Chapter 883: To Serve
“I-I don’t know…” Parsi forced out a few words with extreme difficulty. “It-It forced me…”
“Where’s Ruxis? Tell me now!”
Donald tossed Parsi onto the ground and pressed his cane against his throat.
“I don’t know… I really don’t know… I-it’s always been the one… stalker from the deep sea… it’s been forcing me…” Parsi said between intermittent sobs.
All of a sudden, he coughed a few times before spitting out muddy seawater.
“Ah… Ah… It-It’s coming!”
A large amount of seawater flooded into the room as an ocean fish emerged from Parsi’s mouth. Soon after, a cuttlefish emerged and then a large quantity of seaweed.
“Ahem! Ahem!”
Parsi held on to his throat tightly, and there were traces of blood in his eyes.
Suddenly, his head exploded like a watermelon. A monster with scales all over its body crawled out from Parsi’s half-missing body. This monster looked like merfolk but was ten times more ferocious looking.
Donald quickly retreated.
Anyone who witnessed a scene like this would start to question their knowledge of physics and biology.
However, he had been through a lot and was more than prepared for something like this.
From the moment Parsi spat out seawater, Donald had already started making his way out of the bedroom. By the time the monster appeared, he was already at the door.
Bloop! Bloop!
The malevolent murloc monster started spitting out bubbles as its strong hind legs pressed against the floor before it leaped forward.
Smack!
It instantly destroyed the wooden wall and flew toward Donald like a cannonball.
“Scram!”
Donald brandished his cloak.
Poof!
A layer of water appeared and formed a transparent and durable membrane.
When the sea monster charged into the membrane, the tremendous impact instantly changed the membrane’s shape, and its palm was merely a fine line away from Donald.
Bang!
The very next moment, the sea monster was like an arrow released from a bow. With an astounding amount of force, the sea monster was shot back viciously. It crashed through walls and smashed into massive bricks.
Donald’s expression turned solemn, not feeling happy or satisfied at all. He stared at his palm.
“My Lord…”
The Dream and Armament Master’s emblem was clearly letting him know of the danger ahead.
“Leave this place now!”
After hearing this warning, Donald turned around and escaped without any hesitation.
“Wa! Wa!”
Behind him, the murloc cried out loud while accompanied by torrential waves.
Endless seawater surged in from an unknown place and instantly flooded the entire street.
…
“Deep-Sea Stalker?!”
Within Pirate King City, Fang Yuan held the Omnidirectional Divine Demonic Armament insignia while pondering.
“The inverted triangular eye, the symbol of the Deep-Sea Stalker…”
As the god of his believers, together with the prayers sent by his pope, Donald, and the emblem working as a network hub, Fang Yuan knew everything that was going on in Ettoman. It was almost as though he was also in Ettoman.
That murloc that came out of nowhere was naturally not the original body of the Deep-Sea Stalker. It was a monster manufactured by the other party.
Even so, its strength was terrifying.
At the very least, it was not going to be difficult for it to terrorize the streets and kill hundreds of commoners as well as a few of those fully-equipped soldiers who came forward to rescue the victims.
“It seems like the strength of this Deep-Sea Stalker can’t be underestimated… Unfortunately, the ocean is currently my territory…”
Fang Yuan clapped his hands in an indolent manner.
A young mermaid dressed in a white muslin dress walked into the lounge with her chin up.
“Mermaid princess… I still don’t know your name?”
Fang Yuan smiled, knowing that this was only because he was too lazy to ask.
“I am the darling of the ocean, the princess of Merfolk Kingdom, the daughter of Pirate Governor Kingsman—Nymphadora!” the young female mermaid replied proudly.
“Oh, Nymphadora, most of your subordinates are already serving me… Right now, I, Pirate King Roche, am willing to give you the chance to become the new pirate governor of the Coral Ocean. Are you willing to accept this chance to serve me?” Fang Yuan asked while looking at his palm.
“My father is the son of the sea, and he will never die…” Nymphadora remained unyielding. “Also, you despicable human… How dare you steal Sea God from me and still wish for me to serve you. Merfolk Kingdom will only serve its rightful king!”
“That’s a true pity then!” Fang Yuan waved his hand. “It seems like… I can only use Sea God to kill my way through the Coral Ocean and prop up another merfolk for this position.”
“Wait! You can’t do that!”
Under this threat, the mermaid princess’s pride was like a soap bubble that easily burst with a simple blow.
“What other choice do I have? Do you really believe that… as the Pirate King, I would give up control of the Coral Ocean?” Fang Yuan was completely at leisure. “Even though I had plans to support you from the start, it’s a true pity that you didn’t cherish this opportunity. Oh… one last question! Do you recognize this?”
Fang Yuan used his right index finger to congeal an image in the air. Rays of light appeared and formed the insignia of the Deep-Sea Stalker.
“That thing!” After looking at the insignia, Nymphadora’s expression changed drastically, and her entire body was weak on the ground. “How did you get that? No… that is merely a terrifying legend that should have disappeared in history!”
“It seems like I obtained an unexpected bonus here?” Fang Yuan nodded. “Tell me everything you know about it, and then I’ll answer your question.”
“This insignia is called the Drowning Eye!” Nymphadora took in a deep breath. “It belongs to an ancient ruler of the deep sea, the Spirit Twister, the Deep-Sea Stalker… At the same time, it’s also the eternal nightmare for us merfolk!”
“The merfolk’s nightmare?”
Fang Yuan’s interest was piqued.
“In the legends, this Deep-Sea Stalker once poisoned a group of merfolk. After these merfolk fell into his trap, they no longer looked like their original selves, turning malevolent and ugly. They call themselves murlocs and started criticizing the merfolk for failing to live up to our love of the ocean. Because of this claim, they started slaughtering us to offer us as sacrifices to the Deep-Sea Stalker… In the rumors, this existence possesses the authority to control merfolk, and just by listening to his voice, merfolk can fall from grace…”
Most merfolk were still human, while murlocs were purely ferocious monsters of the deep sea.
“But… all of this is merely legends, so how did you find out of his existence?”
Nymphadora looked fearfully at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment before revealing everything he had observed. “It wasn’t here but in a human country. Accompanied by a murloc, the first thing he did was flood an entire street, killing over three hundred humans, and this number is still rising…”
“This is his drowning ceremony…” The mermaid princess concluded without even thinking. “The Deep-Sea Stalker is using this method to regain his strength. Once he becomes strong enough, his target will definitely be the merfolk. Our large numbers and ability to transform gives him enough to return to his glory days!”
“Little girl… it seems like you and your race provoked some really big trouble!”
Since this matter was of no concern to him, Fang Yuan simply sat there and rejoiced in her misery.
The mermaid princess, Nymphadora, let out a deep breath before kneeling in front of Fang Yuan. “Mighty Pirate King! The ruler of the four oceans, Your Excellency Roche! I’m begging you, begging you to return Sea God to us. Without its strength, we won’t be able to fight against the murlocs…”
“I refuse!” Fang Yuan shook his head. “This Sea God is my spoils of war, and I’m saving it for my future loyal pirate governor!”
“In that case…” Nymphadora took out a dagger and cut her wrist before smearing the fresh blood on her forehead. “With the ocean as my witness, I, Mermaid Princess Nymphadora, am willing to serve you and offer my utmost loyalty, my soul, and my everything to you. I wish for you to forgive all my past wrongdoings…”
This was the lesser of the two evils.
This mermaid princess was able to see things clearly. By choosing to serve this Pirate King, the most she would lose was some sovereignty over her race. However, she would gain a strong supporter and could borrow his strength to deal with the Deep-Sea Stalker.
Once negotiations broke down, she would have nothing left. The entire Merfolk Kingdom was bound to be infected by that Deep-Sea Stalker, and the merfolk would turn into malevolent and ugly murlocs.
“Even though you rejected me earlier… it seems that you are pretty sincere this time…”
The mermaid princess did not merely pledge an ordinary oath. Instead, it was an extraordinary one with magical effects.
Looking at this, Fang Yuan waved his hands generously.
The shell necklace landed in front of the mermaid princess.
During this period of time, he had already grasped the ultimate authority over Sea God. Even if Kingsman came back to life, he would be unable to snatch it from him.
And this shell necklace only had partial authority over Sea God, so he was naturally not going to be stingy about it.
“Thank you, Master!”
Nymphadora took the necklace as her big drops of tears fell from her cheeks, turned into pearls, and crashed against the ground with a clear sound.
“In the name of the Pirate King, you shall be my pirate governor in the Coral Ocean from today onward! Sea God shall be assigned to you for dispatch!”
Fang Yuan said softly, “At this moment… the drowning ceremony is not too far along, and the Deep-Sea Stalker has yet to accumulate sufficient strength. You don’t have to hurry back to Merfolk Kingdom for now, so gather the sailors under you and prepare to fight a war alongside me first!”
“Who is the enemy?”
Nymphadora stood up, looking firm and determined. It was as though she had turned all her weaknesses into tears and released them.
“Is that even a question? There is only one—the royal Invincible Steel Fleet of Ettoman!” Fang Yuan sounded resolute and decisive. “There can only be one king of the ocean!”
“Yes, Master. I will point my sword at wherever you will it!”
Nymphadora bowed as she retreated gradually.
Seeing this, Fang Yuan nodded satisfyingly. “Pretty decent child!”
To be honest, he should rest and reorganize his subordinates since they were still a mere mob.
However, time and tide waited for no man, and it was time to act.
If he waited any longer, those escaped Evil Gods would garner more strength to stop his actions, which might prove more troublesome in the future.