Bang! Bang! Bang! ...

Twelve gunshots rang out, the highest tribute the Navy and Pirates could pay to the deceased at the funeral. Despite being a devilish Pirate King, he was not stingy with a bit of mercy for a respectable opponent.

Splash... Splash...

The Pirate King's entertainment concluded, and with the combined efforts of the "Earth Belly Snake Lizard" and the "Earthquake Two-headed Turtle," the muddy waters began to surge once more.

The possible breach seemed to align with a certain collection area on the second floor of the vault.

With the rising mud came a considerable collection from the Bank Group, including invaluable pieces—precious metal utensils, jewelry, antiques, renowned paintings ruined by the muddy water, Extraordinary Weapons, ... and even scattered Ocean Treasures.

However, the 'invincible' Pirate King Hawkins stood on the edge of the pit, and even the greediest of pirates dared not glance too long at those items.

Soon, with a "boom,"

the last layer of rock collapsed.

There was no longer any barrier between them and the final target, as an intangible wave, perceivable only by certain beings, was clearly released.

Roar——!

Screech——!

The surrounding Sea Monsters instantly became restless, emitting cries.

Yet no one noticed that Hawkins, standing at the great pit, was also breathing heavily, almost uncontrollably...

To ordinary people below demigod level, the "Heart of the Ocean" was indistinguishable from an ordinary gemstone.

But to those like the "Mother of Sea Monsters" Echet and the "Sea Witch" Hipponeo, who had parts of the Black Sea's authority and were beloved of these goddesses or Extraordinary of the same path, it was exceptionally unique!

After reluctantly calming the agitation deep within his heart, Hawkins turned his head towards the direction of the Golden Summit Cathedral. Seeing no movement from there, he scoffed and ordered his pirates:

"Go! Start clearing out the third level of the great vault for me!"

Before securing the treasure, he didn't want any complications, opting to temporarily spare those annoying pests.

"Yes, sir!"

"Leave it to us!"

A large group of prepared pirates lowered ropes, swiftly and agilely sliding down.

Even in such an exciting moment of gain, Hawkins would never willingly put himself at risk. Even a Tier 3 Peak Extraordinary, if trapped underground under a 40-meter thick rock layer, would definitely be unable to escape!

He believed that without descending himself, no one could secretly take away his treasures right under his nose.

With such caution, it's no wonder this Pirate King could steadily reach his position today.

Not far away in the cathedral.

"Mr. Chairman, what should we do?"

A group of ashen-faced Bank Group directors stood by the top-floor window of the cathedral, watching hundreds of pirates ferrying out their most precious wealth bit by bit as if moving house.

As a bank with business spanning the continent, the vault housed far more than the Bank Group's own wealth; the majority actually belonged to clients, including gold, entrusted stored items, loan collateral, and more.

If all were lost, even the powerful Bank Group might struggle to cope!

Old Joel turned back, somewhat disheartened, and glanced at the directors around him, smiling wryly:

"Clearly, before this incident, we were all deceived by Hawkins' disguise. To lead hundreds of Sea Monsters to attack the Bank Group's headquarters today shows quite the high regard for us, the Netherlands!"

After a deep sigh, the once energetic elder, though his hair was grey, suddenly looked as though he'd aged ten years, resembling a man at death's door.

He understood what these directors meant: although the Netherlands Bank Group was an undisputed giant, the shareholders, factions, and forces within it were unimaginably complex to outsiders.

Being a director of the Bank Group did not necessarily mean being irreplaceable!

"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility this time. Grand Knight Graces has already fulfilled his duty with his life, so I, too, should complete mine. After this, I will resign from the chairman position."

The Bank Group's motto naturally includes safeguarding client property with one's life, but "to meet difficulty with death" is an ancient, arduous choice, and merely throwing one's life away. Not only would the young ones refuse, but even Old Joel himself would not!

Given the current situation, even if the entire combat force in the cathedral were used at once, it would be futile.

Being nothing more than an egg, no matter the strategy—turning oneself into a salted egg, boiled egg, or century egg—was no match for a single goose egg-sized stone.

What he contemplated was this:

The death of a renowned "Oath Knight" was already enough to silence the Bank Group's opponents. The rest was figuring out how to fill that astronomically large gap.

Otherwise, even if we survive today, we'll become the rats that everyone wants to beat later.

"Ah! Look, everyone! Is what Hawkins is looking for really the crown pledged by Philip II?!"

At this moment, a sharp-eyed director has already seen Hawkins personally retrieve a luxurious golden crown from a pile of shimmering treasures.

The base of pure gold is adorned with intersecting thorns and lily shapes, inlaid with pearls, crystals, and carved gemstones, while four arched structures on the front, back, left, and right of the crown all uphold a massive blue sapphire.

That is the crown belonging to King Philip II of the strongest naval power, the Hilus Kingdom!

Of course, the coronation crown of the kingdom's heritage is unique, even if they killed the current King Philip II of Hilus, he could never mortgage that kind of thing.

But even an ordinary number of crowns exceeding ten for daily wear represents the supreme authority to rule the Hilus Kingdom, possessing unparalleled symbolic significance!

This also shows just how tight Hilus's finances have become over the years. If not for the sheer size of the loans, it's impossible they would mortgage something as significant as the crown to the Bank Group.

"Hawkins's real target is indeed this crown of Hilus, but what's peculiar about this crown?"

Seeing the Pirate King cherishingly holding up the crown and not letting anyone else touch it, the directors couldn't comprehend what Hawkins had been seeking all this time?

Philip II, Pirate King, Sea Monsters, Deep Sea Brotherhood, Mother of Sea Monsters....

One by one, people and forces flashed through their minds.

Then, it was easy to come to a self-proclaimed correct conclusion: The "Netherlands Bank Group" was simply taking the bullet for the Hilus people!

Moreover, could it be that Philip II already knew he was being eyed by an Evil God, so he intentionally mortgaged the crown to divert the trouble?

The bankers' minds quickly spread out, instantly associating countless plots and schemes.

One director lamented painfully:

"If you wanted the crown, you could have said so earlier, what's there that can't be negotiated? Was it necessary to cause all this?"

Though he said this, he actually understood it himself.

If Hawkins had really taken a shady deal approach, the biggest possibility would still be for us "Guardians" to realize the crown's unusualness, then take it somewhere Hawkins could never find, and study it alone.

Yet, now it's too late to say anything.

The only one was the Bank Group Chairman, Old Joel, muttering while looking at the crown:

"Hilus, huh? To ensure the Bank Group safely overcomes the crisis, I can only let the information about that place be released, hoping you remain as greedy as ever!

In this already chaotic world of Great Navigation, so what if it gets a bit more chaotic?"

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

At the edge of the big pit, rare treasures from the outside world were being hoisted up by the basketful.

Then, waiting pirates above sorted and packed them into boxes.

These bankers had indeed done an excellent job with security measures, but various precautions were mainly within the passages and rock walls, and they hadn't gone so far as to curse each treasure.

The reason is simple, such actions leave little room for error, even their own people could be accidentally harmed.

This also provided a convenience for the pirates who sought alternative methods in their plundering operations.

However, the treasures of the underground treasury were too vast, already far exceeding the carrying capacity of the Pirate Ship.

But in this situation.

The Pirate King issued an even more bewildering order: Set the "Eternal Imprisonment Sacred Statue" load limit at two-thirds capacity, discard all excess!

The pirates also knew that although their actions indeed needed to be completed swiftly, why not use the numerous Sea Monsters as beasts of burden?

The rest of their pirating career might never see such a chance to raid the largest continental bank vault again!

However, on this ship, there was no one who dared to question the Pirate King's orders.

Therefore, they had to painfully discard most of the heavy and worthless... gold!

Yes, by this time, gold had become the cheapest thing.

What could be taken away, especially from the third floor, consisted mainly of treasured potions, alchemy creations, powerful Ocean Treasures, precious Extraordinary Materials, and significant, invaluable secular valuables.

Even functionality-stunted Ocean Treasures had to be dropped to the second floor, showing the preciousness of the third-floor treasury's collection!

It can be said that even taking only two-thirds of the Pirate Ship's load, the most valuable essence of the treasury has already been swept away by them.

The Netherlands Bank Group suffered an unprecedented loss!

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