True to Slate's word, within thirty minutes, there appeared hundreds of Erenveil warships on the horizon. They had blasted across pirate space, taking over control of the corridor that linked dragon space to Erenveil.
Within this corridor, on the Erenveil Prime Warrior's Command, a permanent patrol station was established that did nothing but fly back and forth between the two dragon-bat spaces.
On the Raptor 104, Baron Hughbert howled in frustration.
"What do you mean you can't get this rust bucket to do what you tell it to? Who's driving the ship?"
The captain of the ship shrugged.
"We don't know, Your Grace. It seems to be driving itself, most likely remotely controlled."
"Where is the ship's engineer?"
"Sir, I've tried to contact the ship's engineer. It looks as if he is dead."
"How did he die? Did he choke on some food or trip and hit his head?"
"No, Your Grace. He was shot by a bolt of energy that disrupted his body's electrical system. It stopped his heart."
Baron Hughbert's face paled.
"Where are the twins? They came onboard. Where are they?"
"Sir." Another officer came running onto the Command Deck. "The twelve guards that were sent to escort the twin Princes, they're all dead."
Baron Hughbert slammed his hands onto the deck console.
"Find the twins!!!" He hollered.
As his men ran off to do his bidding, Baron Hughbert's face scrunched up into a fearful twist.
"Get me in touch with all the pirate ships' captains."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Ten minutes later, Baron Hughbert sank down onto his chair.
Half the ships that were floating around in the space around the Raptor 650 had been disabled remotely in the same manner as his own ship had been.
The remaining ships had been quietly infiltrated by Duke Erden's men and had been taken over, lock stock and barrel.
Above his head, the visuals came to life. Three faces appeared from three different screens, but they were similar enough that Baron Hughbert knew they were related.
"Baron Hughbert," the first man called out. He had long raven hair and bright blue eyes—the Erenveil Prime Warrior.
"Prince—Prince Slate." Baron Hughbert laughed nervously.
"I hear you have been trying to bully my family." Slate stared at him with dangerous intent.
"Yes. My two little brothers are on your ship, fighting for their lives." Prince Dante raised an eyebrow. "What have you done to them?"
"Going against the directives of the Pirate King. You have some nerve." Prince Byron interjected.
"The Pirate King gave me jurisdiction of this area!!!" Baron Hughbert sputtered.
"Did I now?" A fourth face appeared. It was Mattheus Cordera.
"I specifically told you that the Emperor was going to take a trip through your space to visit family members within dragon space."
He narrowed his eyes.
"What did I say, Baron Hughbert? I told you to leave the Emperor's family alone."
Baron Hughbert took a deep breath.
What could he say at this point? He'd been caught, and all because he had thought the space he occupied was far-flung enough so that he could do things which the Pirate King could not oversee.
The Pirate King Mattheus Cordera was now clicking his tongue and shaking his head.
"Tch. Tch. Unfortunately, since you have done this much damage, there is no recourse other than to cede that entire corridor over to the Erenveilian forces so their people can travel through to dragon space without undue harassment."
Mattheus Cordera's face twisted into an evil macabre smile.
"Do you know what I do to those who disobey a direct order from me?"
Baron Hughbert shivered uncontrollably.
"But that's not what's worse, Hughbert." Mattheus Cordera waggled a finger.
"What's worse was that I had to hand over to the Erenveil Prime Warrior, Prince Slate, the ENTIRE corridor of space between Erenveil and Avalia as just compensation for the stunt that you just pulled."
Mattheus Cordera leaned forward, his piercing green eyes full of evil intent.
"The pirates just lost a huge stretch of extremely valuable real estate space, and it's all because of YOU. Do you know what happens to those who cause such disastrous losses?"
A sudden acrid smell rose up as a dark yellow liquid rushed out from the command console seat where Baron Hughbert sat.
The officers standing around him looked stoic. They wanted to wrinkle their nose in distaste but warrior training dictated they do nothing.
Mattheus' hand rose up. He snapped his fingers once.
From all sides, forces streamed into the Command Deck of the Raptor 104 and hauled Baron Hughbert away. He was so scared, he couldn't even struggle as his feet dragged his puddle of urine in two long stretches towards the entrance.
"Ugh. That's so disgusting!" A voice called out by the entryway.
It was Jason, the Fourth Prince of Erenveil. He walked into the room with an indifferent stride alongside his twin.
"Someone clean that up for me. Chop, chop. Hurry it up!" Jason clapped his hands a couple of times.
Jared, the Fifth Prince of Erenveil stood at the Command Deck with his arms akimbo, staring at the wet fluids on the floor.
"Phew! Make sure you guys use some nice air deodorant too. It stinks in here!"
"Jason, Jared." Mattheus greeted them from the still-opened visuals monitor.
"Cousin!" Jason waved a hand. "What took you so long? We were frightened to death by this miscreant you just took away!"
"Yeah. We almost had to marry his daughters! That's what was so scary!" Jared shivered.
Dante and Slate laughed.
"How is Mother?" Slate asked.
"She's doing well." Jason smiled.
"Yes." Jared agreed. "She looks quite happy with her new man, the Grand Duke Erden."
"And Lyra?" Dante asked.
"She's the same little sassy girl we know and love. Only this time, she's got a new person to bully around." Jared laughed.
"Crown Prince Süren?" Mattheus asked.
Jason shook his head. "No. It's now King Süren. He just deposed his father and has taken over the throne."
Matthew Cordera raised an eyebrow.
"I wasn't expecting it so soon although I'm glad that has finally happened. The dragons deserve a better king than Batsaikhan."
"Speaking of which," Jared shook his head. "We still have to deal with that asinine Grand Duke Abberbie, the one who instigated all of this to begin with."
Mattheus Cordera shook his head.
"I'm afraid that's beyond my purview since he's a dragon. I've done as much as I can from where I stand."
"You've been very helpful Cousin."
"I hope this is good enough," Mattheus Cordera sniffed. "Slate has been kicking my ass about the time on Emporia and this was the only compensation I could get him to accept so I can get him off my back for kidnapping him."
Slate growled deep in his chest, a sound that vibrated so loudly everyone felt chills run down their spines.
"Why the hell did you do that though, Man?" Jared asked.
"I needed to bring attention to the old mer king, Mortimer Cordera so I could use Erenveil forces to get rid of him. I sent Slate back, didn't I?"
"You nearly killed him!" Jason spat. "You nearly killed Candace too."
"That was not my intention and I am sorry about that." Mattheus grimaced. "I took care of those who tried to hurt Slate and Candace. They are no longer even on this side of reality."
"You still owe Candace for putting her through all that." Jared narrowed his eyes.
"I offered myself as payback, but alas…" Mattheus sighed. "She rejected me."
"Don't even think about our wife in that way." Jason warned. "She's too far above you."
"Oh believe me, I know." Mattheus shivered. "That woman scares me."
"So now this corridor between Erenveil and Avalia belongs to Slate?" Dante asked, his green eyes twinkling with appreciation.
Mattheus Cordera nodded.
"Yes."
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