People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

This time, Skadi blinked.

If Ernst wasn't mistaken, she seemed to be looking at Talulah as if she were an idiot.

Talulah's complexion had visibly become a little rosier.

Just as she was about to lash out, Skadi seized the opportunity and spoke for the first time.

Her voice was like that of a siren from Iberian legend, singing on the coastal rocks—clear and cool, yet with a decisive quality that sailors appreciated. Even her replies without any intonation seemed to captivate and soothe the listener.

"I'm a bounty hunter. Don't you know that?"

"I have a courtroom behind me. Don't you know that?"

"Don't you know who's behind you? Why are you asking me?"

Okay, Ernst takes back what he said earlier. Putting aside the sound itself, it's anything but relaxing or pleasant.

Talulah is already going to explode!

Without any hesitation, as soon as Skadi finished speaking, Talulah launched her attack almost instantly, her fists engulfed in flames, and a Flame Fist flashed onto Skadi's face, charging straight towards her!

Skadi appeared to make no move, seemingly not even reacting, while Talulah's face already showed a triumphant smile. But the next second, without any warning, Skadi's hand also rose instantly as if pulling a gun at zero frames, blocking in front of her, steadily predicting the trajectory of Talulah's punch!

"what?!"

An expression of disbelief crossed Talulah's face as she watched Skadi grasp her hand and give her a reproachful look.

"what are you doing?"

She asked the question, but did not act immediately, as if she did not regard Talulah's surprise attack as a proper hostile attack.

Luta Lula's face turned even redder.

Nine. The flames in her hands intensified, and it looked like an explosion was about to occur, but Ernst quickly stopped her:

"Stop! I said stop!"

"Talulah, friendly fire! You're attacking friendly fire!"

Chapter 718 Skadi's Familiarity

Throughout his life, Ernst was not fond of fighting; he preferred to defuse conflict!

Skadi had no intention of fighting to begin with, and after Ernst called a halt to Talulah, she also stopped.

However, the people in the group, especially Talulah, still seemed somewhat uneasy about this Agorian who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"So, this bounty hunter named Skadi really isn't with those Deepsea Cultists?"

Talulah glanced furtively at Skadi, who was following in the group, her face filled with suspicion.

Before receiving Ernst's instructions to accompany him to Iberia, she also did her own research on the situation in Iberia.

She had a general idea of ​​what was happening here, who the current ruler was, and who the enemy was.

If there's anyone in Iberia you can kill without even looking at, it's undoubtedly the Deep Sea Cultists. And Agorians like Skadi can often be equated with Deep Sea Cultists.

She wasn't just making things up; that's how it's stipulated in Iberia!

In Iberia, harboring Agors is a serious crime. It's not uncommon for villages to be surrounded and severely punished by judges and disciplinary forces simply because they have unregistered and unverified Agors living there. Even those rare Agors who manage to complete the complex procedures and remain in Iberia are subjected to near-abnormal surveillance by the courts. They are not allowed to leave their registered areas, hold public office, or approach the camps of the disciplinary forces or the courts. They are also required to report to the capital, Perdoni, periodically. This kind of life is arguably not much different from imprisonment.

Those who are paying attention will have already noticed that this tactic of using 7 is tantamount to forcing people to turn against 9! Three!

The Agers who came ashore were already very few, and coupled with the oppressive policies of Iberia, the Agers, accustomed to a comfortable life at sea, would be considered extraordinary if they could endure it even for a day. Under such circumstances, anyone who chose to stay in Iberia voluntarily—no one would believe they didn't have ulterior motives!

So, to some extent, if ten Agorians in Iberia were shot, there might be some mistaken killings, but if nine out of ten were shot, there would almost certainly be some who escaped!

And Talulah's seemingly neurotic doubts naturally became reasonable.

However, Ernst responded decisively. He glanced at Skadi and then shook his head.

Skadi was one of the few characters he knew.

There was no way around it; there were just too many memes circulating during that period.

Whether it's the classic image of a sword being clamped between the thighs, the meme "Who isn't just a lazy bum waiting to die?", or the meme "Lying in the bathtub, a bowl of salted fish", they have all flooded Ernst's various chat groups countless times.

Because white hair and red eyes really appealed to my taste, Ernst also did some research on the character, which is quite unusual for her. She is a bounty hunter and seems to have some Cthulhu elements. She is an investigator, or rather, someone from the faction that specializes in taking down Cthulhu.

At least, that's what Ernst saw in the analyses about her and the Deepsea Hunter back then.

These are some distant memories.

Fortunately, his memory is a treasure that will never fade. He remembers everything clearly.

"Do you know me?"

Seemingly noticing Ernst's gaze, or perhaps curious about Ernst's attitude, Skadi, who had been silent in front of Talulah, unusually asked a question.

She was not talkative, but she was exceptionally sensitive. She could sense that Ernst seemed to have a strange sense of familiarity with her.

To be honest, she felt the same way about Ernst.

This was strange, Skadi was certain that she had never met Ernst in the first few decades of her life.

The ocean is vast and boundless, and Agor's civilization has spread to every corner of the ocean, even reaching the far side of this planet, but there is absolutely no race with such furry ears and thick tails in the ocean.

Ernst was not from Argonaut and he did not know him.

But she still felt a sense of familiarity, which puzzled her greatly.

Ernst shook his head slightly upon hearing this:

“We haven’t seen you. But I’ve heard of you deep-sea hunters. From Kal’tsit.”

Skadi remained bewildered, but Talulah's face revealed a hint of understanding.

She had been in Kel'tsit for a while and had naturally seen the doctor who came and went in a hurry. But she knew about Kel'tsit even earlier, back in Ursus, when she learned about Kel'tsit from the Hermitage of Mount Saint, through the black snake in her mind.

At the time, the members of the Order of the Holy Mountain frankly admitted that Rhodes Island was also in Kjerag. The Black Serpent issued a warning, stating that there were many mysterious immortals on this land, but most were not a threat. Only Kal'tsit, though seemingly having accomplished nothing, knew far too much.

Judging from the Black Serpent's attitude at the time, Kal'tsit seemed to be one of the few people who knew its secrets and might have a way to target it or even kill it. It also intentionally wanted to avoid Kal'tsit.

It succeeded. The good news is that Kelsey was indeed not there at the time; Ernst was the only person in the office.

The bad news is that Ernst is the only "person" in the office.

Ernst: Of course, Ernst didn't learn about the Deepsea Hunters from Kal'tsit, but that didn't stop him from smoothly shifting the blame, since Kal'tsit didn't object anyway.

“Kal'tsit is my friend, a renowned scholar, she knows everything.”

Ernst was always loyal to his friends, and even took the initiative to praise Kal'tsit a couple of times.

Skadi nodded in agreement.

Under Talulah's shocked gaze, she actually didn't ask any further questions!

Scholars, in Skadi's eyes, were such peculiar people. They were knowledgeable in everything from astronomy to geography; Agor had many scholars covering all aspects of the world, naturally including those who studied the Terran kingdoms and land races. She wasn't surprised that there were scholars on land who specialized in studying Agor.

As for why she didn't ask any further questions, it's because Skadi was thinking.

I'm trying to figure out how to clarify that inexplicable sense of familiarity I feel.

"Have we met before?"

After a moment, Skadi asked again.

Ernst paused, then shook his head again.

Didn't he just answer this question once? Why is Skadi asking it again?

Skadi nodded, then turned back and fell silent once more.

A few minutes later, she spoke again:

"I still think we might have met. Have you ever been to Agor?"

"Not really."

Ernst waved his hand, somewhat amused and exasperated.

Even if it's just a casual flirtation, this question is a bit too forward. Besides, Skadi's image doesn't seem like that of a wicked woman like Horhys who enjoys seducing innocent young men at all.

And Talulah, stop looking. What's with that expression? I really don't know her. I have absolutely nothing to do with her. You don't need to whisper about this to Lafshini or Vina!

Sensing the atmosphere was gradually becoming strange, Ernst felt compelled to initiate a conversation during the last stretch of the journey:

“Miss Skadi, instead of focusing on me, why don’t you talk about yourself? As far as I know, deep-sea hunters shouldn’t be operating in this area, right?”

Deep-sea hunters are a fighting force against sea monsters—this was information Ernst knew before. Now that the identity of the sea monsters has been revealed—the Sea Spawn race that emerged after the [Deep Blue Tree] went out of control—why are the Deep-sea hunters, instead of fighting the Sea Spawn in the sea, appearing on land some distance from the ocean?

This is actually the same question that Skadi is wondering about.

She wasn't originally here. She was quite a distance from Ernst, and it was an inexplicable feeling that drove her to come this way.

That is, that sense of familiarity.

Skadi pondered for a moment, but still couldn't come to a conclusion, and had to shake her head: Three

"I don't know either"

Well, one is a stranger, and the other is unknown. After all that probing, not a single piece of information has been gathered.

Was the approach wrong? Skadi doesn't seem very cunning. Maybe next time she should just go straight for the ball?

Ernst smiled helplessly. Fortunately, this interruption allowed them to finally reach the edge of the city.

At least, I don't have to worry about safety anymore.

Beneath the high walls of Iberia, not a mobile city, hordes of punitive troops are already fully prepared and lined up in formation.

And the person standing at the head of the group was none other than Carmen Iberia herself.

"Prime Minister Ernst, I'm so sorry to have startled you!"

Chapter 719 A Strategic Retreat Meets an Insatiable Opportunist

"I am truly sorry for what happened. Iberia will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation."

Holding Ernst's hand, Carmen repeated the words with tears in her eyes.

The emotions were rich, the tone sincere, and the accompanying actions were just right. Even Ernst, who prided himself on his discerning eye, couldn't tell for a moment whether it was real or an act.

It must be said that Carmen is quite capable to have been able to hold power in Iberia for decades.

Although the Sea Cult doesn't require much acting skill and even more so the possession of the Great Western King, the Deep Sea Cult members are a bunch of disloyal, unjust, unwise, unkind, unfilial, and particularly good actors. To distinguish them from the crowd, one does need some acting skills.

However, regardless of how much of Carmen's promise was true or false, Ernst was willing to believe that Carmen was telling the truth at this moment.

He is, after all, the current ruler of Iberia, the archbishop who reorganized the former Iberian state church into the Court of Judgment, and the hero who stepped forward immediately after the Great Tranquility to restore order to the Iberian state in place of the former Iberian royal family who had been reduced to the Chen family!

Without him, Iberia might have perished on that afternoon when the Great Tranquility erupted. He was the last vestige of the Golden Age, the most steadfast warrior, a saint, a soldier, a fighter, and the most tormented idealist. If anyone who calls himself "Carmen y Iberia" is a spy for the Deep Sea Church, then Ernst believes that Iberia has no reason to exist.

"I'm fine, Carmen."

Ernst shook Carmen's hand back, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"It's really kind of you to wait for me here. I thought you would be in Perdoni."

"The court took notice of your convoy going missing immediately, and I led the team to set off right away."

Carmen explained, while letting out another exclamation:

"I'm so glad you're alright."

To be honest, when Carmen led her troops to the location and began to allocate search areas, she was already prepared for the possibility that Ernst might be assassinated.

Don't be fooled by his current tearful appearance; not long ago, the tears that welled up in his eyes were definitely not in his eyes!

Every time he thought of this, he felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't want to stay outside the city with Ernst any longer, so he quickly called the disciplinary guards and led Ernst and his party into the city.

As he walked, he asked:

"I wonder what happened to you along the way. Why was our contact interrupted for so long?"

"They were assassinated."

Ernst didn't hide anything and spoke frankly.

"The security situation in Iberia is far from ideal. The Deep Sea Cultists and the Sea Heirs are able to penetrate directly into the land and brazenly launch attacks on passersby."

“This…” Carmen hissed awkwardly, “As you know, Iberia’s current conditions are limited. No matter how united the judges are, there will inevitably be one or two who slip through the net.”

"Seven scales escaped the net?"

Ernst smiled and asked a question in return.

Carmen was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, and her expression changed instantly.