Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

"Soldiers nourish war with their bones and blood."

"War contains the bones and blood of soldiers."

"As you wish, [Conqueror], the Carrion Eater will once again crush the Sarkaz's enemies under your command."

Bloodfiends and Carrion Eaters are the two Sarkaz clans most in need of war.

Blood Demons, once removed from war, will starve to death; Carrion Eaters, once removed from war, will weaken and decay to death.

They were the most loyal supporters of the [Conquerors] in the Sarkaz.

"Bozokastie, that stubborn child, is he still alive?"

Niezley knew of the racial rumors surrounding the Brass Ghost in Chernobog, and Ducarre's statement proved that the Brass Ghost and the Conqueror were the same person.

That's why Niecilei raised this question.

"He is alive, stubbornly alive."

Bozokastie's condition has been stabilized thanks to the life-saving potion, and he continues his work on the snowfield.

Niecilei nodded in satisfaction. By the measure of his long life, Bozokasti could indeed be considered a child to him.

"The king of the carrion eaters, then what about the swarm of shapeshifters?"

It was Ducarre who answered Lottin, probably because he had noticed that many shapeshifters had infiltrated his court while Lottin was away.

"They have split apart; one group has disappeared, while the other believes that only you can protect the Sarkaz at this moment."

The oldest Sarkaz, the immortal Sarkaz, completed their split and rebirth at this time.

In this way, the fighting force sufficient to engage Victoria's powerful fleet in a decisive battle was ready.

Chapter 144: Sigh, I was so stupid, really.

While waiting for the shapeshifters to arrive, Lotin confirmed Vina's situation with the Rhodes Island main ship through the Doctor.

"Dr. Kal'tsit, how is Operator Siege doing?"

Lotin entrusted the "Breath of the King" to this descendant of Aslan, hoping she could protect the battle from natural disasters and eliminate this destabilizing factor.

In the original storyline, Vina did indeed use the Breath of Kings to cleave the calamity.

Lotin did not want to take the extra risk of gambling on whether the Breath of Kings could only be used by the Aslan or Drak royal family, so he decided to leave the Victorian national sword in Vina's hands.

This is the safest approach.

The Sarkaz Military Council, entrenched atop the Shard, was truly cunning; despite Victoria's fleet having already set out, they stubbornly retained control of the storm.

These people have no friendly relations with Loting. If they were to blow up Victoria's fleet, Loting wouldn't get a single penny.

By finding teammates to share the burden, at least Loting could get a share of the bounty.

These diehards had a simple objective: either unleash a storm when the conquerors were about to storm the Shard for a scorched-earth attack, or release the storm while Lothing was engaged in battle with the Dreadnoughts for a surprise attack.

Rather than not getting paid, Lotin was more concerned about ensuring that he or Rhodes Island wouldn't be hit by the storm of the Shard.

According to Lotin's assessment, even if Vina, who had lost many opportunities for growth, was not prepared to prevent Victoria's warship from being destroyed by the storm, she could at least act as a lightning rod to ensure the safety of Rhodes Island's main ship.

"Her emotions are still not very stable. I'm afraid she's not ready to take responsibility yet."

Kal'tsit maintained her usual composure, but unfortunately, Lotin couldn't see Kal'tsit's embarrassed expression on the other end of the phone.

"I hope you can continue to counsel her, Dr. Kal'tsit."

"The storm will only come faster."

"Only her King's Sword can quell the storm."

"Even if she is not ready to become a queen, at least ask her to protect the safety of Rhodes Island. It cannot be ruled out that the enemy may launch a retaliatory attack on Rhodes Island when they have no other choice."

The doctor calmly gave the order into the receiver. In her estimation, given that victory was completely hopeless, the enemy had a reason to specifically attack Rhodes Island and take it down with them.

By helping Vina obtain the "Breath of the Kings," Lotin significantly reduced their worries and diminished the power of their trump card.

The Doctor and Lotin were using the Blood Demon King's communication equipment. Kal'tsit had been informed by Lotin in advance that Ducarle had chosen to become an ally of the Conquerors, so Rhodes Island obtained a temporary dedicated communication identification code from the other party.

At this moment, the wriggling, amorphous entity transformed back into human form, with short, curly brown hair and a somewhat shoving gaze beneath its cloak.

This is undoubtedly one of the clones of the Shapeshifter swarm.

These oldest Sarkaz claim to have never been affected by Originium and are the only Sarkaz descendants who have retained their pre-Crystallization form since the Crystallization Era.

In short, it's about cutting things off ruthlessly. It's none of my business if you Sarkaz scourges us with Originium from the Silver Mountains.

When others cut off, it describes a change in stance; but when the shapeshifters cut off, they literally cut themselves off.

After the shapeshifter swarm died and regenerated, it split into two factions, cutting off information sharing with each other. Therefore, the shapeshifter who appeared in front of Lotin only said that "the other side is suspected of going to find the Regent."

Even the Shapeshifter syndicate, which was on the Regent's side, didn't know where Theresis was right now.

"Welcome, Shapeshifter."

The addition of the shapeshifters gave Lotin more room to maneuver, allowing him to infiltrate the Shard using their power.

“I have learned of your resolve from Blood Demon and have seen through the future you promised to the Sarkaz.”

"For the Sarkaz, who are endlessly trapped in a cycle of misery, it was a liberation and a transformation."

"You summoned me here because you want to utilize the power of the Shapeshifter syndicate?"

The way the Shapeshifters express themselves and their emotions are quite different from other Sarkaz, but Lotin has no interest in the customs and traditions of these Sarkaz at the moment.

"Before we engage Victoria's fleet, let's force the Shard to unleash its storm."

After speaking, Luo Ting looked at the doctor.

"Please give us a signal before the storm is launched, and Rhodes Island will prepare accordingly."

The Doctor was very grateful to Lotin for giving full consideration to Rhodes Island's safety. Rhodes Island now has a trump card that allows it to temporarily stay out of the fray, and it will not become a burden to the conquerors in any way.

“I was able to go and persuade the Sarkaz Military Council to abandon the use of the Shard Tower.”

"The influence of the Sarkaz ancestral spirits has been cleared, and they will no longer be so stubborn."

Theresa looked up at the tower piercing the eye of the storm, as if she still wanted to do something for her people as the Demon Lord of the Sarkaz.

“You know better than I why these stubborn remnants of the Sarkaz Military Council continue to be my enemies.”

"They are willing to die for the Regent."

Loting looked at Theresa with a hint of anger. Rather than saying she was too naive or too idealistic, Loting preferred to believe that she was pretending to be ignorant.

It's hard to say.

She certainly displayed considerable skill in dealing with the evil spirits of the Tower of Babel.

However, her political maneuvering within the Sarkaz was, compared to her brother's, nothing short of disastrous.

Perhaps she really does harbor unrealistic fantasies.

“Theresia, you are no longer the Demon King. Of all my spiritual servants, I have given you the most freedom.”

"I hope you can use this opportunity to reflect on your actions."

"Instead of squandering the power I used to preserve you to chase after the illusion of your former self."

Loting unintentionally swung the Blood-Drinking Sword in his hand. Although Theresa tried her best to hide it, Loting still noticed the slight tremor in her body and the discomfort in her expression.

Lotin didn't yet know exactly what kind of stimulus this was, but he felt that it seemed—indeed—could be used to punish the Sarkaz ghost when necessary.

“You are very different from the Theresa I imagined.”

The way Kal'tsit and the Sarkaz operators who were close to her looked at her...

It almost made the doctor think that his former self was a cold-blooded and ruthless executioner, mercilessly mocking and killing a noble idealist.

She herself would often reflect at night: if Theresa was such a good person, then why had she gone to such torment and heavy cost to kill her?

"Doctor, what kind of person am I in your eyes?"

Theresa took over the doctor's topic with some fear.

"You are a person who will stop at nothing to save the fate of your people."

This is one of the Doctor's three answers in the original storyline of Arknights.

Lotin helped the doctor obtain more information than she had originally had. She understood very clearly how the Sarkaz tried to take Anana and how they distorted the truth to portray her as their own.

She also learned how Theresa had pushed her, in an attempt to completely destroy the Originium Project in order to save the Sarkaz.

The doctor's expression contained a hint of barely perceptible disgust.

Lotin was not at all surprised by the doctor's reaction; on the contrary, Theresa seemed to have humiliated herself.

"Ah, ah, that's a very interesting answer."

Theresa knew that the doctor's answer wasn't even sarcastic; it was filled with disappointment.

The Doctor must be thinking that Theresa, who caused her so much torment of conscience and so much cold treatment, should have been a much greater person.

Theresa slumped to the ground, finally stopping her fuss.

“Mr. Nautilus, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken to her without permission.”

The Doctor turned away coldly, waiting for Kal'tsit to continue the communication.

Meanwhile, the shapeshifter's clone was wreaking havoc inside the Shard Tower. After splitting, his mimicry ability was somewhat reduced.

However, there are no longer any true elites inside the Shard. With their strength and detection methods, it would be difficult for them to detect the infiltration of the Shapeshifters.

"It's thundering."

The storm had gathered and was about to crash down on Victoria's steel torrent.

Chapter 145: The Shipbreaker

The Shapeshifters are perhaps the most carefree group among the Sarkaz. While most Sarkaz are struggling to survive, the Shapeshifters have already begun to contemplate the meaning of life over the long years.

Unlike the Sarkaz of other clans who went to great lengths to find the path to immortality, the Shapeshifters were a rather special life form.

It wasn't until he noticed the whispers of the Sarkaz spirits cutting into his ear that they began to truly focus their attention on the present matter amidst the turmoil.

The Regent and the Demon King Theresa had led the Sarkaz astray too far down the wrong path, and the resulting intellectual upheaval caused a split within the Shapeshifter group.

As the green slime emerged from the shadows, the new Shard Tower Defender appeared in the Shard Tower's main control room.

No one knew where the original garrison commander was, nor did anyone notice anything unusual about the "garrison commander" in front of them.

So the ground effect vehicle took off again, its flight altitude being more dangerous than that of the airship, and its lower service ceiling forced it to expose itself to more fire.

This is why it is only an alternative plan. This kind of guidance to the Shard Tower is likely to be a one-time event, and the ground effect vehicle is likely to be a one-way trip over the fleet.

This is the Sarkaz Military Council's only and last trump card.

In the instant the lightning struck, the hook axe was hurled toward the upper levels of the Shard, where the gigantic conqueror was crushing the last remaining Theresis remnants in plain sight.

In their terror, they saw only that the garrison commander who had ordered the opening of the Shard had vanished, leaving behind only a pool of green slime.

A little earlier, on the deck of Rhodes Island.

"By inserting the Breath of Kings into the sword socket, we can unleash the power contained within to purify the battlefield."

"The sword stand is on... the Glory Dreadnought."

"Or release its energy in other ways."

This was the last message sent back from Lentinium before the storm hit.

Loting did not explain in detail how he knew the sword was on the dreadnought "Glory".

Vina finally mustered up the courage to enter a ground effect vehicle.

Kal'tsit received a guarantee from another Grand Duke to "escort" Her Majesty Alexandra to the dreadnought "Glory" to activate Victoria's national sword.

At this time, Rhodes Island was already retreating at a certain speed. In order to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Victoria Fleet, Kal'tsit tried to make the Victoria Fleet believe that Rhodes Island was moving to a new position as an unarmed ship.

She followed Rhodes back to Londinium in a daze, and then, in a daze, arrived at the resting place of the kings and retrieved Victoria's national sword.

There were so many things she couldn't witness, so many hardships she couldn't personally experience.

She lost the training that would have molded her into a queen.

This is Lentinium, where there is no Exemplary Army, no Citizens' Self-Salvation Army.