Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 568 - 504 The Hilus Empire and the Scales of the Sea Monster

Five minutes later.

Aiven, who was clutching his head after being gently hit by Olivia, stood up, tidied his hair, and finally had the chance to activate his ring to check what kind of witchcraft had been solidified onto it.

The main advantage of organic gemstones is their low cost, but it does not solve the issue of Spirituality in gemstones deteriorating with the use of witchcraft.

So, as a milestone souvenir of their joint research project, Olivia did not imbue these two rings with any particularly strong witchcraft abilities. Instead, she utilized the inherent properties of sapphire to solidify two Memory Capturing Techniques within them, each recording the dynamic image of the other.

Sta——

Amidst the shimmering starry fragments, a pale blue light flowed.

The Olivia in Aiven's ring had a phantom splendid large bow slowly drawn above her head. The beautiful girl, dressed in a full set of gemstone armament, made a gesture of shooting, with a blazing "Gem Star" burning brightly on her fingertip.

It was the initial motion to unleash [Gem Witchcraft: Shattered Star], the radiant girl's robe fluttered gracefully, both beautiful and extravagant!

Meanwhile.

The ring on Olivia's hand was also activated.

The handsome young man was dressed in a general's uniform with a command saber at his waist, and the captain's cloak billowed in the wind behind him—still looking very normal at this point. But then the style shifted; he presented a heart-shaped wallet with both hands and generously sprinkled sunshine... no, it was jewels towards the radiant girl.

At that moment, his posture was unbelievably stylish!

"Ahem..."

Olivia coughed lightly, at an opportune moment.

Aiven immediately understood.

A strong survival instinct instantly overwhelmed everything else, and with a smile, he obediently handed over all the earnings from just selling the "Thunderstorm Staff" into Olivia's open palm.

"Oh ho ho..."

In the girl's victorious laughter, the poor man who had lost his stash of private money slunk back into the workshop to continue earning money for the family.

The alchemy workshop was equipped with a bedroom, lavatory, living room, study, and a small information room, as well as temperature control facilities. With all the living supplies Aiven and Olivia had prepared in the storage space in advance, even in this desolate land of ice and snow, their living quality hardly declined.

Moreover, with the highly automated biological modulation laboratory, Aiven didn't need to constantly supervise and still had time to study one of the core knowledge pieces from Volume Four of "Flesh Sacrifice" - [Witchcraft: Activation of Dead Objects].

With detailed research data from the Great Wizard "Steel Man," Aiven quickly absorbed this new knowledge.

Though currently limited by his wizard level, he couldn't yet create an army of activated puppets like toy soldiers, he had mastered quite a few prerequisite witchcrafts within the same system.

For instance, the [Witchcraft: Demonized Weapons] that Aiven often used before ascending to "Branded Swordsman," now had an advanced version [Strong Demonic Weapon].

Its effect was comparable to the [Extraordinary Weapon Blessing] held by the Totem God "Great Sea Shark" Oveg, and it was more targeted, permanently enchanting weapons through solidification with extraordinary materials.

In reality.

Though the technology used in those "Thunderstorm Staffs" was existing, during the mass production process, this [Strong Demonic Weapon] greatly increased Aiven's efficiency and saved costs.

Eighty percent of the 998 silver coins were net profit.

Unlike the initial idea of using electrolytic aluminum to open another financial path, aluminum, the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust, wasn't actually valuable. If too many luxury items flowed into the market, the price would quickly drop.

But military goods, being a necessity and hard currency, never will; old weapons become outdated and discarded, as long as humans exist, the market will forever be there.

As the famous saying goes: "According to statistics, there are over fifty million private guns worldwide, averaging one for every twelve people. Our problem is, how... to let the remaining eleven people also own their guns."

A word floated through Aiven's mind—selling wars!

Shaking his head, he cast away this terrifying idea. After all, he wasn't a devotee of the God of Black Wings, nor did he possess divine positions like "War of Injustice," "Violence," "Plundering," or "Theft," to bring him power.

How could there be any justification for him to earn all the money alone?

However.

Meanwhile, in the Mind Network, on another island within the defense island chain.

Two tall silhouettes with dense, algae-like long hair donned identical dark green bodysuits and were fiercely battling each other.

One kick could shatter the ground beneath; the razor-sharp blade suddenly extended from their slender wrists, and the scale-like armor covering key positions offered excellent protection to the wearer.

Green shadows flickered, and blades clashed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!...

Sparks flew.

Beside them, a group of well-figured sea elves wearing the same dark green bodysuits cheered and encouraged their fighting companions.

These sea elves' custom-made "Venom" armor made his "solemn oath" quite unconvincing.

Every piece of "Venom" they wore was specially adjusted by Aiven to fulfill the various requirements of these major customers, ensuring their joyful arrival and satisfactory departure.

Evidently.

Aside from the Souls of Drowning, who didn't need any equipment, the other three clans had already felt the warmth that arms dealer Aiven brought to them, whether in standard or custom gear.

In the "Tempest Church," these beautiful creatures were indeed wealthy, spending lavishly without even batting an eye.

The "Venom" armor perfectly met the needs of the sea elves; aesthetic, waterproof, automatically cleansed, power-amplifying, offering additional protection for those proficient in magic-like abilities but physically frail.

Especially for certain members holding the "Sea Monster Knight" responsibility, it greatly enhanced their combat power and survival capability.

This is a technology Aiven developed while still in the New Continent. It can alter physical properties through the modulation of "venom," integrating functions like power amplification, venom blades, venom armor, automatic repair, low-level intelligence, and strain language, far exceeding steel armor.

Aiven envisions ultimately being able to use "venom" to create activated ship armor, attaching it to the surface of regular battleships, replicating the above abilities and even achieving partial automation.

Not much needs to be done manually; automatic raising, lowering of sails, and steering can save over half of the total crew, freeing them to be assigned to combat positions.

In the upcoming war, the sea elves massively equipped with "venom" armor will be the perfect personnel for practical testing.

Additionally.

Aiven also drew inspiration from the same series of minor magic in Witchcraft: Activation of Dead Objects: Sub-elemental Spirits, applying it anew on the basis of primitive witchcraft to create Puppet Bombs that can move on their own.

Thus, during this period, he has been desperately stockpiling his bomb inventory relying on the rich mineral resources nearby, especially phosphate. When the time comes, he is sure to give the sea monster army a big surprise.

Other gains include the creation of a new aggressive witchcraft called Flesh Destruction by integrating high-level knowledge from Volume One and Volume Three, aimed at modifying large flesh creatures.

Targeting the basic structural composition of skin and flesh.

If struck on the body without Extraordinary Power protection, smaller creatures will turn to waste, and large creatures like sea monsters can directly create a big hole, which is basically a death sentence without regeneration ability.

Aiven is confident that as long as he can thoroughly study the skin structure of high-tier Extraordinary creatures in the future and make targeted adjustments, even the magic resistance of dragon skin might not withstand such an attack—extremely vicious!

It's fair to say that this time devoted to research represents an important legacy on Aiven's wizardry path, transforming the once-acquired knowledge and resources into real power.

Fully preparing for the coming battle.

Aiven is very clear that there are natural persons in the Tier 4 ranks among the Deep Sea Brotherhood, Sea God's Son, to deal with. His task and that of these Tempest Church combatants are to block the sea monster army.

The victors of this war will determine the fate of Kraken, the King of Sea Monsters, influencing to a certain extent the survival of the Tempest Church, directly determining whether Aiven's envisioned territory is a futile endeavor.

"All the collected materials are sufficient, and the preparation for the ceremony can begin."

Watching the vast and calm northern sea through the eyes of a sea bird, Aiven murmured to himself.

...

While Aiven and Olivia stayed in the depths of the vast ocean, preparing for the coming battle.

Another event that attracted the attention of all human nations arrived as scheduled.

The wedding and coronation of Philip II, King Hilus, were held simultaneously in the Dome Palace of St. Cruz Royal Capital.

Guarded by four Titled Knights.

Philip II officially succeeded as Emperor of the Holy Rosar Empire, inheriting the millennium wealth expertly managed by the Frisia Kingdom, allowing the Hilus Kingdom... No, Hilus Empire to have a significant reprieve.

In this context, the failure of the invincible fleet of the Southern Continent seemed like a drizzle, with national morale unprecedentedly high, as if ushering in a prosperous scene where oil is scorching and flowers are blooming.

At the same time, Hilus received full support from the Tinder Sect, starting a new round of religious reform.

Moreover.

The churches of the other six gods among the Seven Gods acknowledged the status of the reform faction Tinder Sect of Eternal Flame at the first opportunity, and each sincerely congratulated Archbishop Wycliffe with the ceremony usually reserved for the Pope.

The strength of the Archbishop is recognized by Eternal Flame; as long as he remains Archbishop, no one can say he has betrayed the Eternal Flame.

He established the core of the Tinder Sect in the Leon Cathedral of St. Cruz Royal Capital.

And proposed two core propositions.

The first point: What belongs to God returns to God, and what belongs to the king returns to the king.

The second point: The church should not be centered around the Pope and bishops; the electorate of Eternal Flame should be its core. The church's only leader is the Eternal Flame, not the Pope.

Wycliffe does not directly oppose the papal system, but he believes that everything the Pope says and does should meet the requirements in the doctrine for the church leader.

Meaning, the Pope must be simple, pious, and hardworking like the true believers, not obsessed with power, struggle, and wealth. Otherwise, he is not God's elector and cannot serve as the church's leader.

He opposes Popes who behave like tyrants, exclusively respecting only themselves and destructively persecuting supposed heretics and dissenters.

The approach of the Tinder Sect is evidently more inclusive, thus garnering support from many believers and dignitaries.

Those who have grown weary of the original church's radical and domineering style extend well beyond the monarch himself.

Your Majesty Emperor Philip II also seized the opportunity to abolish the old church and promote the new church across the Hilus Empire.

Unexpected yet logical.

After being crowned as Emperor of the Empire, Philip II's first act ignited a fire against the radical faction within the Eternal Flame Church.

This obviously stirred the interests rooted in the "Holy City" of Novigrad within the radical faction of the church, who would absolutely not sit idly by and watch the world's foremost nation escape their control.

A religious storm brewing over faith and rights is quietly unfolding.

The crowd eats melon in collective silence.

...

And in the Southern Polar Region, completely untouched by mainland affairs.

As time approaches the end of April, slightly later than expected. Aiven's helpers Pipi and Principal Princeton have consecutively arrived in position.

The expected "Deep Sea Brotherhood" and the endless sea monster army have finally revealed their scales!