September 9th, 2001.
The site of the Kakin Empire's departure ceremony for the New Continent.
High noon.
Surrounded by media cameras and the frenzied cheers of the populace, King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou led the royal family onto the magnificent stage, waving to the adoring crowd below.
The people screamed themselves hoarse, hailing him as Kakin's greatest king.
On every face was written a longing to cross over to the New Continent and rewrite their destinies.
After reaching the center of the stage, Hui Guo Rou once again painted a picture of the New Continent's riches and opportunities in a passionate tone, firmly captivating everyone's minds with the future he promised.
So much so that amidst the deafening cheers, almost no one noticed...
A key figure was absent from the stage.
And as he faced the people who revered him as a world-class statesman, a serene smile graced Hui Guo Rou's face, yet his heart was shrouded in a dark haze.
He had never imagined that Beyond, aided by the regalia Sword of Good Omens, would actually die at the hands of the Hunter Association.
He had even less imagined that all traces of the Sword of Good Omens itself would be completely annihilated.
Upon confirming this, Hui Guo Rou was overcome with uncontrollable rage.
As the current king of Kakin, he knew the importance of the Sword of Good Omens better than anyone.
It was a treasure that could sway the fate of the Kakin Empire, an irreplaceable cornerstone of the kingdom.
Yet, at this critical moment that would decide Kakin's future, it had completely vanished...
Not a single trace was left behind.
Hui Guo Rou was unwilling to believe it, nor could he accept it.
However, every sensation transmitted by his Guardian Spirit Beast dragged his wishful thinking back to the cold, hard reality.
The Sword of Good Omens was truly no more.
But the voyage to pioneer the New Continent had long been set, and the Succession Contest was like a fully drawn bowstring that had to be released.
So, even as a storm of rage and suspicion churned within him, on this day, September 9th, Hui Guo Rou had to maintain his composure and hold the departure ceremony as scheduled.
After all, the dignity and honor of the royal family were at stake; there was absolutely no possibility of abandoning it midway.
With the watchful power of the Lotus Anchorite, the Succession Contest can proceed without interference until the final result is produced.
Even without the Sword of Good Omens, all preparations for this voyage have been made. As long as I use the two hundred thousand sacrifices on board and the royal bloodline as a medium, with the help of the Sacrificial Altar set up in advance, it's not impossible to forge a brand-new national regalia.
Kakin shall endure for all eternity!
Before the cameras, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou smiled serenely.
No one knew that in his heart, he had already coldly sentenced to death the two hundred thousand passengers who harbored dreams of a new world.
For Kakin, the so-called exploration of the New Continent was nothing more than a grand publicity stunt, a lie that used the passion and lives of the common people to forge the royal family's golden image.
From the very beginning, Kakin and Hui Guo Rou had no intention of actually leading the people to set foot on the Dark Continent. They would only search for a hypothetical continent near the boundary of the Dark Waters that could serve as a substitute.
The one who was truly meant to go to the Dark Continent was Beyond, who had lent the title of Netero's son to Hui Guo Rou for the sake of publicity.
Therefore, Beyond's death was of little consequence.
Hui Guo Rou could use Netero's son for publicity today, and he could just as easily find another legend to take his place tomorrow.
Regardless, he, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, would hold firmly onto the title of pioneer that would be recorded in the annals of history.
And as for the Succession Contest, which concerned Kakin's future, he would absolutely not tolerate any unforeseen circumstances disrupting it.
To this end, even when the V5 sent negotiators and presented a report on suspected calamity incidents, it did not shake Hui Guo Rou's determination to execute his original plan in the slightest.
—--
The Kakin Empire's grand departure ceremony was broadcast across various national television stations and online platforms.
The V5's top brass and key members of the International Permit Agencies gathered in a conference room, their eyes locked on the central screen.
On the screen, Hui Guo Rou was waving spiritedly.
The atmosphere in the conference room was solemn.
Kakin's obstinacy would not have been so troublesome for the V5 under normal circumstances.
But the recent calamity incidents occurring on various continents had, at this critical juncture, made them sense a potential risk that could not be ignored.
After all, they had yet to even identify the source of these calamities. If they were to allow Kakin to assemble this unprecedented fleet and sail toward the Dark Continent, it would be tantamount to pouring fuel on a fire, making the situation even more severe.
The V5 would absolutely not allow the situation to spiral out of control like this.
Therefore, after an emergency consultation, they decided to share some intelligence on the calamities and the latest incident reports with Kakin.
This included the bloody casualty figures.
They had originally believed that the real and brutal data would be enough to make Hui Guo Rou recognize the immeasurable risks this journey entailed.
However, the result was completely different from what they had expected.
This troublemaker, Kakin...
It was focused solely on its own interests.
At one spot at the conference table, a middle-aged man in a yellow suit with thick eyebrows and a broad nose clasped his hands, resting his fingertips lightly against his chin. His gaze fell upon a refined-looking young man next to the screen.
This young man was a key member of the International Permit Agencies, responsible for intelligence integration and risk assessment, and also the main person in charge of this incident.
"What is the current 'victim' count that has been tallied so far?" the middle-aged man asked in a deep voice.
Hearing this, the young man lowered his head slightly and reported in a clear, steady voice:
"For the calamity named 'Ice Core,' the confirmed death toll is 32,622."
"For the calamity named 'Itchy,' the death toll is 12,311."
"For the calamity named 'Lens,' the death toll is 4,431."
"For the calamity named 'Bookmark,' the death toll is 725."
The young man's tone was calm and steady as he reported, but behind those cold numbers were tens of thousands of lives cut short. And all of this had happened in an extremely short period.
If measured by the scale of war, this number might not seem particularly shocking to the high-ranking officials present. In countries ravaged by war, the number of refugees dying from famine alone each month far exceeded the total casualties caused by these four calamities so far.
However, everyone present knew full well that this was merely the beginning.
If they could not be effectively contained, or if a fundamental solution could not be found, the number of casualties caused by the calamities would inevitably climb exponentially over time.
The worst-case scenario was that the calamities would start by destroying villages, then spread to cities, countries, and eventually entire continents.
It was not impossible that they could lead to the complete extinction of humanity.
After reporting the victim numbers, the young head from the International Permit Agencies quickly added, "Currently, the only calamity for which we can implement definite control measures is 'Lens.' As for the others... we have not yet found effective, targeted methods."
A hush fell over the conference room, and everyone's brows were tightly furrowed.
Multiple calamities were imminent, yet Kakin was acting willfully at this very moment.
Since the V5 secretly initiated its colonization plan for the Dark Continent, had there ever been a more difficult situation than the present one?
Compared to the current crisis, the phenomenon of the "rope-like corpses" of unknown origin that appeared on the six continents a few years ago seemed trivial in retrospect.
"The situation has already developed to this point. Negotiations and warnings alone are unlikely to make Kakin turn back."
Another high-ranking official spoke coldly after a long silence, "Since conventional methods have had little effect... perhaps it's time to consider military action."
This statement did not cause much surprise.
Using military force had always been a last resort, but if it were truly necessary, no one present would hesitate.
When it was time to be tough, they wouldn't even have a shred of hesitation.
Just as when they had demanded the Hunter Association deal with Chimera Ant incident, they had nonchalantly granted permission to use the Poor Man's Rose.
They never cared about the process, only whether the result was what they desired.
"Using military force at a necessary moment is of course feasible, but I must remind you all..."
A steady voice sounded from the conference table.
"Once we resort to military means, it means we will have to simultaneously deal with Kakin's fierce resistance and the multiple calamities that are still spreading and raging."
"Do we have any other choice?"
The high-ranking official who had initially proposed using military force, Guanyun, had a grim expression.
"Indecisiveness will only lead to more trouble."
The conference room fell into a brief silence as everyone exchanged glances without a word.
Having weathered countless storms, they could almost foresee the impending turmoil.
In this heavy, silent atmosphere, the young man from the International Permit Agencies who was chairing the meeting wore a thoughtful expression.
Was there really no room for maneuver with Kakin?
He believed there was.
And the key to it lay in Beyond's death.
Therefore, to push the negotiations forward, one question had to be figured out.
After losing such a crucial exploration leader, was Kakin's determination to venture deep into the Dark Continent still firm?
Or perhaps, was their insistence on departing as scheduled more a matter of maintaining face and prestige?
If they could figure these things out, perhaps there was still a solution that could satisfy both sides.
—--
Kukan'yu Kingdom.
Inside the capital's royal bedchambers.
Morrow and Eve were watching the broadcast of Kakin's departure ceremony on a screen.
In the footage, a helicopter filmed from high above, revealing an incomparably massive black ship.
An impassioned commentator's voice was doing its utmost to introduce this ship of the century, capable of accommodating two hundred thousand passengers.
Morrow studied the Black Whale in the footage, his gaze falling on the area directly above the ship's hull.
A huge pool had been carved out there, and in it, a regular-sized ship floated quietly.
This ship-within-a-ship was where the King of Kakin would reside during the future voyage.
It was also the very top level of the entire Black Whale.
Morrow's eyelids drooped. He hadn't expected Kakin to still force the departure ceremony after losing Beyond and the regalia Sword of Good Omens.
It must be because the "Succession Contest" has already started and can no longer be stopped...
He speculated on the reason in his mind.
Currently, one of his targets was Kakin's two regalia.
However, he wasn't anxious just because the Kakin royal family was about to set sail.
After all, he had the help of Chimera, and he had Kalluto's living paper dolls to serve as a tracking function.
If he wanted to make a move on those two regalia, he could easily catch up and act directly on the open sea.
If I'm going to make a move, it has to be a swift and decisive battle.
Morrow raised a hand to his chin.
He had unearthed four Nen tools from the Kukan'yu royal tomb.
They were a sword hilt, a waterskin, a compass, and a suit of armor.
But before he could get too happy, Eve received news of the calamity incidents.
As the thought crossed his mind, Morrow's peripheral vision swept toward Eve beside him.
The Queen of Kukan'yu was monitoring the high-level meeting taking place far away at the International Permit Agencies in real-time, via paper documents continuously handed to her by a handmaiden.
The potential threat of the Eye of Truth, the calamity that had erupted without warning within Kukan'yu's borders, Kakin's reckless voyage...
All these matters piled up, and her expression had not relaxed for a moment.
(Translated by yourtl.app)