Had Anbaixiu been here, he certainly would have seen Ariel in a new light.
Not seeing her for such a short while, and she had already learned to haggle? Before this, she had been nothing more than a barbarian who knew only how to swing a hammer.
Truly, only experience could make a person grow.
Hastings was in no rush either. Maintaining a genial smile, he said to Ariel, "The Raging Tide Kingdom reigns supreme upon the seas, so naturally you have no need for these. But others do, don't they? Those Ryan soldiers, for instance—I believe they will be in desperate need of an airship like this."
Ariel glared at Hastings, her hand resting on her iron warhammer as crackling arcs of lightning began spreading up her forearm.
"Are you saying you intend to sell your equipment to my enemies?" Ariel said menacingly. "Do you know what the consequences of that would be?"
Hastings did not back down in the slightest. "Your Highness, my master is a businessman; there is no reason for him to turn away profit. I am merely a servant he created, so venting your anger on me serves no purpose. Perhaps your warhammer could smash me to pieces and destroy this Black Tide, but if you do, you will have to face my master's wrath.
"I trust you have already seen what became of the Githyanki. Have you thought it through, Your Highness? Do you truly wish to pit the Raging Tide Kingdom against my master?"
Back when Anbaixiu fought the Githyanki, Hastings was visiting the Raging Tide Kingdom as a guest. He had brought out a magic mirror and treated the kingdom's entire upper echelon to quite a spectacular show.
When that celestial rain of meteors plummeted from the sky, even those proud sea-dwellers who called themselves the Children of the Storm turned pale.
If such a meteor swarm were to descend upon the Raging Tide Kingdom's fleet, they truly would stand no chance of withstanding it.
Recalling that terrifying meteor shower, the lightning dancing across Ariel's body swiftly receded, and a faint smile broke across her icy face.
"Haha, just a joke. In the midst of violent tempests, only true warriors can carve out a chance of survival. Your courage earns my respect, and I am sure the Lord of Storms would recognize your bravery as well. Since that is the case, why don't we head back and talk this over at leisure? This is a major transaction, so it's best to let the ones in charge of our treasury discuss it with you."
Hastings breathed a quiet sigh of relief and hurriedly offered an ingratiating smile. "Of course. Her Highness's recognition is my greatest honor. It is a pity my brother is not here; he is far better at telling jokes to lighten the mood.
"A rough fellow like me lacks manners in speech, so please do not take offense, Your Highness. I misspoke just now, so out of my own pocket, I will offer Your Highness a buy-ten-get-one-free discount. Furthermore, regardless of whether the deal goes through, I will present Your Highness with two magic mirrors free of charge. What do you think?"
One could hardly blame Hastings for yielding. The princess before him was a legend. When he had first arrived in the Raging Tide Kingdom, he had seen Ariel leading an expedition out to sea to hunt sea monsters.
The lightning bursting from that warhammer was potent enough to blow the Black Tide out of the sky.
Had Ariel been just a fraction more reckless, Hastings would have met his end right then and there. Unlike his master, he had no phylactery to grant him rebirth.
Yet while Hastings lacked personal strength, his backing was formidable beyond measure. The name of that lord lich carried far more weight than the Black Tide itself, enough to force even this princess of the Raging Tide to yield.
Naturally, Hastings seized the moment to show goodwill. In truth, the magic mirrors were meant to be given away as gifts all along, and the bottom-line price Anbaixiu had set was thirty percent off the retail price. When Hastings quoted the cost earlier, he had made an exorbitant demand, doubling the original price outright.
Even after offering a buy-ten-get-one-free deal, he would still easily fulfill his master's orders.
Ariel seemed quite pleased with Hastings's attitude and smiled. "Then you have my thanks."
The Black Tide soared back toward the Raging Tide Kingdom. Ariel reverted to her aloof, stony demeanor, resembling a sculpture carved from an iceberg.
Only Ariel herself knew how fiercely she had just been restraining herself.
Given her usual temperament, the moment Hastings dared to threaten her, her warhammer would have crushed his skull.
Ariel had never been good at debating with words; she preferred reasoning with cold iron.
Yet now, she was the only one left in the Raging Tide Kingdom capable of handling such matters. If even she could not keep her temper under control, the kingdom would truly be beyond saving.
Ariel reached into her collar and drew out a necklace. Suspended from a coarse wire hung a small crystal pendant containing a pinch of gray ash—the remains of the man who had exhausted his mind and soul for the kingdom before reducing to dust.
Ariel cursed in silent fury, *Damn you, Mengge! You said you would return! Come back already! You are the only one who can deal with this kind of nonsense, and I am losing my mind! If you don't return soon, I swear I'll smash your head open!*
After venting her frustration, Ariel tucked the pendant back against her chest.
The world was teetering on the brink of chaos, and the Raging Tide Kingdom had to be prepared. She, Ariel, had to prepare the kingdom for what was to come.
The Black Tide slowly descended before the royal palace. Whenever such a colossal behemoth appeared, it never failed to draw gasps of wonder from the people of the Raging Tide Kingdom.
Ariel made her way back into the palace, while Hastings remained aboard the Black Tide, awaiting the kingdom's negotiators to discuss the transaction. As soon as Ariel returned, the old king rushed forward eagerly and asked, "How did it go? Did those Ryan soldiers truly set sail?!"
Ariel nodded and handed the memory crystals over to the old king.
After viewing the footage recorded in the memory crystals, the old man burst into hearty laughter. "Praise Talos! How dare these landlubbers venture out to sea like that? Ariel, the time for vengeance has come! The Lord of Storms will be most pleased with this sacrifice!"
Not only were their ships dreadfully slow, but their tactics were utterly laughable.
It was only because pirates were so inept that the Ryan soldiers had managed to bully them. Had they run into the Raging Tide Kingdom's fleet, those Ryan troops would have suffered catastrophic losses.
However, Ariel shook her head. "No, Father, we should not launch a direct assault. Didn't you notice? They have far too many legends."
"Legends?" The old king truly had not paid attention to that.
Ariel reeled them off from memory. "Radiant General Cyril Roland, Shield of Glory Lucas, and Hammer of Justice Taric. All three are renowned paladins of Ryan. Against those three joining forces alone, we are no match."
The old king protested heatedly, "This is on the sea! Storms and raging tides are our allies! No matter how formidable those landlubbers are, once they fall into the water, they are nothing more than helpless sunfish!"
Ariel pressed on, "And how do you propose to make them fall into the water? Father, didn't you look closely? The ships are crammed full of Ryan soldiers, leaving no space in the holds. That means their supplies are delivered daily through teleportation arrays. If they encounter fatal danger, do you think their teleportation arrays won't just ferry them back to land?
"How many troops would we have to sacrifice just to force them into a desperate corner? And during that struggle, how many soldiers of our kingdom would those legendary paladins butcher? Father, sacrificing our people's lives just to watch them flee back to the mainland is simply not worth it!"
"Transporting supplies through teleportation arrays?" The old king's eyes went wide. The cost of such an endeavor was staggering.
Erecting any teleportation array demanded vast quantities of magic gemstones and rare reagents. Every single activation caused wear and tear, necessitating dedicated mages to maintain them and an endless stream of resources for repairs.
While using such methods for logistical transport was undeniably convenient, the sheer cost was enough to bankrupt the entire Raging Tide Kingdom.
Those Ryan people were truly filthy rich.
He had been so engrossed in mocking their clumsy display that he had missed those crucial details entirely. His daughter truly had the sharper eye to spot such things.
"Then what do you propose we do? We can't just watch our enemies strut around so brazenly—"
Ariel shook her head. "Senseless impulsiveness will only bring equally senseless sacrifice. Father, my advice is to herd those pirate crews to harass the Ryan ships, wearing down their energy as much as possible. At the same time, we should try to lure them into the Sea of Thunder and let the horrors within deal with them."
The Sea of Thunder was a stretch of water shrouded year-round in tempests, home to countless mutated sea monsters—including gargantuan beasts of legendary rank. That would be more than enough to teach the Ryan forces a brutal lesson.
The old king wanted to argue that such revenge felt too half-hearted. If the Ryan ships refused to enter the Sea of Thunder, what threat could mere pirates pose to them?
Yet, seeing his daughter's weary expression, the old king could only sigh. "Very well, we will do as you say. Ariel, go get some rest if you have a moment. You have been pushing yourself too hard lately."
Ariel shook her head. "There is too much to do. That lich's envoy is still waiting for our response. I have witnessed the power of the Black Tide firsthand; it vastly surpasses all of our warships. It is a formidable weapon that will rewrite the rules of naval warfare. We must seize this opportunity, even if we cannot readily afford the price."
Exhausted, Ariel turned and left the palace. She still had to consult with the minister of finance to see just how much gold the Raging Tide Kingdom could scrape together.
The old king watched Ariel's retreating figure and sighed, shaking his head.
Ever since Ariel had returned from the Emerald Dream Forest, she had become a completely different person. In the past, her temperament had resembled a crack of thunder—boisterous and loud, yet cheerful every single day. Now, Ariel rarely smiled, her thoughts weighed down by meticulous care.
She had begun unearthing all the messy, neglected problems within the kingdom. While solutions could not be found overnight, dragging those issues into the light gave the kingdom a fighting chance to change for the better.
Moreover, the Lord of Storms, Talos, had granted an unprecedented blessing, bestowing upon Ariel an artifact—the iron warhammer hanging at her waist.
Receiving a divine blessing was certainly a wondrous thing, but the old king felt his daughter bore far too heavy a burden. To make matters worse, the Raging Tide Kingdom was devoid of capable talent who could share her load. If only Mengge Grayriver were still alive; from the first moment he saw him, he had felt that young man would make a fine son-in-law.
If there were a sharp mind to handle all these tedious affairs, Ariel would only need to unleash her thunderous might in battle. How blissful her life would be then.
*Perhaps... I should find her another husband? I refuse to believe Mengge Grayriver was the only clever man in this world.*
The old king hurriedly knelt before the statue of the Lord of Storms, praying devoutly, "Praise Talos! Let your lightning become a messenger, and let your tempests serve as a ferry, guiding a fitting and brilliant man right before Ariel!"
Chapter 392