Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 858 - 859: Failed Exploration

-Sadik Empire, Southern Region - Port Aubrey.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of citizens, a huge imperial fleet consisting of seventy ships and hundreds of sea dragons slowly entered the port.

As the flagship Night Raid docked, the crowd on the shore immediately burst into passionate cheers, welcoming the return of the imperial soldiers with their enthusiasm.

After all, according to the official announcement, this long-distance exploration was still a fruitful operation. The imperial fleet not only discovered several valuable underwater mineral deposits but also occupied several newly discovered small islands, beat up the presumptuous sea tribes, and achieved further expansion of the empire’s territory.

Therefore, the people’s hearts were naturally filled with joy and pride.

Accompanied by thunderous cheers, salutes were continuously fired, and flowers fluttered in the sky!

Just like that, under the eyes of tens of thousands, the officers on the flagship slowly walked down the gangway, surrounded by countless soldiers.

As the fleet admiral, Bakasin was smiling and raising his hand to respond to the people’s welcome.

Seeing the renowned imperial admiral waving, the people’s emotions became even more excited, and the cheers almost resounded through the clouds.

However, due to the long distance, the imperial subjects who came to welcome them on the shore did not notice the abnormality on Bakasin’s face.

Although this naval admiral had a smile, his eyes were filled with worry.

It could be seen that this long-distance sea expedition was not as successful as the people imagined.

Indeed, they discovered many valuable mineral deposits and islands, and they also beat up the foolish sea tribes that caused trouble every day.

But the real purpose of their months-long voyage was not achieved.

They didn’t even obtain any relevant information.

Therefore, Bakasin and the deputy officials were always uneasy in their hearts because they didn’t know how to report to that person about their fruitless expedition despite mobilizing such a large force...

With such an apprehensive heart, Bakasin and the others stepped onto the long-awaited land.

And waiting for them in front was Dexulim, the current prince of the Sadik Empire, and a group of imperial ministers who came to welcome them.

However, these seemingly high-ranking and powerful figures who ruled the empire were not the ones Bakasin feared.

The one he dreaded was the red-haired female knight standing behind His Highness the Prince with an indifferent expression.

After a symbolic greeting with the Prince, Bakasin came to the red-haired female knight with bated breath.

Although he still stood in place arrogantly, this was just a pretense to appease the public. Bakasin was extremely humble in terms of aura.

If it weren’t for the gaze of the people, Bakasin would have probably knelt directly in front of the female knight.

Taking a few deep breaths to slightly stabilize his emotions, Bakasin spoke tremblingly:

"Greetings, Lady Kalina."

That’s right, this red-haired female knight who appeared in the welcoming party together with Prince Dexulim was none other than the captain of the Ghostly Flame mercenary - Kalina.

Although Bakasin was not clear about Kalina’s true identity, judging from how his emperor always acted subserviently whenever he saw Kalina, and the special relationship between her and the Black Rose family, this female knight was definitely a terrifying existence that could not be provoked. Among the welcoming party, although it was led by the Prince, those who understood the current structure of the empire’s upper echelons knew clearly that the real core, the real decision-maker in the group, was this captain of the Ghostly Flame Corps.

If Bakasin remembered correctly, the main reason he could become the naval admiral was that the previous naval admiral was disobedient... And that disobedient naval admiral seemed to have been dealt with by this red-haired knightess in front of him.

Now, those who knew the inside story knew the truth.

Although the Sadik Empire was still nominally controlled by the royal family, the actual ruler had long since become the Black Rose and the Ghostly Flame Mercenary. The royal family? They were just puppets.

This was undoubtedly a sad and oppressive story, but Bakasin was also powerless about it.

Moreover, the current Bakasin had no energy to sympathize with the royal family. The first problem he faced was how to protect himself. If he couldn’t demonstrate his value in front of these actual rulers, then it was only a matter of time before he was replaced, just like the previous army generals and finance ministers.

Therefore, in order to demonstrate his value, Bakasin hurriedly reported his achievements over the past few months to Kalina:

"My Lady, our voyage this time has yielded rich results! According to my team’s calculations, the value of those mineral deposits and islands is not only enough to recoup the cost of this voyage but also sufficient to increase the income of our Sadik Empire by hundreds of millions of coins in the coming years! Not only that, our troops have also pacified those troublesome sea tribes! Their prince has died under our bombardment, and their main force has been severely damaged by us! Their king has now agreed to... hmm?!!"

However, before Bakasin could finish his words, Kalina’s cold gaze directly made him swallow his next words back into his stomach.

"So what?"

The red-haired beauty said disdainfully. She had no interest in the achievements Bakasin described.

"For the current empire, what use are those little gains? So what if you severely damaged the sea tribes? They are just a bunch of barbarian natives. You used the empire’s strongest fleet to fight against them? Winning is not even glorious."

"This..."

"Admiral Bakasin, what you mentioned are all trivial matters. You should know that there is only one thing I care about."

With that said, Kalina stepped up to Bakasin, slightly narrowed her eyes, and coldly met Bakasin’s gaze.

In an instant, an unbearable pressure suddenly hit him head-on, directly causing Bakasin to stop breathing for a moment. Under the effect of this powerful pressure, Bakasin vaguely felt that he was placed in a scorching hell, about to be devoured by the surrounding hellfire at any time.

Fortunately, Bakasin had an extraordinary willpower, which allowed him to barely maintain his clarity.

Slowly tiptoeing and leaning close to Bakasin’s ear, Kalina asked in a low voice:

"Any news about her?"

Upon hearing this, Bakasin’s body trembled.

After hesitating for a few seconds, this imperial naval admiral could only lower his head in shame:

"I’m sorry, Lady Kalina..."

Although Bakasin didn’t say much, from his apologetic words and trembling tone, it wasn’t difficult for Kalina to guess the result of this voyage.

For a moment, a strong sense of disappointment visibly covered Kalina’s face.

"Again? How many times has it been?"

As the red-haired woman’s face became increasingly gloomy, the surrounding air instantly became heavy. Countless sailors, even Bakasin himself, had some difficulty enduring it and half-knelt on the ground. Feeling the murderous aura gradually gathering around him, Bakasin hurriedly apologized:

"I’m very sorry, Lady Kalina, I... we have already done our best..."

"Done your best?"

Muttering in a low voice, the look in Kalina’s eyes as she gazed at Bakasin was no different from looking at a dead man.

"How many times has it been? This is already the 122nd voyage of the imperial fleet and your 13th time leading the team. Every time you do your best, yet still come back empty-handed? It seems... keeping you around is useless."

As these words entered his ears, under the puzzled gazes of countless people in the distance, Bakasin instantly panicked and waved his hands. His face had already turned pale with fear.

As an imperial admiral, he was very clear about what it meant for Kalina to say those words.

He had finally become an imperial admiral and didn’t want to die so soon!

He didn’t believe Kalina wouldn’t dare to take action in public.

Bakasin knew that this Ghostly Flame leader had a very terrifying younger sister who could manipulate people’s memories. If that sister took action, those people who witnessed everything would forget it all in the blink of an eye.

Under the threat of death, Bakasin couldn’t care about his dignity. He directly knelt in front of Kalina in full view of everyone’s astonished gazes and grabbed the skirt of Inferno.

"Wait! Wait!! Lady Kalina! P,Please give me one more chance!! I promise there will definitely be results next time!"

However, in the face of Bakasin’s desperate pleas, there was not the slightest hesitation in Kalina’s eyes.

She would not show mercy to humans.

"There won’t be a next time. I’ve already lost patience with you."

As she spoke indifferently, Kalina slowly raised her right hand, and crimson flames gradually gathered in her palm. Seeing all this, Bakasin could only helplessly and desperately curl up and hold his head, waiting for death to arrive...

However, unexpectedly, after waiting for a few seconds, Bakasin was surprised to find that he did not directly turn to ashes like his predecessors.

That terrifying red-haired girl actually stopped her movement.

Of course, the reason Kalina stopped was not because she showed mercy.

It was because the communication magic stone on her earring brought her another more important message.

At this moment, Kalina slightly frowned and spoke solemnly:

"Are you sure?"

As Kalina spoke, a powerful and sonorous male voice slowly transmitted from the communication magic stone:

-- "Yes, Boss. Miss Yuan’er said she has a way to find Lady Yumo. She requests that you go to Wind... no, the Night Wishes City immediately to discuss important matters." – said Mr. Three