269 Chapter 269: The War Begins! Empty Wallets! Handcrafted Cigars!


    Countless flying ships and fleets blotted out the sky and the sea. The streamlined metallic hulls of the vessels pulsed with Mana Surge. Soldiers of the Via Empire, d in silver battle armor, stood ready, holding their firearms, waiting for orders.


    At the forefront, on a massive battleship, themand room had the atmosphere of cutting-edge technology. It was filled with Via Empire generals, most of whom were Superss-level warriors, with two of them even being Star-level Superss generals.


    The leader was none other than the renowned Rod Valvis, a powerhouse whose name echoed across the entire Eternal Continent. Dressed in golden armor, his expression calm, he exuded such an overwhelming presence that even standing there made everyone in the room feel immense pressure.


    "What''s the current situation with the Clinton Empire?" Rod asked, his voice steady.


    A general beside him immediately rose and answered, "Thetest reports indicate that Winston and others have reached the Western Sea. The Clinton military stationed in the Western Territory, along with their navy, are being mobilized. It''s said that the newly crowned Queen herself ising."


    At the mention of the Queen, surprise spread across the room. Some generals scoffed, one of them sneering, "Is sheing to surrender?"


    They had all heard of Fratis, the new queen of Clinton. A ruler with a mind reduced to that of a child wouldn''t be considered a threat to anyone. Most believed she was nothing more than a puppet, ced on the throne by the Duke.


    Rod wasn''t surprised by this information. He simply nodded and ordered, "Give themand to advance at full speed. Don''t waste time on them. Head straight for the Sea of Mist to find the Celestial Pearl. If anyone dares to obstruct us, regardless of who it is, kill them without hesitation."


    His words echoed in themand room. The tone was calm, yet this only emphasized Rod''s arrogance. From the beginning, he had never considered the people of the Clinton Empire as a real threat. Clinton didn''t have any notable strong warriors who couldmand his attention.


    The generals silently admired his confidence and were about to follow their orders. When suddenly, a powerful and overwhelming pressure descended upon the entire area.


    Along with the pressure, a stern, cold voice rang out.


    "Rod, you''ve crossed the line!"The voice was like thunder from the heavens, reverberating in the ears of everyone present, causing their expressions to change instantly.


    They immediately recognized the voice''s owner.


    "Winston Morrison?" Rod''s eyes narrowed slightly. With a flicker of his figure, he disappeared from themand room and reappeared in the sky above.


    Outside, a figure d in ck armor floated in the air, emanating an oppressive aura that sent shockwaves through the ranks of Via Empire soldiers.


    Looking at the golden-haired young man who had suddenly appeared before him, Winston''s blood surged around him like a violent storm. His eyes were as cold and sharp as a de, radiating an aura of lethal intent. "You dare to invade the borders of Clinton, Rod? Don''t you remember the peace ords signed by the three nations?"


    "Peace ords?" Rod smiled lightly. "Just a piece of paper that can be torn up at any moment. The strong survive and the weak perish—that''s the naturalw. We didn''t strike first because it wasn''t necessary. But to bind us with such a thing? Aren''t you being a little too naive?"


    "Since that''s the case, there''s nothing left to discuss." Winston sneered coldly and waved his hand. From the distant sky and earth, a massive magic circle suddenly appeared, releasing terrifying waves of energy that shot straight into the heavens. Runes continuously flowed within the circle.


    As the effects of the magic circle faded, countless warships and soldiers, who had been waiting for some time, appeared. The fleet and army, dense and numerous, rivaled the might of the Via Empire. It turned out that the Clinton Empire had been waiting here all along!


    The terrifying pressure created by the gathering forces mmed into Rod and the Via Empire soldiers. Yet, Rod''s expression remained unchanged.


    A dazzling, silver-patterned scythe appeared in his hand. In an instant, his aura exploded, and the sky above was darkened by a sudden mass of clouds.


    With a swing of his scythe, he pointed it directly at the Clinton Empire''s army.


    Rod casually ordered the Via Empire soldiers behind him, "Crush them!"


    ...


    In the Sea of Mist, two Superss warships slowly left Ghost Ind, turning toward the unknown fog. Sharp stood on the ind''s edge, smiling broadly and waving his hand as he watched them depart, not forgetting to add, "Doe again sometime!"


    On the deck, Luca''s face twitched at the remark.


    Just for the sake of buying those so-called handmade cigars, he had already spent nearly 8 million gold coins on Ghost Ind, and another 10 million on Spiritflower. His wallet, which was already running low, was now almostpletely emptied by Sharp. It felt like his money was bleeding out.


    However, this wasn''t aplete loss. Aside from acquiring the Spiritflower, they also learned the exact location of the ck Sea. ording to Sharp, it was called the Dead ck Sea, the most dangerous region in the Sea of Mist and the oldir of the Fish Human Race.


    This was the reason he was willing to spend such an enormous sum on the handcrafted cigars. @@novelbin@@


    Moreover, they had learned that Ellie''s grandfather, Levin, had made hisst voyage to the Dead ck Sea.


    "When we get back, I''ll have my father reimburse you!" Ellie patted her chest confidently, though Luca couldn''t help but wonder how Gerald, the Marquis, would feel about this. At least it brought somefort to him.


    "At our current speed, how long do you think it''ll take to reach the Dead ck Sea?" He turned to ask the young man with tattoos on his face, who was standing behind him.


    The safety routes in the Sea of Mist were constantly shifting, and Levin''s maps were only useful as a reference. Originally, he had nned to have Sharpe along, not only to guide them to the destination but also to have an extra hand for defense.


    But the old man was too shrewd. With a casual remark, he had sent Luca off by saying, "Jell is the best sailor in our vige!"


    The young man, Jell, nced at the fog-nketed sea. He expressionlessly crouched down and began writing a message in the sand with his hand. The handwriting was crooked and filled with many mistakes, but it was still understandable.


    "If we''re lucky, about a week," Luca read, somewhat surprised. The Sea of Mist was full of dangers, and he had originally nned for at least half a month of travel. But to his surprise, they might be able to reach their destination in just a week. It seemed that while Sharp was greedy and cunning, at least he hadn''t tricked them on this matter.


    Seeing the thought in Luca''s mind, Jell gave him a knowing look and then wrote on the ground again, "This is just my estimated speed. The dangers in the Sea of Mist are ever-changing, there are no fixed safe routes. No one can predict what we''ll encounter, so I advise you to be mentally prepared."


    Luca nodded in understanding, then suddenly asked, "Do you know Levin?"


    Everyone froze for a moment, not expecting him to suddenly ask such a strange question.


    Jell looked at him deeply before, to everyone''s surprise, actually nodding.


    He wrote, "Levin once saved my life. He stayed on Ghost Ind for a year."


    Everyone was taken aback, finally understanding why Jell could write in Clinton''s script and why he was willing to apany them to the Dead ck Sea.


    Luca now understood, "Levin must have told you about Ellie, right? No wonder you keep sneaking nces at her. I thought maybe you liked her or you were somehow rted by blood."


    Isaac, Gavin, and the others exchanged odd looks, staring at Jell.


    They watched as his expression froze. His skin visibly reddened at an rming rate before he suddenly lifted his head and red at Luca.


    "You''re the ones with blood rtions!" Ellie, standing off to the side, stomped her foot in embarrassment and anger before storming off.


    Luca didn''t pay much attention. At least, the dark clouds in his heart had cleared up a little.


    But now wasn''t the time to rx. What mattered most was to clean up the ship first, or they wouldn''t even be able to sleep in peace.


    With that thought, Luca disappeared in a sh. When he reappeared, he was already on the deck of the ck Thorn. Over a thousand soldiers had already received their orders and had been waiting for a while. The gangway of the ck Thornwas wide and spacious, not crowded at all.


    "Groups of one hundred, enter the hold one by one," Luca ordered, then pulled a cigar from his storage ring, igniting it with a flick of his finger. He casually held it as he walked into the hold.


    Luca wasn''t a smoker to begin with, let alone willing to smoke a handmade cigar made from the flesh of monsters.


    Seeing the cigar in his hand, some people''s expressions subtly changed. Luca didn''t care. If any of these monsters dared to make a move, he wouldn''t hesitate to show them what "struggling in the face of death" really meant.


    The soldiers began to enter the hold in shifts.


    Before long, the air was filled with chilling screams and the roars of monsters, echoing throughout the entire ck Thorn.


    Two hourster, after all the soldiers had been checked, Luca, reeking of smoke, emerged from the hold.


    He quickly counted the remaining soldiers. Of the more than a thousand soldiers, only about eight hundred remained—about one-sixth of them were gone. They had all been killed by the Mutated Mermen without anyone realizing, their flesh reced by the creatures.


    All the soldiers looked somewhat pale. Even though they were mentally prepared, the shock still increased their psychological pressure significantly.


    Luca took out twenty cigars and handed them to the captain of the squad. He instructed, "From now on, do it this way. Remember to light up three cigars every day and check if any monsters have infiltrated the ranks."


    The squad captains nodded seriously, and the soldiers, upon hearing this, felt a bit of relief. At least they wouldn''t have to live in constant fear anymore.


    Luca then returned to the Windrunner Ship, where he repeated the process for the several hundred soldiers aboard, exposing them to second-hand smoke as well.


    After all the checks were done, Luca tallied the number of monsters he had killed. To his surprise, the total was over two hundred, double the amount he had in near Ghost Ind. His level had also risen to 62, and he had gained over a hundred Merman Pearls.


    After using these Merman Pearls, Luca''s mental attribute soared again, reaching 280,000.


    At the same time, the feeling of being shackled in his mind grew stronger.


    It was as if there were an iron ring around his head, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t break free.


    His mental power was approaching its limit.