Terra, an immense continent.
According to Goki's deductions, this continent was probably much larger than Eurasia, with countless nations residing upon it, constantly warring and scheming against each other.
However, on such a vast continent, only Iberia was adjacent to the ocean, coexisting with the underwater civilization of Aegir.
Some Aegirians had migrated out of Aegir's vast ocean many years ago, spreading across the world. Naturally, Iberia received the largest influx of these migrants.
Aegir's national policy was an extremely materialistic technocratic ideology, with even its leadership divided into "Scientific Consuls" and "Technical Consuls."
Coupled with its advanced and powerful national strength, it was practically the underwater Atlantis from DC comics.
According to Titi, most Aegirians possessed knowledge of industrial technology in some aspect. As for her, because she became an Abyssal Hunter at a very young age, she had basically not studied any theoretical knowledge.
In a country where everyone was a skilled technician, the simple Little Orca only knew how to fight.
Forget it, being simple is good.
With the influx of Aegirian immigrants, Iberia, originally just an ordinary, barely powerful religious state, also glimpsed a sliver of the advanced technology of Aegir's civilization.
But this was enough to make Iberia strong, elevating it to the ranks of world powers.
Iberia decided to venture into the sea. They dared not contend with Aegir's civilization, but they at least wanted to open up new territories.
Countless mobile towns and mobile cities began construction along Iberia's southern coast. Utilizing Aegirian technology, they could even float on the ocean in the future.
Iberians also built a powerful fleet, hoping to rely on it to dominate the seas. To showcase the fleet's strength, they even gave it a grand name.
— The Invincible Armada.
What a flag.
"Ha, things in Iberia are always so messy, but—"
Standing on a high cliff, Goki looked out at the massive "structure" about several kilometers away, half suspended above the sea and half embedded in the land, and couldn't help but exclaim.
On the morning of the eighth day of their journey, Goki and Skadi finally approached their destination.
The Mobile City, Saltwind City.
It was the colossal, overturned carcass of a giant beast on the seashore.
It resembled both a disc and a gigantic ship, with several metal curved pillars taller than skyscrapers rising high, like the white ribs exposed after a beast's death and complete consumption.
Although it looked like an offshore oil rig, the actual size of that structure was hundreds or thousands of times larger than a platform.
That was a genuine… city!
Mobile Cities, architectural marvels built by the residents of the Terra continent to escape "Catastrophes."
Unrelated to Aegirian technology, Mobile Cities were movable cities developed by land residents using Originium technology and advanced Materials science.
"—It's truly... awesome."
Although he often heard this term in games, when Goki truly stood before the Mobile City, he was still astonished by this gigantic city resembling a mountain range.
This was much cooler than the MCV base vehicles in Red Alert!
Imagine, the entire Yarnam, Byrgenwerth, Old Yharnam... the entire vast map of Bloodborne, all placed on a massive movable mechanical platform that could freely move across the ground.
At least, with Earth's technology, such a miracle probably couldn't be built.
This colossal structure seemed to be only half-built, with many scaffolds still visible at the base tracks of the Mobile City.
Even such an architectural wonder could not withstand the power of Catastrophes.
Catastrophes, on Earth, are earthquakes and tsunamis, sweeping storms and volcanic eruptions... On Terra, while the forms of Catastrophes are similar to Earth's, their power increases geometrically.
This half-built Mobile City had already been destroyed in the event known as The Great Silence, and no one intended to continue repairing it—the land nations all believed The Great Silence was a natural disaster, with only Aegir and Iberia knowing the truth.
Now, a part of this city was already submerged in seawater, overgrown with seaweed, barnacles, and rust.
Saltwind City, once representing Iberia's glory and honor, and the dream of conquering the sea, now only held decay and ruin—it had become a forgotten place by Iberia.
"No need to be surprised, Goki. Aegir's engineering is far superior to that of land dwellers. Our domes can withstand the pressure of the deep sea, and our shuttles won't deviate even when struck by tsunamis."
Skadi slowly walked to his side, seemingly displeased by his overly surprised expression, and then began to praise her homeland.
"If there's a chance, I could take you to Aegir... No, forget it."
But then, she suddenly remembered that her homeland had long since perished in the final war, and her ruby-like eyes immediately drooped.
Goki immediately noticed Skadi's dejection, quickly collected himself, and changed the subject.
"Alas, I wonder if there are any soft beds in Saltwind City. Our Nona Skadi has suffered a lot these past few days—haven't you always missed automatic toilets?"
Goki's words immediately stifled Skadi's sadness. She somewhat indignantly lifted her foot and lightly kicked Goki's shin.
"Goki, you're speaking strangely again."
After several incidents where she almost kicked Goki's bones, Skadi finally learned to control her strength and adapt to interacting with fragile land dwellers, like treating a small baby, ensuring he felt pain without fracturing bones.
"My fault, my fault—Ah, you've changed your clothes?"
Grinning and rubbing his leg twice, Goki smiled as he turned around, his eyes widening even further.
"Wow—honestly, truly beautiful."
Giving two thumbs up, Goki praised Skadi's beauty without any concealment.
Skadi was no longer wearing the Abyssal Hunter attire that was half similar to Goki's, but had changed into a vibrant red long dress.
On her silver-white long hair sat a cyan triangular pointed hat. The red short dress exposed her fair shoulders, outlining a beautiful bust. The hem was above her knees, but long cyan-gray ribbons flowed down both sides of her body.
Below her exposed, slender pink legs, she wore a pair of pure white high-heeled ankle boots.
"Hmm... Do I have to wear such strange clothes? There's so little fabric."
Awkwardly shaking her layered and fluffy red long sleeves, and tugging at the folds of her skirt, Skadi's small face flushed slightly.
As an Abyssal Hunter, she was not very accustomed to this somewhat overly revealing attire.
"It's fine if my thighs are chilly—but is it necessary to expose this part specifically?"
Patting her navel, which was deliberately exposed by a diamond-shaped cutout on her lower abdomen, Skadi looked up at the excited Goki.
Seeing the unconcealed excitement on his face, even more intense than when he saw the Mobile City, Skadi unconsciously felt a little proud.
"However, thank you for your compliment—do you land dwellers all like this style of clothing?"
Although her expression remained as indifferent as usual, Titi still puffed out her chest. After all, being praised was a happy thing, and perhaps all land dwellers liked to dress this way.
Moreover, aside from being a bit chilly, Skadi felt these clothes were quite suitable for combat.
In Aegirian aesthetics, such a vibrant red was not common, but Skadi thought this color was quite nice.
Now, she was full of curiosity about the entire land, hoping to alleviate her loneliness and melancholy through it.
Trying more new things had no downside.
"No, I just simply like this style. There are many more beautiful clothes on land—of course, that's not the only reason."
Looking at the sharp greatsword on Skadi's back, Goki honestly admitted his preferences, but still tried to steer the conversation in a normal direction.
"We're going to an Iberian city. This country has strict laws, and many Inquisitors patrol. We don't have identities, so we must find a reasonable and legal identity as outsiders. It's best not to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary—your singing is so good, being a wandering Skadi the Singer would be perfect."
Of course, a large part of the reason was that Goki wanted to see Skadi in this outfit.
[Kind Hunter, is this why you specially made my clothes and gave them to Nona Skadi? Precious blood echoes should not be wasted like this.]
In his mind, the Doll Nona's voice was still gentle, but her tone was a bit scary.
[I'm sorry, I'm sorry. There's no fabric in the wilderness. I'll specially sew you a few new outfits later, okay? Please~]
In Hunter's Dream, one of Goki's few mental entertainments was dressing the Doll Nona in various beautiful new clothes, thus developing a pair of skillful hands adept at sewing.
Thinking of entering Saltwind City, Goki worked through the night yesterday, modifying one of the Doll Nona's outfits to replicate Red Skadi's wandering Skadi the Singer costume for Skadi.
Red Skadi was a bad civilization, but Red Skadi's clothes were a good civilization!
"Hmm... I'll listen to you. I don't really know how to deal with land dwellers, but if fighting is needed, you can leave it all to me."
Hesitating for a few seconds, Skadi pulled out a small comb from her pocket and handed it to Goki.
It was one of the daily necessities uniformly issued to Abyssal Hunters.
"Also, help me comb my hair. Just a few strokes, then tie it up. Aegirians' hair is very tough, so don't worry about breaking it."
In the past, Skadi's long hair was always taken care of by her comrades.
Now, she had to learn to comb her own hair.
"No problem. Besides that, you'd better conceal your greatsword in a box—are you used to wearing high heels? Do they fit? Can you fight with such pointed heels?"
Goki immediately agreed, took the comb, ran behind Skadi, and enthusiastically began combing her hair.
"Such good hair quality—I'll look, maybe there's a suitable hairpin."
The Doll Nona's hair also had a very good texture. In Yarnam, Goki would occasionally change her hairstyle.
Enjoying the sensation from her hair ends, Skadi relaxed with a long sigh, patted her red dress, and looked at Saltwind City in the distance.
"Iberians possess Aegirian technology. Saltwind City should have emergency medical devices to repair damage caused by Seaborn... I hope, just as you said, the Hunters of Yharnam are not afraid of contamination."
Reaching out and placing her hand over her heart, Skadi felt the changes brought by the "old wound" from the final battle a week ago, which had no visible mark, and her expression gradually became serious.
She felt something in the Mobile City before her was calling to her.
This journey would definitely not be so smooth.