Yes, Lady Funina!

With Richard's words and Funina's verdict, the scene immediately fell into a stalemate.

The leader of the treasure-hunting gang frowned, thinking to himself that things were not going to end well today.

However, the goods he had were very important, and they were considered gray area items, meaning they were not strictly prohibited by law, but were not permitted to be sold either.

If we surrender without resistance, it's hard to guarantee that the Water Goddess and the man beside her won't seize the goods.

That was the last thing the leader of the treasure-hunting gang wanted to see; in some ways, the importance of this shipment was second only to his life.

Losing this batch of goods is worse than death.

While the leader of the treasure-hunting group hesitated, our Lady Funina was also feeling uneasy.

'No way? No way? Is that guy really planning to attack her? She's the Water Goddess G! Even if smuggling contraband is a minor offense compared to offending a deity, right?'

'Fontaine doesn't have the death penalty. Why not just surrender obediently and stay in Mero Petersburg for a while?'

Funina was flustered, muttering to herself, but even so, she still stood in front of Richard.

It's not that she was particularly brave, but if she had hidden behind Richard like an ordinary girl at that moment, that would have been a real problem.

A dignified water god, yet he hides behind his people—is he still a water god?

Being questioned about her identity was the last thing Funina could accept.

Therefore, even if one is terrified inside, one must still act like a water god!

However, Richard seemed oblivious and continued to provoke the thieves from behind.

"What? Do you intend to attack Lady Funina? Aren't you afraid of Lady Funina's divine punishment? Do you think you can be a match for the Water God?"

Stop talking, please stop, Richard. How come she never noticed that her secretary-general was such a chatterbox before!

If she could unleash divine punishment, she would have done so long ago; why would she wait until now?

Do you really think she's giving those treasure-hunting groups time to surrender?

She's buying herself some time!

What if Clorind happens to come back at that moment?

Fryna praying.jpg

"Lord Water God, and this gentleman beside you, are you really going to be so aggressive?" The leader of the treasure-hunting gang said with a stern face. The other members of the gang behind him put down the boxes they were carrying and took out the weapons that were tucked into their waistbands.

Seeing the swords, spears, and clubs made Funina feel utterly chilled.

"Aggressive? I think you are the ones who are stubborn and unyielding! On behalf of the Water God, I hereby issue an ultimatum: enter three more numbers, and if you do not give up your resistance, we will have to take coercive measures."

“And you will become the first criminals in Fontaineble to be exiled to Mero Petersburg for the crime of rebelling against God, setting an example for those who follow!” Richard said coldly.

They certainly seemed to have the aura to back it up, but the question was, who would actually subdue them? Funina thought wistfully.

'Or... should we just run away? This group of thieves seems to be transporting something very important. If we just run, they shouldn't chase us. We can then notify the special patrol team to deal with these criminals.'

'As for the shame, that can be easily dismissed by claiming that all her divine power was used to supply Fontaine's energy.'

The more Funina thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed, and she was already preparing to run away with Richard.

After hearing Richard's words, the leader of the treasure-hunting gang felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly realized that his brothers behind him were indeed showing signs of fear. If they dragged it out any longer, once the first person started to give up, they would all give up very soon.

He knew all too well what kind of rabble his men were.

Giving up means being arrested, mission failure, and even getting into Mero Petersburg is a minor issue compared to what might happen if the owner of the goods were to blame them…

Thinking of that guy's bizarre methods, the leader of the treasure-hunting gang felt a chill run down his spine; people could really die from this!

So the leader of the treasure-hunting gang immediately made a decision: they couldn't delay any longer!

Fight!

There is no precedent for the death penalty in Fontaine. Even if one offends the gods, the most likely outcome is only an extended sentence. Failure to complete the mission, however, means death.

The choice is self-evident!

"Brothers, they're bluffing! If it really were the Water God, he would have taken us down long ago. Why would he be arguing with us like this?" The leader of the treasure-hunting gang shouted, raising his arm and charging forward with his machete.

His men, seeing their leader leading the charge and finding that what he said made sense, were quite pleased with themselves.

If the other side were truly the Water God, they should have taken them down long ago; there's no way they'd be dragging their feet like this.

Soon enough, the members of the treasure-hunting team began to move, skillfully surrounding Richard and Funina.

Just like hyenas in the wild hunting their prey, they wait for the moment the prey makes a mistake before attacking it in a group.

"How dare you!" Funina's eyebrows shot up as she shouted.

"If you don't cherish the opportunity I gave you, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the members of the treasure-hunting team were clearly affected. Their previously eager actions were halted, but that was all.

They still surrounded Richard and Funina, leaving no opening for them to break through.

Funina noticed this as well, and her heart sank.

Oh no, it seems like we really can't escape now.

I should have just grabbed Richard and run away!

Furnessa was filled with regret, while Richard, standing to the side, seemed completely unconcerned, not taking the group of thieves seriously at all.

Richard indeed didn't take the heist group seriously; he was constantly observing Funina's every move.

Despite Funina's excellent disguise, he keenly sensed her panic when they were surrounded by the treasure hunters.

Although it only lasted a moment and was quickly masked by Funina's excellent acting skills, Richard was almost certain that she had indeed panicked.

In other words, Funina really has no strength at all; she is just as simple as she appears on the surface.

Considering the assurances Clorind had previously demanded from him, does this mean that even Clorind, Funina's personal bodyguard, felt that Funina had no real strength?

They couldn't even handle this group of treasure thieves.

At this point, Richard had no intention of probing any further. If he did, it would be difficult to explain if anyone asked about it later…

Funina was already thinking about how to surrender in a way that would appear dignified without losing her divine dignity.

Raise your hand a little higher? Like you're holding a trophy?

Or perhaps it's about taking off the white gloves and waving them in the most elegant manner?

No way! It just won't work no matter how you look at it!

With everyone surrendering, where is the majesty of the gods?

What god would surrender before even starting a fight?

As the treasure-hunting group drew closer, Funina realized she was in a dead end.

Just then, Richard spoke up, saying, "There's no need for Lady Funina to personally deal with you scum."

Then, Fulina only saw Richard wave his hand lightly, and several large water columns rose directly from the sea not far away, like water dragons. Under Richard's control, they crushed and scattered the members of the treasure-hunting group with an unstoppable force.

The battle subsided almost instantly.

Only the painful cries of the treasure-hunting gang members remained on the beach, but none of them seemed to be in any real danger. The weapons in their hands had been swept aside by the water jets and piled up as evidence of their crimes.

What awaits them is a grand trial.

As the first case of a Fontainebleau citizen offending the gods, it was used as a model to fill a legal gap.

In a sense, these scumbags have made an indelible contribution to Fontaine's legal system.

Fulina was completely dumbfounded. She hadn't realized... her secretary-general was this formidable!

Not only did they eliminate the treasure-hunting group in an instant, but they also controlled the entire battle area very well. Even the crab soup not far away was not affected and continued to simmer.

Why didn't you say so sooner? You were so bold! You scared her half to death, she thought she was going to be in big trouble!

“Lady Funina, let us see what this group of thieves is willing to offend you to keep?” Richard’s words caught Funina’s attention.

Soon she and Richard arrived at the place where the treasure hunters had stored the boxes...

Volume 1: Chapter 31 The man turned into water!

Upon opening the box, they found it contained not the gold and silver treasures Richard and Funina had imagined.

Instead, there were bottles and jars containing the same liquid, which were nearly transparent and looked like ordinary water.

However, something that would make the thieves go to such great lengths to transport, something that they wouldn't back down even when facing gods, could not possibly be just a bottle of water.

Richard took a bottle from the bottle and walked up to the leader of the heist gang. He believed this bandit leader must know something.

"Stop playing dead, you should know what this is, right?" Richard squatted down, shaking the bottle in his hand as he asked gently.

Yet this seemingly gentle and refined, almost boyish figure wielded a massive jet of water, utterly crushing them...

His gentle smile, in the eyes of the treasure-hunting gang leader, was no different from the smile of a devil.

There was no need to hide it any longer, so the leader of the treasure-hunting gang bluntly and decisively confessed, "It's 'Les'."

"Les?" Li realized the name sounded familiar, but couldn't quite place it.

He vaguely remembered Lynette mentioning it, but it was clearly not important enough for him, the city hall's permanent secretary, to have to pay attention.

"Les? What's that?" Funina also heard the name and was equally confused.

Clearly, our Water Goddess had never heard of such a thing either. She examined the bottle in Richard's hand and said, "This looks like ordinary water, doesn't it?"

Upon hearing Funina's words, the leader of the treasure-hunting group, who had been lying on the ground, struggled to sit up, enduring the excruciating pain, and replied, "Lady Funina, this is not ordinary water, but a special beverage."

"Beverages? You'd risk fighting your gods for these drinks?" Wife

Funina was furious. She felt offended, realizing that she was less important to her people than a few cases of drinks.

Indeed, she admitted that her behavior over the past century had been somewhat unreliable, but surely not to this extent? (Ling)

At least Funina felt that she was quite popular in Fontainebleau, and in terms of popularity, she was confident that she was no less popular than the other six gods!

Comparing her to these boxes of drinks is simply too insulting!

Richard also felt that attacking them for a few boxes of drinks was really taking them for granted. Although Funina was indeed a bit weak, she wasn't that weak.

There must be other, deeper reasons behind this.

Perhaps the leader of the heist group also felt that this explanation was a bit far-fetched, so he added on his own: "This is certainly not an ordinary beverage, but a beverage with addictive properties."

"It can excite people and produce many pleasurable hallucinations. The side effects are that long-term use of this product will cause many side effects, such as difficulty concentrating and emotional instability. Once you stop taking it, you will feel tired all day and experience inexplicable anxiety... We made a fortune by taking advantage of this property of 'L's'."

The mere mention of addictiveness made Richard frown; he deeply understood the immense destructive power that addictive drinks could have on society.

Not to mention its serious side effects, Richard realized from the account of this member of the treasure-hunting gang that the seriousness of the matter had surpassed the fact that the other party had attacked the gods themselves.

The issues involved are certainly more complex than they appear on the surface.

“This alone doesn’t explain why you would attack the gods. You don’t seem like the kind of fool who can’t grasp the situation… You just mentioned ‘you all.’ Are there other accomplices besides you?” Richard analyzed.

"Of course, we are just pawns in 'his' hands." The leader of the treasure-hunting gang was panting heavily, as if he had thought of something. He became agitated, his skin turned red, and he was in an unusually excited state.

“Him?” Richard noticed the key word and pressed, “Who is he?”

"Yes...yes..." The leader of the treasure-hunting gang was panting heavily, looking so agitated that he could barely speak.

Seeing this, Funina comforted her, "Don't get agitated, you can speak slowly."

Richard is playing the bad cop while she plays the good cop; this scene has happened before, it's all too familiar.

However, things might be far more complicated than they thought. Just as the leader of the treasure-hunting gang was stammering and about to say a certain name,

Suddenly, as if he had just realized something, the leader of the treasure-hunting gang's pupils contracted sharply, and he looked down at his hands, discovering that his skin was in an abnormal state.

Having experienced this state before, he was naturally aware of the changes taking place within him, and a pair of hands called 'fear' gripped his heart tightly.

"No...that's not it. I didn't mean to betray you. Please...please...don't..."

With a near-desperate scream, the leader of the treasure-hunting gang turned into a puddle of water under the watchful eyes of Richard and Funina!

This bizarre scene startled Funina, and even the well-informed Richard couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

A perfectly healthy person turned into water without any warning!

The pile of clothes left on the beach was a clear indication that they were not hallucinating; there really was such a person sitting right in front of them!

"Richard, what... what's going on?" Faced with this sudden turn of events, Fu Ningna's first reaction was to ask Richard, wanting to hear his opinion.

"I'm sorry, Lady Funina, I can't explain what just happened either. But I think someone must be behind this, and that person is nearby." Richard looked around, but there were too many people lying on the ground nearby.

He had no way of knowing who was behind this, or even what methods they were using.