Nighttime in Bilgewater, except for the upper districts, is a pitch-black area. Occasionally, the only source of light on the streets hangs from lanterns outside some buildings.
Linwin followed Sarah and Graves, observing the surroundings.
Countless men and women, armed with harpoons or short guns, rushed on the stone platform. Their attire and tattoos varied, indicating they were not from the same faction. Yet, their current goal was remarkably unified: to head towards the southern giant shipyard port.
"Hurry, hurry! If the horns couldn't disrupt these guys, it looks like we'll be busy tonight!"
"The Buhru people! Where are they at this time?"
"Forget about the Buhru people! I'm telling you, these sea monsters are their doing! That thing they worship, Nagakabo... or whatever it's called, isn't it the biggest sea monster?"
"Hush! Fool, do you want to die? If you want to die, don't drag me down with you. I don't want to mess with the Buhru people."
Linwin felt a sense of unity among the people of Bilgewater at this moment.
The fishy sea breeze blew relentlessly, disregarding human feelings and moods. Inhaling the stench far surpassing that of Zaun and Piltover's ports, Linwin frowned repeatedly.
While both Bilgewater and the Twin Cities were coastal states relying on the sea for survival, the sea areas of the Twin Cities showed no sign of sea monsters. The fish they could catch didn't compare to those in Bilgewater, where they could catch fish tens or even hundreds of meters in size.
These fish didn't look appetizing.
With protruding fangs, short limbs, and blue or green scales, their eyes bulged but lacked light.
Just looking at these fish was satiating, let alone eating them.
The largest fish found in the Twin Cities' seas so far was only about a dozen meters in size; Linwin had yet to see anything over dozens of meters.
But now, he was broadening his horizons.
"Your precious Hextech buildings emit enticing blue light all night long. I think these light sources are the reason why Bilgewater has been attracting sea monster attacks recently."
Sarah, wearing a windbreaker, raised the brim of her captain's hat with the muzzle, revealing a beautiful face. A curve appeared on her lips as she stood on a rock, looking down at the Bilgewater people already preparing defensive works at the giant shipyard port.
Whenever the Harrowing night and sea monsters attacked, the people of Bilgewater would briefly set aside their mutual hatred. This tradition had been going on for who knows how long, but it continued to this day.
Even sworn enemies would set aside their hatred at this moment, joining forces to resist external invasion.
Because everyone knew that if this small island were destroyed, their only "home" in this world would truly be gone.
"So that's why I called you to come along. This trouble was caused by you."
Sarah turned around, facing away from the sea, looking at Linwin and saying, "You brought this upon us."
Linwin's gaze, however, swept past Sarah's face and fell on a huge Hextech station on the giant shipyard port.
This Hextech station tower was larger than any previously built Hextech stations, standing at about seventy meters tall, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with a base area of about thirty meters. Blue light surrounded the tower, and Linwin could see with the naked eye the faint blue magical substance spreading outwards.
What Sarah said was true. Building a Hextech station in Frejlord would provoke raids from local tribes, and building one in Bilgewater would also attract the attention of the "locals".
The Hextech station would attract sea monster attacks. Linwin now felt that coming to Bilgewater was indeed the right choice.
If he didn't know this, according to the previous agreement with the Twin Cities, it would just be supporting Sarah to take her position and help guard the Hextech stations on the island. But the Twin Cities wouldn't provide much assistance to the people of Bilgewater.
For example, Hextech weapons wouldn't be sold to the people of Bilgewater. Although shield could effectively resist attacks from Hextech weapons, the production of energy shield was limited and would only be prioritized for use by frontline enforcers.
Therefore, if too many long-range and powerful Hextech weapons were exported, it would surely cause trouble for the Twin Cities.
But now, it seemed that things were about to change.
Does the Twin Cities have Hextech weapons capable of attacking large creatures?
Linwin thought for a moment and realized that there were indeed giant Hextech harpoon guns on the fishing boats in Piltover's harbor, capable of hunting fish over ten meters in size. These devices were not expensive and were civilian equipment, but they could likely inflict significant damage on sea monsters.
"So what?" Graves looked at Linwin, who was stunned, loudly saying, "Even if we don't have these gadgets, don't these sea monsters come around every now and then anyway?"
"The defense horns used to disrupt their arrival here. Now, these blue lights seem to be guiding the sea monsters. The horns no longer work on them," Sarah said, looking somewhat displeased at Graves, then added, "Besides, you're also a Bilgewater native."
"Just because I'm from Bilgewater doesn't mean I'm supposed to be the good guy." Graves bit his cigar, took a couple of puffs, then continued, "Don't expect me to be like him. Linwin is a good guy; he doesn't even get mad when I shoot at him. But I'm different. You want to morally lecture me? Forget it!"
The cigar flickered, casting a fiery glow as Graves said confidently, "Because I don't have morals."
Twisted Fate: "..."
"Sarah, that's not the point right now." Linwin patted Graves on the shoulder, then looked at Sarah and said, "Let's focus on solving the sea monster problem first, and we can discuss the rest later."
"The Twin Cities are here to be allies with Bilgewater. You can trust us; the Twin Cities have never let a friend down."
Sarah nodded at Linwin, "I just hope there aren't any giant sea monsters this time. Otherwise, we'll have to seek help from the Buhru people."
Before Sarah's words could sink in, a huge glowing lamp appeared abruptly above the sea behind her. Then, a gigantic fish head emerged from the sea, dwarfing even the largest ship in the port.
Graves was dumbfounded. "You, you jinxed us!"
Linwin was shocked. That thing on the sea must be at least two hundred meters long, right?
"Lanternfish monster, damn it, it's the lanternfish monster!"
"Spearfish hunters, retreat and don't bother with those sea monsters under ten meters. We need to deal with that thing!"
"You there, hurry back to the slaughterhouse and bring the serpant-hunting guns!"
A chorus of exclamations erupted from the port below, but it was evident that even in the face of such a massive sea monster, the people of Bilgewater could still maintain control amidst the chaos.
Sarah was also taken aback and shouted loudly, "Rafen, quickly go to the upper district and find the Buhru Horn. The lanternfish..."
"They are the one guiding the others!"