Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Chapter 715 - 323: Battleground of Multiple Factions (Part 2)

Wu Chang was very familiar with the leading Archbishop Gelman, the most powerful archbishop in the National Church, highly likely to become the next Pope. In every bad incident in the Peaceful Town Dungeon, his shadow was present.

Including but not limited to branding Ebert as a heretic, coercing him into joining the artificial god plan, and attempting multiple times to forcibly advance the fusion of the Great Saint Mother and Erin during the plan’s progress.

Even the item letter that triggered Wu Chang’s hidden side quest was written by Archbishop Gelman, aiming to confirm Jermaine Count’s progress with Ebert and to reap the benefits through the "Blessing of the Great Saint Mother" necklace.

The involvement of Archbishop Gelman likely indicates that the projection of the Great Saint Mother was also participating in the operation.

To deal with Wu Chang and the resurrected Erin, the Ogre National Church was well prepared. However, Wu Chang had already left the plane with Erin, so even with the Great Saint Mother’s projection present, their tracks couldn’t be found.

What he didn’t expect was that although Archbishop Gelman couldn’t find him and Erin, they made an even greater discovery at the Seaside Lighthouse and Count’s Manor ruins.

Morena was unsure of what exactly they discovered, but she overheard some members of the National Church Knight Order mentioning an underground alchemy laboratory, with the archbishop ordering for a full evacuation, and so on.

What specifically was inside the alchemy laboratory was unknown to Morena and the others, only that the entire Briff Island and surrounding sea areas were completely sealed off on the day those hidden facilities were exposed.

Not only that, all island residents were ordered to evacuate the area.

Archbishop Gelman gave everyone one night to prepare, demanding that by the next morning, all residents must evacuate the island and relocate under naval supervision to a designated location, or be deemed heretics and transported inland as prisoners.

Confronted with Archbishop Gelman’s strong stance, the islanders were powerless and could only prepare to evacuate with resignation.

They relinquished the island under duress, but not everyone was willing to comply.

On the very night the church allowed people to pack up, Cliff, who supplied fresh fish to the townsfolk, tried to escape the island under the cover of darkness but was discovered by members of the National Church Knight Order stationed around the island.

During the skirmish, Cliff transformed into a fishman, relying on his thick skin and resilience to break through the knight orders’ blockade and plunge into the sea, disappearing in an instant.

Less than half an hour after Cliff escaped, the tide on Briff Island surged.

A large number of fishmen swarmed towards the island, engaging in fierce combat with the knight order members.

The battle raged not only on the island but also in the sea.

Old sailors navigating the sea had often heard the rumor that if one saw fish-headed humanoids on deck at night, it was best to prepare a life jacket and a lifeboat, as this was a harbinger of a shipwreck.

This legend, spanning from the era of sailing ships to the current steamship era, persisted because wrecking vessels was a talent of the fishman race.

They could always locate a ship’s weakest point and sink a large vessel with minimal effort.

Even steamships made of steel were no exception.

That night, Da Gang led the fishman race in attacking the fleet of the Ogre Kingdom.

Over ten enormous steel battleships sank in the surrounding waters, and every navy man overboard fell victim to the fishmen, becoming sacrificial offerings without exception.

The battle was exceedingly brutal, but when Wu Chang asked Ernst about the reason for the fishman raid on the Ogre Kingdom fleet, Ernst replied that he didn’t know.

Da Gang never disclosed the reason, only stating that it was a divine directive.

However, Ernst and the others were indifferent to the reason, much like this evening when they received orders to attack Briff Island; they didn’t ask why.

He didn’t care about the reason or right and wrong, he only knew he had to unleash a massacre.

The battle lasted until four in the morning, ultimately ending in a total defeat for the Ogre Kingdom.

If not for Archbishop Gelman’s use of special abilities to temporarily repel Da Gang and buy time for the kingdom’s knight order and remaining navy to retreat, everyone in the Ogre Kingdom would have perished that night.

After expelling Archbishop Gelman and his entourage, the fishmen did not slaughter the islanders; they triggered the fishman curse within the islanders and departed from Briff Island.

Before leaving, Da Gang even sent Cliff as a messenger to soothe the people, telling them not to worry about threats from Gelman.

Cliff left a Marine Bible, telling them that the time was near, their god would awaken, and the world would belong to the sea race.

From that night forward, the seas surrounding Briff Island constantly echoed with the roar of cannon fire.

That was the sound of battles between the fishmen and the navy and the National Church Knight Order.

However, regardless of how the Ogre Kingdom retaliated, they could not breach the fishmen’s blockade, stuck outside the waters with no progress.

Subsequently, Cliff would occasionally return to the island to preach, telling people how great their god was, how insignificant the land was compared to the ocean, and how magnificent the cities beneath the deep sea were.

Aside from preaching, he often proudly mentioned that the fishman god Da Gang single-handedly made the Ogre Kingdom helpless.

Da Gang even assaulted the Ogre Kingdom mainland, unleashing massive waves that submerged three coastal cities.

The fishman race regarded the Briff islanders as half their own, believing that only fishmen could accept fishmen, so initially, they weren’t too forceful.

Until recently, during an attack on the Ogre Kingdom, Da Gang casually overturned a steamship, and it so happened that the Ogre King’s most beloved son, returning from his studies, was aboard that ship.