Lords go left, Emperors go right

"Your Highness Aosta, please go ahead and do your work! I will take them to visit the Blom Vault first."

Osta originally wanted to relax a little and stay here with these young ladies. However, Chris, his exclusive combat maid who followed behind him, suddenly stepped forward, leaned close to Osta's ear and whispered, reporting to him the latest intelligence she had received.

That information made Osta's expression change slightly. However, due to the presence of guests, he couldn't get angry in front of those young ladies. He could only continue to smile and explain to them that he wanted to leave.

Lanis was busy greeting her bestie, so she didn't think too much about it. She wanted to lead these young ladies to visit the Blom Treasury first and discuss some business matters. She would then consider entertainment activities, so she didn't explore the purpose of Osta's departure.

"Chris, is this true?"

"Lord Osta, this is the latest report we received. If you want to accompany Miss Lanis and the others, you don't have to rush back to deal with it."

"Lenice and the others can understand. It's better to deal with this kind of thing as soon as possible."

"Lord Osta, please follow me."

Osta and the two exclusive maids, Chris and Sophia, quickly left Miss Lanis's room and returned to the lord's mansion. The entrance of the luxurious villa was already crowded with people watching the excitement. When Osta pushed through the crowd and went in, he found that there were many excited businessmen at the door of the villa, all dressed in gorgeous clothes.

There were a large number of lord mansion guards who were maintaining order at the scene. If the guards hadn't been there, the situation might have gotten out of control. The merchants looked anxious, and there were many ashes on their fancy clothes, as if they were left after a fight. The guards of the lord mansion were equipped with clean equipment, so these fights should have nothing to do with them.

The guards outside the lord's mansion were the clan members of the Valkyrie tribe, those male warriors. They were tall and mighty, with an average height of 180cm or more. They had a kind of majesty when they stood there. Although the merchants were emotional, they did not dare to do anything too outrageous.

"Your Highness is not in the house, please come back later!"

"When will His Highness Aosta be back?"

"Your Highness will be receiving an important guest from the north today and will not be back so soon."

"Our goods have been detained. If we don't hurry up..."

"What's wrong? What happened?!"

"Your Highness Aosta, you are finally back. You must help us decide this matter!"

After Osta appeared, the emotional merchants instantly exploded, and they all surrounded him and complained to Osta about the unfair treatment they had suffered before. Because there were so many people and so many things to say, Sophia, one of Osta's exclusive combat maids, cast the sacred magic of the light system "Heart of Tranquility".

With the blessing of the gentle light, the merchants finally calmed down and were no longer as irritable as before. After calming down, the merchants put forward several representatives to explain the reasons to Osta.

It turned out that these merchants were all going to do business in the Aosta territory. On the way to St. Louis, an important port city in the coastal area of ​​Bloomfield, their merchant ships and cargo ships were intercepted halfway before they reached the dock. They were intercepted at sea.

Theoretically, the four oceans belong to the free navigation zone. Except for encountering pirates and being robbed, ships generally will not be intercepted by other forces when taking public routes. However, there are often unexpected situations, such as the merchant ships and cargo ships of these emotional merchants being intercepted by the Farntilt Empire Navy.

The other party seized the merchant ships and cargoes after a search in the name of investigating illegal goods. This search was just an excuse. The merchant ships and cargo ships that could travel on public routes were basically legitimate merchants with formal procedures and legal cargo transportation.

If we really want to search for illegal merchant ships and cargo ships, anyone with a little bit of common sense will know that these ships will definitely not take public routes. They all take detours and take many uncommon remote routes to transport contraband and special commodities.

The purpose of the Faratirt Empire Navy was obvious, which was to extort money openly. After the inspection, they required the merchants to pay a deposit equal to about one-third of the total value of the goods on the ship before they were released. Otherwise, the ship and the goods would be detained for a long time.

The merchants had no place to reason. Even if no prohibited goods or special commodities were found on the ship, they still had to pay a deposit. The merchants who protested in vain were expelled by the navy of the Farntilt Empire to a merchant ship that had been emptied of its cargo, and then rushed back to raise money.

If the deposit is not raised within the stipulated period, the seized goods and ships will not be returned. Compared with piracy, this open robbery only has the Imperial Navy uniform. After Osta learned that his opponent this time was the Farntilt Imperial Navy, his expression became much more cautious.

Osta was not afraid of the empire, he just felt that things were getting a little troublesome. The Farantilt Empire itself was not a continental country, but an island country. All the countries on the four continents of the human race were collectively called continental countries. In addition to the four continents, there were many maritime empires based on large islands in the four oceans. These countries were collectively called island countries.

The island countries basically maintain a neutral stance in their foreign relations, and do not have close contacts with the countries on the human continent. This neutrality is very hypocritical. Those island countries secretly make small moves and often send troops to rob merchant ships and cargo ships of mainland countries. Many times, after they succeed, they will blame the pirates.

Because the shipbuilding technology of the human race is generally very poor, the shipbuilding and navigation technology of the island countries is slightly better than that of the mainland countries. Therefore, for the petty behavior of the island countries, most mainland countries are too lazy to care about it and turn a blind eye to it.

Merchants who suffer losses often have no way to express their grievances. They just suffer in silence, and no one pays attention to their complaints. This time, the merchants came to Prince Aosta for help, just with the mentality of giving it a try, and originally had low expectations.

It is quite difficult for mainland countries to impose sanctions on these island countries. The other party did not rob official ships, but only civilian merchant ships and cargo ships. It cannot be regarded as an act of declaring war, but at most a provocation, which cannot rise to the national level.

"I already know what happened. You guys go to the hotel and wait for my news. I will immediately arrange for someone to negotiate with the Farantilt Empire."

"Your Highness Aosta, I'm counting on you."

Chapter 184: Confrontation in the Honeylight Sea Area

After receiving the merchants' complaints, Osta did not just deal with them perfunctorily. He immediately prepared to set off to negotiate with the Faratilt Empire Navy. The merchants were grateful and expressed their willingness to pay tariffs to Osta's territory, Bloomfield, according to a quarter of the total value of the goods transported by their cargo ships.

The port city of St. Louis originally did not impose tariffs and commercial taxes on merchant ships and cargo ships. Of course, if merchants voluntarily paid taxes, it would be an exception and they would also accept it. These merchants were still very sober and knew that there was no free banquet in the world. If they did not share some benefits with Prince Aosta, they were worried that he would not be sincere and would just talk casually. Moreover, paying tariffs to the lord also indirectly meant seeking safety and asylum.

Aosta did not collect customs duties and commercial taxes before, so he could ignore such a thing. After all, if there is no tax, there is no obligation. Merchants are often defrauded by island countries. In a fit of anger, they would rather choose to get a bargain from mainland countries than continue to be exploited by island countries.

"Tifana, is that where the incident happened?"

"My Lord, I have already investigated and it is there. By the way, you only brought a few people this time, isn't it a little too few?"

"Tifana, I'm just going to negotiate, not to fight. There's no need to bring so many people."

"My Lord, I'm worried that the other side might think it's unbearable when they see that we are outnumbered."

"Mavis, if we really have to fight, Chris will be able to handle it."

"My Lord, there is no need to trouble Sister Chris to take action. Savannah and I can handle those outsiders."

One of the matriarchs of the primitive tribe under Osta, the matriarch of the original Holy Elf tribe, "Holy Elf" Tifana summoned a magic circle that can move in the air, responsible for transporting Osta and his party to the sea area where the incident occurred to investigate the situation. The fastest way to move is of course to fly in the air.

Sophia wanted to stay in the lord's mansion, use holy magic to appease the merchants who might come to ask about the situation and progress at any time, so she did not participate in this operation. Osta entrusted Tifana to help. This beautiful woman with fairy wings can also use flying mobile magic circles, and her flying speed is not much worse than Sophia's.

In this operation, Osta's entourage are three girls: Chris, Savannah (True Valkyrie) and Mavis (Silver Death). Chris is in charge of the work of the accompanying maid, and she is not needed to take action unless it is necessary.

Savannah, as the chief of the Valkyrie tribe, has enough fighting power to defeat most of the human masters easily. Not to mention Mavis, the lost artifact "Death Cutter" controlled by the loli Death God, the power of this Death Scythe can easily kill those who stand in her way. Her fighting power is comparable to Savannah who holds the holy weapon.

Death God Loli Mavis's concern was just a casual question, and her tone was more like a joke. She was very clear about the fighting power of her best friends. In addition to these entourage members, Osta secretly contacted Super Hurricane Queen Anna and Princess Vichy and asked them to stand by in secret.

Once the negotiations break down, Aosta will not rule out the use of artificial means, such as natural disasters and sea disasters, to force the navy of the Faratilt Empire to make concessions and compromises. If all the ships on the other side are sunk in the sea, it can only be attributed to the super hurricane, and it has nothing to do with Aosta directly.

The incident occurred in the Hanilite Sea, which is far away from the Central Continent. This sea is famous for having a large natural fishing ground called Leyte. The specialty seafood in this sea is the famous fishery resource of salmon.

Before setting off, Osta had looked up information about the sphere of influence of island countries. The Hanilite Sea was not the sphere of activity of the Falatilt Empire at all, at least not before. The sea originally belonged to the jurisdiction of an empire called Abiglans.

The foreign policy of the Abiglans Empire is relatively mild. They focus on maritime trade and are keen to do business with mainland countries. When governing the Hanilite Sea, the empire never deliberately made things difficult for the merchants passing through, and would not deliberately target the ships passing through the sea, whether they were merchant ships or cargo ships.

This is also an important reason why the sea area has always been regarded as a safe public route by merchants. However, the situation has changed now. The Abiglans Empire has lost actual control over the Hanilite Sea area for some unknown reason.

The successor to the control of this place, the Faratilt Empire, has a more aggressive foreign policy. Unlike the previous controller, they do not let go of any merchant ships or cargo ships passing by. The island country army openly seized merchant ships and cargo ships, which has never happened in this sea area before.

Osta carefully investigated the origins of these two island nations. The predecessor of the royal family of the Abigrans Empire was the royal family of an empire in the western continent of the human race. Because they failed in the power struggle of the imperial family, in order to avoid death, they fled overseas with their remaining forces, and finally relied on the island where they settled to successfully establish the current Abigrans Empire.

The royal family of the Abiglans Empire was of relatively orthodox origin, and their foreign policy was relatively not too barbaric, at least they had to take into account the image of the former royal family members. After consolidating their power, the Abiglans Empire had thought about fighting back, counterattacking that continental country, and regaining their throne.

However, everything has changed over time. The faction that succeeded in seizing power at that time had several emperors who were all wise rulers. After several rounds of hard work, the strength of that continental empire has grown by leaps and bounds. The Abiglanth Empire no longer has the strength and ability to continue the original power struggle.

Not long after, the royal family of the Abigrans Empire experienced changes and divisions, and fell into a long-term dilemma of internal strife, and no longer had time to deal with the outside world or to take care of the restoration of the country. Compared with the Abigrans Empire, the predecessor of the Falatiert Empire was not very glorious, and it can even be said that it had a serious black history.

The royal family of the empire was originally a famous pirate leader. The pirate leader was quite politically savvy. After recruiting a large number of subordinates, he did not directly declare himself king like many of his peers and became a famous pirate king. He chose a more ambitious approach, which was to build a maritime empire.

Because his bloodline had little to do with the royal family, the pirate leader used extremely brutal methods. He led his men to destroy Fran, a small island country that was only a kingdom at the time.

After destroying the Kingdom of Fran, the pirate leader's forces annexed the Kingdom of Fran and renamed it the current Fratelt Empire. The original royal family members of the Kingdom of Fran were slaughtered, and the queen, concubines and princesses were all abducted by the pirate leader, who forcibly married them and claimed to have the orthodox royal bloodline.

The royal nobles of the Faratilt Empire were born as pirates, so it was not surprising that their foreign policy was so barbaric. Before Osta set out, he had a premonition that this negotiation would not go smoothly, and that they might have to resort to force to resolve it.

After the fire destroyed the port town of Mager, the port town of St. Louis became the most prosperous port in the region, with many merchant ships and cargo ships coming and going at the dock every day. The Faratilt Empire was most likely coveting these benefits and wanted to get a piece of the pie. Unfortunately, they found the wrong person this time. The gentleman prince was not like others who would give up because of the trouble.

"Lord Osta, that is the Honeylight Sea, what a beautiful view!"

"It's really good, Chris. It would be better if there weren't these big ships that are an eyesore."

After a while of flying, the flying magic circle that Osta and his party took arrived at the scene of the incident, over the Hanilite Sea. This sea area was quite easy to identify, and as soon as they arrived at the sea area, they saw the fleet of the Faratilt Empire Navy.

This large navy has more than 500 warships. The warships of the Imperial Navy formed several longitudinal arrays, just cutting off the sea route in the middle, or dividing it into several sections, making it difficult to break through.

The specifications of the warships of the Faratilt Empire Navy are still very high. In terms of shipbuilding and navigation technology, the island countries are at least much stronger than the continental countries. The warships of the imperial fleet that the previous Obelix Empire envoys took were not as good as the warships of the current Faratilt Empire Navy.

These island countries have never been able to become a major force due to their limited territory and population, and have never been able to pose a substantial threat to mainland countries. In addition to their technological advantages in the navy, island countries are crushed by mainland countries in many aspects, so they dare not openly declare war on mainland countries.

In addition to the ships of the Falatilt Empire Navy fleet, there were more than 200 merchant ships and cargo ships seized by them. After driving away the merchants, the Falatilt Empire Navy detained the other party's ships and waited for those merchants to go back and raise money to redeem their ships and cargoes with ransom.

It would be better if the merchants didn't come, they would earn more. This island country obviously targeted legitimate merchants, and only attacked their merchant ships and cargo ships. They didn't dare to provoke the official fleets of other continental countries, such as the special envoy fleet of the Obelisk Empire, so as not to cause national disputes.

Bullying merchants is almost risk-free, and the extorted merchants have no place to reason. If they attack the imperial fleets of other continental countries, the problem will be serious. These continental countries usually turn a blind eye to the various small actions of the island countries.

If an island country really attacks the official fleet of a mainland country, it would be tantamount to a direct declaration of war, and at that time, these mainland countries would not sit idly by. Therefore, the Faratilt Empire Navy has always been picking on the weak, and it is still thriving today without any major problems.

"Stop, what are you doing here? This is a warship of the Faratilt Empire Navy. Who allowed you to board the ship without permission? Come on, take them down!"

"We are...it seems that there is no way to reason with you, Savannah, please."

"Understood, Lord, wait a moment!"

"Too weak, Lord. We overestimated them before."

Aosta and his party randomly landed on a warship of the Falatilt Empire Navy, choosing a ship that was relatively close to them. The Falatilt Empire Navy, upon discovering the anomaly, immediately surrounded them.

After seeing the beautiful women accompanying Osta, the true colors of the Falatilt Empire navy, who were generally of low quality, were exposed in an instant. They wanted to forcibly detain Osta and others in the name of search, and directly skipped the interrogation process, and many procedures were advanced.

As a senior gentleman, Osta saw through the dirty thoughts of the Faratilt Imperial Navy at a glance. These Imperial Navy soldiers obviously wanted to detain Chris and the others, and then do something unspeakable under the pretext of a body search.

Osta was not going to be polite with them. Anyone who dared to spy on him must be severely punished. Osta entrusted the accompanying Valkyrie Savannah to take action. Savannah was fully equipped with a set of Valkyrie armor. She casually summoned the Valkyrie spear and swept across the Falatilt Empire Navy.

Those Imperial Navy soldiers were no match for Savannah at all. Dozens of them were knocked away by a single sweep, and many were knocked unconscious on the spot. The Valkyrie showed mercy, and the Gentleman Prince had no intention of killing them, otherwise, these Imperial Navy soldiers would most likely have lost their upper bodies.

The Imperial Navy in the distance saw their own people suffer, so they raised their bows and arrows, ready to support. At this time, the loli death god Mephis beside Osta swung the death scythe in her hand and slashed it at the void. A huge air blade broke through the air and cut off the main sail mast of the warship on the spot.

The entire warship was shaking because of the gust of wind, as if it was hit by a huge wave. Death God Loli was also letting it go, and didn't really move. If the lord allowed it, she could directly cut the entire warship in half.

"Everyone, my sister is young and doesn't know how to control her strength. Please be considerate! If I accidentally hit the boat, please don't be offended."

Mavis's casual attack instantly stunned the Faratilt Empire navy. The soldiers were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and the hesitant thoughts in their minds disappeared in an instant. This move was just a casual move. If the silver-haired twin-tailed loli's attack hit the hull, it would not be difficult for the entire warship to be cut in half by the air blade.

It was only then that the Falatilt Empire Navy realized that they were in big trouble and had hit a steel plate. Even though there were only a few people on the other side, they could easily destroy the warship.

"Put down your weapons, everyone. Excuse me, if there was any misunderstanding, I am the captain of this ship. May I ask what business you have here?"

Just when they were about to fall into a standoff, the captain of the warship arrived late. He was a smooth-looking middle-aged man who spoke in an extremely flattering tone, with a hint of hindsight. Osta knew very well that if it weren't for Mavis's terrifying attack, the captain would probably be late or even not show up.

Sometimes, force is more persuasive than words. After all, he was here to negotiate, and Osta didn't intend to ruin the relationship. When he saw the other captain come out to smooth things over, he went down the stairs.

"It's not a big deal. Some merchants told me that you seized their ships and goods, so I came here to negotiate."

"We are conducting routine inspections of passing ships to see if there are any prohibited goods."

"You are only the captain of this warship. You don't have enough authority. Let your most senior officer come and talk to me."

"So... So it's the Lord of Bloomfield. I'm sorry for being disrespectful just now. Are you guys blind? How can you treat guests like this?"

"Your Excellency, I will report this right away. Please wait a moment."

After Osta revealed his true identity, the captain's expression changed as fast as turning the pages of a book. He scolded his men for being blind and apologized to Osta, but Osta felt that smile was hypocritical.

If Mephis's move hadn't been so shocking, the other side probably wouldn't have been so polite even if they knew Aosta's identity as a lord. The captain's identity naturally couldn't be compared with Aosta's identity as a lord, so he quickly informed the commander-in-chief of the fleet, the chief captain of the Fourth Fleet of the Falatilt Empire Navy, to come and talk to Aosta in detail.

A few people threatened a huge fleet. No one except Aosta dared to do this. He didn't even have to do it himself, nor did he have to arrange for the girls around him to do it. If the other side didn't cooperate, they would be annihilated by the shipwreck brought by the super hurricane and die in the natural disaster.

Chapter 185 Temporary resolution of maritime conflict

As an island country, the Faratilt Empire cannot compare with the continental countries like the Obelisk Empire in terms of comprehensive national strength. As the military overlord of the Western Continent, the Obelisk Empire has its own comprehensive strength, and the Faratilt Empire cannot compete with it, especially during the reign of the current emperor Augustus VIII.

Augustus VIII of the Empire always pursued a tough policy towards foreign countries. He was privately called the "Iron-Blooded Emperor" by outsiders. He was an uneasy and warlike emperor who had a great deterrent effect on other countries. Not only the countries on the Western Continent, but also the island countries on the sea.

As the third prince of the Obelisk Empire and a lord sent by the Empire to the Central Continent, Osta represented the Obelisk Empire in any public or private occasions.

Therefore, this fleet belonging to the Fourth Fleet of the Flantilt Imperial Navy did not dare to neglect the arrival of Aosta. They quickly invited the captain of the combined fleet to come over. The uniforms of these Imperial Navy soldiers looked barely adequate.

The odd thing is that the military caps they wear are similar to the horned helmets of the Vikings, which look a bit out of place, like a patchwork of styles. It seems that these imperial navy have not forgotten their history as pirates.

"My Lord, nice to meet you. I am the captain of this fleet, Fayez. I didn't know you were coming. I hope you can forgive me for not welcoming you."

"You must be the supreme commander here! I'll make it short. Those merchant ships and cargo ships, you are now..."

Osta was not polite. When he met the other side's commander-in-chief, he immediately got straight to the point and explained his purpose directly. Osta made his request to the supreme commander of the Fourth Fleet of the Faratilte Empire Navy, Count Fayez, and ordered the other side to immediately release all the merchant ships and cargo ships that had been seized unconditionally in an imperative tone and wording.

Count Fayed is a gloomy-looking middle-aged man, nearly 170cm tall, with dark grey hair, shoulder-length hair, and a pair of black pupils. He also has a noticeable scar on his face. If he were not wearing a gorgeous navy uniform, it would be difficult for outsiders to associate his true identity with aristocracy through his appearance.

Count Fayed's fierce appearance would most likely be mistaken by outsiders as a brutal pirate leader who had escaped and was roaming around the seas committing crimes. Regarding Osta's request, Count Fayed's expression was uncertain, as if he was secretly weighing the pros and cons and making calculations in his mind.

Logically speaking, these two hundred merchant ships and cargo ships were all fat meat that was about to be caught. It would be too embarrassing to watch the cooked duck fly away. Even if the other party was the lord of the Obelisk Empire and the prince of the empire, he only brought a few people this time.

Except for Aosta, all the other accompanying personnel were women. If Count Fayed handed over the seized ship, once the news got out, he would lose all his face. Count Fayed knew that if he didn't handle this matter well, his position as the captain of the fourth fleet of the Farntilt Empire Navy would probably be abolished.

"Your Excellency, we are just conducting a routine inspection of prohibited goods and commodities. Once the inspection is completed, we will release them immediately."

"Your test results haven't been clarified for so long?"

"Your Excellency, we will do it as soon as possible. Those merchants are just talking nonsense, don't believe their one-sided words."

Osta was no fool, he saw through Count Fayed's delaying tactics at a glance. The other party clearly wanted to delay the matter as long as possible and end it in vain. Thinking of this, Osta's face changed, his expression was subtle, he showed a weird smile, and sneered at the distant horizon.

On the horizon over there, there was a scene of dark clouds, lightning and thunder, as if a super storm would occur at any time. Osta had already secretly kept a backup plan. He had contacted in advance. At this time, the super hurricane queen Anna and Princess Vichy were on standby over the horizon.

Once the negotiations between the two sides break down, the two of them can come to support at any time. At that time, Anna and Wei will directly take action and perform a natural disaster on the Falatilt Empire Navy Fleet. Even though there are hundreds of different types of ships in this sea area, they are powerless in the face of natural disasters.

"Count Fayed, do you sail without considering the weather?"