Claude was in a deep sleep. Even the six o 'clock bell from the wargod shrine didn't wake him up. It was only when his mother noticed that it was getting late and had Angelina go upstairs to wake him up.
He wiped his face and grabbed two pieces of white bread from his backpack before rushing out of the house.
It was almost time for class. If he was late, the strict Instructor Wickham wouldn't mind making him stand at attention outside the classroom for three periods.
He rushed into the classroom, panting heavily. Luckily, the bell had just rung when the first period's maths teacher, Vincent, hadn't entered the classroom yet, so he couldn't be considered late.
"Why did you come so late?"
Eriksson asked, "The three of us waited outside your house for a long time and thought you'd already left. Who knew that you wouldn't show up when we got to school?"
Claude rummaged through his backpack for his mathematics textbook. "Don't mention it. I overslept in the morning and ran all the way here."
"Your eyes are a little red and swollen. You look a little pale too. Did you sleep late last night?" Borkal asked as he studied Claude's complexion.
"Is that so?"
Claude touched his face. "Didn't we have a banquet last night? After it ended, Father went to the study to discuss something with the guests and left very late.
When I wanted to sleep, two stray cats came out of nowhere and started meowing on the roof. You know I live in the attic, so how was I supposed to sleep? It took me a lot of effort to chase them away, but I couldn't fall asleep after that. When I did fall asleep, I couldn't wake up again. "
"Hehe, you sure are unlucky."
Welikro chuckled. "It's the season for stray cats and their meowing is quite annoying.
But there's a way. If you kill one stray cat on your roof, no more stray cats will come to your roof.
Do you want me to lend you my musket from home?
Actually, cat meat is quite tasty. It's even more tender than chicken. "
"Forget it."
Claude looked at him with disdain. "Do you think my father will allow me to shoot at the roof with a gun? I won't be able to hit any stray cats and the roof will have to be repaired.
If you want to eat wild cat meat, go hunt in the wild yourself. "
"Wero, is it true that the cat's meat is more tender than chicken?" Welikro successfully changed the topic.
"Of course, let me tell you, that time …" Then, the two of them fell into a heated discussion about the quality and cooking methods of cat meat.
Had it not been for the fact that they were in class, he suspected that the two fellows would've gone home to get their guns and run around town looking for stray cats.
"Claude, I know what they're discussing," Borkal whispered.
"Them?
Who … "
"Your father and the others? My father was there last night as well. They were talking about opening a route from Whitestag to Tyrrsim in Nubissia.
If the route is successfully established, Whitestag will be upgraded to a port city and won't be under the jurisdiction of the prefectural city of Baromisse anymore. We'll be able to have our own budget and distribution rights in terms of administration and finances. The city will also be under the direct jurisdiction of the royal city and its status will be on par with Port Neru. "
Borkal's voice grew softer and softer until his mouth was almost touching Claude's ear.
"Oh, that's quite a big deal."
Claude could understand why Borkal was being so careful. If news of this got out, it would definitely cause a huge commotion. It turned out that his father had been planning something like this.
Port Neru was the only large port in Aueras and also a military port. The kingdom's only naval fleet was stationed there.
The navy, also known as Fearless, was responsible for the safety of the eastern coast of the kingdom. Its mission was to defend against enemy navies, wipe out pirates along the coast, and maintain trade routes.
Aueras was located in the eastern part of Freia. Even though it had a coastline that spanned thousands of kilometers, there weren't many places suitable for a port.
Apart from Port Neru, which was a good deep water port and a few shallow fishing ports, the other places were either beaches, tidal flats, or steep cliffs that weren't suitable for ocean-going ships to dock.
After Stellin X ascended the throne, he changed the previous king's oppressive attitude towards the eastern kingdoms of the continent. He eased relations with the other kingdoms and opened up trade routes for each other's needs.
From a certain point of view, Stellin X was actually a merchant with a crown on his head. He loved money and was all about profit.
However, that didn't mean that Stellin X didn't do his job as king well. He only turned his attention to Nubissia.
Nubissia was huge, at least twice the size of Freia.
More than half of the countries on Freia, or rather, the coastal countries, had sent their armies to occupy territories along the coast of Nubissia as colonies, waiting for the right opportunity to expand inland.
Compared to the heavily armed kingdoms on Freia where tens of thousands of people died in a single battle, even a small skirmish at the border could cause thousands of casualties, Aueras' expansion on Nubissia went smoothly.
The Aueran Kingdom's expansion on Nubissia was smooth sailing. In just seven years, they had conquered a territory that was twice the size of the kingdom's. They even established seven colonies on Nubissia for that.
More importantly, the kingdom didn't suffer many casualties after conquering such a large territory. It was said that there were only three to four thousand casualties so far and the army the kingdom sent to Nubissia numbered no more than a hundred thousand.
The main reason was that the kingdom's army had to deal with native tribes armed with bows, spears, and axes. That reminded Claude of the colonial era in the west where modern armies armed with muskets faced off against primitive tribes. It was a one-sided war and the difference between the two eras allowed the kingdom's army to win effortlessly.
When ships loaded with gold, silver, and gems from Nubissia as well as all sorts of local products sailed into Port Neru, the entire kingdom was shocked. Almost every citizen, regardless of their class, was praising Stellin X's wise decision and extraordinary foresight. It was he who insisted on spending huge sums of money and taking huge risks to send more than a hundred thousand soldiers and countless people to explore Nubissia. Now, it seemed like it was an investment that paid off with little to no returns.
Indeed, Stellin X restored peace to the kingdom's borders and allowed trade to flourish.
He also strongly advocated for the expansion of Nubissia's colonies and obtained all sorts of materials and wealth from those colonies to strengthen the kingdom.
This series of measures and policies had already proved that he was an excellent monarch.
At the same time, Aueras' expansion into Nubissia attracted the attention of the other kingdoms on Freia.
Nasri, in particular, had always been Aueras' mortal enemy. Even though Stellin X managed to reach a peace treaty with them after many twists and turns, it was only because they suffered crushing defeats in the wars against Aueras that they couldn't hold on any longer due to internal and external problems. That was why they took advantage of Stellin X's offer to step down.
Unlike Aueras, who invested a large amount of money and manpower into Nubissia, Nasri only managed to occupy two territories on Nubissia, but they weren't that large. Due to the internal power struggles within the kingdom, their colonies didn't develop much.
Seeing Aueras continuously expanding their overseas territories and sending all sorts of resources and resources back to Nubissia, Nasri finally grew anxious.
At this rate, Aueras would be unable to catch up in another decade or so. Just the thought of what would happen to Nasri was terrifying.
Stellin X repeatedly proclaimed that he wanted to maintain peace and stability in the eastern part of the continent and even signed a peace treaty.
But their mortal enemy, the Nasri Kingdom, was well aware of their own limitations.
Stellin X said that he loved peace, but what would happen when Stellin X ascended to the throne and declared that he loved war?
Peace treaty?
Weren't those treaties meant to be torn apart?
They could just find a random excuse when the time came. The victors weren't to be blamed anyway.
The Nasri Kingdom had lost a few battles on land, so they didn't dare to start another war.
That was even more so for their overseas territories. The few thousand soldiers stationed there couldn't compare to Aueras' hundred thousand soldiers. It was a hopeless gap. It would be good enough if they could protect themselves.
However, Nasri took advantage of one of Aueras' biggest weaknesses, which was their lack of armed forces at sea.
One had to make a big turn from Port Neru to Nubissia. Ships had to travel along the eastern coastline of Freia, pass through Sidins, Askilin, and Rimodra's seas to reach the highest point of Easternmost, Farsight. They had to travel north through the Stormy Sea and the Silent Ocean before reaching the western coast of Nubissia.
The total length of this route was more than 2,400 nautical miles. The voyage would take more than a month, and the route was full of risks.
The journey was filled with danger, especially when Aueras' investment in Nubissia finally paid off. The ships that returned with riches became the target of countless pirates.
Nasri joined forces with the other four duchies in the eastern part of the continent to form the Alliance Fleet. Nominally, it was to fight pirates and maintain the sea route, but in reality, it was a knife to the heart of Aueras. They could cut off the connection between the two continents at any time.
Moreover, the Alliance Fleet surpassed Fearless in terms of strength and scale. It was a reminder to the kingdom that once war broke out, the Alliance Fleet could seal Port Neru and trap Fearless there. The Alliance Fleet could even disembark from the coastal areas of the kingdom with the combined forces of the five duchies. It would be like stabbing a knife into the kingdom's heart.
To Aueras, the Alliance Fleet had become a thorn in their side. Ever since the Alliance Fleet was established, many of the ships that travelled between Nubissia and Port Neru went missing at sea.
The occasional ship wreckage could only be determined to be pirates, but the kingdom's upper echelons were well aware of it. They just couldn't find any evidence.
The vast sea was the best place to erase evidence. Any crime committed on the sea could be perfectly erased.
The kingdom could only form a large fleet for the ships that returned from their overseas territories. There was also a fleet of ships to protect them, so the kingdom's only deep-water port, Port Neru, couldn't handle the burden.
After all, Port Neru wasn't just the kingdom's only military port, it was also the kingdom's only commercial port.