novelraw Vol 3. Chapter 666: The Alchemist
Vol 3. Chapter 666: The Alchemist
The allied fleet’s temporary flagship, the Tenth Ship, charged straight into the center front of the Kouri royal fleet.
Even while Ryo had been launching his ice lances, magical artillery fire from the Kouri royal fleet had continued.
The concentration of bombardment aimed at the Tenth Ship in particular had been considerable.
Of course, every last one of them had been knocked away by the wall of ice.
In the center of the Kouri royal fleet, spread out to the left and right, there was a ship flying both the Darwei national flag and Prince Kouri’s banner.
That ship was the flagship Feidoshin.
And the Tenth Ship drove straight into it.
The two flagships collided head-on.
Naturally, one side had an ice wall deployed.
The other had the ship’s
So what occurred was a collision between invisible walls.
There was no sound.
And yet, an extremely unusual sight for a fleet battle appeared there.
At the bow of the Tenth Ship stood Ryo and the allied fleet’s top command.
At the bow of the Feidoshin stood Prince Kouri and the Kouri royal fleet’s top command.
The leaders of both sides glared at one another.
The one who first opened his mouth was not the leader on either side.
“So you are the famous Lord Rowon.”
Ryo was the one who spotted the old man standing at the bow of the Feidoshin and spoke.
“Indeed I am. Duke Rondo, it is our first meeting.”
The old man answered.
The straight-line distance between the two of them was about ten meters.
An ice wall and a
“Surrender.”
Prince Kouri said it clearly.
A natural thing to say.
And yet, hearing it, the allied fleet hesitated.
The one leading the fleet was Kabui Somal.
He had formally been granted command authority by the Emperor.
In terms of authority, he did possess the right to surrender.
But he was not a man of Darwei.
The highest-ranking Darwei man present was Captain La Wu of the Tenth Ship.
But he was, in the end, only the captain of a single ship.
He understood all too well that deciding something that might determine the entire future course of Darwei was far too great a burden for him to bear.
That was why the allied fleet hesitated.
“Ryo.”
Abel called to him in a small voice and indicated the center of the Feidoshin’s ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ deck with his chin.
The moment Ryo saw it, rage flashed across his face.
Prince Ryun was there on the Feidoshin’s deck.
Beside him were Attendant Wenshu and Captain Lu Yao.
All three of them were suppressing their frustration.
They were not bound, but men who appeared to be soldiers of Prince Kouri’s royal household army had formed a ring around them from a distance.
“Hostages...”
The words Ryo forced out were too low for even Abel to hear.
This situation had probably been calculated from the very beginning.
It had started with only twenty shots, a small number.
Then, when even a maximum-firepower bombardment had been deflected at the end, they had confirmed that Ryo, Duke Rondo, was here.
If Ryo had not been here, and they could sink the entire allied fleet... that would have been fine too.
If Ryo was here, then by showing that they held Prince Ryun hostage, they could force a surrender.
Because the Kouri camp knew that Prince Ryun and Duke Rondo were cooperating.
If they could pull out Ryo, their greatest military asset, or render him powerless...
then they could win without the situation turning into a military clash after all.
It was vile.
It was vile, but saying so would change nothing.
Because this was war.
Because this was a battlefield.
If victory could be won through the sacrifice of a few people?
Many rulers would choose it.
And Prince Kouri had made that choice.
Ryo’s guts were boiling.
He understood that he had lost the reading of the situation, and he understood that he was still not good enough.
But he would look back on that later.
What had to be done now was to protect those who had been taken captive!
<
<<...Understood.>>
Abel was startled by the sudden Soul Echo from Ryo, but he agreed.
Ryo had likely judged that even a whisper might be overheard.
To all appearances, Ryo was still facing forward, just as usual.
But Abel could tell.
His consciousness was directed elsewhere.
Most likely alchemy.
Inside his head, he was doing something alchemical... constructing or modifying a magic formula.
“Well, fine.”
Ryo had trusted Abel and asked him to buy time.
All Abel had to do was carry that out.
Once Abel steeled himself, he slowly extended one arm forward.
“Is that the path of kings in Darwei?!”
Abel’s words, carrying the dignity of a king, struck the leaders of the Kouri royal fleet.
Kabui Somal, Captain La Wu, and the others were startled by Abel’s sudden outcry.
Because Abel had suddenly shouted in front of the Prince.
But in the direction Abel was pointing...
“Prince Ryun...”
Captain La Wu murmured when he spotted Prince Ryun on the deck of the Feidoshin.
Kabui Somal knew his face as well, having attended Prince Ryun’s wedding banquet.
And he also knew that Ryun was, so to speak, Prince Kouri’s rival.
So why was he on the deck of the Kouri royal fleet’s flagship?
That is, he was a hostage.
That was what Abel pointed out.
At the same time, by flicking a finger, Abel was also signaling to Prince Ryun and the others that they understood he was being held there against his will.
Amid all this, the leaders on both sides facing one another were startled by Abel’s actions...
but aside from Ryo, there was only one man who was not surprised.
The one being denounced.
“I see.”
Prince Kouri muttered, then gave a small nod and continued.
“The bodyguard of Duke Rondo, Albert... though in some places he is called ‘Abel.’ I had heard there was a man called ‘Abel’ around Duke Rondo... he appears in the Song of the Knightley Kingdom as well. The man always accompanying Duke Rondo. Hero King Abel the First—that is who you are.”
Captain La Wu and Lord Rowon were stunned.
Kabui Somal, who had already known, was not.
“And if I am, what will you do, Prince Kouri?”
Abel’s gaze pierced Prince Kouri head-on.
It was truly the gaze of a king.
“I do not think it necessary to explain this to His Majesty Abel, the Hero King... but if the sacrifice of three can avert war, then I see no reason not to choose it.”
“Would the people truly follow a king like that? A king who makes it shameful for the people to place him upon their heads has no right to exist!”
“A difference in views, Your Majesty.”
“A country exists only because of its people!”
“No. The people exist only because there is a country. Without a country, the people cannot live.”
Prince Kouri said it plainly.
The moment he heard that, Abel understood.
He understood why Secretary Shau disliked Prince Kouri, and why Emperor Tsuin had not named him Crown Prince.
For the sake of the state, he would force sacrifice upon the people.
In practical reality, such cases do exist.
If politics is a means of pursuing the happiness of the greater number over the smaller number, then perhaps there is an unavoidable side to it.
And even so...
those involved in politics must never think that such a thing is only natural.
That was what Abel believed.
Precisely because one must look down from a great height, from the larger perspective, at one’s own country and its relations with other nations, one must always keep in mind each and every person living within it.
That, above all, was what it meant for a country to exist because of its people.
But the Prince before him...
“The people are not tools for a king to rule a country.”
The words Abel spun out were heavy—truly heavy.
Prince Kouri said nothing in response.
It was clear that Abel’s words had not moved him.
His gaze had been directed ever since toward Ryo, who had remained silent the whole time.
“I had wondered why King Abel, after Duke Rondo revealed his status, still concealed his own under the guise of a bodyguard swordsman...”
Prince Kouri continued, speaking while looking at the still-silent Ryo.
“I see now. Duke Rondo, the loyal retainer praised in the songs of minstrels. By drawing all eyes to himself, he was preventing his lord from becoming a target. Naturally, if Hero King Abel had come to Darwei, it would have caused quite a stir.”
Prince Kouri said it clearly to Ryo.
But Ryo remained silent, though his eyes were fixed ahead at Prince Kouri and the leaders of the Kouri royal fleet.
Prince Kouri found that strange.
And so did Lord Rowon.
“No...”
The instant Lord Rowon muttered that and looked toward Prince Ryun and the others at the center of the deck—
awareness returned to Ryo’s eyes.
“It’s too late now. Come forth, Neil Andersen!”
The moment Ryo chanted it, the ice submarine Neil Andersen was generated by alchemy in the center of the Feidoshin’s deck, surrounding Prince Ryun and the other two.
In other words, from the instant it was generated, Prince Ryun and the others were already inside Neil Andersen.
“It took time to modify it into such a special generation format. Abel, nice job buying time!”
“Yeah.”
Ryo gave Abel a thumbs-up in thanks, and Abel, though startled, accepted it.
Abel had expected that Ryo would save Prince Ryun and the others using alchemy.
But he had never imagined Ryo would generate Neil Andersen right on the deck of the enemy flagship.
“
Lord Rowon’s ice lances poured down on Neil Andersen.
But every one of them was deflected by Neil Andersen’s outer hull.
“From the moment it was generated, the alchemical outer shell was already active. That defense withstood even the Kraken. Want to keep testing whether you can pierce it?”
Ryo said it with a grin.
His expression was brimming with confidence.
“I see. This is hard.”
Lord Rowon frowned once, but immediately continued.
“If outside will not do, then from inside. We can simply drown them.
Lord Rowon cast the spell, but nothing happened.
“What?”
Even he frowned clearly this time.
“You tried to generate water inside Neil Andersen and drown Prince Ryun and the others to death. But that is impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Neil Andersen does not allow magic to pass through.”
“Impossible!”
For the first time since the collision, Lord Rowon openly voiced his shock.
“That cannot be!”
“That absolutely can happen.”
Ryo shot back with a smug look.
It was the fruit of Multilayered Ice, an extension of magic built upon the theoretical physics knowledge Ryo possessed from Earth.
And because of that, anyone whose knowledge was limited to that of Phi—even one who had researched magic and alchemy as deeply as Lord Rowon had—would naturally want to cry out that it was impossible.
“Horatio, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in human scholarship, that’s the point!”
“What is Horatio...?”
Ryo delivered the line like Hamlet.
Lord Rowon had no idea what he meant.
“The point is that human intellectual inquiry never stops, and as a result, apparently it becomes possible to block magic too.”
“I see.”
Lord Rowon nodded several times, as though savoring Ryo’s words.
“Interesting.”
That was a mutter.
“Interesting.”
Louder than before.
“Interesting.”
Now in a normal speaking voice.
“Truly fascinating!”
That was the voice of ecstasy...
Lord Rowon’s voice, ecstatic with joy.
“Truly fascinating, Duke Rondo! This is exactly the wonder of magic, the very summit of alchemy... the very thing that makes man what he is... to seek, to seek, and to seek still more. Ah! How splendid! To not know means that one may yet come to know! What joy! What bliss! What delight!”
“Lord Ilarion too, but people like this apparently come across as terrifying to ordinary people.”
Ryo muttered that after seeing the reactions of those around him as they looked at Lord Rowon trembling with joy.
Kabui Somal. Captain La Wu. And the others on the deck of the Feidoshin as well.
Abel, perhaps because he was used to Ilarion, wore an expression that said, Ah, there it is again.
Prince Kouri, however, did not show it on his face at all.
No—he was faintly smiling.
He likely kept Lord Rowon by his side precisely because he understood this side of him as well.
“Duke Rondo! By all means, I would dearly love for you to teach me whatever this Horatio is that you possess!”
Apparently misunderstanding something, Lord Rowon demanded it of Ryo.
“I refuse.”
Ryo naturally rejected him.
He considered clearing up the misunderstanding, but gave up.
Horatio could make the sacrifice instead.
My apologies, Shakespeare.
“Refuse? Ah, I see! If I want it, I should steal it. If I want it, I should prove my strength. Of course. To think food will be given merely because one opens one’s mouth—that is arrogance. A privilege permitted only to hatchlings... not to men. Yes, quite, quite.”
Lord Rowon exulted in delighted madness.
Ryo had already given up on a peaceful resolution.
“Lord Rowon.”
“Ah, Your Highness, this will not work. Prince Ryun, whom we had taken hostage, is inside Duke Rondo’s ice. We have no choice but to win by force.”
“Could you not seize another water-attribute magician’s magical construct?”
“Yes, Your Highness, I did indeed say that before. But that applies in the case of magic. That ice cover on the deck was produced by Duke Rondo through his own alchemy. Things created by alchemy cannot be seized.”
“I see.”
For some reason he looked pleased—
no, he was simply happy that they would be able to fight openly.
Lord Rowon explained it with a smile.
Prince Kouri frowned.
But his decision was quick.
“Then do it.”
“I knew that would be your answer!
Lord Rowon chanted again.
But once again, nothing happened.
“Lord Rowon likely tried to generate an enormous volume of water on the deck of this Tenth Ship and drown everyone here.”
“Indeed. I see—so this ice wall in front of us has also been made to block magic!”
Ryo explained calmly, and Lord Rowon, still filled with ecstatic delight, understood.
“Then that means there truly is no choice but to do this by force! ‘Celestial Cycle Ring.’”
The moment Lord Rowon spoke, Ryo looked upward.
Because the
Above them, more than a hundred somethings appeared.
The next instant, a rain of ice poured down upon the allied fleet.