Chapter 3059: Admiral Aba Windsor
Chapter 3059: Admiral Aba Windsor
Date: Unspecified
Time: Unspecified
Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Five Regions, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Tower, Guild Meeting Hall
’Aba... just get down,’ Asong mentally whispered to her.
At the same time, Agatha stepped forward, intending to simply carry Aba back to her seat before anyone in the hall finally lost their patience. Unfortunately, Froseye immediately floated between them with her frozen arms spread wide, refusing to let Agatha touch her chosen Card Apprentice.
"What?" Aba protested, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere around her. "I’m the New Empire’s Admiral. I have every right to sit on this stage." She confidently patted the chair she had dragged beside mine before turning to me with a bright grin. "Isn’t that right, Wyatt?"
The meeting hall instantly fell silent.
Aurelia, Jaya, Cevros, and several others had been on the verge of telling Aba to know her place and return to her seat. But the moment she directed the question to His Highness himself, the words died in their throats. They could only look at their young ruler anxiously, waiting for his answer.
Here they were, working tirelessly to earn merits, complete missions, and slowly climb the New Empire’s hierarchy. Meanwhile, Aba had shamelessly invented a rank for herself and was now confidently claiming it before the entire leadership. Whether that title remained a ridiculous joke or suddenly became an official position depended entirely on what His Highness said next.
Knowing that Aba and His Highness were old friends only heightened everyone’s anxiety. It wasn’t that they believed His Highness would favor personal relationships over merit. Quite the opposite. He had consistently rewarded ability and contribution above all else. Even so, their hearts couldn’t help but grow tense as they, along with the rest of the hall, waited for his answer.
At the same time, they couldn’t suppress a flicker of anticipation.
Whether intentionally or not, Aba had just opened everyone’s eyes to something they had overlooked. The New Empire’s hierarchy, despite being only recently established, was already beginning to feel crowded. If a completely new branch could be created, then perhaps there were still countless positions yet to be filled. More opportunities meant more paths for capable people to rise.
Many of them found themselves glancing at Aba with strange expressions, ’Was this loud, shameless fool... actually a silent genius?’
After all, the Five Regions were surrounded by the boundless Way Beyond. There were no true oceans stretching for thousands of miles, so none of the major powers had ever established a dedicated naval branch. Even so, ancient records spoke of civilizations that had once maintained powerful marine forces, whose highest-ranking commander bore the title of Admiral.
Although no navy existed in the modern era, ocean-type dungeons were fairly common. As a result, many soldiers and Adventurer Guild members specialized in aquatic combat, giving them extensive marine training despite never serving in a formal navy. In other words, while the position of Admiral had long since become obsolete, the knowledge and traditions associated with it had never completely disappeared.
The ancient records spoke the truth, the civilizations before the Five regions, did possess powerful naval forces. After all, the Card World had possessed vast oceans, and with them came the mighty navies.
Everything changed after Aqualas fulfilled the promise she had made to Bloodette. She drew the oceans away, ensuring that no body of water would remain above ground within her territory. As a result, even today, no true oceans existed anywhere near the Five Regions.
But if the New Empire truly intended to conquer the entire Card World, that would eventually change. A powerful navy would become indispensable.
The seas were no longer solely Aqualas’s domain. They were shared with many other Supreme Beings, including the Ice Supreme, each ruling over their own territories and waters. However, Aqualas held the dominance and at some point in their lives these supreme beings were her vassals. As Aqualas had raised their new bodies after their rebirth. But they distanced from her once they gained their old memories. Yep, no one was happy about Aqualas’s unilateral decision to move the oceans.
Beyond that, the oceans concealed countless dungeons that had never been explored, let alone cleared. For countless ages, they had remained untouched by civilization. The depths teemed with unrecorded monsters, forgotten species, and unknown dangers.
Whoever wished to rule the Card World would one day have to rule its seas as well. And when that day came, the New Empire would need a powerful navy. It would need card apprentices worthy of conquering the oceans themselves. And all of them fancied themselves as those card apprentices.
"I thought you weren’t part of my New Empire?" I asked with a teasing smile, knowing full well that, more than anyone else in the hall, Aba understood both Aurelia’s and Asong’s arguments.
She simply didn’t want to be left out. She wanted to be part of whatever came next. And, whether she admitted it or not, she also felt indebted because of Froseye.
"I thought only people from your New Empire could receive your Card Spirits," Aba shot back without missing a beat. As she spoke, she deliberately glanced toward the audience with a provocative grin. Her gaze lingered longest on Aurelia.
After all, Aurelia had just publicly declared that she would conquer the Card World for her best friend. Aba clearly had no intention of letting her steal all the glory.
"Great," I replied with a smile. "Welcome aboard."
Aba’s face immediately lit up. Jumping to her feet, she declared triumphantly, "That settles it then. I’m officially the Admiral of the New Empire’s great navy—"
"Not so fast." I cut her off before she could finish. The charming smile on my face slowly transformed into a playful grin.
The moment Aba saw it, her own grin froze. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Experience had taught her one thing. Whenever her best friend smiled like that, she had always found herself at the losing end of the argument.