In the days that followed, the Black Sea was tumultuous.

Hilus secretly dispatched several expedition ships led by Tier 3 Transcendents, hastily heading to the New Continent, their specific destinations unknown.

Nations with overseas colonies, taking advantage of this time of year when sea conditions were optimal, organized the final autumn voyages, somewhat anxiously.

No one would pass up the chance for gold coins, especially now when the countries on the continent heavily rely on the colonies for resources. A chance for large-scale navigation cannot be overlooked.

However.

Since no one knew what kind of profound impact the emergence of a new goddess in the Black Sea would have, the standards of the escort fleets exceeded all previous norms.

Even the Level 3 Battleships, usually serving as the flagship in an escort fleet, were mostly deployed in multiples (no matter how much emphasis was placed on the class of military ships in the escort fleet, they wouldn't be too high, as escort ships being slower than merchant ships would be problematic, except for quasi-legends).

The Phaletis Kingdom was, of course, no exception.

Signal flags waved.

"Weigh anchor! Set sail!"

Just as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had said, the window of opportunity was too precious. Aiven and the "Storm Horn" returned to New Inn Port but could not rest for long.

After a brief reunion with family and completing maintenance on the warships, they set off tirelessly towards the New Continent with the merchant fleet that had already been organized.

Accompanying them was an escort fleet consisting of a Level 3 ship "Endeavor" and three Level 5 Cruisers, along with twenty-five large and small merchant ships, making a grand total of thirty ships!

Even before their departure, Ambrose, who stayed behind in the Tyrone Kingdom to assist the local church in stabilizing people's faith, couldn't return in time, nor did other friends in New Inn Port have a chance to gather.

After arriving at the New Continent, this escort fleet would rotate duty with the previous batch of Navy stationed there, and returning to New Inn Port might not happen until six months later, in the spring of the following year.

Rustle... rustle...

The seemingly unified white sails slowly sailed out of the port.

However, they were far from comparable to Hilus' "Great Treasure Fleet." Lacking Overlord-level power, they dared not flaunt a massive fleet openly.

Moreover, because the kingdom's colonies were relatively impoverished, the goods traveling back and forth with Hilus' fleet (mostly gold, silver, and ink tree dyes) were far inferior in both quantity and value.

They aimed to utilize the last window of the year, riding the "Trident Ocean Current" and the returning Tessaga Ocean Current, to reach the northern New Continent within about two months.

This area was home to colonies of Phaletis and most Tulip member countries.

Since the ocean current direction flows from the relatively safe mainland to the New Continent, and the returning current's temperature dropped significantly, there's no need to worry about overly dangerous Demonized Creatures.

Of course, Aiven also didn't forget to fill his "Storm Horn" with various goods like industrial textiles and the most sought-after... firearms in the New Continent, flagrantly smuggling with no regrets due to lack of regulation.

On the other side.

After several urgent consultations between Phaletis and the Tyrone Kingdom's high officials, they announced publicly the return of the majority of the recovered stolen goods to the "Netherlands Bank Group."

In reality, only sixty percent of the total stolen goods were returned, and this was only after the bank group paid a massive and unimaginable "security fee."

Nonetheless, the directors, led by the "former chairman" Old Joel, were already extremely grateful.

Everyone was an adult, and the Kingdom Guardians weren't their personal security. Though the incident occurred on Tyrone Kingdom's territory, it didn't mean the Kingdom Guardians would be simply dutiful public servants handing back found treasures without reward.

Agreeing to trade some of it was already a favor considering centuries of "relations."

For the bank group now, recovering silver and gold which can be re-earned is insignificant. However, these unique items were key to restoring the bank group's reputation!

As for the remaining forty percent, it was already divided between the two countries.

What gets returned and what gets kept is ultimately decided by their hands.

The bank group maintained neutrality, but the two countries had their stances.

Items belonging to allies or neutral entities were returned at a premium, securing both a favor and ensuring ownership stayed within allies. On the other hand, treasures from hostile or competitive entities like Hilus, Sak, Atlant... were, of course, directly taken by them with laughter.

The bank group itself couldn't express dissatisfaction with this arrangement, given the substantial losses Tyrone Kingdom suffered from the Sea Monster attacks, this outcome was substantially better than being entirely looted by Hawkins.

Even the bank group's latest board meeting decided that once stabilized, they would rebuild headquarters in the Tyrone Kingdom.

Significantly increasing investments in both Phaletis and the Tyrone Kingdom.

The benefit of having no political stance is that they can conduct business globally without an issue, yet lack the highest power that only secular ruling classes possess.

After this catastrophic event, they reached resolute conclusions and prepared to start the first step in securing Tier 4 Title protection, using their best skill—money!

Though wealth might not provide much utility to a Tier 4 Title, it's a resource their residing kingdom will never find excessive.

Even at the cost of... permanently losing some clientele!

Why not seek a wild Tier 4 Extraordinary?

Regardless of whether such entities exist on the continent, or if they can remain hidden from the Church's eyes.

The sole point is, without attachments, they wouldn't care for rules. The greatest fear is welcoming not a Guardian, but a ravenous wolf.

Furthermore.

Due to the collateral damage that Tyrone Kingdom suffered during this incident, with Water City Nisk being almost razed to the ground, His Holiness the Pope, on behalf of the Tulip Alliance, issued a kill order for Hawkins himself!

Any provider of information would receive a generous bounty, and those who kill him, whether or not they are citizens of the Tulip Alliance, would receive an extremely rich reward from the alliance.

In this incident, Tyrone Kingdom, being the greatest victim, even sent the vigorous "Thunderbolt Halberd" to scour the sea, vowing to make Hawkins, who narrowly escaped the "Rose Sword Saint," pay the price.

However.

In the subsequent time, Hawkins and his pirates disappeared without a trace once again, just like after the massacre at "White Whale Port".

Everyone understood that just like last time when he was under the protection of the "Mother of Sea Monsters," this time under the protection of the "Sea Witch," Hawkins was also impossible to be found.

Under such circumstances, the situation at sea, as predicted by the high-levels of various human kingdoms, began to slowly stir up waves that could not be ignored.

.....

The surface of the Black Sea, which completely separates the new, southern, and old continents, presents an enormous, elongated S-shape.

Islands on the vast sea surface are not numerous.

But the most prominent feature of the underwater topography of this sea is an S-shaped ridge that also runs from north to south, known as the "Black Sea Ridge."

Which means that the Black Sea is not deepest at its center, but rather shows the characteristic of shallow, deep, shallow, deep, shallow starting from the land.

For the old nest of the "Mother of Sea Monsters," which is also the most active area for sea monsters in the Black Sea, many seafarers on long voyages are well aware.

Near the Summers Trench, in the northwest bend of that S-shape, there is a triangular area of at least five hundred kilometers that is an absolute forbidden zone for humans.

Fortunately, it is not on the main shipping routes between continents, so paying a little attention does not greatly affect human navigation.

However.

In the "Black Sea Ridge," towards the center slightly northward, there exists a gigantic, suddenly sunken "Sea Basin," and no one knows how deep this "Sea Basin" is.

All they know is that when standing on the ship looking down, it is an abyssal blackness, like a bottomless chasm, starkly different from the rest of the ridge's surface.

Because of this special nature.

After the Age of Navigation began, Hilus explorers, who first discovered the new continent through this place, named it the "Eye of the Black Sea," the "Source of the Ocean," believing that this nearly central point of the Black Sea might very well be the initial source of the entire sea!

But what they did not know was.

In distant antiquity, it already had its own name: "Eye of the Storm"!

And it was its former master—Black Sea Goddess Hipponeo—who named it!

This is quite normal because for ordinary humans, three hundred years are enough to witness the rise and fall of a nation, let alone a name lost in the dusty pages of history.

However, from now on, humans will slowly remember this name.

Because its master has returned.

Swoosh... swoosh...

Because the Eye of the Storm, which had been silent for three hundred years since its master left, has begun to slowly awaken, although not to the extent of changing the color of the sea and sky as before, it is steadily and indomitably strengthening.

Maybe in the short term, the impact on sea navigation is not significant, but as the power of the Black Sea Goddess gradually radiates, no one will be able to ignore this subtle influence in the future.

Just like the Summers Trench belonging to the "Mother of Sea Monsters"!

Most importantly, just as the route that Hilus used to discover the new continent.

If you draw a straight line between the "Hilus Kingdom" and the "Golden Sea," this gigantic "Sea Basin" named Eye of the Storm lies precisely at the midpoint of this line segment.

Like a fatal nail, it firmly pins the Hilus's existing route at its vital point!

In the depths of the Sea Basin.

Gurgle... gurgle...

A large white whale with a body glowing with white light led a group of humanoid creatures with gills, scales, and webs from the edge of a magnificent city enclosed by a giant circular bubble dome.

This underwater city, though now only a cluster of ruins, from its diameter of ten kilometers scale, one can see its former prosperity!

This is the once-holy residence of Hipponeo, the underwater city "Herakleian"!

After three hundred years, it finally has inhabitants once again.

A large number of nine-fingered men who were originally pirates but now serve as reserve Tempest Priests under the Goddess were busy in the ruins.

Gradually clearing the original ruins, slowly restoring it to its original state.

However.

Besides these humans, there are quite a few non-human beings active here.

They have dense, seaweed-like long hair, fins replace their ears, sharp teeth, and appear as beautiful female sea elves;

Large, muscular Rapids Fishmen with gills, scales, and webs;

The shortest is more than three meters tall, with blue skin covered in strange patterns, constantly sparking with lightning—the Storm Giant Spirits;

Even... semi-transparent, azure bodies dressed from various eras, seemingly made of mist or water—the Soul of Drowning.

Of course, there are also a group of wild sea monsters not governed by the "Mother of Sea Monsters"!

As the earliest recorded Black Sea God in human history, Hipponeo was clearly not one to hold a position without action; upon returning, She swiftly subdued numerous powerful extraordinary creatures living in the unknown realms of the ocean.

And what is Her purpose in summoning these creatures?

The answer is evident.

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