Shrouded Seascape

Charles was standing on the deck of the Narwhale and was staring at the bustling and prosperous Colossal Hole Fortress in the distance.

The Colossal Hole Fortress was no longer just a fortress; it could already be considered a small city.

An endless stream of floating airships moved to and fro from the fortress as if they were elevators that operated both day and night. The airships took turns bringing up supplies provided by all islands throughout the Subterranean Sea.

A few amphibious vessels could be seen shuttling between the cars that were coming in and coming out of the fortress. As the number of factories on the fortress increased, the quality of the explorers' equipment was becoming increasingly higher as well.

The Haikors were amidst the people in the fortress, and it was easy to spot them as they were quite tall. Moreover, they were riding carriages that were suitable for their body size rather than riding tiny cars.

The denizens of the Subterranean Sea had clearly gone all out for the sake of survival.

"Captain, I need to make a trip back to Hope Island to get a pair of prosthetic limbs," Dipp said, propping up his crutches beneath his armpits as he moved closer to Charles.

"No need to go down. The Explorers' Association will handle that. I'm sure they had already considered the possibility that explorers are most likely going to lose their limbs, and they must have summoned those companies here long ago."

Dipp immediately let out a big sigh of relief. "That's great. I was really afraid that I might be forced to go back down in such a miserable state. I don't really want to make my wife worry."

Charles looked down and stared at Dipp's dangling pants. Dipp's legs below the knee had been left behind forever in Site 4.

"You've worked hard," Charles said, patting Dipp on the shoulder.

"It's fine; I just lost two legs, that's all. If you hadn't saved me back then, I would have died, Captain. I consider myself extremely lucky compared to those who had ended up losing their lives. By the way, Captain, how are your injuries?"

Charles raised his hand and pressed it on his bandage-wrapped face. The hard feedback meant that the wound had scabbed over, but the skin did not seem to be recovering. Charles could already imagine how horrifying he would look once the bandages were removed.

"Not too sure, but my healing ability is pretty great. I don't think there are going to be any issues. And even if I don't end up recovering, it doesn't really matter. I'll just look a bit ugly. Fortunately, I'm not a woman, so it's no big deal."

Dipp chuckled, but the smile tugging at his lips gradually faded. "Captain, do you really think that... we can save the Subterranean Sea? If the entity that had taken away the darkness was the Light God's murderer, then do we really have a chance at retrieving the darkness from its hands?"

Dipp's confidence seemed to have been shaken by the recent encounter.

"Yes, we can do it!" Charles answered with unwavering determination. "Anyway, we have no choice. Either we go back and wait for our deaths, or we risk our lives and fight for our lives. The second option is the only option available to us!"

"Mmhm!"Dipp nodded vigorously at Charles' words, and he seemed to have recovered a bit of confidence.

The noises in the distance were gradually becoming louder. They were about to reach the Colossal Hole Fortress.

Charles pondered deeply over something for a while before turning to look at the young man next to him. Dipp had been following for more than a decade at this point.

"Dipp, I've already told the first mate and the second mate about this. I've thought about it, and I think it's necessary for you to know of my wish. If I end up dying here, you must continue exploring; it doesn't matter how dire the situation is.

"Captain, what are you saying? There's no way you're going to die. Look... It's been ten years since you started exploring, and you're still alive, so how can you—"

"Let me finish talking first. I'm serious about this. I've become an ordinary person. I was Edikth's Chosen One, but that identity of mine has disappeared along with my shadow.

"Perhaps dying in the middle of my search for the darkness is a better ending than just dying of old age on Hope Island," Charles said. There was a certain calmness in Charles' tone of voice.

Dipp hobbled on his crutches to approach Charles. Then, he nodded with a solemn face. "All right, I promise you."

As soon as the Narwhale entered the gates of the Colossal Hole Fortress, the crew was then notified that they were going to take a five-day break. The cursed mutterings of the sea did not exist here, but risking one's life for too long would still take a toll on just about anyone's mind.

Fortunately, a variety of entertainment facilities had already been established in the Colossal Hole Fortress, allowing the explorers to vent their stress to their heart's content.

However, Charles was an exception. Upon alighting from the Narwhale, he made a beeline for the Explorers Association's building, which was still in the middle of construction. He wanted to know whether the other explorers had found any clues to the darkness or not.

A massive map appeared before Charles as soon as he entered the main hall, but he instantly noticed something amiss with the map.

The explorers were supposed to explore the areas near where the Light God's corpse was found. Exploring that way would be more efficient than just exploring randomly.

However, the massive map was telling Charles that the explorers were moving due west in large numbers.

Charles decided to ask the person in charge of the Explorers Association, and he received an unexpected answer.

"Governor Charles, you should go ahead and ask those big fellows here. Their god told us to go that way."

"A god of the Haikor Tribe told you to head due west?" Charles asked, immediately recalling the warning that Anna had given to him before she left.

The Haikors were interfering with his bigger picture in the Colossal Hole Fortress. The realization made Charles feel wary. They might be testing the waters. If he didn't make any moves, they'd become even more aggressive.

With that in mind, Charles rushed out of the Explorers' Association.

The Haikor Tribe's base in the fortress wasn't that difficult to find. One just had to look for a place with a ton of tall people towering over three meters, and one might have just discovered their base.

Charles did that and found that the Haikors were in a corner of the Colossal Hole Fortress and had set up a base composed of whale skin tents.

A Haikor with a colossal sword stepped forward to meet Charles. The Haikor was taller than the average Haikor, as he was almost four meters tall.

"Our god has been waiting for you for a while now. Please follow me."

Charles stepped forward and took note of the light tremors running across the ground before following the Haikor toward a certain tent.

In the middle of the crudely built tents, the luxurious dome-shaped temple stood out of place. Charles was surprised at how they had managed to construct the building in such a short period of time.

"Which god of yours has come here?" Charles asked.

The Haikor with a colossal sword didn't stop nor turn around as he said, "Don't know. Ask him yourself."

The Haikor walked with long strides, prompting Charles to jog just to keep up.

A few minutes later, they finally arrived in front of the peculiar dome-shaped temple. The Haikor with a colossal sword drew his sword and thrust it into the ground. Charles saw that and stepped forward, walking into the temple.

It was surprisingly bright inside, and whale oil candles as thick as arms were everywhere in the tent. The moment Charles stepped inside the tent, he felt gazes landing on him from the walls.

Several creatures with mirror-like skin were revealed before Charles. The creatures clinging to the wall had a physique that resembled a lizard, and their protruding lips resembled trumpets, while their limbs were bent stiffly at the elbows—it was the so-called "Esteemed Apostles."

Charles unconsciously raised his guard up when he sensed their hostile gazes.

Just then, a figure wearing a colorful robe walked over to Charles and said, "Mr. Charles, the wise Pogro has been waiting for you. Please ignore them; they cast the same gaze upon everyone."

"Is that so? I'd seen them before, and they were definitely not staring at me like that at the time," Charles said. He glanced at the Apostles on the wall before following the Haikor wearing a colorful robe toward the depths of the temple.

The tall walls of the temple were neat; there weren't any reliefs or inscriptions.

The walls were so clean that Charles did not feel like he was in a temple.

The heavy wooden door up ahead opened slowly, and a hovering creature appeared before Charles.

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