Dusk Sea.
Endless Bay.
In a palace built half in the sea and half on the land of the bay.
“Prince, the humans have engaged the Mad Shark King in battle! The current situation is unclear; our scouts dare not observe too closely for fear of being caught in the crossfire.”
A merman knelt on one knee, reporting to Olsen Hayes, the 17th Prince of the Merman Court, who sat upon a throne of sea crystal.
Olsen nodded slightly. “Continue to monitor them.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The merman subordinate withdrew, leaving Olsen alone in the palace.
He stood up and looked at the map placed on the stone table before him.
On the map, a portion of the Dusk Sea was designated as the territory of the Merman Court.
However, both Olsen and the other princes of the Merman Court knew this was only for show.
Even as merman princes, they did not dare to venture too deep into the regions near the Heron Empire.
Especially now, with their father, the Merman King, assassinated by the Second Prince and the Merman Court fractured, no prince dared to claim the areas near the Heron Empire as their own.
At most, they would go ashore to raid a few villages and towns of the empire.
As for complete occupation, they simply didn't have the courage.
“However, if the result of this battle is decided...”
The Heron humans' suppression campaign against the Mad Shark King concerned not only the King himself—one of the Five Kings—but also other merman princes like Olsen.
If the Heron Empire won, Olsen would have to pull back and reduce his raids on the coastal borders.
After all, if even the Mad Shark King fell to the Heron suppression team, a prince with only Silver-rank strength like himself would be crushed in an instant if he dared to provoke them.
But if the Mad Shark King won... then Olsen would certainly not let such a good opportunity pass. He would definitely take a slice of the pie for himself.
He would personally lead his men to storm the Heron coast, loot resources, and kidnap humans to be used as slaves.
Even if humans couldn't survive underwater long enough to build his undersea palace, he could sell them to the Blood Tribe of the Nightmare Empire.
After the conflict broke out between the Nightmare Empire and the Heron Empire, the empire's blood-hunting teams didn't dare show their faces within Heron territory, causing them to lose many sources of blood.
If he kidnapped and sold humans to the Blood Tribe now, he could definitely make a fortune!
“And humans... they taste quite good...”
Thinking of the daughter of a town mayor he had once enjoyed, Olsen couldn't help but feel a surge of desire.
Boom!
Just then, a massive roar echoed outside the palace, accompanied by the terrified screams and shouts of his merman subordinates.
The roar shattered Olsen's fantasies, sending him into a fit of rage.
“Is it Lance's men again?!”
Olsen’s first thought was of his thirteenth brother, assuming Lance had come to cause trouble again.
“He truly doesn't know when to quit!”
When the Merman King was still alive, Olsen was the 17th Prince. Although his bloodline was predominantly whale-type, he was a hybrid mixed with spring shrimp merman blood.
Compared to his brothers with pure whale bloodlines, he was a half-breed who was never favored by the Merman King.
While at the court, he was often bullied by his older brothers.
Fortunately, he was ambitious. At a young age, he purified his bloodline and became a Silver-rank bloodline knight.
After the Merman King's death, the various princes broke away from the court to become independent. Olsen, relying on his strength and strategy, had recruited many court mermen.
He had also plundered many resources by raiding merchant ships passing through the Dusk Sea.
He was no longer the same as before!
If the 13th Prince, Lance, dared to bring his men to extort him again, he would show him the meaning of Olsen's wrath!
“Someone, bring me my war helmet!”
With the help of his merman attendants, Olsen donned a purple steel helmet traded from “Fairy Tail.” He gripped his trident and marched out of the palace in a fury.
“Who! Who dares to behave so insolently in the territory of Olsen Hayes?!”
The majesty of a Silver rank surged out with his words, turning into a thunderous roar that instantly quelled the panicked mermen around him.
Seeing Olsen emerge from the palace in his war helmet, the mermen's faces lit up with excitement and fervor.
“It's Prince Olsen!”
“With the Prince personally taking action, these intruders are dead!”
“Prince Olsen, the villains are over here!”
Hearing the last merman's shout, Olsen glared toward the source of the commotion.
He saw a group of humans surrounded by a crowd of nervous merman warriors.
The group of humans was small, only four in total.
However, despite being only four against over fifty merman warriors, they showed no sign of panic.
They even walked leisurely, as if strolling through their own back garden, only stopping when they heard Olsen's roar.
“So you are the 17th Prince of the Merman Court?”
Among them, a young human with black hair and black eyes turned to look at him with an extraordinary aura.
“Humans?”
Seeing this, the seriousness on Olsen's face immediately turned into disdain.
He had thought his thirteenth brother had arrived, but it was just a few humans?
“I am the 17th Prince, famed throughout Endless Bay—Olsen Hayes!”
Olsen swung his trident, pointing the tip directly at Leon’s group of four.
“Humans, state your names and your purpose!”
“If you cannot satisfy me, do not blame me for slaying you instantly and throwing you to the fishes to punish your crime of trespassing in my court!”
With that, a surging Silver-rank Battle Qi ignited on Olsen's body.
This Silver-rank pressure greatly encouraged the surrounding mermen. The previously nervous warriors gripped their blades and tridents, staring intently at the four humans.
If they made any disrespectful move, the mermen would hack their weapons into the humans' bodies!
“Since you are the 17th Prince, that makes things easy. It saves me the trouble of searching for you.”
Leon nodded slightly and lifted his priest's scepter. “17th Prince, it's time for you to die.”
【Gold-rank Divine Art: Wind-Whisper Heavy Cannon】!
A ring shimmering with a pale green light rose beside Leon.
A wisp of breeze slowly entered the ring. In the next second, enhanced by the pale green light, the wind speed was accelerated to a terrifying degree.
In an instant, the breeze swept up the surrounding air, acting like a violent heavy cannon. Accompanied by the sound of thunder, it blasted toward Olsen!
Sensing the power of this air cannon, Olsen's expression grew slightly solemn.
He surged his Battle Qi, channeling it into his trident, and swung it violently at the air cannon. “Ocean Penetration!”
With a loud bang, the trident wrapped in deep blue Battle Qi collided with the Wind-Whisper air cannon. The impact created a shockwave that kicked up a cloud of dust and sand.
As the shockwave and dust dissipated, Olsen stood behind, unharmed, his body still wreathed in deep blue Battle Qi. His face was calm and composed.
He glanced at Leon. “Decent power, but... if you think an attack of this level can kill me, you are dreaming!”
Seeing Olsen deliberately holding his trident behind him to strike a pose, and hearing the forced composure in his voice, Leon sighed helplessly.
The Lv0 Wind-Whisper Heavy Cannon was just for practice. Blocking a Lv0 Divine Art and acting like he'd blocked a strike from a legendary powerhouse was a bit much.
Glancing at the 【Wind-Whisper Heavy Cannon Lv1 (6/100)】 on his panel, Leon wasted no more time.
After all, to hog all the experience for himself, he had specifically asked Miles and the others not to interfere beforehand.
He couldn't just let them stand there watching for too long, could he?
The mental power in Leon's mind poured into the scepter like a tide, and a speck of starlight lit up at its tip.
Then, one ring after another of 【Wind-Whisper Heavy Cannon】 rose beside him.
Across from him, Olsen's previously calm expression suddenly shifted.
Because the power of these multiple 【Wind-Whisper Heavy Cannon】 rings... was more than five times stronger than before!
Rate on N.U.
