A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 416 The world is kind, everyone will protect us.

In December, the North Pacific Ocean resembles a vast, boundless sheet of lead. The seawater has lost its summery azure hue, leaving only a somber winter gray.

The sea breeze was no longer gentle; instead, it carried a chilling, salty smell, blowing from the Arctic like invisible ice blades that stung the sailors' cheeks.

In this vast and desolate sea, four giant steel ships cleaved through the heavy seawater, leaving four trails of white foam.

Leading the pack were two large icebreakers, their hulls robust and sturdy, their exceptionally strong bulbous bows resembling the ramming horns of ancient beasts, poised to shatter the polar ice at any moment. Close behind were two ocean-going vessels, their cargo holds piled high with supplies, demonstrating their formidable transport and logistical capabilities.

On the deck of the icebreaker 'Arctic Hammer', Old Tang, like a doting father, cradled Constantine under his armpits and lifted him high: "How is it? Isn't the sea view beautiful?"

Constantine smiled broadly: "Yes!" Actually, the sea in winter is very gray, and Constantine didn't think it was pretty at all, but being able to see the sea with his brother, no matter what it looked like, made Constantine very happy.

Behind the two brothers was a large round table, where Nuwa and Asou Makoto were watching Erii, who had volunteered, brew tea.

Erii said that she learned how to make tea by observing Uesugi Kotsugi brew tea at home for a few days, and now she wanted to show off her skills to her two good older sisters.

Behind the three women, Inuyama Taro and Zhou Minhao, who had come with the group, were having a friendly exchange. Sakurai Masami was idly looking at her manicure. Originally, making tea was her job, but now Erii had taken it away from her, so she could only stare blankly.

The biting wind that ordinary crew members couldn't bear was just a gentle breeze on everyone on deck. The waves crashed against the iron, and the icy wind ruffled their hair. When Erii was about to pour tea, an unusual silence descended without warning.

The sound of the waves subsided eerily, as if some enormous creature had invaded, disrupting the ocean's breath and turning the once rhythmic surging of the seawater into chaos.

About a nautical mile ahead of the convoy on its starboard side, the grey-blue sea began to rise, resembling an underwater mountain bulging out of the ocean, eventually forming a huge mound of water with a waterfall constantly flowing down.

The massive water mound that had risen into the sky moved, and a giant dragon, over a hundred meters long, burst out of the water, stirring up billions of splashes of water that descended from the sky.

It was a black dragon, its body covered with ancient and solemn shield-like dragon scales, and its outstretched wings could almost blot out the sky, displaying the divine power of the dragon race.

Constantine, who happened to be standing at the edge of the deck and being lifted up by Old Tang, opened his mouth wide and couldn't help but wave his hand: "Fenrir!"

Constantine's soft call was precisely received by the dragon, who immediately lowered his head and responded in a lazy, cat-like voice, "Hehe, Constantine."

Such a contrast left Asou Makoto, whose brow was radiating moonlight, and Erii, whose hand held a book of records, dumbfounded: "Eh?"

They had never seen such a 'kawaii' dragon. Yes, although the word 'cute' was not suitable to describe a creature like a dragon, Fenrir gave them the feeling that it was cute and not scary at all.

Nuwa remained calm. Fenrir was being raised next to the Zhou family's factory, and she had visited him several times. She already knew what kind of person this King of Earth and Mountains was: "Don't worry, the King of Earth and Mountains is just like any other ruler..."

Zhou Minhao also stopped Inuyama Taro, signaling him not to get agitated, and explained that this Dragon King posed no threat whatsoever.

Of the group, only Old Tang had sharp eyes. He put Constantine down and greeted the two people standing on Fenrir's head: "Brother Xu! Xia!"

Fenrir obediently stretched out his neck, trying to keep his head as close to the icebreaker's deck as possible, so as not to interfere with the icebreaker's navigation.

Xu Lie casually leaped onto the deck, not forgetting to toss out a few bags of potato chips. Before the chips even hit the sea, the hundred-armed ghost summoned by Fenrir obediently caught them.

"Help me." Seeing Xu Lie heading towards his tea without even turning around, how could Xia Mi bear it? She had seen it—the whole table was full of beauties!
Leaving aside the eternally fifteen or sixteen-year-old appearance of Nuwa, and the stunningly beautiful Erii, the extraordinary charm emanating from Asou Makoto makes our Dragon King Natsumi feel as if he is facing a formidable enemy.

She hurriedly shouted loudly, hoping that Xu Lie could catch her.

Xu Lie turned around in confusion, not understanding Xia Mi's meaning. Why would a dignified Dragon King need to be picked up just to jump off a boat?

Ignoring everything else, Xia Mi jumped towards Xu Lie as he turned around, clearly hoping that Xu Lie would catch her from below.

Staring at Xia Mi, who was suspended in mid-air, Xu Lie thought with a wicked sense of humor, "If I were to take a step back at this moment, it would be very interesting, but Xia Mi would be sad." In the end, Xu Lie caught Xia Mi, who jumped into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest.

He let Xia Mi cling to him like a koala.

Old Tang didn't think much of it and remained cheerful as usual, while Constantine was so surprised that his mouth dropped open. "Wait, Jormungandr, what are you doing?!"
In ancient times, Jormungandr was indeed weak and frail. Even Constantine, a naturally cowardly dragon king, thought Jormungandr was incredibly weak, but he was still a dragon king after all.

If you put a second-generation dragon in front of Constantine and ask him to compare Xia Mi and the second-generation dragon to see who is stronger, Constantine will definitely choose Xia Mi without thinking. But how did such a dragon king end up in the arms of a human?
"Crunch." Feeling the foreign object, Constantine subconsciously chewed and tasted the potato chip. Fenrir laughed happily: "Constantine, you opened your mouth so wide, you must want to eat potato chips, right?"

After Fenrir was able to summon the Hundred-Armed Wraith, he became quite adept at using the wraiths to feed himself or others. "?" Constantine blinked blankly, wanting to say something, but considering Fenrir's intellect, he couldn't bring himself to speak.

On the other side, Nuwa whistled, and Erii looked curiously at Xu Lie and Xia Mi hugging each other. Asou Makoto couldn't help but recall the gossip that Fingel and Chu Zihang were keen on. It seemed that Xu Jun and Xia Mi, the Dragon King, really had some kind of relationship beyond friendship.

Xia Mi, who was being held by Xu Lie, had a smile on her face that was harder to suppress than AK's. She thought that Xu Lie was smart enough to reward her later.

After declaring sovereignty, Xia Mi nimbly jumped down from Xu Lie's arms: "Hey, Old Tang, Constantine."

Old Tang smiled and nodded, while Constantine asked in utter confusion, "Jormungandr, why do you look both joyful and haggard?"

Simply put, it's about why Xia Mi's eyes exude a comfortable and lazy air, yet she also has heavy dark circles under her eyes.

"Huh?" Xia Mi turned her head slightly, glared at Xu Lie fiercely as if silently saying 'It's all your fault,' before quickly turning back: "Haha, little kid, don't ask so many questions."

Constantine, who was still a little boy after being transformed into a human, was utterly speechless. How could he possibly be considered a child?
Xu Lie, who was being glared at, was already used to it. Xia Mi was good at turning the tables and shifting blame. She was the one who said she was "fighting until she lost her memory", and now she had the nerve to blame him.

This might be Xia Mi's nature, something she can't change, so Xu Lie didn't think about correcting her: "Shin, Erii, let me introduce you..."

After acting as an intermediary to introduce the two parties, Nuwa and Asou deliberately ignored the Dragon King's identity and addressed each other as ladies. Xia Mi did the same, but Erii sweetly called everyone "sister".

The shouts delighted Xia Mi, who immediately took a liking to this innocent and adorable girl. Seeing that Erii was interested in Fenrir, he even took Erii with him and strolled to the edge of the deck.

Erii looked up at the towering Fenrir and the more she looked, the more she felt that Fenrir resembled a villainous monster from a tokusatsu drama.

Xia Mi asked Fenrir to take good care of Erii. After saying only a few words, she immediately turned back. Xia Mi felt a great sense of crisis when she saw Xu Lie chatting and laughing with Nuwa and Aso.

When they gathered around the tea table, they heard Nuwa introducing the new shipping route: "We have two large icebreakers that can directly take the Arctic route. In five days, we will be able to cross the Bering Strait and reach the North Sea in the Arctic."

"According to the original plan, relying solely on icebreakers to break through the glacier would slow our journey to the Arctic Circle by several days. Fortunately, with the King of the Earth and the Mountain, and with Senior Tang around, the glacier is no match for us."

Old Tang patted his chest knowingly: "Don't worry, leave it to me. What glacier? I'll burn it all down with one fire."

Xia Mi sat down next to Xu Lie as if nothing had happened, and then she heard Xu Lie tease her very softly: "Little jealous girl."

"!" This made Xia Mi grit her teeth. Hmph, you're not getting your reward tonight.

Xu Lie's head-shaking failed, but he was confident he could appease Xia Mi, so he turned his attention to the edge of the deck.

Fenrir noticed Erii, hesitated for a moment, thinking that she was Xu Lie's friend after all, and reluctantly ordered the Hundred-Armed Ghost to take out his treasured possession: "Do you want some potato chips?"

"Thank you." Erii politely accepted the potato chips, her eyes still fixed on Fenrir: "Aren't you always like this? Aren't you afraid of Ultraman?"

Despite his seemingly foolishness, Fenrir's natural talent allowed him to swim effortlessly in the sea, his speed comparable to that of an icebreaker's engine. He stood shoulder to shoulder with the icebreaker, answering Erii's question: "Ultraman? I'm not afraid."

For Fenrir, who spends most of his time watching TV in the Nibelungen subway, Ultraman still knows: "My sister said that Ultraman can't beat me, but even if I can't beat him, my sister will protect me."

"Now there's Xu Lie too, and Xu Lie will protect me as well."

When Fenrir said this, he was full of confidence, not afraid of Ultraman fighting monsters at all. The confidence in his words reminded Erii of the care and concern her members had for her when Xu Jun stole her destiny.

Everyone's concern was so sincere and warmed Erii's heart. Every time she thinks about it, Erii can't help but smile and say, "Yeah!"

"The world is kind, and everyone is kind. Even if Ultraman comes, everyone will protect us!"

Or is it because they both recognize each other as monsters? Or is it because they're happy to have fellow Ultraman enthusiasts to discuss with?

In short, after chatting for a few minutes, Erii was already sitting on Fenrir's head, riding the waves and scattering silvery laughter.

(End of this chapter)