People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Ernst instinctively wanted to ask, "Why go back? Can't we not go back?"

But as the words were about to come out, he realized that he didn't seem to have the right to say them.

They have an employment relationship, not a contract of servitude, so there's no reason for them to stop Raphsini from leaving.

Unless Ernst is truly shameless and simply detains her on the grounds that "Lavshini knows too many of Sherag's secrets and cannot leave at will."

But whether that would stop Raphsini is uncertain, but at least my favorability towards her and my public image would suffer.

Moreover, with the Duke of Wellington's condition unclear and Abrahina finally revealing her true intentions, Raphsini's greatest asset by her side was gone. It seemed that neither she nor her backers had any more information to gain from Ernst.

"So, if Talulah is willing, I can give this position to her."

Sister, this isn't something you can just give up so easily.

Ernst sighed, having already made up his mind.

“I will keep this position for you. I don’t care about your sister’s affairs, nor can I, but you have worked here for so long, and you know my bottom line and boundaries. As long as you don’t ruin it, Sherag will always be your second home.”

“Talulah, she can stay here for now, just to learn from me and Vina. You're not ready to stand on your own yet. When the time comes, I'll naturally have things for you to do.”

Talulah was slightly taken aback, then immediately asked expectantly, "What is it?"

Ernst glanced at her and said slowly, "Come with me on the trip to Iberia."

How to quickly treat a diode?

It's very simple. The most efficient and fastest way is to present her with the consequences of thinking like a diode.

So, I ask you, on this land, where is the most diode-like?

There is only one answer—Iberia!

The battlefield where the Deep Sea Cultists and the Inquisitors clashed, the arena where the Sea Heirs clashed with the terrestrial civilizations, the Six Wastes after the Great Tranquility, and the prison under the Inquisition's control—only on this land does humanity exist, divided only into good and evil.

Because here, there is no room for compromise!

Chapter 712 The Deep Sea Church has never been afraid of anything.

Iberia, ? ? ?

A broken city, communities with nine out of ten empty houses, barren land, and numb people.

On this land, Iberia is the closest to the end. Those born here are born into a hellish situation: a gambling father, a sick mother, a younger brother in school, and a broken heart. And here, there is no room for mercy or kindness.

Ernst isn't joking; this is the truth.

The Iberian environment fostered a black-and-white binary view of good and evil, and only here would such a view be considered "reasonable".

Because, whether you are a member of the Deep Sea Church who worships Hai Si, hopes to merge with Hai Si and join the "Great Group", or you think that Hai Si and the Deep Sea believers are not so bad and are also working hard for "survival" and that everyone can understand each other, you are an enemy of this civilization and an enemy of all civilizations!

Iberia will not tolerate any ideology other than "Expelling the Sealings and the Deep Sea Church without exception!" They no longer have the ability or energy to distinguish between good and bad; as long as they are different from me, they will all be killed, which is naturally faster and easier!

It must be said that this way of thinking and acting is indeed suitable for Skadi's life as a Deepsea Hunter who is also a part-time bounty hunter.

After all, while the profession of bounty hunter may have a shady image of being unable to distinguish right from wrong and doing things for money, it becomes completely different when you add the background of deep-sea hunters.

Who wouldn't like a warrior who shows absolutely no pity for Hai Si and the Deep Sea Cult, who would listen to your rambling and complain for so long and would have killed you long ago, and whose combat power is also incredibly strong?

That should be correct in theory.

But Sjukati rubbed her rumbling stomach and realized that things were a little different from what she had imagined.

The Iberians didn't seem to have a very good attitude towards her either.

Why? We should all be comrades fighting against Hai Si. Although the individual strength of people on land is not very strong, there is no need to be jealous and kill each other because of that, right?

Also, why do those people call themselves "islanders"?

Skadi is from Agor, and she's not some "islander." She's a legitimate, officially registered Agor deep-sea hunter—a biological weapon specifically designed for combating sea creatures! Moreover, she's a deep-sea hunter who has personally killed "newborns," and she's been awarded the title of hero!

Although, given the current situation, she has likely already been "posthumously reprimanded".

But there was nothing she could do; she couldn't go back to Agor. Ever since the Deepsea Hunters gathered all their forces to launch a surprise attack on the newly discovered nest, and Skadi, under the cover of the others, rushed into the deepest part and personally cleaved the monster in two, she had no idea what had happened afterward.

How many people perished? Do deep-sea hunters still exist? How can we return to Agor? Why are there no flush toilets on land?

She knew nothing about these issues, nor could she find out. To make matters worse, she was the type to act rather than speak, disliked talking, and had little desire to interact with people from land-based civilizations. Wanting to pursue a social career was truly a difficult task for her.

She can only do this job for now, relying on her own abilities to make a living, and then slowly investigate.

Fortunately, she has finally gotten a clue recently.

Iberia has recently become restless, as if something major has happened, or is about to happen. The Grand Inquisitors, who are rarely seen in the past, have been appearing frequently lately, and have even been gathering in small groups—normally, in order to ensure that order occupies a larger area in Iberia, they often act separately to expand their sphere of influence.

In some cities that Iberia still controls, renovations have begun, a rare occurrence.

The so-called renovation was really just leveling the road and repairing the buildings along the roadside to make the street look a bit tidier overall, so that it wasn't so bad that at a glance, no one could tell which was which from the ruins.

The headquarters of the Court of Thought was quite imposing; the building, half church and half fortress, was the last spiritual anchor for the Iberians, converted from a former cathedral. Skadi occasionally received bounty missions from there, mostly involving the extermination of the Terrorfish or the investigation of the Deep Sea Church—very formulaic tasks. The rewards were slightly lower than those from legitimate bounty brokers, but they suited Skadi's tastes better.

This shows that the court is indeed understaffed, and for these public security issues, they have even reached the point where they need to borrow resources from the civilian sector.

2 However, the court has recently become a bit richer and is offering higher pay, which makes Skadi even more eager to earn the money.

Incidentally, she only accepts the former. The latter is not suitable for her.

If she were to travel to those towns to investigate the Deep Sea Church, she, being an Agorian, would likely be the first to be arrested.

Getting back to the point, Skadi just doesn't like to talk, but that doesn't mean she's not smart. Even a complete idiot could tell that Iberia was preparing something.

In Agor, only the governor receives such attention.

Is it possible that Iberia is also waiting for one of their "rulers"?

Skadi decided to wait and see how things went, and maybe even see if there was any chance of getting a new bounty. In short, she decided to wait and see!

And her judgment was indeed correct.

Iberia awaits Ernst's visit.

Ernst was a benefactor to Iberia. Although he rarely mentioned Iberia in his speeches and writings, everything he did benefited Iberia.

In reality, Ernst's policies benefited more of the smaller nations of Terra, allowing them to access funding from the Universal Bank, access to the Universal Trade Organization, assistance from the Terra International Human Rights Council, a platform for speaking at the Universal Summit, and the overall order brought about by this entire Universal system.

Iberia was not the only beneficiary; the entire Terra region benefited, with Iberia being just one of the more prominent ones.

But it is precisely for this reason that Carmen, this saint, has even greater respect for Ernst's "philanthropy".

As the saying goes, true love knows no bounds. It is this kind of love—unintentional, uncompassionate, and respectful of self-esteem, yet genuinely capable of providing immense help—that is true love!

Therefore, Carmen broke with tradition for Ernst, deciding to hold a welcoming ceremony for him.

Dario, who had been in contact with Ernst, was appointed as the person in charge of the ceremony. The Grand Inquisitors stationed throughout Iberia, except for a few who were genuinely unable to leave, were briefly recalled to participate in the ceremony. About ten people returned.

Some might think this move is inappropriate, bordering on ostentatious and wasteful. But in reality, it's also an investment.

They believed that Ernst would feel Iberia's gratitude towards him, and would also see the predicament Iberia would face after that gratitude.

They believed that Ernst would respond, and if he had a plan or two, that would be even better!

Carmen had heard about Ernst's trip to Letania; wherever Ernst went, good things followed. They, the Iberians, might not be able to host a concert for all nations, but they could do other things too!

For example, the All-Nation Fishing Competition? Or, the All-Nation Killing One...Lin Liu Jiu $sanSousuO: The Fish-Fearing Competition?

General En, let's see who kills more fish!

On the other hand, this is a last resort. Iberia is large in size, but its mess is even bigger. The fact that countries like Victoria are willing to give them money and supplies already shows their attitude—they don't really want to get involved in anything except money.

Iberia couldn't directly communicate with Vitória and the Colombian leaders, who also had their own responses: "I'm at war here, I don't have time!" or "I'm busy with land reclamation here, I don't have the energy!" In short, they simply ignored them.

But if it were Ernst, maybe there would be a chance!

If they could get in touch with this person, they would benefit greatly!

"If we can kill him, we will reap many benefits."

Standing beneath the high walls of the courtroom, the staff-wielding monk, clad in a dark green robe, spoke in a low voice.

Opposite him, the sword-wielding cultivator thought for a moment, then smiled and shook his head:

“I don’t recommend you make a move right now, Quintus.”

"Why? Aurus, I think you're just scared."

Quintus sneered.

"Ernst has only a few allies. The Victorians are currently tied up with the Sarkaz and can't spare any attention, the Columbians are known for their ruthlessness, and the Letanians are plagued by internal troubles. The only one we need to worry about is the Yan Kingdom. But the Yan Kingdom has already gone to war with our compatriots. They are enemies to begin with, so what is there to fear?"

"Killing Ernst and dismantling that troublesome international summit is perfectly acceptable, even if it involves a small risk."

He stared at Aurus's head, letting out a few hoarse, sinister laughs:

"If you dare not, it is fine. The assassins I have arranged are already in place."

"He won't even make it to Iberia!"

Chapter 713 Assassination

Iberia.

Ernst turned his head slightly to look at Talulah, who was sitting next to him.

Tazi looked a little nervous. Logically speaking, she was a worldly person. When Duke Kosichä was alive, she was taken to many gatherings of Ursus's elite and even shone brightly at them. She shouldn't feel much pressure because of an ordinary visit.

But Talulah looked very nervous.

This made Ernst a little curious:

"What's wrong? Is this your first time?"

Talulah nodded: "The first time."

After saying that, her face flushed slightly, she turned her head away, and said awkwardly:

"Is it obvious?"

"I set the air conditioner to 16 degrees Celsius, can you feel it?"

Ernst suddenly changed the subject, saying something out of the blue.

Talulah was slightly taken aback, not reacting for a moment, until she saw the beads of sweat sliding down Ernst's temple, then she realized what Ernst meant and quickly apologized:

"Sorry, let me take a moment to adjust!"

The car's air conditioning was on its lowest setting, but even the driver from Black Steel International, let alone Ernst, looked rather grim.

Is it because you're feeling unwell, or do you have a problem with Ernst and Talulah?

Of course not. They've received professional training; not listening, not speaking, and not complaining are their basic qualities. His face was pale, purely from the heat.

You look bad driving in a sauna.

Rather, the fact that he's holding back and hasn't spoken up like Ernst is enough to make Ernst think more highly of him!

This is called professionalism!

This is where Talulah falls short of Raphshini. Raphshini's temperature, except on very rare occasions, is mostly gentle, even carrying a faint life energy that nourishes the body and mind, keeping one alert and comfortable. It's practically a top-notch little fireplace!

Talulah paled in comparison. While her temperature was also high, even higher than Raphsini's, she lacked that magical energy. It was unclear whether this was due to her mixed-race heritage or something she had developed herself. It was truly a pity.

Of course, Ernst wouldn't say this to Talulah's face. The "Small Stove Review Guide" was Ernst's top-secret document, and he wouldn't tell anyone!

After reminding Talulah, her temperature quickly dropped, and Ernst and the driver breathed a sigh of relief. Only Talulah, looking embarrassed and with her head down, seemed resigned to her fate.

It's a real shame that they messed things up right from the start.

However, Ernst had no intention of punishing her. He had a reason for bringing Talulah to Iberia. This reason, of course, wasn't for his own enjoyment or to bring a portable fireplace.

Everyone has their own unique talents, and Talulah has a wide range of strengths that she hasn't yet fully realized.

"Prime Minister Ernst, there's a problem up ahead."

Ernst was halfway through his thought when the driver suddenly interrupted him.

This is quite unusual. The probability of a vehicle encountering people while traveling in the wilderness is already low, since most human activity is concentrated in or around mobile cities. Even those few who leave the mobile city's vicinity tend to settle as close as possible to the mobile city's shipping lanes.

The reason is simple: they couldn't resupply if they weren't close to the shipping lanes.

Trying to cultivate wasteland yourself is pure suicide. All the crops you plant throughout the year can be destroyed by a single wind, a single rain, or a natural disaster. Not to mention, there are also man-made disasters. If you encounter passing bandits or thieves, you'd better hope you have more crossbows than they do, otherwise you might as well just wait to become their granary!

But Ernst actually encountered such a low-probability event twice in a row?

This feels so familiar. It feels like the last time I bumped into someone in this wasteland was a long time ago!

"Another wanted criminal?"

Ernst asked a question half-jokingly, and Talulah, who was standing next to him, immediately became alert.