[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-city-of-desire-kingdom-building":3,"chapter-city-of-desire-kingdom-building-city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-417":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","City of Desire [Kingdom Building]",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1846270,2449,"Chapter 419: Battle At Sea","city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-417",417,"\u003Cp>West Zenid Sea\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fucking imperials!\" cursed an old man, activating the Reinforced Ship and Absorb Explosions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was still enough as the cannonballs hit the ship, with wood flying everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On top of that, enormous waves are crashing against the ships hard. making it even harder to control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The imperials weren't supposed to attack them. There is no benefit to that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Attacking them is making another enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the death of the emperor, the imperial armada had scattered. Princess Orelen had gathered what she could, but she only had a quarter of what it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren't supposed to be here, much less attack them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's the merchant!\" spat Captain Versuna.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tall, dark women, holding a saber, looking at enemies with anger and frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her ship had sunk a few minutes ago. She was barely able to save her life but wasn't in good shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those bastards!\" the old man cursed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had seen the merchants' ships earlier. They followed us but didn't do anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They didn't enter the imperial waters as we had expected, but who would have thought the imperial navy would have been waiting for us?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Till now, they have sunk eighteen ships and are still attacking. They are responding to imperials attacks with cannons and mages, but the bastards are prepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They shouldn't have been this prepared or willing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is reeking of the smells of merchants. The bastards would never get their hands dirty. Instead, they would provide money and resources to others to do the job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They are doing the same ship on the island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is one of the reasons, why they had difficulty in conquering the entire island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cannonball hit the ship, not far away from the old man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blowing tens of undead and people to pieces; the only reason, the old man survived was because of a shield appeared in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hun!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dust hadn't disappeared when he heard another bad news; another ship had been sunk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the fourth submerged ship, that had sunk. It is much harder to achieve than those on the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Another load ship had been sunk,\" informed Versuna., taking the number nineteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Were you able to find out, who is leading the fleet? Is that Anderson?\" I asked, naming the Grand Admiral of the imperial navy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though, I heard, he is with a Crown Prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is also not his style. He likes to fight bloody, ram the ships, occupy them, and massacre anyone on the enemy's side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man shudders whenever he remembers that battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one who attacked us didn't get close. They are maintaining the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bombarding us with spells, cannons, and ballistae.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are saying, it is someone called Rear-Admiral Medeiros,\" she replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying, an unfamiliar name, that he didn't recognize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was about to ask for details when he saw a huge ballista bolt appearing in front of them and immediately tear through the shield spells that appeared to protect them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A horror appeared in their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew the ballista bolt well. That fucking purple tip tore through his superior six years ago and gave him command of the ship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's from a merchant state, the purple tip is proof of that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he focused, he would even be able to see the familiar emblem on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It tore through all three shields and reached Versuna. She is directly in front of me; it will be my turn after it tore through her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Water Swerve!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She screamed and the water came from the wave crashing against them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It formed a kind of slide, on which the ballista faintly changed its direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rip!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt the sharp cut on my shoulder as the bolt moved past me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It crashed into the ship in the front, piercing it inside before exploding. Killing the undead as well as the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ballista had a powerful explosion effect. It will explode after tearing through the targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fucking hell!\" he cursed and looked at Versuna, who was bleeding through all her orifices. She is Lv. 30+ powerhouse, but the bolt put great pressure on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom Boom Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened my mouth when another volley of cannonballs crashed against the ship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We had defended against the most, but some hit the ship, including the hull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patched Recovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He activated the skill; he had been holding back and focused it on the hull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hull is important. If not fixed, it will slow down the ship and even sink it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Scatter!' 'Command: Reach The Shores Of Renwell,'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The command rang, infused with the power of the skill. I reacted immediately, changing the course of the ship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been wanting to do that since they had started to sink our ships. He doesn't know, why that bastard had waited, till now for this command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had given this before, we might have been able to save, more ships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe, he thought, he would maneuver out of it, but that Real-Admiral Medeiros is a smart man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the start, his ships maintained the distance and kept blasting us with long-range attacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their numbers are smaller than us, they have only around forty ships, but those ships are fast and packed with an arsenal that they are blasting us with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While all our ships are heavy with undead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are enough defenses, but the energy had come well prepared. It's clear, they had prior intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scattering is the best option; more ships will sink, but more will also survive. With the number of ships, they have; they won't be able to follow us all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was thinking that when another cannonball shot past me, hitting the water and exploding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang Bang Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing us scattering, they upped their offensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sending the hair cannon balls and spells at us without care, that within a minute they had sunk three ships and damaged more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could see many ships moving to chase them, including five, coming toward the group, he was leading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Captain of stadhale is dead. I am moving to take the command,\" said Versuna.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could say any word. She leaped from the ship and moved toward the ship on the left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was targeted before she even landed on the sea. Cannonballs came at her, along with arrows and spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was smoky and watery for several seconds, and I feared the worst when I saw her running across the water and heaved a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, that sigh was short-lived as I saw an arrow sticking into her shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The archer is really good at being able to hit her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Versuna is a Combat Captain. It is really hard to hit her, when she is at sea, even the ballista wasn't able to hit, but this archer did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reached the ship, and I felt her taking over the command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gave the command to my group as I led them toward the continent. Our target is the Renwell region, preferably, Ashton Harbor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second option would be Gailhorn or anywhere between the two cities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These bastards will make it hard, but there is no other choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I led the group while bearing the attack from imperials. They have sunk one of my ships, but we are moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We have moved further enough, that I could see no other ship. Even with the spyglass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It made me relieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have to deal with five ships; they are dangerous but could be managed. They have used a lot of ammunition if I were to guess, nearly 75%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least 60%, which gives us good options to survive. I like these options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The desumara plant forms an invisible layer of energy around the flower. It will destroy the flower and absorb its nutrients if it feels a threat to the flowers,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It requires a special mana technique to harvest the flower,\" explained Mage Irgal as a human woman in her early forties, gently and cautiously plucked the flower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She placed that flower in a wooden box, in a specific mold, beside the other three flowers, before moving to pluck another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, we are harvesting four plants. These desumara flowers being one of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am watching it with Mage Irgal and a few other people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I love to watch. The experience and skill needed to do this is really something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It might not seem like it, but the woman who is plucking the flowers is a Lv. 30. Four of sixteen people are that level, while others are pretty close to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the agreement, half of the people, that will work on the plant will be mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It will be their responsibility to teach them. The timeline is five years, as these skills couldn't be easily taught and also because I couldn't get them to take the timeline any lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One by one, she had plucked all eighteen flowers. Half she gave it to me, while the other half went to Mage Irgal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was supposed to leave, but he decided to stay or ordered to stay, I don't know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don't want him here, given his power, but also glad he is here, given his expertise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked at the flowers. They were beautiful. They are also expensive, but I am not going to sell them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am only selling 20% of plants. The rest, I am keeping it for myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These plants would play a big part in my plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were about to start two days ago, but got delayed by the intelligence brought by the merchant state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lord Silver,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was admiring the plants when Zela called my name. I turned to her and the smile on my face vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There is a news?\" I asked, and she nodded. I sighed and turned to the man beside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take care of plants, Mage Irgal,\" I said to the man. \"Best of luck, Lord Silver,\" he wished, understanding what was happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you,\" I thanked with a smile and walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ting!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, I was in the elevator, going down. A few seconds later, it stopped in the lobby, and I walked out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could see the people around me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lobby is the most crowded space in the whole tower. It is an art gallery, with many famous pieces. After the opening, many offered the pieces from their collection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Including those who had rejected my request first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some bowed as they saw me and I nodded to them, before walking out calmly out of the lobby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is no need to scare them. It won't be long, before they know, what is happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Till then, let them enjoy themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carriage was already waiting for me, and I sat down in it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have they reached the continent?\" I asked. She shook her head. \"No, they are currently engaged with the forces of Princess Orelen,\" she replied, surprising me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Her forces are fighting against the undead?\" I asked to be sure, and she nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This shouldn't have been happening. She wouldn't fight the undead; it didn't suit her plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It will embolden her in conflict, she could easily stay away from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wouldn't do it to protect the region. She has bigger priorities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the duty? No. From what I know, the woman is pragmatic. She wouldn't let her sense of duty come between her goals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless someone had offered her something, that would make her take such risks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could do it for the essence, but I am not giving her enough to make her to do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is only one other reason, I could think of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Merchants,\" I muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They love to pull strings from shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They hate Vris'alud. Not because they attacked the neighborhood, but because they destroyed the trade with one of the lucrative markets for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mayhurst island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The merchants love money and are rational, but they can be petty and vengeful, at times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I might be wrong, but I don't really care. I care about what is happening in the sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it a big battle?\" I asked. \"The imperial navy had sunken twenty-three ships. That undead decided to split into several parts and move toward the region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many ships are there?\" I asked. \"They were saying, it was around hundred and fifty,\" she replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it had been people, it would have taken over a thousand or two thousand ships to carry numbers of the undead they are carrying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the undead, it is much easier. They can be stuffed with any clothes; they do not feel discomfort or pain or anything; they are undead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the necromancer is powerful enough. He could disassemble all the skeletons and assemble them after reaching the destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's one of the things that makes these undead dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap on thebelow to read20Advanced Chapters.\u003C\u002Fp>",2143,"2026-06-09T06:54:39.599Z",1,"novelbin.me","7fd5c46b7e13b82a1d792fd04f2abcd95418d2930fca70b504584e681abe3dce","city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-418","city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-416",917,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcity-of-desire-kingdom-building-cover.jpg"]