Chapter 40: Calamity? People Are Scarier Than A Calamity

Thousands of years ago, at the edge of the continent, there was a small kingdom.

The capital city was situated in a place of scenic beauty. The people lived by fishing and generally led prosperous lives.

Every month, the king held a grand celebration, during which the entire kingdom rejoiced while travelers from elsewhere came to visit.

As the king had decreed that many of its special preserved products could only be sold during the celebrations and they would enjoy certain tax reductions during the festivities, many wealthy merchants came specifically to buy local specialties in large quantities and spend lavishly during the celebrations.

This was what made the common folk happiest.

During these times, every household would bring out their stockpiled special preserved products for sale, making a good profit, and would also pick up some rare items from these visiting merchant caravans.

The idea of holding these celebrations was the second thing in the king's life that made him proud.

As for what made him proudest, it was his son, the kingdom's only prince, a prodigy in the arcane arts.

In his youth, no one noticed that the young prince had any particular talent for magic. He learned spells more slowly than average, but he had a peculiar love for the arcane and often begged his father to buy him various spellbooks.

The old king adored his son and began collecting spellbooks from merchant caravans during the celebrations, gifting them to his son.

At the time, the king thought that even though his son didn't seem particularly talented, with enough reading and effort, he might still achieve something in the arcane arts.

He, who didn't understand incantation, thought that "understanding" of magic was entirely an individual thing.

In their eyes, their little prince was slower at learning incantations compared to his peers.

However, while his peers only grasped the first level of a spell, their prince could reach the fifth level.

This talent became increasingly apparent as he grew older and accumulated more magical power, and by his teenage years, people began calling him a prodigy—the young genius prince of the kingdom.

Later, during his youth, he leveraged his magical prowess to discover a vein of ocean spirit crystals in the surrounding seas. This remarkable achievement prompted his father, the king, to declare that the newfound wealth would benefit all the kingdom's citizens. Consequently, the prince's reputation soared, and he was venerated almost to a divine status within the kingdom.

To understand the significance of this discovery, this single vein of spirit crystals was more valuable than all the kingdom's existing assets combined. However, the king didn't care for that. His declaration was a testament to his belief that his son's worth far exceeded even this tremendous wealth.

In that same year, the king procured a teleportation scroll to the world's most prestigious arcane academy as a birthday surprise for the prince. Despite his reluctance to leave, the prince decided to honor his father's wishes and the significance of the gift. He resolved to reach the pinnacle of arcane mastery and return home with glory.

And thus, his departure marked the beginning of a 12-year journey. An industrious genius had limitless potential, and the young prince surged along the path of arcane knowledge. Eventually, he became the youngest Grand Arcanist in the world, fulfilling his dream of reaching the zenith of arcane mastery.

Upon his triumphant return, eager to embrace his beloved father and hear his praise once more, the prince instead encountered a scene of devastation…

His once thriving homeland lay in ruins.

Gone were the days of prosperity.

The remaining inhabitants were emaciated and weak.

The once pristine sea now emitted a noxious stench, its oily filth reflecting a toxic, multicolored haze.

At that moment, the prince's world practically crumbled. He walked despondently through the ruins, surveying the tragic state of his homeland.

Soon, some of the remaining residents recognized him. They rushed toward the prince as if seeing a long-lost relative and clung to him, weeping bitterly.

Before long, the prince learned the truth.

It happened in the second year after he left to study.

A duke from a neighboring kingdom, which ruled over most of the surrounding area, arrived with a document "supposedly from the Sanctum of Arcane Arts." He informed the aging king that "the Sanctum had received a divine oracle," predicting a calamity that would destroy the world.

Accompanying the duke was a Grand Arcanist, whose presence validated the duke's claim with the authority of the Sanctum.

They demanded that the king abdicate his throne, allowing the "Sanctum and the capable neighboring kingdom" to temporarily take control. Once the calamity was dealt with, they promised to return the rule to the king.

The king sensed something was amiss. However, as the ruler of a small kingdom, he was in no position to challenge the authority of the two visitors.

Moreover, they wielded the moral high ground of the entire world. The king had no choice but to comply, relinquishing his throne and becoming a provisional noble.

He anxiously awaited the impending calamity, praying for the safety of his people. However, the more he waited, the more he sensed something was amiss.

Yes, many "anti-calamity" supplies were being brought in. But no matter how the king looked at it, those were equipment and materials for extracting crystal minerals from the ocean.

Under the pretext of secrecy and safety, the regular festivals were canceled, the kingdom's prosperity dwindled, and the residents had to return to fishing to make a living.

But soon, the sea became polluted. The king clearly understood that this was a consequence of the rapid extraction of oceanic resources.

Seeing his people's lives becoming increasingly difficult, his beautiful homeland falling into ruin, and the kingdom he built being destroyed by the so-called "calamity," the king realized that this wasn't a calamity for the world but for him.

Thus, he sought to resist.

But where could he find the strength to resist?

Shortly after, the "former" king was executed for "attempted treason against the current lord." His wife and two daughters were also executed alongside him.

With the king dead, the lord appointed by the duke dropped all pretenses, completely sealing off the surrounding roads and speeding up the extraction of oceanic minerals.

And eventually, it turned into this grim sight that lay before the returning prince.

On that day, the prince went mad.

"Calamity? A calamity? Very well…"

The people surrounded him, sobbing and clinging to him, as if grasping for a lifeline out of this hell.

He looked up, tears streaming down his face, yet a maniacal smile crept across his lips.

"You wish for calamity, do you? Fine, then let me bring you exactly what you desire.

"From this day forth, I shall be the embodiment of calamity…"

After that, the prince vanished, taking the remaining people with him, their whereabouts unknown.

One night, 10 years later, the duke woke up and, out of instinct, glanced out the window.

Then, he witnessed a sight he had never seen before.

A blood-red moon was slowly rising on the horizon.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read