183: Replacement

Deep within the royal palace of Holy Radiance City, the air was thick with the heavy scent of medicine and the stench of decay. The old King, Alaric III, lay upon a magnificent bed, his face ashen and his breath faint, like a candle flickering in the wind. Beside the bed, the First Prince, Atos, knelt on one knee, tightly clutching his father's withered hand. His expression was one of sorrow, yet it carried an underlying, barely concealed tension and expectation.

"Atos... my child..." Alaric's voice was as thin as a gossamer thread, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp as they stared fixedly at his eldest son. "This... this is the last thing I can give you..."

Exerting all his strength, he pressed a dark gold medallion into Atos's hand. It was engraved with the image of a roaring lion and pulsed with obscure magical fluctuations. "With this token... you can awaken the Epic Old Ancestor and the three Legendary royal Family members sleeping within the royal Demiplane... They are... the final foundation of the Kingdom..."

Atos's heart pounded wildly, and his hand trembled slightly as he held the token. An Epic Old Ancestor! Three Legendary royal Family members! This was the ultimate power hidden in the deepest reaches of the Kingdom, a force he had never truly known about until now!

"Your uncle, Grand Marshal of the Kingdom... Monk, will support you with all his might," Alaric wheezed. "The Second Prince's... movements in the south, I know of them all... After I die... if he does not submit to you, then... use this as proof to mobilize all the Kingdom's forces and annihilate him! Remember... the Aolai Kingdom must not... fall into chaos!"

"Yes, Father! I will keep it firmly in mind!" Atos responded in a deep voice.

A flash of complexity crossed Alaric's clouded eyes. He struggled, using a weaker yet clearer voice to caution: "Your plan to use Linn to strike at the Second Prince... I know of it. But you must remember... Linn... is also a... malevolent Dragon! More dangerous than the Second Prince! Once the Kingdom is stable, you must find a suitable opportunity... invite the Epic Old Ancestor... and lead all the Legendaries to kill Linn together! Take the chance... to reclaim... all three northern provinces! You must not let the Star Sea Territory... continue to grow!"

This was the old King's cold-blooded decision before his death to eliminate the greatest hidden threat to the Kingdom's future.

Atos's heart chilled, and he immediately nodded solemnly. "Rest assured, Father, I understand! I will not fail your trust!"

Alaric seemed to have exhausted his last ounce of strength. He slowly closed his eyes and spoke no more, leaving only faint breaths. Atos knelt for a moment longer before carefully stowing the heavy token and quietly withdrawing from the bedchamber. He knew that his era was about to truly begin with his father's passing, but the road ahead was strewn with thorns and even more dangerous undercurrents.

Meanwhile, in the Storm Sea Region, at Vaughan's lair on Thunder Island.

In stark contrast to the deathly silence and oppression of the royal palace, the port of Thunder Island and its surrounding waters were filled with a Killing Intent and a secret, surging excitement.

Over the past month, the twenty thousand elites secretly dispatched by the Nocturne Family had arrived in batches, disguised as various merchant ships, cargo vessels, and even fishing boats. They successfully joined forces with Vaughan's original twenty thousand garrison troops from the Salu Archipelago. The forty-thousand-strong army completed its assembly and preliminary reorganization on Thunder Island and several surrounding satellite islands, sharpening their blades.

On the island's central square, below a temporary command platform, stood a dense crowd of armored soldiers. Vaughan stood on the high platform in his polished Count's armor (which he hadn't changed yet). Standing behind him were Alge and Benson, two Major Generals from the Star Sea Territory's Guard Army. Though young, they were battle-hardened and had steady temperaments. More eye-catching were the two majestic and fierce Earth Griffins crouching beside them, highlighting their unique status and the support of the power behind them.

Vaughan did not give a long, inflammatory speech. His voice, amplified by magic, spread clearly and coldly across the field:

"Soldiers! This sea region has long been plagued by pirates. Certain nobles have indulged and protected them, even colluding with them to exploit merchants and endanger the safety of the shipping lanes! I, Vaughan Nocturne, entrusted by the Kingdom (in name) and requested by the Hanhai Legion, have been ordered to purge this sea and restore peace to the trade routes!"

His gaze swept over the crowd below like a hawk's. "This operation has a clear objective—within the Salu Archipelago and Nanming Archipelago, all nobles and their armed forces who do not follow orders, collude with pirates, or endanger the shipping lanes will be treated as targets for elimination! Wherever my army goes, those who resist will be killed without mercy! Those who surrender will be disarmed and imprisoned on the spot! Their territory's population and resources will all be seized and held for further instruction!"

The orders were simple and crude, filled with the scent of blood and plunder, but they also granted the frontline commanders maximum autonomy, avoiding constraints during combat.

"Now, I order! The fleet shall strike out in eight directions according to the pre-set plan! With the momentum of a thunderbolt, sweep through the target waters! In the shortest time possible, I want to hear only one voice in this sea!"

"By your command!" The forty thousand soldiers roared in unison, their Killing Intent reaching the heavens.

At Vaughan's command, hundreds of warships of all sizes, which had long been prepared in the port, raised their sails and weighed anchor simultaneously. Divided into eight fleets of varying sizes according to their pre-assigned sectors, they shot out like eight arrows from a bow, sailing into the vast sea toward their respective targets.

Several days earlier, the Hanhai Legion commanded by Hogan had already quietly begun its operations. Under the guise of "large-scale military exercises" and "clearing suspected pirate nests," they set up a tight blockade along the key shipping lanes on the outskirts of the Salu and Nanming Archipelagos. All vessels attempting to enter or leave the area—whether merchant ships, fishing boats, or patrol craft of noble private armies—were forcefully intercepted, driven away, or even detained. Any attempt to break through or transmit messages was met with ruthless warning shots from the Hanhai Legion's warships.

Hogan even "reported" this "blockade exercise" to the First Prince, Atos, through secret channels, claiming it was to coordinate with the First Prince's strategy, clear potential threats in advance, and prepare for possible future maritime operations. Atos, busy with the final preparations for the succession and firmly convinced of Linn's "loyalty," did not look into it deeply and even expressed his approval.

Thus, under the cover of the Hanhai Legion's powerful naval presence, the offensive by Vaughan's forty-thousand-strong army against the target islands was carried out in a state of near-total information isolation.

Caught off guard, the private armies of minor nobles, ill-prepared coastal outposts, and even some forces truly connected to pirates quickly collapsed under Vaughan's carefully planned surprise attacks and absolute numerical superiority. Resisters were ruthlessly suppressed, those who surrendered were disarmed and held under guard, noble manors and warehouses were sealed, and populations were registered and controlled... A maritime storm, ostensibly to "purge pirates" but in reality to secretly expand the Star Sea Territory, eliminate dissidents, and allow Vaughan to offer his "letter of allegiance," swept violently through this part of the Storm Sea Region. Blood stained some beaches, smoke shrouded several islands, and even more areas quietly changed hands under the edge of the blade.

The outside world, especially the Aolai Kingdom mainland, was still blissfully ignorant of the upheaval taking place in these waters, or viewed it only as a relatively large-scale "bandit suppression" operation. Only a very few forces with a keen sense of smell, located outside the Hanhai Legion's blockade, could faintly sense an unusual Killing Intent and the oppression that precedes a change in the heavens.

When the news that the last few points of resistance in the Salu and Nanming Archipelagos had been conquered reached the Kingdom...

The Kingdom was greatly shaken. Atos angrily condemned the Duke of Nocturne. To show his loyalty, the Duke of Nocturne immediately kicked Vaughan out of the Family.

Atos then ordered Linn to have his naval forces annihilate Vaughan, this traitor to the Kingdom.

Hogan received Linn's order and went through the motions of surrounding the two archipelagos. Not a single shot was fired.

The Second Prince in the south was overjoyed and sent people carrying a large amount of gold coins to the Salu Archipelago to win Vaughan over.

Under Linn's orders, Vaughan accepted it all.