With the failure on their back, Ilareca, Marza, and Seei returned to the underwater palace. They were kneeling inside a grand room filled with multiple creatures that had evolved to walk on their two feet and fight on the land.

There were squids, crabs, and many more. They all stared at the three with their hearts beating rapidly.

These three were the top three fighters of their kingdom, yet, they were repelled by the humans. They wanted to know what happened on the land to the point they returned here empty handed.

It wasn't a normal incident after all, considering Kai Carter had yet to be recognized as a Protector.

Hence, they all wished to know what happened during the battle.

Ilareca also knew that the report was the only one that could save them from this situation. Hence, she had been preparing the words she would speak to their king to redeem themselves.

Suddenly, the Mermaid King entered the room as the Magic Power began to tremble, causing a small ripple underwater.

He wore a long red robe that covered all parts of his body. On his head, there was a red-colored jewel that seemed to be planted on his forehead, increasing the intensity of his red hair.

His expression was certainly not pleased by the result. In fact, the anger that filled his eyes started to oppress the other creatures in the room.

The atmosphere was silent because not a single person even dared to make a sound even with gulping down their saliva. They all knew that if they pissed the king even a little, their life would be gone.

All of them simply kneeled or lowered their heads, depending on their body structure.

Even Ilareca and the other two placed their heads on the ground, knowing this failure had angered their king.

The king walked past them until he reached his own throne, a few centimeters above the ground. He took his seat as his feet changed into that of a mermaid tail.

"So, you still dare to come back here after your failure?" The mermaid king opened his mouth. His tone was extremely cold despite talking to his daughter.

The three actually felt killing intent from his words alone, knowing that they might have the chance to die.

After all, despite being the top three, they still failed to take down a mere human who wasn't even a full-fledged protector. If they were not a failure and sat upon an empty position, then they could only die.

However, Ilareca steeled her heart and tried to explain. Knowing that a boring talk would mean her death, she quickly went to the point and the reason why they returned empty handed. "The Dolphin Prince interfered with the war and warned us not to attack the human race within a year."

"!!!" All the people widened their eyes in shock. They knew this nickname because it was their king who called the Protector of the Dolphin Race' Dolphin Prince'.

However, the Dolphin Prince didn't want to go under their rule and escaped to the Amazon Rainforest and started living with another protector in harmony there.

Still, what piqued the interest of the Mermaid King was none other than the one that helped the dolphin escape back then, the Whale Queen.

"If he was there, that old hag should also be there too.." said Neptune while furrowing his eyebrows. Although his expression hadn't changed, his tone didn't bring killing intent anymore.

Ilareca hurriedly replied, "Yes. We heard a loud whale's cry that didn't hurt one's ear. Unfortunately, we found no trace of her on the surface, so we're assuming the Whale Queen remained on the shore, warning us that she would come personally if we continued."

".." Neptune frowned and looked at Ilareca in silence for a minute before realizing something. "Is there anything you want to report?"

"Yes." Ilareca recounted what happened during the battle. "There are three important points in the battle that can't be missed. First, someone managed to almost destroy Seei's sixth barrier."

"Sixth barrier? Sixth out of seven? Kai Carter?"

"No, it's another person."

Neptune didn't believe it and glanced at Seei personally.

"Her highness didn't lie to my king." Seei shook his head. "If I get your permission, I can show the extent of the damage."

"Fine."

"Thank you very much." Seei rose from the ground and summoned all his gates, only to find himself summoning one fully intact and another one covered with cracks.

All people sucked a cold breath as they never expected to see this kind of power. Seei was like an impenetrable fortress among them, so they could understand why they couldn't do much in the battle. Even without the intervention, they would have a hard time dealing with these humans.

"I require two years to recover all these shields." He sighed.

"Not acceptable. Since they want a year, I will personally lead the army after that period is over. Kai Carter mustn't be left alive any longer."

"Yes. In that case, I can only recover three gates and my sixth gate." He sighed.

"Whatever." He waved his hand and turned to Ilareca. "Then?"

"Kai Carter's Magic Power has increased drastically."

".." Neptune's expression darkened.

"However, according to our information, Kai Carter is registered as someone who possesses low Magic Particles in his body.. Instead, it's his sister that holds a ridiculous amount of Magic Particles. But when Sir Seei fought her, the number didn't match up and his sister also possessed Sealing Magic instead of Space Magic."

"So, he sealed his power inside that woman's body?"

"Yes. We thought he planned to hide his power, but it wasn't that case. Everything was just a coincidence. For now, we have no information that seems to prove that Kai Carter has met any predecessor. I think there is no one anymore.."

"Whatever. As long as I know Kai Carter has met another protector, it's enough for the time being. This one year will be his final year to relax. After that, we're going to annihilate the human race." He harrumphed. "Anyway, my plan will be complete within nine months, so there's no need to waste too much time regarding this matter. And what's the last thing?"historical

"We haven't found a single Jewel in his body, so we are assuming he hasn't received any inheritance. Two out of our spies have been eliminated, but all of them can't find anything regarding the altar and King Jewel."

".." He thought for a moment. "Most of our power comes from the jewel. It's easy to steal the jewel, but each race has its own characteristic to suit the jewel. However, only the King candidate has a perfect body to withstand the jewel power.

"If he has the jewel, he will become a great foe with power equal to mine, but if he doesn't have one, we will simply make humanity extinct right after." He harrumphed and rose from his seat.

His expression was still cold, but the hostility finally disappeared. He stated, "You're pardoned, but you're going to live in the Cold Cave for a year to atone this failure. Make sure you are ready for another war after finishing your punishment. Understand?"

"Yes, My King. Thank you for your leniency.." The three replied in unison.