Chapter 43: Destroy Them All

Chapter 43: Destroy Them All Mirelle had investigated and tried to salvage the damages done in the engine room to the best of her ability. She even expanded quite a lot of her mana in hopes of restoring some key elements. Unfortunately, the enemy was too ruthless and merciless. They had installed complex anti-magic barriers throughout the engine room, so intricate that even Mirelle struggled to unravel them. Under any normal circumstance, the removal would have been possible. But the current situation was too drastic for her to focus on the removal process. Without the support of the engine room, it wouldn’t be long till the other defensive tools become useless. "I don’t get it." Suddenly, Leonard clicked his tongue and turned to the two of them. "How can such an important room be so easily infiltrated and attacked?" He found it hard to believe that such a critical room would be so easy to access. Upon hearing the question, Number 13’s face twitched a bit. Their pupils constricted, almost as if they wanted to explain themselves but found it hard to voice it aloud. "Speak! Stop dilly-dallying. The ship’s being bombarded still, and you want to keep your mouth shut?" Leonard’s patience was running thin. Time was of the essence now, and this supposed bodyguard was trying to conceal information still. What was the point of having this kind of bodyguard? Almost immediately, Number 13 went to his knees and kept his head very low. "Apologies, Crown Prince, but all the corpses lying in the engine room are capable fighters on the same level as me. Our rotation of protecting you came from here." As if a bolt of lightning had struck the scene to a deathly silence, Leonard’s expression turned complicated. His eyes slowly darted to the small mountain of corpses. Their corpses were beyond recognizable, and now he was told that these unrecognizable corpses were the fighters assigned to protect him through rotation. "Haha... this is really comical." He started laughing, causing Mirelle and Number 13 to be confused. They were unsure whether he was laughing at them, or at himself, or at the scene. Or maybe it was a combination of all. "Are you alright?" Mirelle approached him carefully and inquired. She was afraid that the cumulative shock factor, followed by the gory scene had finally hit him. She was fine with the gore scene because she had physically participated in wars and witnessed many deaths. The same goes for Number 13, who was used to such dirty and gory work. However, the crown prince was different. He had always been in the capital, always protected safe and sound by his House and Spencer. After laughing for a while, Leonard finally returned to his usual composure and demeanor. "Forget about trying to do any countermeasures. The enemy could wipe out most of the top fighters, so who’s to say that they couldn’t wipe us out?" He sneered sarcastically. "Tell the people who are locking down the lifeboats and liferafts to no longer lock it. Instead, have them destroy it all!" "D-Destroy them all?" Astonished, Mirelle nearly jumped up from sight. Without these lifeboats and liferafts, how were they supposed to escape? "Yes, Crown Prince!" Contrary to Mirelle’s disbelief and astonishment, Number 13 obliged the order without hesitation. Soon, he contacted those who had been sent to initiate the lockdown to destroy every one of them. To ensure nothing was amiss, Number 13 contacted his partner through a magical device who had gone to inform the captain personally. Unfortunately, the connection was abruptly cut off. "I can’t contact my partner." Number 13 relayed the news to Leonard. Earlier, he had stated that the captain might not be able to be contacted due to the number of reports, but now even his partner was unavailable. At this moment, it wasn’t just Number 13 who found the situation odd. Even Mirelle and Leonard were starting to suspect some foul plays. "The contact to destroy the lifeboats and liferafts connected, but the Captain’s side cannot," Leonard commented. "Could it be that the enemy went after the captain’s section as well?" Mirelle chimed in and inquired. In response, Leonard shook his head. "I don’t know, but haven’t you noticed something?" "Noticed what?" "The sound of battle seemed to have died down," Leonard revealed and pointed at the broadcast device attached to the ceiling. "When we first arrived here, the alarm was constantly ringing, and numerous voices could be heard. But now, it’s dead silent." "This..." Dumbfounded, Mirelle’s face turned pale. She didn’t notice it earlier because she had been too concentrated on one subject. As for Number 13, he tried to contact the same people who were commanded to destroy the lifeboats and liferafts. "Have you destroyed them yet?" Number 13 asked through his magical device. "Yes, we have destroyed them." A voice resounded from the magical device. Just when Number 13 was about to ask further, Leonard snatched the magical device from his hand. "How many were destroyed? I recall there were a total of 5 liferafts and 6 lifeboats. Which particular one did you save for your escape, my dear saboteur enemy?" He asked in genuine curiosity. "..." A moment of silence commenced when the other party didn’t respond right away. Mirelle and Number 13 glanced at each other with a look that seemed like they had swallowed a mouthful of maggots. Needless to say, the silence was equivalent to an answer to Leonard’s question. A few seconds later, a response was finally made from the other side. "Wow, they say the fifth prince—oops, I meant the Crown Prince was spineless, cowardly, and incompetent altogether. I didn’t expect you to actually have the brain to figure things out. But what a pity, it’s too late to salvage anything. The captain is dead, and the crewmates defending the ship have fallen prey to the sea monsters." It was difficult to discern the identity of the enemy from the disguised voice. But one thing was for certain, they had succeeded in ruining the ship to sink. "I suppose the sea monsters should have drifted away by now, but do you think you have won the fight?" Leonard’s mouth curled upward. He flashed a sly grin and asked, "You may have killed most members and attempted to use a shipwreck disguised as a natural disaster for my end. But did you think a Crown Prince is that easy to assassinate?"