People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

“Oulus, now we have something else to worry about.”

"How can we rescue Isamara? Or rather, how can we ensure that Isamara doesn't fall into the hands of the World Summit?"

Aulus swallowed hard, about to retort to Cicero that they could have easily avoided this trap. But seeing Cicero's serious expression, he realized what was going on.

No, they had no choice but to jump.

Just as Carmen had to save the Stutifaira, Isamara was their Stutifaira.

As believers in the deep sea, they had no choice but to go!

They had already witnessed the capabilities of the World Summit. The fact that the other party could inflict a devastating blow on the Deep Sea Church entrenched on the shore in such a short time proved that this organization was definitely not as simple as they had initially thought!

They even managed to turn a Deep Sea bishop against them! Although it's unclear how they did it, this is truly the first time they've directly posed a threat to the Deep Sea Church!

The believers were irrelevant, but the bishops were all aware of the secrets of the Deep Sea Church and were undoubtedly loyal. Under such circumstances, how did Amaya manage to be turned? What methods did they use?

The unknown is the most terrifying thing, and also the easiest to make connections. Coupled with the recent heavy blow suffered by the Deep Sea Church, they had no choice but to elevate the International Summit to a level that even they themselves found unbelievable!

This organization is probably even more difficult to deal with than Agor!

However, even at this point, they still have a way out—they can directly profit!

The Deep Sea Church on land is actually insignificant; their real headquarters are in the sea, so they can completely abandon the land!

The problem is, if they can abandon the land, can they also abandon the [newborn]?

No!

Any Deep Sea Cultist who utters the words "abandon the primordial state" will face only one fate—becoming nourishment for a large group!

This is one of the few rules of the Deep Sea Church! The Sea Heirs protect the newborn, and so does the Deep Sea Church!

Moreover, and most importantly, the other party really gave them a chance to save their lives!

"The Stutifaira is at sea, and the sea is our home ground."

“They set this trap; Isamara absolutely had to be there! Otherwise, we would have noticed very quickly!”

Oulus analyzed.

There's absolutely no problem with saving him. The ocean is the domain of the Sea Heirs and the Deep Sea Church. The Iberian civilization, at its peak a few decades ago, was not even worth their attention. Now that it has declined to this state, how could it possibly pose a threat to them at sea?

Not to mention, they know the current situation of the Stutifira very well. They have the advantage of being the first to arrive. Just as the "Amaya" letter said, as long as they arrive first and attract the Sea Siren and other Deep Sea Cultists to ambush them, they can really perfect this trap so that you can't escape!

On the contrary, it was Isamara who was bound to appear. Otherwise, the Deep Sea Church would have discovered their weakness as soon as they entered the sea.

Isamara couldn't fake it! That was the aura of [new life], the aura of a god!

It has a certain flavor, you can't go wrong!

So it seems there's only one choice left.

Even if you know that the other side is sending this letter as a sting operation, there's nothing you can do but jump into the trap!

4 Because you care about the “newborn”, you cannot abandon Him!

This is your best chance to save [Newborn]. The enemy will directly enter the sea, entering your home territory to fight you. Once you miss this opportunity, and the enemy takes Isamara back to land, or even leaves Iberia and goes deep into the land, beyond the sphere of influence of the Deep Sea Church, then it's hard to say you'll have another chance!

You must even go in person, because there is a 99% chance that Amaya has betrayed us. She was the one who leaked the initial information; otherwise, the Iberians would have no reason to know this top-secret message! If you don't go in person, Amaya can escape unscathed with Carmen, Ernst, and Isamara!

At that point, you would have truly lost both the Stutifaira and the best opportunity to take Isamara with you. Even if you survived, what would be the point?

The Deep Sea Cultists are never afraid of death! Aren't there many among them willing to offer themselves to the sea's offspring?

Letting the "newborn" skin slip away on their faces is worse than killing them!

This plan is insidious!

Aulus felt a tightness in his chest, and his cheeks twitched.

But if you think about it carefully, isn't this exactly the same method they used on Carmen? Even the steps haven't changed at all!

I'm telling you, this is a trap. But you have to jump in.

Because the trap contains things you can't let go of!

Carmen couldn't let go of Iberia, so she fell for the trap. The Deep Sea Cultists couldn't let go of [The Newborn], so they too had to fall for the trap!

Ernst was disgusted, but he didn't intend to blame Carmen; he had plenty of ways to vent his anger.

Use your tricks to disgust them back!

Come on, the game is set, what are you waiting for?

Chapter 742 Ernst: Kind-hearted, I want your family to be together.

Iberia, Granfalo.

Amaya felt such fear for the first time.

The Deep Sea Cultists are fearless beings. Fear is detrimental to their missionary work and to their service to the Sea Heirs whom they regard as gods. They have never felt fear, whether facing the Inquisition's hand cannons or the warships of the World Summit.

But this time, Amaya was terrified. So terrified she could hardly breathe!

There was only one person in the room. Mr. Ernst, whom she had invited, had not yet arrived, but her back was already covered in cold sweat. The scene that kept flashing through her mind was the strange hooded, blue-haired young man who had walked into the room a few days ago and made eye contact with her.

She didn't know who it was, but she felt an overwhelming sense of terror emanating from it. She remembered that the man's eyes were cold, and he looked at her as if she were a pathetic toy.

Amaya initially thought it was Ernst or Carmen who had sent someone to interrogate her. After all, she knew that her schemes and disguises were not difficult to see through. So many Deepsea Cultists had already fallen at the hands of the Universal Summit; since she had chosen to enter the enemy camp alone, there was no reason for her to return alive.

She was prepared to sacrifice herself, but before she did, she had to trick Carmen and Ernst one last time, just to make her life worthwhile and to avenge the destruction of the power that the Deep Sea Church had accumulated over the years by the World Summit!

She knew she wouldn't say a word to this androgynous guy in front of her.

But she didn't expect that it wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but that the other party simply didn't give her a chance to speak!

After the group of shapeshifters entered the room, they didn't say a word. They just stared at Amaya for a long time with their empty eyes before leaving.

that's enough.

The shapeshifter's disguise never requires killing the person being disguised. He steals their memories without actually devouring their brain or performing a soul-searching technique. These are not mental Originium Arts; they are simply "racial talents."

At least that's what he calls himself. Anyway, his race only consists of "them," isolated and unverified, and no one else can determine whether every shapeshifter has this ability.

He couldn't be bothered to say a word to Amaya, even though Ernst had asked him to come and "have a good chat" with her; he simply wasn't in the mood.

He would rather just kill the worm that smelled of the sea.

Amaya stared blankly as the shapeshifter closed the door and left. Even after he was gone, she had no idea what had happened; she only felt a chill run down her spine, a feeling that she had been seen through.

Unbeknownst to her, this feeling had also been experienced by many Deep Sea Cultists, and what happened afterward had now become a line of text in the counter-terrorism force's record of achievements.

The knocking on the door snapped her out of her reverie. She stood up abruptly, looked at the figure that had entered, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

Ernst was holding a thermos cup filled with something he couldn't name, which Carmen said had the effect of generating heat and removing dampness.

The weather in Iberia is indeed humid, and Granfalo is by the sea. During this rainy season, it drizzles every few days. Ernst hasn't been here long, but he already feels a bit of neck pain.

He leisurely placed the thermos on the table and nodded to Amaya, indicating:

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Amaya. I was just dealing with some things."

As he spoke, he reached out to Amaya, pointed to the sofa behind him, and smiled warmly.

"Miss Amaya, please have a seat."

Shall I sit?

Amaya snapped out of her daze, took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, looked at Ernst, and quickly composed herself.

"Mr. Ernst, what do you mean by this?"

"What did Miss Amaya say? I didn't quite understand," Ernst said, looking puzzled.

"I provided you and Lord Carmen with the coordinates of the Stutifaira, which helped you locate the Fool, but why won't you let me leave?"

Ernst raised an eyebrow:

"That's a misunderstanding. Miss Amaya, you are a hero of Iberia, how could we not let you leave?"

"But look, with such a great achievement, we should reward him, right? To be honest, we were discussing this before."

Siamaya frowned, her tone somewhat anxious:

"I don't care about any reward, this is what I should do. I just want to get back as soon as possible!"

"Just because you don't want it doesn't mean we won't give it to you."

Lin Ernst answered slowly and deliberately, but his tone was quite firm.

"The counter-terrorism forces came for the peace and development of Iberia. Finding the Stutifaira was an unexpected gain and has little to do with the International Summit, but we still need to reward them for their contributions. Otherwise, wouldn't it make our International Summit seem like it has no vision at all?"

“Miss Amaya, you are the one who made the greatest contribution to this matter, you can’t leave.”

"Even if we take a step back and let you leave, what if you encounter those desperate, vicious Deep Sea cultists on the road who have no other choice but to plot against you? Wouldn't that be terrible?"

"I am more than qualified to speak on this matter. To be honest, Miss Amaya, and I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, I've been assassinated by the Deep Sea Church more than a dozen times! I'm terrified, so I would never dare to put someone as meritorious as you in danger!"

Ernst smiled rather modestly, showing no sign of fear. He even picked up his thermos, as if saying he was thirsty, took a sip, and used the pause to adjust the rhythm of his speech:

"Or is it that Miss Amaya has some complaints about our hospitality? It's alright, just tell us, and we'll take it into consideration."

"However, on the other hand, in Iberia, having room and board included and a private room is really not bad, is it?"

You don't mention freedom at all!

Amaya could easily tell that Ernst was deliberately playing dumb with her. But what could she do?

Did she reveal that she is actually a deep-sea bishop who came here to gather intelligence and, incidentally, set a trap for you?

That would be incredibly stupid. If she hadn't said that, Carmen could at least have been fooling herself and falling into the trap. But once she exposed herself, the World Summit would have a perfect excuse to intervene and directly stop Carmen.

By then, not only will she be gone, but she won't even be able to catch Carmen! This whole trip, this sacrifice, will have been for nothing!

She was intent on finding fault, but Ernst's words were perfectly airtight.

Was providing the coordinates of the Stutifaira a meritorious act? Yes! Was it unrelated to the World Summit? Indeed, it was unrelated; it was her achievement alone. Should the World Summit reward her then? If the World Summit had a broad enough perspective, it certainly should.

"Iberian Civil Society Helps Counter-Terrorism Operation at the World Summit, Recovering the Long-Lost Flagship of the Iberian Golden Fleet!" If she wasn't mistaken, this headline was probably already prepared in the press release!

Was it reasonable for Ernst to keep her here? Yes, it was! He even generously offered a reason.

I, the Secretary-General of the World Summit, a proper state guest, have been assassinated so many times by that group of Deep Sea Cultists. If it weren't for the excellent security around me, I would probably be dead by now. How much more so for an ordinary person like you? How could I dare to put you in such danger!

You should just stay here obediently and wait for us to come up with a solution.

However, the Amayas clearly didn't understand Chinese wisdom. Their meetings to discuss solutions were essentially devoid of solutions. How long the discussions would take, and how long it would last to reach a conclusion, was entirely adaptive.

I can release it whenever I want; until then, you'd better stay put.

Ernst even blocked Amaya from leaving the program because she said the treatment was bad.

The treatment isn't good? Then let me ask you, how many people in Iberia can enjoy the same treatment you have now?

A single room and no worries about food or clothing might seem like nothing special in other countries, but this is Iberia. How can you say this treatment is bad? Were you royalty or something?

However, while that's the explanation, this kind of treatment can also be described in another way—jail.

Amaya felt incredibly frustrated. She knew perfectly well that Ernst was keeping her under house arrest, but she was powerless to stop him. She had imagined being tortured, or that he didn't care about her at all and would just kill her. But she never expected him to keep her alive and imprison her like this.

What good does this do them? Isn't it just consuming more food?

Amaya took a deep breath, and just as she was about to say something, Ernst spoke again:

"If you're looking to go back and take care of your parents, then I'm sorry, but we just investigated your family background and wanted to interview your heroic parents, only to find out that they were killed by the hateful, shameful, and despicable Deep Sea Cultists."

"They left behind only a suicide note, which read: The Deep Sea Church is utterly wicked and deserves divine punishment!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Amaya, I hope you're not too sad."

Ernst sighed sadly and shook his head as he spoke.

Amaya's face was contorted with anger.

Isn't this just telling her directly, "Your selfie is a family photo" and "There's only one page on your household registration book"?

What's with this talk of punishing traitors?

Murder, but also torture?

"Mr. Ernst, why bother?"

She stared at Ernst's face almost through gritted teeth. Ernst, in turn, looked up with interest and glared back.

Amaya clenched her fists, about to lash out, when Ernst slammed the thermos cup in his hand to the ground.

Breaking the cup is the number!