The council hall of the Western Royal City at dusk.

Todd sat on his high throne, gazing out the window into the distance, silent and lost in thought.

"They've all left."

Ivy leaned against the armrest of the throne and said softly, "The soul of the murderer Jacqueline will be judged by the scales of fate; all the Crusaders involved in this assassination will be punished as they deserve; the Knights of Twilight will redeploy their forces to guard the royal city; the Kingdom Council and the Shaman Assembly will jointly issue a decree to restrain racial discrimination within the country... This may be the best outcome."

"The best outcome? This is merely the most unfortunate outcome!" With hidden anger in his words, the dragon scales on Todd's arm slowly appeared.

Ivy gently stroked the dragon scales and whispered, "Just now in the meeting, I almost thought you were about to explode in anger, but in the end you managed to restrain yourself."

Todd closed his eyes: "I have already shown these people the whole tragic scene that happened in Tero City that day in the soul space, but they are still thinking about racial conflict!"

"People only remember where the water bucket is when the fire reaches their doorstep."

Noticing Todd looking at her, Evie smiled and said, "It's a North Island slang term."

Todd shook his head helplessly and said, "Are power struggles and racial divisions really that important? Even the wisest people are blinded by them."

Ivy straightened up: "Actually, you can't blame them entirely... In the past, our greatest enemy was the Church, but with the fall of Tero City, everyone suddenly lost their goal and could only look for other things to distract themselves."

Todd said, "You're oversimplifying things. Jacqueline's case is just a microcosm of the escalating domestic conflicts. In fact, racial tensions are intensifying in every sector and corner of the kingdom."

"The Holy Spirits' Sanctuary, managed by the Crusaders, has explicitly prohibited human worship; human-run bars do not provide the food and drink required by the Crusaders; and the Crusaders and human knights in the city's garrison are unwilling to share posts or work together."

Todd said with a headache, "Look at the people who came to the meeting today. Doesn't every single one of them represent their own race? When I asked them not to use race as an excuse to discriminate again, they agreed verbally, but they were all resentful inside."

Ivy was a little puzzled: "You are the Dragon God, possessing supreme power. As long as you speak, no one will have any objections."

Todd sighed: "My authority can change the body, can influence the soul, but it is powerless against one thing—human nature."

Evie remained silent.

After a moment of silence, Evie suddenly remembered something: "By the way, did you ask Huggins to come over today because of this?"

"Most of the kingdom's officials are caught in the vortex of racial conflict. To protect the interests of their own race, they are even willing to harm the interests of the kingdom. Therefore, I need some people who can remain neutral in racial confrontations, and Harkins is one of them..."

At this point, Todd paused for a moment: "What Huggins said did give me some insight. If we can't achieve unity internally, perhaps we can try to work things out from the outside?"

"Your Majesty, the chieftain of the Saramo mermaids requests an audience."

The guard's voice interrupted Todd's thoughts.

Todd exchanged a glance with Ivy and said, "The merfolk of Saramo? Let them in?"

The guard looked troubled: "Your Majesty, it may be inconvenient for them to come in."

Todd was taken aback, then closed his eyes and opened his soul space.

In the middle of the vast ocean, a towering snow-capped peak stands, with a giant dragon coiled on its summit, overlooking everything below.

Rita, the mermaid chieftain, who was sitting on the sea, realized that one second she was in a huge glass tank in front of the royal city gate, and the next second she was in this vast and boundless world.

But before she could even be surprised by all this, Todd's appearance robbed her of all her ability to think.

Unable to lift her head due to the immense pressure of the dragon's might, Rita, the mermaid chieftain of Saramo, bent over, burying her head in her chest, her body trembling uncontrollably from everything around her.

A solemn and powerful voice rang out above Rita's head: "What do you want to see me for?"

Rita opened her mouth, only to find that her excessive tension had rendered her unable to make a sound.

Fortunately, Todd was patient, and after a short wait, Rita finally regained some courage.

"Supreme... Dragon God, the black plague in the sea... is spreading, and wave after wave of refugees are fleeing to your kingdom, seeking your protection."

Upon hearing the words "Black Plague," Todd's eyes narrowed: "Tell me more details."

Rita lowered her head and said, "This morning, the first group of ocean refugees arrived in waters less than 20 kilometers from Waiheke Island. They come from more than 20 different races, and their total number exceeds 10,000."

Todd asked, "Are all these people victims of the Black Plague?"

"That's right. The black plague has already engulfed their homes and is spreading rapidly. According to them, more and more people will come to the Dragon Kingdom for refuge in the future."

"Where are these people now?"

“I have distributed the food of my tribe to all the refugees. They are now staying in the waters 20 kilometers west of Waiheke Island. Without your permission, they dare not take another step closer.”

Todd said, "Tell those sea refugees that I agree to let them into the Dragon Kingdom. In addition, I will allocate some funds from the national treasury to purchase food and supplies for them."

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