Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 807: Return

Upon seeing Grace's downtrodden look, Mark hurriedly said in a gentle tone of voice, "I'm sorry for your loss. May the knowledge of your parents be recorded by the All-Seeing Eye."

Just then, the ring on Mark's right pinky finger glimmered a red light that disappeared in the next second.

Sparkle walked up to Charles and whispered, "He's lying. They were killed by the Serpentites that he had sent after them."

Charles stared at Mark and found it absurd how the mastermind behind the tragedy was comforting the bereaved family member of one of his victims. He glanced at Grace and decided to help her with her issue.

Grace was her crew, after all, and she was his captain, so who would stand up for her if not him? Moreover, Charles truly owed Grace a lot after what she had done for him back in the Core.

"Governor Mark, may I ask you something?" Charles chimed in. He didn't wait for Mark's reply as he continued, "I was ambushed by a group of monsters when I arrived here. Their heads and bodies were covered in green scales; they had spiked and forked tongues as well. How much do you know about them?"

Mark seemed stupefied by the revelation as he exclaimed, "They ambushed you, too?! It seems those bastards have gotten tired of living and are now seeking their own demise. To think they're daring enough to ambush you, Governor Charles!

"Those bastards have to meet a miserable end for what they've done."

In stark contrast to Mark's agitated response, Charles remained calm and stared blandly at Mark. "You did not answer my question. What exactly are they?"

Mark leaned in close to Charles, and his expression was grave as he explained, "Those monsters are capable of disguising as humans, and they've been doing that to hide on the major islands in this sea region.

"They'd look for targets to kill, and then they'd use their shapeshifting ability to replace their victims.

"Governor Charles, I'm sure you haven't heard of them because you're in the Northern Seas, but those monsters have always been a big headache in the Western Seas. They kill quite a few people every year, and there are even entire islands filled with nothing but their kind!"

"Is that so?" Charles replied. He glanced at Grace, who was still in the throes of grief, and enunciated each word slowly as he said, "Can you tell me why those monsters obey your commands, then? And why did you order them to kill my crew's parents?"

Mark and Grace's hearts trembled slightly at Charles' remark.

Mark reacted first by shaking his head vigorously and firmly denying the accusation. "How can I do that, Governor Charles?! How could I possibly command them?! They're monsters!!"

"Oh, really?" Charles' muscles bulged, and he pounced on Mark like a cheetah. Mark stepped backward to retreat, but invisible tentacles sprang up from the ground and bound him tightly.

The black spike in Charles' hand slashed open Mark's cheek, and he shoved his fingers into the wound, prying it open to reveal green scales underneath.

Shockingly, Mark was a Serpentite as well!

The green scales were enough to prove Mark's identity, and Charles summoned more tentacles to wrap around Mark just in case.

As soon as Charles made another move, however, he found himself surrounded by a group of mages in robes. The mages' expressions were stern as they pointed their wands of varying sizes at Charles.

More and more people were charging into the room from the outside. After all, an assassination attempt on a governor was no small matter.

"Governor Charles, please let go of Mark. Regardless of whether he's a Serpentite or not, this is an issue that the Western Seas has to resolve on its own," a white-bearded old man said.

Grace was shocked to see the white-bearded old man. "Mentor!"

Things were getting chaotic, but Charles remained steadfast. He raised his hand, and a black spike shot out of his steel palm, stopping just one centimeter before Mark's snake-like eye. "Talk. What exactly happened to Grace's parents?"

The mages were furious. Charles didn't spare them even a glance, and they all felt insulted. Unfortunately, Charles was the Governor of Hope Island. Even though they felt insulted, they did not dare to act rashly.

If anything were to happen to Charles on their island, Hope Island's formidable navy would descend upon them, leveling the entire island.

Mark seemed to have realized that the mages couldn't really do anything to save him, so he decisively answered Charles' question, saying, "Avery is the mastermind behind it!

"Grace's parents were from a pure-blood family, so he made us ambush them in exchange for allowing us to live on this island!"

"Who is Avery?" Charles looked around, sweeping his gaze across the mages around him.

"That's him! That old man who just spoke to you. The entire Lighthouse Island belongs to his mage family! And I'm just working as their proxy!"

Grace looked at her mentor and staggered backward in disbelief. "Mentor, is it true? Did you really kill my parents?"

"Of course not! He's lying! Can't you see that he's already been replaced by a Serpentite?! Grace, help me persuade Governor Charles to hand him over to me. We might be able to extract the whereabouts of the real Mark from his mouth!"

Just then, Sparkle stepped up. It seemed like she thought that the situation wasn't exciting enough, as she decided to fan the flames, saying, "I don't think so. My mommy's genes gave me the ability to read minds, and I can clearly hear you grumbling about Grace.

"You're grumbling about how she managed to come back alive when you sent her out to die."

Grace broke down immediately, and tears slid down the folds of Grace's scarred cheeks. Her clenched fists were quivering ever so slightly, and the lips on her anguished face parted to let out a soundless wail.

The mentor who had taught her everything she knew about magic had turned out to be her parents' murderer!

Avery did not bother explaining anything to Grace. He knew that the crux of the matter was Charles rather than his apprentice.

Thus, the old man looked at Charles with a solemn face and said, "Governor Charles, this is a private matter between me and my apprentice. Why don't you leave first and let me and my apprentice settle this issue privately?

"I'll make sure that you'll be satisfied with the outcome."

"Forget it. I don't want a headache in the future," Charles replied. With a will on his end, seven tentacles crackling with white electric arcs sprang up from the ground, blooming like a flower as they made a beeline for Avery.

The old man sensed something amiss and chanted an inscrutable incantation before waving his wand to cast a spell that made him appear transparent. Then, he waved his hand again, casting a spell that allowed him to take to the skies, evading Charles' tentacles on the ground.

The old man chanted another incantation, but before he could finish his chanting, a tentacle sprang up from his face and thrust itself into his throat.

Clicking noises echoed afterward as Charles' anchor hook rushed out of his prosthetic palm and pierced the old man's chest.

A red flower bloomed in midair.

The anchor hook was retracted, and Avery's corpse landed in front of Grace.

Charles then walked up to Mark and swung his hand at the latter's neck.

A head covered in green scales fell to the ground with a dull thud and rolled away.

The two corpses on the floor rendered the hall as silent as a graveyard, and the people nearby glared at Charles with fury in their eyes.

"What? Want to fight me?" Charles remarked lightly, but none dared to answer him. After all, he was the hero and savior of the Subterranean Sea as well as the Overlord of the Northern Seas. In other words, they couldn't afford to offend him.

"You're welcome," Charles said to the dumbfounded Grace. He then turned to look at Sparkle and said, "Let's go. We've had enough fun, so we should return now."

The scenery around Charles rapidly peeled away, and they were back in Hope Island in just mere two seconds.

Sparkle stood in front of Charles with her hands behind her back. She seemed amused as she stared at him and said, "See. Isn't overwhelming power incredibly useful? If we weren't overwhelmingly strong for them, we would have had a difficult time back there."

Charles was taken aback by his daughter's words. He pondered briefly over Sparkle's words and nodded. "You're right. Overwhelming power can indeed resolve many problems, but this isn't the same as what your mommy wants."

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