Splash, splash, splash——

With the tow rope attached, the "Royal Guardian" pulled the "Storm Horn," which had a damaged rudder and was struggling to move, towards the estuary. Although it was still being towed by the Water Elemental Sea Dog Cephus, it was much faster than the "Storm Horn" could run on its own.

Standing at the bow of the ship, feeling the sea breeze.

Although the weather was gloomy and the sea was slowly turning into a deep, dark color, Aiven's mood was unprecedentedly good due to the unexpected reunion with his sister.

The only regret was.

Before today, he had imagined countless times the scene of reuniting with Anita, hoping to display his divine power so she would look at him in a new light. Unexpectedly, it turned out just like before: he needed Anita, the sister with full combat power, to protect him.

However, the sea bird suddenly speaking did give Anita quite a scare.

Anita didn't say much about Aiven not following the family tradition of the Knight's Path and instead dabbling as the mysterious Wizard, just as Aiven easily accepted his sister's current role as a Great Pirate.

Family members, of course, should be tolerant of each other.

Especially for siblings who reunite after many years, they cherish each other more deeply.

Past experiences are not entirely within one's control, and minor disagreements on the future path are nothing to them.

Aiven even plotted to get a few privateering licenses from the Crown Prince, then recruit his sister into service, overpowering her instead—that would be perfect! Hehehe...

Despite the two siblings not saying much over the Sea Bird Messenger, Aiven left Anita two Communication Seagulls, allowing them to stay in touch anytime over the Black Sea in the future.

Afterwards.

Aiven did not stop Anita from her upcoming journey to Ilya, nor did Anita persuade Aiven to abandon his task of assisting in defensive duties. They only promised each other that their top priority was their own safety, never taking unnecessary risks.

Even though they briefly met and separated again, their moods were entirely different compared to the past!

The speed of the two returning battleships was very fast.

Clang——

"Huff... huff..."

When they docked at the dilapidated military port on the northern cape, Major General Koverdale had just climbed out of the sea not long ago, dropped his longsword, and lay on the shore, panting heavily.

The final Sea Monster, the "Water Cannon Humpback Whale," was naturally dealt with by him, but the battle was not easy for the General.

Evidently, even among the Great Knights, there are clear differences in combat power. In fact, this disparity might be even greater than that between the Official Knight Level!

Step.. step.. step..

Aiven and Solomon accompanied by several officers approached Koverdale, helping him up.

"General, what should we do next?"

Looking at the devastated scene, Major General Koverdale sighed heavily. In front of Aiven and Solomon, he didn't have to maintain a composed image and revealed his rather powerless plan:

"Wait. The message has already been sent to the Royal Capital, and although the Communication Crystal can only transmit a limited amount of information at a time, the invasion of over a hundred Sea Monsters is enough to alert the Kingdom.

Now the Kingdom Guardian, Lord Augustus with the 'Thunderbolt Halberd,' is likely on his way here.

Just hope Hawkins' speed is slower, so he directly runs into Lord Augustus's hands."

Upon hearing this.

Aiven, about to speak, suddenly frowned.

Before returning to port, he had already sent out all his sea birds, extending the reconnaissance range to nearly a hundred kilometers, covering a large area with a sea bird network.

This included both the sea and land, especially the increasingly strange waters in front of him and the must-pass route upstream of the "Leiden River" for Hawkins' return journey.

Thus, he easily used the perspective of the sea birds to see the "Eternal Imprisonment Sacred Statue," sailing downstream and possibly only minutes away from the estuary.

And...

And a person standing fifty kilometers away amidst the waves!

His dark green hair, like seaweed, writhing continuously like a living creature, his ears replaced by green fin leaves, cheeks covered in scales with two gill lines emitting mucus, constantly opening and closing.

Wearing a deep blue leather robe, beneath which dozens of octopus-like tentacles writhed.

While others might not recognize him, mistaking him for some kind of monster, Aiven, having "fortunately" met him once, could not fail to recognize him.

That person was simply... Tien Kute, Vice President of the Deep Sea Brotherhood and the Sea God's Son, Shepherd of Tide!

Most importantly, this was a solid Tier 4 powerhouse!

Even if all the people here combined, they couldn't match a single finger of his.

"Milan!"

Immediately, he called over Milan, who was following behind, to establish a Mind Connection among himself, the General, and Solomon.

In the next moment.

Everyone saw Hawkins, flowing downstream, and the half-human, half-monster figure on the water. After quickly explaining who this person was, connecting with what his sister had just said, Aiven suggested:

"The army of Sea Monsters might have really run aground at the riverbed, only three followed Hawkins back. However, it's obvious that this 'Sea God's Son' is here to assist Hawkins.

So, regardless of what that Pirate King has done upstream, whether or not the Kingdom's reinforcement arrives, I think we better run quickly!"

Unexpectedly, the General glared and showed Aiven and the others what it meant to have the 'stubborn' will of a Great Knight:

"You all go ahead, I've said before that I will fight to the death and not retreat! Even if it means giving my life, I want to tear a piece off of Hawkins… hey hey hey?"

Before he could finish his words, a few people already picked up the General, who was still trying to hold his ground, and ran towards the shore.

Meanwhile, Aiven had already conveyed the General's 'command' to all the soldiers: "By the General's order! A strong enemy approaches, all combat personnel, abandon the position, abandon the battleship, and take cover onshore!"

Watching the two battleship captains with the highest ranks on-site dragging the garrison commander and bolting away.

Ordinary officers and soldiers didn't hesitate anymore; whether navy on the battleship or garrison in the fortress, they dropped their heavy weapons and immediately followed.

Hawkins left five giant species to occupy the estuary, but it was achieved by Tien Kute just by showing his face. I must admit the deterrence of a Tier 4 Peak Powerhouse, and I can't help but say it's a real irony.

The soldiers moved swiftly, and within just over ten minutes, they had relocated to a high slope on land along with the wounded, hiding amidst the dense trees.

Even the previous tsunami couldn't reach here; in a situation with a lot of people and limited time, staying here should be more than enough to handle possible maritime disasters.

Not long after.

Splash splash splash…

Accompanied by the loud sound of water, under the escort of one 'Sea King Shell' and two 'Sea Tide Shells', the 'Eternal Imprisonment Sacred Statue' carried Hawkins, his pirates, and countless treasures out of the estuary.

Hawkins wasn't bothered at all about his five Sea Monsters left here completely disappearing. Since there were no garrison troops to stop him just like upstream, he sailed directly to the sea.

"Is he going to escape now? Why hasn't the Kingdom Guardian arrived yet?!"

To Major General Koverdale, a standard military man of the Kingdom, the hardest thing to bear was seeing Hawkins, the main culprit causing substantial casualties and property loss to the Kingdom, walk away swaggering after succeeding in his operation...

Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking.

Blare—!

The conch horn sounded, and barely kilometers out of the estuary, the three Sea Monsters stopped alongside the pirate ship.

Even Aiven and his group, standing where they had taken cover, could see the scene there with the naked eye.

By now, the sea's waves had become increasingly bizarre. The wind speed was no more than 12 kilometers per hour, yet the wave height reached a full 3.5 meters, as if the waves had been manipulated by an unknown force, moving without wind.

And what happened next there almost made their jaws drop.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

After Hawkins ordered to drop anchor and dock.

The first thing he did was transform into a shadow on the three shellfish Sea Monsters, dutifully dragging the pirate ship for nearly 200 kilometers of waterway, delivering a punch to each.

The crimson [Frenzy], with the special force technique of 'Eight-Armed Fist', turned into an extremely sinister vibrational wave that shattered the soft body trapped inside the seemingly invulnerable shells of the sea shells into pulp!

The three Sea Monsters, not known for their combat prowess, didn't even make a sound before collapsing.

Crack—

Afterwards, he held up the Hilus Crown he had been holding, pried off the massive gemstone embedded in its arched top.

He tossed the now bald golden Kingdom crown in his hand and then threw it like a useless shoe to his trusted aide Danfo Mafia.

"Send the signal!"

After a solemn order, Hawkins carefully held the gemstone, truly the 'Heart of the Ocean' from Black Sea, jumped off the pirate ship again, and walked alone on the sea.

The furious waves in the sea originally, at this point, retreated before this gemstone, giving way to a path.

"What is he doing?"

Aiven looked around at his companions, but everyone wore a puzzled expression. They couldn't guess why Hawkins killed the last three Sea Monsters he brought to the Tyrone Kingdom, or what he was doing now.

Equally clueless was the uninvited guest 'Shepherd of Tide' Tien Kute, who was waiting here long ago.

Glug… glug…

Before Hawkins, the water splashed, and Tien Kute stepped out. In the blink of an eye, he was there from 50 kilometers away.

He didn't even glance at the three Sea Monsters now floating lifelessly on the sea. They were just leftovers given to Hawkins. How they were handled didn't concern him.

As long as...

He extended a green, gooey hand towards Hawkins.

"Mr. Hawkins, please hand over the item to me."

Hawkins wasn't surprised at his appearance at all. His attitude completely changed from the respect he once had for the three chairmen, and he chuckled, "Haha, so 'White Remains' really sent you out to monitor me?"

Tien Kute frowned. He sharply sensed that something was off about Hawkins' attitude, and he icily stared straight into Hawkins' eyes, "Ignorant human, do you intend to betray the great Goddess? Don't forget about the curse on you, you should well understand the consequences of betrayal!"

"Hahaha, me? Betray? It should be you who are betraying!"

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