Man on the ark, forced to become king

If such a being, capable of directly destroying a city, is thoroughly enraged and cannot be killed, then true annihilation awaits Iberia.

Thinking of this, the usually fearless Grand Inquisitor became afraid.

He could disregard his own life and stop at nothing to pursue his beliefs, even if it meant going through hell.

However, he could not ignore the land beneath his feet and the millions of people living here.

The courts established order not for oppression and domination, but for the survival of Iberia and for the life and death of countless citizens.

That is something that no judge can part with.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Let me guess."

Lin Lu stroked her chin, suppressing her terrifying aura in the face of the petite, white-haired girl's ghost-like gaze, and instead revealing a smile that she considered to be fairly gentle.

A slight scare is enough; you can gain some positive advantage in the subsequent conversation. There's no need to push too hard and make the person terrified.

After all, he's not some kind of devil.

"Based on the rumors circulating in the court and your sudden, whirlwind arrival, you must be here to question us about why we came to Saltwind City and what our purpose is?"

That's actually a pointless statement. If two judges came to your door to ask questions, what purpose could they have had for casual conversation?

However, even if it was nonsense, Lin Lu dared to say it, and the Grand Judge was somewhat hesitant to accept it at this moment.

Faced with a terrifying presence never before encountered in Iberian history, a being who seemed to be a true deity descending to earth, he had to consider the entirety of Iberia and be extremely cautious, not allowing even a single syllable or a subtle expression to go wrong.

What is the purpose of questioning these two?

That's certainly what I think, but admitting it directly is impossible.

An ant's roar at an elephant will only bring about unparalleled destruction. How dare he directly question a 'god' who could kill them with a single finger?

That's not bravery, that's foolishness.

“Your Majesty, we have not offended you. However, Saltwind City belongs to Iberia, and we need to find out what happened here.”

After a moment of silence, the Grand Judge considered the matter carefully and used the most tactful possible language.

"What happened here? I suppose you've already seen it."

Lin Lu casually pointed, and looking down from the rooftop, she could just see the Deep Sea Cultists disappearing in the starlight on the street below.

"Saltwind City has been occupied by the Deep Sea Church. They have been secretly controlling the city for many years, spying on the power of the Sea Heirs, treating the residents here as livestock, and conducting countless bloody experiments."

"...This is a dereliction of duty on the part of the court. We failed to detect the anomaly here in time, which led to Saltwind City's suffering."

The chief judge readily admitted the court's error without offering any explanation.

He could certainly say that the courtroom was understaffed.

After the former royal family, nobles, and army collapsed in the Great Tranquility, the Inquisition took over this turbulent nation. However, with their limited manpower, they were not able to fully control such a vast territory.

From the past to the present, the court's resources have always been stretched thin, relying solely on the judges' travels to identify and resolve crises, barely maintaining a semblance of order for this collapsing nation.

Severe personnel shortages have left them with very little control over most of their territory, making them powerless to manage the darkness lurking in the shadows, and mistakes are inevitable.

But, so what?

Such an explanation is completely meaningless.

The tribunal wanted to protect Iberia and its people from calamity and suffering; this was their belief. No matter how many excuses there were, a mistake was a mistake, and failure to do something was failure to do it.

The lack of personnel is a problem with the courts themselves, and the resulting suffering should not be paid for by the Iberian people.

Therefore, he would not use this as a reason to explain himself or the court.

"No, the fault lies not with you, but with those alien beings in the deep sea, with the deep-sea church that betrayed humanity, and with them who brought calamity to Saltwind City."

“I know that the Tribunal and the whole of Iberia are in a very difficult situation, so we came.”

Lin Lu shook her head and slowly spoke, under the shocked gaze of the Grand Judge.

“We have the ability to solve the problems in Saltwind City, and this is just the beginning.”

"I won't lie to you about anything; there's no need for that."

"We came to Iberia with only one purpose: to start from here, enter the deep sea, and completely destroy the Sealings, so that they will never be enemies of mankind again."

"This will be a war, a war between man and sea, between land and sea. This is not a discussion, but a notification. Hereby, I announce to you the coming of war."

"...Your Majesty, this is the land of Iberia."

The Grand Judge raised his head, his eyes burning. Even though the person before him was someone he could not contend with, he would not bow down on matters of principle.

"What you are doing will bring even greater disaster to Iberia."

"Would the disaster disappear if I didn't do this? No, the calamity from the deep sea will only erode your defenses little by little until the defenses you built with your lives and blood collapse. Your efforts can only delay the arrival of destruction, but cannot make it disappear. This is the fact, the undeniable fact."

"The disaster has always been there, and it is ever-approaching. It has never disappeared. If you don't find a way to solve it, everything you cherish will eventually be buried in the soil. Since you don't have the ability yourself, why don't you let someone who does have the ability do it?"

"Even if this brings some disaster, it will only be temporary. As long as we win this war, dawn will break."

"..."

Lin Lu's words silenced the Grand Judge once again.

Doesn't he understand these principles?

No, he knows it all too well.

Over the years, he has traversed this country on the verge of collapse on foot, walking every inch of land in the sea breeze, experiencing countless battles, and doing his utmost for the existence of order.

He knew all too well the despair hidden behind the order constructed by the courtroom.

Their strength was too weak to resist the disaster from the deep sea.

Although Iliya has not completely collapsed, it is already on a path with no future. The entire country is slowly dying, and the tribunal is powerless to stop it.

However, maintaining the status quo means facing a hopeless future and launching a war against the deep sea. Victory would solve the problem once and for all, but failure would mean that Iberia, which the Tribunal had tried so hard to maintain, would be completely wiped out from the world.

Most importantly, he saw no hope of victory.

“Your Majesty, I will report your suggestion. I am just an ordinary judge and have no authority to decide matters concerning the survival of Iberia. Could you please wait a few days so that someone with the authority to make the decision can speak with you?”

The Grand Inquisitor did not believe that this absurd proposal could be implemented, even if it were said by a god with the power to destroy a city.

No one understood the difficulty of dealing with Hai Si better than the Tribunal. It was not a problem that could be solved by mere destructive power. The Great Moon that enveloped the entire Saltwind City was certainly awe-inspiring, but in the vast ocean, it was nothing more than an insignificant body of water.

However, although he thought this way, he didn't actually voice his doubts so directly.

It's best not to do things that might offend people. The best approach is to stall for time until the saints of the court arrive, and then figure out a solution.

He himself certainly does not have the ability to communicate with God on an equal footing, but the assembled court of judges is qualified to do so, and at that time, the matter can be resolved at the negotiating table.

“It’s alright. I didn’t expect you to represent the entire court. Go ahead and report it. I won’t stop you.”

Lin Lu waved her hand and smiled very warmly, but the words she spoke were anything but warm.

“We welcome the senior members of the court to come here and are willing to have friendly exchanges with you.”

"But that's another matter."

“I have already said that this is not a suggestion, but a notification. No matter how you see it, what you think, whether you agree or not, war is coming. Our decisions will not change because of your opinions.”

"!"

The Grand Judge's eyes widened suddenly, his hands clenched involuntarily, and anger surged within him.

A notice? Whether we agree or not?

Do these people think the courtroom doesn't exist?!

Without a doubt, this was utter contempt. This was Saltwind City, Iberian territory, how could outsiders be allowed to interfere at will?!

"teacher……"

The little white-haired girl, with a worried look on her face, tugged at the Grand Judge's sleeve.

"Whoo~"

His clenched fist loosened, the Grand Judge's chest heaved, and he exhaled. His firm will was not broken by momentary anger. He stared, about to speak, when he realized that the young man standing not far away had disappeared from his spot.

Snapped!

A hand landed silently on his shoulder, making him stiffen. He instinctively turned his head and saw a gentle smiling face.

"Are you angry? Of course, that's to be expected. If it were me, I would definitely be angry if an outsider from who-knows-where said that to me on my own turf."

"However, we are still different. The biggest difference is that even if you are angry, you can only endure it, while I can hang up and beat anyone who dares to do such a thing without any scruples."

"This is the price of weakness. Because of weakness, you can only swallow your anger and watch helplessly as your homeland perishes."

Seeing the Grand Judge's increasingly dark expression, Lin Lu sighed and softened her voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mock you. I just wanted you to face reality. You've done enough, doing the best you could with limited resources. But that's not enough, is it?"

"What I just said was a bit harsh, but that's the situation you're facing."

"If that's the case, why insist on doing things you're completely incapable of accomplishing, and slowly die with outdated ideas?"

"When I say I'm going to start an extraordinary war, it means I have enough confidence to do it. Do you think that what you see now is our full strength?"

"Therefore, the weak, lacking strength, should stand on the side of the strong in order to realize their unrealizable visions until they become strong themselves."

"If they join us, Iberia can get out of its current predicament and even rebuild its former glory."

"Of course, I am not some devil. As you said, this is Iberian territory after all, so you should have the right to choose whether to join or leave."