The palace of the Raging Tide Kingdom was a colossal structure built against a mountain. Though massive and imposing, its details appeared remarkably crude.
Those who worshiped the Lord of the Storm favored such a rugged style—after all, berserkers hardly matched delicate craftsmanship.
Consequently, the palace interior lacked superfluous adornment. Even the statue of Talos, the Lord of the Storm, was merely colossal, without any pretense of intricate artistry.
The reigning King of Raging Tide sat before the statue of the Lord of the Storm, while Mengge Grayriver—whose flagship had been dismantled by Anbaixiu—knelt before him.
The loss of twelve medium warships along with the Raging Wind was an immense blow to the kingdom.
Even though Mengge Grayriver was one of the kingdom's renowned generals, a loss of such scale had still enraged the king.
Suppressing his fury, the king said to Mengge Grayriver, "Is this the so-called intelligence you brought back? A legendary mage has joined those undead—and that's all?"
"Your Majesty, the real point is not this legendary mage, but why those undead pirates would dispatch a ship specifically to fetch him."
Mengge Grayriver's words made the king frown. "Are you suggesting they have some impending plan?"
"Your Majesty, I have already sent scouts to investigate. The sea winds told us that this legendary mage likely boarded the ship off the western coast of the Emerald Dream Forest. The Silent Night Pirates have always come and gone like ghosts; suddenly inviting such powerful reinforcement must mean they have a grand scheme underway. Perhaps they intend to launch an assault on our cities. Your Majesty, we must make preparations at once."
The king asked tensely, "Which city do they intend to attack?"
"I do not know, but the sea winds will tell us. The moment they make a move, we will surely detect it in advance. What matters now is consolidating our forces. Your Majesty, this pirate crew possesses numerous legendary powerhouses. We must have our Raging Tide Legion prepare for battle."
Every kingdom had its own elite corps: Ryan had paladins, the City of Alchemy had golem puppets, the elves had the Twilight Guard, the dwarves had their Iron Guard... and the Raging Tide Kingdom had the Raging Tide Legion, composed of a vast number of storm priests.
This legion named after the country was small in number, totaling only about a thousand members, and held no legendary combatants. However, they excelled above all in combined spellcasting. Given sufficient preparation time, they could summon gales and thunderstorms powerful enough to slay a legendary powerhouse.
Blessed by the Lord of the Storm, their spells could even be stored through a special method. When needed, they could be triggered immediately, bypassing the casting time.
The problem, however, was that this advance preparation could only be maintained for roughly a month, after which the entire legion would need more than half a year to recover. Furthermore, group casting demanded an enormous amount of space; no ship afloat was large enough to accommodate the Raging Tide Legion for such a ritual.
Mengge Grayriver said, "They are bound to attack within a month. If we have the Raging Tide Legion prepare now, they will surely deliver a fatal blow at the critical moment. This is precisely the vital intelligence I needed to report. Your Majesty, preparing early might allow us to wipe out these undead once and for all."
If human resources could be concentrated, the might of a kingdom was undoubtedly far greater than that of a pirate crew. A realm like Ryan, which could convert the faith of its entire populace into Holy Light, was something even ordinary deities dared not provoke.
Previously, the Raging Tide Kingdom had constantly suffered at the hands of the Silent Night Pirates solely because their movements were erratic; they never attacked cities, choosing only to intercept merchant vessels on the open seas.
If Mengge Grayriver's intelligence held true, they could indeed use the teleportation circles in each city to maneuver, allowing the Raging Tide Legion to reach the battlefield immediately. Every city possessed ample open space for the legion to conduct their ritual, enabling them to strike the undead with devastating magical power.
"Yet all of this is mere speculation. You have no concrete proof." The king was no fool; if Mengge Grayriver's assessment proved incorrect, the Raging Tide Legion's efforts would be squandered for nothing.
"But we suffer no real loss," Mengge countered. "The Raging Tide Legion cannot unleash its full power on the open sea anyway. Even if the inference is mistaken, it merely means they will rest for half a year. But if my guess is right, we might eliminate this lingering peril once and for all."
Mengge Grayriver's parting words finally swayed the king, who decided to order the Raging Tide Legion to prepare.
In addition, he decreed that the entire kingdom make ready for battle.
Tales of the Silent Night Pirates' prowess had circulated since the founding of the Raging Tide Kingdom; no one dared underestimate those undead.
The king issued another command: "Notify the court mages. We have supported them for all these years—it is high time they earned their keep."
Compared to the other realms, the Raging Tide Kingdom was the most recently established and the weakest in power.
The kingdom only truly possessed two legends of its own: the reigning king, and the heir to the throne. Even so, it was a kingdom after all, and they had spent handsomely to retain several court mages.
A total of three legendary mages. The gold paid to these three each year amounted to nearly a tenth of the kingdom's tax revenues.
Anbaixiu had previously considered seeking employment in other kingdoms, and the Raging Tide Kingdom had been one of his prospective choices, abandoned only because of the vast distance.
Now that the kingdom faced its direst crisis, it was time for these masters to earn their pay.
When the king's orders reached the three court mages, each expressed full dedication, promising to do justice to the generous salaries they had received over the years.
The king was well pleased. Counting himself, that made five legends in all. Coupled with the might of the Raging Tide Legion, it should be enough to handle those undead pirates. The Raging Tide Kingdom threw itself into all-out war preparations, hoping to settle matters in a single stroke and banish the shadow that had hung over the realm since its founding.
Yet not even a day had passed before an uninvited guest stormed into the palace, demanding furiously of the king, "How could you issue such a reckless mobilization order?"
The King of Raging Tide gazed affectionately at the indignant woman before him. She was his daughter and the kingdom's designated successor.
"Ariel, do not get so agitated. What is wrong with this order? Shouldn't we be prepared for war?"
The king's tone was gentle; he could hardly bear to raise his voice at his daughter.
Princess Ariel, blessed with flowing red hair, gave her father no face at all. She shouted, "You believe war is imminent just because of Mengge Grayriver's word? Father, our kingdom is scarcely wealthy to begin with. If all our ports are shuttered for war, the economic losses will be staggering. We cannot afford to squander that kind of money!"
The Raging Tide Kingdom was far from wealthy—in fact, it was arguably the poorest of the Nine Kingdoms.
After all, they were originally stray dogs driven out after suffering defeat, and the overseas islands lacked natural resources. Consequently, whether in population or economy, they were the weakest among the Nine Kingdoms, sustaining their independence solely through the geographic barrier of the sea.
Other realms could mobilize for war at any moment, but if the Raging Tide Kingdom shut down for even half a day, countless people would starve.
The king said agitatedly, "The Silent Night Pirates are our greatest threat. As long as we can eliminate them, everything will be worth it! Once we destroy those damned undead, we will be the true overlords of the seas, and only then will our kingdom truly have room to flourish. Ariel, you ought to understand this.
"You are a child born of the sea. When you came into this world, the skies celebrated with thunder. You are favored by the gods, and you are my finest heir. I want you to inherit a perfect kingdom, not a ruined realm barely clinging to life under the thumb of the undead."
Lightning flickered in his eyes and brow; the King of Raging Tide had endured this humiliation for far too long.
Followers of the Lord of the Storm rarely cared to overthink matters. The king desired nothing more than a decisive clash with those undead. As for the collateral damage of nationwide mobilization, he was utterly disinclined to consider it.
Ariel understood that these undead were an obsession that haunted the entire Raging Tide Kingdom. Every successive monarch had sought to eradicate the threat, yet none had succeeded; two kings had even perished at their hands. Still, Ariel believed there was another way to resolve the problem.
Though the Silent Night Pirates had inflicted constant losses on the kingdom, an honest calculation revealed that the damage was not nearly as immense as people imagined.
Undead could sleep for years or even decades at a stretch. The Silent Night Pirates were no different; their raids occurred at remarkably low frequency. Even if each raid brought destruction, on average it paled beside the devastation caused by natural disasters like tsunamis and tempests.
In contrast, in the centuries since the kingdom's founding, the funds poured into countering the pirates had grown heavier and heavier, straining the realm past its endurance.
If they could win, that would be one thing, but they lost continuously without achieving a single meaningful result.
When a commander like Mengge Grayriver, who merely scored the occasional petty advantage, was hailed as a "renowned general," it showed just how dismal their tactical success truly was. That military expenditure had essentially gone down the drain.
In Ariel's view, the kingdom ought to negotiate with the Silent Night Pirates, paying a regular tribute in exchange for a non-aggression pact. That was the most economical course.
As long as the kingdom could develop in peace, wealth and population would multiply. With both growing, national strength would steadily climb. More legendary powerhouses would emerge within their borders, and they would have the coffers to hire more court mages.
Once they had amassed sufficient strength, it would not be too late to deal with those undead.
Right now, every war tightened the noose around the kingdom's throat; if this continued, the kingdom would collapse. This time was even more absurd—it felt like staking the realm's very destiny on a single gamble. What if they lost?
Ariel did not believe the Raging Tide Legion posed any real threat to those undead, nor would the mercenaries serving as court mages risk their lives; if the tide turned, they would likely flee faster than anyone.
Tallying it up, the only figures they could genuinely rely upon were the King of Raging Tide and Ariel herself.
Could a mere two legends contend with such formidable undead?
Yet Ariel's father did not see it that way. He could not stomach the humiliation; matters of state livelihood paled before his thunderous wrath.
Father and daughter debated for a long time. Though the king could not bring himself to scold his daughter, he remained steadfast in the conviction that his order was correct and refused to budge.
Ariel was helpless. Her father was the king after all, and she, merely a princess, possessed only the authority to advise, not to defy a royal command.
Now, her only option was to seek out Mengge Grayriver. Only by forcing him to admit he had fabricated military intelligence could she hope to make her father retract the order.
Chapter 177