…
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... Mr. Sander Asuka has returned from the Sea of Whirlpools! And... they seem to be in big trouble!"
The sudden report from the guard made Roland stunned slightly. After the meeting to expand the industrial scale, he returned to the office and planned to continue to improve the drawings to be used next, but this unexpected news completely interrupted his thinking.
The so-called Sander Asuka was exactly Lei Ting's pseudonym.
"Where is he now?" Roland stood up suddenly and asked.
"In the castle hall, he said he would like to see you right away."
"Bring him in!" he ordered. "Let the kitchen prepare another afternoon tea."
"Yes, I'll do it right away." Sean turned around and quickly disappeared at the door.
Nightingale asked worriedly, "Should I go and notify Lightning?"
Roland shook his head, "Since he can come to the castle, he shouldn't encounter any serious problems, so let's ask about the situation first."
According to the date, it was only a little more than half a year that Lei Ting went to sea, and considering that they had only sailed at sea for three months, considering that they had stayed in the Shadow Islands for a while, the time spent on the road was even shorter. This is far less than the explorer's original plan-according to the other party's assumption, the voyage will take at least a year to a year and a half, if possible, Lei Ting even wants to see what is at the end of the whirlpool sea, and what is in the ruins Is the continent you see in the depths of the sea
Apparently, there was a change that manpower could not contend with, which made this long-planned expedition come to an end halfway.
Roland couldn't help but looked out the window.
Could it be that... is also related to the red moon
Lei Ting, who went by the pseudonym Sander, quickly walked into the office under the leadership of his personal guard. It could be seen that he was really in a state of embarrassment when he came back this time. He didn't even have time to put on his disguised beard. There are very few left, if lightning sees it now, nine out of ten, it will recognize it.
But at least he was still intact, which was enough for Roland.
"Your Majesty, it's a pleasure to see you again—" Lei Ting bowed while touching his chest, "I almost thought I would never come back."
Roland poured him a cold and delicious Chaos drink himself, "What happened? Since you have gathered the most outstanding sailors in the Fjord Islands, I don't think ordinary storms or tsunamis will make you say this. Come."
"Storms and tsunamis have omens, but thousands of sea ghosts will not have them," Lei Ting still seemed to have lingering fears at the moment, "What's more, we have encountered not only sea ghosts, but also more terrifying monsters than that..."
Listening to the other party's description, Roland seemed to feel their despair at that time. Countless sea ghosts swarmed the fleet, the churning backs seemed to make the sea boil, and the slow sailboats would be ruthlessly dragged into hell. . And among the sea ghosts are also terrifying ships of flesh and blood. The acid they spew can fall several kilometers away. As long as they stick to a little, the skin will break open. Neither steel nor wood can resist this kind of corrosion. Even with full sail and full speed, the expedition could not open the distance between the two sides...
"Tianhaijie..." His face sank like a waterway.
"Your Majesty, what is that?" Lei Ting asked.
"The devil's name for another civilization," Roland slowly told the other side that the devil was fighting on two fronts. The rib-like vault, the hull of flesh and viscera, the ability to float on the water like a sea ship, and to dive into the sea, these features are almost the same as what he saw in the relics of the gods.
"You mean we broke into their territory?"
"Perhaps so. Of course, it is not ruled out that the appearance of the Red Moon will make them more active, thus expanding the scope of inspections." Roland changed the subject, "And after that? How did the expedition fleet escape the danger?"
"In fact, it's not that we got rid of their pursuit, but that they themselves had a civil strife." Lei Ting smiled bitterly.
"Internal... chaos?"
"Indeed, the enemy pursued day and night, as if we never knew we were exhausted. By the time we approached the sea line, we had lost more than half of our ships. Most of the sailors who were still alive were also close to collapse because they couldn't rest for a long time. Only the Yukikaze you built still has power—she doesn't need to adjust her sails and course all the time, after all."
"Just when everyone was about to despair, a larger sea monster suddenly rushed out of the water and entangled one of the sea monsters. The scene was as if two flesh-and-blood monsters were biting each other. Although they were both monsters , but the former is obviously stronger, and the accessory limbs and tentacles protruding from the body quickly tore the latter to pieces. After that, whether it was the sea ghost or other sea monsters, they stopped chasing, as if they were stunned. Beside the two, we took the opportunity to cross the sea line and escaped back to the Fiordland Islands."
There is still such a thing, Roland let out a long breath, "Fortunately luck is on your side, it seems that the name of this ship is not in vain."
"Uh... the name of the ship?"
"No, it's nothing," he waved his hand, "what's your plan next?"
There was an unprecedented exhaustion on Lei Ting's face, "To be honest, the loss of sea ships is second, and this expedition has scared most people. Now there is a strange atmosphere in the fjord, those Sailors who have worked hard at sea all their lives are now turning blue when they look to the east of the sea. I don’t think anyone will dare to board a ship and go to the shadowy sea for a long time.”
Roland was silent. This is not surprising, as the other party said, storms and tsunamis can be predicted in advance, and brave navigators can always find a way to dance with them, but this experience of no resistance and only desperate escape , can no longer be called an adventure.
"Those big chambers of commerce even asked me to tell you something, hoping to buy a piece of land in Greycastle at a high price as a preparatory refuge for them." Lei Ting sighed, "After all, no one knows if they will still be able to. There will be a comeback - the sea has always been a natural danger in the eyes of the fjords, but if the enemy can come and go freely in the sea, the entire fjord island is equivalent to an undefended empty city."
It's really not as fast as changing the plan. A year or two ago, he planned to use the fjord as the last stronghold for the survivors to spend the rest of their lives after the defeat, but now the situation is reversed.
If he had just arrived in Frontier Town and all his wealth was less than 300 golden dragons, this kind of transaction would have been impossible, but now that banknotes have begun to circulate in the territory, the so-called "high price" is no longer an attractive proposition. conditions of.
"What do you think?"
"I said that if it is the idea of establishing a country within a country, it is better to give up as soon as possible." Lei Ting shrugged, "You will never allow them to establish a new 'island' in Greycastle."
Roland laughed, worthy of being the most outstanding explorer of the fjords, "If you just want to live, not for the privileges accumulated over the generations, Greycastle will always welcome them."
"I will tell the truth, Your Majesty."
"This voyage must be exhausting. I have prepared afternoon tea. You can take a hot bath first, and then talk to me about what you have seen on this trip. It will take several days to repair the Snow Kaze, and so on. You've regained your energy, and it's not too late to return to the fjord."
"Then I'll trouble you." Lei Ting stroked his chest.
Just as he was about to retire, Roland suddenly stopped him, "By the way, about Lightning... Are you still going to hide it?"
"I..." Lei Ting opened his mouth and was dumbfounded for a while.
"You said that you will meet her after this expedition is over. Although this trip was not too successful, if today the sea world occupies more than half of the ocean, and the fjords are panicking, you must be safe for a long time. It can be explored." Roland held his chin and said, "And I need manpower to fight the devil, and Lightning also hopes to see his father still alive in the world-in that case, how about staying when the trivial matters are over?"
Lei Ting was silent for a few seconds and then lowered his head, "I will consider it... Your Majesty."