After receiving Roy's orders, Stanley moved fast.
Even though he was shocked that Roy would declare war on the Rus Kingdom so openly, Stanley did not say much. Instead, he carried out every command with lightning speed.
He understood clearly that what Roy needed was not a legion commander who questioned everything, but a capable aide who could execute his will without hesitation.
The horn of conscription soon sounded, and preparations began in full swing.
At the same time, a piece of shocking news spread rapidly from the Zephyr Kingdom.
...
"What did you just say?!"
Inside the grand hall of the Rus Kingdom's palace, King Steve Gall sat on his throne. His eyes widened as he asked, half annoyed and half amused, "The king of the Zephyr Kingdom actually ordered that in three days, they will launch an attack on us, and they demand that we surrender immediately, or we will bear severe consequences?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. This is information our intelligence department intercepted and confirmed moments ago. It truly is a message spreading from the Zephyr Kingdom."
Below the throne, the intelligence officer answered respectfully, a trace of mockery unconsciously appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Hahahaha!! This is too interesting. It's unbelievably interesting!!"
Hearing that, King Gall burst into loud laughter. The ministers and nobles below also wore expressions of disdain, chuckling among themselves.
In their eyes, the Zephyr Kingdom was nothing more than a small nation that had gotten a bit lucky.
If the Gambino family had not been wiped out by some mysterious force, it was questionable whether the Zephyr Kingdom would even still exist today.
And now, a tiny country like that dared to declare war on them, and even brazenly demand that they surrender at once?
Absurd. Completely absurd.
"Sigh. In the end, he's still just a young man. He actually believes the Gambino family's destruction was his doing." The state minister shook his head, openly scornful as he muttered to himself.
News that Roy had ascended the throne of the Zephyr Kingdom was no secret anymore. Nearly every faction already knew.
At this moment, a burly legion commander stepped forward, a cold smile on his lips. "Your Majesty, since the Zephyr Kingdom is so ignorant of the heavens and the earth that they dare declare war on our Rus Kingdom, why wait three days? I can lead the fleet right now and erase them completely."
"Enough." Gall looked unconcerned. He waved his hand lightly and said, "As far as I know, the Zephyr Kingdom's total forces add up to only a little over five thousand. Since they want war, let them come. A nation on the verge of ruin is not worth sending our royal fleet on a long expedition. When the time comes, we can deal with them easily. However, there is one thing."
As he said that, Gall's expression turned serious. He looked at the legion commander and continued, "That mysterious force that destroyed the Gambino family still has not been identified. They annihilated the Gambino family completely without anyone noticing. Their strength is not something we can underestimate. To be safe, we must act cautiously. Have the kingdom army keep a close watch on the movements of other forces in the surrounding area."
"As you command!" the legion commander replied.
...
As news spread that the Zephyr Kingdom had declared war on the Rus Kingdom, major forces were thrown into an uproar, followed by waves of laughter.
No one believed the Zephyr Kingdom could defeat the Rus Kingdom. If anything, the Rus Kingdom wiping out the Zephyr Kingdom would be effortless. The two were not even on the same level.
Especially after the Rus Kingdom adopted an attitude of complete disregard, every country around the Zephyr Kingdom, except the top tier forces who had no interest in the matter, took on the posture of spectators.
They did not care how fierce the battle would be.
They only wanted to see how miserably the Zephyr Kingdom would lose.
Inside the Zephyr Kingdom, although most citizens were stunned that Roy had ordered a declaration of war against the Rus Kingdom, once they noticed the Rus Kingdom's contempt, anger spread everywhere.
Especially among the hot blooded young generation, people flooded the conscription registration offices, faces filled with fury, swearing to make the Rus Kingdom pay for its arrogance.
Yet while the Zephyr Kingdom was drowning in angry shouts and curses, Roy, after learning of it all inside the palace, revealed a knowing smile, bright and confident.
Thinking back, when faced with the power of the Gambino family, nearly everyone had declared the Zephyr Kingdom could never stand against them. But what was the outcome?
The Gambino family had been completely crushed.
Now history seemed to repeat itself. No one believed the Zephyr Kingdom could beat the Rus Kingdom, but the future ending
"Heh." In the training room, Roy was putting himself through high intensity physical training. A faint smile hooked at his lips, and the mysterious pale purple Rinnegan in his eyes flickered slightly.
Amid the mocking atmosphere that spread across the entire West Blue, where everyone believed the Zephyr Kingdom was doomed to fail, three days passed quietly.
...
A gentle breeze brushed across faces, carrying the salty dampness of the sea and silently dispersing that hard to describe stuffy heat.
In the sea region controlled by the Rus Kingdom, three imposing warships were carrying out their daily patrol in orderly fashion.
On the deck of the lead ship, Rus Kingdom soldiers stood tall, like statues.
At this moment, the fleet's overall commander, Belayman, strolled out of the cabin. He yawned, his eyes sweeping over the calm sea in the distance, and his brows could not help knitting slightly.
"Today is already the third day. Why are the people of the Zephyr Kingdom still not showing up? Could it be they got scared and do not dare to come?" Belayman muttered, his tone carrying a bit of dissatisfaction.
As a captain within the kingdom army, he was quite unhappy with the task the legion commander had assigned him.
Lead the fleet and crush the Zephyr Kingdom's fleet in one decisive blow.
"This mission is boring to the extreme. With those rotten Zephyr Kingdom warships, one round of volleys from our Rus warships would be enough to send all of them to the bottom of the sea." Belayman gazed into the distance without interest, then turned as if to return to the cabin and report back home.
In his view, the Zephyr Kingdom fleet had to be too afraid to come.
After all, the difference in military power between the two nations was vast. Anyone with even a bit of sense would not choose such a suicidal move.
However, just as he was about to step into the cabin, the scout in the main mast lookout suddenly let out a startled shout.
"All hands, on alert! There's movement on the sea at eleven o'clock!"
"Wait! What is that?!"
"My god, it's people! It's actually humans?!"
The scout's cries caused an uproar across all three warships. Everyone turned their heads toward the eleven o'clock direction.
But within the limited range of the naked eye, all they could vaguely see was that on the distant horizon, countless tiny black dots seemed to be scattered across the sea.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]