Man on the ark, forced to become king

"The same goes for Mudrock. She will join us, and what she wants to do after that is entirely up to her own will. You, or any of you, have no right to interfere."

"If you think that the so-called royal court can defy his will, you are welcome to try. I'll be watching."

"..."

Ascalon fell silent, vaguely realizing where she had touched W's landmine.

Strictly speaking, they are all now operators under the Golden Tree, but she showed that she was putting the Royal Court before the Golden Tree, which is absolutely unacceptable to W, whose loyalty to that person is impeccable.

"Sorry, I made a mistake."

After a moment of silence, Ascalon apologized directly to Mudrock.

If W has spoken to this extent, then before Mudstone agrees, the royal court probably won't be able to do anything, and may not even dare to do anything.

That lord's strength is undeniable. Kazdel, where the Great Golden Tree resides, is practically a kingdom within a kingdom. Who would dare oppose that leader for the sake of a Stonewing Demon's bloodline and the Golden Tree?

That's practically suicide. If someone were to have any inappropriate thoughts, not only would the Regent possibly twist their head off, but His Majesty the Demon King would be furious.

It's important to know that half the credit for Kazdel's reconstruction goes to the Golden Tree, and the Demon King's relationship with that leader is also...

"No, it's okay."

Mudstone gave a dry reply, then secretly glanced at W, somewhat shocked.

What is W's background? Who exactly is the 'he' she speaks of? In Kazdel, how could someone possibly have their will supersede the royal court? What kind of being is that?

The girl racked her brains trying to sketch out an outline, but found that she couldn't do it at all; it was beyond her comprehension.

Chapter 218 The Survival of Civilization

The Golden Tree, a special care ward in the medical department.

The big shot that Mudstone could never have imagined was now squatting at the door of the ward, eating an apple, glancing around from time to time, looking like a decadent middle-aged man.

Skadi's recovery is progressing much faster than expected. According to the medical department's calculations, she should wake up around today. Since Lin Lu had nothing else to do, she simply squatted down at the door of the ward and waited there.

Once Skadi wakes up and does some recovery training, she should be able to set off for Iberia with Kal'tsit and the others early tomorrow morning.

Based on the existing information about Hai Si, once Kal'tsit completes her investigation, the Golden Tree will likely undergo its first major development since arriving in this world.

Hai Si's ability to devour the power of gold, even if it's only a portion of the gold power that isn't intentionally controlled by the user, is absolutely intolerable.

Just like in the borderlands, when the Golden Dynasty was newly established, Marika could not tolerate the continued existence of the extinguishing fire that could burn down the Golden Tree, and brazenly launched a war against the giants living in the snowy mountains.

The Sealings of Terra are equivalent to the Flame Giants of the borderlands. Although the Sealings are currently far less of a threat than the Flame Giants, they are still a potential problem.

Lin Lu had no intention of waiting for this hidden danger to grow before dealing with it. He wanted to nip the threat in the bud before it truly took shape. With Isamara as his trump card, he could assimilate a portion of the Sea Seeds into the Golden Tree's possession and exterminate the rest.

However, the strength of the Sea Kings was not weak, and could even be described as quite formidable. Even the underwater kingdom of Agor, which possessed technology far surpassing that of the continental countries, was struggling under their attack. The aftershocks caused by the Sea God's madness nearly destroyed the entire Iberia.

To wage a true war of genocide against such a race, the Golden Tree, with its current strength, would need to mobilize allies it can unite.

Once the war begins, it will be a major battle no less than the war between the giants in the border region, ranging from ordinary operators fighting against individual Sea Kings to battles between gods. It is likely that the fighting will be so fierce that the sky and earth will darken.

Lin Lu wasn't worried that the Golden Tree would lose, but when it would win was also unknown. After all, the war against the giants had lasted a long time, and it was only when the Eternal Queen Marika personally intervened and went to the battlefield that the war came to an end.

If placed at the border, it would probably look pretty much the same.

"...Is it really appropriate for the two of us to squat here?"

Just as Lin Lu was pondering the impending war, Theresa, who was squatting beside him in the same position, casually tossed the fruit pit in her hand into a nearby trash can and muttered something under her breath.

The reconstruction of the Kazdel Royal Court only requires the Demon King to remain in power, without her involvement in political affairs. In Theresis's words, "As the Demon King, you don't need to oversee everything. Just sitting in that position and learning a little about 'laissez-faire' wouldn't be a bad thing"—in other words, it means letting her do nothing and not cause any trouble.

So, the disliked Demon King had no choice but to stay in the Golden Tree. But there was nothing to do in the Golden Tree except take care of the children. After a period of confusion, the Demon King gradually adapted to the current pace of life and became more 'down-to-earth'.

She rarely wore that black and white dress from the Civil War era anymore, and often changed into fashionable clothes bought from Lungmen, as was the case today.

Her simple attire of a white T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers made her look like a vibrant college student in her early twenties, completely unlike someone who had lived for over two hundred years and experienced numerous great battles.

"What's wrong with that? It's all our territory anyway, we can squat wherever we want."

"That's right..."

Theresa scratched her cheek, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

It wasn't that she had any ulterior motives, but she felt that it was working hours, and the two of them were high-ranking figures at Golden Tree. It wasn't a good image for them to just sit there idly, looking like they were doing nothing.

“You can go into the ward. You’re not a man, so you don’t need to be as reserved as I am.”

Lin Lu didn't care about this at all. What impact did it have? Anyway, he was the boss, and he made the decisions.

Moreover, the reason he was squatting there was because there was a woman in the ward, because of her treatment... In short, she wasn't his wife, so he couldn't just look at her freely; he had to be discreet.

If it's the same sex, there's no such worry, since they're all women, and there's no issue of being seen naked.

"Forget it, I'm not familiar with her."

Theresa thought for a moment, then didn't move. She wasn't a doctor, and the treatment inside was still ongoing. Kal'tsit was in charge of the final touches, and going in now would only cause trouble.

"Speaking of which, why not put some seats in the hallway?"

Normal hospital corridors or ward entrances have seats for people to rest, but there are none in the medical department. Theresa only noticed this detail today.

"Because the Golden Tree family rarely needs to wait outside, there's no need for them to be there. Our situation was purely accidental."

Lin Lu tossed the remaining fruit pits into the trash can, clapped her hands, casually explained, and then said seriously, "Get ready. Skadi's awakening means that the war is about to enter the preparation stage."

"War, war with whom?"

Upon hearing those two words, Theresa instinctively tensed up. It was safe to say that war was the word she least wanted to hear, without exception.

A civil war in Kazdel shattered the entire country, displacing the Sarkaz and leaving them in chaos for decades. Now that the dawn has finally broken, she desperately wants to see war return.

"In the war between the Golden Tree and the Sea King, Kal'tsit and the others were the pioneers who paved the way."

Lin Lu didn't hide her thoughts from Theresa about this. Before long, all members of the Golden Tree would be mobilized and put into a state of war. There was no way to hide it from her now. She was telling her now so that she could be mentally prepared in advance.

"Golden Tree and Haisi?"

Theresa frowned, thought for a moment, and then suddenly realized.

"Is it because the Sea Sprites can absorb some of the power of gold? And then their traces were discovered on land, so they're being driven back into the sea?"

She knew about what happened during the New Year, but she didn't expect the situation to be so serious that Lin Lu was even preparing for war.

These two words are so heavy they're suffocating.

Even a local war requires blood and bones to pave the way.

"No, it's not about throwing it back into the sea."

Lin Lu turned her head and stared into the pink-tinged eyes, her voice low.

"What I want to fight is a war of annihilation. The Hai Si race must be completely wiped out of this world, not a single one left."

"why?"

Theresa's pupils constricted, and her breathing became erratic for a moment. The meaning of this word, and the weight behind it, far exceeded that of ordinary war.

Extermination means wiping out all Hai Si. How much would it take to achieve this?

Once the sea creatures retreat back to the ocean, it will enter their home turf. Even if the Golden Tree has many secret techniques and methods, it will probably be difficult to completely exterminate a species in the vast ocean. If it is not careful, it will suffer heavy losses.

The number of Sea Sirens is countless, while the Golden Tree only has so many operators. What can the Golden Tree use to wage a war of extermination against the Sea Sirens?

"Why wage a war of annihilation? Our current strength is insufficient to support a war of that scale. Did Hai Si do something I don't know about?"

"No, all they did was disgust me during the New Year."

Lin Lu shook her head and said frankly, "Actually, I could have come up with some high-sounding reasons, such as Hai Si being an evil heretic, an enemy of mankind, or Hai Si plotting something and attempting to annex the land... but there's no need for that."

"I have only one reason: the ability to directly devour the power of gold threatens the existence of the Golden Tree. Even if there is only a hint of it, I will not allow it. Therefore, Hai Si must disappear."

"I believe that Haisi poses a threat, and the solution is to wipe them out of this world. It's that simple."

"...That's really domineering."

The crouching posture was hardly intimidating, but Theresa saw something in Lin Lu that she had never seen before—the domineering power unique to a king.

Because the Hai Si pose a threat, their entire race must be completely destroyed. No other explanation is needed, no reason is required, and no opposition is permitted.

The king's domineering nature was on full display.

"But what do we have to fight this big battle with? We simply don't have enough manpower."

The king's orders were not to be questioned. Although Theresa had never been a demon king, she knew this well, so she had no intention of objecting.

Opposition is useless. The entire Golden Tree is completely Lin Lu's domain. He can control the life and death of everyone. When he gets serious, no one can disobey him.

"Of course we don't have enough manpower, but there are so many countries on land with huge armies, and there is also Agor in the sea with technology far superior to that of the countries on the mainland. These are all things we can make use of."

The door to the ward was suddenly opened from the inside, and Kal'tsit, wearing a white coat and sporting a cat-like head, came out and offered an explanation for Lin Lu.

Her face remained as taut as ever, revealing no extra expression, but her slightly trembling eyes suggested that she did not want to appear as calm as she seemed.

“I’ve had many guesses: to sever the hand that reaches from the sea to the land, to plunder the secrets of the deep sea… but I never imagined that your real purpose was to launch a devastating war against the Sea Heirs. This idea is too crazy. The secrets hidden in the deep sea are far more numerous than you can imagine.”

"Your attitude is what I didn't expect. I originally thought that someone like you would definitely not agree after knowing the truth, so my original plan was to let you be the last to know."

Lin Lu remained noncommittal about Kal'tsit's statement. He believed that whatever was in the sea would be clear once they entered. He was more interested in Kal'tsit's attitude. This old cat seemed to have changed recently, at least she had corrected her habit of spouting a series of riddles.

“If that’s really what you think, you wouldn’t have squatted down at my ward door to say these clumsy probing things.”

"Who knows?"