Chapter 146: Chapter 146

Just because King Leor had committed suicide did not mean the bloodline of the Kalun royal family was completely severed.

This was because Prince Bezek, who had remained the heir for over forty-five years thanks to his long-lived father, and his relatives had boarded ships and fled, scattering in all directions like rats.

Of course, there was little chance that these royal family members who had fled across the Southern Sea would cause any major problems.

Their forces consisted of merely a few dozen attendants, and the loyalist lords who ought to have aided them had seen their strength miserably shrivel up due to the war with Pendia.

Even now, throughout the Southern Sea, weakened loyalist lords were being savaged by packs of jackals who had defied the royal family’s summons.

Those who had expanded their power in such a manner would never leave the descendants of the old royal family alone.

For the return of the king meant the return of the privileges and vested interests they had taken for themselves.

Thus, after securing the Pirate King’s palace, rather than bothering to hunt down those royal bloodlines, Shan first checked whether there was anything worth taking among what remained inside the palace and the capital.

Although the most valuable wealth had already been packed up and carried away as they fled, there were still usable items remaining.

Even as a king, he must have needed to leave behind at least enough wealth to bestow upon his army in the event of victory.

“A shattered jade throne… Ah, what a waste. Maybe it would have been better not to cut it.”

“Five crowns of former Pirate Kings.”

“Twenty-five black pearls.”

“Fifteen suits of plate armor.”

He received help from other knights in organizing and managing the treasure that was brought out.

Since Roden was unable to come here due to managing Licharzo Island, the final oversight fell upon Shan himself.

Poring over ledgers and matching them with the items was undeniably tedious and exhausting work.

Meanwhile, he also had to secure and analyze various confidential documents left within the palace.

Most were ordinary administrative documents, but after sifting through the archived letters for a while, he could roughly deduce what had triggered this Ruman-Pendia war.

Having suffered a crushing defeat after intervening in the Pendian civil war, the Ruman royal house had faced serious challenges from its nobility.

There were proposals to manipulate pirates to create tension with Pendia, thereby shaping public opinion within the kingdom to restore the lost authority of the royal house.

Numerous accounts were written, including their flustered reactions when Pendia (which ought to have been busy recovering from the damages of civil war) aggressively took up the challenge.

Of course, Shan did not handle all these tasks entirely by himself.

Sorting out the priorities of what had to be done first, informing him of the current situation while offering appropriate advice.

And even reading out the contents of letters and explaining their underlying implications.

While he devoted himself to the work alone, a single spider kept inside a box proved to be of immense help.

Cheryn grumbled that she had plenty of work to do on her end as well, yet she actively assisted Shan and taught him how to handle several tasks on his own.

Naturally, those who were unaware of this regarded this administrative capability entirely as Shan’s own skill.

Since the only communication device they had brought along had been handed over to Roden, there was no way for them to know that Shan was secretly receiving help from elsewhere.

“The Lord Protector is unexpectedly skilled at administrative work.”

“Indeed. Honestly, I thought he just left everything to his close aides…”

In particular, those who had become comrades for the first time upon venturing out to the Southern Sea (such as Sir Polk of Libert or Admiral Giznu) showed considerable surprise.

For in their eyes, compared to his outstanding martial prowess, Shan did not seem particularly sharp-minded.

Still, seeing the recent battle for the capital, he did not seem lacking in strategic insight, but such things were originally closer to the realm of instinct and intuition rather than knowledge.

“It’s just that the Lord Protector doesn’t like doing such work; once he actually gets to it, he handles it well.”

“That’s right. I heard that back in the day, he practically established half of the administrative system in the Shedil region.”

Those who had experienced the Pendian civil war alongside Shan in the past and seen him govern in the Shedil region defended him in such a manner.

It was natural for people who had personally witnessed him effortlessly create and implement a new administrative system back when there were no communication devices.

While the superiors were thus hard at work, the Pendian army roamed across the vast Yezor Island, exercising the rights of conquerors.

Of course, the honorable warriors of Pendia did not kill people for amusement, nor did they randomly pounce on and violate women wearing skirts.

Not only would this earn them the hatred of the occupied population, but the soldiers becoming accustomed to unrestrained violence and sadistic acts would negatively affect discipline itself.

Furthermore, such discipline also served to instill a sense of ethics and superiority…’we are different from those cruel and violent Ruman pirates.’

Providing a rationalizing excuse that ‘because we are ethical and righteous, it is acceptable to kill an evil opponent’ was of great help in reducing the mental trauma caused by battle.

The mercenaries from Libert and the reinforcements of Count of Meln were well aware of this fact as well.

Because back on Licharzo Island, after issuing a personal warning, Shan had repeatedly beheaded those who committed such acts.

However, knowing that suppressing desires unconditionally could cause them to explode, they had to grant a certain degree of leeway.

“Bwahahaha!”

“Pour another glass, sweetheart!”

The strong liquor requisitioned from all the alcohol storehouses in the capital was enough to drown thousands of soldiers in alcohol.

Moreover, prostitutes in the slums who had hidden to evade the Ruman King’s conscription, as well as women who had fled and survived the disgraceful battle outside the castle but were left with neither money nor food, sold their smiles and bodies for a few loaves of bread.

Regardless, they were soldiers who had conquered an entire kingdom.

Ever since the fall of the ancient Arman Empire and the four Grand Dukes declaring independence, wars among them had been frequent, but capturing a capital city was a rare occurrence.

If they had accomplished a difficult feat, there naturally had to be rewards suited to it.

Thus passed ten days.

Just as he was wrapping up his tasks, Shan received word from the forces near the warships anchored at the northern port.

Envoys sent by the nobles of Ruman were seeking him out.

They were not loyalists of the royal family, but those who had made a pact with Cheryn and watched from behind the scenes.

Communicating with Shan as the proxy of the Queen, they wished to discuss the future of the Ruman Archipelago.

After having them summoned to the capital, Shan issued an order to his army.

“All forces are to withdraw outside the capital immediately and encamp there. Also, advise the remaining citizens in the capital to leave.”

Receiving the command, the knight bowed respectfully.

*

“It is here.”

“Here? Not the King’s palace… no, not even a grand mansion within the capital?”

“Yes.”

“Heh, why on earth is the Duke of Pendia staying in a place like this?”

“It seems he fears his body might grow dull in comfortable quarters. Aren’t all true warriors like that?”

Guided by the Pendian soldier, the Ruman nobles’ envoys grimaced as they chattered among themselves.

Having conquered the capital not long ago, they had assumed he would naturally be residing in the King’s palace, but the location where they had been invited was an encampment tent outside the capital.

For some unknown reason, instead of entering and stationing inside the capital, the Pendian forces were staying in tents pitched about a hundred meters outside the city walls.

Perhaps because they had only recently begun staying there, the tents were neat and showed no signs of weathering from wind and rain.

Beside them stood dozens of neatly packed supply wagons, the result of thoroughly searching through the royal palace, noble mansions, and even the residences of the wealthy merchant class.

Even though the powerful had fled beforehand taking the most expensive items with them, the haul was immense.

The faces of the soldiers, who had enjoyed themselves and relieved their accumulated fatigue during that time, held a mixture of pleasure and lingering regret.

Since asking a mere soldier why they were out here doing this would be meaningless, the envoys followed the guide inside the tent and respectfully greeted the man seated within.

“It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Your Grace Duke Velakar. I am the envoy sent by Marquis Doble.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Lord Protector. I am Meken, cousin and envoy to Count of Altia.”

“The ruler of Linje Island wishes to send his regards.”

The envoys, who had come from various islands of Ruman, subtly raised their heads to observe the man who had destroyed their royal house.

The green-eyed young man who was not even twenty years old yet was dressed in vermilion silk garments, white trousers, and black shoes, with a golden cuirass draped over his upper body.

His tall stature and slender yet well-toned frame gave off the impression of an outstanding warrior, but his large, slightly drooping eyes that gave a gentle appearance seemed ill-suited for the nickname notorious in the Southern Sea as a nightmare, the Silver Snake.

However, a strange intimidation flowed from the gaze that quietly looked down upon them as he sat.

A feeling as if one’s heart were tightening, as though facing a predator that would devour them the moment they looked away for even a second…

“You must have suffered coming from so far away. Everyone, take a seat.”

After breaking into a cold sweat from that peculiar pressure for a moment, the envoys politely sat on the opposite side according to his instructions.

Having received and partaken of bread, salt, and water in accordance with etiquette, they brought up their business right away.

“Our masters wish to discuss what follows now that the war has ended.”

During the war between Pendia and Ruman, Cheryn had promised them independent authority.

Since it was too distant a location for her to govern anyway, instead of direct rule, she allowed the Ruman nobles to form an autonomous council of their own.

In return, the Queen was to possess several islands in northern Ruman close to Pendia, including Licharzo Island.

The key issue here was the treatment of this very place, Yezor Island.

This island was located too far south for Pendia to claim, yet it was far too large and well-developed to simply leave alone.

Since ancient times, during the Ruman Kingdom and the Arman Empire, as the direct domain of the Grand Duke of Ruman, it possessed immense tangible and intangible value, so whoever claimed this island could dream of becoming the new lord of the Southern Sea.

This was uncomfortable for the Ruman nobles who disliked having a superior over them once more, nor was it something the Pendian royal house desired.

However, regarding this matter, Cheryn had consistently avoided specific mentions.

Since communication via magic communication devices allowed one to delay responses as long as desired by claiming it took time to receive contact from the other end, those who grew frustrated had ultimately come in person.

Having heard this background story, Shan nodded.

“I see.”

“That is why we speak of this, but according to customary law based on ancient bloodlines, Yezor Island belongs to our house…”

“Are you showing off now because you’re related to the royal family?”

“Please hear us out, Your Grace. If you entrust the governance of Yezor Island to our house…”

The envoys attempted to persuade Shan using different methods.

From those bringing up ancient laws, to those promising various concessions, and even those trying to convince him that having themselves take it was best from a political standpoint.

Shan listened quietly to their words before raising his hand.

Although it was not a large gesture, the envoys who had been noisily chattering fell silent all at once.

“As it happens, I have previously communicated with Her Majesty the Queen regarding that. I do hope you find this outcome satisfactory.”

Saying so, Shan handed them a document he had prepared in advance.

Written upon it was a proposal to divide Yezor Island into several sectors and govern them jointly.

Because the island was so large, even each divided portion was roughly the size of a small domain.

Despite being partitioned quite plausibly to suit their respective standing, the envoys who saw it grimaced.

“Pardon my rudeness, Your Grace, but it is not stated who will claim the capital town where the royal palace is located.”

The most valuable place on Yezor Island was precisely this capital town, Yezor City.

From various historic religious buildings to production facilities that absorbed and reprocessed all kinds of raw materials from the Southern Sea, as well as the largest shipyard in the Southern Sea, all were located here.

From the mountains situated in the southwest, a grand river flowed past Yezor City into the eastern sea, and since ancient times, the people of this region had built shipyards along the riverbank to construct and launch ships down the river.

There was even a joke that half of the pirate ships in the Southern Sea were built here, so even combining all nearby towns would likely not match the value of this place.

One envoy asked with a suspicious gaze.

“Do you perhaps mean that Pendia intends to manage it directly?”

Of course, this was an unrealistic idea.

Because even with favorable winds and currents, taking a ship from Beshalia to here took over half a month.

Furthermore, doing so would turn all the lords who had not participated in this war into enemies.

Even if they did not attack directly, they would relentlessly strike passing ships under the guise of pirates, so deploying troops to defend against this while operating the island would be a losing proposition no matter how one considered it.

That was why Shan and Cheryn had already agreed on how to handle this.

“No, I mean that it seems no one’s rule will be necessary.”

“What on earth do you mean by that…”

“It seems time is about up, so shall we step outside?”

Instead of answering their question, Shan stood up and walked out of the tent, and the bewildered envoys followed behind him.

Stepping outside, they realized that the smell of something burning was wafting from far away.

“This is…?”

Black smoke was rising above the capital’s castle walls hundreds of meters away.

Far too much to be smoke from baking bread.

Moreover, cavalrymen on horseback were hastily rushing out through the open castle gates, every one of them covered in soot.

A knight who counted the numbers up to the last cavalryman rushing out approached Shan and reported.

“It is finished, Your Grace.”

“Has the evacuation of the citizens finished?”

“Yes. Although we could not verify if everyone has left…”

“That is enough. We cannot let our soldiers be harmed by worrying about those who failed to evacuate despite advance notice. You’ve worked hard, so have everyone wash up and rest.”

“Um, excuse me, Your Grace. What on earth is happening?”

Although knowing it was impolite to interrupt and ask, he simply could not refrain from asking.

The faces of all the envoys, including the one who asked, had turned pale white.

Because, in truth, every one of them knew what was taking place right now.

They merely had not wanted it confirmed.

Shan turned to look at them and spoke with an expressionless face as if delivering a sentence.

“It seemed that if any single person claimed this prosperous city, the brotherhood of the Ruman Noble Council would shatter. On the other hand, it is too far for us to manage, as I mentioned earlier. So I decided to destroy it. If no single person should have it, it is better that no one has it.”

Over the past week, even while eating, drinking, and idling, the soldiers had consistently secured large quantities of oil and strong liquor from various warehouses in the city and positioned them everywhere.

Furthermore, substances like tar used in shipbuilding were also helpful.

And just a moment ago, after issuing the final evacuation order, the cavalrymen had hurled dozens of torches across the entire city starting from the innermost royal palace before coming out.

Since they had not used some sort of purifying flame, a few stone structures like the royal palace or mansions would at least retain their shapes, but wooden buildings would all burn away into nothingness.

The shipyard, which had been their pride, would likewise leave behind not even a trace.

At the news that the largest city in the Southern Sea, home to nearly a hundred and several tens of thousands of people, had been reduced to ashes, everyone’s jaw dropped open.

Finding that sight amusing, Shan chuckled and spoke.

“Still, the castle walls will remain, so if you wish to possess a city with nothing left but ashes, consult amongst yourselves and anyone may take it. I won’t stop you.”

*

At the staggering idea of burning down an entire kingdom’s capital, the envoys, unsure of how to respond, simply turned around and left.

Had Pendia claimed it for themselves, they could have lodged some sort of protest, but when he declared he would fairly ensure no one could have it, how on earth could they protest?

If it had been before the deed was done, they might at least have offered some proposal, but once the fire was set, even the perpetrator could not undo it, so speaking would be useless.

After wrapping up the organization, Shan returned to the northern port and loaded the soldiers and massive amounts of supplies.

Since they had received several transport ships brought along by the envoys during their visit, their transport capacity was sufficient.

What little space was lacking could be secured by unloading and dismantling the siege weapons used this time.

Since most of them were made of wood, they simply set fire to them.

“We’re playing with fire quite a lot today.”

“I hope I don’t wet the bed in my sleep.”

Setting them ablaze with torches, the soldiers snickered among themselves.

After confirming that everyone had boarded at last, Shan issued the order to set sail toward the north.

Now it was time to return to Pendia.