Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 320 The Imperial Heir Begins in the Duchy of Medinaceli!
Outside Pinghu Port lies the Tsushima Strait.

clang!clang!clang!
The mighty bells from heaven resounded across the sea, and the sacred sound seemed to make the fish, turtles, shrimps, and crabs in the sea become devout.

The magnificent gates of heaven opened once more, and the [Winged Angel] descended upon the East Sea Kingdom with an invincible fleet composed of numerous Tier 4 and Tier 5 ships.

One, two, three. This squadron totaled thirty-one ships, including four Tier IV nominal battleships with fifty guns each, and the rest were Tier V cruisers with thirty-two guns each.

There were absolutely no inferior armed merchant ships; they were all the finest imperial warships.

Since these large sailing warships had no power of their own and relied entirely on wind power to turn, they required a great deal of maneuvering space.

When sailing in formation at sea, the sailboats need to maintain a distance of 200 to 400 meters from each other. Three ships are about one kilometer apart, and a battle line of more than a dozen ships is enough to make people feel that the fleet extends to the horizon.

The invincible fleet, arranged in double columns, is like two impregnable Great Walls at sea; any enemy would be crushed upon them.

On the flagship, Gloria, the "Saint White Sister" with fair skin, a head full of silver hair peeking out from under her hood, and dressed entirely in white, led the accompanying priests in a pre-battle mass.

Harvey, a castrato who worked in the church choir, sang with a captivatingly beautiful voice:
“At that time, the great Prince Michael, who protects your people, will rise up, and there will be great troubles, unlike anything that has happened since the beginning of the nation until this time.”
"All those whose names are on the register of your people will be saved."

As the name suggests, castrato singers are significantly different from ordinary people.

The job requirements are extremely stringent—if you want to practice this divine skill, you must first castrate yourself.

They need to have an incision made when they are seven to ten years old so that they can retain the high-pitched voice of a child while having the lung capacity of an adult.

To become a perfect singer through art is the true way to dedicate oneself to art!

Of course, the Western doctors who were skilled in bloodletting therapy were not only inferior to the knife masters, but probably even less skilled than the folk craftsmen, such as the pig castrators. Their knife skills had a mortality rate as high as 80%.

Even those who survive have to go through layers of selection, and in the end, less than five percent are selected for the church choir.

Every eunuch who could rise to the upper ranks of the middle ranks was an elite among elites, an artist among artists.

As he sang, the statue of the level zero relic, the Winged Angel, suddenly emitted a soft glow that represented joy.

On a legendary warship, pleasing the living level 0 relics is clearly more important than any navigational technology.

Duke Medinacel was very satisfied with the abilities of his two foreign aids. He drew his swift sword from his waist, pointed it forward, and shouted:
"Target: Pinghu. Hmm?"

Ahead, the sea was shrouded in mist, and a lone sailboat slowly approached them.

However, a brand-new Donghai Kingdom Tier 5 battleship, the Danyang, had been waiting here for a long time.

At the bow of the ship, the second Wang Cheng, dressed in a black python robe, stood with his hand on his sword. Beside him stood Princess Shen Yueye, dressed in a fiery red phoenix robe and wearing a golden phoenix crown.

They were wealthy and blessed, a perfect couple; the moment they stood there, they became the center of everyone's attention, making it clear to all the Francois.

Wang Cheng did not lie to Amakusa Shiro.

Unlike the expeditionary fleet, which was carefree and arrogant, he had already revealed all his trump cards, except for the fact that he had not yet exposed the official power of the Great Zhao in Zhenhaiwei.

Even the third-rank military officer and commander of Zhenhai Guard, "Wang Fugui," removed his disguise and transformed back into the second Wang Cheng to fight against the Frankish expeditionary force.

Moreover, it wasn't just him who came; there was also Yan Yunxiao, a pearl diver with even greater freedom of movement.

They had already boarded the [Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship] ahead of time, and the [Heavenly Official's Realm], holding the Heavenly Official's edict, was in charge, giving them a huge surprise.

Wang Cheng and Shen Yueye were tasked with another mission: to travel alone to the meeting aboard the Danyang, the first domestically built fifth-class warship of the East China Sea Kingdom.

The main reason is that nobody wants to team up with this ship.

【Auspicious Protection】 can absorb all the luck of all friendly ships on the battlefield and become one with them, so that one cannot be damaged or sunk before all friendly warships are sunk.

This ability is even more abnormal than Gao Ren and Gao Jingzhong's "Official Killer Attacking Body" pattern. It can kill not only superiors, but also all teammates!
"As expected, it is an invincible fleet. Just one of its squadrons is more than the wealth accumulated by my grandfather and me over two generations."

The title of the Franco Empire as the overlord of the seven seas is now truly well-deserved.

Only a crushing defeat would disqualify a champion.

The expeditionary force's assessment of the Eastern Sea Kingdom was entirely correct.

The two sides are not evenly matched in terms of combat strength on paper.

Fortunately, it was a superior force against an inferior one, and by sending the main fleet to fight the Japanese pirates from Chichidan, they were able to defeat them decisively.

If the main fleet were to face off against another fleet of superior ships, the fledgling self-developed sailing fleet would be annihilated before it could even achieve a significant lead.

Even with the aid of the divinely crafted treasure ships, this legacy would undoubtedly suffer heavy losses, and it would be a long time before it could be recovered. Wang Cheng was observing the Franco expeditionary force, and Duke Medinacel was also observing them.

The sailing warship in front of him was clearly newly built, and the gleaming cannons on board made him shudder.

He immediately realized that the man in front of him, the famous author of "The Influence of Sea Power" in the Western Continent, was not a bookworm who only talked about military strategy, but a pragmatist.

"They have actually imitated our galleons and successfully built their own sailing warships?"

If you were given a few years, he would likely become another formidable enemy capable of threatening the Empire's interests in the South Seas, and even taking a share of the spoils in the 'Gates of Hell'.

However, don't worry, I won't give you any more opportunities to grow.

His gaze then fell upon Shen Yueye beside Wang Cheng, and upon seeing the azure-green of her fox-like eyes, the Duke was overjoyed:

“Carlo is right. Although it looks green like many Westerners, it is completely different from those cheap light greens and olive greens.”

This unique turquoise eye color is indeed from a descendant of the Paleologian royal family!
The hope that His Majesty will be crowned with the imperial throne rests on her, and the glory of our Medinaceli family also rests on her.

We are the oldest ducal family in the empire, and our status outside the Habsburg royal family is second to none.

My request is not high; I only ask that after the fall of the Great Zhao Dynasty, I and my descendants be the emperors of this eastern kingdom.

In high spirits, he couldn't wait to shout to Wang Cheng opposite him:
"Your Majesty, Prince Jinghai, have you come here to surrender?"
I admire your chivalry!
If you hand over the princess of the Paleologian royal family to me, and then undergo baptism and swear to convert to the Church of the Holy Cross, I can promise on behalf of His Majesty Philip II to spare your Eastern Sea Kingdom.

They could even marry you a princess from the Habsburg family.

The Habsburg family motto: "Let the continental nations fight, we'll get married happily."

He was also jokingly referred to by nobles of various countries on the mainland as "ruling the world with his lower body".

Others would rather gain something through blood than sweat, but they would rather gain something through marriage than shed blood.

It must be said that if the conditions he offered were placed in the Western Continent, anyone would have to seriously consider them.

Wang Cheng raised his hand without hesitation:
"I reject!"

The thought of the Habsburg family's most famous longhorn-shaped face and underbite made him turn pale.

Fortunately, he caught a glimpse of his fox-like senior sister's stunning beauty and narrowly escaped death.

When Shen Yueye heard Duke Medinaceli's suggestion to trade her like an object, her emerald eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked him up and down, considering where to strike.

Even when a beautiful woman is angry, she possesses a unique charm, posing no threat whatsoever.

Wang Cheng held down his senior sister's small hand and gave the Duke a strange smile:

"However, I heard that the Duke's family was once the royal family of Castile, and that he was the eldest son's lineage."

Because he died young and passed the throne to his younger brother, the Franco Kingdom, which was later formed by the merging of Castile and Aragon, came into being, right?

In other words, you actually have a weak claim to the Franco throne!

When Duke Medinaceli heard him refuse, his face was already darkened, and this abrupt and incoherent statement only made him more impatient:
"What do you mean?"

"Hehe, actually I'm willing to become a part of the British Empire, but in my own way."

Wang Cheng glanced at the Xuanwu Gate plaque and the Xiangji Temple plaque, his eyes filled with greed. Collecting this "Imperial Rightful Heir Set" meant seizing power and achieving unparalleled success.

The country that could exert its greatest power was not the Great Zhao, which changed its crown prince only once every few decades, but the numerous Western countries that were divided into states.

No need for any strong claims; as long as you have a minimum right to make claims, they will treat you as one of their own, and you can issue a "Declaration of War Against All Nations" to declare war on the great powers.

Go straight to the Gaga and wreak havoc; if you win, you can take their crown.

Almost all the royal families in the Western Continent are related by blood. As long as this move is used, they can sweep through the western coast and forcibly build a great empire in just a few years.

"Let's set a small goal for today: start snowballing from the Duchy of Medinaceli!"

However, Wang Cheng did not rashly charge at the invincible fleet. Instead, he commanded the Danyang to suddenly turn around and head towards the depths of the fog-shrouded Ma Strait.

Duke Medinacel ordered without hesitation:

"Playing tricks, chase after them!"

(End of this chapter)