"He sacrificed an entire island of people, how could he die? Not only did he not die, but he also received a reward from the revelers."
The atmosphere in the prayer room suddenly became a little depressing after the Pope said this.
Charles looked up at the three-meter-high stone sculpture in front of him with an extremely serious expression.
This was a situation he had not expected before. Not only did Swan not die, but he also hated him completely.
It was obvious that the previous situation was mostly caused by the Gray Robes and the Pope, and he just went there to take advantage of the situation.
"What is the reveller's reward?" asked Charles.
"I don't know. When the revelers left, Swan followed Him and left. The news of his reward was told to me by the omniscient and omnipotent God of Light.
"I'm sorry, I tried to stop him but failed. He is too strong, much stronger than me." The Pope's voice was full of helplessness.
Stronger than the Pope? Charles' heart sank. This was bad news.
Seeing Charles's ugly face, the Pope comforted him softly: "Don't worry too much. The ocean is so big, he may not be able to find you."
"Of course you're not worried. It's not like you're out exploring."
Charles was thinking about countermeasures, but just before going out to sea, this happened again. This was a major hidden danger. If he didn't find a way to solve it, he would be in trouble when going out to sea.
"Charles, Charles." The Pope's words made Charles look at him.
"Don't panic. Go find your exit from the Land of Light. I'm just reminding you. This matter was caused by me, and I will be responsible for resolving it. After I recover from my injury, I will have the Church of Light take action to completely resolve this trouble."
"Is this guy telling the truth or a lie?" Charles felt a little uneasy.
"What? We have been cooperating for so long, and you still don't trust me? Have I ever harmed you once?" There was a rare hint of dissatisfaction in the Pope's voice.
"I know you don't trust me, but our goals are the same, and our interests are the same. Finding the land of light is our common goal."
Charles knew that what he said was right, and he had no reason to be hostile to the Pope, but whether it was Tuba’s alarm hundreds of years ago or his own perception, it all showed that this guy was not simple.
"Hey~ Don't waste time on these things. It's almost time for you to leave."
"Remember, if you encounter some marine creatures with metal on their bodies when you are out at sea, leave that sea area immediately. That is a part of Swan. Don't worry, he has become very slow, very, very slow."
Charles looked at him deeply, then turned and left the room that made him feel very uncomfortable.
Ten seconds later, Cardinal Hu En walked in respectfully and prostrated himself before the statue.
"How many of us are there now? I can't quite remember." The stone sculpture closed its eyes and asked in a whisper.
"Your Holiness, with the help of radio broadcasting from the British Isles, our number of followers has exceeded 7 million. In the entire Earth Sea, except for the Holy Spirit Evangelistic Meeting in the South Sea, we have the most followers."
"Most of the people in the Holy Spirit Evangelistic Church are pan-believers, so we are already the most powerful religion in the entire Heize!"
"Seven million..." The Pope pursed his lips, seeming dissatisfied with the number.
"Not enough... still a little bit not enough, our God needs more believers."
After thinking for dozens of seconds, the Pope spoke again. "The other islands should have figured out what happened to the British Isles. Such a man-made act of destroying an island would definitely cause great panic in the entire Earth Sea."
Hu En raised his forehead slightly from the carpet. "Your Holiness, aren't those heading to the British Isles the revelers?"
"What's the difference? Those deformed kids living in the gutter love to be sacrificed. It's time for them to pay the price for their actions."
"Also, have the missionaries prepare to accept as many vacant parishes as possible from the Futan Church. Remember, the more compatriots we have, the faster the light will get out of trouble."
"Yes, Your Holiness. May our beloved God lead us to the land of eternal light."
The movable parts of the stone sculpture froze again, and his mouth trembled slightly. "There will be such a day... There will be such a day..."
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25 days later, in Dock No. 3 of Hope Island, Charles and a group of crew members were looking at the completely transformed Narwhal in front of them.
A layer of arc-shaped steel plates hung on both sides of the streamlined hull. Two firing holes were dug out on both sides of the bow, which should have been smooth.
There is also a towering pipe above the cockpit, which looks like an oxygen hole.
There are even more exposed gear machines on the rear deck.
With these messy things as a backdrop, the entire Narwhal is full of steampunk style.
"Click, click, click" As the chain turned rapidly, sparks flew, and the 65-meter-long exploration ship slowly landed on the water.
Charles, with his experience as a skilled captain, immediately looked towards the waterline.
"It looks a lot heavier. Can the turbine drive it? Don't forget that this is an exploration ship. If it moves at a snail's pace, it will be completely useless."
"Don't worry, Governor. We have replaced the turbocharger with a torquey V6. This is the latest power turbine in the British Isles. It can definitely drive the vehicle, and the speed can even be faster than before." The old man with glasses introduced.
"Let's go in and take a look." Charles stepped forward and the old man quickly followed.
As soon as he reached the deck, Charles saw obvious changes in the cabin door. He touched the door handle and twisted and pulled it. He found that the door was heavier and thicker, and there was a circle of black rubber on the edge.
The old man stood aside and introduced, "All the doors on the ship have been replaced with airtight doors, and all have been sealed and waterproofed. Even if there is an accident with the outer shell, these doors will block the seawater and support the Narwhal to float to the surface."
Charles nodded and continued walking inside, and the old man followed.
"This is the water tank. When the boat wants to dive, it fills it with water. When it wants to float, it drains the water out. The blue valve over there is the water filling valve, and the red valve is the drainage valve."
"This is the torpedo compartment. It always has 20 high-explosive torpedoes in it. They are modified from the shells on your navy ships. They are absolutely powerful. An ordinary 50-meter-long small cargo ship can be destroyed with one shot."
"This is the mine chamber. When you encounter a powerful enemy, you can discharge these iron balls filled with explosives from the back of the ship to prevent the enemy from taking the opportunity to escape."
"This is the decompression chamber. Since you need a diving suit, this place is essential. Divers slowly adjust their body pressure here after returning from the sea to avoid decompression sickness."
"This is periscope No. 4. There are a total of 6 such periscopes on the entire ship. In addition to the thick glass on the front of the deck, your crew can use them to observe the outside from all directions. Of course, if you are on the seabed, I don't recommend doing this unless it is absolutely necessary."
(End of this chapter)