Chapter 234: Sea

Richard landed in front of her, but he felt he couldn’t say anything yet since Grace hadn’t even taken a bath.

And the woman stared at Richard from head to toe without blinking at all.

"How does it feel to sleep with the Queen?" she asked.

Richard rolled his eyes at that.

He had already expected this. Grace would definitely say something strange.

Still, Richard didn’t feel uncomfortable talking about this with her.

He replied, "Amazing. I feel like I’m living an eternal life in heaven..."

Grace’s expression immediately turned cynical when she heard his answer.

"Then why are you here? You should stay in your magnificent palace," she said.

Richard’s mouth fell slightly open when he heard that, and he looked at Grace strangely.

This woman looked jealous—and angry.

Even though Grace said she didn’t care, if she truly loved him, it was impossible for jealousy not to arise in her heart.

Richard cleared his throat lightly and said, "Grace, I’m here to invite you to the sea base."

Relationship matters were best left undiscussed.

"What do you want to do there?" Grace asked.

"I’m going to train so I can advance to the Lord Realm faster. You know, at this level, fighting more often is the key to progress," Richard replied.

Hearing that, Grace narrowed her eyes.

"Tell me, is there something serious going on?"

Richard, "..."

It really seemed difficult to hide anything from Grace.

Still, it was strange. Richard had just gotten married, yet during the day he wanted to go to such a harsh place.

Did he not want to stay with his wife longer, or was it his wife who sent him away?

Richard nodded lightly.

"The Order of the Heaven Emperor will descend upon this kingdom," he said.

Even a woman like Grace took a deep breath when she heard that.

"This was inevitable after what you did," she said softly.

"However, I already have my own training plan, so I can’t go with you. I’ll follow that woman—your mother."

"Ohhh..."

Richard was a little surprised to hear that.

Still, it didn’t mean he objected to Grace not joining him.

He nodded and said, "Then I’ll go alone."

"Wait!" Grace suddenly stopped him as he was about to leave.

Richard looked at her in confusion.

"Richard, do you also want the Red Star Empress?"

Richard, "..."

He didn’t expect Grace to ask about this.

At this point, he recalled how Grace had looked at him when he was with the Red Star Empress.

Was she aware back then?

How could her instincts be so sharp?

"What do you mean?" Richard pretended to be confused.

This was something he felt he couldn’t talk about, even with Grace.

"Hmph!" Grace snorted softly with a cynical expression.

"You’re overthinking it," Richard said with a gentle smile before immediately flying away.

He preferred leaving quickly rather than discussing this topic.

He flew straight toward the sea.

To his surprise, he encountered Gray and Laura flying in the opposite direction.

They seemed to have stayed near the coast.

"Richard!" Laura, who had short black hair, greeted him with a bright smile.

They had seen each other at the wedding ceremony but hadn’t spoken.

Laura didn’t look much different—only her skin appeared firmer.

However, Richard couldn’t respond immediately.

He looked at Gray, who didn’t greet him at all.

Even last night, Gray hadn’t approached or spoken to him.

As close friends, they should have greeted each other.

It seemed he harbored some dissatisfaction toward him.

Perhaps it was because of that explosion that nearly killed Gray.

"Laura, long time no see. Where are you heading?" Richard replied to Laura’s greeting.

He couldn’t talk to Gray when the latter didn’t even acknowledge him.

"I’m going home. It’s been a long time since I went back," Laura answered. "What about you?"

"I’m just going to take a walk by the sea," Richard replied, not fully revealing that he was going there to train.

"Oh, it seems you’re in a hurry. Then we’ll head off first," Laura said.

She said this after Gray suddenly nudged her arm—seemingly accidental, but clearly intentional.

Richard nodded, letting the two of them fly away.

Gray looked rushed as he flew.

Richard had never experienced dealing with an angry friend, even in his previous life.

He knew he should apologize, but he felt awkward doing so.

If Gray had complained directly, it would’ve been easier for him to apologize. But instead, Gray chose to act indifferent, which made things difficult—as if he no longer wanted to be friends.

In the end, Richard could only shake his head before continuing to fly toward the sea, a place he had never explored beyond its shores.

From the high cliffs at the edge, he plunged straight into the sea where towering waves constantly rose.

Once above the sea, Richard felt a certain sensation—a vastness so immense it felt like he was stepping onto an endless path.

The sea in this world was naturally extremely dangerous. It was also the largest region by far, vastly surpassing Earth in scale.

However, as far as Richard knew, the royal base wasn’t too far away—at most equivalent to crossing two provinces of the kingdom.

If he flew at high speed with his current strength, he could reach it quickly.

Still, he chose to fly leisurely, enjoying the scenery below.

The ocean waves surged endlessly, and from time to time, massive fish leapt into the air.

They were all ferocious beasts, but the strongest were only around Tier 25, which posed no threat.

Even beasts above that level weren’t dangerous. They only became a real threat at Tier 40 and above, which even most Magus World Realm experts struggled to handle.

Those left unchecked weren’t overly aggressive either. They didn’t attack ships passing overhead.

From the capital, many large ships sailed out—some heading to the base, others to nearby islands.

Richard saw many islands, most inhabited, with houses scattered across them and small harbors where ships docked.

The island residents worked as fishermen, supplying seafood to the kingdom.

He also saw many islands marketed as tourist destinations, as many of them were quite beautiful.

Naturally, he didn’t stop and continued flying forward.

Even at a relaxed pace, he was still extremely fast by most standards. It didn’t take long before he saw the royal base.

Built long ago, it was enormous—composed of countless massive ships, each the size of a football field, forming a long fortress-like structure.

The number wasn’t just in the thousands or tens of thousands—it exceeded a million, possibly even reaching ten million, merged together with many islands.

It couldn’t be called land, as it was clearly made of wood.

Yet even massive waves couldn’t shake it, and many houses stood atop the base.

Richard saw numerous magic cannons at the front of the base, large enough to be called giant cannons.

That seemed to be what the base relied on to fend off sea beasts that attempted to attack.

Here, there weren’t many ordinary people—almost everyone was either a Magus or a Knight, whether from the royal forces or not.

Since his goal was training, all he needed to do was move forward and fight.

Richard didn’t feel the need to reveal his identity as king.

He spotted the harbor behind the base and flew there first.

This was one of the places frequently visited by powerful adventurers—not only official troops came here. Many individuals arrived to accept missions, and they weren’t just from the Holy Star Kingdom; some came from the Holy Light Kingdom and many surrounding regions.

It was said that there were generous rewards for anyone who could slay sea beasts deemed threatening by the base.

Richard planned to take those missions.

Of course, he didn’t care about the rewards. As a king, why would he need rewards from a kingdom already burdened with heavy debts?

He took missions purely for information.

Whoosh!

When he landed at the harbor, Richard pulled his cloak up to the tip of the collar, covering half his face, and placed a hat on his head.

Ghost Robes were forbidden here, so this was the only way to hide his face.

Richard felt relaxed as he observed the bustling harbor.

There weren’t many shops, restaurants, or bars, so each one was extremely crowded.

He enjoyed the atmosphere, especially as he sensed many powerful Magus auras.

There were quite a few Magus in the Grimoire Realm. He even sensed formidable auras from several Sky Armor Knights.

When he called them formidable, he meant they were truly strong.

He entered one of the bars despite it being full—not because he wanted to drink, but because the missions were posted on the bar walls.

On the wall of the bar, Richard saw many images of sea beasts—sharks, octopuses, and even enormous whales.

Each image was accompanied by its tier and the reward offered. The sea beasts displayed here were all Tier 40 and above.

For more detailed information, one could ask the bar attendants.

Naturally, Richard was not interested in mere Tier 40, 50, or even 60 beasts. Even those at Tier 70 to 80 failed to catch his interest, considering that he was capable of defeating a Lord.