"There's one more thing"
Just when all the citizens thought everything was over, Roy spoke again.
The crowd looked up in confusion. They saw a man with short gray hair and a face smeared with blood being dragged up by a soldier as he struggled.
"This man is a member of the Gambino family."
Roy glanced at Alec and spoke calmly.
But that single sentence was like a spark dropped into a powder keg. The plaza instantly boiled. Even the pirates and other suspicious outsiders changed expressions, realizing that what was happening today was far from simple.
On the platform, Roy walked up to the still struggling Alec, held the loudspeaker Den Den Mushi, and said coldly, "The Gambino family invaded my Zephyr Kingdom and slaughtered our people. They even murdered our former legion commander and our King, and now they still want to force the Zephyr Kingdom to submit. This is an open provocation. This is a declaration of war against the Zephyr Kingdom!"
Slash.
At some point, Roy already had a kunai in his hand. Without expression, he drove it straight into Alec's neck. Blood sprayed onto Roy's face. Beside him, the young maid Cici turned slightly pale.
It was Roy's first time killing someone with his own hands, yet strangely, he didn't feel the slightest discomfort.
"Aah!" The crowd erupted into shocked screams. Eyes widened as everyone stared in disbelief at what they had just seen.
With a heavy thud, Alec's body collapsed limp to the ground.
Roy slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the citizens below. Blood stained his face, and a cold smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he declared loudly, "I, the prince of the Zephyr Kingdom, hereby formally announce that the Zephyr Kingdom officially declares war on the Gambino family! The Gambino family will fall!"
Roy deliberately raised his voice, but his passionate words did not ignite the crowd. Instead, fear and unease spread across the citizens' faces.
So that's it. They think the Zephyr Kingdom is throwing an egg at a rock, walking into death. That's why they're terrified, Roy thought, disappointment flickering through his eyes.
He had planned to use the execution of the three ministers to secure his position, and then use the declaration of war to raise his prestige.
After all, once the national prestige system unlocked, he would need a huge amount of prestige to draw exclusive rewards.
But judging from this, his plan had missed the mark.
Forget it. Once I deal with the Gambino family, prestige will come on its own.
Roy shook his head helplessly and ended the execution ceremony.
The citizens left the plaza with fear and anxiety, worried the Gambino family would come for revenge.
As for the pirates and other outsiders, they spread the news everywhere, treating it like a joke.
Before long, nearby countries and forces all heard the "news" that the Zephyr Kingdom was overestimating itself and challenging the Gambino family. Public opinion exploded. No one believed the Zephyr Kingdom could have the courage or strength to challenge the Gambino family. In their eyes, this was simply suicide.
…
Inside the palace, within the golden, magnificent great hall, Roy sat calmly on the King's throne. Looking over the empty hall below, a sense of emotion rose in his heart.
Roy muttered to himself, "No wonder so many people in history chased the throne. This feeling really is something else."
The Zephyr Kingdom was only a tiny place, completely different from massive nations with vast lands. It didn't have a complicated noble system or bloated bureaucracy. There had only been three ministers assisting the royal family.
Now, the royal bloodline had only him left. The three ministers were dead. The kingdom's army was under his control. The entire country was already in his grasp.
"Once I wipe out the Gambino family and raise my authority within the country, I'll officially ascend as King and open the next chapter of nation level and prestige. It's just that I still don't know the exact standards for raising those." Roy rested his cheek on one hand and spoke softly to himself.
Beside him, Cici looked at Roy's calm face. Though she had worries, she still gathered her courage and asked uneasily, "Roy-sama, the Gambino family are they really nothing to fear? They're one of the three major mafia families in the West Blue, and we"
Before she could finish, Roy already understood.
"Don't worry. The Gambino family may be strong, but my assassination unit is stronger." Roy spoke with full confidence, a faint smile on his lips.
Cici looked at Roy's handsome smile, and her cheeks flushed. She lowered her head shyly.
She stole a glance at White Fang standing silently on Roy's other side, and her admiration for Roy only grew.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded. Stanley rushed in. The moment he saw Roy seated high on the throne, he didn't dare delay. He dropped to one knee and greeted respectfully, "Roy-sama."
"Mm." Roy nodded lightly. His fingers tapped the armrest of the throne as his gaze landed on Stanley. He ordered calmly, "Pass the order. Prepare the fleet. Set out at once for the Gambino family's headquarters. You must arrive before tomorrow morning."
Stanley's expression changed. He looked up at Roy on the throne, swallowed, and asked carefully, "Roy-sama, are we really going to go to war with the Gambino family?"
"War?" Roy's lips lifted into a calm smile.
"No. This isn't war. This is a one sided slaughter."
"A slaughter" Stanley's eyes turned complicated as he stared at Roy, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Inside, he struggled. He wanted to say directly that with the Zephyr Kingdom's current military strength, they were nothing in front of real powerhouses. But in the end, he swallowed those words.
Roy, the once ordinary prince in everyone's eyes, was now covered in a mysterious veil. The people of the Zephyr Kingdom could no longer understand him.
Before, Roy's impression on people was limited to one thing: he was a prince. Beyond that, there had been almost nothing remarkable.
If not for the fact that he had recently been gravely wounded by pirates on the battlefield and nearly died, many people might have forgotten him entirely.
But the Roy of today felt unfathomable to Stanley.
The decisiveness and cruelty with which he killed, and that mysterious force he had somehow built in secret, all of it showed that Roy was no longer the weak prince who could be pushed around by power hungry ministers.
"Leave. And bring me the Gambino family's exact location and all the intelligence you have," Roy said. He didn't know what Stanley was thinking, and he didn't care. His tone remained calm.
"Yes, Roy-sama!" Stanley forced down the shock in his heart, bowed, and withdrew.
(End of Chapter)
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