Alligator's Ark of Tomorrow

Alligator shark?

Gard was content with his life and, since Greta had refused his request for cooperation, he didn't bother to care about the changes happening in Agor.

As the Great Tranquility approached, the voices of resistance within Argoll were suppressed, public opinion began to lean towards war, and the sentiment reached its peak.

Greta now spends almost half her day in the Executive Hall, and so do the other two Deepsea Hunter captains, who are also involved in discussions about the war.

A week has passed since Gard arrived in Argoll, and Gard discovered that the weapons he left with Skadi had not been moved at all.

Later, after inquiring, Gard learned that the citizens who fled from Platan did not head towards the city of Argo, where he was now, but instead went to another city in Argo.

This also resulted in Skadi's Deepsea Hunter Team 3 remaining in that city and not returning immediately.

Therefore, even Ulpian, the captain of the third deep-sea hunter team, probably did not expect that a sea creature would impersonate one of their team members and appear openly in their capital city of Argoll, in the mansion of another deep-sea hunter captain.

At first, Gard was wary of Isamaya, but later he realized that Isamaya didn't seem to have any intention of doing anything to Laurentina. Instead, she had been avoiding Gard all these days.

Even Laurentina noticed Isamaya's unusual behavior and repeatedly inquired about his relationship with Isamaya from the sidelines.

"Are you really not related to Skadi?"

If there really was a connection, Gard wouldn't deny it.

But he and Skadi really have nothing to do with each other!

On the contrary, after Kal'tsit and the others arrived, Laurentina did not immediately notice any improper relationship between Gard and Kal'tsit.

They were simply regarded as companions whom Gard knew.

It's worth mentioning that Gretia, who was initially somewhat indifferent to Gard's so-called cooperation, became hesitant after seeing several of the royal court's rulers.

Because the Argorians are generally arrogant, but the rulers of the royal court, especially the Blood Demon Lord, are not exactly known for their good tempers.

In short, they would start fighting at the slightest disagreement.

After the Blood Lord demonstrated his power to overwhelm ordinary deep-sea hunters, the deep-sea hunters began to take Gard and his group more seriously.

If only Gard among the group possessed formidable strength, the hunters could consider it an isolated case.

However, after the Blood Demon Lord, the King of Carrion, and the remaining rulers of the royal courts all displayed their strength, the Deep Sea Hunter became much more restrained when facing them.

A group of deep-sea hunters discovered that among the group led by Gard, apart from the one named Kal'tsit who didn't seem to be very good at fighting, the worst of the others could still hold their own against several of their deep-sea hunter captains.

In particular, the spells that the rulers of the royal court are skilled in are practically natural enemies to ordinary deep-sea hunters.

When ordinary deep-sea hunters face the Blood Demon Lord, they have to expend a lot of energy just to suppress the surging blood and qi in their bodies. They can only exert about 70% or 80% of their strength at best.

Similarly, after a "friendly" sparring session with the deep-sea hunters, several royal rulers from Kazdel also lowered their guard.

Although a single hunter cannot pose a threat to the Lord of the Royal Court, several hunters working together would be a formidable force, even for the Lord of the Royal Court.

What worries the rulers of the royal court the most is the number of deep-sea hunters.

Even the steam knights of Victoria and the Emperor's Blade of Ursaus did not have such a terrifying number of deep-sea hunters of Argoll.

Several royal court lords might be able to barely hold off a team of deep-sea hunters if they joined forces, but it should be noted that there are four deep-sea hunter teams like Agor's.

Moreover, this is only the tip of the iceberg of Argor's military strength.

In fact, while the Deepsea Hunters feared the Originium Arts of the Lords of the Royal Court, the Lords of the Royal Court also discovered a problem.

That's because their Originium Arts, when applied to a group of Deepsea Hunters, are far less effective than when used on land.

The essence of Originium Spells is to induce Originium resonance in an Originium environment.

However, the concentration of Originium in the blood of Deepsea Hunters is pitifully low, as if they came from a greenhouse. This means that the Originium Arts of the Blood Lord, which affect the blood of living beings, cannot be fully utilized in Deepsea Hunters.

Respect comes from strength.

After the Lords of the Royal Court and the Deep Sea Hunters displayed their strength to each other, although there were still some quarrels in their daily lives, the two sides were able to live in peace.

During this time, Gard did do some things.

Although Gard himself stayed by Laurentina's side the whole time, he entrusted the investigation of the Deep Sea Church, which was lurking inside Argoll, to the King of the Shapeshifters.

No one is better at espionage than the King of the Shapeshifters. He has the ability to read other people's memories and transform himself. In just one week, the King of the Shapeshifters became a minor leader in the Deep Sea Church.

While it's not impossible to become a bishop of the Deep Sea Church directly, many of the bishops of the Deep Sea Church have already merged themselves with the Sea Spirit.

Becoming a bishop of the Deep Sea Church rashly might risk being exposed.

Nevertheless, the King of the Shapeshifters still brought a lot of information that Gard needed, such as how many high-ranking members of Argoll's forces were actually Deep Sea Cultists in the upcoming war against the Sea Siren.

When Gard handed this information to Gladys, Gladys's first reaction was disbelief.

"impossible!"

Gladys stated unequivocally that she clearly saw many of the consuls she knew in the list that Gard had given her.

There were not only a large number of science administrators belonging to the Argonaut Academy of Sciences, but also a considerable number of technology administrators belonging to the Academy of Technology.

If this intelligence is true, then at least half of the troops could be in danger at any time in the upcoming war against Haizi.

Most importantly, war is now imminent. Given the number of Deepsea Cultists on the list, if they were to be captured, Argoll would collapse internally before even facing the Sea Siblings.

If Iberia was merely fertile ground for the Deep Sea Cult, then the entire Argore was equivalent to the Deep Sea Church's headquarters.

Now, if you leave the mansion and walk out into a group, Gard can beat up a few people at random. One of them might have some unclear or ambiguous relationship with the Deep Sea Church.

In fact, despite their formidable strength, the Deepsea Hunters, as part of the Argor military force, have always been marginalized.

So there are many things that Gretia knows, but only has a superficial understanding of.

For example, when Isamaya gave her a list of some of the Deep Sea Cultists, she thought there was a problem within Agor, but she never imagined that the problem would be so serious.

In this situation, does Agor really have a chance of winning against Haisi?

......

Chapter 72 Kal'tsit: *Lynx swear word*, what happened to Argoll?!

Greta realized the seriousness of the problem.

Although she didn't know where Gard got such a list of Deepsea Cultists, she didn't think Gard would lie to her about something like this.

"I will handle this matter."

Greta's tone was calm, but as she held the thick stack of names that resembled a book, her fingers unconsciously began to tighten.

She made it sound so easy, but things weren't as simple as she imagined.

The list that Gard gave her included many of Argoll's important figures, some of whom she would have to bow to even in person.

Whom could she give this list to?

Argo's regime is generally managed by the Executive Council, which is led by dozens of executives. As the leader of the special force of deep-sea hunters, she is an executive, but she is just one of the dozens of executives.

Even among executive officials, the extent of their power varies depending on their respective functions.

Executives who manage the military, administration, and logistics also hold a pivotal position among a group of executives.

There are also some elderly people who, although they have retired from the limelight, still have an influence that is hard for ordinary people to imagine.

Ironically, those on the list who were involved in collusion with the Deep Sea Church were mostly these seemingly respected elderly people.

"By the way, because of the time constraints, the more detailed list is still under investigation, so don't make any rash moves. The real big fish may not have shown up yet."

Seeing Gretia's expression, Gard felt a strange sense of pleasure, even though he knew it was wrong to gloat at a time like this, but Gretia usually had a disdainful attitude towards people.

"Humph."

Greta could guess most of what Gard was thinking. Gard had helped her, so why was she so angry?

No, Greta, calm down.

The one who truly made a difference wasn't the crocodile-man, but another person from the land.

Greta tried to convince herself.

It must be said that the King of the Shapeshifters' intelligence capabilities can only be described as "terrifying." As an individual species, the King of the Shapeshifters alone replaced nearly a hundred Deepsea Cultists.

One is the school, even if it is one.

This is why Gard was able to provide a list of thousands of people in just one week.

In fact, the list provided by Gard was actually a simplified one, excluding some peripheral Deepsea cultists.

Otherwise, the King of the Shapeshifters' gains in just one week would be far more than just a few thousand people. He could easily run into several Deepsea followers discussing the doctrines of the Deepsea Church just by going out.

Under these circumstances, if the Deep Sea Church so desires, it is almost a certainty that Agor will fail in the war against the Sea Heirs.

The question is whether they want to or not.

The Deep Sea Church believes in the descendants of the sea, but different Deep Sea believers hold different beliefs.

How could those who truly hold power so easily relinquish their authority and become just an ordinary sea creature?

What they really wanted was Hai Si's powerful adaptability, without any side effects, to obtain a powerful body.

Even now, some of Argo's high-ranking officials still treat Haizi as someone they can take whatever they want from, and as an inferior being that only acts on instinct.

This is both the arrogance of the Argonauts and the pride of the Argonauts.

In fact, not only Greta, but even Gard had not expected that Agor's problem was so serious.

While it's not accurate to say that all the Argorians have betrayed the Church, it's likely that one in ten Argorians has had some contact with the Deep Sea Church, and one in a hundred Argorians is a true member of the Deep Sea Church.

This is a truly alarming figure for Argor, a country with highly developed productivity, all because of the negligence of some Argor officials.

In other words, at least 100,000 true Deep Sea cultists are hiding in the city of Argoll where Gard is now.

In other words, if Gard wants to solve the problems of the Deep Sea Church, he must first solve the problems of these 100,000 Deep Sea believers.

This is a group of living, breathing people, not a string of numbers.

"This is really troublesome."

Watching Gretia's departing figure, Gard muttered to himself.

It's impossible to say that he doesn't care about other people's lives or doesn't value them. He's a crocodile man, not a real butcher.

If these Deepsea cultists don't provoke him, he won't bother with them.

Faith will always exist, no matter when.

In ancient times, people believed in lightning, fire, and various phenomena caused by nature.

In modern times, people have created concrete images for their beliefs, established dogmas and laws to bind their thoughts and regulate their behavior.

That is not to say, faith is a bad thing.

Everyone can have their own beliefs, whether it is a deity, an ideal, or a pursuit.

However, one's own beliefs should not come at the cost of harming others.

In Gard's view, it is not something that people believe in Haizi. Even Gard felt that there are many aspects of Haizi's way of life that are worth learning from and reflecting on.

However, these believers in the sea attempted to harm the one he loved, Laurentina.

This is what Gard could not tolerate.

Therefore, the Deep Sea Church must pay the price for its actions.

The only problem is that if Gard wants to take action against these Deepsea cultists, he will likely be targeted by Agor.

After all, Agol and the Deep Sea Church are now practically in cahoots. If Gard makes a move against the Deep Sea Church and causes a commotion, Agol certainly won't stand idly by.

So Gard shared his ideas with Kal'tsit, hoping to hear the opinion of this elderly lynx.

"...I understand what you mean."

During her time at the Gretia mansion, Kal'tsit also began to gather a lot of information about Argor, and was well aware of the hidden problems Argor was currently facing, like depth charges that could be detonated at any moment.

"Compared to Argor, we are ultimately outnumbered and outgunned. If we cannot secure cooperation with Argor, it means we will have to fight alone."

In recent days, Kal'tsit had considered meeting with the high-ranking members of Argoll, but after the King of the Shapeshifters published the list of Deepsea Cultists, Kal'tsit immediately abandoned her previous idea.

*Lynx swear words*!

The members of the Deep Sea Cult who are currently lurking in Argoll have not yet been completely found. What if she goes to meet with one of Argoll's high-ranking officials, only to find out that he is a member of the Deep Sea Cult?

Argor's current situation can be described as utterly dire. After going around in circles, Kal'tsit discovered that the only Argor she could trust was actually a group of deep-sea hunters who had long been marginalized by the Argor themselves.

However, these deep-sea hunters were stubborn and insisted on solving the problem themselves.

Kal'tsit now realizes that the Argolls won't give up until they've brought this upon themselves. Unless they encounter some insurmountable difficulty, these Argolls won't consider cooperating with others.

Even Kal'tsit, a kind-hearted person who was devoted to Terra, felt dizzy seeing Agor in his current state.