Pirate Kingship

Chapter 561: Chapter 412: Hundred Sons Fight for Inheritance, Everything is 3 (Seeking 5000 Votes)

Having breakfast together was indeed just a polite pretext.

Byron and Violet had just finished a meal with the Prince and Queen Consort—one that would be considered lavish by the Sun Empire’s standards—when they were pulled into the tranquil garden to discuss the paramount matter of royal succession.

Clearly, in Atahualpa’s eyes, Byron—an external ally who shared significant common interests with him yet had no entanglements with Atahualpa’s other brothers—was far more reliable than some of his own subordinates. Atahualpa was eager to secure Byron’s support.

For now, matters like arms dealing were put aside, as nothing was more important than the throne of the Empire.

The rain gradually stopped.

The group had just stepped onto the walkway leading to the garden when Atahualpa couldn’t wait to tell Byron the news he had just received. "His Majesty, the Lord of Heaven, the Empire’s High Priest has already made the divination. The coronation ceremony for the new King will be held on the twentieth of this month.

"I have half a month to prepare.

"At that time, hundreds of my brothers will bring their Attendants into the Holy Lake’s territory to fight. Only the final victor will be crowned King.

"Most of those hundreds of brothers are ordinary, just a group of Third Order [Molten Giants] that I don’t consider worth my attention. Besides, many of them are my supporters.

"But a few of my brothers possess considerable strength and are formidable rivals for the throne. Some even have powerful external factions backing them. I hope to receive your help."

Upon hearing him mention the coronation ceremony at Holy Lake Lake Titicaca, Byron felt somewhat guilty.

The [Sun Crown] that a group of princes was striving for had already fallen into Catherine’s hands through online networks. It was just waiting for him to return to the Banta’an Archipelago to be presented to Edward IV during his Earldom’s conferral ceremony.

The trackers had long lost their ability to locate it across the vast "Celestial Orbital Belt," and he wondered how the priests would handle it when the time came.

Thinking of the crown’s strange design—a llama carrying three suns—and of them scrambling to place that alpaca thing on their heads, Byron struggled to maintain his composure.

Only by forcibly controlling his expression with Divine Sight did he manage to keep a straight face. He simply nodded to Atahualpa and said, "His Royal Highness the Prince, I’ll definitely help if you’re in trouble. Why don’t you first introduce the main contenders for the imperial throne? Only by knowing ourselves and our enemies can we stand a better chance of winning."

At these words, Atahualpa nodded to the Queen Consort beside him. She immediately took out a crystal and used her Spirituality to project the images of three young men, each with a different appearance and temperament.

"No need to talk about the other brothers," Atahualpa said. "There are four who are the most likely to take the throne—the Governors of the Four Great Suyu.

"We are ranked separately from other Divine Descendants by bloodline, Supernatural Rank, and secular position, which also declares our distinct status."

The Prince pointed to the most heavily built and eldest among them and introduced him to Byron and Violet.

"This is the Governor of the southern Collasuyu, the Eldest Prince [Earthquake Light] Ninan Coyuchi Capac.

"He is the first son fathered by the King in his youth with a Totem God; he bears the bloodline of beasts.

"Although his bloodline was impure at first, the Authority possessed by that female Totem God unexpectedly complemented the bloodline of the Descendants of the Sun God.

"This allowed him to awaken a powerful Innate Ability at birth—[Earthquake Light].

"In terms of frontal combat power, he is even stronger than us pure-blooded Divine Descendants.

"He has been quite diligent, using the Forbidden Book, the ’Solar Codex,’ to purify his bloodline. He advanced to a Fourth Order Mythical Creature quite early on.

"His personal combat power is unquestionably the first among all princes.

"By the way, his Totem God mother’s true form is an Earthquake Dragon. It’s said to be 36 meters in length and weigh 40 tons. When they move in groups, their mere steps can cause earthquakes."

Byron knew that the abilities of a title belonged to all of humanity, stemming from the collective human subconscious, and were not exclusive to the Silver Continent. It was no surprise that Native Extraordinaries had their own titles.

But... he couldn’t help but gesture with his hands, first pinching his index finger and thumb very close together, then spreading his arms wide as if to encircle the entire world.

Seeing the Prince nod solemnly, Byron gave a thumbs-up and genuinely praised, "Wow, the old man really went big with that one! Truly... hmm, not an ordinary mortal!"

But when he thought of the monster girl beside him who occasionally subjected him to a ’whale’s crushing weight,’ he felt he had no right to scoff at others. Once Violet advanced to Fourth Order and took on her Leviathan Whale form, her size wouldn’t be much smaller than her competitor’s—she would only be fatter and heavier.

Atahualpa had anticipated his reaction and said with some schadenfreude, "That matter is my eldest brother’s taboo.

"If anyone dares to make that gesture in front of him, he will fly into a rage on the spot and not rest until he has torn them to pieces and burned them to cinders.

"He probably inherited his Totem God mother’s bloodline; his combat strength is formidable, but his brain isn’t much bigger than a tomato.

"He’s just a brute!

"Moreover, since our father ascended the throne quite early, Ninan Coyuchi has been the Eldest Prince for ninety years. He has coveted that throne for ninety years.

"He’s waited so long he’s practically about to drop dead. You could say the man’s a tinderbox, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. I don’t want to mess with him at all.

"In my opinion, why bother fighting at his age? Even if he ascends to the throne, he won’t last many years—not even enough time to recast the ceremonial Gold Coins."