Chapter 1762 - 244 - Battle of the Great Ocean, Part 1 (6)

After a little while, we were finally getting close to the Kingdom of the Mermaid People, which was considered one of the largest kingdoms in the entire world. The kingdom itself occupied roughly one-fourth of the Great Ocean, which, mind you, already covered almost half of the world's surface, meaning that the territory controlled by the Mermaid Kingdom was absolutely massive. In fact, when you looked at it purely in terms of territory, the Mermaid Kingdom was even larger than the Empire itself, which was honestly difficult to imagine until you actually saw how enormous the Great Ocean was.

I had already heard plenty of stories about the Mermaid Kingdom before coming here, but hearing about its size and actually approaching it were two completely different things. From the maps I had studied, the Great Ocean already looked ridiculous enough, and knowing that an entire kingdom occupied such a massive portion of it made me realize just how little of this world I had actually seen.

While we were still traveling on the ship, however, something suddenly happened that immediately caught my attention.

A massive explosion erupted somewhere in the distance, and it was powerful enough to completely rattle the surface of the ocean and send enormous waves rolling across the water. The impact was strong enough to shake our ship's hull, and the pirates traveling alongside us were having an equally difficult time keeping their ships steady as the sudden waves almost caused some of their vessels to topple over.

The explosion itself had happened far enough away that we could not immediately see what had caused it, but the sound and force were more than enough to tell us that it was something serious. The ocean beneath us seemed to move in response to it, with waves rising and falling in ways that were completely unnatural for the relatively calm conditions we had experienced only moments earlier.

I immediately left my room and rushed onto the deck, wanting to see what was happening with my own eyes. Shredica and Serune were already there, both of them standing near the railing while looking toward the direction where the explosion had occurred.

"It seems to have come from that direction, Leon..." Serune said, her voice noticeably more worried than usual.

She had every reason to be concerned, considering that the direction of the explosion was also the direction of the Mermaid Kingdom.

Serune held onto the railing of the ship tightly while looking ahead, and from the expression on her face, I could tell that she was genuinely worried about what might have happened to her kingdom. She had been relatively calm throughout our journey, but seeing that explosion had clearly shaken her, and honestly, I could not blame her for reacting that way.

"Anne, fasten the ship," I told Anne through the communicator, which allowed me to speak with her immediately regardless of where she was on the ship.

"Roger," Anne replied through the communicator.

I looked ahead and kept my eyes fixed on the distant horizon, trying to determine exactly where the explosion had come from. Considering how far away the explosion had been, it was safe to say that we were still a considerable distance from the Mermaid Kingdom, which meant that whatever had happened there was taking place before we had even arrived.

That distance was both reassuring and concerning at the same time. On one hand, it meant that we were not immediately caught in whatever battle was happening over there. On the other hand, it also meant that we had no idea how bad things had already become by the time we eventually reached the kingdom.

"Let's get there as quickly as possible," I said.

Meanwhile, Madeline eventually came aboard and looked toward the distant explosion, immediately understanding what the situation probably meant.

"Seems like the war there is already starting," Madeline said, her expression becoming more serious as she watched the waves continue to settle.

"Pretty much so," I replied, keeping my eyes toward the direction of the Mermaid Kingdom.

I looked at her for a moment before telling her what I had already decided.

"I am going to protect the Mermaid Kingdom," I told her. "Since the Republic is my enemy, I will try to stop them before they can do anything that would make the situation even worse for me. However, you are not someone who is obligated to do that, and I understand that this is not your responsibility, but I am going to ask you anyway. Would you help me?"

When I asked her that, Madeline immediately gave me a familiar smirk, although this time there was something more serious behind her expression. She seemed to have already made her decision before I had even finished asking.

"Of course," she replied. "I live for the high feeling of the seas, so anything that threatens them is naturally something I would have to interfere with as well. Besides, this is not your battle alone, after all."

When she said that, I smiled.

Well, I guess I had just found myself a very good ally.

***

Mermaid Queen's POV

The entire kingdom was shaking because of the bombing that was happening on the surface, and the tremors were strong enough that even the structures within the underwater city were beginning to vibrate from the repeated impacts.

"Those bastards..." I gritted my teeth while listening to the report that had come from Alana, one of my most trusted guards in the kingdom. "The war at the surface has really become troublesome, and because of this, our kingdom is getting targeted out of nowhere. Those humans really have no shame in themselves."

The situation had already been terrible enough before the bombing began, but now it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell how much damage the Mermaid Kingdom would suffer if the fighting continued to escalate.

They had already kidnapped my one and only daughter, and she still had not been found despite everything we had done to search for her. Now they were going even further by attempting to completely decimate the very place where we lived, forcing my people to endure a war that was not even supposed to reach us in the first place.

I would not allow them to continue doing this.

"Your Highness!" someone suddenly entered the throne room, their voice filled with urgency. "Princess Serune... She has returned."

My eyes immediately widened the moment I heard those words.