Chapter 125: Voyage and Confession
When the underwater gates opened, the water level of the entire river lowered significantly. However, it was fortunate that the new balance created by the massive rain and hurricanes had caused the Seafolk's reaction to the change in water level to be delayed.
When the giant ship floated to the surface of the water, we were surprised by the change in the city.
The City of Rain, Feloci, truly lived up to its name. In the past two and a half months, when we were busy completing the construction on Borealis, innumerable Seafolk had followed the path of the river to come to this city, and the human city had already been transformed into a new city of dreams for the Seafolk who desired better lives.
Harloys' clones served as our best scouts. Finding a transparent slime in the water is a near impossible task, not to mention that she had plenty of time to plant innumerable eyes across this city.
The originally magnificent capital still remained as the capital, just changing hands. The White Whale Tribe was originally just a giant tribe living by the coastal areas, but due to its contribution in the assault, as well as the great prestige they earned through the overwhelming victory, they became the leaders of this new capital.
Agus the 1st. This was the new name of the white Whaleman with the massive physique.
The preparation that was made for Darsos's inauguration ceremony had been used for the inauguration of the Whaleman who was originally named Agus. The unrealistic fantasy of combining the concept of a kingdom along with a country of Seafolk had been realised. Agus the 1st and his clan became the new owners of Feloci. Under the rewards and protection of the Queen of the Storms, even if the new tribes who arrived at the city were stronger than them, they could only remain as his citizens.
Feloci was the name of this city, as well as the name of the future kingdom of the Seafolk. The Guardian Goddesses of this country were the Queen of the Storms and the Water Elemental Goddess.
The entire kingdom was structured in a staircase-like structure. The new tribes would move into the various districts based on their race, such as the Fishman District, Naga District, Sea Beastman District, Sea Giant District, and so on. On the other hand, the original tribes who fought in the battle would enter the royal city and become the new nobles who would serve the royalty.
From a certain viewpoint, this was a fundamental change from their previous lifestyle of herding, as well as the dissipation of the authority held by the heads of the various powerful tribes.
As a result, although a new way of life was extremely tempting, not every single chieftain was willing to serve beneath someone. There had been plenty of cases of tribes who left after living in the city for a period of time. Even so, there were many members who privately sneaked back into the city halfway through their departure.
In this world of magic that resembled the time of the Middle Ages, the fixed population in the city along with the movement of the population to and from the city was the basis for the rise and fall of a city.
Soon, as more and more Seafolk gathered here, the new City of Rain became more and more lively.
Even though the borders of the city were still in a state of war, the new life for the Seafolk in the city had started to unfold. First and foremost was the opening of markets. The most popular goods were the daily appliances of the surface dwellers. Inexpensive vases, fresh fruits, and waterproof silk cloth could be exchanged for precious gems and jewels.
The accumulation of those newly-arrived tribes could not be underestimated. Many of the mystical treasures of the ocean could not be analysed, but judging from the magic wavelengths on them, there were indeed quite a few priceless treasures among them. Even so, their price was laughably inexpensive. An Epic-tier Dragon Pearl of a Sea Dragon could be traded for just two rolls of silk.
This is almost like exchanging jewels for rocks. It was very possible that not even King Midas would make a fortune that quickly. The great profits involved in the trade made me a little tempted. If it weren’t for the possibility of incurring trouble, I would have had Tracy barter for quite a few treasures.
Aware of a merchant's temperament towards profits, I didn’t doubt that the moment I started to spread the news, innumerable merchants would risk their lives to trade with the Seafolk. At that point, the Seafolk would be able to make up for their shortcomings with the technology and products they earned from the trades.
Other than daily appliances, another bestseller in the markets were the multiple kinds of weapons used on the Surface. Even when the superior weapons made of alloy left behind by the Auland Empire had been hoarded by the White Whale Tribe so as to equip their own warriors, the longswords, pikes, knives, and other weapons from the Surface were far superior compared to the normal Seafolk who used wooden, rock, and bone-made weapons.
During these few days, the first shop to reopen were the blacksmiths. Due to the purge and flood that followed the assault on the city, very few of the skilled blacksmiths, craftsmen, and alchemists survived, and the few who survived met with quite a bit of trouble.
Very few of the amphibious Seafolk who had been on the Surface previously were almost completely unknowledgeable about crafting, thus, the very first job of those blacksmiths was to waterproof the weapons. However, judging from the long queue outside the blacksmith's shop, it seemed that the flood had caused their craftsmanship to return back to the primitive, manual era. It would probably take a significant period of time before they would develop in this aspect. Even so, it was still a hard to come by powerup for the Seafolk.
Every night, there would be a bonfire and banquet on the waterproof platform. Even though most of the normal Fishmen would be unable to get even a single slice of cooked meat, the festive mood still put them in high spirits.
Their civilization may have still been primitive with many shortcomings, but this newly rising capital was exactly what the Seafolk had expected and desired, and they were gradually developing into a powerful, centralized kingdom.
Every day, the City of Rain grew stronger. Every day, countless Seafolk arrived at the City of Rain. Soon, the city would be filled up to the borders, and in order to expand their living space, they would have to fight. It was clear to see that this would be the first battlefield of the eternal war.
Fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, the Auland Empire was truly a rich superpower with deep running accumulation. The great shame of losing their capital caused them to immediately reorganize their forces to prepare for war. Very quickly, a new defense line was built and the support troops from the numerous nobles from various territories arrived quickly.
It was hard to say how powerful the army to reclaim the capital would become, but judging from the war power they had accumulated and the overall strength of the empire, I still thought that the Auland Empire would be the one laughing at the very end.
Soon, the fight over living space would begin once again, destined to be savage.
Regardless of whom the final victor of this war would be, it probably wouldn’t be peaceful here for a significant period of time. Auland Empire would surely focus all of their efforts into reclaiming their capital.
To us, neither of the sides could be considered as our friends. The only thing we wished for was to not get entangled in the fight, especially when we were under the very eyes of the Seafolk right now.
On that day, the storm covered the sight of the Seafolk. In the eyes of the Seafolk, the fall of the Hydra was mostly attributed to the Dragon Slayer and the Forbidden Spell, so they ought to still be oblivious to our existence. Even so, we dared not continue staying here for too long.
Predictably, in the near future, as more and more Seafolk gathered here, the increased Power of Faith would become nourishment for the Queen of the Storms. Eventually, when the Queen of the Storms finally converted this new city into part of her divine territory and a level of intimacy was established between the church and altars of the Queen of the Storms, the consciousness of the Queen of the Storms would most likely linger around here most of the time.
Perhaps this underwater secret base might be able to avoid the sight of ordinary mortals, but I did not have confidence that the same hold true for true Gods. Thus, the earlier we set forth, the safer we would be.
Thus, the seventh day after the Borealis had been successfully converted to an Undead, when the newborn Undead had started to get used to its new body and the first batch of weapons become usable, we chose to set off.
The underwater passage used specially for the ship opened and the 300-meter long gigantic warship dove into it, proceeding slowly, the shock waves of its movement creating giant ripples underwater.
Of course, we met with a few Seafolk along the way. However, before they could have an encounter with the warship, they were blown away by the shock waves.
When this aquatic dragon left the water to soar into the skies, it left behind a giant whirlpool in its trail. Then, when the Mage Tower on the warship successfully activated its stealth mode, the interior of the Borealis exploded into cheers. After all, regardless of how incredible the design was, its practical abilities could only be proven in a real battle.
"First, the ship will leave through the east of Auland and enter the sea only upon reaching the sea in the east, as it should be safer that way. Then, moving along the coastal area, the ship will only soar up upon reaching North Trois. From there on, the ship would be moving diagonally straight towards the East Mist Communal Nation. This is the ideal path we have confirmed after multiple discussions."
"Why must we dive into the sea? Why can't we fly straight to East Mist?"
"If we were to fly straight to East Mist, we would trespass the aerial territory of quite a few superpower empires. I don't think that they would be unprepared for any threats that appear in their aerial territory; even a stealth unit isn't really a rare toy to them. Do you intend on meeting their Dragon Knights? Furthermore, if the news of a floating warship were to leak out..."
I immediately understood Kelly's words. It was best to keep some things hidden as long as possible. If the existence of this ship were to be exposed now, countless troubles could ensue.
Kelly's suggestion was one made from judging the level of risk, and was worth a try. However, the suggestion of the chief engineer from Borealis, Piacenza, was much more practical and convincing.
"It’s not recommended for the maiden voyage of a new boat to involve too great a distance. After flying for a period of time, we will need to make some adjustments to certain apparatus, as well as fixing faulty equipment. Based on the condition of our ship, entering the water is the optimal choice. Furthermore, we don't have many supplies left. Thus, we should send a dinghy to the pier of Kasilo Kingdom. It shouldn't be too difficult."
Actually, I was not very concerned with taking a detour, but rather hesitant upon entering the sea.
The System might not be reliable, but it was the typical type which was spot-on on my misfortunes. I was quite concerned with its warning that reminded me to not enter the sea.
【Warning: The Queen of the Storms has marked you. If there isn't a need, please do not approach coastal areas and, even more so, do not enter the sea.
Of course, if you insist, you can try to kill other Sea Monsters and true Gods’ avatars. As long as you are in the sea, I can guarantee you that the rewards will be better than this.】
The Queen of the Storms was a member of the Malevolent Gods of Chaos. Her Jurisdictions included Storm, Tempest, and the Guardian God of a portion of the Seafolk. Although she had wanted to attain the Jurisdiction of the Sea God, she has yet to accomplish her goal in the last several thousand years.
The current Sea God was Osweyar, another ancient that had survived until the present day. From a certain viewpoint, he could be considered as the descendant of the current Ancient Water Elemental Goddess Aylos. This Sea God was renowned to have a low profile in the Order Faction. Perhaps they might be acquainted with one another privately, but I did not think that he would spare the Queen of the Storms any face when the horn of the eternal Sacred War sounded.
Detect the appearance of a single ship in the sea? Since even the Sea God Osweyar was incapable of such a feat, there was no need to speak of the Queen of the Storms, whose Jurisdictions did not include the existence of oceans. Even so, I dared not let my guard down.
"That … must we enter the sea?"
"Yes, the probability of our engine malfunctioning exceeds 17%. Even if the fellows were to work overtime, they would probably be unable to keep it operating for long. We would need to stop it to conduct checks and repairs."
"Fine, then get the guys to prepare for battle. Our theoretical enemies should be ... Sea Monsters. Yeah, let's treat that Hydra as our theoretical enemy."
Even without the System Notice, if the Queen of the Storms were to really come seek trouble with us, there was a high possibility that we would meet with Sea Monsters on the way. After all, that queen had another title—Queen of Sea Monsters, and there are quite a few Sea Monsters under her command.
"If it were just normal Sea Monsters, we would be able to disregard them. Do you really think that we would meet with a Hydra-class Sea Monster everywhere ... Alright, alright. You're the boss, we will follow what you say."
The others might think that I was being excessive, but based on my understanding of my own luck, as well as that System Notice, no amount of preparation would be too great.
While waiting for the ship to descend to the sea, I still had some matters I had to deal with.
"Since they are unable to play soccer on the ship, those fellows are getting bored. How many times has Yingou's alchemy lab exploded? I heard that yesterday morning they froze a portion of the deck to play ice hockey. Aren't they afraid of getting beaten off the ship with a stick? Forget it, since I have something to inform them about, let me scare them while I am at it."
***
It was a sort of fate to share the same boat in the midst of danger. On the other hand, when the danger passed, being in the same boat would require a reason.
Common profits? Common goals? No matter what, if they hope to walk together and call each other comrades, then there must be a core and goal that link them together as one.
Eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying life in a carefree manner could also be considered as a goal. However, if one were to build an organisation with such a thing as the goal, it would probably end up as a bunch of scattered sand and all would do as they pleased. Anticipating such a crisis, I had already prepared in accordance.
"Why should I be the only who fears, worries, and loses sleep over the impending doomsday? Since we're all in the same boat, let me explain to you all the possibilities that may result in the sinking of the boat in the future."
I started my lecture with such words. However, as I expected, the bunch of fellows responded with impassive gazes—"Even if the sky fell, there would be someone tall to hold it up. If the boat were to sink, the worst that could happen is that it won't arrive at shore. What could be so incredible about that?"
Asking me how I could read so much simply from their expressions? That was because those bastards had already said it out loud!
"I am a Siren. I don't fear the sinking of the boat. It is just that it would be troublesome to bring those collections of mine along with me."
"... Actually, I have been training hard during the period of time at the secret base. My swimming skills are not bad now."
"Big brother, don't judge me just because I have four hooves. Recently, I have been learning swimming as well. After taking off my horseshoes, I am definitely able to float. If the boat were to sink, you can sit on my back!"
"Hey, hey, is this a new business opportunity? Looks like a chance to earn big bucks has arrived! We should start to hoard life buoys and floating planks!"
"Stupid! What use are the life buoys! We should start purchasing all kinds of resources required for survival and make a fortune by selling them back to their original owners when the boat sinks."
"Idiot, how could we only sell it to their original owners? As long as they pay money, we would sell them to even the Fishmen and Sea Monsters!"
Yingou and Kabala's exchange was filled with the stench of copper. The two of them were seriously considering their plan of purchasing the life buoys from crewman and selling them back to them if the boat sank.
"Gunpowder cannot be used the moment it comes into contact with water. Should we prepare some waterproof apparatus?" Clint, stop thinking about your treasured explosives all the time. Please consider whether you are able to float with your heavy armor first.
"Do I have to strip the Silver Battle Hymn again? Lord, will the sinking occur too suddenly? Will we lose our personal belongings as a result of it? If we were to really lose them, would it be possible to reclaim them?"
Ever since Diana got that mithril alloy full plate mail back from me and got a Mage to enchant it, she had been wearing it all day long, oblivious to the scorching weather. She even gave the armor a name. Now that she heard that the boat might be on the verge of sinking, the first thing she thought of was still her precious armor.
"Big Brother Roland is worried that the boat will sink? It's okay. If it happens, we just have to work together to freeze the surface of the water. This way, everyone should be able to climb onto the ice, thus averting the crisis. As long as no one dies, no matter how great the loss is, it should still be in an acceptable range."
Alright, was that consolation from Reyne the killing blow?
Everyone discussed fervently, but no one wondered why the boat would even sink. They were only exchanging their escaping experiences, as though the sinking of the boat was already an inevitable event.
I shook my head helplessly. Given the personality of this bunch of fellows, I should have expected such an outcome.
"The boat I am talking about isn't the Borealis under our feet. She is called Eich, the continent Eich. Perhaps you might find it unbelievable, but our world is on the verge of destruction ..."
In that instant, everyone looked at me with wide eyes. After all, going by the common sense of the crowd, those who claimed that it was end of the world on a whim were either demonic cultist or lunatics.
Even though everyone stared at me with wide eyes, I did not intend to continue elaborating on it. After finishing the introductions, I walked down the stage.
On the other hand, the crystal ball which had been placed on the table earlier started to play a video that was prepared beforehand.
"The Seven Trials of Eich. From the start of the current Sacred War, our world would meet with seven destructive calamities, and we would be swept into the dangers of it as well. The core of it all is the eternal Sacred War. Now, the horn of the Sacred War has been blown again and this Sacred War is destined to be the final Sacred War as well..."
Inside the crystal was an education lesson I had prepared beforehand, and the contents within it were meticulously prepared by me.
"This is the information on the war that is about to occur, but even so, this is just the appetiser."
The internal conflict among the humans, the rampage of the Elemental Gods, the invasion of the Undead, the raid of the Demons, and the possibility of a full-blown war between the Surface and the Underground World. Perhaps some of them might have predicted that the Sacred War would not be as simple as it seemed, but their information couldn’t possibly be as detailed as mine.
Speaking of the invasion of Undead, I could point out directly which Death Dimensions were making preparations for war, as well as the estimated time for their arrival. As for the Demon army, I had the evidence and information provided by Elisa. The schemes of the Elemental Gods were right before us, and the invasion of the Underground World Alliance Army wasn’t a secret since a long time ago.
Only through detailed information and numbers would the point that I would like to express be convincing. The photos that would be shown afterwards were the breakthrough point that I anticipated.
"Ah, what is that! Why is the Dwarf Mining City Helos in ruins? I was just there last year and the people there were still busy at work."
What lay before them was a picture, a picture of a ruins left behind after a slaughter by a great army. The picture looked lifelike, the details in it far surpassing what image altering was capable of doing—this wasn't a picture from this world, but one that was derived from the game walkthrough!
"Asloren? Impossible? How could that beautiful Eternal Forest of Euphony be reduced to such a state?"
"Galor Highlands, my beautiful and splendid homeland, how could it be possibly be a black land contaminated and dyed red by blood! Who did it!"
Photos of the Elven country which had been reduced to ruins, the human plains that had been corrupted to become a land of Undead, and the Demon army slaughtering life forms on the Surface. All kinds of genocides and destructive wars could be seen, all kinds of futures that would overturn one's perception of the world.
"I swear in the name of the Holy Light that these are all images of the future that I obtained through certain means. If we do not do anything, they will become a part of reality."
The dense Holy Light shrouding me testifies to the authenticity of my words. While they were still worried and shocked over the doomed future, I throw out an even larger bomb at them.
"These tragedies are just the beginning. Those who lose their lives at this point can be considered as the fortunate ones, because they will not witness the despairing destruction that would ensue. There will be no victors in this Sacred War. The final ending is the total destruction of the entire world."
At this instant, the pictures switched to the image that I would like to show them. That is a picture of the Eich continent from outer space.
The entire continent was fragmented into innumerable pieces and countless Dimension Doors had opened throughout. This was the result of the clash between the two Goddesses of Creation at their full might. Those who were able to survive until the very end, the strongest of beings, were screaming in agony and cursing the desolate fate that awaited them.
Finally, in the face of the final judgement, every life was equal. No one was spared, no one was saved, and no one was eternal. What awaited everyone was equal destruction.
Perhaps the two Goddesses of Creation might have been able to recreate the world and life. However, the life forms of the previous generation would not survive to see that day. They would be terminated in this very last trial.
"In order to prevent the worst ending, I have been preparing since long ago and have achieved some level of accomplishment. However, the strength of an individual is insufficient. I need your help, I need your strength, to reverse the path of the world from its ultimate doom!"