New Game+

Deep underwater in the oceans north of Russia, a massive ship with a powerful cloaking technology that made it look like parts of the water continued to move down the sea. It had destroyed yet another Underwater city and captured its occupants.

The debris and parts of this Underwater city had been captured.

"How is it that there are just so many of them?" One of the Pioneers sighed. He watched the monitors as the Planteds continued to scavenge the area. Behind him, a group of chained people was being brought in.

"This is the second Underwater City, and their population should be over a thousand!"

"To think that they hid well..."

"Some hide under the earth, some under the sea. The WGP should have long had the technology to reach this place but intentionally didn't. I am told that a select few members of Earth's Underworld know about this place. The illusive Lennox is said to know of more than three-fourths of all these secret cities. But the general population has no idea. Or rather, they were too busy with all the things going up there on Earth."

"I heard that around three Underwater cities have submitted to Presider Lanterk's team. Aren't we doing something less efficient? Why not ally with these Underwater Cities and destroy them?" One of his fellow commanding Pioneers asked.

"We are not supposed to question the wisdom of Presider Myrth." A bored Pioneer answered as he watched the numerous humans.

"Our primary concern is to detect those that are similar to the Anti-Pesiders. We've captured a few samples from some of the 'abandoned' experiments. To think that they would be Pioneers and Planted taking part."

"It is indeed shocking. Just how many Pioneers hid on Earth after the previous Presiders came here? With all these people, we would have to go through a huge process to filter out if there are spies."

"You really believe that there could be a spy among them? We've taken them and scanned them with our techs. There are no spies among them. It's impossible to have spies among them!"

"Presider Myrth is assuming that our enemies have techs equal or greater than hers. Or is it 'his' right now?"

"Last time I saw Presider Myrth, she assumed a form of a woman."

"Oh, good. Anyway, think about it. She has the power to change her face."

"But Presider Myrth has her techs with her! These people have nothing!"

"Who knows? There could be a way for them to spy on us."

"I still think we are wasting a huge amount of resources for them! It's easier to offer an alliance and make them fight at the front line while treating them as potential traitors! Just like the conquered cities that Presdier Lanterk is doing just east of this place!"

"Presider Lanterk needs every resource he can grab hold off. Every Presider will soon be fighting each other, but Lanterk will be their first target. Presider Tiana's alliance, Presider Enderk's alliance, and the other Top Tiers will tackle the strongest one first. With a Presider War declared, it forebodes the interference of Principals. So Presider Lanterk will not have any assistance. If it is proven that Lanterk is beyond Presider level, the Primes back home will kill the horns of the goat. So if Presider Lanterk is beyond Presider, he has no choice but to allow himself to die. It's that simple."

A Planted approach the two who were discussing.

"Commander! We have a prisoner that refuses to take off her mask. She claims to have valuable information about the Anti-Presider and is hailed as the leader of the Underwater city."

"Where is she?"

"She is held in the interrogation chamber."

"Alright. Let's go." The Pioneer Commander turned to his fellow Commander and motioned to follow.

The two moved towards the chamber and entered the room.

"You are the leader of this group?" The Pioneer asked.

Without answering the Pioneer's question, the woman removed the masked and revealed a beauty that could not be contained.

Ice suddenly appeared, and everyone was frozen. But as that happened, the cameras that watched continued to play out a scene of people talking.

Rosa removed her mask and observed the Commander.

"Twister. Strike. Go." She spoke.

"Yes, Madam." The nearby prisoner was not wearing ragged clothes but a strange suit, and he reached out his hand, and a swarm of black dust appeared and reformed into a giant windmill-shaped shuriken.

The other man next to the first also moved, and black dust also appeared, forming into a shield and sword. He moved out of the room.

The door remained open, and the Planteds that were not caught from the ice simply stood by and ignored and allowed the two to move ahead.

"Is it ready?" Rosa asked the Planted guarding the door. This was the same Planted who called out to the two Commanders.

"We're deactivating their shackles now. One of them has already been instructed as to where the guns are. It's all going according to your orders."

"Good. You will be rewarded." She smiled.

The Planted bowed and began to weep as he saw something so angelic.

The ice slowly vanished, and the two Pioneer Commanders were freed.

But the two did not fight or show any hostility as they looked into the beauty before them.

"Hmm. I'm still lacking compared to the Tyrant Empress... She could kill people like this just with her beauty. You two, what is your name?"

"I am Oswall."

"Merch."

The two Pioneers quickly reported.

"What is going on here? Why is your Presider attacking Underwater Cities?" Rosa asked.

"Presider Myrth wants to shape this world into a suitable battlefield for the upcoming Presider Wars."

"How so?"

"The Underwater Cities provide various trade routes for resources that make it easier for Presiders to trade the resources of this world. They want to limit it, and so, she is hunting as many Underwater Cities as possible."

"That explains the unrest in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean... Specter, what do you make of this?" Rosa spoke to Specter in a different frequency with great speed.

"This is the opposite of the plans that the Void Assassins reported. Lanterk wants to create and secure trade routes for the Babel city he intends to build. In contrast, this Presider wants to destroy it all and avoid making trade routes. This means that all Presiders are indeed preparing their footing. However, they still need resources and materials for the war. I'm guessing that this Presider has other ways or has already taken hold of key locations that he or she is forcing the world to go back into the previous trade routes before the rise of Underwater cities."

"Hmm... So this is scenario four of Arthur's prediction."

"Indeed. It's better for trade routes to occur above ground where this Presider can easily see it. The ocean will be Presider's enemy. And if she needs to keep track of all alliances, it will require massive resources to guard it and keep track of all trades. So this Myrth could be ensuring that there are no trade routes if by destroying all these cities instead of allying with them or making them subordinates! So instead of exerting effort to keep these dogs on a leash, the plan is to kill them. This is the cruel logic of the Presider. Some Presiders need these routes, but this one doesn't Hence the purge. This Presider War will become a battle of territory here on earth."

"They won't opt for stellar warfare?"

"It's too risky. With their tech, everyone can see anyone up there. But down here, they can hide underwater and underground."

"So the Presiders are all set to build Babels."

"Just as predicted. But I wonder. We thought that the trade route of the Suez Canal would be old news. And yet now, things are going back to that. Could it be? The Tyrant Empress knew this and intended to take Egypt?" Specter frowned.

"She is a genius, after all. It's possible. We'll take this one step at a time. You two... Who do you want to serve? Me or that Presider? I have frozen the device planted in you. It won't activate, for now, so feel free to speak anything." Rosa instructed.

"I will serve you!"

"Yes! I choose to serve you too!"

The two bowed without hesitation.

"I need information. Stay here and serve the Myrth alongside you fellow Pioneers. You must make sure that this place is without any spies from other Presider. The longer you can provide me information about your movements and other plans, the better."

"We will obey! Rest assured that we will become the perfect and most unsuspecting spies."

"This also means that you need to commit some minor crimes. It can be things for gain, drugs, sex, anything. I will contact you whenever we can. We will make our retreat. But the next time you invade an Underwater city, we will prepare a means of communication."

"Yes!" The two Commander Pioneers bowed as the group moved. Outside, a battle had occurred as the captured prisoners managed to get a hold of weapons.

As Rosa concluded her meeting, the power of Specter, which created a strange illusion through Soul Cultivation and Meng's techs, also disappeared. The illusion followed everything that Specter imagined. And so, no one could see what was going on. The other Commander Pioneers only saw the two talk with Rosa, and then the alarms rang out and made the Commanders panic and move out.

But investigating the quick talk between Rosa and those Commanders was lost in the rising list of priorities as Strike and Twister attacked the large ship and nearly reached the hidden command center of the General Pioneer.

As the chaos rose, Rosa and the three Fangs had already secretly escaped into the ocean and swam outside.

Rosa used her powers to encase them in ice, and they floated to the surface. No one noticed their retreat.