Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 988: Section 642: The Fish and the Fisherman (Part 1)_2

Chapter 988: Section 642: The Fish and the Fisherman (Part 1)_2

Malin had always carried a sense of regret and guilt for the girl named Sara and her friends. He had sworn to avenge Sara and them, but over the years, he still couldn’t identify the culprit. These days, even the police in Carterburg were running out of patience. If it weren’t for Malin occasionally following up, forcing them to give at least some sort of response, the officers wouldn’t even have bothered to feign effort.

Moreover, it had been too long—a time so prolonged that even Sara’s family had stopped pursuing the case. As for her friends... well, in this era, every family had many children, losing one or two was perceived as an acceptable loss. When the investigation yielded no progress and the initial heartbreak faded... Sara and her friends ended up residing only in Malin’s memory.

Thus, as someone who knew them, Malin felt embarrassed to push the police officers too hard.

But after the incident with Mendel, Malin decided he could no longer let the killer get away.

Both Sara and Mendel deserved justice.

"No problem, I’ll head off now, Lord Malin. Take care on your journey. I’ve heard the route to the Eastern Human World is fraught with danger; be sure to protect yourself."

"I will."

After shaking hands with Lagrelov, Malin watched him leave, then chose to depart himself.

Over the week that followed, Malin reviewed battle reports twice. After engaging with Chaos, the Northern Legion fought well. Crown Prince Daniel did not behave as nepotistically as Malin had feared; instead, he favored employing the staff officers and advisors trained under Malin. These young individuals lived up to Malin’s teachings and Daniel’s trust. Despite advancing steadily, they feigned a weakness, which lured a Chaos battalion into a trap where the Northern Legion annihilated them with superior firepower and manpower.

They beheaded nearly ten thousand Chaos forces, while their own losses were fewer than three thousand—a victory of unprecedented scale in the last decade.

Everyone was jubilant, except Malin. Through officers he trusted, he learned the startling truth: toward the end of the battle, in a bid to conserve bullets and artillery shells, Daniel’s subordinate officer corps encouraged an assault, where most of the casualties occurred.

I lend you money, exempt your interest, even offer you discounts, all to ensure minimal soldier losses, and yet you wastes lose three thousand men in your first battle! And you even have the audacity to claim minimal losses in the report?

Given the overall victory, no one considered it a significant problem. Malin had no intention to step forward as the bad guy now. Still, losing three thousand comrades in a single fight made him wonder how soon the enraged soldiers might turn their guns on these incompetents. Malin felt thankful, once again, that he had refused the request to integrate his legion into the Northern forces.

If the sacrificed men were Malin’s soldiers, there wouldn’t be time tomorrow—he’d deal with those fools’ families tonight.

In addition, Malin obtained the names of foreign dignitaries. On the envoy list to the Sydney Union, he spotted Colin’s name.

Malin immediately understood this as Goethe showing Malin respect—as the envoy leader, Colin and his wife Margaret would act together, while their children could remain local and cared for by Goethe and the Church.

Sometimes, in these times, distancing oneself from the Western Human World seemed to be the safer choice.

Thus, when Malin saw Goethe’s youngest as deputy envoy, he deeply appreciated the lengths a father would go for his children.

Actually, it wasn’t so bad—because they’d be sailing, the old man couldn’t exactly make trouble onboard.

Malin had no objections, naturally returning to Carterburg ten days later. By then, Lillim and Matilda had taken over as caretakers of Carterburg—a plan Malin had meticulously crafted to align with future needs.

Since it required sailing, Malin chose not to bring Clovis along. Lulu decided to head south to Rongma temporarily—a decision Malin supported.

As for the reason? It was quite solid—they were expecting a child.

When Lulu learned the news, she was ecstatic, and Malin could see all the previous anxiety and unease melt away.

At this point, Malin brought up the girl named Peru Haus Hagelberry. Though, in Malin’s version, the girl didn’t bear the Hagelberry surname.

Malin believed he was offering comfort to this young woman.

Sure enough, upon hearing stories about her descendants, Lulu listened with fascination but soon expressed great anger at Malin’s mention of a certain chest-related anecdote—she blamed everything on Malin. All children blessed with Spiritual Energy inherited Malin’s paternal genes, showing a tendency toward shorter stature.

The few with normal height often manifested lower abilities.

As for giant-types... Malin’s lovers all attested to never having seen one.

Malin mused—it did seem to be the case.

Unbelievable, I might truly be the root cause.

Standing by the ship’s railing, Malin waved to his loved ones. As the fleet set out southward, Malin tasked Jason with charting the fleet’s navigation records.

Two days later, Malin took a moment to ask Mr. Meng where their next stop for rest and resupply would be.

"We’ll head south on a wide arc and land at an old-world harbor on a southern island of the Great Wilderness. The harbor is well-preserved, including many relics. We’ve even deciphered its original name: Xidia."

"The port faces north, with an eastern cape, is that right?" Malin inquired.

This time Mr. Meng seemed surprised, nodding: "How do you know that? I don’t believe you’ve heard this from me."

Malin smiled, gesturing toward Jason fishing off the railing: "He confirmed it using satellites still operational in low orbit." After all, Malin couldn’t tell the old man he hailed from eight millennia ago.

"I see. Pre-cataclysm creations... I’ve heard there are mechanical beings like Jason at the Emperor’s side, but that’s all just myth—none of us have actually seen them." Mr. Meng gestured toward the distant ocean: "See there? Centuries ago, when the fleet passed through here, they spotted a metal tower tip sticking out of the sea. That thing is still there."

"I see it." Malin nodded. Indeed, he saw the spire. Considering their southeastern trajectory—two days south of Europe’s old Marseille region—it might be Sardinia.

Still, Malin hadn’t heard of any towers on Sardinia, suggesting a later construction. He also couldn’t be sure how many meters it now lay beneath the ocean’s surface.

"Have you explored it?" Malin asked specifically.

"We have. Two hundred years ago, the last envoy fleet ventured inside the spire’s entry. They managed to descend five levels, but other than the first level, everything below was submerged. The deeper gates were incredibly thick, and likely filled with seawater behind. We couldn’t uncover anything within those floors either." Mr. Meng recalled records left by past envoys.

Malin thought for a moment—it made sense. After so many years, the entrance remained exposed, consuming every tide and storm surge. Even if the upper levels hadn’t flooded, by now everything inside should’ve decomposed.

Another thought struck him—didn’t the Sea Clan once claim they couldn’t locate Sardinia? Malin had believed this island had shifted to another dimension. Now it appeared it had simply remained.

"Fish on!" Jason exclaimed.

Malin strolled to the railing, watching the young man haul up his line.

"Is the fish here edible?"

"Of course. What in this sea isn’t edible?" Mr. Meng, in that moment, voiced the ultimate battle cry of a food-loving species.

Malin gazed at the Sea Clan member pulled up by Jason. Its massive frame hung limp from the hook, seemingly unconscious.

"Is this thing edible?" Malin turned to Mr. Meng.

"...Never tried." Mr. Meng replied, sounding a bit sheepish.

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