Alligator's Ark of Tomorrow

You're just offering your warm welcome to someone who doesn't reciprocate, aren't you?

Gard has a temper too. Since you don't want my help, I'm too lazy to help you. If anything happens in the future, don't come begging me, Greta.

Anyway, Gard can now protect himself without any problem when facing Hai Si. If things continue as he knows, it will probably take some time for Hai Si to go ashore.

During this time, Gard could have continued to develop and become stronger.

The reason Gard came at this time was, frankly, for Laurentina's sake. As long as Laurentina was alright, there was no need for him to clash with Haisi at this time.

Seeing that Gard had been outmaneuvered by his captain, the other deep-sea hunters around him shrugged helplessly, but if it were them, they would probably have given the same answer.

They, Agor, have not yet fallen to the point where they need the help of a land dweller to get through their difficulties.

Since Gretia doesn't need Gard's help, Gard is too lazy to call Kal'tsit and the others who are still on the sea. Once he sees Laurentina, they can probably leave.

Although Kal'tsit certainly wanted to continue cooperating with the Argolls to deal with the crisis of the Seas, even Gretia refused his help, so the other Argolls were even less likely to accept it.

The arrogance of the Agor people is ingrained in their very bones.

Without breaking this bone, the Agor people would never be able to ask for help from others.

Since they've already refused to help, how could Gard possibly have the nerve to offer assistance?

If he didn't need to help Agor, this deep-sea trip would have been a time for Gard to relax.

He still has at least half of his Ascension power stored in his body. In case of danger, he can take Laurentina and the others and teleport them to a place tens of thousands of kilometers away in an instant.

If he really wants to run away, who can stop him?

This time, even if Kal'tsit asks, Gard will not stay to help.

Last time in the harbor, Gard had already helped the Argolls once. If it weren't for helping the Argolls escape, Gard wouldn't have exhausted his Ascension power and could only watch helplessly as Kal'tsit was devoured.

Gard didn't want the same thing to happen a second time.

The return of the deep-sea hunters immediately attracted the attention of the Argoll leadership. At this critical moment, ordinary city defense soldiers dared not trip up the deep-sea hunters. Even the reason why there were fifteen deep-sea hunters when they went out but an extra crocodile man when they returned was turned a blind eye by the city defense garrison.

Gladys had to report to the Consul's Hall, so several deep-sea hunters took Gald to Gladys's mansion.

With Gretia absent, several female deep-sea hunters chattered around Gard along the way, looking at him with the curiosity of curious children.

"Gald, how did you meet the shark?"

"I guessed it before. Sharks, who usually seem quiet and gentle but become like madmen when they start fighting, would definitely like wild types like you."

"Hey, Claudia, I don't remember you saying that before. Didn't you say he was ugly?"

"You definitely can't say that in front of them!"

"..."

He was surrounded not only by female deep-sea hunters, but also by the voices of male deep-sea hunters.

"Gald, you were holding back when you fought us just now, weren't you? I'm a little curious, if you went all out, who would be stronger between you and the captain?"

"Gald isn't the type who's particularly good at speed, I think he should be compared to Ulbianbi from the third team."

"Isn't Skadi from Team Three at the captain's house too? How about we have Gard compete against her?"

"..."

They were typical of people who loved watching the drama unfold. Most importantly, after personally assessing Gard's strength, the Deepsea Hunters had come to acknowledge Gard's power.

No matter where you are, great strength will always earn you the respect of others.

However, it seemed that Gard had heard something extraordinary.

"Wait, you just said that Skadi from Team Three is at Gretia's house?"

"Yes, do you know her?"

"I remember Skadi from Team Three went with Shark to the land to find the captain before. That should be when we met."

"..."

The hunters chatted amongst themselves, oblivious to the changes in Gard's expression.

How could Skadi be here?

His axe is still with Skadi, some distance away.

If it weren't Skadi in the Greta mansion.

Who is that?

In an instant, Gard knew the answer.

His gaze turned slightly cold. What was Isamaya doing here? Did Isamaya intend to blackmail him by taking Laurentina hostage?

If that's the case, Gard has to admit that Isamaya made a brilliant move.

He took protective measures for many people around him, but for Laurentina, Gard did not spare any power from her.

This means that Laurentina's situation has always been the most dangerous among all the people Gard knows.

If Isamaya really uses Laurentina to blackmail him.

So what should he do?

His hands clenched unconsciously as Gard forced himself to calm down.

Isamaya knew his character and knew he would never harm Laurentina. So, as long as he met Isamaya's conditions, Isamaya would not harm Laurentina.

With a sigh of relief, Gard followed a group of deep-sea hunters to Gretia's mansion. The moment he stepped through the door, Gard finally saw the person he had always wanted to see.

A white-haired girl, dressed in a light, flowing dress, sat in the flowerbed of the courtyard, holding a small carving knife in her hand, engaged in yet another artistic creation.

Upon seeing this, Gard unconsciously stopped in his tracks.

He didn't know what he was going to say.

Lauren Tina had always been the one to come to him, but this time, it was finally his turn.

The air gradually quieted down. As if noticing something, the girl who was carving turned her head. The moment she turned around, she even thought she was hallucinating.

The tall, crocodile-man with a body as thick as a bucket walked step by step towards her, finally stopping in front of her and kneeling on one knee, like a beauty and a beast.

"Laurentina, I've come to pick you up."

The crocodile man's voice slowly rose in the courtyard.

..............

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Storm Is Coming

Nine months, two hundred and seventy-six days later.

The shark and the crocodile meet once again.

Should I say that my waiting has finally paid off?

No, Laurentina's inner world was actually conflicted.

When Laurentina parted ways with Gard on the shore, she was already prepared to never see him again.

She is a deep-sea hunter from Argoll, while Gard is a crocodile from the land.

From the very beginning, they were destined to have no results.

As a deep-sea hunter, she has her own responsibilities, and as a land dweller, Gard also has people he loves.

Reason told Laurentina this, but her emotions told her otherwise.

If she were truly willing to let go, she wouldn't have confessed her feelings to Gard by the stream at their parting, nor would she have become pregnant with Gard's child as a result.

When exactly did it start?

I like a land person.

Was it when she had just joined the Deep Sea Hunters' team and got lost on land?

Is it the time when you climb up Akahura Falls again and again, play with Gard on the riverbank, and rediscover your pursuit of art with Gard's help?

Now, when she needed help the most, Gard appeared before her again.

'This is romance, isn't it?'

Laurentina thought that, just as she had traveled to Akahura time and time again, she had always met Gard by the river, rain or shine.

And Gard, having traveled thousands of miles, finally appeared before her.

"Laurentina?"

Kneeling on one knee before Laurentina, Gard saw her looking at him calmly, her face expressionless, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Am I too late?"

He was worried that Laurentina was angry with him because he had arrived too late.

She was pregnant with his child, but he hadn't been by her side for the past nine months. As a husband, he was undoubtedly competent.

"Humph~"

Melodious notes rang out from Laurentina's lips, and the girl looked at Gard with a sly smile on her face.

She asked in a pretentious manner, "If I say I'm angry, how does Mr. Crocodile plan to make it up to me?"

Despite being nine months pregnant, Laurentina's personality remained the same as when Gard first met her: elegant, somewhat carefree, and a little cunning in her speech.

"Uh."

Although they had only met briefly each time over the past few years, both Laurentina and Gard understood each other's personalities.

Therefore, upon hearing Laurentina's words, Gard knew that Laurentina was not really angry with him.

"If Miss Shark, you're angry."

As if in response to Laurentina, Gard also showed a troubled expression, and finally gritted his teeth, as if he had suffered a great loss.

"If Miss Shark is angry, as an apology, I can only repay you with my body for the rest of my life and stay by your side forever."

The "ugly" crocodile man and the still beautiful pregnant girl, in the eyes of a group of deep-sea hunters, formed an incredibly harmonious picture.

"I feel like I'm the one who's at a disadvantage in this situation."

Laurentina rolled her eyes at Gard's shameless behavior, but then gently stroked her own protruding belly, which looked very noticeable, and sighed helplessly.

"But why did I get pregnant with your child? We only did it twice, so why did I get pregnant?"

Gard could only chuckle awkwardly. He didn't know why his accuracy was so high, and he hadn't taken any protective measures when he was with Seria and the others.

Although seeing Laurentina again should be a very happy thing, Gard couldn't help but feel guilty when he thought of Seria and the others.

After all, he and Lauren Tina had only been separated for a little over nine months. In those nine months, how many other girls had he met besides Gavial?

Most importantly, there's a guy he's been intimate with nearby.

"Stare~"

Gard didn't even need to look far to find a gaze lurking in the shadows, staring intently at him.

If it's not Isamaya, then who is it?

However, Gard breathed a sigh of relief that Isamaya did not use Laurentina to threaten him. He was truly afraid that Isamaya would stop at nothing to produce his offspring.

Unexpectedly, Laurentina's observation skills were even more acute than Gard had imagined. When Gard spotted Isamaya and glanced over, Laurentina noticed her immediately.

"What do you think? Isn't Skadi beautiful?"

“Um…no, I wasn’t looking at Isa…no, I wasn’t looking at Skadi.”

Laurentina's words caught Gard off guard, because he knew very well that what was in the Graceia mansion was not Skadi, but a Seagull disguised as Skadi.

However, he did not want to reveal Isamaya's true identity here.

He knew very well that once he exposed Isamaya's true identity, the surrounding deep-sea hunters, regardless of whose skin Isamaya was actually wearing, would attack her without hesitation.

Gard's feelings for Isamaya were complicated. On the one hand, he and Isamaya had been intimate, but on the other hand, most of those intimate encounters were initiated by Isamaya.

Logically, Isamaya was his enemy, who had tried to capture him many times and turn him into a crocodile who only knew how to party with her every night. Gard should hate Isamaya.

The truth is, it would be very difficult for Gard to kill Isamaya.

Gard didn't even know whether he was attracted to Isamaya because of the facade she wore or if he had truly developed feelings for her.

Therefore, Gard was constantly struggling with how to handle his relationship with Isamaya, and at the same time, he was afraid that Isamaya would become increasingly unscrupulous in order to protect her people.

Now, seeing that Isamaya, though staying at Gretia's mansion, hadn't done anything to Laurentina, Gard couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.