Heroes Return

“Karu, your mission is to protect the royal city and the princess, but this is the second time this has happened this year,” another elder said to Karu. “This is the second time this year that the princess has been kidnapped!”

“That kidnapper is incredibly fast; the city's garrison saw that,” Karu said calmly. “My troops were unable to stop him.”

"So, your incompetence has once again put the princess in danger?"

"It's not my incompetence, but the incompetence of the garrison," Karu said calmly. "Therefore, I hope we can strengthen the army's organization, and the most urgent task now should be finding the kidnapped princess, not pointing fingers here!"

“Protecting the princess and the capital is your duty, so of course we have to find you.”

"So you mean you have no responsibility to protect the royal city?" Karu said contemptuously. "In that case, hand over your troops to me! I will do everything in my power to protect the sea people."

"Do you know what you're saying?" a member of parliament slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Did I say anything wrong?" Karu said calmly, "So many warriors and soldiers were lost in the great war five years ago. Even in death, even facing the Black Death, they did not lose their honor as warriors. But you bastards only hide behind and blame them for their mistakes!"

“Karu! That war was a mistake! The facts have proven it.” Another councilor stepped forward and said, “Don’t change the subject. We are discussing your failure to protect Princess Haina.”

"Hahahaha!!" Karu laughed wildly at this moment: "I remember you hadn't entered the Senate yet during the war, right? You should have been serving in the army back then. But you pretended to be sick and fled the battlefield. Why didn't you directly point out the mistakes of that battle then? What would you have said if we had won that battle?"

“At that time, no matter what I said, the late king would not listen; he was blinded by hatred.”

"Hahaha, what a high-sounding excuse. Cowardly and timid trash who only knows how to hide in a safe place and criticize others."

"Karu! Watch your words and actions."

“Excuse me, I wasn’t talking about you,” Karu said to the councilor. “I was saying everyone here is trash!”

Karu's words were like a thunderclap in the council chamber.

“It seems that you are not suitable for any position, Mr. Karu,” a member of parliament said. “I suggest you go home and sober up for a while before coming back.”

“That’s right, remove him from his current position,” another elder immediately agreed.

"You're being too extreme, Karu!"

Various accusations resounded throughout the parliament hall.

Karu just watched these people quietly until the council hall fell silent once again.

"Unanimously approved, we will now remove Karu from all his posts. The task of rescuing the princess will be entrusted to..." a councilor announced to the hall after the silence had subsided.

"Remove me from my post? Do you think you still have the ability to do so?" Karu said calmly, looking at the assembled councilors. "You should first consider whether you can leave here today."

As Karu spoke, the trident in his hand reappeared.

"What are you doing?" an elder shouted angrily. "Guards! Guards! Seize this man! He's attempting to assault the Senate!"

At the councilor's shout, a large number of sea creature soldiers and experts appeared in the meeting hall. These were all personal guards under the Elders. The councilor was about to say something smug, but then he was surprised to find that the weapons of the troops who rushed in were not pointed at Karu, but at everyone present.

"What are you doing?" a member of parliament asked in surprise.

“They are all true warriors.” Karu looked disdainfully at the many elders present: “In fact, apart from your relatives who hold heavy military power, most of the elites who have climbed up the ranks through their own abilities have chosen me. They understand very well that being with your incompetent relatives and superiors is no better than standing with true warriors.”

“Do you know what you’re doing?” a senator angrily accused Karu. “Even if you take us hostage here, our army will wipe you out soon. No matter how many skilled men you have, they can’t defeat a large army.”

"Is that so? You really think your bunch of incompetent generals can defeat me?" Karu said, activating the huge crystal in the hall. "Then I'll show you the power I've gained!"

After Karu finished speaking, he picked up the dragon-shaped jade tablet in his hand. At that moment, the jade tablet suddenly emitted a faint light: "Dragon God's army, take control of this city immediately."

As Karu finished speaking, images began to appear in the imaging crystal.

The scene takes place in the plaza of the Sea King's capital, where a portal to a spatial realm is opened by several city guard mages.

Then, a steady stream of monsters emerged from the portal.

The first to emerge were numerous monsters with fish-like bodies but human limbs, each wielding a sharp spear and clad in specially crafted armor. They varied in size, the largest reaching tens of meters in height, while the smallest were about the size of a human.

Then, a large number of humanoid marine creatures continued to emerge from the portal.

Among them, the most menacing were some heavily armored humanoid giant shrimp and humanoid crabs. Many other strangely shaped marine creatures also continuously emerged from the portal.

Each of them wore sturdy armor and carried sharp weapons. Although the weapons looked ancient, the powerful aura emanating from them was impossible to ignore.

What exactly are these?

"These are the army of the Dragon God of the East Sea!" Karu said excitedly to everyone present. "With this army, I will have a chance to take revenge on humanity."

"Karu, aren't you afraid of angering the Black Death again?" A councilor looked at Karu in shock.

"Black Death? Even if I die at his hands, I won't be afraid!" Karu said calmly.

As a steady stream of shrimp soldiers and crab generals appeared in the city, coupled with the pre-arranged standby troops of Karu launching an attack on the city's defenders.

With an overwhelming numerical advantage, Karu's army took control of most of the defenses of New Sea King City with almost no resistance, and the vast majority of the guards in the Sea King City surrendered to Karu at that moment.

Karu and the councilors in the conference hall watched the battle silently through the crystal.

"Well, my army? Are you sure your troops abroad can defeat them?" Karu looked at the people in front of him with disdain.

“Karu, do you know the consequences of your actions?” a councilor said. “Humanity is not what it was seven years ago; it is much stronger now. If you start a war, the consequences will be severe!”

……

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

“Of course I know, but I’ve been preparing for this opportunity for a long time,” Karu said, looking at the councilors. “Do you know why you’re still alive?”

What do you want to do?

“Anyway, you’re not going to fight, so what do you need so many troops for?” Karu smiled and looked at everyone present. “Hand over your Senate’s army. These troops are of no use to you. But at least they can save your lives for now.”

“That’s impossible…” one of the councilors exclaimed, “Don’t even think about it!”

He had only held firm for a few seconds when a trident was thrust into his body.

"This is the communication crystal. You'd better give orders to your troops immediately. I've already thought of the orders for you." He pointed his trident at the crowd. "Of course, you can also try saying some unnecessary things."

Under Karu's threat, everyone had no choice but to comply with Karu's demands.

"They shout 'for the sea race' all day long, but in the end, they don't care about anything but their own lives." Karu looked at the elders with disdain. Then he walked out of the Senate: "Next, we need to solve the problem of the Reverse Scale. Once we get the Reverse Scale, this huge army will truly belong to me. Perhaps those humans still in the cities will be more useful."

……

In a fantastical ocean, atop the back of a gigantic blue whale.

Lin Jie and Thirteen were discussing something: "We need to find a way to locate the elders' army. Only with their help can we go to the Senate and explain the situation to the councilors without any fighting."

“Alright, you guys point the way, and I'll lead you to the elders' army,” Lin Jie nodded and said.

"Wait, Lin Jie, there's a salted fish in the sea!" Thirteen shouted, pointing into the water.

"You're so boring," Lin Jie said to Thirteen. "We're at sea, isn't it normal to have salted fish?"

"You'll see for yourself," Thirteen said, pointing to the sea.

Lin Jie looked in the direction of Thirteen Fingers and exclaimed in surprise, "It's not a salted fish at all! It's clearly a pile of salted fish!"

On the surface of the sea beneath the giant whale, numerous enormous fish heads appeared, their bodies slowly rising to the surface, revealing human arms and legs. They stood silently on the water, gazing up at the whale; each fish was even wearing armor and carrying a weapon.

"It seems these are the dragon army that Karu invited," Thirteen said, looking at the numerous salted fish warriors below.

"I didn't expect that Karu not only hired a navy, but also brought in so many salted fish soldiers. Every single one of them is carrying a spear, and I bet they all know how to use the salted fish's thrusting technique." Lin Jie stroked his chin and said, "They're not easy to deal with, not easy to deal with."

"Run! Don't let these guys surround you!" Thirteen shouted to Lin Jie.

"Wait a minute," Hena interrupted Thirteen. "They don't seem to have any intention of attacking."

As she spoke, Haina walked to the edge of the giant whale's body and looked at the large number of salted fish emerging from below.

At the same time as Hina appeared, a huge image also appeared among the many idle fish. This image was Karu.

"Hena, you can't escape. As long as you still have scales on your bodies, I will find you," Karu said to Haina. "You'd better hand over your reverse scales obediently."

"Don't even think about it! I won't give it to you."

“That’s right, if you’re so capable, come and take it yourselves,” Lin Jie said, stepping forward at this moment.

“I knew you’d say that.” As soon as he finished speaking, the image changed again. In Lin Jie’s group’s view, Gray from the consulate, Thomas, and a group of consulate personnel were present. At this moment, they were being controlled by the sea creature soldiers.

Karu's voice rang out again: "Human, from now on I will kill one person every two hours. If you don't want them to die, you'd better come back here as soon as possible and hand over the Reverse Scale to me."

"How could the Senate possibly allow you to do such a thing!" Haina said in disbelief.

“You mean those cowards?” Karu said. “They’re all enjoying their vacation in the Senate right now!”

"What did you do to them?"

"It's nothing, I just had a heart-to-heart talk with them."

"If you dare to harm the councilors, I will not let you get away with it."

"Don't worry, they're fine for now," Karu said calmly. "But if you don't come back soon, I can't guarantee that my patience won't get the better of me."

"Karu, why have you become so despicable?" Haina asked Karu with some regret.

"Me, despicable? Hahaha, I'm not as despicable as these humans. I'm just a warrior, my heart is filled with only revenge and retribution. You have two hours to consider." With that, Karu cut off the video feed.

"Is hatred really that important to you?" Haina murmured to herself.

At the same time, Lin Jie also controlled the giant whale to get away from the encirclement of many salted fish.

“It seems our plan to find the Elder Army has fallen through.” Lin turned to Thirteen and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be very clever? Now it’s time to show your wisdom, Thirteen.”

"Looks like we have no choice but to go head-to-head with them," Thirteen said to Lin Jie.

"Aren't you very good at stealth? Do you have a way to rescue everyone in the Senate and the consulate at the same time?"

“Impossible. If it were any other time, I might be able to try,” Thirteen said. “But now, Karu is clearly trying to use these people as hostages to threaten us, and he will definitely have a large army around him. Moreover, a large number of troops should have already gathered in Sea King City.”

"...This is really troublesome." Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh, and then he couldn't help but look at Haina.

"We have to try, no matter what!" Haina said, trembling. "Otherwise, war will break out again."

Haina then looked at Lin Jie: "Lin, as a warrior capable of conquering the Blue Giant Whale, I hope to receive your help. My request may be a bit excessive, but I have no other choice."

As she spoke, Haina lowered her head toward Lin Jie.

"What are you talking about? Aren't we already in the same boat? Why are you being so serious now?" Lin Jie was startled by Haina's sudden change in attitude.

"I hope you can kill Karu." Haina unconsciously clenched her hands. "Of the three of us, you are the only one who could possibly kill Karu. Although it would put your life in danger, I have no other choice but to ask you for this."

“Wait a minute, you should have heard Thirteen tell you this already,” Lin Jie said. “I swore that I would never harm ordinary sea creatures again in my life.”

“You are not harming the sea creatures, but saving them,” Haina said.

“You don’t understand. If I go to fight Karu, our battle will inevitably affect the ordinary soldiers around him. They all have their own families. Isn’t there a way to resolve Karu without fighting?”