People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

How could Carmen not recognize that figure? Even if he were reduced to ashes, he would still recognize his old friend, the great hero known to all in Iberia, the captain of the Fool—Alfonso under the pomegranate tree!

But at this moment, he wished he had never met Alfonso.

Their gazes met briefly in mid-air before quickly averting as if fleeing. Carmen's face showed an unprecedented tremor!

Yes, a chill ran down his spine. This founder of the Inquisition, the most steadfast "Golden Age believer" of Iberia, the stubborn Inquisitor whom Ernst believed "wouldn't stop him from going to find the Fool even with a knife to his throat," was now filled with fear because of a single glance, a single figure, a single call!

There was no other reason, because when that figure recognized him, he also recognized that figure.

That's Alfonso, but how could he be, how could he possibly be Alfonso?

"Saint, boarding preparations are complete. Shall we board immediately?"

A sergeant from the disciplinary force, oblivious to Carmen's predicament, stepped forward to ask for her opinion. But as soon as he spoke, he noticed Carmen's unusual expression, frowned, and quickly asked:

"Lady Carmen, what's wrong? Are you injured?"

In the battle just now, almost all the members of the Punishment Army were engaged in the battlefield, and no one had the energy to pay attention to Carmen's condition. The soldiers thought that their negligence had put their leader in danger.

Carmen shook her head.

What he suffered was ten times worse than injury or even death—how was he going to face "Afonso"?

More than sixty years have passed. When Alfonso set sail, he was already a household name and a great hero in Iberia, a few years older than myself. Even if he were still alive, he would be over a hundred years old by now!

He was an ordinary Fengti, not some divine being with rare bloodlines. Without special means, even if he were carefully cared for in a sanatorium, he could not have lived to this age and still be so lively and energetic, let alone make such calls.

But this is the ocean, on the sea. What kind of life-extending secret technique could he use?

In addition, he also had to deal with threats from the Sea Cult, the Deep Sea Cultists, as well as harsh weather and food shortages. Any one of these troubles would be enough to kill an old man, let alone all at once.

Therefore, Alfonso, at least the Alfonso that Carmen remembers, is undoubtedly dead!

The Alfonso who survived, called out his name, and greeted him, is either a disguise of Hai Si, or he betrayed Iberia, surrendered to the Deep Sea Church, and obtained the secret method of prolonging life!

Regardless of which scenario it is, it means that Carmen's current attitude towards this old friend cannot be described as a joyful reunion after a long separation; at the very least, it can be described as deep-seated hatred and irreconcilable enmity!

Even though she was aware of all this, and had already resolved in her mind that "I can kill anyone, as long as it's for Iberia," Carmen still hesitated.

This old man, who had been ruthless and decisive all his life and would be seen by others as an "extreme and stubborn villain," was truly captivated by that joyful and expectant cry, "Carmen, I knew you would come!"

That's the softest spot in everyone's heart.

Damn Deepsea Cultists, what have you done?!

Carmen longed to roar it out, but time didn't give him the chance.

Before Carmen, the soldiers of the Punishing Army had clearly also noticed the figure making the sound.

They had never met Alfonso, but they had met Hai Si, and they had also met those who had gone to the extreme of madness and were willing to merge with Hai Si to become monsters, the "Deep Sea Cultists".

They noticed Alfonso's jet-black arm, covered in tentacles, which was clearly not human!

The logical chain became clear in an instant. Without any hesitation, following Carmen's instructions before arriving, it was highly likely that a large number of Deepsea Cultists were already lying in ambush on the ship. The officer made a decisive judgment:

"Attention, everyone! The Deep Sea Bishop who was lying in ambush on the Stutifira has appeared! Sorcerers and archers, prepare to take down that scoundrel who desecrated our Stutifira!"

"and many more!"

Carmen snapped back to reality and gave the order almost reflexively.

The sergeant who was giving the order was taken aback and raised his hand. The elite veterans of the disciplinary army obeyed the order and immediately stopped, but they also gave him a questioning look.

Carmen swallowed hard.

He knew what he had just done. He had stopped the Punishers from attacking a suspected Deepsea Cult unit!

This had never happened before.

But since the order had already been given, he immediately explained:

"Avoid using magic before engaging in direct combat, partly to avoid alerting the enemy, but also remember our objective is the entire Fool's Ship, not a pile of junk. Ensure the ship's integrity!"

"In addition, from now on, First Officer Rodrigo will take command of the [Court of Justice] and lead half of the crew to stay behind. The rest of you, come with me to board the ship."

The soldiers' faces showed a look of sudden realization.

Indeed, Lady Carmen is right. If they rashly use magic to attack this 60-year-old ship that hasn't been maintained, damaging it or breaking its functions would be a huge loss for Iberia!

What they are going to bring back on this trip is the legacy of the Golden Age. If they really break the Fool into pieces, then their sacrifice on this trip will have been in vain!

Moreover, although no one has brought it up yet, everyone has vaguely sensed it. Since the Tribunal arrived near the Stutifaira, the surrounding seas have become much calmer.

The monstrous fish that had been surging in wave after wave were gone, and the sea creatures had all disappeared from the surface of the sea. Everything seemed to have returned to the calm and tranquility it had been when they first left the port.

No one knows the specific reason, but that doesn't stop the current situation from sparking endless speculation:

Perhaps there really is some kind of magical artifact on this ship that can "deter the sea monsters"?

Elite troops are elite troops after all. They quickly formed teams. First Mate Rodrigo took the key to the captain's cabin from Carmen, gave him an Iberian salute, and then turned around and led the remaining soldiers back to their posts.

Carmen, on the other hand, looked up again and glanced in the direction of the top deck.

Alfonso has disappeared.

Carmen knew that he had quietly left when the Punishers pointed their heavy cannons and staffs at him.

Are you scared? Afraid of dying?

"As expected, he's just a deep-sea cultist who uses disgusting methods."

Carmen thought to herself.

However, even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance.

That guy who imitated Alfonso's figure was actually Alfonso himself, the monster he transformed into after his fall from grace.

Then Carmen will personally send off her old friend from back then, a requiem ceremony that is sixty years overdue.

He wiped the lantern in his hand, the fire of the court burning brightly inside, a testament to his oath!

"So, you're going down too?"

Looking at Ernst and the "Four Great Generals" behind him, the Colombian officer's lips twitched, and his face immediately turned bitter.

"No, my friend. My dear President! I can't control those four, but Mr. Ernst, how can you put yourself in such a dangerous situation? There are no outsiders here. To be honest, the Stutifaira is nothing but a dilapidated ship that hasn't been repaired in sixty years. Even if it were brand new, its value would be far less than yours!"

Ernst completely agreed with what the responsible general had said.

Yes, the Stutifaira was significant to Iberia, but for Ernst, it made little difference whether the ship existed or not.

It will not affect his plans in Iberia.

But Ernst wasn't originally going there for the Stutifaira.

He first turned his head to look at Greta, then subtly glanced at the absent-minded Skadi out of the corner of his eye.

He did it for this little girl.

He made a deal with Gladys: Gladys would provide him with intelligence on Agor and help him gain access to Agor's officials, while he would help Gladys contact Agor and return home.

The "way home" that Goredia was aiming for was on this ship.

Breogan's final work, the Stutifaira, should contain in its core archives all the information about how Breogan came to land, how he combined Agorian and Iberian technologies for ship design, and finally, how he built the Stutifaira—a "sea-going warship" far surpassing land-based capabilities.

This is what Goredia believes, a conclusion she reached after constantly searching for clues to "return home" on land after waking up.

If Greta goes, Laurentina, as her teammate, will go with her. And if Laurentina goes, Skadi, who is preoccupied with the mystical concept of "deep-sea hunters being connected by blood," will also follow them.

Ernst must fulfill his promise and help Gladys. And if Skadi goes, Ernst must go with her.

There was no other reason, because this person had a heavyweight inside him.

Although the four horses didn't have the same weight as the one in Laurentina's mind.

If you can't stop Skadi, the best option is to at least stay by her side and prevent this silly girl from doing anything that would cause the situation to spiral out of control.

As for his safety, he had certainly considered it.

4. From the beginning, he had already made up his mind to go all out. He was accompanied by Drak's guards, wore the Banshee's Blessing around his neck, carried Yeragand's Blessing in his chest pouch, and had the Lich's Cube on his waist. Even at the very end, he still carried a piece of Originium as a last resort in his pocket.

This last one is to prevent the [Deep Blue Tree] from being so unethical as to try to deceive or ambush this twenty-three-year-old snow leopard.

It's like a backup hidden energy source; if it's used, both the enemy and our side will explode!

After Zero's combo, his combat power might not necessarily be lower than these deep-sea hunters.

Seeing that the group looked determined, the officer knew he couldn't stop them.

After all, he couldn't just stop the people present whenever he wanted.

However, to show that he had done his best and to absolve himself of responsibility, he summoned several soldiers and gave them instructions:

"Take a few of you and go get some basic power armor."

"It was designed by Dr. Ferdinand of Rhine Labs, simplified by the Ministry of Defense to improve flexibility, but with some compromises in defense."

"However, most importantly, it will send an alert to us if it is attacked. We will immediately dispatch a rescue team to pick you up."

The officer said,

"Until then, the Preservator will remain in the skies above this area, awaiting your message."

Chapter 749 Those who offend Iberia, I will surely defeat!

The more Carmen searched, the more alarmed and confused she became.

Has the Fool, once the pride of Iberia, now become a complete den of the Sea Kings?

He pushed open the door to the crew quarters, and what he saw was bloodstains all over the room, and the slumped corpse of Hai Si, who had been emaciated for who knows how long, lying on a chair.

He opened the staff break room and found a creature, Hai Si, who had been dead for an unknown period of time, nailed to the wall, with the inscription of the old Iberian royal family engraved on the short sword in its chest.

He walked to the end of the corridor. The restroom was empty, clean and tidy as if isolated from the world, clearly unused for a long time. But when he kicked open a locked stall, he found it filled with stacked, dried shells of Hai Si.

As he walked past the ship, he could almost hear the laughter of the people on board, see their proud faces, and witness the scene on the day of departure.

But they all disappeared.

Have they all become Haisi?

Carmen wanted to assert that, because if everyone on the Stutifaira had become Haisi, the problem would be much easier to solve.

The court only needs to fulfill its duty and annihilate every single living Hai Si.

But that's precisely where the problem lies.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, no enemies have been detected here either."

"My Lord, I don't have any either."

"I do not have either."

One after another, the Punisher soldiers returned from the various rooms, each giving Carmen a perplexing answer.

There is no Haisi.

Or rather, there was no living Haisi.

This ship is "clean," perhaps even cleaner than the Perdoni headquarters!

Isn't this a joke? How come Perdoni occasionally has incidents of Deep Sea Cultists and Sea Heirs appearing, and even Prime Minister Ernst has to go through a process and be assassinated before he can come? How come there's a "clean" ship in the middle of the ocean right in his home base?

Could it be that the court's performance is worse than that of a dilapidated ship that hasn't been maintained for over sixty years?

That would be truly embarrassing.

Fortunately, although the people in the courtroom all had strange expressions, none of them mentioned this matter. They simply turned their gazes silently to Carmen, who was deep in thought, and some even looked on with great anticipation:

“Saint, perhaps this ship is the one that can restrain the Sea Heirs? Look, it has been adrift at sea for sixty years, and there isn’t a single living Sea Heir on board. Isn’t that a miracle?”

They didn't care whether the guess was reasonable or not; after all, wasn't the most unreasonable thing already right in front of them?

Besides, what if? People always hope for low-probability events like miracles, and then after a miracle happens, they try to explain it in all sorts of ways, don't they?

The conclusion that the Stutifaira V restrains Haizi and that Haizi dares not run wild on the Stutifaira may seem absurd, but that is the current situation.

You could say it's because the ship is all metal, which Hai Si dislikes, or that there's some ancient technology on board that makes Hai Si avoid it. You could even say it's because when the Golden Fleet set sail, the Iberian royal family invited the archbishops of the National Church to bless the entire Fool, so that monsters like Hai Si are afraid of it. That's fine too!

Anyway, even the most unrealistic hope is still hope. These punitive troops desperately need a hope that can truly "defeat" Hai Si.

Carmen had thought of this, but he shook his head.

He not only shook his head, but also gave the soldier who had proposed the idea a cold look, uttering a chilling question:

"Have you forgotten the figure we saw when we boarded the ship?"

Like a heavy hammer blow, the lively atmosphere just moments before plummeted to rock bottom.