I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

Chapter 116: Agnes Family Meeting (3)

TL/Editor: Rungir

Schedule: none

Illustrations: none

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After Zion's words concluded, the meeting progressed swiftly.

The other members of the royal family also felt the need for a genuine competition for the throne, rather than engaging in secret conflicts. Zion's proposal was perfectly aligned with this.

Despite finding Zion's manner of speaking irksome, they accepted his proposal without much resistance.

A definitive advantage in the competition for the throne.

If they could secure that advantage, the royals were confident not only in facing the seven calamities but also in waging war against magic and its evils.

"Then I will take responsibility for the 'Fortress of Death'."

The first to speak after a brief silence was Rubrious.

His words were firm, as if he had predetermined his role.

"In this world created by the Light, such impure entities cannot be allowed to exist. They've always been a thorn in my side, but this might be a good opportunity to get rid of them."

The 'Fortress of Death' referred to the legion of undead gathered under the command of the so-called immortal ruler, Lich Kerungil.

Located near the eastern sea of the empire, its mere existence posed a significant threat to its surroundings.

The other royals nodded in agreement to the First Prince's words, as if they had expected his choice.

'The 'Fortress of Death' was always more suited for Rubrious anyway.'

The divine power of the God of Light was the antithesis of all impurities in the world.

This included not only demonic beings but also the undead.

Thus, the First Prince, who could command the Holy Knights of the Light's Doctrine, was expected to handle this task more easily than the others.

"The giant rebels were originally under my jurisdiction. So this time too…"

"Then I will handle the area near the Fairy Forest…"

Following Rubrious, the other royals began to choose the calamities that were most advantageous to them.

By a fortunate coincidence, their desired calamities rarely overlapped.

Therefore, the selection of calamities proceeded without much friction.

'As expected, he chose that one.'

Zion inwardly smiled, observing Utekan, who chose the 'Assassination Cult' and wore a stern expression.

The first tenet of the Assassination Cult was 'True salvation comes only through death,' a mad belief similar to that of Ouroboros.

Located at the southern tip of the empire, it was inflicting significant damage, difficult even for the magical arts to ignore.

For Utekan, who had reluctantly made his choice, it was the best option available.

At least it would minimize the damage from the magical arts.

"…Zion, you'll obviously participate in the subjugation too, right? What will you choose?"

Barely regaining his composure, Utekan asked Zion in a calm voice.

However, unlike his tone, a fierce murderous intent lurked deep in his eyes, so intense it wouldn't be surprising if he sent an assassin right then and there.

Feeling pleased by the situation, Zion opened his mouth.

"What's left?"

"The Root-Gnawing Serpent and the Monster Legion. These are the only ones remaining."

Both were among the most troublesome of the six calamities to deal with.

Hence, they were left unchosen by the other royals till the end.

Although it was possible to object and change the assigned calamity, Zion chose not to.

Everything was going exactly as he had anticipated.

'After all, the Root-Gnawing Serpent requires a hero for its subjugation.'

That left only one option.

"I'll take the Monster Legion."

As these words spilled from Zion's mouth, a flicker of doubt momentarily crossed the faces of the others.

They couldn't understand Zion's choice.

The Monster Legion.

A group of monsters rallied around the Monster King Horrible, it was more than just a legion in size.

If the Phantom Forces were tricky because their whereabouts were unknown, this one was challenging due to its sheer power, stronger than any other calamity.

So much so that even a fortified stronghold housing an elite legion was merely struggling to fend off its invasion.

Given the choice, they would have undoubtedly picked the Root-Gnawing Serpent.

"Are you really going to take that on?"

"I don't go back on my word," Zion replied without hesitation, despite Evelyn's repeated questioning.

The doubt in the eyes of the royals deepened.

Anyone else might have been thought foolish or overly bold, but not Zion.

In the recent half-year, they had painfully realized the depth of Zion's stratagems.

'What is he plotting this time?'

Diana gazed at Zion with suspicion, but his eyes remained as languid as ever, betraying no emotion.

Of course, Zion offered no explanation.

"It seems everything is decided, so let's conclude the meeting now."

With that, Zion, after scanning the other royals, rose from his seat.

Though the meeting was supposed to last at least an hour by protocol, Zion was not one to adhere to such formalities.

"We need to prepare for the calamities as soon as possible."

Smiling faintly, Zion was the first to leave the small conference room.

Even after Zion had completely disappeared from view, the others' eyes lingered on where he had been.

---

---

At the gate outside the capital.

"Do we really have to go now? We could stay a bit longer," Rain Dranir said to the silver-haired woman, her voice filled with discontent.

Her furrowed brows matched her voice, clearly expressing her annoyance.

"We need to leave right now."

The woman replied in a flat tone, starting to walk towards the outskirts of the capital.

She knew why Rain was behaving this way.

Not long ago, they had met the Witch of a Thousand Deaths at one of Utekan's secret branches in Omareng.

At that time, Rain failed to defeat the witch and let her escape.

She must think she needs to stay in the capital to find the witch again.

'No, more accurately, it wasn't that we let her go, but that the witch let us go...'

The woman was well aware of Liushina Bloodwalker's power.

An entity once called humanity's greatest adversary, she already possessed power comparable to the seven heavens at this time. When she would awaken in the future as the 'Witch of the Apocalypse,' she would be a monster formidable enough to require the combined efforts of her and her colleagues.

Realistically, the Witch of a Thousand Deaths had no reason not to defeat the current Rain.josei

'What exactly has happened...?'

It was all so incomprehensible.

Why was the Witch of a Thousand Deaths in the capital?

Why was she hunting monsters?

And why did she simply let them go upon seeing them?

'Could this also be related to Zion Agnes?'

She had thought so, considering that Zion Agnes was always behind every major change in the future so far, but she soon dismissed the thought.

As of yet, she couldn't find any connection between them.

"Just one more day... Can't we stay just one more day?"

Rain continued to pester the woman.

"We're already behind schedule. We can't afford to delay any longer here."

The woman once again responded firmly, just as the surroundings grew noisy.

"Is it true? A massive calamity subjugation is being launched from the imperial city?"

The woman heard a conversation between two middle-aged men passing by.

"Yes, it's true. Specifically, it's the royal family, not the imperial city, who are leading the subjugation. Most speculate it's due to the competition for the throne. The throne is vacant, after all."

"Ah, the empire is going to be quite noisy for a while."

"I think it'll be interesting. It's quite rare for all the royals to leave the imperial city like this."

"Don't say such things carelessly out there. You could get into trouble if you're not careful..."

As the middle-aged men walked away, their conversation faded.

And when their voices were no longer audible,

"Subjugating... all the calamities?"

The woman's voice, filled with disbelief, stopped abruptly.

The Agnes royal family's calamity subjugation.

This news spread rapidly throughout the capital.

And for good reason, as there had been instances of royals setting out to subjugate a single calamity, but it was extremely rare for all the royals to embark on subjugating several calamities at once.

Therefore, it naturally drew the attention of people of all statuses living in the empire.

Not long after the news spread,

"His Highness Rubrious is leaving the imperial city!"

"Following him, Princess Diana is also departing!"

The royals began to set out one by one toward the calamities they were tasked with.

Ordinarily, they would march slowly for the sake of the numerous people who waited in front of the imperial city to witness their departure, performing the basic pageantry.

"Hurry up!"

Utekan and the other royals hastened, swiftly moving past the people and out of the capital.

It was because this subjugation had the condition of 'being the first' attached to it.

After all, it was a competition for the throne, and there was no time for leisure.

However,

"Here, take this, Master."

Ironically, Zion, who had instigated all this, was leisurely ascending a steep mountain path in the north, where the Steel Fortress was located, along with Liushina.

Unlike the other royals, Zion moved with only one companion.

This allowed them to depart much quicker than the others.

Thanks to this, they had already arrived near their destination.

"How is it? If you bring me along, you can enjoy coffee even while traveling."

Liushina, who had just magically brewed the coffee, handed it to him with confident pride. It seemed she was trying to use this opportunity to impress Zion and increase her chances of accompanying him more often.

This would have been impossible if Twilight Swordsmen had not come under Zion's command, as they wouldn’t have been able to exchange tasks with Utekan's remaining secret forces.

"How's the taste?"

Zion, after taking a sip of the coffee, replied in a calm tone.

"No, it's the worst coffee I've ever had."

His blunt remark was even more cutting due to his calm delivery.

Hoping that cooling it down might improve it somewhat,

-Swish!

Liushina used an ice spirit to lower the temperature...

"It's still terrible."

It just turned into cold, tasteless coffee.

Liushina’s face, which had been confident, fell momentarily, but it couldn't be helped. Zion had never compromised when it came to coffee.

Moreover, the taste was indeed worse than what Priscilla used to make.

"That's strange. It was fine earlier..."

Ignoring her, who was sipping the remaining coffee with a puzzled look, Zion focused ahead.

'Is it still there?'

Zion recalled the information about the Monster Legion he was about to subjugate, and at the same time, thought of 'that thing' existing in the heartland where the Monster Legion was stationed.

The key to hunting Utekan and the primary reason for choosing the Monster Legion.

Obtaining 'that thing' would grant him a much greater advantage in the battle against Utekan.

'But it will still be difficult if I can't raise Heukseongha to at least 4 stars.'

After receiving treatment from the strange doctor, Zion's physical condition had improved, and his mastery of Heukseongha had soared to the brink of 3 stars.

However, he had yet to break through the wall to 4 stars.

Zion intended to use the upcoming battle with the Monster Legion to break through this barrier.

The most important thing for advancing one’s realm was, after all, actual combat.

Now that the physical limitations were almost gone, breaking through the wall of 4 stars would make it much easier to advance further.

'Additionally, I'll explore the new methods of using the Dragon Explosion Spear I've obtained.'

Amplification and expansion.

The two powers contained in the Dragon Explosion Spear seemed to have various uses in the future.

'For now, the only thing that comes to mind is combining it with the ice spirit...'

That was when it happened.

"Master."

Liushina, who was beside him, quietly called out to Zion.

"Is that... our destination?"

Her finger pointed towards a massive fortress in the distance.

It was the Steel Fortress.

However, the state of the fortress was unusual.

Boom! Roar!

The endless explosions and roars of monsters emanating from within the fortress.

Along with this, waves of monsters were relentlessly surging towards the inside of the fortress from the outside.

"This is getting interesting, isn't it?"

Cutting off what Zion was about to say, Liushina looked at him with eyes full of anticipation.

She seemed to be seeking permission to eagerly dive into that chaotic scene.

'Reducing their numbers in advance might be a good idea.'

At that moment, Zion smiled wryly and nodded,

"Kyahaha!"

Boom!

Her figure shot towards the fortress at an alarming speed.