Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

"Hedley, speak. I hope the information you provide is valuable enough."

Lotin slung the hammer and axe back over his shoulder. Hadley, having recovered from the Knight of Light's interrogation of truth, was relieved that he hadn't harbored any ulterior motives this time.

Otherwise, this "Conqueror" wouldn't give him the chance to maneuver like Manfred did.

Even more fortunately, despite W's antics, she didn't end up being killed. Luckily, they caught a glimpse of W's mercenary group and followed them here.

“Ersula is one of the most skilled mercenaries, even among mercenaries. In the Scar Market’s pricing, her head is worth a lot more ‘candy’ than I and Ines combined.”

After Hedley finished speaking, he looked at Lolotin somewhat awkwardly. He was about to explain the mercenary slang term "candy" used in the Scarred Mall when Lolotin waved him off.

"Her level of education and military skills far exceeded that of an average mercenary, and the old guys at Scars Mall recommended her to the Regent."

"The more people know about the fragmented state of Sarkaz, the more painful it is for them. She had already developed an alcoholism before we parted ways."

“She once told me that what she was fighting for was not certain individuals or organizations, but the possibility that Kazdel could truly become a country in the future.”

"What she detests is naive ideas and compromises, and that's what I wanted to tell you."

Compromise depends on who you're comparing it to. Compared to the Blood Demon, Lotin's opinion is certainly a compromise. But compared to the original Theresa and the Rhodes Island phalanx in the original work, Lotin's opinion seems extremely aggressive and belligerent.

"that's it?"

Lotin was tired of haggling with Hadley. This intelligence would indeed make it easier for Lotin to persuade Ersula, but it was clearly not valuable enough.

"With your methods, even though your head is still on the wanted list in the streets and alleys of Kazdel, you can still obtain intelligence about Kazdel. In my opinion, your ability is no less than that of the Law Guardians of Letania."

Loting laid his cards on the table, revealing what he truly wanted. Because Loting altered and accelerated the course of the war, the lich failed to appear in Londinium, but the scene where Hadley discovered the lich's identity remained vivid in Loting's memory.

He left Babel, joined the Infected organization, and eventually arrived in Lontinim, yet still managed to leave behind an intelligence network in Kazdel.

His ability in this area is beyond doubt.

"Hand over your intelligence network, Hedley."

Hadley had just experienced the feeling of having his mind read, so he wasn't surprised that Lotin knew his hand.

"Don't you want to wipe out the remnants of Theresis?"

"Aren't you worried that I, as a remnant of Theresa's faction, am secretly operating something?"

Hedley answered one question with another.

“Aren’t you worried that I’ll doubt you like this, Hedley? You’ve abandoned these plans. I see it in your heart.”

“You can fool the Regent, you can fool Manfred, but you can’t fool my eyes.”

Loting was once again impressed by the powerful functionality of the combined passive abilities of [Light Knight] and [Mountain Barrier].

Against someone like Hedley, the Mountain Barrier, as the authority granted by the Eye of the Seasons, is quite effective.

"Even if I am crowned Demon King in accordance with the wishes of the Sarkaz, I will not wield those petty powers. Hedley, the construction of Kazdel will still depend on you."

"After all, I can protect Sarkaz by myself, and I can also destroy Sarkaz by myself."

Hedley knew, of course, that Lottin's words were a warning to him, a reminder that "it's pointless to engage in underhanded tactics or try to undermine others."

Because the Conquerors possess the power to destroy the entire Sarkaz, if they go too far with their small actions, they'll simply replace them with a new, obedient group. The destroyers and protectors are both within the Sarkaz's grasp at a single thought.

"I will obey, Your Highness."

Hedley no longer dared to think about going home to retire and open a shop after the war. He should be content that he, Ines, and W survived, and that the Sarkaz were spared.

"Your Highness, we have already set up the broadcasting station and are ready to send messages to the 'Spine of Life' at any time."

At this moment, a messenger dressed in royal military uniform respectfully reported the situation to Luo Ting and brought the wireless microphone to Luo Ting.

After some deliberation, Lottin learned from Hadley's intelligence what exactly this major's tastes were.

"In the name of [Conqueror Nautilus], this is to inform the commander and soldiers of the 'Spine of Life'."

"The Sarkaz Military Council and the Babel Tower once provided Sarkaz with much protection when it was in ruins, but the Regent and the former Demon Lord arrogantly touched on taboos, making the protection they once promised vanish."

"The destruction and disasters brought to us by those alien races need no further elaboration. We all remember seeing our homes and towns destroyed by the precise and merciless attacks of the alien coalition."

"Sarkaz children, we must now unite and form a new fortress under a war totem. Therefore, the Blood Demons and Carrion Eaters, in this time of great crisis, plead with the Conqueror to appear."

"I have witnessed the rise and fall of countless demon kings throughout the long history. The best offspring of the Sarkaz have all perished in the war against all things, so I have to face an empty throne."

Although Lotin dealt with the last two himself, looking at the history of the Sarkaz, Lotin's statement is not unreasonable.

"Victoria's fleet has been destroyed by the Conquerors, and the shackles of the ancient souls have been dispelled by the Conquerors."

"Many of the Sarkaz’s offspring have now joined us. We will surely unite into an indivisible force, and this force will eventually coalesce into a new throne. From that throne—I will be watching over you."

"From this day forward, the Sarkaz will no longer fight among themselves, and no force can shake our hopes."

Ersula, don't you believe that the Military Council is the foundation upon which "Kazdel" can become a "nation"?

Now I, Loting, present the spoils of war before you: [Conqueror] is not only the foundation, but also the base and the protective shell.

While on the airship, Ersula listened to the broadcast from the anchorage. At first, she frowned, but as Lotin reported the results of the battle, she also observed the wreckage of thirteen dreadnoughts on the ground.

That bulky team was actually because they had packed up a lot of spoils of war.

The Conqueror's berserk aura also began to affect her—the airship's command center, hovering at low altitude, suddenly darkened.

The outline of the colossal object filled every inch of the glass.

"The rusted armor struck the boulders in the wilderness."

Erzula murmured, "The legendary 'Conqueror,' the armored giant standing on the earth, the embodiment of the Sarkaz's inherent cruelty and madness."

As Hadley said, she was not fighting for any specific person or organization, but for the possibility that Kazdel could truly become a nation in the future.

Her thoughts had shifted from initially feeling that things were going badly to being overjoyed and excited by the victory.

"Land, land quickly!"

Chapter 157: The Talkative Beast

Ersula's lineage was unremarkable; she was just an ordinary girl who had struggled her way up from the slums.

The Sarkaz value lineage not simply because of culture or some power logic, but because Sarkaz lineage is indeed linked to their special abilities and personal strength. However, in the industrialized modern Terra, this advantage based on lineage is no longer absolute.

Clearly, the gigantic Lotin could easily project the berserk aura onto the 'Life Spine'. Those skeletal guards, originally loyal supporters of the Sarkaz Military Council, were now forced by surging impulses to reconsider who could truly bring them victory.

Ersula used her last bit of sanity to send the airship down. How could she not know that her unusual excitement had impaired her judgment?

She ordered her skeletal guards to remain on guard, though the order was practically useless.

Wang Tingjun's remaining technicians adjusted the facilities at the docking site to a state where the "spine of life" could temporarily rest.

"Ms. Ersula, the youngest colonel promoted by the Military Council."

Lotin remained in his gigantic state. Facing Ersula as she stepped out of the hatch, Lotin did not choose to have Laurentina convey his will as usual, but instead personally stated her name.

"You said that the Regent and His Highness touched a taboo. What is their situation now?"

"What a reckless question, young Sarkaz lady. It's better not to delve too deeply into some questions."

The giant's thunderous roar sent a chill down the spine of the Sarkaz girl.

“Then, General Manfred—”

"He no longer exists; he is no longer your boss."

Lotin was willing to answer this question because he wanted to show the fate of the regent's followers.

“Ersula, the Sarkaz Military Council did indeed promote and nurture you. I have no intention of destroying the legacy of the Military Council, nor do I intend to drive an ordinary Sarkaz person off the chessboard on behalf of the ancient royal court.”

"Therefore, you'd better think about why you have the value of making me stand here and patiently answer all your questions."

At the giant's feet stood two people whom Ersula could not possibly not recognize.

The overlord of the Carrion Kings, Niezley, and the Grand Prince of the Blood Kings, Ducarle, were also the material providers for the warship she was piloting.

For various reasons, they had once stood on the same side as the Sarkaz Military Council, but the two royal courts, which made their living from war, unsurprisingly sided with the Conquerors.

What Theresis can offer them, the Conquerors can offer even more.

Ducarre, in particular, always looked down on those evil kings who rose to power through manipulation. He believed that these evil kings were no different from the kings of the gods and the first people, and that it was their depravity that turned warriors into cowards.

He admired and worshipped the Conqueror's practice of relying entirely on violence to eliminate opponents, a demon king who never cowered in his palace—the very kind of man this ancient and eccentric blood demon longed for.

Ersula seemed to have figured something out; these people had accomplished two things at the same time: a “coup” against the regent and defeating Victoria’s fleet.

Ersula regretted her rash question, but fortunately, the towering giant did not intend to pursue the matter.

"It is an honor to serve you. How should I address you?"

Ersula made a wise choice.

That was a legend itself, one that even the Sarkaz royal court rulers feared.

"[Nautilus the Conqueror], just like the legends and stories you've heard since childhood."

"At the most critical moment for Sarkaz, I had to touch the empty throne."

"I understand, Your Highness. What can my airship and I do for me?"

Ersula, under pressure, managed a military salute, a salute derived from the traditional Royal Court salute of the Victorian army.

"Take me back to Kazdel, young major. I will reforge the Sarkaz into a sword, a battle axe, in the name of the Conqueror."

A crimson mist began to spread, and Lotin stopped maintaining his gigantic form and returned to his normal form—which was only in comparison to a giant several tens of meters tall.

For Ersula, the giant standing before her was still over 6 meters tall.

"It is my pleasure, Your Highness."

The giant now promised her the same thing: he would bring the Sarkaz back together.

Lotin would certainly not allow the Sarkaz to completely conquer the land like Theresis did, but he also would not allow Kazdel to be reduced to ruins again, nor would he allow Kazdel to be eliminated as a political entity.

Ersula commanded the "Spine of Life" to open the hatch, and the pocket watch in her hand was the key to her ability to control the remains of this behemoth.

But at that moment, the pocket watch in Ersula's hand emitted a light.

A hoarse voice rang in Loting's ear.

"Nautilus, you are still so obsessed with turning the ripples I stir into waves, and you never tire of it..."

Loting knew who the voice belonged to; his information reserves were enough for him to know what was imprisoned within the pocket watch.

The consciousness of a colossal beast, a wisp of the consciousness of the Time-Traveling Beast.

It drifts in the vast ocean of time and history, and all things in the world are merely intoxicated by illusions in the ripples it creates.

Nautilus, on the other hand, was a capricious being, as unpredictable as the real sea. Even the smallest waves, if offered by tiny creatures that pleased him, he would generously shelter them from the storm.

Conversely, he would transform the gentlest waves into raging torrents, drowning those poor wretches who offended him.

"Even you think these Sarkaz are too boring..."

"Nautilus has become a demon lord. Sigh, those Sarkaz demon lords are so incredibly boring, aren't they?"

The behemoth's consciousness revealed a rather pure boredom.

These so-called... weighty history and profound topics bored him terribly.

After being divided up by those madmen... oh, some of them were even taken by a fallen angel, and what he saw and heard was, to put it another way, more interesting.

Lotin himself wasn't actually that familiar with this behemoth, but the history that "Nautilus" left behind on Terra couldn't escape the eyes of the Time Beast. At least Lotin knew that this old guy was too boring, so boring that he gave up his original body in front of Ducarre.

"On this land, history always repeats itself. Looking back at history has become looking towards the future."

"Haha, so I've become a prophet too, just like some people see you as a prophet, Nautilus."

"I thought you were staying in the sea and never coming out."

"What does a mere 60 years mean to you?"

It seems this behemoth is truly tired of the Sarkaz, or more accurately, the Sarkaz spirits' monotonous chatter.

Lotin's appearance seemed to give him a sense of something. In his view, "capriciousness" also meant new changes and conclusions, breaking established rules with absolute power. Ah, he wondered, how long had it been since he had seen such a scene?

An utterly bored bystander, seeking a sliver of petty pleasure as solace, finds similar problems inevitable in the long course of life, and Lotin begins to understand him somewhat.

He is now also in a state of being unable to age. In some ways, his mentality and strength are somewhat similar to that of this temporal behemoth. However, unlike this lazy behemoth, Lotin will find his own fun.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to find a new toy—that overly unruly Sarkaz mercenary, W.

"I've already given up on that remains. You can take it if you want."

The behemoth was happy to lend its abandoned remains to Lotin to relieve boredom, which was far more interesting than simply mentioning a body it had long since given up.