When Huggins and his team arrived at the west coast of Waiheke Island, they found that everything there was like another world.

Many buildings they had never seen before stood on the beach, and their shapes looked like temporary caves made of wood and stone.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that although the cave entrance appeared small, the space inside was extremely large.

The sand and soil were hollowed out, and huge stone pillars served as load-bearing walls, supporting the weight of the entire cave.

On the beach at the cave entrance, small enclosures were created using aquatic plants and wood chips, where edible fish, insects, shrimp, and crabs were raised.

Just as Huggins was observing these caves, a strange creature with a deep blue body emerged from the water.

He was ugly, with ears like fish fins, a mouth full of sharp spikes, eyes like fish bubbles, and gills that could be seen opening and closing in his chest.

Huggins instinctively took a step back and reached for the short sword hidden in his cane.

Carol quickly stopped him: "Calm down, this guy is just a child from the Flounder tribe."

Flounder tribe? Children?

Huggins stared at the dark blue creature, which was taller than a person, and his mind was a little slow to process what it was.

Aldenan lazily took a sausage from his waist and casually tossed it in front of the flounder creature.

Watching the other person lying on the sand, eating sausage with gusto, Aldenan howled twice and then made a fishtail-swinging motion with his hand towards the other person.

The flounder creature nodded, picked up its food, and plunged into the sea.

The group did not have to wait long.

A few minutes later, a mermaid maid emerged from the sea and shouted to the land, "Distinguished guests of the Dragon Kingdom, please follow me!"

Brother Joe looked at the sea and asked with difficulty, "Does she mean for us to jump into the sea?"

Carol shook her head and said, "Follow her and walk along the coast. The mermaids' residence is not far away."

Guided by the mermaid, the group set off northward along the coast.

Along the way, we saw more and more strange buildings erected on the beach.

There are large seawater pools similar to open-air salt fields; there are also "bird nests" built of wood, half fixed on land and half floating on the sea.

Elijah scribbled in his sketchbook as he walked: "The style of these buildings is really interesting."

Brother Joe scratched the back of his head, indicating that he couldn't understand.

“That’s the shark people’s enclosure, and that’s the home of the Golden Abalone Clan.” Carroll was relatively familiar with the area, and he could even name the few marine refugees who occasionally showed up.

Huggins suddenly stopped in his tracks.

At the edge of the horizon, there is a huge water fortress built on the seashore.

Fences made of coral, walls built of seashells and mica.

"Let me guess," Huggins said. "That's where the merfolk live."

Carol said, "To be precise, that's the dwelling of the Salamanders. Other races don't have the resources or the inclination to build such a structure."

Huggins slowly approached the water fortress, looked at the pearls and gems inlaid on the gate, and sighed.

Aldenan leaned closer and said with a smile, "Doesn't it feel like seeing a palace in a slum?"

Brother Joe touched his bald head: "This reminds me of a scene I saw before, during a year of famine, when farmers lined up to borrow grain from the local gentry."

Huggins asked Carroll, "Why are the Saramo mermaids so wealthy?"

“The Salamanders practically dominate maritime trade; without their permission, no sea refugee dares to trade with Twilight City.”

"Why?"

Carroll shrugged: "Who knows, maybe it's like the legends say, they can bewitch people with their songs."

Seeing the old monk's frightened expression, Carol quickly added, "I was just kidding."

Huggins continued walking towards the water village, and the gate slowly opened as he approached.

A huge waterway filled with seawater gradually came into view.

To their surprise, dozens of ocean clan leaders, including Rita, Grey Swan, and Yego, were already waiting in the seawater pool in the front yard of the water village.

The appearance of Huggins instantly surprised Rita.

She already knew most of the officials in Muxi City by heart.

But she had never seen the official leading the group today before.

Rita lowered her head and said, "Children of the ancient gods, inhabitants of the sea, welcome the messenger of the dragon god."

Huggins looked around and found that several chairs and a small table had already been prepared on the stone slabs in the front yard.

Huggins found a chair, sat down, rubbed his legs, and said, "Your Majesty... the Dragon God has agreed to the requests of the various ocean races to join the Dragon Kingdom."

Rita bent over in the water and said, "We are all extremely grateful for the mercy of the Supreme Dragon God."

“Now that you are citizens of the Dragon Kingdom, you should be familiar with its doctrines and fulfill your civic duties.” Huggins tapped the ground with his cane: “The land beneath your feet belongs to the Dragon God, the food you catch also belongs to the Dragon God, and everything you have belongs to the Dragon God.”

Rita raised her head and said, "I once received a promise from the Dragon God that the Supreme Being would allow us to retain our original faith, which is the faith of the ancient sea god."

These words immediately made the atmosphere in the room heavy.

The chieftains of the maritime refugees stood together, anxiously awaiting Huggins' reply.

Meanwhile, the Crusader soldiers roared angrily, loudly rebuking these heretics.

Huggins gripped his cane with both hands, stared at Rita, and said calmly, "As I said before, everything on this land belongs to the Dragon God, and his words are naturally the highest standard."

This answer sounds somewhat ambiguous.

Huggins both emphasized the authority of the Dragon God and upheld the Dragon God's promise.

This can be seen as giving both sides a way out.

Rita looked visibly relieved: "As you said, the Dragon God is the ruler of this land, and his will cannot be defied."

Huggins first glanced at the sea patriarchs, then pointed to the monks Joe and Elijah behind him.

"The two people beside me are an official in charge of the kingdom's population registration and an official in charge of land surveying and road construction. They will confirm with you the area, planning, and population of the sea race settlement."

Rita swam to the edge of the seawater pool, flicked her tail, and looked at Hudgens, asking, "And you? What do you do?"

Huggins touched the dragon-shaped badge on his chest: "Servant of the Dragon God, gatekeeper of the royal city, a foolish but cautious steward."

Rita blinked, looking confused.

Huggins didn't elaborate further, but turned to the people behind him and said, "Let's get to work."