Chapter 870: Courage to Embrace the Sea

The civilians who had come to “cause trouble” were taken away by the soldiers. They would be assigned to work at the construction site in the western district of North Harbor, where plenty of simple, low-skill jobs awaited them. Their official status would be “rioters punished with labor for causing disturbances.” Given their actions, they would be sentenced to several hours of hard work—but, out of basic and obvious survival needs, they would also receive a hot meal, a warm bath, and a modest labor allowance.

Victoria had never seen such an approach before.

“Sometimes the rules are too rigid, so you have to improvise on the spot—especially in places far from the imperial capital with unique local customs,” Byron said, glancing at Victoria, who had just emerged from the curved light field, her face full of bewilderment. He shrugged. “These civilians were ‘incited’ by the local minor nobles and estate owners, at least at first.

“The Construction Corps’ efforts to build North Harbor clearly ruffled some feathers. But the influence of the Wilde family kept those people from acting openly. Instead, they tried to test our resolve in other ways—they stirred up or bribed some of the uninformed civilians. When those civilians first came here, they were indeed angry, but they quickly realized we were more ‘friendly and generous’ than those who had incited them. The Construction Corps is well supplied, and the civilians ask for very little. They can do simple work here and earn food they’d normally only get on special occasions.

“But what really made a difference was the hot water. Our communal bathhouse is the most popular spot—more than I expected. The camp now has two waste heat recovery centers and a central heat exchange station. The locals near this cold beach clearly don’t often get to enjoy hot baths. My military doctors believe giving these newcomers a bath helps prevent disease spread in the camp. Now, they’ve grown fond of the abundant hot water supply…”

Victoria’s expression shifted more times in a single day than it had in the past two weeks. She frowned, looking at the “Imperial General” before her with a strange mixture of disbelief and curiosity. “So… these people come often? They protest to you, get ‘caught’ by your soldiers and sent to work, then get a good meal and a hot bath…”

“And a small stipend,” Byron added casually. “You know, imperial law requires that those undergoing labor reform receive a small wage to encourage them to embrace honest work.”

He paused briefly, then continued, “At first, only men came—they were the ones incited or bribed. After a few rounds of forced labor and payment, some tried to sneak food back home for their families. I found out but didn’t stop it. That wasn’t a problem. But those behind the scenes clearly didn’t want that outcome. They probably forbade it. You can imagine what happened next—these people started bringing women and children. In fact, they even wanted to bring elderly and toddlers, but that was too dangerous. I couldn’t allow it…”

Listening to Byron’s lighthearted tone as he described all this, Victoria’s expression gradually grew serious. When he finished, she exhaled and said in a low voice, “So now these people who were once incited… have completely sided with you. And those who incited them haven’t yet grasped how serious this is.”

“Maybe they have,” Byron said indifferently. “But what does it matter? A trend has formed. Reversing it would cost more than stirring it up in the first place. And the current situation clearly won’t allow that—the Wilde family won’t help them, the Empire won’t help them, no one will. Their actions have already crossed a red line. Will they step further over it? Probably not. Of course, I personally hope they do—the beach is pretty dull, and the Construction Corps’ flagpole could use some decoration.”

Victoria finally pushed aside the absurd disbelief that had been creeping in. She looked at Byron as if seeing him anew. After a few seconds, she said slowly, “I thought I knew everything about this land, but it seems… you, a newcomer, have a better handle on things.”

Byron glanced at the duchess before him and suddenly grinned. “Archduchess, that’s perfectly normal—you know the North, but I know the common folk.”

Looking at this graying middle-aged knight’s casual demeanor, Victoria suddenly recalled his background and, for the first time, seriously pieced together the overlooked parts behind this seemingly rough-and-ready imperial general—

He had once been a mercenary leader, someone who had to deal with all kinds of people—bandits, lords, merchants, commoners—all at once. In that line of work, a careless, reckless person simply wouldn’t survive. This man had risen from humble origins to become a knight, quickly integrating into the new order forged by Gawain Cecil. Rumor had it he was adept at navigating the complex and sprawling bureaucracy of the southern territories. This “mercenary knight” in power was said to have no enemies among the various departments.

On the contrary, Byron was friends with the heads of every major department and well-liked among mid-level officers and rank-and-file soldiers alike. Even those traditional knights who teased him for lacking “true knightly grace” actually got along well with him.

And yet, this man firmly upheld his duties as a soldier—loyal to the Empire, loyal to the Emperor, never overstepping his bounds. He had been stationed on this coast for a month, and his soldiers had never once left the camp except for necessary tasks.

“I finally understand why His Majesty sent you here…” Victoria said softly, taking a slow breath.

“I don’t think about that,” Byron replied offhandedly. “I just want to get North Harbor built as soon as possible. Typhon is already ahead of us—we’ve received accurate intelligence that the Typhonians have restarted their Mobius Port, and a whole bunch of mages are building new deep-sea warships. His Majesty said that with their ‘money power,’ the Typhonians build just as fast as we do.

“And the sooner we get North Harbor up and running, the sooner we can move on to the next phase—turning this place into a bustling port city. What a great location—largest ice-free port in the North, calm and safe coastline, the Saint Dragon Principality’s peninsula and the Violet Kingdom’s islands shelter us from the winds on both sides. Yet the locals can only survive on barren land and seal hunting. They shouldn’t be this poor.

“My next step is to open the southern district’s market and trade routes. I might need your influence to encourage merchants to come here—that will help the city take shape. His Majesty did the same in the Dark Mountains.

“Once the camp is firmly established and North Harbor’s influence grows, I’ll recruit locals through official channels. Those people you saw today will be able to work here openly.

“My only worry now is the local family powers—not the great nobles, but the minor nobles who stir up the civilians, controlling scattered lands around North Harbor, even ‘estate owners’ without noble titles. They’ve shown enough caution and cunning, and they probably understand the Construction Corps’ bottom line. It’s hard for me to take real action against them, and as Archduchess and Protector of the North, you can’t just crack down on them either…

“These ‘local bosses’ might become a long-term, hard-to-remove headache for North Harbor.”

Byron rambled on, and when he finally finished, Victoria broke the silence with a cool, measured voice: “You don’t need to worry so much. The Wilde family has ruled this land for seven hundred years and has some experience dealing with ‘minor issues.’

“And you’re overestimating the trouble those local families might cause—they are stubborn, yes, but also observant. The old noble order in the North has mostly been dismantled by me. Those local families haven’t faced a major purge, but they’ve watched the order here change. Their current actions seem shortsighted and blind because they’re scared and don’t truly understand the Empire’s new rules. They’re still trying to avoid ‘trouble’ using old methods. Once they grasp the real rules and realize the ‘new neighbors’ in North Harbor are strong and here to stay, they’ll probably become quite hospitable.”

Hearing Victoria’s calm words, Byron looked at the Ice Duchess deeply, then smiled cheerfully after a moment.

“If what you say is true, then I’m not worried at all.”

With that, he withdrew his gaze and looked out toward the distant sea.

Under the clear sky, the sunlit ocean gently rippled. At this spot, the wild storms and unpredictable magical tides were still far from the human world. But a pier already stretched out from the shore, fixed on the magical ice like a knight’s lance, pointing humanity’s resolve and courage toward the sea.

…

A bright arc of lightning descended from the horizon, licking across the churning waves. At its end, terrifying, tree-like branches crackled ominously. Amid deafening thunder, the giant waves vaporized under the energy turbulence, a pungent scent filling the air between sea and sky.

A ship, its hull covered entirely in magic-conductive metal and glowing with countless runes, bristling with magical devices, pitched and rolled through the monstrous waves. The surrounding seawater seemed to have a will of its own, surging in layers, accompanied by the lightning arcs from above, relentlessly battering the seemingly fragile vessel. Yet one magical array after another and layers of overlapping magical shields flared to life on the ship’s surface, repelling and dispersing the attacks.

The entire ship was protected by more than ten magical walls. Within this powerful energy field, the vessel pressed onward through the waves.

This was the Typhon Empire’s premier ocean exploration ship—the Courage.

Inside this magically fortified advanced ship, Captain Earl Owen Dyson stood solemnly in the command room. An illusion spell maintained by mages projected a clear image of the outside scene before him.

“So this is the ‘chaotic turbulence’ of the ocean…” Earl Owen muttered to himself. “Truly eye-opening…”

He composed himself and looked to the control mage beside him. “How’s the ship holding up?”

The senior mage monitoring the ship’s status hovered above a complex rune array in the center of the chamber. His eyes, glowing with arcane light, were cold and mechanical in their detachment.

“The first through third layers of shields have been breached. The shield controller has temporarily lost casting ability. The amplification array requires at least six hours of repairs. The remaining shields are intact. The outermost anti-magic shell has fractures. Elemental corrosion is present on the hull bottom but has been urgently patched with mithril plating. The inner anti-magic shell remains intact for now—no immediate issues.”

“All sails have been furled, and the external gale has been sealed off. The experimental arcane engines are completely shut down—severe mechanical failure, unable to restart. Currently, the ship’s power is being maintained by the second sailor squad’s spellcasting.”

Count Owen Dyson frowned. “How much longer until we break through this storm?”

“We’ve detected the boundary of the unstable energy field—fifteen minutes to reach it. The ship can hold out until then.”

Owen nodded grimly. “Let’s hope we don’t run into another ‘chaotic turbulence’ on the way back…”

“You really shouldn’t be commanding this voyage yourself, my lord,” the first mate whispered beside him. “You’re the ruler of Mobius Harbor, and the entire ocean exploration initiative…”

“Call me captain here—I believe my skills at sea still justify the title,” Owen Dyson cut him off. “This is just a short expedition to Tassos Island, the closest colony to the mainland in this age of sail. If I can’t even leave the safety of the harbor for a trip this near, then the Empire’s ocean exploration plans will never get off the ground.”

The Typhon noble, with his steely gray-blue eyes, spoke with solemn conviction before shaking his head. “But we did seriously underestimate the ocean’s power… The ancient texts from seven centuries ago are fragmented and unreliable, and even the more recent records are riddled with errors. The Dyson family must bear some responsibility—we’ve spent recent generations focused on maintaining Mobius Harbor’s last trade routes. Though we kept watch and recorded observations of the sea, our efforts were far too limited. Now we’re paying the price…”

“Until a year ago, no one expected Aldernan to suddenly decide to revive Mobius Harbor and the ocean exploration program,” the first mate said, shaking his head. “This isn’t your fault, my lord.”

Owen’s expression hardened. “If this ship sinks, then the fault is mine.”

At that moment, the mage monitoring the ocean conditions suddenly shouted, breaking the tense exchange between captain and first mate—

“The waves are subsiding!”

“We’ve entered safe waters!”

(End of chapter)