Surviving The Fourth Calamity

The King of Yinbutu originally intended to act personally... Although it seemed that the status was not equal, the highest commander of the Teraxil Elves held no official position and was merely a mercenary reliant on the Lord of Agleya for living.

But even the most foolish King Toril would show his most understanding side when facing the highest commander who could lead an army of tens of millions of high-level Professionals.

Of course, his mood must have been complicated, as such a powerful commander and army would always make one regret that they did not belong to his own country... but also secretly grateful.

However, after he saw the few remaining three-masted ships of his country, he despaired... He! The ruler of the mighty Yinbutu Kingdom, was he supposed to meet people in a cargo ship?

The King of Yinbutu locked himself in the palace on the outskirts of the city, refusing to meet any minister pleading with him to abandon his kingly pride.

The dignity inherited from his millennium-old dynasty allowed him only to mourn in his bedroom, almost refusing food and water every day... Indeed, under the persuasion of his beloved lover, although His Majesty did not eat much for meals, he managed to endure the pain and eat a few small sandwiches handmade by his lover each day.

Faced with the King who suddenly transformed into a sensitive little princess, the ministers of Yinbutu were initially flustered, and even the Queen, who had long been separated from him, was alarmed... If he really died, the Queen had to hurry over, lest her son's right to the throne be lost.

But after confirming exactly what those sandwiches were, everyone fell silent... The King always had a broad range of interests, and this time his lover was a certain Pearl Diver Girl... The sea floor near Meteor Sea is the Water Elves' domain, so although the underwater wealth is enticing, even Water Mages dare not venture into the Deep Sea.

However, if they are pure young girls, the Water Elves would spare them, so the beaches of Yinbutu are almost always filled with girls working in the water... Over time, the fisher girls by the sea easily awaken some Water-affinity Talents.

In terms of their beauty, the water-like beauties look quite appealing; after all, their skin is good, their figures are healthy and well-toned, and they can earn money, making them very popular among the commoners. Many hope to marry a Pearl Diver Girl.

But to the Nobles, their common beauty is insignificant... The wild beauty preferred by the Nobles is not this sort. Yinbutu has a Queen of Succubus!

The beauties popular in Yinbutu's high society are fair-skinned, beautiful, slender, and graceful, brimming with amorous affection as they cast their eyes. A healthy figure capable of labor was never in the Nobles' appreciation range.

So to bring a fisher girl into the palace and shower her with unabated favor, this is the first among Yinbutu's historical kings.

The reason why the Queen thoroughly turned against the King was indeed related to the identity of the King's lover... Previously, with those Countesses and Marchionesses, she played along with jealousy as a form of style, but a fisher girl?

Putting them together was a humiliation for the Queen.

But the King simply loved his little lover's candidness and sincerity, so even if the sandwiches she was good at did not taste very good, he ate them determinedly... He did not realize why he was not hungry at all and even seemed to have gained weight.

Even though they may have some Water-affinity Talent, constantly soaking in seawater exhausts the Pearl Diver Girls' physical strength greatly, so they must carry food to replenish their energy. However, they have no storage space, so the food must be as small as possible.

Thus, they eventually used the simplest method to make these sandwiches: the outer bread was actually made by mixing Nutrition Beads with fish and pork, then stirred into flour to make a dough.

Inside, besides butter, there was a thick layer of Kalinsan green cheese... The Kalinsanians added green curry to the cheese giving it an extra kick and making it easier to preserve, so it would not spoil even if they stayed in water for days.

Then there was a piece of thinly sliced roasted Los Beast rib meat... A pound of deboned meat was hammered to paper-thinness, coated with honey and various herbs, and slowly roasted over an open flame.

Although such sandwiches do not taste very good, just a small piece provides enough calories to endure the cold and pressure of the Deep Sea.

When the hastily arriving Queen confirmed what exactly her foolish husband's snacks were, which he howled and complained he couldn't eat, the proud Queen almost cursed out loud in front of all the Nobles and ministers.

But she did not waste the trip from her charming, beautiful favorites from the manor in the south of the city to the palace in the east. After confirming that the King absolutely refused to forgo his pride, she directly summoned her son, the Third Prince... Though she was the King's first Queen, her son could only be the Third Prince. That she had not directly overthrown the King could only be blamed on her family's insufficient power.

Grumblings, she forced the King to set up her son as the Crown Prince Regent... Once this title was conferred, even if the King regretted it later, he could not retract this Prince's right of succession unless all of Yinbutu's Nobles agreed.

The Queen did not believe such a thing would happen.

After pushing her son to a position just one step away from the throne, the Queen gracefully left the palace... Let the King of Yinbutu die hugging his pillow in his bed!

That kind of sandwich, a normal person would likely gain five pounds by eating just one piece.

So even though the Prince standing on the three-masted ship communicating with the 'Snow Cloud Peak' looked a bit miserable... it's just that these ships were a tad too old. Although the sails and other parts were well-covered with silk, no one could ignore the creaking sounds of wooden planks colliding in the sea breeze... but he was indeed the highest authority in Yinbutu at present.

One look at this prince's living environment revealed it to be quite harsh. He still looked like a teenager, yet he could engage in a wonderful conversation with 'Snow Cloud Peak'... Dealing with the full-power Snow Old Dog was not easy.

The Undead Command Group standing behind 'Snow Cloud Peak' almost all looked at him with admiration... Occasionally, someone would mutter in low voice: "How miserable must this child's growing environment be?"

"Dad doesn't care, mom doesn't love him, a bunch of brothers are the basic setup, right?"

"The standard components of palace intrigue stories?"

Even though Horace Sal Yinbutu, the Crown Prince Regent, occasionally overheard these whispers floating over, he continued communicating with the elven commander ahead without changing expression.

He hadn't considered pressing the price down... No matter how naturally relaxed elves are, those able to command an army wouldn't have such obvious weaknesses, not to mention that the other party was commanding millions.

However, Yinbutu still had to consider the issues of future reconstruction, so bargaining was necessary.

He had already inquired about prices from Suldofir Pasha, the only Kalinsanian to have had economic dealings with the Teraxil Elves. Prince Horace only hoped his quoted price wouldn't be higher than that group's.

Although Prince Horace performed exceptionally well, 'Snow Cloud Peak' still ascertained the other party's bottom line... If it was about non-enchanted buildings, that price was certainly acceptable.

The quote for The Great Wall on Alamir Mountain was already not low, and after confirming that Vila wasn't interested in Suldofir back then, they were too lazy to work for those Kalinsanians, and the enchanted quote was doubled.

If the Magic Great Wall in Mil Forest were according to that price, Queen Vila probably would have cried herself back to Agleya for help long ago.

Under conditions of somewhat unequal information exchange, both 'Snow Cloud Peak' and Prince Horace obtained satisfactory results.

The communication between both parties became more pleasant, only waiting for the contract to be completed... Unfortunately, neither invited the other to their ship as guests.

'Snow Cloud Peak' could sense that the Yinbutu Royal Family wasn't broke, but he was a bit puzzled as to why they didn't have a single new ship... Even if the Magicplague destroyed most of Yinbutu's ships, that was so long ago?

He remembered that the collapse of the Yinbutu Royal Palace happened six months ago... If someone invited them over, William would certainly provide very detailed intelligence.

Prince Horace noticed the elves on the opposite side couldn't help glancing at their few ships, revealing a faint, bitter smile. What could he say?

The Yinbutu Royal Shipyard hadn't been under royal control for a long time... To maintain the king's dignity, starting from his great-grandfather, the Royal Family had been continually mortgaging their assets.

Once merchants acquired the shipyard, they naturally only thought of building more ships with no interest in upgrading or maintaining the shipyard environment, which was already somewhat teetering... The first blue storm was the strongest, directly toppling the shipyard.

And at the time, the Royal Navy was also over there, so it completely sank. Since then, there have been no new ships... Fortunately, the harbor still belonged to the Royal Family, and there were a few grain-transporting three-masted ships remaining in the inland sea.

Prince Holmes had never been much favored by the King, so he spent most years following the Queen... Although his mother wasn't particularly gentle, she was shrewd and capable, managing her property with great success.

The previous King married his son to the current Queen precisely because of her management ability... However, his son only desired curvy women.

Faced with such a husband, the Queen naturally wouldn't care about Royal Family property, but she still explained to Prince Horace why the Royal Family had fallen to the point where they could only survive by mortgaging assets.

With a husband who was already a fool, she couldn't let her son be too stupid; otherwise, no matter how much valuable property she had accumulated for Holmes, what could she do?

Add more mortgaged assets to the Royal Family?

So, Prince Horace would likely become the first in many years from the Yinbutu Royal Family not to go crazy at the thought of being a pauper.

He understood well that as long as he didn't feel he could only travel in jewel-encrusted carriages and boats, he wasn't actually that poor... Prince Holmes had long planned that once he ascended to the throne, he would dismantle those flashy vehicles of his father, which could probably sustain the Royal Family for a few more years.