......

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty...... Mr. Sander Asuka has returned from the Whirlpool Sea! and...... They seem to be in big trouble!"

The guard's sudden report made Roland pause slightly. After a meeting to scale up the industry, he returned to his office, intending to continue refining the drawings he was going to use, when the unexpected news completely disconnected him from his train of thought.

The so-called Sander Asuka is the pseudonym of Thunder.

"Where is he now?" Roland asked, slamming to his feet.

"It's in the halls of the castle, and he says he wants to see you right away. ”

"Bring him in!" he instructed, "and let the kitchen prepare an extra afternoon tea." ”

"Yes, I'll do it. Sean turned around and quickly disappeared into the doorway.

Nightingale was a little worried, "Shall I inform Lightning?"

Roland shook his head, "Since he can come to the castle, he shouldn't have encountered any major problems, so let's ask about the situation first." ”

According to the date, Thunder had only been out at sea for a little more than half a year, and counting the three months that the turnaround had only sailed at sea, considering that they had also spent some time in the Shadow Islands, the time spent on the road was even shorter. This was far below the explorer's original plan - according to the other party's assumptions, the voyage would take at least a year to a year and a half, and if he could, Thunder would even want to see what was at the end of the whirlpool sea, and whether the continent seen in the ruins was in the depths of the sea.

Obviously, something happened that could not be resisted by manpower, and this long-prepared expedition ended halfway.

Roland couldn't help but look out the window.

Could it be ...... Also related to the red moon?

Thunder, who is known as Tander, quickly walked into the office under the leadership of the guard, and it can be seen that he is indeed very embarrassed to come back this time, and he has not even had time to put on his disguised beard, and there is not much left of the exaggerated feather decoration, if he is seen by lightning now, there is a chance that he will recognize it.

But at least, he was still in good condition, and for Roland, that was enough.

"Your Majesty, it's a pleasure to see you again—" Thunder bowed to his chest, "I almost thought I would never come back." ”

Roland poured him a cold and delicious Chaos drink, "What the hell is going on? ”

"Storms and tsunamis have omens, but thousands of sea ghosts don't," Thunder still seemed to be apprehensive at the moment, "not to mention that we have encountered not only sea ghosts, but also monsters that are more terrifying than that......

Listening to the other party's story, Roland seemed to feel their despair at that time, countless sea ghosts swarmed towards the fleet, the churning backs seemed to make the sea boil, and the slow sailing ships were mercilessly dragged into hell. The sea ghosts are also mixed with terrifying ships of flesh and blood, and the acid they spew can fall for kilometers away, and if they stick a little, their skin will break apart, and neither steel nor wood can resist this corrosion. Even at full sail speed, the expedition team could not distance the two sides......

"Heaven and Sea Realm ......" his face sank like a waterway.

"Your Majesty, what's that?" Thunder asked.

"The Devil's name for another civilization," Roland slowly told the other party that the Devil was fighting on two fronts. The rib-like vault, flesh and viscera of the ship floated on the surface of the water like a ship and dived into the sea, all of which were not far from what he had seen in the relics of the gods.

"You mean, we broke into their territory?"

"Perhaps. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the appearance of the Red Moon has made them more active, thus expanding the possibility of patrolling. Roland changed the subject, "What happened after that, and how did the expedition get out of danger?"

"In fact, it was not that we threw off their pursuit, but that they themselves had civil unrest. Thunder smiled bitterly.

"Inside...... Chaos?"

"Indeed, the enemy pursued day and night, as if he never knew fatigue, and by the time we approached the line we had lost more than half of our ships. Most of the sailors who are still alive are also on the verge of collapse due to the long period of not being able to rest, and only the Yukikaze you built is still alive - after all, she doesn't need to adjust her sails and course all the time. ”

Just when everyone was about to despair, a much larger sea monster suddenly burst out of the water and entangled one of the sea monsters, as if two flesh monsters were biting each other. Despite being monsters, the former was decidedly stronger, and the appendages and tentacles protruding from its body quickly tore the latter to pieces. After that, both the sea ghosts and the other sea monsters stopped their pursuit and gathered around them as if they were frozen, and we took the opportunity to cross the sea line and flee back to the Fiordland Islands. ”

There is such a thing, Roland let out a long breath, "Fortunately, luck is on your side, it seems that the name of this ship is really not in vain." ”

"Uh...... The name of the ship?"

"No, nothing," he said, waving his hand, "what are you going to do next?"

An unprecedented tiredness appeared on Thunder's face, "To be honest, the loss of the sea ship is still secondary, and this expedition has already scared most people. There is now a strange atmosphere in the fjord, and the sailors who have fought all their lives at sea now turn blue when they look to the east side of the sea. I don't think anyone will dare to board a ship to the Shadows for a long time. ”

Roland was silent. This is not surprising, as the other side said, storms and tsunamis can be predicted in advance, and the brave navigator will always find a way to dance with them, but the experience of having no power to resist and only desperately fleeing can no longer be called an adventure.

"Those big chambers of commerce have even asked me to bring you a message, hoping to buy a piece of land in the Grey Keep at a high price as a place of refuge for them. Thunder sighed, "After all, no one knows if they will make a comeback - the sea has always been a danger in the eyes of the fjord people, but if the enemy can come and go freely in the sea, the whole fjord island is an undefended empty city." ”

A year or two ago, he had intended the fjord to be the last base for the survivors of the defeat to spend the rest of their lives, but now it's the other way around.

If he had just arrived in the border town and all the belongings were less than 300 gold dragons, this kind of trade would definitely be unwanted, but now that paper money has begun to circulate in the territory, the so-called "high price" is no longer an attractive condition.

"What do you think?"

"I said that if it is the idea of building a state within a state, it is better to give up as soon as possible. Thunder shrugged, "You will never allow them to establish a new 'archipelago' in the Grey Keep. ”

Roland laughed, worthy of being the most brilliant explorer of the fjord, "If they just want to live, not for the privileges accumulated over generations, the Grey Keep will always welcome them." ”

"I'll tell you the truth, Your Majesty. ”

"I should be tired from this voyage, I have prepared afternoon tea, you can go and take a hot bath first, and then talk to me about what you have seen on the way. It will take several days to restore the Yukikaze, so once you've regained your energy, it's not too late to return to the fjord. ”

"Then I'm sorry for you. Thunder stroked his chest.

Just as he was about to retire, Roland suddenly stopped him, "By the way, the lightning thing...... Are you still going to hide it?"

"I'm ......" Thunder opened his mouth, momentarily dumbfounded.

"You said that you would meet her when this expedition was over, and although the trip was not too successful, if the sea world had occupied most of the oceans today, and the fjords were terrified, you would have been in no danger for a long time. Roland propped his chin and said, "And I need men to fight the devil, and Lightning wants to see his father alive in the world - in that case, how about staying when the trivial matters are over?"

Thunder was silent for a few seconds before lowering his head, "I'll think about it...... Your Majesty. ”