“Stanley! What are you saying?!”
On the third floor of the Fairy Tavern, the Frozen King's voice was filled with shock and fury as she stared at the Shadow King in disbelief.
“That... That is Leon Douglas!”
“He is from the Heron Empire! He's the one who killed the Mad Shark King!”
“Even if you are also a human, Leon Douglas doesn't care about your human identity at all! He only cares about the Heron Empire and its people!”
“You want to seek allegiance with him now? To be his dog? Do you think he will care about your human identity? Will he trust you just because you are both humans?”
“No! He will only treat you as a tool! That's how all the major powers in this world are! You...”
“My mind is made up.” The Shadow King interrupted the Frozen King. His face was devoid of color as he let out a sigh and spoke to her.
“Right now, I have no way out.”
“How can you have no way out? As long as you are alive...”
“But I no longer have my former strength!” the Shadow King roared. Due to his agitation, his wounds began to bleed again, and his face grew even paler.
“Camilla, I don't just represent myself. I also represent all the brothers on the Shadow!”
“I must be responsible for them! In that rebellion seven days ago, Old Regatta died to protect me!”
“He left behind a mentally disabled wife and two young children who haven't grown up yet!”
“Kerrigan too. To help me break through the encirclement, he voluntarily stayed behind to cover our retreat...”
“And many others! So many people who followed me all the way and stood firmly by my side during the rebellion! I must be responsible for them!”
The Shadow King hung his head, avoiding the Frozen King's gaze. He let out a breath and said:
“Right now, my only path is to submit to the Heron Empire, to submit to Leon.”
The Frozen King bit her lip hard, but what could she say?
She belonged to the Fairy race and had the backing of Fairy Tail. Even if she could no longer survive in the Dusk Sea, she could return to Fairy Tail and receive the protection of that Diamond rank Fairy King.
But... the Shadow King was just a human.
The Fairy King would not recruit humans into his ranks.
In the end, the Frozen King could not say another word. She could only turn and leave the third floor of the Fairy Tavern.
Only two living beings remained on the third floor: the Shadow King and Cancer.
The Shadow King fell silent for a moment before saying, “Cancer, I know you have channels. Help me contact Leon.”
“Hey, relax.”
Cancer stood up and patted the Shadow King's shoulder, saying:
“Camilla is a fairy. She only has a few hundred fairies under her, and she has Fairy Tail backing her up. She can't understand your concerns.”
“But I'm different. I also have a bunch of people to support. I know what it feels like to have no money and no power.”
“Trust me, for us right now, submitting to the Heron Empire is the best choice!”
The Shadow King didn't look up at Cancer. He only kept his head lowered and asked, “Is it really the best...”
“Of course it is,” Cancer nodded slowly.
“You must have heard as well. Lord Leon, the true ruler of the Heron Empire's Southern Province, has already promoted to the Gold rank.”
“According to the information I've received, this isn't fake news... Lord Leon has indeed promoted from the Silver rank to the Gold rank.”
“Furthermore, based on the intel I've gathered, the reason he was able to promote to the Gold rank at the age of sixteen or seventeen is that he received a reward from the Heron Emperor—he consumed a Leaf of the Kabbalah Tree of Life!”
“You know about the Kabbalah Tree of Life, right? That is one of the most supreme things in this world...”
“In short, regardless of whether Leon was hiding his strength before and only decided to make a splash now that he has promoted to the Gold rank...”
“Or if he is truly a monster who speedran to the Gold rank in less than half a year.”
“With his current age, talent, and strength, he will definitely have a seat among the future great figures!”
“If we seek allegiance with him now, we might be able to rely on him in the future to earn ourselves a respectable title!”
After comforting the Shadow King with a few more words, Cancer happily walked out of the tavern, preparing to contact Leon through his channels.
“If Leon is willing to accept the Shadow King, I can also follow along and be his dog... Bah! What do you mean dog? This is called forsaking darkness for light!”
Cancer thought to himself. As the saying goes, it's easier to enjoy the shade under a large tree. In terms of background, strength, and current power, Leon was at the absolute top tier in the Heron Empire's Southern Province.
Once he submitted to Leon, he wouldn't have to worry about his future livelihood!
...
Half a day later.
Stormveil City.
“Oh? That Shadow King wants to submit to me?”
Leon sat in the main hall of the manor, looking at Doncic as he asked.
Doncic nodded slowly.
“It should be sincere. Right now, the Shadow King is severely injured, and his faction has suffered a massive blow due to the rebellion...”
After listening to Doncic's analysis of the current situation, Leon pondered for a couple of seconds and asked:
“What do you think?”
“I think... we can give it a try,” Doncic said.
“Although his faction has suffered heavy losses, he still holds decent value for us.”
“Besides, we indeed lack a foothold at sea.”
“With the Shadow King working with us from both the inside and outside, it will be much more convenient for us to gather intelligence or expand a second front when we face the Burns Court in the future...”
Doncic spoke at length, and Leon nodded as he listened.
Afterward, he went to consult the two members sent to Stormveil City from the Imperial Department of Policy Implementation.
After consulting various opinions, Leon finally found Doncic and instructed:
“Tell the Shadow King to sail the Shadow to Endless Bay in ten days. I will use the forces of the Burns Court to test him!”
“If he passes the test, I will accept him.”
Doncic received his orders and quickly flew away.
“Why... ten... days?”
Beside him, Alicia asked curiously.
Leon rubbed her head and said, “These ten days are for the Shadow King to deal with his internal forces, because not all of his subordinates are willing to submit to me.”
“Besides, ten days is also enough for me to clear the ruins of Jellyfish Town and obtain the Deep Diver.”
According to the information gathered earlier, there was a treasure named 【Deep Diver】 in the Evelyn ruins beneath the Zachary Manor in Jellyfish Town.
It was a submarine that Evelyn had poured her heart and soul into building. It possessed morphing capabilities as well as the ability to continuously and autonomously evolve.
According to Scott, the sole remaining member of the Alchemists' Association, if the surviving blueprints were correct, the Deep Diver's performance would still be highly competitive even today, with no risk of a technological gap caused by the passage of time.
Leon did not want to sail the Typhon to deal with the undead of the Burns Court.
As a heavy warship, the Typhon was far too cumbersome. To unleash its full cannon fire power and ship speed, it required a crew of over a hundred sailors, which was simply too much trouble.
If he could find the Deep Diver, he could directly use it to deal with the undead of the Burns Court.
If he could win, he would fight; if not, he could just submerge beneath the waves and escape.
When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance!
In any case, the undead were just piles of skeleton bones.
Although they wouldn't drown, if they went into the water, they would float on the surface because their bones were too light... They wouldn't be able to pursue him at all once he submerged...
After staying in the city for three days to make sure the Black and White Hand had no follow-up plans, Leon prepared to leave Stormveil and return to Eldenborg.
Just as he was about to leave, someone came to visit.
“Young Master Leon, there is a lady outside the manor calling herself Aurora. She wishes to pay a visit and apologize to you in person.”
Rate on N.U.
