chapter 1173: deepsea one

archer left the domain and appeared at the palace's entrance only to run into mary. the older woman beamed when seeing him before speaking. "oh hello handsome, i was looking for you. there's something i need to show you."
"what's wrong?" he questioned while hugging the grey-haired beauty.
"'the underrealm," mary revealed. "i've found something that may interest you. now follow me."
following that, the duo walked out of the palace as she asked, "can you open a gate to the western seawall?"
archer conjured a portal without a word, and the two stepped through. the moment they emerged, mary leaped from the wall, her body shifting mid-air as she transformed into her nameless thing form.
he watched as she crashed into the water, shocking the surrounding homeguards but he quickly joined her. while falling, archer grinned just as the older woman lunged out of the sea, allowing him to land on her head.
soon after that, mary crashed back into the water and swam deep while he got comfortable as her voice echoed in his mind, 'this place will gain draconia loads of resources and many other things.'
archer nodded before turning his attention to the surrounding water, which was filled with all kinds of monsters. the water was dark, almost black, and teeming with movement. shadows drifted, creatures with fins the size of sails and glowing eyes that pierced the depths.
'why is the sea full of all kinds of creepy shit?' he asked himself.
to his left, a gigantic kraken-like monstrosity emerged briefly, its tentacles breaking the surface before vanishing into the abyss. further ahead, a serpent smaller than mary slithered through the waves, its shimmering body shimmering in the dim light.
strange, luminescent fish darted in and out of the water, their forms trailing bioluminescent streaks like falling stars. archer continued watching until he saw large piranha monsters causing him to speak. "mary, stop swimming for a second. i'm going to beat up some fish."'
she stopped while answering in a cheerful voice, "be quick, i want to spend some time with you."
archer chucked when hearing this before using blink to appear in front of the scared fish but he quickly scanned it.
[steeljaw]
[rank s]
when he saw their rank, his eyes glowed as he started attacking the steeljaw monsters, causing booms to ring out. once all the creatures were knocked out cold and floating in the waves, he threw them into the domain which made mary giggle.
'dellah is brilliant,' archer mused with a big smile.
just as the thought crossed his mind, a series of deafening booms echoed through the water. mary reacted instinctively, darting upward just in time to evade the incoming mana blasts.
archer felt the force radiating from the projectiles as they streaked past, their energy cutting through the depths. a direct hit from one of those attacks would have been catastrophic, a realization that sent a shiver down his spine and raised goosebumps across his skin.
'oh shit, how powerful are those cannon?' he thought with a big smile.
suddenly, the older woman let out a powerful, resonant roar that echoed through the water. the sound carried a commanding authority, and as if in response, the underwater base ceased its assault, the silence that followed laden with tension and awe.
as the two approached the massive cube, several small crafts shot out from its surface, surrounding them in a tight formation. they seemed to be ready to attack, their movements sharp, but the moment they noticed him, their aggression faded.
instead, the crafts adjusted their course, forming an escort and guiding them toward the base's entrance. when archer saw this, he smiled as mary's voice echoed in his mind, 'they are so paranoid, i've seen these little things destroy several sea titans.'
"interesting," he replied while scanning the war machines.
the crafts were constructed from mithril and deep sea ore, their sleek designs glinting faintly
in the dim light as they sliced through the water like a predatory fish. mana engines powered them that he and dellah designed a few years ago.
before long, a massive door opened at the base of the cube, its movement slow and deliberate as it revealed an entryway. mary shifted seamlessly into her human form, her features sharpening with the change, as the duo made their way inside.
as they entered, archer's gaze swept across the interior, illuminated by dozens of glowing mana lights that cast a soft, otherworldly radiance over the space. when they breached the water's surface, they found themselves in a vast warehouse that stretched as far as the eye
could see.
sleek submarines lined one section of the facility, while tanks, battle crafts, and transport vehicles stood ready in another; the facility was filled with these war machines, their designs amazing him as the ironfoot family had done a good job.
archer's gaze settled on the legionnaires stationed in the deepsea legion, prompting a thought to cross his mind. 'so these are lucrezia and kassandra's armies. it suits them well. i remember teuila mentioning she wanted a new legion.'
the soldiers wore sleek blue armor that fully protected their vital areas, and helmets that revealed only their sharp, vigilant eyes. their weaponry was a blend of tradition and power- many carried finely crafted swords and spears, their edges gleaming with enchantments. among them, archer spotted water mages thanks to the amount of mana radiating from them. while they admired their surroundings, a group of men and women approached with
nervous expressions.
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