sight. "Then let’s hit the water and drink to our victory!"

Everyone cheered, and we sailed away as if we were never there, leaving Port Town shattered and broken and its people to deal with the aftermath.

I wished that I could feel nothing as we left; however, my emotions prevented that.

Still, my rationality remained. Devastating displays would inspire surrender, and giving people the chance to live was more than fair. In this world and the next, warfare was a constant. However, my warfare sought to unify people and prepare them for survival—I would never let myself forget that, no matter how many emotions I experienced or how many years passed.

***

After leaving Port Town, we sailed deep into the ocean to prevent running into merchants from Sunset Shore. The kingdom was too mysterious, and the more I looked into their leader, King Elio, the more I was convinced that he was someone secretly powerful but just wanted to be left alone.

After Queen Elara claimed that there were otherworlders, I was certain not to mess with her.

As a result, we spent another three days going around them before entering the Heliana Strait and saw the Squala Forest that separated Sundell and Goldenspire from Sunset Shore. It was a beautiful forest teeming with chirping birds and loud insects, similar to Higurashi cicadas at night but far more harmonious.

It was a peaceful setting, and the sailors drank as I read ghost stories from memory for everyone, leading to a lot of debauchery and drunken hilarity.

***

Once we passed the forest, a golden sea of wheat and barley spread out before us. I spent the day at sea looking at it thinking about how horribly inefficient their planting methods were, noting how understaffed they were, and how they should pay me to conquer their territory. Taxing their serfs under such conditions was highway robbery!

Yeah, I'll definitely be a savior.

And that starts today.

A week after meeting with Seraphin, we finally reached our main target—Bringla.

Bringla is the most important port on Novena, responsible for shipping grain to Dragon's Peak, Sunset Shore, Ironfall, the Aurelian Empire, and even trading slightly with the Green Sea on the southern end. It was also critical in shipping some of its cargo to a trade route to Frosthold. In short, it shipped grain to every single country in Novena except for its bordered partner Valeria.

They also had trade relationships with countries like Antigua across the Heliana Strait, establishing an intercontinental trade route that brought exotic wares to the continent and its people.

As a result of its unparalleled importance, the port was adorned in gold, boasting a lively culture with music, dance, and entertainment everywhere, and daytime tourism rivaled only by Sunset Shore. It was a truly critical and beautiful beacon of Novenan culture and commerce—

—and today, I was blowing it up.

“This is King Everwood from the Everwood Empire!” I announced through amplification magic. “In retaliation for your attempted massacre of my people, I’m destroying this port, its wall, and everything else that’s in our line of fire!”

“Merchants have an hour to disembark, and the citizens can evacuate the city,” I continued. “Unlike Priest Aelius, I don’t plan to slaughter women and children. I’m only destroying your port, so leave to avoid needless bloodshed!”

Word had already spread of Port Town’s annihilation, so the Goldenspire’s citizens panicked, scrambling to get behind its massive, 50-foot stone walls and shut its iron gates. As for the merchants, they seemed shocked we would attack Bringla, but they were prepared regardless. No one had left their ship, so it was an in-and-out operation.

Archers promptly stationed themselves on the outer works, sporting new ballistas that every country was rushing to make, and trebuchets lined the shores, preparing to send boulders crashing into my ships. Soldiers boarded ships with strange barrels that likely held something similar to Greek fire or another devastating weapon as their trump card. It was unclear.

“Are all the merchants gone?” I asked Thea, gaining a nod in response. “All their women and children aren’t trusting their wall either. No one’s leaving things to chance.” she confirmed.

That made me feel a lot better.

“They’re still being arrogant, though,” Thea added. “In their futile effort to do anything but die or grovel, they’re stationing thousands of troops around the perimeter, preparing traps with barrels of liquid and other things. They might light the whole city on fire if you’re in the center of it.”

“That’s some rational thinking,” I commented, impressed. While the circumstances were very different, the Russians did the same, burning Moscow to prevent Napoleon’s army from finding sufficient supplies and shelter during the onset of winter. As a result, countless soldiers in Napoleon’s army starved or froze to death. It was a sign of Russian resilience and mental strength. It was hard to think it’d happen during the summertime just to kill me, but here we are.

However, it was unfounded, and I wouldn’t be boarding there.

“Once again, we only aim to destroy your port and wall,” I declared. “So please retreat from that area if you wish to live.”

They didn’t retreat.

It wasn’t my problem.

So I started—

—and the same exact scene played out.

BOOM! Boom, boom! BOOM! Boom-boom-boom! Boom, boom, boom! BOOM!

A heavy bombardment hit dozens of ships in the port, instantly sinking them as the port collapsed, sending wood and stone into the harbor. Just the first volley was devastating.

Cannonballs skipped on the water and hit the shore, rolling into trebuchets and destroying them. Once the ships and port were destroyed, we aimed to fire with the siege cannons, shooting them into the sky and allowing gravity to help build their kinetic force before they slammed into the stone walls, breaking out chunks and sending the archers flying or crashing into the rubble.

For a half hour, we broke through their wall. Once sections were gone, cannonballs flew through the opening, crashing into shops and golden buildings, demolishing them instantly and not stopping. Soldiers that didn’t flee got riddled with shrapnel as the cannonballs hit a stone or the ground and exploded, killing a dozen at a time.

It was a truly brutal assault, and all Goldenspire could do was watch.

Since they didn’t have weapons to shoot at us, we were just sitting in one location shooting fish in a barrel. No ships could get close, no weapons could touch us—it was psychologically devastating as we bombarded their city.

Once we finished, we left as quickly as we came. It was a truly eerie and terrifying scene that forever scarred itself into everyone’s memory.

It was magnificent.

In less than a week, we had demolished Port Town and Bringla, making the blitz far too fast and devastating for Ironfall or Goldenspire to assemble troops and attack me in their absence.

Now, it was time to reaffirm my alliance with Dragon’s Peak, quickly destroy any forces threatening Sundell or Silverbrook, and then go to the Suitor’s Tournament—on my own terms.

***

Reaching Grakam Port, the harbor facilitating Dragon Peak’s steel and liquor trade, took six more days. The trip should’ve taken four, but the propeller system went out, and we had to navigate the ship using sails alone, something that’s very difficult to do.

Our sails were limited to square-rigged sails or auxiliary sails and required favorable wind conditions. It was a nightmare and proved that there was still a long way to go before we made a commercial steamship.

To make the boat lighter, we dropped the propulsion system and shifted weights in the boat to keep it balanced. That was also a way of keeping trade secrets once we reached the port.

After all, the ship itself was our selling point.

When we finally docked the ship, King Thrain, surrounded by thousands of troops, scoffed. “Fuck me, is that made outta steel?” he asked.

I slapped the boat with a cheeky smile, “Mostly.”

“You’re a freak,” King Thrain gruffed.

“You’re wealthy because of it,” I countered.

“Not when you blew up the ports for my best clients.” He narrowed his eyes. “If it weren’t for massive orders for weapons and armors to kill you, I’d want to do it myself.”

I banned Goldenspire and Ironfall from my steel trade, so King Thrain made a killing by trading steel with them. So by blowing up their ports, I was directly harming their trade.

“However, you’re here despite having a stable of griffins and horses yappin’ on board, so I assume you’re gonna say some stupid shit that doesn’t make sense and promise to make me richer, yeah?” King Thrain asked.

I returned a wry smile. It kinda depressed me that the mobster king who built his empire off hard liquor and nightlife had more political tact and self-control than I did. I needed to work on that.

After a thin smile, I slapped the ship again to release its metal twang. “What? A steel maker is looking at a steel ship that can transport several tons of steel and liquor to Antigua and cut down trading costs with me, Sunset Shore, and the Aurelian Empire, and you’re worried about two countries that don’t exist?”

King Thrain’s eyes narrowed further, but his amusement and fascination got the better of him. “seriously, how the fuck did you get steel to float?”

“Keep being my ally, and I’ll tell you,” I chuckled. “For now, I’ll leave this baby with your workers for you to figure it out if you give my people flying transport to get us home.”

His eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas. However, he snapped out of his haze a moment later. “Why are you leaving so soon? I doubt anyone’s gonna attack you this year.”

“Oh, I’m sure that these idiots accumulated a massive army of avians to attack, so I need to check on them,” I remarked. “Then I have to participate in the Suitor’s Tournament for Princess Redfield’s hand in marriage.”

“Ah, yes. The event you didn’t tell me about.” King Thrain smiled thinly and then looked at Thea. “If you point out how much this one means to you without adequate protection, people are liable to attack her for leverage or revenge.”

‘Why would I tell you about something that you already knew about?’ I internally scoffed. ‘Moreover….’

“Did you feel the need to point out the obvious?” I rolled my eyes, referring to Thea.

“I’m just pointin’ it out,” he shrugged. “After all, you’re my cash cow, and King Redfield’s probably stationing his archwizard and perhaps another at that tournament. Not to mention the kings. You better have a damn good justification for attackin’ Bringla.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I chuckled. “Worry about all the money you’ll be making soon.”

Deep down, I knew how risky things were. However, I had already committed and couldn’t turn back now. It was time to attend the Suitor’s Tournament and face my problems head-on.

***

After a lavish meal and soaking at the hot springs, we left on griffins, thunderstags, and other mounts the next morning, allowing King Thrain and the dwarves to try reverse-engineering the ship.

We flew back to Sundell over a few days and found something we weren’t expecting. Wyverns—a lot of wyverns.

At first, I was horrified by the sight. However, after one screeched and a large azure wyvern surfaced from inside the wall, I couldn’t help but grin.

Zenith perched on a changing ledge designed for the dragons to land and then drop into a changing room. Then, with not two minutes of delay, Zenith ran out of the room and rushed into a clearing to meet us. “YOUNG MASTER!” she yelled, slightly panicked but not urgently.

I blinked twice. “When did Zenith get so emotional when she saw me?”

“Zenith’s always been like that,” Thea giggled, squeezing my waist as I flew down to meet her. “You just never noticed before. You never used to notice people’s emotions.”

“I suppose she did punch a lot of things,” I murmured as I dismounted. Then I looked up at Zenith, who rushed up quickly, only to slow down and act like she wasn’t interested. “Yo. I missed you.”

With a wave, her eyes lit up, and she ran up, looking for something to hit around her and finding nothing, taking a sharp breath, trembling, and then looking up. “DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS ABOUT YOU?!” she screamed.

“Why?” I frowned.

“You said you were working on a project in Elderthorn while I went home,” she huffed. “Not that you were building a goddamn ship and going down the Romba Strait. By the time I got to Elderthorn, I had learned where you were and got people to look after Sundell, and got there, you weren’t there. I thought you were dead, you idiot!”

My expression crumbled, and my mouth dropped open slightly. “I didn’t know about Rorsaka, so I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Her facial muscles twitched. “You know about Rorsaka?”

‘I suppose Queen Elara or the people didn’t mention that their guardian is gone,’ I mentally noted. ‘That makes sense. I shouldn’t spread that information….’

My lips curved into a wry smile when I saw Zenith’s hellfire-packed pouting and remembered that not telling her the truth caused this mess. “We killed Rorsaka,” I sighed, “I shouldn’t need to tell you that you shouldn’t spread that information around.”

Her eyes widened. “What did you just say?” Then she searched my body for wounds and saw me wearing a full-sleeve tunic and gloves in the summer heat. “What happened to you?!”

“Let’s go inside,” I replied.

Once behind closed doors with Lyssa, Zenith, and Thea, I lifted my left sleeve and revealed my deathly pale arm. While it had slight color, heavy purple veins pulsed through it, giving it a twisted look that looked like plague symptoms.

“Rorsaka bit it off, and it was rebuilt with an S-class healing spell,” I explained. “However, I can’t use it without risking losing it, as it was rebuilt from the spirit mana blueprint from my arm, and that mana network is gone and will take years to establish itself again.”

They both winced. “We can’t show this to the people at the tournament,” Zenith declared. “You can’t show weakness. I convinced my father to support you, and King Emeric will stand with you, but there is only so much we can do to protect you during the Suitor’s Tournament.”

My eyes widened, and I looked at Lyssa, who looked equally serious, with my mouth slightly agape. “Wait, you got your family to protect me at the Suitor’s Tournament?”

Zenith scoffed and turned away, huffing multiple times instead of breathing. “Are you mad?” she asked. “Do you think that friends and allies just stand around when their ally does something stupid? That they only help when it’s convenient? Is that what that means to you?”

Icy waves of shock washed over me, giving me shivers. ‘Friends? Allies? What is….’ I thought.

I couldn’t believe my ears. It occurred to me that I didn’t trust anyone but Thea as my friend and only trusted people motivated by greed or those I forced into submission. The idea that people would support an intentionally foolish decision didn’t occur to me.

A sudden memory flashed in my mind.

—

“Ah, yes. The event you didn’t tell me about.” King Thrain smiled thinly and then looked at Thea. “If you point out how much this one means to you without adequate protection, people are liable to attack her for leverage or revenge.”

‘Why would I tell you about something that you already knew about?’ I internally scoffed.

—

“That’s what he meant….” I muttered, staring into dead space.

Zenith huffed at my reaction. “You’re a fool, young master. King Emeric is already acting as a mediator to prevent hostilities. He’s neutral. You had full support before you even left.”

“I….”

My heart pounded uncontrollably, and I took deep breaths.

“Did you even consider you could’ve made your point without blowing up a key harbor?” Lyssa asked, her eyes stern. “Now it’s hard for people to trust you. You’re forcing them to help you instead of building alliances. Why?”

My world spun out of control.

Why?

Why?

Why, why, why, why, why?

People don’t want to be my friends.

They need me. That’s the only reason people ever talked to me, right?

Sure, people liked me here. But that’s because I treated servants nicely, and other aristocrats didn’t. I improved people’s standard of living in a stagnant world. I provided opportunities for people that they never would’ve gotten elsewhere. They loved me because I was useful—not because I was likable… right?

“No, this is our fault.” Lyssa bit her lip. “We knew you had trust issues, which caused serious problems with alliances as nobles. It was your weakness, but….”

She looked me in the eye. “It’s hard to befriend children if you’re vastly more mature. It’s also hard to befriend adults because they treat you like a child. So your parents and I could never find a way for you to make friends, so we… gave up and found a way to make you a friend that you could trust.”

I took a shallow breath and looked at Thea, who gripped my arm with teary eyes. Everything was hitting me so fast. “That’s why you got me a lifelong servant?”

“There’s no such thing as a lifelong servant, Ryker,” Lyssa smiled wryly. “It sounds plausible, so we hoped you’d never question it. By law, we could only make it 50 years.”

I glanced at Thea; she looked more shocked and devastated than I was. She then looked at me with an “I promise I didn’t know!” expression, making me lace my fingers with hers.

“I’m sorry, Ryker,” Lyssa swallowed. “Whatever happens at this tournament… I’ll take responsibility.”

“Don’t be sorry!” I snapped, trembling with intense emotions swirling in my heart. “You helped both of us. No, you helped the world. If you didn’t connect me with someone who proved that people can be selfless… I probably would’ve skullfucked King Redfield the first chance I got or died trying… likely the latter. So don’t apologize.”

I squeezed Thea’s hand and looked at everyone. “I’m living life on my own terms or dying for it. If I don’t, I’ll remain the person who caused this mess.”

Everyone looked at me in shock.

“I don’t know how to do things the right way or the normal way,” I asserted, “but that doesn’t mean that I’ll stay that way forever. However, I’ll remain this way forever if I don’t protect the only thing that has brought me happiness.”

I looked them in the eye.

“I’ll genuinely say sorry for the first time in my life after this tournament,” I declared. “However, until then, I hope you’ll stand by my side.”

—

[A/N: We're coming up on the end of the first book. Are you enjoying the story? Let me know! Also, don't worry. You can't change Ryker's true nature. He's just becoming more human.]