Al the Aldridge Empire’s seaside resort spot, Oldrango. It was already morning the next day. Not many knew of the great turmoil that arose last night. Other than Bella and the other Demon Kings, the only ones who knew were the system-type Saviors. Unfortunately, they were annihilated by the Demon Kings and will not reappear at Oldrango City for the time being. Nobody knows that the Cursed Gate had almost descended upon this harbor resort city.
The other students from the Twelve Academies were arriving one after the other. As the trains entered the magic train station, the originally quiet Oldrango City started to bustle with the arrival of the students. Even though mages have always looked down on people from the other empires, this was a tourism spot after all; they would still welcome them enthusiastically when visitors arrive.
Right now, based on the weather, the human continent had already arrived at summer. Usually, Oldrango would be packed like sardines during this time. The tourists from their own empire and the other empires would fill the streets here. However, with the temporary restriction on the use of magical teleportation arrays, a lot of foreign tourists were left with no way to come and the magic trains would not run due to the urban legends either.
This year, the tourism income of the whole of Oldrango City would be counting on these students. It wasn’t only the students of the Twelve Academies who came, but also several well-known small and medium-sized academies as well. In nice terms, they came claiming to visit and learn. With the academies in charge of being the spectators and specializing in cheering, the students who came to Oldrango to participate in the Twelve Academy sparring exchange were not limited to just the students of the Twelve Academies.
Once everyone from the Twelve Academies has gathered, they will take a boat to Alan Island, where the exchange between the Twelve Academies would be held this year. After confirming this information, and out of distrust for the Aldridge Empire’s navy, Bella secretly sent a signal to the Demon King Coalition on New Moon Island, telling them to send a few phantom fleets over to get ready to ambush Alan Island nearby. Bella had the feeling that the Oceanic Race was definitely going to cause trouble this year, but she still had three of their princesses around, so she had good foresight on the Oceanic Race’s possible actions.
On the roof of Haydn Resort, Bella opened her bleary eyes and looked at the sky. It was currently dawn and the early morning sun was shining over the platform where the Demon Kings gathered, reducing much of the gloomy aura here. Bella was resting on a beach chair with Blood Demon King Eleanor and Sky Demon King Dolores at her sides. On the beach chairs on the other side were Ocean Demon King Victoria and Dark Night Demon King Aggy lying side by side. It was a very harmonious scene.
None of the Demon Kings were wearing anything. After Bella’s “bullying” last night, Ocean Demon King Victoria and Dark Night Demon King Aggy could not hold up their last lines of defense and obediently put aside their last bit of shame, removing the erotic lingerie pieces that were practically transparent. Bella didn’t actually do much last night either, she just held Eleanor and Dolores to sleep for a long time.
“Bella, you’re awake…Aren’t you going to sleep longer?”
“Eleanor, you guys should get rest. I’ve got something to take care of. I’ll be following my academy during these next few days.”
“Alright. I just don’t know if Cornice is going to feel depressed. If Delores and I skip work, then she’ll have to be on duty alone at the Hall of Pandemonium.”
“Don’t worry about Cornice, Eleanor. I’ve already talked to her. She’s a bit of a workaholic to begin with; she’s probably even happier than we are about getting more work!”
Sky Demon King Dolores and Underworld Demon King Cornice are both Demon Race princesses so she could understand them better. After she woke up, she helped dispel Eleanor’s worries so she didn’t have to dwell over Underworld Demon King Cornice. After Bella instructed Eleanor and Dolores to take care of Aggy and Victoria, she got up and left.
When she passed by Aggy and Victoria, Bella saw slight movements from their eyelashes. These two Demon Kings have also woken up, but they just pretended to sleep since Bella and Eleanor were talking. This little trick won’t fool Bella at all. A nasty grin appeared on Bella’s face; she lowered her head and quickly landed kisses on Aggy and Victoria’s pretty little cheeks, then she quickly fled the “scene of crime”.
“Bella, you…A sneak attack this early in the morning?!”
“That’s enough, you! Don’t leave if you dare! I…I’ll teach you a lesson!”
“You should sleep a little longer, my lazy little kittens. Remember our date! And don’t leave my side without permission, otherwise I’ll turn into a bad guy and come catch you!”
In front of Bella’s shameless tactic of running after pretending, Aggy and Victoria could do nothing, As for the nature of what it was for a Demon King to tease another Demon King, they had no idea. They could only watch Bella run off as the Demon Kings Eleanor and Dolores “surveilled” them, so they did not dare act rashly.
After the magical teleportation arrays were unavailable, the only way to get to Alan Island is by taking a boat at Oldrango City’s Port Casper, the only port close to Alan Island. Since the students heading there this time were entire schools, there were way too many students. It would originally be possible to reach there by flying Demonic Beasts, but there were too many students and the flying Demonic Beasts have been lessening in numbers recently in the Aldridge Empire, so were not enough to meet the needs of the market. They could only abandon that idea.
Alan Island does have a magical teleportation array and it was still running some time ago. However, due to the recent ban, it was temporarily halted. As for travelling by ship, the Aldridge Empire’s officials will provide free ships, but nothing free comes good. When they saw those old cargo transport ships, Bella could tell it was probably a second-hand ship that was reappropriated from a large cargo vessel. However, the forgery technique is still horrible. The new paint they slapped on haven’t even dried yet, who are they fooling with this?
Bella changed into a mage outfit and appeared in Port Casper as Grand Duke Baize. Following along with Bella to select a warship were the Renegades, Mage Ariel, Kriss, and Bella’s little sister, Dragon Knight Lisha. Incidentally, there was also Collapsing Evil Dragon Emperor Lolita who came out for a walk, dressed in a dark gothic lolita outfit and holding a small black parasol. She looks really out of place in the group. Compared to her, Kriss and the girls were wearing the conservative uniforms of Olsylvia Academy and were instead not as eye-catching.
“Hey Boss, your ships aren’t gonna work, don’t you have any better ones? The price isn’t a problem. I’ve got pretty high standards. I won’t take these second-hand ships no matter how low you’re offering them for.”
“Grand Duke Baize, that’s a difficult request, and I’m extremely sorry about that. But you see, the ships here are all locally made. A good wooden ship requires a lot of material, and we will have to import it from the Kristoff Empire in the west. We can’t import anything right now!”
Ship Owner Gaden of the port was patiently explaining to Bella. There were many Academies who would buy ships with their own money just like Bella was doing, so Bella wasn’t the first to ask. Towards the other non Aldridge Empire academies, Gaden wouldn’t have to explain so much, but not with Bella. Bella was now the Grand Duke of the Aldridge Empire, and if he didn’t explain the situation well to one of the empire’s nobles and he were pinned with the suspicion of trying to trick them, he was bound to be punished when news came to light.
Gaden explained a lot to Bella. It turns out that wood must be produced from the west of the human continent,from deep in the Kristoff Empire’s jungles, if they were to build a good ship. Due to the Aldridge Empire’s restrictions on the use of magical teleportation arrays as well as the horrific rumors plaguing the magic trains these recent years, they were unable to carry out any transportation work, resulting in high tensions in the supply of wood, so new ships were unable to be built during this period.
Bella swept a gaze around the port. All of them were second-hand wooden sailing ships temporarily fashioned from large mercantile vessels. This sort of ship was fine for nearshore transportation, but the issue is, it had little to no defense, so it would be strange if it doesn’t sink upon encountering the Oceanic Race. Bella gently climbed on the two sides of the wooden ship. It felt like the type of wood that would snap with a smack. A little force and this thing would be done for.
“Hey uh, Mr. Gaden. Do you know any fishing villages nearby? I’d like to go and have a look there. Maybe they’ll have the ship I need.”
“Well…There are, but…Grand Duke Baize, you are our Empire’s nobility so you should understand, it would be inconvenient for me to say more.”
But what made Bella speechless even more was the fact that Ship Owner Gaden’s face turned strange as soon as the fishing villages nearby were mentioned. No matter what Bella asked later, he never brought them up again, nor did he mention anything outside of Oldrango City and the locations of the fishing villages nearby. It seems like he was withholding important information from her.
Seeing that there was no valuable information she could get out of him, she could only take Lisha’s hand and leave the port. Since Gaden won’t talk, then she won’t force him. If not for Princess Ariel’s sake, she would long have thrown Gaden onto the deck of his own ship and let him experience the safety of the ship for himself.
“Bella, why don’t we just make do with it? I saw the other academies come to order ships as well.”
“No can do, Kriss! How can I let you guys go out to sea on a dangerous ship!”
Bella directly rejected Kriss’s suggestion. Since finding out from one of the Ancient Twelve Demon Kings that the Oceanic Race has been constantly attacking the human continent, Bella had a hunch that the Oceanic Race would definitely be stirring up trouble during the Twelve Academies’ exchange. But just as Bella was hesitating and considering whether she should visit a nearby fishing village, she bumped into an acquaintance near the entrance of the pier.
The little sister of the Golden Legend Society’s chairman, Student Union President Caroline of Frederica Academy, was dressed in a navy blue school uniform and was chatting cheerfully with a few girls as she walked in. A charming luster was cast on the flaxen-colored long hair draped over her shoulder under the sunlight. Caroline could sense Bella’s gaze and when she looked towards it, her smile froze on her face.
Bella’s gaze caused Caroline to surrender immediately. She excused herself from the other girls and came before Bella alone. Even though she was the Student Union President of Frederica Academy, Caroline kept no secrets from Bella, whom she had been pushed by plenty of times. It wasn’t just Caroline. Back then, at New Moon Island, the entire Frederica Academy’s cast of beauties was bullied into submission by her.
When Bella saved her from the hands of the ogres, she also had her way with her a few times, so Caroline has already completely submitted to her now. Even if Bella has changed into a mage outfit, she could still recognize her. Caroline did not dare to pretend she did not see Bella, and so she came over very obediently.
“Mis…Bella, you’re here as well! Did you need anything from me?”
“Caroline, long time no see. You seem to have grown a lot again. From the looks of things I’ll need to find some time so I can get to have a deeper chat with you.”
“Bella, it’s still early, better not. What about at night…”
“Alright, let’s talk business first. Caroline, we can discuss this again once we arrive at Alan Island.”
Frederica Academy is one of the Twelve Academies of the human continent, located in the port city of Freka, southeast of the Aldridge Empire. They were considered one of the local academies. Their academy was more adept at sea navigation and maritime commerce, but not so much magic. In terms of strength, Frederica is ranked at the bottom of the Twelve Academies, and so half of them have come this time as spectators.
From Caroline, Bella was able to learn important information. Most of the fishing villages outside of Oldrango City have been attacked by the Oceanic Race; now only a few of them could provide ships. The Aldridge Empire has long silenced this piece of news, but Caroline knew more about the situation due to her participation in maritime trade.
After a brief exchange of information with Caroline, Bella brought the girls to the easternmost fishing village of Robin. Due to Bella’s identity as a Grand Duke, the soldiers stationed at the gates of Oldrango City did not dare to stop her and could only let them go. Right now, Oldrango City has actually implemented a gating policy that restricts general students from leaving the city. President Caroline knew the terror of Bella’s ability, so she did not need to remind her to be careful.
When Bella and the girls arrived at Robin Village, she realized that this is no fishing village, this was simply a battlefield. You could see the red of flames from a good distance away. The entirety of Robin Village had been set on fire with dense smoke clouds all over the place. Charred remains could be seen all over the ruins of the village. The deaths were tragic. The hands of many of the dead were facing up, pointing straight at the sky, as if to express their dismay at their sudden death.
Bella remembered to ask the guards at the city before setting off to see what was up with the smoke outside the city. During that time, the soldiers said with serious faces that it was smoke from the cooking endeavors happening at the villages. But isn’t that smoke a bit too big? It could practically cover up the entirety of the sky over in that direction.
The fleet that attacked Robin Village was stopped on the waters nearby. They were raining down magic cannonballs at Robin Village. The scale of this fleet was no worse than the Bella’s Demon King Coalition during the war on the Beastman continent. They were deep sea warships painted black and outfitted with dozens of magic-guided cannons.
The ones fighting with the Oceanic Race are a small division of the Aldridge Empire’s eighteenth legion from the eastern garrison of the Aldridge Empire stationed at Robin Village, as well as mercenary troops recruited from the Mercenary Union and the private armies of the small and medium noble families near Oldrango City who came to offer support. The troops totalled around a hundred thousand men. The invading Oceanic Race numbered only about several tens of thousands, but relying on their superior equipment, they were actually able to defeat the combined army of over a hundred thousand men without leaving them any chance to fight back.
The high-ranking mages of the Aldridge Empire have all been moved to Alan Island so there were no high-ranking mages here. Other than holding up defensive barriers against the Oceanic Race’s cannons, they were unable to make any effective attacks against the fleet far away at sea. Their magic control was not effective enough for them to shoot any projectiles to such a far location. The Empire’s navy did not have cannons either, so faced with the Oceanic Race’s fleet equipped with magic-guiding cannons, they didn’t dare to come seek death.
“Hm? The deep sea fleet’s ship doesn’t look too bad? Jackpot. We were just worrying about whether we’d find a warship, so Kriss, let’s go and seize those ships!”
“Yes, Bella. We’ll take your lead.”
Bella and the girls took a side path and passed the outer edge of Robin Village without being seen by the human empire’s coalition soldiers stationed here. Moreover, Ariel and Bella’s identities were currently those of the Empire’s princess and grand duke. The Aldridge Empire’s army would not let the powerful people of their own Empire come into harm and will definitely step in to stop Bella and the girls from heading to the frontline, so it’s better to avoid them for now.
On the deck of the Oceanic Race’s allied fleet’s flagship, “Black Pearl”, Ocean General Sinir was commanding his men to shell the humans’ positions. They heard that the Nation of Arcana was going to be difficult to deal with, but now it seems those were just rumors. In fact, the human navy did not even have the courage to head to sea to fight them.
Ocean General Sinir stands more than two meters tall and was wearing black deep sea armor. He looked more like a warrior of a magic tribe. Behind him was a huge black greatsword still stained with blood. Who knows which unlucky guy left that behind.
“These humans are too weak; this isn’t interesting at all. We’ll go straight to Port Casper and blast that later. It doesn’t seem like occupying Oldrango is going to be much of a problem either!”
“The General is wise. These humans are simply cowards.”
The warships that were originally moving were suddenly locked in place. Many of the Oceanic Race soldiers could not steady themselves and fell over on the deck. The entire fleet of a dozen warships at sea was stuck in place as the surface of the ocean around them was completely frozen. Most of the magic-guiding cannons were fire types, so they were half paralyzed as seen when the cold breeze blew over. If the human army had been equipped with cannons, then that Oceanic Race’s fleet would only be able to wait for death.
“What’s going on here? The holy magic mentors of the humans clearly aren’t supposed to be here.”
“Sorry big guy, but I’ll be confiscating this ship.”
