Man on the ark, forced to become king

"We came from Rembito. We originally planned to cross Iberia to Sargon, but we encountered a natural disaster on the way. When we were escaping, we happened to be outside the city, so we thought we would find a place to rest for a while before continuing our journey."

Kal'tsit made up a lie on the spot, glancing around the room out of the corner of her eye.

The interior space is quite spacious, but the furnishings are somewhat old, and it is clear that the owner has not taken the time to maintain the house. There is obvious dust and stains in many corners, and even the living room shelves are covered with a layer of dust, with some lanterns and other miscellaneous items on them.

An oil lamp, incongruous with the spacious room, sat on a table by the window, its light filtering through the cracks in the window, which was blocked by wooden planks.

This lamp was clearly not enough to illuminate the entire living room, so the room was dim and dark, and it was barely possible to see things clearly.

Judging from these details, one can tell that the residents here are probably living in very difficult circumstances.

"Rembito, Sargon..."

The middle-aged man muttered those two words, then shook his head after a moment and sighed, "It's been a long time since I've heard anything about what's happening outside... You want to find a place to rest? That's easy, there are empty houses everywhere in the city, you can just find one and stay there."

"but……"

A look of hesitation crossed his face, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "You should leave quickly. Saltwind City is not a place to rest. It's easy to settle down, but difficult to leave."

"why?"

Kal'tsit didn't speak, but Warfarin couldn't help but ask first.

Ever since she entered the house, she had a strange feeling, as if something was wrong, but she couldn't find the reason.

"Because this city is dead..."

The middle-aged man sighed and shook his head, seemingly hesitant to explain further. He simply waved his hand and said, "Anyway, you can rest here for a while. My place is close to the city outskirts, so you'll be able to escape in no time. But whatever you do, don't go any further in. If you run into them... then you won't be able to leave. They won't let you go."

"You have the scent of Hai Si on you."

Suddenly, Skadi, who had been silent all along, took the greatsword from behind her, took two steps forward, and her gaze suddenly became sharp, startling the middle-aged man so much that he retreated and almost knocked over the shelf behind him.

"Agor! You are—"

As if he had guessed something, his face shifted between fear and struggle before finally collapsing to the ground. He said dejectedly, "You're right. Those monsters from the sea have already polluted this place. It won't be long before everyone dies."

"Calm down, Skadi."

Kal'tsit reached out and stopped Skadi, whose gaze was sharp, standing in front of her. She reassured her in the gentlest tone possible, "Don't be afraid. We don't intend to do anything to you. Can you tell us about Saltwind City?"

"You're not just passing through, are you? You're heading towards Saltwind City?"

The middle-aged man sat on the floor, his gaze never leaving Skadi, who was holding a greatsword.

"Judging from your clothes, you're neither from the Inquisition nor lackeys of the Church, but... who still cares about this dead city?"

He seemed to be asking a question, or perhaps talking to himself. After speaking, he fell silent and let out a long sigh.

“If you want to know, I can tell you, but afterwards, you might not be able to leave. Saltwind City is now full of the Church’s henchmen, and this Agor man can’t protect you.”

"Church? What church?"

"Church of the Deep Sea."

Boom!

The moment the word left her lips, the greatsword pierced a hole in the floor of the room. Skadi's eyes widened slightly, and she gripped the hilt of her sword even tighter. An invisible aura enveloped the entire room, startling even Warfarin, who quickly grabbed her to prevent her from doing anything rash.

"Skadi, calm down!"

"...I'm fine."

Skadi took a deep breath, her violent aura subsided, and she returned to her innocent and naive girl form. Her hatred for the Deep Sea Church was too complex to explain in a few words, but she wouldn't take it out on an ordinary person.

"you you!"

The middle-aged man was probably startled by Skadi's sudden outburst. It took him a while to recover, and he moved to a position against the wall. His cloudy eyes revealed obvious fear and hatred.

"Since you want to know, I will tell you everything."

“Iberia abandoned Saltwind City, and since then, the Church of the Deep Sea has occupied this place. Now, the entire city is under their control, and no one can escape. Many people have become the Church's lackeys, pursuing some kind of glorious evolution. They have a large number of people and possess powerful strength that ordinary people do not have. If they discover that outsiders have entered, you will absolutely not be able to escape from the Church's pursuit.”

"What about the courtroom? Don't they know what's going on here?"

Kal'tsit ignored the middle-aged man's talk about the church's pursuit. Perhaps it was indeed terrifying to ordinary people, an inescapable nightmare, but to them, it was nothing special, not even worth taking seriously.

With a powerful backer, they are now backed by the Golden Tree, giving them a strong foundation. Not to mention others, Skadi alone is enough to provide them with solid military support. Even if they can't flatten Saltwind City, they can at least protect themselves without any problem.

She was more concerned with the intelligence she could obtain than with the potential dangers, as that was what was truly useful.

"A courtroom? Heh..."

Mentioning this name, the middle-aged man gave a cold smile, seemingly very disdainful.

"What's the use of the court? They can't even take care of themselves. The people they send down are all incompetent young people who can't see the situation at all. Even if someone comes to inspect, they can easily fool them. They've come many times over the years, and they still haven't found anything."

"Those high and mighty judges, spouting nothing but precepts, still don't know that the peaceful Saltwind City in their eyes has long been controlled by the Deep Sea Church, and even the people in the city are almost turning into monsters!"

How did the Deep Sea Church control Saltwind City?

Logically speaking, Saltwind City has a large population, and the Deep Sea Church... Kal'tsit knows about this organization. It can only be said that the underground church is ultimately not up to par. Their strength is not that great, and they can't even deal with the Inquisition. At most, they can do some small things in the dark and develop followers. It is simply impossible for them to completely control a large city with tens of thousands of people and keep the news completely under wraps.

But they did it, and they did it perfectly. So perfectly that the judges of the Inquisition visited Saltwind City several times but found nothing unusual, which puzzled Kal'tsit greatly.

If the Church of the Deep Sea were that powerful, Iberia would have fallen into their hands long ago, and there would be no need for the Inquisition.

"Food, they monopolize the food."

The hatred in the middle-aged man's eyes grew more and more obvious. He explained in a disgusted tone, "Saltwind City is a coastal city. The land here is not suitable for growing crops. In the past, we relied on fishing at sea to make a living. Back then, there were many things to eat in the sea."

"But after the disaster, the sea was completely overrun by monsters, so what could be salvaged?"

"Not to mention whether there will be any gains after going out to sea, even how to deal with the monsters in the sea is a problem."

"Then, the Deep Sea Church appeared. They somehow made a deal with the monsters in the sea. The monsters would regularly send edible seafood, which the Deep Sea Church would then distribute. To live and avoid starvation, one had to obey them."

"Escape is impossible. The Deep Sea Church isn't that kind-hearted to provide food for free. There's something wrong with all that seafood. If you eat too much, you might turn into a monster! Even if you don't turn into a monster for now, those who eat it will be under the Church's surveillance. If anyone tries to escape, they'll be caught. Anyone who tries to escape will die."

"The flesh of the Sea Sparrow is inedible, as are the creatures contaminated by it. It will cause the human body to mutate, either dying or gradually adapting and eventually mutating into something like the Terror Fish."

Skadi added an explanation after the middle-aged man finished speaking.

She didn't understand other things, but she had dealt with Hai Si for many years and was extremely familiar with it. She had personally witnessed the consequences of consuming Hai Si or anything contaminated by it.

The residents of Saltwind City must have consumed something similar, and over the years, the amount accumulated must be quite large. Their bodies even carry the scent of the Sea Sprite. If this continues, the entire city will likely become a nest for the Sea Sprite, and everyone living there will turn into mindless, terrifying fish.

"Yes, that stuff is inedible... but what can we do?"

The middle-aged man chuckled self-deprecatingly and murmured to himself.

"If we don't eat, there will be no food, and we will starve to death. We have no choice..."

"And who are you?"

Kal'tsit scrutinized the middle-aged man sitting against the wall with a critical look, her tone enigmatic.

"Ordinary people wouldn't know so many things."

Neither the methods of the Deep Sea Church nor their understanding of the Sea Heirs are things that ordinary people can access. Even if the members of the Deep Sea Church were completely brainless, they wouldn't spread such information everywhere. Even though Saltwind City has become their base, ordinary residents can at most tell that something is wrong with what they eat. How could they explain it so clearly? How could they have such a clear judgment about the situation?

Based on this person's understanding of the Deep Sea Church, there are many suspicious points no matter how you look at it.

"Me? Just an ordinary person barely clinging to life."

"Your remarks are anything but ordinary."

"At this point, what's the point of saying all that?"

The middle-aged man raised his head and met Kal'tsit's gaze, his self-deprecating expression becoming increasingly obvious.

"If I had to name myself, my name is Mills, and I used to be the director of the Saltwind City Biological Research Institute. Is that answer satisfactory?"

"enough."

The director of the biological research institute was indeed qualified to know this information. Even if he didn't know it before, he should have been able to research it himself over the years. Kal'tsit believed Mills's claim about his identity to some extent, but not entirely.

"How could someone like you have survived until now without joining the Deep Sea Church?"

"Who knows? Maybe they'll keep me around for what purpose. They're quite patient. Who knows what those evolution-obsessed lunatics are thinking?"

Mills waved his hand dismissively, got up from the ground, and his gaze fell on Skadi again.

“Agor, you should know how troublesome those things are. I advise you to take your companions and leave as soon as possible.”

"You care about her a lot?"

Kal'tsit's eyes flickered as she noticed something she had previously overlooked—Mills seemed to care more about Skadi than about her and Warfarin. To be precise, he cared about Skadi's Agor identity and didn't want her to die here, which was why he had tried to persuade her repeatedly.

That might be one of the reasons they were willing to let them in. Otherwise, why would a cautious person who would put multiple locks on the door easily open it to strangers?

"My teacher was an Argol."

Mills did not deny it, but explained the reason in a low voice, staring at Skadi for a while, as if hesitating about something.

The atmosphere in the room grew quiet as he fell silent. Just as Warfarin was about to say something, Mills spoke again.

"Judging from your appearance, you don't plan to leave. I don't know what your purpose is in coming here, but I'm sure you're not here for tourism, and you must have your own reasons."

"Well then, I have some news to tell you, which this young lady might be interested in."

"what news?"

Noticing that Mills' gaze never left her, Skadi looked over expressionlessly.

"Some time ago, before you, there was an intruder who broke into Saltwind City. That intruder was also an Agor."

"The church fought with her. I have to say, that girl was even more of a monster than the monsters the church kept. In the end, it was the bishop who had to step in to subdue her and bring her under control."