Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

Before the shrine of the conquerors, Quessasina rejoiced at the return of these Sarkaz exiles.

"However, the Cyclopes are unable to extricate themselves from the snowfields of Sami for the time being, and they beg Your Highness to allow them a little more time."

“I understand. So, this is the representative of the Cyclops Royal Court? Sarkaz Prophet, tell me what you see.”

After Lotin resolved the Haisi problem, his knowledge of the specific plot developments became largely useless; however, his understanding of certain concepts remained a valuable resource.

Loting was already mentally prepared for this. The original storyline actually gave some hints about how to deal with the issues of Hai Si and the demons, but for the "Lumberjacks," a cosmic calamity that destroyed the previous civilization, no countermeasures were mentioned other than Hai Si confronting it head-on and internalizing the Originium universe to avoid it.

However, this world is different from the original storyline. Here exists a being called [Deep Sea Titan Nautilus], and under the [Astral Paladin] skin, he even has a "natural resistance to the entropy of dark stars".

However, considering that the lumberjacks hadn't made any moves until the End of the World, Loting didn't need to worry too much. He already had the fully modified version of the Deep Blue Tree Project as a minimum guarantee, and after obtaining the [Crystal Titan] skin, he could also obtain the modified fully modified Originium Project. With this additional layer of insurance, he was qualified to look for better options than these two.

"Your Highness, please forgive me, my eyes could not foresee your destiny."

“But we all sensed in the depths of our hearts that you are the most important bargaining chip on this land in the future—no, or rather, you are the chessboard and the scales themselves. I think no one but you has the ability to solve the dangers of trickery and evil.”

In fact, during the Battle of Londinium, the Cyclops court, at the request of Regent Theresis, attempted to spy on Londin's fate, but the attempt failed completely, and this time will be no different.

The self-proclaimed Sarkaz, a Cyclops race, exuded a deep pessimism and a resulting listlessness. Although she was tall, Lottin could always see a sense of déjà vu in her, reminiscent of Poppy from League of Legends – the Nightmare.

"The Cyclops wants me to act as his advisor and safely bring you the knowledge and experience to fight evil."

Rinshi knows how to transmit information about demons relatively safely, thus effectively reducing the risks involved in the process.

"The knowledge of evil cannot corrupt me; you should be more worried about whether this knowledge and experience will corrupt you."

"Your Highness should know that the so-called demons we are currently fighting are merely corrupted shells, right?"

Fear and caution made Rinshi doubt Lotin's confidence. The caution stemmed from pessimism, but this excessive caution was exactly what was needed to fight the curse of the Icefield, and Lotin understood this perfectly.

"There are three high-dimensional rulers watching Terra. Even powerful figures like the Demon King Quiron, Nightmare Khan, and the Witch King are mostly fighting projections of powerful beings from other dimensions."

"The King of Reeds, the culprit who created the scorching winds and hot lands, was stopped by the Calendar King Lughazargus and Harandu Khan, who led their armies at the cost of their lives."

Lotin's grasp of this macro-level information remains unmatched by many Terran scholars. He discovered that the Cyclops still seems to regard Lotin as a demon king on par with Quiron.

"To counter the projections of these powerful extradimensional beings, we need sufficiently powerful material forces to trigger annihilation and banish them back to the extradimensional world."

In the original storyline, Sami's Beast Master sacrificed himself to knock a high-dimensional ruler known as "Kreson" back into another dimension. Given Lotin's current efforts in withstanding the test of a weaponized horde, this shouldn't be a problem either.

"These terrifying extradimensional demons are not the reason I summoned the Cyclops. What I need is your rich survival experience to isolate the pollution from the life of Terra."

Losing these subjects and worshippers means that Lothing can no longer rely on the reforging and materialization effect of the Imperial Command to obtain a continuous source of mana, which will greatly reduce Lothing's ability to fight continuously. At the same time, he also needs to rely on these people to obtain various supplies and skin fragments.

Defeating powerful higher-dimensional rulers is not a problem for Lotin, but protecting these tithe taxpayers from corruption will require some effort.

Speaking of which, Loting hasn't drawn a useful skin in a long time. This might be because some of the skins in the early League of Legends were just filler items with no real purpose. During the time he was fighting against Hai Si, he had already accumulated a lot of skins with no real purpose, such as "Underground City". With "Mountain and Sea Scroll", Loting couldn't find any use for this skin at all. "I can move mountains and fill seas, why would I need a skin that specializes in underground digging?"

"Then we need to find a way to permanently sever the connection between this dimension and the other dimension."

“I still need another manpower to monitor Bolivar’s Black Stream Tree Sea. Does your tribe have the spare capacity? The branches of the Deep Blue Tree will strangle the boundless flowers beneath the earth. The pressure on your tribe should be somewhat relieved.”

This "Boundless Flower" actually refers to the higher-dimensional ruler Kreson. Skadi has already allowed the lichenified rifts to spread across the far northern tundra of Sami and Ursus. Soon, the entire northern part of the continent will be under the surveillance of Skadi's retinue. These creatures have adapted to the arid and cold climate, and they will build a defensive network as true biological machines.

"Your decree, Your Highness."

Rinshi keenly guessed that since this all-knowing Demon King had instructed them to keep an eye on Bolivar, there was probably something similar to Sami's earth-moving inhabiting this place.

As Lotin switched his skin to Conqueror, Skadi's attire changed to a vibrant red gown. The dignified and beautiful Red Duchess made her minions more aggressive, and the sea sprites transformed into bloodthirsty hunters.

"My family is fighting the enemy."

Skadi's physical abilities are far greater than Isamara's, who triggered the Great Stillness; she still maintains complete dominance over the creatures of the far north.

"Just as this cyclops said, those black, hollow things are nothing but contaminated shells."

"Let this cyclops tell me a few key locations, and I will send a large swarm of roots deeper into the earth."

Without thought, the marine life cannot be contaminated by cognition. They are naturally adept at fighting against these invaders from other dimensions. These collapsing bodies cannot spread the contamination to a wider area. The Terrans cannot gather large groups to fight against them, but large groups can.

"Touch my body, Cyclops."

"Eh? Your Highness, what do you mean?"

Rinshi seemed to have misunderstood something, which made her extremely embarrassed. She didn't think that this Demon King was lacking in beautiful women by his side.

"Do you want to walk all the way to Letania? This is my spell, which allows movement using allies as nodes."

Lotin set his destination at Trilintelme, the capital of Letania, where the Witch King's faction and the Queen's faction were likely still engaged in fierce fighting. Given the current situation where the demons were trying to open more rifts, Lotin felt it was necessary to make them quiet down for a while.

Chapter 277: The Land of Music

When Lotin arrived in a country with unfamiliar methods, he still relied on Rhodes Island's local office as a teleportation node, as was the usual practice. This time, the Rhodes Island staff on duty treated Lotin even more exaggeratedly.

“You’ve come at just the right time, Lord Nautilus. Letania is holding a concert to celebrate the elimination of the maritime threat. Trilintelme has gathered a large number of musicians. In all my years working in Letania, I’ve never seen anything like it!”

This Caprini operator only has relatives in Letania and is not a native Letania himself. Therefore, he is not very sensitive to the political situation in Letania. However, his cautious nature is enough to allow him to carry out the daily affairs of Rhodes Island smoothly.

"Celebrating the resolution of the ALS threat?"

Lotin had expected these Letanians to be more shy, but he hadn't expected them to be so shameless.

"They only symbolically sent some dispensable supplies, and their proud mage units weren't even deployed to the front lines. Is that really something to celebrate in a big way?"

Lotin is more inclined to believe that this might be a small tactic Letania is trying to use to deflect conflict.

"These horned land people clearly said that they couldn't send troops because of internal strife in the country?"

Laurentina wore a disdainful expression. She remembered that the Grand Tutor had said that Letania was mired in internal strife between the remnants of the Witch King and the Twin Queens. It was for this reason that Letania refused to send its elite sorcerers to the front lines against the Sea King.

"In my opinion, the fact that a music festival of this scale can be run so smoothly doesn't seem like a country that is close to being paralyzed due to internal turmoil."

"Or perhaps, they have too much energy to devote to internal strife."

Laurentina observed the crowds without making a sound. There were members of parliament, secretaries, businessmen, and some veiled ladies, each seemingly carrying some mysterious mission. Luxury cars with flags from various countries were also common. However, judging from the condition of the vehicles, it was clear that the power of the major entrepreneurs in Kazimierz was no longer what it used to be. Their shares had been divided and reorganized by Margaret through various means to ensure that they could no longer arbitrarily influence the national will of Kazimierz as they had before.

Laurentina believed that if he were serving an ordinary monarch or politician, he would have devoted his energy to these insane and treacherous matters. Unfortunately, the Deep Sea Titan she served was an extraordinary being who had carried out such a ruthless act as wiping out the entire ruling class of Kazimierz. These everyday political games of the Terrans did not interest Lotin.

"Then they will definitely have the energy to welcome my arrival."

The prestige gained from resolving the Haisi problem was obvious, and Lotin believed that he would no longer be treated as some unknown behemoth whose identity was being speculated upon.

“Land people’s art may be difficult for Ager people to understand... but music is the thing that can transcend language and cultural barriers to resonate with people. Whether they are land people or Ager people, they all know what is a pleasant sound and what is a mesmerizing sound.”

Perhaps Gretia was tired of commenting on Trinitylme's music festival activities, or perhaps this was intended to conceal her true intentions from the start, she asked Lotin a question that was quite impolite to the Demon King:

"Lord Nautilus, it seems that your Kazdel has much room for improvement in comparison."

Goredia tried her best not to appear sarcastic, so she chose a rather subtle way of putting it. She was simply curious about what kind of abilities Lotin, as a ruler and a monarch, possessed. She had no ill intentions, but she was also playfully teasing.

Goredia had to admit that while the Sarkaz nation did indeed show signs of a vibrant revival, it paled in comparison to the capital of Letania—she knew, of course, that the Sarkaz had endured a long and terrible war, and rebuilding from the ruins would take time.

"Kazdel has only been recovering from chaos and division for a little over a year, and the fact that the Governor can compare it to the glorious capital of Letania in such a short time is enough to demonstrate its success."

Instead of flying into a rage at Greta's words, Lotin calmly told her...

"Besides, I really don't have the talent to govern. I just provide shelter for the Sarkaz according to the contract and create a safe enough environment for their development. I never directly interfere in other matters."

What Luo Ting said was true. He never liked to try to excel in areas he wasn't good at, because it would just waste his energy and the results might not even be good.

"You're really straightforward. I thought you'd care more about vanity in this regard."

Greta smiled approvingly, but she soon realized that Lotin didn't need her approval at all.

"Pretending to be strong often means making promises that one cannot keep, and promises that cannot be kept only give the desperate a false hope, which, when broken, will breed even more terrible consequences."

This was Lotin's principle of conduct, and also his ruthless mockery of the Sarkaz, but unfortunately, Goredia didn't understand this meaning.

After a brief chat with Goredia, the messengers who were to greet them appeared just as Lotin had expected. The current rulers of Letania, the "Twin Queens," had sent their secret agents, the "Voice of the Queens," to welcome the guardian of civilization who had just accomplished a great feat.

"Your Excellency Nautilus is a hero who saved the civilization of Terra. If you would be so kind as to visit our capital and participate in the music festival, you may send a formal letter. We will extend our utmost respect to a great hero like you who transcends racial barriers."

The flamboyant diplomatic rhetoric and the voices that had been practiced countless times suggested that these spies were first and foremost singers, and second only spies. For these people, finding the conspicuous Nautilus was almost effortless.

"Heroes can dedicate themselves selflessly without expecting anything in return. To be honest, I cannot dedicate myself like that."

"On the contrary, I value the balance between giving and receiving, and the fulfillment of the tithe contract."

Loting waved his enormous hand, signaling the "Voice of the Queen" to stop spouting meaningless compliments.

"I have come with something more important to tell your Queen: the Witch King is in great danger. Although he is in another dimension, he is still a terrible time bomb."

“The demons have become more active, and your former king will be unable to hold on alone.”

Meanwhile, in the Witch King's palace, amorphous extradimensional beings are eroding the will of this great leader, who is making hellish preparations for the coming potential crisis, which even damages the very foundation of Letania.

Unsurprisingly, he was a farsighted tyrant, and now was the time for him to build the otherworldly fortress—a palace in the desolate wilderness—with the blood and sweat of Letania to protect his subjects.

But how long can his will and spirit continue to endure in the struggle against evil? How long can he resist the increasingly active corruption of evil?

Even the internal space of the Originium has been invaded; the Witch King's palace cannot possibly remain standing forever.

Chapter 278: Collapse and Contamination

Otto Dietmar Gustav von Utica may be the greatest monarch in Leitania's history, or perhaps the most infamous tyrant.

His echoes still linger in the wasteland, a space filled with immense antimatter energy, while the Witch King's sorcery tower prevents this energy from flowing into reality and causing annihilation.

"Why are these extraterrestrial demons stirring up trouble now, more than twenty years later, without any warning...?"

The Witch King was a tall and imposing Capricorn man who always wore a long, elaborate black robe. He was cold and dignified, yet also exuded the air of a conductor. Unlike the rulers of other countries, he was first and foremost a musician, and only then the king of Letania.

Dark tentacles are devouring his fortress and palace, and the current Witch King feels that he has not made enough preparations before being overthrown.

"I will bear the blame for any further suffering the people of Letania."

The original Witch King held this mindset, willing to drain Letania's resources to carry out research and conquest of the wasteland.

"Creator, if it were you, how would you deal with these wicked and evil magics?"

In Pavieon, the Witch King discovers the true nature of Originium and the truth of history: Originium was created by a previous civilization to deal with a catastrophe, but that civilization was wiped out by the catastrophe, and the same catastrophe will destroy Terra.

Before this ultimate test arrived, these otherworldly spirits had already exhausted him. Over the long years, resentment and despair shaped him into a more obsessive person. He was no longer suitable to govern the country as a monarch. Maintaining an orderly palace like Pavieyong in such a chaotic and disorderly wasteland had already stretched the power of the Witch King to its limit.

The Witch King's magic could destroy a fleet of high-speed warships with a cataclysmic event, and the environmental effects of that spell still linger. Now, his majestic voice echoes through the wasteland, unleashing deadly destructive energy that scatters the extradimensional invaders who are eyeing his palace.

“These evil, chaotic things are injecting foul, chaotic disorder into Pavieon’s concepts, and I must purify these erosions.”

The Eternal Palace of Paveyon, framed by the history of Letania and built upon the foundation of human will, embodies all of Letania's concepts. At this moment, the demons are corrupting Paveyon's concepts through collapse, just as a virus hijacks a cell's genetic material to replicate itself. The demons are attempting to pollute Paveyon into a demonic lair where chaos and disorder are born.

"A collapse and contamination of the pan-civilizational paradox type!"

The essence of civilization was distorted, and the pricing of all products became inexplicable. The Witch King realized that this pollution threatened the conceptual set of Pavieon.

Suddenly, a discordant noise disrupted the Witch King's spell array. He saw one of the spell towers collapse, shrinking into some strange, irregular aggregate, from which new chaotic and twisted things began to form.

But the Witch King, perhaps one of the most powerful spellcasters in Terra's history, would not be unable to maintain his magic just because a tower collapsed. He quickly coordinated the spell ensemble, allowing the majestic voice of the great king of Letania to shatter these amorphous, chaotic, and twisted things.

But how long can he hold on?

For more than twenty years, demons had never been so active and invasive. Although the Witch King felt despair and resentment at the impending destruction of the previous civilization, he had never shown the slightest fear. But this time, however, a sense of unease that bordered on fear arose in the Witch King's heart.

Meanwhile, in the reality of Letania, the Twin Queens received the Bronze Giant, who had saved Terra's merciless guardian from the abomination of flesh and blood.

One of the twin queens, Ivignad, with her "white skirt," "eternal grace," and "white sheep," this queen, who gives a first impression of kindness and benevolence, was the first to greet Lottin.

"Our music festival also celebrates your achievements, and it is a wonderful coincidence that you can visit Letania at this time."

Empress Caprini, dressed in a white silk gown, was unaware of why Lotin had visited Letania without warning. She had heard of the metal giant's influence in Casimir, Kazdel, and other places, but in her eyes, those countries that bowed down to Nautilus were weaker nations than Letania. She remained wary and hostile towards Lotin.

"If you truly have the capacity to ensure the safe execution of an event of this scale, how far along is the Witch King's remnant forces' plan?"

Lotin treated the two Queens of Letania with absolutely no regard for royal protocol.

"The evil spirits have become active for unknown reasons."

"At this point in time, attempting to pull the Witch King back to reality is an extremely dangerous move. Letania could very well be completely annihilated as a result, and then become a new dimensional rift."

"You have a great deal of foresight in concentrating your efforts to resolve the threat of Hai Si, just as the Witch King defied public opinion and locked himself in that palace that does not exist in reality to begin the conquest of the wasteland."

Ivignad frowned slightly. In the past twenty years, there had been no sign of demons invading reality from Letania, and she thought Lotin was just exaggerating.

"But the problem at hand is urgent. Don't you have any means to monitor the Witch King's echoes?"

Lotin temporarily ignored Ivignad's barbed words; he was now eager to ascertain the Witch King's condition.

"It is the collapse and contamination of the 'arrogance' paradigm that has caused us to lose our perception of the Witch King's echo."

Helenemart, “the deep black blade,” “the ruthless authority,” “the black goat,” dressed in a black Letanian female military uniform, was told by her Queen’s Voice spies that the Golden Law Guards had lost their sense of the Witch King’s echo.

An unusually false sense of carefree existence has infected these Golden Law Guards who are keeping watch on the shadow of the Witch King. "If you can't see it, it doesn't exist; if it doesn't exist, there's no need to think about it." Their understanding of the Witch King's echo has been blocked by the collapsing pollution.

"The collapse pollution has spread into reality. I think this is unprecedented in the more than twenty years since the Witch King was defeated, isn't it?"