I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: Rungir

Schedule: none

Illustrations: none

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Waves.

Darkness burst forth from a black spear, densely engraved with strange characters, transforming into waves that spread out in all directions instantaneously. Its speed was almost as fast as sound.

Swoosh!

Giants, unable to even react properly, were swept away. After the wave of darkness had clawed through the space around, silence followed. This silence wasn't due to the giants being shocked into speechlessness by the sudden event. Rather, it was because the upper halves of most giants meant to speak were simply gone, leaving silence in their wake.

Thud, thud!

Breaking this silence, the lower halves of giants began to fall to the ground one after the other. At this sound, Captan slowly raised his head, which had been bowed in a crouch.

"......!"

Shock filled his eyes. Eighty percent of the giants had disappeared with that single strike, so his astonishment was somewhat expected. What on earth had happened?

But Captan's astonishment didn't end there. From the direction of the earlier voice, footsteps began to echo, gradually growing louder. Though faint, these steps resonated clearly in the ears of the surviving giants, sending a chill deep into their hearts.

Naturally turning his head towards the source of the footsteps, Captan's eyes began to focus on a man appearing before him.

Step.

With eyes of a weary grey and a body lean but incredibly firm, along with an otherworldly aura pressing down on everything around, the man's appearance had changed. His hair and eye color were different, but Captan recognized him instantly. He had never forgotten him since their last encounter, even recalling his image just moments ago.

"You are...!"

The man who had overwhelmingly defeated him in front of that mysterious house. Why was this man appearing here now?

'And a royal, at that?'

The deep silver hair, a trait only the direct bloodline of the Agnes could possess, indicated the man's status.

Unaware or indifferent to Captan's confusion and shock, the man approached with a detached expression. Then,

"Arrgh! This human bastard, I'll tear him to pieces!"

Giants that had survived by being out of range now charged towards the man, Zion, en masse. Having lost most of their comrades in an instant, their eyes were nearly crazed.

Seemingly deciding to go all out from the start, mana explosively surged from the giants' weapons. However, they couldn't reach Zion.

Before they could,

Crash!

A twilight sword blade burst forth from behind Zion, slicing through all of them in one fell swoop.

"Aaaargh!"

"What the... Argh!"

Giants meeting death without even withstanding a single blow.

Thus, all giants, except for Captan, had their breaths taken away in an instant.

Zion walked slowly across the land strewn with the giants' bodies, his steps unchanged from the beginning.

Finally, Zion stopped in front of Captan, who was staring blankly at him, still in a prone position.

'This guy was the successor of the Blue Claw... Is this also a form of fate?'

Recognizing the face and realizing it was the giant he had encountered in front of the mysterious house, Zion smirked and spoke.

"You're Captan, the successor of the Blue Claw, right?"

"Yes? Yes, that's correct!"

Captan quickly bowed his head and responded, regaining his composure. Knowing that Zion was a royal, he could no longer speak informally.

Moreover, a royal with such characteristics must surely be...

Before Captan could finish his thought,

"Lead me to your tribe right now."

A quiet voice flowed from Zion, who was looking at the back of Captan's head.

In the center of the northern plains.

There, among the numerous giant clans, some held considerable power, including the Blue Claw clan, the heart of the Utekan faction.

"Even here already..."

Captan's face darkened as he and Zion's party arrived at the Blue Claw's settlement.

Smoke was still rising here and there within the clan, indicating a battle had taken place just moments ago.

Fortunately, the expressions on the faces of the giants moving around were relatively bright, and cleanup seemed to be progressing quickly, suggesting the attack had been successfully repelled.

But he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

'To show this kind of scene on my first visit.'

Conscious of Zion quietly following behind, Captan thought to himself. He had become fully aware of Zion's identity on their way here.

'So that's why he was so strong.'

Understanding the overwhelming strength Zion had demonstrated made Captan gradually develop a sense of awe towards him, and his behavior towards Zion became even more respectful.

After all, Zion was also the savior of his life.

Then,

"Captan? Hahaha! You're alive!"

A giant with a curly beard tied in two parts spotted Captan and approached him with a very warm laugh.

"Uncle!"

Joy appeared in Captan's eyes upon seeing the giant, who was his father's brother and someone he had always been close to, Barte.

"Uncle, what happened here?"

Captan immediately asked, gesturing to the surroundings, causing Barte's expression to darken slightly.

"As you can see, we were attacked. The 'Red Horn' led their elite warriors here personally. We managed to hold them off here, but... the other fronts have been completely devastated. So much so, there are hardly any survivors. In fact, you, Captan, are the first to return."

Hearing this, Captan understood why Barte greeted him with such a bright smile. He must have been overjoyed to see him alive when he thought he was dead.

"But who are these humans behind you?"

"He is His Highness Zion Agnes, a direct royal of the Empire. He wished to meet my father, so I brought him along."

Barte's eyes widened at Captan's words. He hadn't expected such a person.

"Pleased to meet you, Your Highness Zion! I am Barte, a warrior of the Blue Claw."

"Where is the chieftain?"

Zion, who had nodded slightly in greeting, immediately asked this, keen to meet the chieftain as soon as possible.

"I'll guide you. Please follow me."

Barte, managing to collect his flustered emotions, turned and began to walk. There was no doubt in his eyes about Zion's identity. The deep grey hair was a distinct trait of the Agnes royals, and imitating that color was strictly forbidden.

However,

'Why would a royal visit our tribe...'

The question of why a royal was here remained.

"It's been a while since we've seen humans."

"What brings them all the way here?"

"Eh? That hair color is...!"

Giants who saw Zion following Barte began to murmur amongst themselves with curiosity and surprise in their eyes. It was extremely rare for humans to visit the world of giants, known for its harsh environment and the naturally rough temperament of its inhabitants, especially a royal.

"Here we are. Would you mind waiting a moment?"

Barte then stopped in front of a massive but unrefined stone building, bowed to Zion, and entered first.

After a brief wait,

"You may enter now. And Captan, you come in as well."

Barte reappeared and spoke to Zion and Captan.

"Me, too?"

"Yes, my brother wants to see you."

"…Understood."

Captan, sensing something was wrong from his expression darkening, followed Zion, who had already started walking into the building.

A long corridor stretched straight ahead.

The murals engraved on either side of this corridor were as grandiose and massive as the building's exterior, seemingly reflecting the owner's character.

How long had they walked?

Finally, the moment Zion and Captan walked through the corridor into the grand hall arrived.

"Why did you return alive?"

A heavy voice echoed in the air, not directed at Zion but at Captan, who was fidgeting behind him.

In the center of the hall, there was a huge chair made of beast skins, and the owner of the voice, seated upon it, had his gaze fixed squarely on Captan.

A middle-aged giant with a well-groomed long beard and a body as sturdy and formidable as a weapon was Batar, the chieftain of the Blue Claw tribe and Captan's father.

"Why did you push your subordinates and peers to death and return alone?"

Batar asked again, looking at Captan, who was shaking slightly with his head bowed.

The whole hall began to tremble slightly with Batar's rising emotions.

"...I'm sorry, Father."

"Can you still call yourself the successor of the Blue Claw? You should have been buried there. Your bones should have laid to rest in that place."

Batar, who valued the honor and pride of giants above all and considered the lives of his comrades as precious as his own, could not help but be enraged by the current situation, a rage that even his son Captan could not escape.

"...Pathetic."

After staring at the silent Captan for a moment, Batar's gaze shifted to Zion, who was standing indifferently beside him.

"I apologize for this disgraceful sight. I am Batar, leader of the Blue Claw," he said to Zion.

"Alright."

Zion lightly acknowledged Batar's greeting and slowly approached him. Despite Batar being a head taller than the other giants, who averaged 2.5 meters in height, the pressure emanating from his large frame was immense.

However, as the distance between them closed, it was Batar, not Zion, who felt the pressure.

'What eyes...'

The closer Zion got, the clearer and more intense his gaze became. Batar felt a chill run down his spine the moment he saw Zion's eyes, a sensation like prey standing before a predator. It was a strange sensation Batar was experiencing for the first time in his life, even though Zion wasn't even trying to exert his power.

'I don't recall even the former Emperor Urdios being this intimidating...'

With that thought, Batar, unable to withstand the pressure, was the first to speak.

"Your Highness Zion, what brings you to seek me?"

Then, Zion responded as if he had been waiting for the question.

"Join me."

It was a startling proposition, completely at odds with his languid tone.

The words that Zion spoke were completely unexpected in the current situation.

"All of you from the Blue Claw and the clans that follow you."

Zion's eyes remained calm and peaceful, like the surface of a lake, as he spoke. The statement was so absurd that it was met with a moment of stunned silence.

Soon, Batar broke the silence.

"...I understand you've come to our great clan for the purpose of subduing the monster legion, but surely this isn't because of that?"

"No."

Zion shook his head.

"That's irrelevant. You won't need to worry about it going forward."

"Then why...?"

"It's not about why. What matters is what you can gain by following me."

What was he talking about?

From the start, Batar could not understand a single thing the man before him was saying.

Deep confusion filled Batar's eyes.

Looking straight into those eyes.

"The war with the Utekan faction."

Zion slowly began.

"I'll ensure you win."

"!!!!!!"

Upon hearing this, both Batar and Captan, who had been listening to the conversation, were shocked. The war between their Anti-Utekan faction and the Pro-Utekan faction was, from the beginning, expected to lean towards the victory of the Pro-Utekan faction.

The difference in strength between the two sides was significant.

Yet, the man standing before Batar was saying he could reverse that power imbalance.

Another moment of stunned silence followed.

Then,

"Hahahaha!"

A loud laugh erupted from Batar.

"Your Highness Zion. We are giants. A race that values honor and pride on the battlefield more than anyone in the world. That remains unchanged even though our great clan submitted to the Agnes Empire hundreds of years ago."

Batar looked at Zion with blazing eyes, as if challenging him.

"That's why it's impossible for us giants to serve under a mere royal, not even the Emperor. In fact, our great clan has an unwritten rule: 'Do not interfere with the Empire, nor be interfered with.'"

In reality, the war with the Pro-Utekan faction was also because they broke this unwritten rule by following Prince Utekan of the Empire.

It was as if they were betraying the honor and pride most cherished by the giants.

An act that negated the very identity of a giant.

"Honestly, I find it hard to believe that you can make us win this war, but it's impossible for us to follow someone who is merely a royal."

Especially if that someone is not a giant but a human.

If they were to follow him, it would make them no different from the Pro-Utekan faction they opposed.

"Of course, unless you happen to be a descendant of Akelis."

The Great Chieftain Akelis was a legendary hero who became a giant king after slaying a demon and founded the great giant clans, leading the Blue Claw tribe to its golden age. He was the first and last giant to become a chieftain as a half-blood with a human, a figure so ancient that he has almost been forgotten by the world. However, within the Blue Claw tribe, tales of his deeds are still passed down.

Of course, the probability of Zion, standing before him, being a descendant of Akelis was nonexistent.

'No, he wouldn't even know of such a being.'

The phrase 'descendant of Akelis' within the Blue Claw tribe was used to discuss something impossible and was brought up with the same implication now.

Then,

"And how would one prove they are a descendant of Akelis?"

Zion, who had been silently listening, asked in a low voice.

"Proof..."

A disbelieving smile formed on Batar's lips.

Why ask about something that was clearly impossible? Was it a desperate attempt to grasp at straws?

"Perhaps possession of Akelis's unique weapon, the 'Gigaferses,' would suffice?"

The weapon, said to have been used to annihilate the giant king, now existed in uncertainty, its very existence unclear. Even Batar had only heard vague descriptions of its appearance.

Then,

"This?"

Zion, looking at Batar, smirked.

At that mysterious smile and question, confusion flooded the chieftain's eyes.

Sshhh!

From Zion's hand, extended forward, dark blue chains began to unravel.