294 The Mermen
The energy fluctuated, and the power surged even more. The mysterious hollow core surprised everyone. If the power within was given free rein to erupt, it could wipe out all lifeforms within a kilometer.
The energy and the power that the hollow core contained was more potent than what they had encountered at the Magic Tower in the mythical ruin.
Su Wan looked closely at the crustal. She noticed that there were hundreds of thumb-sized crystals floating outside the perimeter of the huge twelve crystals.
They were spatial pearls. These probably belonged to the two-headed ogres. Su Wan took a deep breath to restrain her excitement at the discovery.
She turned and looked around the isolated space. There was no other sign of life. Everything was terrifyingly quiet.
“My Lord, Your Majesty, we didn’t find any enemies around,” reported Eliza.
Su Wan nodded. Her gaze was fixed on the hollow core. ‘No enemies… Is it really this easy to obtain that treasure?’
Su Wan wasn’t a fool. She knew that such a treasure wouldn’t be left undefended.
“Troops, prepare for battle!” she shouted.
The troops obeyed and got into position.
Su Wan used the magic crystal and floated into the air. She slowly approached the hollow core. When she was about 10 meters below, the lake stirred. The still water surface was disturbed. It was as though a swarm of locusts had attacked the surface.
Su Wan raised her head to see countless mermen appearing out of the lake. They were half-human and half-fish. They held bows and tridents in their hands.
The mermen were not as appealing as the mermaids described in legends. They had ferocious faces that could frighten anyone who looked upon them. They looked angry and vicious.
A few moments later, a five-meter-tall creature with a crown on its head appeared out of the lake. The other mermen shifted to make space. It was evident that the one who had just appeared was the leader.
As the merman with the crown glanced down at the figure approaching the lake, his face turned red with rage.
“Lowly ogres, luring in more prey!” he said. “I will hang you in the water and let the piranhas suck your bones clean!”
The leader spoke in an ancient Murloc language. Xu Yuan could understand the language. ‘So, the map Su Wan obtained was just bait?’
From what the mermen leader said, the two-headed ogres had fallen prey because of that very bait and ended up here. The Dark Demon Dragon was actually lured here as prey to these creatures!
Xu Yuan couldn’t believe anyone would have wanted to ambush him in this manner. He used the True Eye of the Demon Dragon.
[Desert Fishmen]
[Level: 59]
[Rare: A-class]
[Desert Fishman Lord (Hero Unit)]
[Level: 52]
[Potential: S-class]
Su Wan also saw the attribute panel. She felt a bit better. The danger was only of the S level. She wondered how a Desert Fisherman Lord of Level 52 had managed to defeat the two-headed ogres of Level 54.
The Desert Fisherman Lord roared. He waved at his troops to move forward. “Kill them!” he said in ancient Murloc.
In an instant, a small merman holding a bow and arrow appeared in the water with an evil smile. The bowstring in his hand was pulled to the extreme. He let the arrow loose. The arrow streaked through the water and glowed faintly.
Thousands of arrows shot out from the lake above their heads. The translucent shield did nothing to block the arrows raining down.
The troops were within the enemy’s attack range. At the front were the Battleaxe Warriors and Giant Lizards. They couldn’t dodge in time. The volley of arrows hit them.
The remaining Battleaxe Warriors formed the porcupine formation with their shields. If it wasn’t for Xu Yuan, both troops would have been wiped out.
“Prepare to fire!”
The Blazing Night Elf Archers pulled their bowstrings taut with flaming arrows notched and ready to fire.
“Now!”
The arrows shot out at an impossible speed.
[Rapid Shooting: 30 arrows fired in a row. Cooldown time: 5 minutes.]
There were around 150 archers. The arrows pierced through the river in the sky. The impact could be decreased because of the water. However, the flaming arrows weren’t ordinary arrows. They were imbued with magic. The arrows disrupted the mermen’s formation.
Blood spilled like red ink in clear blue water.
When the Desert Fisherman Lord saw this, his anger flared. There was bloodlust in his eyes. “I want them dead!” he roared.
The mermen gathered again and stared down at the troops in rage. They prepared to fire their arrows once again.
Although Su Wan tried to come up with another possible way of participating in the fight, she couldn’t. It was clear that only the Blazing Night Elf Archers could attack because of the massive distance.
The Rotten Cavalry could not even touch the enemy. They couldn’t fly up and attack, after all.
“Xu Yuan, do something!” said Su Wan. She really couldn’t think of a solution.
Xu Yuan didn’t refuse to help her this time. He flew up toward the lake. A pitch-black light gathered in his throat as he spewed out dark flames. Dragon’s breath!
The water in the lake vaporized. However, in the next moment, the water was magically replenished. Although the dragon’s breath was potent and hot enough, it didn’t work against the magical lake.
Within the barrier, the mermen had the absolute advantage.
Xu Yuan didn’t want to help out too much. Su Wan and the troops still needed to level up, after all. This could be their opportunity to train more.
Arrows whistled through the air.