Enforcer Manual
Chapter 747 - 745: Master of the Tides_1

Chapter 747: Chapter 745: Master of the Tides_1

"Sea monster? Are you referring to creatures like giant octopuses or something?"

Song Lan felt that such a name did not quite fit with a world view that adored science; these deep-sea horrors often only appeared in local folklore.

He was a man of little courage, afflicted with a fear of the deep sea, and he always regarded these folk tales as half a horror story. The thought that mountainsize monsters could exist at the bottom of the sea made him feel anxious, and he could only be thankful that they lived on land.

"Giant octopuses!"

Yeying’s eyes lit up.

Because she was confident they would be edible, having tasted octopus prepared by the locals during her visit to Silvermoon Harbor, which was one of the few snacks that she found unforgettable.

Silvermoon Harbor was also one of the most common escape destinations for heretics, because once they took to the sea, the Church’s judicial institutions could no longer catch them.

The Archbishop had even issued explicit instructions, forbidding all sea travel.

Lu Xiang nodded, "That’s how the local legends at Silvermoon Harbor describe them— though no one has ever seen them with their own eyes, or rather, those who encountered them at sea have all died, only the people of the Misty Archipelago know the safe routes between the two places."

"From a scientific perspective, they’re most likely mutants of some marine creatures."

According to Song Lan’s observations, the majority of mutant creatures in this world grew to many times their original size, just like their friend the Death God Crab. Originally just crabs, they had bloated to the size of buildings after mutation, and when they passed through the desert region, his Spiritual Energy had detected the presence of creatures several times larger than the Death God Crab deep in the sand.

If merchants knew what dwelled deep in the desert, people would probably develop a "fear of deep sands."

Fortunately, these behemoths just looked intimidating but were fairly easy to deal with.

At least they did not trouble them as they passed by.

That’s what friends do, regardless of what those unknown creatures lurking beneath the desert thought; Song Lan had unilaterally decided in his heart that they were friends.

"The person who issued the exploration orders thought the same," Lu Xiang remarked with amazement. "You’ve said nearly the same thing."

Except at that time, the person who spoke those words was still referred to as an admiral rather than the war criminal as seen by later people. "It’s for this reason he led three expeditions to the unknown territories, and all three expeditions ended in failure, with none of the voyagers ever returning, not even his own fleet,"

In this era, the concept of a fleet was nothing like the old, obsolete ships of the Middle Ages; the last time the admiral set sail, he boarded a strategic aircraft carrier capable of handling a small-scale war.

They had also set out to sea with the intention of fighting a war.

"What the United government currently knows is only that the uncharted waters have strong signal interference of unknown origin, causing all communication equipment to fail. This is also why the fleet could not relay what they saw back to the United Government before they went missing,"

Even the last expedition, which had been so full of hope, had failed.

The admiral had been lost forever in the uncharted waters, and more than a decade had passed since the disaster. Since then, the United Government had never again meddled with that region of the sea.

For humans, both the sky and the sea were prohibited areas, and without a foothold, even the Six Stars rescuers could not adapt to the conditions of naval combat.

Lu Xiang added, "The Sea of Fog also has a group of devotees of the ocean who believe these sea monsters are governed by the Tide Master, who would guide the routes for His followers; only the most devout could pass through that region."

"That does sound more like a folk tale."

"That may not necessarily be the case. For a long time, the devotees of the Misty Archipelago were the only ones who could cross that sea. Intelligence workers of the United Government also asked them for their secrets of navigation, and this was the explanation they provided."

"If that’s the case, why not let intelligence agents mix with the devotees on their ships?"

"They certainly did so, but among them, some were converted into devotees of the Tide Master, while those who refused to worship were thrown overboard to feed the fish halfway through the journey," Lu Xiang explained. "Moreover, the United Government once offered a substantial reward, hoping someone would provide navigational charts, however, all the ships from the Neutral Country that went to explore the unknown waters lost contact as well."

Thus, more and more legends about the uncharted waters were born.

"Unknown" is the name the United Government gave to that sea region, and these two characters alone are enough to reflect the United Government’s helplessness regarding that area.

"Learned something new."

Song Lan got goosebumps all over his body. Based on Lu Xiang’s description, he easily conjured images of deep-sea leviathans from horror stories, even envisioning the terrifying encounters of an admiral and his fleet in a storm.

Although the naval admiral-led maritime expedition had failed, the United Government always found ways to rebuild confidence—the Kolo Film Industry shot a superhero movie involving the unknown sea region there and took the opportunity to launch their new championed rescuer, "Reef."

Song Lan still remembered the movie’s unsettling depiction of sea monsters.

But, like all superhero-themed movies, "Reef" ultimately defeated the rampaging sea monsters, bringing a happy and fulfilling conclusion to the locals.

"What, you’re scared of sea monsters?"

One of the reasons Lu Xiang grew more enthusiastic as she spoke was that she noticed the change in Song Lan’s expression, which gave her the thrilling sense of scaring someone with ghost stories, like she used to at school—one of the few forms of entertainment for the students. Her former roommate would often get so scared that she would call at night for her to escort them back to the dorm.

"That’s a sea monster! As big as a mountain, suddenly appearing in front of the ship during a voyage, it could drag the whole ship into the sea in an instant!" Song Lan felt it was necessary to emphasize the terrifying nature of the sea monster, "I think I’m going to have nightmares tonight."

"It’s okay."

Lu Xiang smiled slightly, "If you get scared tonight, you can hold me tight while sleeping."

"Yeying is here, what are you talking about!"

"Hmm?"

Yeying, who had been focused on her meal, heard her name called and lifted her little head, looking at Song Lan with bewildered eyes—she had lost interest when the story reached the admiral and his fleet, as exploration of the unknown sea region wasn’t her thing. She felt that the story should incorporate more introductions to local snacks.

After exchanging glances for a long time, she tentatively made a request, "Tomorrow, I want to apply for octopus."

.........

Late at night, Silvermoon Harbor.

"Emperor" was no stranger to this port city; it had been one of his primary investigative locations.

Today’s Silvermoon Harbor had changed considerably since his last visit.

After the end of the internal war of the Third Neutral Country, the port had regained its vitality, and it seemed Kunka and the Rebel Army’s arrival hadn’t brought destruction. Instead, they had integrated well into the local life and established a defense line along the coastal area.

He learned of the recent voyages bound for the Misty Archipelago.

The last ship had already set sail, and he would have to wait a week for the next voyage.

He had only one reason for coming to this port city.

Invisibly, something seemed to be calling out to him here; ever since his battle with those unfathomable deep-sea creatures, he would occasionally hear some indistinct whispers.

It was a language he had never encountered. He tried to remember some of the pronunciations, but even the linguistic experts of the United Government were unfamiliar with this unknown language system.

He walked to the end of the dock.

The vast sea stretched into the night.

For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating.

As he gazed out at the sea, it seemed as if a pair of eyes from the depths of the ocean was staring back at him.

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