Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

Lotin, however, had another task to accomplish in Qazimir—to remind the Qazimirs of the legends they should not have forgotten.

Chapter 79: Me, fighting the Brass Ghost? Really?

"'Platinum,' these are the things you need to investigate."

Spokesperson McKee gently adjusted his glasses, marveling at how young this year's Platinum Champion was.

This is a secluded coffee shop, and also a frequent meeting place for the "Unarmored Alliance," an assassin organization under the Business Federation.

Once upon a time, the "Unarmored Alliance" were also outlaws who resisted the knights' tyranny, but now they are clearly a different person.

After the former knight's stewards divided almost half of Kazimierz's power, their only task was to maintain the existing order in Kazimierz.

The Kuranta girl, whom he called "Platinum," sat on the other side of the coffee table.

As a member of the Unarmored Alliance, she was somewhat lazy, even decadent. Compared to other members of the Unarmored Alliance, she was more like a typical office worker you'd see anywhere in Kazimierz; with her looks, she'd probably work as a receptionist.

The premise is that one has never witnessed the tragic scene of some knights who, after winning a few games, became arrogant and were pinned to the wall by a heavy arrow at home.

"I understand."

Platinum never questions her superiors' decisions, but that doesn't mean she doesn't suspect that those fools who thought they were loyal to the Unarmored Alliance all died on their way to the top for one reason or another.

Most of the time, Platinum's doubts about a mission are limited to whether it will cost him his life, but this time, Platinum has unusually doubted the purpose of the mission.

Investigating the legend of the Brass Ghost?

What a joke! Do the gentlemen of the Business Federation think the Unarmored Alliance is some kind of folklore research association?

Moreover, this task wasn't assigned to her by her lapis lazuli superiors; instead, a spokesperson for a business confederation contacted her directly. Furthermore, this kind of ridiculous rumor only recently surfaced in Victoria and Ursus.

The mission was both important and absurd, yet it was deemed by higher-ups to be something that only "Platinum" leading the team could accomplish. Conversely, it was unimportant, given that a well-connected spokesperson like McKee contacted her directly.

Platinum touched the coffee cup on the table; the coffee inside was completely cold, and her mood worsened as a result. Although the farewell greetings were still very polite, the deadpan expression on the Kuranta girl's face said it all.

On an unfinished building, the envelope the spokesperson handed her was opened, containing various pieces of information about the "brass ghost".

“Vehicles that refuse to pay tolls in gold coins on the waterways of Victoria Hillshire, a fellow countryman of Lateran, will be ruthlessly destroyed.”

The source of the information is a so-called "survivor." If it's just a highway robber, could it be the Sarkaz mercenary group that enjoys plundering Sarkaz and is just putting on an act?

But if it's just the Sarkaz mercenary group putting on an act, then why is there something like "Sister Agor the Terrible"?

Shouldn't it be the Sakta murderer who appeared to be a kind nun?

"I have previously wrestled with moving land in Little Hillshire, Victoria."

Platinum was trying her best not to laugh in front of her subordinates, because exaggerated praise was tantamount to slander, and overly exaggerated descriptions made it difficult for her to take them seriously.

"It is suspected that the Ursus Third Army was defeated in Chernobog."

Upon seeing this, Platinum lost all desire to laugh.

Such an absurd and ridiculous task, and that a spokesperson with such a powerful background as McKee would directly contact him—could it be that the task itself is not what it seems?

Perhaps the seemingly fantastical nature of this task is merely a facade, and in reality, it's just a way for superiors to pressure their subordinates into producing results.

It would be better to actually let her face Pegasus, at least then she could die knowing why, or she could just find an opportunity to run away with the bucket.

"The Brass Ghost has a peculiar obsession with gold coins, so he will promise to exchange gold coins as tribute for his power."

Do the gentlemen of the business association really need a few coins?

If the Brass Ghost is truly as miraculous as they claim, then wouldn't the gentlemen of the Business Federation only need to spend a small amount of money to obtain the help of such a powerful being?

In any case, the cost will not be higher than the cost of building and maintaining an entire army group.

The more I think about it, the stranger it gets.

"Platinum, this is a wonderful job that we entrusted to you under tremendous pressure."

"I overcame tremendous difficulties to persuade Monique, that workaholic, to give up."

Another Kuranta, much older than Platinum, appeared behind Platinum. He was one of Platinum's two superiors, Roy, who held the position of "Azure Gold" in the Unarmored Alliance. Compared to his other colleagues, this "Azure Gold" member of the Unarmored Alliance was a 100% seasoned veteran who had partnered with Platinum countless times.

"You can laugh if you want."

Just investigating some boring rumors could earn a substantial bonus and a pleasant vacation. If only this task were such a cushy job.

But "Platinum" Hinterlea also climbed to this position step by step. Some people who were not much different from her in terms of strength have now passed away. Of course, she is not the kind of person who is naive enough to believe in such a suspicious trap.

Even her boss, Roy, thought this ridiculous task was a hot potato; tasks whose underlying purpose was incomprehensible were often the riskiest and most uncontrollable.

"Since the legend of the Brass Ghost exists, it means that the possibility of us encountering him is not zero percent."

"If you actually encounter him, do you have a chance to escape unscathed?"

Roy asked half-jokingly, which to Platinum sounded more like sarcasm and ridicule.

"I'm fighting the Brass Ghost, really?"

Platinum subtly asked her boss to stop making sarcastic remarks about her.

She didn't want to get involved in such a dubious mission; she just wanted to leave work on time, save up for a vacation, and then go on a relaxing holiday to Dosoles or Siesta.

But does she have the right to refuse?

"If he exists as you say, then even the Unarmored Alliance wouldn't be able to deal with him, right? Will we win?"

"It will win."

Roy didn't think it was a problem to consider, but the Unarmored Alliance had always been "giant killers." Countless knights, too powerful for the Unarmored Alliance to deal with head-on, had died in the most bizarre and insidious ways when the Alliance made a momentary mistake.

Platinum decided to stop dwelling on the issue; the current situation only allowed her to take it one step at a time.

Besides, at this stage, she's only being asked to investigate the related rumors. If things don't go well, she can just pack up and run away.

"A knight of unusual height and build recently came to the Rhodes Island office."

Intelligence from members of the Unarmored Alliance.

"There are plenty of tall, burly knights; what's there to report?"

Although Platinum wanted to deal with her superiors, she didn't want her subordinates to deal with her, even though the matter seemed quite ordinary.

"It's over 4 meters tall."

"What? Say it again?"

Platinum turned her head sharply, praying that she had misheard.

“Ms. Platinum, I mean, he’s tall, over 4 meters tall, tall enough for an Agor to sit on his shoulders.”

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Platinum's heart. Although it was too early to draw conclusions, he couldn't possibly be waiting for the most dramatic result—that the Brass Ghost really existed, could he?

Chapter 80: Intelligence Platinum? Intelligence Titan!

Once the teleportation cooldown was complete, Lottin immediately returned to the Great Knights Territory, and Waterdrop Village became a usable teleportation point. This gave Lottin a feeling similar to completing a settlement quest in Fallout 4 and then turning it into a friendly settlement.

Having learned from the previous experience, the Rhodes Island operators on duty were much calmer.

Have any strange people been loitering around here lately?

After the teleportation was complete, Lotin tapped the helmet to double-check that it was installed perfectly.

After all, the Great Knight Territory is hardly a safe place.

"You're also concerned about our security? It's thanks to our good reputation and the professional security personnel."

The Rhodes Island operator on duty peeked out from an office with a light on. He said that the office's security personnel regularly checked the surveillance footage and had not found anything unusual.

Lotin can detect occult units, but if the enemy has received professional disguise training, Lotin will need to observe further.

Having spent so much time with Laurentina and Skadi, Lotin can now sense the murderous intent in some people, even though the two deep-sea hunters haven't specifically taught him how to detect hostility.

It was simply because Lotin had smashed so many people and observed how Laurentina and Skadi distinguished enemies that he gradually learned how to identify hostility as well.

"It seems some of Kazimierz's friends aren't very friendly."

Laurentina walked back from outside the hall. She did notice some sharp eyes watching the Rhodes Island office. The stealth techniques of the Reunion Movement and bounty hunters were nothing more than children playing hide-and-seek in front of these people.

Ever since Platinum received intelligence about the sighting of the giant knight, she and her subordinates have been keeping watch day and night at Rhodes Island's office.

She also tried to investigate what was so special about this so-called "pharmaceutical company," but the information she obtained was quite limited.

The only thing that bothered her was why a pharmaceutical company would maintain such a well-established armed force for field operations.

Clearly, these armed forces far exceed the security needs of a pharmaceutical company.

"As expected, they've reappeared at Rhodes Island's office."

These people were seen twice at this Rhodes Island office, and intuitively, Platinum finds it hard to believe that they have no connection with Rhodes Island.

However, Platinum still had no intention of retreating with her men; she wanted to confirm with her own eyes whether the giant knight her subordinate had mentioned truly existed.

She had investigated the surveillance footage along the route based on her subordinates' reports, but the area in the video where the other party should have been seen was only a dazzling halo.

Finally, the door to the Rhodes Island office was pushed open again, and the giant knight in gold and silver armor appeared in her sight as expected.

Platinum ordered a subordinate to quickly record the other person's physical characteristics, because optical photography equipment had been proven ineffective in capturing images of the other person.

"Don't be nervous. There's no evidence yet to prove he's the Brass Ghost. Maybe it's just that the armor is special, and the person inside isn't anything special."

Unfortunately, she didn't know that even when Lotin took off his armor, he still possessed amazing durability, and ordinary attacks would still be difficult to kill him; it's just that Lotin's offensive methods would become relatively mediocre.

However, charged attacks enhanced by the [Heart Steel] buff are still lethal, and using Originium Arts items also allows you to enjoy the ability power bonus and spell vamp from the [Rift Creator] passive.

Because there is no mana bar, you can't enjoy some of Nautilus's panel data (such as attack power, resistances not provided by equipment, mana, etc.), skill set, and various passives.

Bai Jin forced herself to calm down. She was able to climb to the position of Platinum because of her excellent professional skills.

"Don't underestimate my intelligence network."

"You're actually an Iberian tourist who bought a tracked transport vehicle and then went to northern Kazimir, aren't you!"

"Damn, are all Iberians this rich?"

After all, the credentials Lotin used were issued through connections with the Grand Inquisitor Darioto, so it's normal for Platinum to assume he was Iberian.

It was the other party's extremely generous budget and leisurely schedule that made the overworked Platinum extremely envious.

Platinum desperately wanted to convince himself that the other person was actually the folklore enthusiast who foolishly bought a heavy-duty tracked vehicle for the legend of the Knight's Treasure and drove to the unstable northern mountains of Kazimierz.

Unfortunately, Platinum doesn't think that way.

Because no informants were planted beforehand, Platinum had no idea what this "Iberian tourist" was doing in the remote northern mountains, since she only started the investigation after receiving a mission.

To be honest, this isn't exactly valuable intelligence.

But why would Iberian tourists wander around wearing armor that's over 4 meters tall?

Lotin, on the other hand, was prepared from the beginning to face various investigations from the Unarmored Alliance.

To accumulate "honor" among the Kazimierz, it's impossible to completely conceal one's whereabouts. Moreover, the [Light Knight] skin has extremely strong counter-surveillance capabilities, which he can use to test the Kazimierz authorities' attitude towards him.

It seems the Unarmored Alliance is indeed interested in me.

However, the legend of Nautilus the Light Knight has been forgotten to this extent in Kazimierz. The only reason the Merchant Guild would be interested in him is because—the news of his defeat of the Third Army in Ursus has been spread.

Given their style, they would definitely be very wary of such a presence.

The other party couldn't possibly know where I was going. They were probably just conducting a preliminary investigation out of fear and suspicion—what if that bronze ghost really did end up in Kazimierz?

But he never said a word about the Brass Ghost in Kazimierz, and he never even switched back to the default skin.

Perhaps they felt their armored physiques were exaggerated.

Well, a conflict with the Business Federation is inevitable sooner or later.

Their sinister influence only makes sense if it is severed in full view of the public.

"Hunter, do you really want to eat that?"

Lotin deliberately pointed to the display screen on the side and asked Skadi about the dinner options.

"Strange food is probably just a boring gimmick."

"It doesn't feel as good as the Rhodes Island field crew canned goods."

Skadi shook her head cooperatively. She understood that Lotin could have rushed up and crushed these sneaky rats right now, but he clearly preferred to defeat them in front of the Kazimir people.

In her understanding, Lotin in this form needs different tributes, but regardless of the form of the tributes, Lotin needs to let enough people see the power of Nautilus.

"Am I overthinking it?"