Alligator's Ark of Tomorrow

Laurentina easily caught the fleeting look of confusion on Gard's face.

As if struck by a thought, Laurentina said softly, "Mr. Crocodile, we should really thank Skadi. If it weren't for Skadi, I certainly wouldn't be able to appear in front of you unharmed right now."

Laurentina's words made Gard's expression freeze.

What happened before?

Soon, Laurentina told Gard about the attack she had been subjected to by the Deep Sea Church, and she did not think it was something that needed to be hidden.

Some girls like to keep things to themselves, afraid of worrying the person they like, but Laurentina wouldn't do that.

Because she trusted Gard, rather than being passive in the subsequent attacks, she decided to tell Gard from the beginning that the Deep Sea Church had her eye on her.

Originally, reuniting with Laurentina was a joyous occasion, but upon hearing that Laurentina had recently been attacked by the Deep Sea Church, and that Laurentina might have been in danger if Isamaya hadn't arrived in time, the situation became even more complicated.

Upon learning this, Gard's gaze immediately turned fierce.

No matter who it is, if they dare to hurt the person they love, they must pay the price.

Gard's original plan was to get to Laurentina's side and leave with her as soon as possible.

Since Gretia doesn't need his help, there's no need for him to shamelessly help Agor; his friendship isn't that cheap.

But upon learning that Laurentina had just been attacked by the Deep Sea Church, Gard's mindset changed drastically.

This has nothing to do with whether Agor needs his help or not; these are the Deep Sea Church members who have come to their deaths on their own.

If Gard remains indifferent when his woman is bullied, then he doesn't deserve to be an Ascendant and might as well change his name to Coward.

It's unclear what Gard is thinking, but Laurentina told Gard this simply so he could take precautions in advance and avoid being caught off guard.

She had no idea that Gard hadn't even considered how to prevent the Deep Sea Church's attack; he only wanted to uproot the Deep Sea Church.

The best defense is offense.

Is there any reason why one should only work hard for a thousand days to achieve great things?

Only by killing all the Deep Sea Cult members could Gard leave with Laurentina without worrying that she would be threatened by the Deep Sea Church again.

Laurentina was actually thinking about something else.

"Mr. Crocodile, what happened between you and Skadi while I was away?"

Laurentina looked at Gard, her tone becoming somewhat subtle.

“I think Skadi seems to really like ‘our’ children.”

Laurentina subtly inquired about the relationship between Gard and Skadi by emphasizing the word "we".

She noticed that Skadi seemed particularly concerned about the baby in her belly, and would even unconsciously touch her belly sometimes.

Therefore, she seriously suspected that something might have happened between Gard and Skadi that she was unaware of while she was away.

"no!"

Upon hearing Laurentina's words, Gard shook his head vigorously.

"I have absolutely nothing to do with Skadi, I swear!"

Gard believed he wasn't lying, even though he had slept with Isamaya more times than any girl he had ever known.

But what does his sleeping with Isamaya have to do with Skadi?

"Really?"

Laurentina's face showed a regretful expression.

"I also want to say that if you really do have something going on with Skadi, I don't mind, because I can't satisfy you on my own."

Laurentina wasn't lying; she genuinely didn't mind if Gard and Skadi had something happen. Rather than letting some other woman benefit, she'd rather let her sister, a fellow Deepsea Hunter, have it.

Because Gard was so capable, even the Deep Sea Hunter's physique couldn't withstand Gard's whipping.

But one isn't enough, so what about two?

If you drain Gard's resources at home, he won't have the energy to look for other women, right?

The open-mindedness of Agor's society meant that Laurentina didn't mind such things at all, but judging from Gard's tone, he and Skadi seemed to really have no relationship.

To be honest, there was a moment when Gard was tempted.

Because Skadi is really beautiful.

But he really has no relationship with Skadi. The one he has a relationship with is a Hyde wearing Skadi's skin. But Gard can't possibly tell Laurentina that he didn't get together with the real Skadi, but instead went to parties with a Hyde every day, can he?

Gard felt that he would have to solve the problem of the Deepsea Hunters' hostility towards Haizi and the problem of Haizi's hostility towards Agor.

Otherwise, it might not be easy to get Laurentina to accept Isamaya.

In fact, Gard knew that Laurentina found it very difficult to sever her identity as a deep-sea hunter and as an Argorian.

Even if Gard does bring Laurentina to the mainland, she won't be happy if the problem with Haisi isn't resolved.

However, cooperation with Argoll is probably impossible.

Even if Gard were to swallow his pride and ask for Argo's cooperation for Laurentina's sake, Argo would probably not take Gard seriously.

Therefore, Gard no longer considered cooperating with Agor.

The Sea Cult is a problem that Argoll urgently needs to address. Even though a large number of Deepsea Cultists have infiltrated Argoll's upper echelons, a war between Argoll and the Sea Cult is inevitable.

Since that's the case, then let's each do our own job.

No matter how much Agor suffers when facing Hais, it has nothing to do with Gald, since he is not Agor's partner anyway.

All Gard needs to do is figure out how to deal with the last of the newborns of Haizi.

Before that, Gard will try to eliminate the Deep Sea Church lurking in Argoll.

Having temporarily put aside the idea of ​​returning to the mainland, Gard began preparing to bring Kal'tsit and several Royal Lords over. With several Royal Lords protecting Laurentina, Gard felt more at ease.

As for Isamaya, Gard had no idea what she was thinking, because Gard had no chance to meet Isamaya at all. Even though they lived in the same mansion, Isamaya kept avoiding him.

After Gretya finished her report, she brought news that Agor would launch a full-scale attack on Haisi.

The arrival of the Great Tranquility forced the Argoll leadership to abandon their desire for pleasure.

At least those Argoll leaders who were not corrupted by the Deep Sea Church could not stand idly by and watch the Sea Siege invade their city and threaten their lives.

And Gard also revealed his feelings to Gretia.

He was no longer trying to help Agor, but he wanted the Deep Sea Church, which had tried to harm Laurentina, to pay the price. Otherwise, even if he took Laurentina away from the Deep Sea, he wouldn't feel at ease.

This time, Greta did not refuse Gard's request.

"I will prepare a submarine for your departure."

This was the last thing Greta could do for Laurentina.

April of 1092 in the Terra calendar.

A storm is coming.

......

Chapter Sixty-Nine Light

Coast of Iberia.

The surging waves crashed against the shore, layer upon layer of waves like mountains, the spray hitting the rocks and leaving behind patches of pink fluff.

I don't know when it started, but the ocean began to change its color, and red waves began to climb onto the land, swallowing the coastline.

Snapped!

Waves crashed against dark silver boots. A knight clad in dark silver armor stood before the towering waves, gripping a long spear.

“Rosin...Nant...”

A hoarse roar erupted from the knight's mouth as his deep blue warhorse leaped out of the sea, carrying a sea bream that had given up struggling in its mouth.

"Xi Yuyu~"

Resembling both a horse on land and a creature from the sea, the creature named Rocinant snorted and swallowed the sea creature from its mouth.

On the shore, bright lanterns lit up, and judges in their uniforms appeared one after another.

They noticed the knights on the shore, but they were more concerned with the changes coming from the depths of the ocean.

"...The color of the seawater has changed."

A judge, gazing at the sea and muttering to himself, remained stationed on the shore. Judges could distinguish between natural changes in the ocean and abnormal changes.

"Compared to yesterday, the waves have pushed 160 meters into the land. At this rate, the sea will be close to our fortress in at most half a month."

Have you contacted the court?

“We have already contacted them, but it will take at least three days for us to receive a response from the court.”

"It's too late. Get everyone ready for battle."

"But......"

"Even if the Deep Sea Church might retaliate because of this, we must uphold our responsibilities!"

Stationed on the coast was a high judge of the court, who led hundreds of judges and tens of thousands of disciplinary troops.

Because this is the mouth of the Iberian Sea, if this place falls, then those monsters from the deep sea can travel up the river and invade their land.

Similarly, he was aware of the actions being taken by the court.

No matter what happens, his duty is to guard the coast he is responsible for and not allow any sea creature to enter their country until the last man is killed!

The same scene is happening in many other parts of Iberia.

Three thousand judges, six army phalanxes, and one hundred thousand disciplinary troops.

This is all the power Iberia can muster.

Iberia was far weaker than other countries imagined. Apart from a small portion of its most basic forces used to defend against other countries, Iberia had focused almost all of its elite troops on resisting the Haizi.

In addition, there were regular troops scattered throughout the cities to maintain order and guard against any potential disturbances caused by the Deep Sea Church.

This is no longer something to hide; since the Great Tranquility more than fifty years ago, Iberia's national strength has declined significantly.

Iberia was once the undisputed hegemon of Terra. Even Gaul only rose to power after Iberia's decline.

However, Iberia no longer possesses its former strength and confidence. The problems of the Deep Sea Church and the Sea Heirs are like maggots clinging to bones, draining Iberia's energy and eroding its strength.

That's why Saint Carmen ultimately decided to cooperate with Gard and agreed to allow a sufficient number of mercenaries, enough to threaten the safety of Iberia, to enter.

Because Iberia was already at a critical juncture of life and death.

"It's already April, why is it still so cold?"

In the Iberian capital, feeling the damp, cold sea breeze, Mulce rubbed his arms and couldn't help but shiver.

Starting today, the mercenaries from Colombia will be led by the Iberian judges to their respective areas of responsibility.

Fifty thousand mercenaries may sound like a lot, but when spread across more than thirty mobile cities and hundreds of towns and villages in Iberia, it probably doesn't amount to much.

Therefore, the Iberian Tribunal's approach was to have two Grand Judges lead two punitive corps, pushing back along the coast.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries led by Rheinmetall and Black Steel International began their advance from the inland border of Iberia, joining forces with the retreating Iberian army.

For Iberia, the most troublesome problem with the Deep Sea Church was that they were lurking among seemingly ordinary people.

If there isn't a way to eradicate the Deep Sea Church completely in one fell swoop, it will be like weeds that can't be burned out, growing back with the spring breeze.

Once the exact identities of the Deep Sea Cultists are known, the difficulty of their capture will be greatly reduced. In fact, the Iberian Tribunal will not hesitate to use some ruthless methods against some of the more stubborn Deep Sea Cultists.

During this process, the coastal troops responsible for defending the Sea Si are under the greatest pressure. Some Deep Sea Cultists who have escaped from the towns will definitely converge towards the coast.

The Deep Sea Cultists themselves are not scary; what is scary is their methods of using the Deep Sea Cult.

Furthermore, many civilians who are completely unaware of the identity of the Deep Sea Cult may choose to resist when their relatives and friends are arrested.

Not everyone has the resolve and awareness to sacrifice family for the greater good.

"Something seems wrong."

In a coastal city, several members of the Deep Sea Cult are gathering.

One of them was Amaya, who had met Gard several times, but most of the time, Amaya was the one secretly observing Gard.

"Two Grand Inquisitors left their lines with their teams. In principle, they should not have made such a rash move at this time."

"Our compatriots in the deep sea have sent word that the plan is going very well. Before long, the foolish resistance of Agor will be annihilated, and then we will all return to the embrace of the sea."