184: Legend fades away

Three months passed amidst tense confrontations and surging undercurrents.

Early in the year 31639 of the dawn calendar, the old King Alaric III, who had ruled the Aolai Kingdom for nearly four hundred years, finally failed to survive the winter and quietly passed away in the palace of Holy Radiance City. The news was briefly suppressed, and only after all preparations were ready was it officially announced, plunging the nation into mourning.

Following that, with the support of key officials led by the Kingdom's Grand Marshal Monk and the Minister of Political Affairs Aivik, the First Prince Atos, who held the late king's final decree, held a grand yet slightly hurried coronation ceremony in Holy Radiance City, officially succeeding as the new King of the Aolai Kingdom, known as Athos I.

On the day of the coronation, Duke Lin En of Star Sea personally attended to offer his congratulations and presented generous gifts, maintaining a respectful attitude and giving the new king plenty of Face. However, not a single noble from the four southern provinces attended, nor did they even send a symbolic messenger. The South's attitude was clear—they did not recognize Atos's royal authority.

With the new king's ascension, his authority was met with such a public challenge, leaving Atos's Face ashen. As soon as the coronation ceremony ended, he immediately issued an edict in the name of the new king, denouncing the Second Prince for "colluding with rebels and splitting the kingdom." He ordered the Kingdom's Grand Marshal Monk to take full responsibility for suppressing the rebellion, immediately mobilizing troops from the loyal provinces in the central, northern, and eastern regions of the kingdom to form a "Royal Army" in preparation for a southern campaign.

In the south, the Second Prince showed no weakness either, immediately raising the banner of "cleansing the king's side and rectifying the foundation of the state," declaring Atos's ascension as "illegitimate and persecuting his brothers." He quickly integrated the military forces of the four southern provinces and, along with the private armies of some central nobles he had won over, constructed defensive lines at strategic border points, assuming a posture of a fight to the death.

The long-accumulated internal contradictions of the Aolai Kingdom finally exploded with the passing of the old king, and the smoke of civil war was on the verge of igniting.

Star Sea Hall, Supreme Military Meeting.

All high-ranking civil and military officials remaining on Star Sea Island and its vicinity gathered together, the atmosphere solemn yet excited.

"Everyone, the kingdom is already in internal turmoil, the north and south are in confrontation, and a great war is inevitable." Linn sat in the main seat, his voice steady and clearly conveying his decisions. "This is a situation we have long awaited and carefully facilitated. Now, it is time for us to take full action according to the established plan."

He first looked at Clay, who was in charge of intelligence aggregation. "The South's attitude is clear, and the North's mobilization has begun. The flames of war will mainly be concentrated in the central plains and southern mountains of the kingdom; they won't affect our east in the short term."

Clay nodded and added, "According to the latest intelligence, Athos Is doing his best to win over the border nobles of the east and north, especially the Golden Peacock Family, in an attempt to stabilize his flanks. Toward us, his main requirement remains that we 'exterminate' Vaughan and look for opportunities to contain and harass the south from the sea or land."

"How is the situation with Vaughan?" Linn asked.

"General Vaughan has basically completed the integration of Saru and the Nanming Archipelago, capturing a large number of noble private armies and sailors," replied Payson, who was responsible for coordinating the matter. "According to your instructions, he is screening reliable individuals from among them to replenish the ranks. It is expected that within a month, the Zhenhai Legion can be fully staffed at sixty thousand men."

"Very good," Linn ordered. "Send word to Vaughan to speed up the reorganization. He must complete the full staffing and preliminary integration of the sixty thousand men of the Zhenhai Legion within two months. At the same time, in his name, officially announce the merger of the Salu Archipelago, the Nanming Archipelago, and all scattered islands under his control into the 'Storm Province,' with himself as the Governor! Tell Atos that these are rebels stealing the kingdom's territory and that we are 'working hard to clear them out.'"

"Furthermore," a glint flashed in Linn's eyes, "to give the Vast Sea and Zhenhai Legions 'something to do' and to further lull Athos into a false sense of security, preventing him from urging us to intervene in the land-based civil war too early, order Hogan and Vaughan to engage in 'intense' 'naval battles' and 'landing operations' in the Storm Sea Region under the guise of 'exterminating rebel remnants, clearing out pirates, and competing for territory.'"

He drew a circle on the Storm Sea Region on the map with his finger. "On the surface, the two fleets will be fighting 'fiercely.' The battle reports can be written vividly, with more 'losses' of old ships and more 'casualties' among insignificant prisoners. In reality, I want you to use this opportunity to completely clear out all forces, pirate nests, and even some obstructive independent small islands in the Storm Sea Region that are not under our control! Within half a year, I want the whistles of my Star Sea Territory's warships to be the only sound heard in the entire Storm Sea Region!"

"Yes!" Clay and Payson accepted the order in unison, understanding that this was an act of substantial expansion under the guise of "acting."

"Payson, the administrative side must keep up. Immediately select capable personnel from the current administrative officials of the Star Sea Territory and academy graduates to form the 'Storm Province Administrative Preparatory Team' and head to the Storm Province. Their task is to conduct a comprehensive census of the population, land, and resources, plan port cities and settlements, and establish an administrative framework to bring this newly controlled sea area into the territory's effective governance system as quickly as possible," Linn continued his deployment. "Although the land of the Storm Province is scattered, its sea area is vast and its strategic position is extremely important. It must be held firmly in our hands."

Finally, Linn's gaze swept over the naval commander Ocean Jack, the army commander Yilman Lawson, and others present. "Logistics and troop mobilization are to be fully activated immediately according to Contingency Plan No. 3."

"The first transport line: fully guarantee the Rhine Province and the Scott Province. Yilman, your four main army legions—the Army Breaker, Star-Moon, East Desolation, and Dragon Scale—totaling two hundred and forty thousand main land forces, are to secretly complete their final assembly and pre-war deployment at the pre-set military bases in the Rhine Province and Scott Province. Provisions, weaponry, and magical supplies must be sufficient."

"The second transport line: guarantee Ocean's Star Sea Legion. The sixty thousand men of the Star Sea Legion are scattered across various bases in the Storm Sea Region and are key to future naval battles and blockades. Supplies must not falter in the slightest."

"The third transport line: fully support the construction of the Storm Province and the 'operations' and reorganization of the Vast Sea and Zhenhai Legions. This line is newly opened and the affairs are complex; Payson, you must keep a close eye on it personally."

Yilman, Ocean Jack, and the others solemnly accepted the order, Battle Intent burning in their eyes.

Linn stood up and walked to the massive map of the territory, his finger tracing from Star Sea Island to the East Sea Province, the Rhine Province, and the Scott Province, then extending to the Storm Sea Region, finally slowly passing over the long coastline of the Aolai Kingdom.

"Everyone, look," his voice carried a confidence that came from controlling the overall situation. "Now, our Star Sea Territory's domain starts from the main Star Sea Island, covers the East Sea Province to the east, extends west through the Rhine Province to the Scott Province, forming a land corridor; to the north, we have the East Desolation Orc Kingdom as a barrier; to the south, our naval forces have penetrated deep into the Storm Sea Region, establishing the Storm Province and forming a pincer movement with the Salu Archipelago (Zhenhai Legion)."

"From a geographical perspective, the Star Sea Territory's sphere of influence has already formed a massive semi-encirclement of the Aolai Kingdom from the northeast to the southeast! On land, we can move south from the Scott and Rhine Provinces at any time, striking directly into the kingdom's heartland; on the ocean, our three major naval legions can threaten the kingdom's long eastern and southern coastlines from any direction, including the Storm Sea Region and the Salu Archipelago!"

He turned and looked at everyone with burning eyes. "Atos and the Second Prince are fighting to the death in the central part of the kingdom. No matter who wins or loses, they will both be severely weakened. And we have already completed all our strategic layouts and troop concentrations. Now, what we need to do is continue our low-profile 'performance' while sharpening our claws and waiting for the right moment."

"When the time is ripe, whether they both suffer losses or one side wins a pyrrhic victory, we will deliver the final and most fatal blow to this already scarred lion! The era of the Aolai Kingdom should come to an end. A new order will be written by us!"

"For the Star Sea Territory!" Linn raised his right fist.

"For the Star Sea Territory! For the Lord Duke!" Inside the hall, mountain-shaking shouts rang out, filled with infinite longing for the future and the determination to win. A grand game of chess that would determine the fate of the western continent had finally entered its final and most critical stage of combat. The long-dormant dragon of the Star Sea Territory had already spread its wings that covered the heavens and the earth.