Chapter 545. Meeting

A map of the explored surface was presented before Charles inside a tent within the Colossal Hole Fortress. There were some photos pinned on the map using thumbtacks; the photos featured unusual things that the explorers had encountered, and they allowed Charles to understand the surface just a bit better.

The Colossal Hole Fortress was surrounded by a semi-desert biome—no, it seemed that the Colossal Hole was in the middle of a massive semi-desert region.

Fortunately, there were other biomes on the surface aside from the desert that Charles had explored in the 11 o'clock direction of the Colossal Hole.

Using the Colossal Hole as a massive clock, there was a region covered in semi-transparent black fog in the 2 o'clock direction of the Colossal Hole. It was an expansive region that extended all the way to the 4 o'clock direction.

The black fog wasn't toxic; humans could breathe within it, but the region had a gray, muddy swamp terrain, and it housed a variety of lifeforms. The worm that they had discovered long ago had come from the gray, muddy swamp biome.

The majority of the creatures in the swamp were extremely dangerous and had strange appearances. A great example of this was a bald bird that caused huge losses to Exploration Party No. 32.

The bald bird looked like a two-meter-tall naked humanoid bald eagle. It had a conical human face and a conical-shaped beak.

It already had a bizarre look, but what was even more bizarre was the fact that every single human being that stayed around it for more than half an hour would go to any lengths just to commit suicide.

To make matters worse, its special ability was effective even after its death. The members of Exploration Party No. 32 were none the wiser and tried to put one of them in the trunk after beating it to death.

Unfortunately, their decision proved costly, and they had to pay seven lives for it.

Adjacent to the region covered in black fog was a bowl-shaped basin. However, the party only managed to take a few photographs, which made it difficult to determine whether it was indeed a basin and that the semi-desert was in fact a plateau.

Two exploration parties had ventured bravely into the basin but none had yet to return. Unfortunately, their chances of survival were slim, as they had yet to return even now.

Charles reached out with his pen and wrote "dangerous" on the basin.

From the basin's 6 o'clock direction right up to the desert that Charles had explored was a vast region of semi-desert biome. Other explorers had ventured into the region until they ran out of resources to do so. Unfortunately, they didn't have any significant findings except for the fact that the soil quality had improved slightly in the region.

Meanwhile, over sixty exploration parties encountered diverse flora and fauna, which possessed special and bizarre abilities like the relics. It didn't matter whether they could move or were stationary; they could still exert their ability.

At this point, Charles finally confirmed that his assumption was correct. Everything on the surface world was a relic, regardless of whether they were living or inanimate objects.

However, it wasn't that useful for Charles, as he had come here for the darkness but had yet to find any clues related to it. Charles wasn't really disappointed; he had come here knowing that the matter was more complex than it seemed and that there was no way they'd find the darkness that quickly.

Charles examined the map before him and calculated the number of explorers he would need for the exploration. The first batch of explorers on the surface had already suffered over a dozen casualties. Reinforcements had to be provided soon, or they'd run out of explorers after a few more explorations.

While Charles was pondering over the issue, Bard entered the tent with a piece of paper in hand. "Governor, a telegram from Cat Island."

Charles didn't have to read the telegram to know what it contained. Julio had to have an agent stationed at the Colossal Hole Fortress, and they had definitely informed Julio of Charles' return.

With that in mind, Charles performed the summoning ritual right there and then without bothering to choose another location.

The sand took to the sky and converged into sand figures. Charles was surprised to see a third sand figure, but the third sand figure didn't look like a Fhtagnist at all.

The third sand figure was a man giving off a wealthy air. There was a monocle over his right eye, and a peaceful and honorable smile was on his round face, which made him appear friendly and amiable.

Charles was about to start asking questions when Julio, who was standing next to him, asked, "How is it? Have you found any leads on the darkness?"

Julio had directly addressed the elephant in the room, so Charles had no choice but to set aside his questions and recounted his experience to them.

After listening to Charles' recount, Harold stroked his beard and spoke, "The surface is dangerous, but it is a treasure trove. A place with such an abundance of relics does not exist in the seascape."

"This isn't the time to talk about such things. The preliminary exploration was successful, and time is of the essence. All resources in the Subterranean Sea should be diverted here, including all resources from your Southern Seas and Western Seas."

"By resources, I'm not just talking about explorers. I need manpower for the airship manufacturing factories and the shipyards."

Harold revealed a hint of difficulty on his face as he muttered, "That is not a trivial request..."

Charles sounded resolute as he retorted, "Every single island must bear a portion of the burden on the resources. Those capable of providing fuel should provide fuel, and those capable of providing food should provide food. We're fighting against the extinction of our species here, and we must give it our full attention!"

Julio nodded slowly with a solemn look. He said nothing, but his stance was clear.

"You're right, but it's not that simple once vested interests are involved. You know that the 'death light' just a year ago had inflicted tremendous losses on all of us," Harold said, his voice carrying a tinge of bitterness.

"Moreover, I'm the representative of the Western Seas, yes, but I am different from you. The Western Seas is composed of many families of varying sizes and strengths. I can talk to them, but they may not necessarily listen to me."

Charles was about to reply, but Julio couldn't hold it in anymore and exploded. "You bunch of unscrupulous old fogeys! Do you not understand our predicament? The Southern Seas and Northern Seas have already made a move, and the Western Seas must contribute as well!"

A round of negotiations between the three parties started. They wasted some time, but the matter was resolved. Every single island throughout the three sea regions had to contribute in more ways than contributing manpower, and they had to do it unconditionally.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The established families in the Western Seas were stubborn, but if any of them dared to resist, Harold, Julio, and Charles would work together to exert pressure on them at the same time.

The temporary alliance of the three was so strong that no power or organization in the Subterranean Sea could possibly shake them at the moment. The three disliked each other, but they knew to prioritize things, and their top priority was the retrieval of the darkness. Of course, it wasn't like their common goal wasn't in line with their vested interests.

The elephant had finally been addressed, so Charles decided to ask some of the burning questions in his mind. He turned his gaze to the man beside him and asked, "Who is he? Is he here to replace the Fhtagn Covenant as the representative of the Eastern Seas?"

"Allow me to introduce myself formally. My name is Jax[1], and I'm the President of the Explorers Association. Nice to meet you, Governor Charles," Jax said, bowing slightly.

Charles turned to Julio and said, "Why did you bring him here? I'm sure you know that decisions in this meeting aren't decided by votes, right? Bringing your acquaintances here is useless."

"Shut up, Charles. If you don't know anything, then it's better if you keep quiet. He came here by himself," Julio said, and his sand figure crumbled, falling to the ground.

Jax turned to Charles and said, "Please believe me when I say that I have no connections with him whatsoever. The Explorers Association does not favor any governor. We treat every single explorer equally."

"Is that so? Then, why did Julio help you out when Swann attacked you?"

"Well, we paid a price in exchange for Julio's assistance."

Click!

Charles' pocket watch opened. He took it out and glanced at it before putting it back into his pocket, saying, "Forget it, let's talk business. Time is precious, so hurry up and speak."

"I'm here to inform you that the Explorers Association is going to contribute a portion of our strength to your cause, Governor Charles. We've come here to help. We are in the face of an unprecedented calamity, after all."

1. previously translated as Kraft. The author changed it to Jax and used Jax all the way. ☜