Thor's voice was filled with a deep-seated hatred and unwillingness.

His battered arms gripped the deck tightly, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.

Seeing his miserable and sorrowful appearance, the last hint of doubt in the hearts of Wada Hirayama and the Kimchi Country person in charge vanished completely.

They were even somewhat moved.

Wada Hirayama stepped forward, extended his withered hand, and gently patted Thor's shoulder.

There was a hint of comfort in his voice.

"Your Excellency Thor, this cannot be blamed on you."

"It is because we were all too careless."

"It is those people from Great Xia Nation who are far too cunning!"

He turned his head, and a terrifying murderous intent burst from his turbid old eyes.

"Previously, we were also deceived by Gandalf's superb acting skills!"

"It made us mistakenly believe that the Pendulum of Life they brought out was also fake!"

"These damned Great Xia people!"

The person in charge from Kimchi Country also nodded heavily.

He gnashed his teeth, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed out from between his teeth.

"That's right!"

"Not only did they snatch away the Divine Artifact, but they also killed Park In-maeng and Takatsukasa Arashi!"

"We absolutely cannot let them leave so easily!"

"We must make them pay with a bloody price!"

The emotions of the two reached the extreme, as if in the next second they would gather their forces and chase directly after the people of Great Xia Nation to fight to the death.

However, right at this moment.

A calm yet majestic voice slowly sounded.

"You two."

Archbishop Andrew had stood up at some unknown point.

His profound eyes calmly stared at the two fellows in front of him who had been blinded by anger.

"Do not forget the agreement established among our various countries."

"Inside the ruins, life and death are up to fate."

"The deaths of Takatsukasa Arashi and Park In-maeng are certainly regrettable."

"But that was also something that happened inside the ruins."

"If they are to be blamed, it can only be blamed on their lack of experience and inferior skills."

"Your cultivation of them was still not enough."

Andrew paused, his gaze sweeping over Thor's battered body, his tone remaining indifferent.

"It is not just the two of them."

"Even if the one who died inside today were Thor, I would never hold anyone accountable for it."

"We in the Freedom Federation have always honored our agreements."

"I hope that you are the same."

"Do you understand?"

The expressions of Wada Hirayama and the Kimchi Country person in charge instantly turned extremely complex.

The anger on their faces was like a basin of cold water poured straight over their heads, instantly extinguishing more than half of it.

What did Andrew mean by these words?

He did not want them to go look for trouble with Great Xia Nation?

This did not look like the consistent tyrannical style of the Freedom Federation.

Since when did they become so easy to talk to?

Just as the two of them were filled with doubt and uncertainty in their hearts.

Andrew's tone abruptly changed.

"However..."

"The authenticity of the Pendulum of Life in that Gandalf's hands remains to be debated."

"After all, none of us have personally verified it."

"If he truly obtained the Divine Artifact, then we have no need to continue wasting time here."

"Therefore..."

His profound eyes slowly fell upon Wada Hirayama.

"I hope the two of you, no matter what, will... invite back the people of Great Xia Nation."

Wada Hirayama's brows knitted tightly together.

"Invite them back?"

"Archbishop Andrew, you are not joking, are you?"

"The people of Great Xia Nation took so much effort to take away the Pendulum of Life."

"Right now, as long as one's brain is fine, who would be willing to come back?"

A meaningful smile appeared on Andrew's face.

He slowly repeated it once.

"Did you not understand?"

"What I said is... no matter what."

He bit down extremely heavily on these four words.

Upon hearing this, Wada Hirayama and the Kimchi Country person in charge suddenly trembled violently!

The two looked at each other and instantly understood the deep meaning within Andrew's words.

Within their eyes, which had already dimmed, the flames of revenge rekindled once more!

"Understood!"

"We will go handle it right away!"

The two nodded heavily, turned, and transformed into two streaks of light, flying toward their respective cruise ships.

Very quickly.

The ships of Sakura Country and Kimchi Country turned around, activated maximum horsepower, and pursued at full speed in the direction where the Great Xia Nation ship had disappeared!

...

Meanwhile.

Hundreds of kilometers away from the ruins' sea area.

The airship of Great Xia Nation was steadily speeding across the boundless sea surface.

On the deck, however, the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

"C-Captain..."

Zhang Cheng's face was full of disbelief.

He widened his already small eyes, staring fixedly at Gandalf, his voice trembling slightly.

"You... say it again..."

"This Pendulum of Life in our hands... is... is it real?!"

Controlling Gandalf, Zhou Huai helplessly nodded once more.

"Of course it is real."

"If you don't believe it, you can ask Principal Lin."

Lin Zhu, who had been standing to the side and remaining silent, slowly nodded.

On that cold and aloof face, a rare faint smile unexpectedly appeared.

Her voice was calm, yet it carried an unnoticeable hint of approval.

"It is real."

"This little fellow's acting skills almost fooled even me."

Boom—!

Receiving personal confirmation from Principal Lin Zhu.

Zhang Cheng felt as though his brain had been heavily struck by a bolt of thunder!

He staggered back two steps, his dark face instantly turning red!

Following that, an indescribable wild joy suddenly exploded from the bottom of his heart!

"It's... it's real!"

"We... we really brought back the Divine Artifact!"

He was so excited that he became incoherent, jumping and leaping on the deck like a child!

No wonder!

No wonder as soon as Gandalf returned to Yuanbo Island, without even having time to drink a sip of water, he immediately gave the order to return!

Without the slightest hesitation!

Previously, he had secretly complained in his heart, feeling that Marshal Zhao had entrusted the task to the wrong person.

Although this Gandalf possessed formidable strength, his mental state was still a bit too poor.

Meeting a little setback, he directly fled from battle.

Now it seemed that he was too narrow-minded!

Where was this fleeing from battle?

This was clearly devising strategies within a command tent and winning victory a thousand miles away!

At this moment, controlling Gandalf, Zhou Huai appropriately displayed a trace of fatigue.

He solemnly handed the Pendulum of Life in his hands over to Lin Zhu.

"Principal Lin."

"During this ruins exploration, my Mental Strength consumption was too excessive, and I urgently need rest."

"I will temporarily leave this Pendulum of Life in your custody."

"I will go back to the cabin to sleep first."

"For a short period of time, do not let anyone disturb me."

What Zhou Huai said this time was not entirely false either.

Concentrating his mind highly for a long time inside the ruins and controlling the Avatar to engage in high-intensity combat...

For his main body, this was indeed a considerable burden.

Being able to hold on until now was already a miracle.

Furthermore, the Pendulum of Life could not be stored into a Spatial Ring.

On the ship right now, only Lin Zhu had the qualifications and strength to safekeep this Divine Artifact.

Hearing this, Lin Zhu calmly nodded and took the heavy golden pendulum clock.

"Go ahead."

"Rest well."

"Rest assured, as long as I am here."

"This Pendulum of Life will not be lost."

After finishing instructions for everything, Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf to turn around and walk into the cabin.

He casually found a room and locked the door from the inside.

After confirming that there was no one around, he then allowed Gandalf to enter an idle state.

The next second.

Zhou Huai's consciousness finally returned to his own main body.

As soon as he returned to this familiar body, an indescribable sense of fatigue instantly flooded over him like a tidal wave!

He didn't even have the strength to open his eyes.

In less than ten seconds, he fell fast asleep.

...

With this sleep, Zhou Huai felt like he had slept for a very, very long time.

It felt like crossing a century.

When he slowly opened his eyes again, the sky outside the window was already bright.

His very first reaction was to transfer his consciousness back onto Gandalf.

Through the cabin window, the blue sky and vast sea outside could be seen.

The airship was still flying steadily.

Everything was normal.

Only then did Zhou Huai let out a long sigh of relief.

He once again returned his consciousness to his main body.

Just as he sat up, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.

Old Butler Fubo walked in holding a steaming bowl of rice porridge.

"Young Master, you are awake?"

Fubo's face carried a caring smile.

"Seeing that you were sleeping so soundly, I didn't dare to disturb you."

Zhou Huai took the bowl of hot porridge, drank a couple of sips, and felt his spirit recover quite a bit.

"Fubo, how long did I sleep?"

"A full day and night."

There was a hint of worry on Fubo's face.

"Young Master, what have you been busy with lately?"

"It feels like you seem very exhausted."

Hearing this, Zhou Huai smiled and shook his head.

"It's nothing, just handled some minor matters."

"Now it's almost done."

Fubo nodded, and as if suddenly thinking of something, he slowly spoke.

"Right, Young Master."

"Although this old servant has been staying in the guild lately."

"But I heard members in the guild say that in the city... something big seems to have happened."

Hearing this, Zhou Huai raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"What happened?"

Fubo paused, a trace of solemnity appearing on his wrinkle-covered old face.

"I heard..."

"Last night, the entire Donghai City suddenly went into city lockdown."

"No one is allowed to enter, and no one is allowed to exit."