I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

The power of the forbidden spell spread across the sea, as if an oil tanker had sunk, leaving only an endless expanse of blackness in sight.

The pirates outside the range of the forbidden spell noticed something was wrong and began to accelerate as if trying to survive.

When the captain of one of the three-masted sailing ships rushed out of his cabin, he saw the black sea that was swallowing up the ship in the distance. He hesitated for only a moment before turning and rushing to the helm, yelling for his men to hoist the sails, cut the mooring lines, and flee out to sea for their lives.

The sailors moved swiftly, the sails billowing in the wind, and the wind mages poured all their energy into enchanting the ship. The ship tilted sharply to the side, cutting a white wave, and sped away in the opposite direction.

The pirates on the ship were pale-faced, looking back at the approaching black sea, their hearts pounding wildly.

They didn't know if they could escape; they just hoped to outrun the ships that were stuck in place.

"Faster! Faster!"

The first mate hoarsely urged his men on.

The sailors on deck frantically adjusted the sails and ropes, and the ship rocked violently in the waves.

The captain gripped the helm tightly with both hands, his eyes fixed on the horizon ahead.

If we drive a little further, maybe we can—

A figure appeared silently at the bow of the ship.

The man was dressed in a dark gray hooded robe, tall and slender, with a silver-white mask covering only the upper half of his face, and a faint smile playing on his lips.

He stood there on the ship's railing, relaxed, like a traveler taking a stroll.

"Who?!" The captain drew his sword with lightning speed, his eyes fixed warily on the newcomer.

This person's ability to appear silently on the ship's side is definitely not simple.

"Who are you? How did you get up here?"

The masked man slowly walked down from the ship's side, his steps calm and steady.

The first mate, flanking from the side, gripped a short axe and said in a low voice, "Whoever you are, stop immediately—"

The masked man turned his head, as if he had just noticed him, and then smiled.

Are you ordering me around?

Before he could finish speaking, the first mate's body suddenly stiffened, as if an invisible hand had gripped his neck, and his feet were half a foot off the ground, dangling in mid-air.

Just as the captain was about to swing his sword forward, he noticed that the masked man had somehow acquired a crown.

It was as if it were a crown made of pure gold.

The edge pattern is identical to the national emblem on the reverse of the standard gold coin of the human kingdom, and the crown is inlaid with nine tiny gemstones that shimmer with a warm luster in the sunlight.

The masked man gently shook his head: "Don't rush, I have something else to say."

As he spoke, he slowly put it on his head.

In an instant, his figure seemed to grow taller.

An aura that made all witnesses instinctively want to bow down and submit spread out. Some force silently pressed down on everyone's shoulders, bent their backs, and forced them to kneel.

The surrounding air grew heavy, and the ships that were trying to escape, no matter how far they had already traveled on the sea, seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, involuntarily turning their bows back towards him.

The masked man looked down at the pirates on the deck and let out a hearty laugh.

The captain didn't struggle for long before he also knelt down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the first mate had already been put down and was kneeling a few steps away in the same position.

The masked man walked up to the captain, knelt down, and looked him in the eye as he knelt.

"Do you know what this crown I'm wearing is?"

The captain's lips moved a few times, his throat dry: "...I don't know."

The masked man chuckled and snapped his fingers.

The first mate next to the captain suddenly fell backward, his body convulsing violently in mid-air. Smoke began to rise from under his skin, and flames surged up his torso, enveloping him in a layer of burning flames.

Before he could even scream, he collapsed onto the deck as a charred body, then turned to ashes and vanished.

"Ah...sorry," the masked man said lightly, "my hand slipped."

The captain was speechless; his teeth were chattering.

He felt his sanity rapidly crumbling, his gaze fixed on the charred remains of the first mate, his mind blank, filled only with pure fear.

The masked man's gaze shifted to him, awaiting his answer.

The captain stammered, "I...I..."

"Don't know? Then let someone else answer."

The second mate was sent to a meeting by the captain and is not on board.

The masked man stood up again and walked towards the boatswain, stopping in front of him and asking in the same amiable tone:

You answer this.

The boatswain's mind raced as he desperately tried to recall where he had seen the crown before, his gaze fixed on the three overlapping circular arcs, and then he remembered the pattern on the gold coin.

Yes, that's the crown printed on the gold coin!

"Gold coins, printed on gold coins!"

The masked man clapped his hands lightly and praised, "Congratulations, you answered correctly."

In other words, the man in front of you is very likely a member of the royal family.

The captain was completely stunned, feeling his hands and feet go cold, waiting for the other person to say the next sentence, or for him to turn into charred remains like the first mate.

But the other person did nothing, looking down at him with great interest, seemingly enjoying his fear at that moment.

The captain finally managed to pull himself back from the brink of collapse: "Who...who are you?"

The masked man tilted his head to look at him, chuckled, and took off his mask.

Beneath the mask was a face that bore some resemblance to the current king, but with a more slender profile and slightly upturned eyebrows.

"I usually keep a low profile, but some people may have heard of the title Prince George."

The captain's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

Of course he knew that name.

The current king's younger brother, he spends most of his time in the capital, serving as one of the royal family's representatives in foreign affairs, dealing with nobles and the church.

But this prince should be handling state affairs in the capital, so why is he on the southern sea?

Prince George seemed to read his mind and said in a light tone, "You don't need to think too much about it, you're all going to die anyway."

He turned his head again to look at the distant sea that had turned black, then his gaze returned to the kneeling pirates.

Perhaps it was a side effect of the [Golden Crown], but he felt a strong urge to confide in others at this moment.

He sat down on the edge of the deck, his posture casual, and said:

"But it doesn't matter. It's alright to let you know a few things before I die. You're probably curious why the royal family sold you pirates these new cannons, aren't you?"

No, we don't want to know at all, we just want to live.

The pirates below trembled with fear and dared not utter a sound.

He continued speaking to himself, "To give you a little bit of confidence, so that you feel you can sit down with the reef and discuss the 'future at sea'."

"Those cannons were sold to you by someone else. It was a trade-in program, a buyback at a discounted price. Sounds like a good deal, right? Actually, the old cannons weren't worth much, but I like seeing you think you've made a profit."

He chuckled softly.

"And then, you all gather here to listen to my foolish, alien brother speak. He wants to establish a half-orc kingdom, and as his older brother, I naturally agree. Of course, we also have our own purposes."

He looked at the kneeling pirates, his tone becoming increasingly lighthearted:

"Do you know that the Church, relying on the protection of the Holy Light, has more influence on the island than the royal family? What I want is very simple: to support a strong enough maritime force to fight against the Church, thereby making the Church show signs of weakness at sea, so that the kingdom can take the opportunity to regain control of the sea."

"As for those investigating the source of the cannons or those directly investigating my dear brother, no matter which line they follow, they will eventually run into the William family or the Augustus family. For this reason, I even made good use of that illegitimate son of the Augustus family. How about that? Isn't it interesting?"

He stood up and brushed non-existent dust off his robe: "So, even if the plan fails, it doesn't matter. I'll just earn a little less. But it's different for you. You know all this, so..."

Prince George raised his right hand, ready to snap his fingers to end the conversation.

Just then, a strong gust of air pressed down from above, as if something extremely heavy was falling at a speed that defied the laws of physics.

Prince George looked up instinctively and, in a daze, saw a meteorite rapidly falling, its target clearly his location.

Without a second thought, he activated the power of the Golden Crown, conjuring a semi-transparent golden barrier above his head.

But the "meteorite" paused abruptly the moment it touched the barrier, and then fine cracks appeared on the surface of the barrier. The golden light shining through the cracks intertwined with the intense golden light unique to the holy mountain.

The power of the Golden Crown is being gradually eroded!

He had no time to think further; in a flash, he retreated to an adjacent ship at the last moment before the barrier shattered.

With the power of the golden crown acting as a buffer, the "meteorite" did not directly penetrate the hull. The ship suddenly sank downwards and then bounced back, stirring up waves several feet high.

Prince George stood on the adjacent ship, squinting at the billowing smoke and dust. Just as he was about to ask who the other party was, he saw the smoke and dust being dispersed by an invisible force.

A figure stood on the ship's foreground, with a golden holy mountain shrunk to several meters high beneath his feet, and a holy sword half-inserted into it.