For Sea Snake Chieftain Gresham, today was a rare good day.
Over the past few years, as the Seafolk closest to the Bair Kingdom, life in the underwater city of Sata had been getting worse and worse.
Schools of fish had mysteriously escaped from the coastal waters. Seaweed and other marine products had greatly decreased in production, withered, and mutated. Forget about the good days of finding food in the wild in the past, the days of simply scattering some seeds and being able to reap great harvests were now gone.
If this was tolerable, then the magical oil spill incident more than ten years ago was truly unacceptable.
For two whole years, floating to the surface of the water had become an extremely painful matter.
If one was accidentally contaminated by the oil, even if it was only a tiny bit of diluted transparent oil, not only would the Seafolk's gills not be able to breathe normally, it would also cause a series of respiratory diseases.
Many strong Seafolk warriors had to lie on their sickbeds in agony for half a year. They even coughed up pieces of their internal organs, and finally died miserably.
Although Sata's main tribe, the Sea Giants, had negotiated with the Surface Dwellers to clean up the oil and clean up the environment … it was all to no avail.
Cleaning up the environment was always more difficult than pollution. Bair was a superpower in magical engineering. Various new technologies were constantly being developed, and the industrial GDP was rising year after year … Driven by profits, there would always be people who would choose the simplest way to pollute the water, which was to directly discharge it into the coastal waters.
Moreover, even if they didn't directly pollute the water, the rain, the underground water, and the polluted rivers would all flow into the sea. The entire natural cycle filled with unnatural aura would never forget about the sea.
Over the past few years, the coastal waters' environment was getting worse by the day.
There was less and less food to eat, and the living environment was getting smaller and smaller. Even if one didn't do anything, one's body would mysteriously weaken, grow deformed organs, become ill, and even die.
At first, the Seafolk thought that it was some kind of witchcraft or curse. Later, according to the students who returned from overseas studies, this was magical pollution, the result of the entire coastal waters being polluted.
Complain? Complain? Complain to who? Complain to who?
The polluters were definitely Bair's people. However, with the mega empire Bair's influence … Times had changed. The formerly powerful Sea Tribe had missed out on several industrial revolutions due to the development of magical engineering. They were now nothing more than a primitive tribe in the eyes of the modern Aishi People.
Primitive people dressed in turf accuse civilized people of destroying the environment. A small African country accuses the United States of destroying world peace. Perhaps this was an attention-grabbing headline, but how effective could it be? It wasn't completely ineffective. At the very least, it could support the editors and reporters of the tabloids, and it could also make people happy.
Why didn't they just migrate to the deep sea?
In fact, many mainlanders had misconceptions. They believed that there was no difference between the Sea Clan underwater and that they were all strange aquatic creatures.
But in fact, every Sea Tribe had their own territory. They had certain requirements for the surrounding environment, the water pressure, and the temperature of the ocean currents. The Sea Tribes around here were all offshore. It was impossible for them to migrate to the deep sea.
Not only that, the Sea Tribe in the deep sea was only a relative concept. When the water depth reached a certain level, it would be the home of all sorts of gigantic sea monsters, sea beasts, and carnivorous fish. Even if the intelligent Sea Tribe could withstand the pressure of the deep sea, they wouldn't be able to resist the gigantic predators.
Take Gresham's own tribe for example. It was said that in his grandfather's generation, there had been three to four thousand Sea Tribe members. But now, there were less than five hundred Sea Tribe members, and there hadn't even been a single war.
This was the result of many factors. Environmental pollution, increasing deformities of newborns, a premature death rate, and food that was becoming harder and harder to obtain. Many young Sea Tribe members were unable to tolerate such a lifestyle. They disregarded the Gods' teachings and traditions and chose to go to the land … Most never returned.
Perhaps the Sea Tribe's current decline had been destined from the moment that the Ocean Gods had refused to change.
Perhaps the current situation had already been rejected by the current era when the Sea Tribe still insisted on respecting the strong. More than seventy percent of the Sea Tribe's youths chose to become warriors instead of working.
In other areas, the Sea Tribe could still clean up the pollution while finding ways to improve themselves. However, the Sea Tribe who maintained their divine authority and feudal system, and even refused to allow their own Sea Tribe members to learn magical engineering, couldn't even find a way to improve themselves.
Right now, the tribes near the sea, which used to be regarded as strong soldiers on par with the elites of the super empires and natural disasters lurking in the water, might not necessarily be able to defeat the magically modified fishing boats or the industrial ships that secretly discharged pollutants and mined. The so-called "Sea Returners of the Ocean" in the past naturally became a joke.
In fact, the Sea Tribe even discovered that the Sea Tribe had an abundance of resources. Countless unscrupulous merchants came here to "trade." Yep, if using rare metals, sunken antiques, gold coins, and art in exchange for hot food could be considered "trade."
Even more ridiculous were the Sea Tribe's armed fishing boats. They were even more ruthless than the Sea Tribe's hunters, robbing the Sea Tribe's fish resources. The Sea Tribe would then process the fish into cooked food and sell it to other Sea Tribe members who loved seafood … You wouldn't even be able to defeat the Sea Tribe even if you wanted to.
The Sea Tribe's trade scissors were probably even more ridiculous than the colonists who used glass balls to exchange for gold.
Not all Sea Tribe members were foolish. Gresham didn't dare to say that he was a radical Reformist, but he was considered quite a good Sea Tribe member.
Gresham stepped on the line and broke many conventions and traditions.
He led his Sea Tribe members to serve the Sea Tribe's visitors, providing navigation, escort, and mining services in exchange for excellent technology, food, and most importantly, excellent medical treatment.
Although everyone knew that the source of the Sea Tribe's pollution was the residents of the Sea Tribe, and it was rather comical for Gresham to take the initiative to seek medical treatment, there was nothing he could do about it. He could only accept the current situation.
No matter what, after establishing contact with the Sea Tribe's illegal hospitals, the Sea Tribe's newborns wouldn't die so easily. Even a small respiratory disease wouldn't become a terminal illness.
Gresham managed to establish contact with the residents of the Sea Tribe. Over the years, he had even accumulated some Sea Tribe currency. He intended to buy the right to operate the Sea Tribe's inland rivers and move his entire Sea Tribe there while operating the river transportation … The pollution had already forced the Sea Tribe to evolve into a freshwater Sea Tribe.
This time, it was because he had a way to contact the Sea Tribe that he found an opportunity.
"The God Equipment Heart of the Ocean has appeared. It will appear on a cruise ship headed to Bair. Only by killing its master will you be able to obtain it. As long as you complete this task, you will gain the favor of a VIP. As long as the promise isn't too excessive, feel free to mention it. "
After repeatedly confirming that it wasn't a lie, and that the identity of the VIP was faintly revealed, Gresham was inexplicably surprised.
What did the VIP's promise mean? It meant that his Sea Tribe could realize their dreams. They could find a good river, no, they could even choose a lake to migrate to and live in. That clean, fresh water was a heavenly enjoyment.
No, no, no, he was being too petty. That was the VIP of Bair, how could he waste his promise like that?
How about a new law that forbids pollution and fishing … No, those coastal fishermen and enterprises didn't even take the law seriously. How about a batch of land breathing devices for his Sea Tribe to migrate to the Sea Tribe's surface?
But when he found out what the "Heart of the Ocean" was from the Sea Tribe's diviner, even the VIP's promise meant nothing.
It was said that the Heart of the Ocean was a deep blue sapphire. If one stared at it, they would be able to see that it nurtured the entire ocean.
It was a relic left behind by the Goddess of the Ocean who died more than six hundred years ago. Back then, she was the VIP of the Ocean Gods. Legend had it that it possessed the Divine Power and Divine Title of the Ocean Gods. Even if a mortal possessed it, they would have the authority to command the ocean.
Legend had it that the Goddess of the Ocean relied on it to trigger a great flood that submerged the Auland Empire, which was also a mega-empire, and even took over their territory … In the eyes of the Sea Tribe, who were becoming increasingly poor and weak, this was nothing more than a legendary battle achievement of their ancestors.
"Counterattack the Continent!"
"Use the flood to submerge the coastal cities and make our ocean truly ours."
For such a huge mission, the Sea Snake Tribe only had less than three hundred warriors. Naturally, they had to gather the other Sea Tribe members to do it together.
The fanaticism and excitement of the other Sea Tribe leaders who were invited here made Gresham somewhat fearful.
Just a God Equipment, and a God Equipment that they hadn't even gotten their hands on, and they wanted to start a war with the Continent? Furthermore, they wanted to start a war with the "Bair Dragon Kingdom", which had the strongest air force in the Continent. Didn't these people know what happened to the Goddess of the Ocean and her army back then?
Not only that, the Heart of the Ocean had been kept as a spoil of war and a national treasure in another mega-empire, the Auland Empire. Since there was no news of the Heart of the Ocean being stolen, it was likely that the Auland Empire had used a private channel to transfer the Heart of the Ocean. The Sea Tribe was already daring enough to rob the Heart of the Ocean, and now they even dared to use a God Equipment to start a war with the humans … Were they trying to enjoy being surrounded by the strongest naval and air forces of the two mega-empires in the Continent?
However, there was no turning back. At this moment, the fanatical Sea Tribe members were unable to stop themselves.
Even Gresham didn't intend to stop. After all, rather than doing nothing and waiting for the Sea Tribe to die, he might as well be rash and take a gamble. Perhaps there would still be a chance for him to turn things around.
On the left, he was waiting for death. On the right, he was actively seeking death. Although Gresham had made up his mind, he had been suffering from insomnia for half a month.
Sometimes, Gresham even envied the other single-celled Sea Tribe members. They didn't need to think too much. All they did was hunt, mate, fight, and rely on the heavens for food. If their Sea Tribe died, then so be it. In fact, they didn't even know why their Sea Tribe died.
If the Sea Snake Tribe had stomach problems as well, then this Sea Tribe leader who always had a worried expression would probably have a gastric perforation.
But today, when the promised date finally arrived, Gresham's mood suddenly improved.
"There's a Sea Monster! It's the 'Black Venomous Whip King,' the emissary of the Gods. "
The appearance of the Sea Monster Giant Octopus doubtlessly meant that the Gods were watching.
"Great Ruler of the Ocean, you still haven't forgotten about your Sea Tribe."
When the sea monsters emerged from the deep sea and attacked the cruise ship, Gresham was so moved that tears fell from his eyes.
The Sea Monster's attack was indeed effective. The Sea Tribe's defenders were distracted and didn't notice the Sea Tribe members secretly boarding the cruise ship. As long as the Sea Tribe members got close to the Sea Tribe, their powerful physical bodies and combat techniques were more than enough to crush the humans who were relying on their weapons.
The Sea Tribe's attack was a great success. Even though the Sea Tribe members managed to escape the pursuit by relying on a speedboat, the Sea Tribe members were the true masters of the vast and boundless ocean.
The Sea Tribe's diviners were all on the move now. The Sea Tribe members who had locked onto the Sea Tribe members would eventually catch up to the Sea Tribe members who didn't know what fatigue was.
And this moment came much earlier than expected.
"It seems that we've run out of gas."
Gresham looked at the speedboat that was slowing down in the distance. He was almost relieved when he suddenly thought of something troublesome.
"The Gods are interfering. Could it be that they want the Heart of the Ocean? If their emissary wants us to hand it over …"
After being moved and amazed, Gresham's rationality returned to him as he recalled how the Sea Tribe's Gods had always done things. His mood instantly became terrible.
But now obviously wasn't the time to think too much. The two human ships that were supervising the Sea Tribe members had already locked onto their target. If the Sea Tribe members were the first to take the Heart of the Ocean, it would be a new problem.
* Boom! *
But suddenly, a silver light flashed from the silver speedboat and viciously struck the human ship.
The tremendous explosion caused waves to ripple. Gresham looked at the scene in front of him in disbelief. If this attack had been aimed at him, he definitely wouldn't have been able to survive.
And according to the information provided by the humans, the Sea Tribe members and the Sea Tribe members clearly weren't armed at all.
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