Chapter 362: Irritable Old Bro

Lei En stood on the deck, facing the cold sea wind.

For the past two days, the steamship had sailed through the Gekuli Strait northward, finally arriving at Haitok.

It is a port city, with ships constantly flowing by; as the first ice‑free port on the return route from the New Continent, almost every vessel stops here, fostering Haitok's prosperity.

Haitok is the capital of the Barshi Sea Nation, and also its largest city.

Over forty percent of the duchy's population lives in Haitok; with a huge transient crowd, the city's population exceeds five hundred thousand, making it a major city even within the Empire.

The indigenous people of Barshi are the Mohe, also called Mohe Sea Folk.

They make a living by sea fishing and hunting, and, like most coastal nations in the world, worship the Storm Lord.

Even from a dozen miles out at sea, Lei En could see a towering Storm Temple standing in Haitok, situated on the side of the harbor.

In front of the temple stood a colossal statue a hundred meters tall, depicting a stern‑looking human male, bare‑chested, immensely muscular, wielding a trident, his gaze like lightning watching every ship that passed, as if ready to unleash divine punishment at any moment.

The steamship sailed into the dock beneath the Storm Lord's statue.

The mercenaries on board silently placed a hand on their chest and saluted him; even though most of them are not followers of the Storm Lord, they still expressed their respect.

Lei En followed local custom, bowed slightly, and muttered a phrase, "Storm's Protection."

He felt a terrifying divine aura emanating from the magnificent statue.

The Storm Lord "Ke Su La" is a mighty deity comparable to the God of Magic; the Barshi Sea Nation borders the Empire, has a population under one million, holds the best northeastern port, yet has neither been annexed nor become a vassal, thanks to the Storm Lord's protection.

The ship came to a halt at its berth.

Ai Mi Li Si emerged from the cabin and whispered, "Lei En, we should disembark."

She changed into an ornate enchanted robe, but wore a gray cloak over it; pulling up the hood concealed most of her face and hair, just like the outfit she wore when they first met in Mo Du.

Lei En's appearance had also changed at this moment.

This trip to Haitok was a covert operation, so he didn't bring an Extreme Warrior along. He wore light‑blue leather armor, a sword at his waist, had tucked away the conspicuous blood‑red cape, and his physique had been altered to a slimmer, more graceful build, resembling a young, handsome ranger.

The two made an agreement not to appear overly intimate in front of outsiders.

Ai Mi Li Si's mouth twitched upward as she walked ahead.

Lei En trailed behind her like a guard.

On the lower deck, the mercenaries had already begun to disembark. The Dragon Stone Mercenary Corps is headquartered in Haitok; most members have settled places in the city, some even have families, treating Haitok as their hometown.

Having been away from home for over a year, the mercenaries were eager to return.

As for the Corps' centaurs, they took another ship a few days earlier, landed at a hidden dock outside Haitok, returned to their prairie tribe, and summoned more clan members for war preparations.

The Corps' senior officers waited on the ship; the silver‑haired legendary swordsman A Si Tan remained taciturn, his posture perfectly upright; the Demon Warlock Ding La Ji unusually abstained from drinking, showing no scent of alcohol; meanwhile, Bi Ge Bei Er wore a decidedly decadent demeanor.

"Commander."

"Lady Ai Mi Li Si."

"Lord Count."

The three bowed to Ai Mi Li Si, their gazes involuntarily sweeping over Lei En standing beside her.

Especially Bi Ge Bei Er, who, despite trying to conceal it, still showed hostility toward Lei En and hurriedly lowered his head.

Ai Mi Li Si noticed Bi Ge Bei Er's demeanor, her brows furrowing beneath the hood, but she said nothing.

She had always been clear about Bi Ge Bei Er's feelings, grateful for his decade‑plus unwavering loyalty, his shadow‑like companionship, even his willingness to sacrifice his life, yet she could not respond and could only pretend ignorance.

Now that she had confirmed her relationship with Lei En, Bi Ge Bei Er's presence was inappropriate.

"If he can't adjust his mindset in time, we'll have to find an excuse to distance him…" Ai Mi Li Si thought, cold and ruthless, but for the cause of restoring the nation, all potential sources of Lei En's displeasure must be cut off.

Lei En remained silent.

In fact, he had known for a long time; whenever Bi Ge Bei Er saw him, his soul's hue shifted to red, as if confronting a father‑killing nemesis. During these days aboard, the murmurs of all things carried countless rumors.

He paid it no mind, never regarding Bi Ge Bei Er as an opponent.

Ai Mi Li Si was a clever woman; he believed she would handle it well.

"Let's go down; we shouldn't keep Wa Luo Gen waiting." Ai Mi Li Si said lightly, leading the disembarkation, subtly displaying the bearing of one in command, unlike an ordinary mercenary captain.

In fact, this was her true side when she was among subordinates.

A broad carriage was parked at the dock, surrounded by a squad of cavalry guards; Ai Mi Li Si boarded the carriage alone, while Lei En rode on horseback beside her like A Si Tan.

The convoy moved along the road, Lei En's gaze scanning everywhere.

Haitok's urban planning was terrible, as if haphazardly pieced together; buildings of various styles cramped together with no coherent design.

The streets were jam‑packed, teeming with pedestrians, and the proportion of super‑humans was frighteningly high.

Lei En wondered if dropping a single brick could hit three super‑humans; most wore mercenary garb, a mix of all walks, speaking strange tongues and accents—humans, beastmen, centaurs, goblins, dwarf‑elves—a veritable melting pot of races.

The native Mohe here looked much like the Oryen people.

Their stature was modest and slightly short; constant wind and sun darkened their skin. Men disliked clothing, running around bare‑armed and barefoot; women casually wrapped a linen cloth to go out, some more liberated, baring breasts for all to see.

Mohe were almost all Storm Lord worshippers, hot‑tempered, fierce and brave, speaking like thunder, as if the louder voice held the truth.

Along the way, Lei En witnessed several Mohe clashes.

Whether the opponent was a fellow Mohe or an outsider, they would fight at the slightest disagreement, blood and gore spilling, with no city guards intervening—a common sight.

"The whole nation is full of irritable brothers and sisters..."

Lei En sighed in awe.

He had read in books that most Storm Lord followers were like this; in the Ai Lun E Si world's coastal nations, whether human or other races, once they worship the Storm Lord, their temperaments gradually worsen, all under the Storm Lord's influence.

This mighty deity, who governs "Ocean," "Storm," "Sky," "Tide," "Seafolk," "Sea Monsters," and many other divine offices, is notoriously capricious, often committing illogical oddities that make people wonder if He has a brain defect.

Not only mortals cannot fathom His thoughts, even other deities often find Him inexplicable.

The Storm Lord has made countless enemies due to His temperament.

Among the deities there are factions and alliances, but the Storm Lord has no allies; even the widely revered, benevolent Mother Earth regards the Storm Lord as an enemy, and the sole one at that.

Yet the Storm Lord remains unscathed to this day, for only one reason:

He is too powerful!

As one of the oldest deities, the Storm Lord was born in the prehistoric era and has existed for tens of thousands of years. The huge statue standing outside the harbor is only its human form; no one knows what the Storm Lord's true body looks like.

According to Storm Church doctrine, the Storm Lord's divine realm is not in an outer plane but within the Prime Material Plane.

It is somewhere deep within the Wu Jin Zhi Hai.

There have always been rumors that the Storm Lord may be the most powerful deity, second only to the four Great Abyss evil gods, but mortals cannot verify this and other deities do not acknowledge it.

Storm Priests are also a very powerful church vocation; this is because the Storm Lord is not particularly concerned with human followers, one could even say indifferent, having created the vocation casually.

Most of its followers are in the ocean, and countless sea peoples have contributed massive faith power.

Even so, no one on land dares to underestimate the Storm Temple and its believers; ordinary people who encounter them try to go around, otherwise a fight—or even death—is inevitable.

Haitok City is not large; moments later, the carriage entered a luxurious grand manor.

In front of the main hall's door, two men waited.

Lei En's eye immediately caught the leader: a plump, round, bald man of affluent build, dressed in clothing woven from precious silk, looking at first glance like a great merchant.

Through the Soul Eye, deep insight revealed that this man is a 12th‑level Legendary Wizard.

Moreover, he is a relatively rare Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard.

Aimeilisi had previously introduced an important subordinate, specifically mentioning this individual named Waluogen, who served King Xi Ruiya for many years with unwavering loyalty.

After the Zhuo Gengbao Dynasty fell, Waluogen shifted his allegiance to Aimeilisi, fled together to Haitok, conducted trade as a merchant, and covertly built a massive intelligence network that infiltrated the major families of Kangjiatuo.

Waluogen and Asitan are Aimeilisi's most relied‑upon right‑hand men, their importance even surpassing Asitan's.

Without him, the Zhuo Gengbao Dynasty could hardly be restored.

At this moment, Waluogen stood before the hall, waiting respectfully; his gaze toward the carriage was full of anticipation, his soul color tinged orange, and his emotions were somewhat excited.

A second person stood beside Waluogen.

He was relatively young, appearing just over thirty, handsome, with dazzling platinum hair, pale‑gold eyes, exuding a strange aura.

Lei En looked with his Soul Eye and was slightly taken aback.

His appearance and bearing resembled Aimeilisi to some degree, clearly indicating blood ties to the Zhuo Gengbao family, but the Soul Eye saw clearly that he is not a pure draconic descendant.

Having spent so long with Aimeilisi, Lei En knows how to discern draconic descendants.

The original draconic descendants were humans blessed by the good dragon god Bahamut, whose souls were transformed into dragon spirits without a massive dragon body, resembling true dragons in humanoid form.

The Zhuo Gengbao family has long upheld a tradition of close‑kin marriage to preserve the bloodline.

However, a few draconic descendants have intermarried with ordinary humans, producing offspring whose dragon souls become mixed and weakened; after several generations, their souls are almost like those of ordinary people and are no longer regarded as draconic descendants.

This man is likely of that sort.

From his soul form, it is judged that he has only one‑quarter draconic blood, with intermarriage beginning in his grandfather's generation. His extraordinary profession is not a draconic apostle but a Storm Priest devoted to the Storm Lord Kesu La.

While Lei En observed him, the other's gaze also fell upon him.

His soul color instantly turned red.

(End of Chapter)