“How long can humans hold their breath underwater?” Thrett calmly asked as he walked onto the lake.
The defense mechanism of this lake was quite unique. To deal with humans, they just needed to be dragged into the water and drowned to eliminate any future trouble. If it was dealing with other magical races, a special protective barrier on the water’s surface would be used to block individuals with magical abilities.
Therefore, for magical beings like Thrett and Ziyuan, who possessed strong magical powers, entering the lake was an even more challenging task.
Ziyuan followed behind Thrett and reached the center of the lake. Beneath their feet was the lake water with a deep green hue, making it impossible to see the bottom. This optical illusion was likely part of the defense mechanism.
“About three minutes?” Ziyuan replied.
“So, the point is, we don’t have time to waste here.” As Thrett spoke, the entire lake produced a thunderous sound, as if a huge mirror had shattered. The surface of the lake, which had a translucent quality, broke into countless pieces, and the two of them sank into the water as it shattered.
The underwater scene was completely different from that on the surface. It was a world of clear and brightly lit azure blue water. They descended slowly until their feet touched the ground, with their movements unimpeded by any resistance from the water. Breathing felt as natural as it did on the surface.
Every drop of water in this lake possessed magic. While it might appear the same as ordinary water to humans, it was different for those with magical abilities. They could breathe naturally in this magically charged water. After all, merfolk had human ancestry, with incomplete gills that prevented them from absorbing trace amounts of oxygen smoothly in water, similar to fish.
Surrounding them were small fortresses, constructed with a craftsmanship slightly rougher than human houses. Every small window had merfolk cautiously peeking out, on alert. Merfolk, originally swimming leisurely on the streets, quickly hid behind the nearby buildings. They had probably never seen outsiders in their entire lives.
In the distance stood a massive, old, beige-colored structure— the merfolk’s royal city. However, that was irrelevant now. Thrett knew well that there was not a trace of magic in Ziyuan, making it impossible for him to breathe in such water.
Without waiting for the King to speak, Ziyuan, as his aide, automatically stepped forward to interrogate the merfolk: “Where are the two humans you captured?”
“What things?”
“What are they?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where are they from?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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He shouted, “Hold on, both of you! I must inspect the outsiders!”
Thrett ignored him and walked past, and Ziyuan, of course, had no reason to pay him any attention.
“Hold on, please!” The merfolk, unwilling to give up, swam in front of Thrett and tried to deter him with the spear.
Thrett halted this time, coldly stating, “Then bring the human you captured.”
As soon as Ziyuan heard this phrasing, he knew that Thrett didn’t care about the fate of Wei Yu and hurriedly added, “Both of the humans.”
“I’m afraid I can’t comply, ahhhh!”
Before the merfolk could finish his sentence, Thrett suddenly moved, grabbing the merfolk’s entire face. The force of his five fingers was so great that it almost crushed the merfolk’s head, causing him to scream in pain.
“Then get lost.” Thrett swung his hand, sending the merfolk flying towards a nearby building. He collided with the wall, and a few pieces of rubble fell from it. The merfolk, however, made no more cries of agony.
Thrett quickened his pace, irritated by the inexplicable delay caused by the merfolk. Also, due to the reinforcement of the seal by Queen Lily, he couldn’t freely use his winged claws to move quickly.
Ziyuan suddenly noticed that His Majesty, the Demon King, had changed. In the past, it was rare to see the Demon King get angry, but now, whenever the topic of that human came up, the Demon King became highly emotional, as seen during the bathhouse incident and in the arena.
“Ziyuan,” Thrett suddenly called.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Since the human was not present, Ziyuan addressed Thrett in his usual way.
“A while ago, I played the role of a chef in a human town. I almost failed to make any dish, but there was one I managed to serve. Do you know what it was?”
Ziyuan shook his head, quite surprised that the Demon King had taken on the role of a chef. He couldn’t imagine the contradictory scene of the Demon King, who had refused to eat, cooking.
Thrett grinned, but there was no amusement in his eyes. Instead, they were filled with a fierce and malevolent aura.
“I remember that dish was called Fennel Seafood Sauce Jelly. The method is quite simple. First, add some cilantro for seasoning.” He raised his left hand, swinging it diagonally down.
A thunderous explosion resonated from Thrett’s left side, cutting through a row of buildings, shattering them into countless bricks. The merfolk inside the fortresses screamed in panic, frantically swimming out. Thrett’s footsteps did not slow down, and he continued his explanation.
“For the sauce, as the name suggests, you have to blend the seafood and cilantro.” This time, he raised his right arm and swung it to the right. The scenery on Thrett’s right side instantly exploded, and the merfolk had no chance to escape.
Debris and dust floated in the water, creating a curtain of gray. Amidst this haze, the merfolk’s wails and cries rang out. The gathered cries of agony made Ziyuan’s scalp tingle with unease.
“As for the jelly, it’s melted and then refrozen,” Thrett was about to raise both hands when a neon-colored merfolk, alarmed, swam frantically from the direction of the royal city, waving its tail while shouting, “Stop, please stop! The human you’re looking for is in the royal city. I’ll take you there right away!”
Thrett then ceased the destruction. “All that talk about the dish was just me making things up. Let me tell you, Ziyuan, I’ve never successfully cooked any dish,” he confessed to Ziyuan, turning to follow the merfolk. The remnants of a cruel smile lingered in his eyes, and the aura of menace persisted.
Treating slaughter as a casual amusement, disregarding any life, it wasn’t the wickedness of the Demon King but rather an extremely natural instinct. Confronted with this reality once again, Ziyuan found himself sweating uncomfortably.
—
Dragged underwater, both Ellyad and Wei Yu instantly fell into unconsciousness. When they woke up, they found themselves in a room within what seemed to be a palace, each enclosed in a separate massive bubble to block the water outside.
Wei Yu, in the adjacent bubble, still seemed to be unconscious. Due to the immobility of the bubbles, Ellyad couldn’t confirm whether Wei Yu was safe.
Even though Thrett had mentioned that the contract stipulated, “As long as Ellyad calls out, he will immediately come,” Ellyad didn’t do so at this moment.
“No problem,” Ellyad brought his left hand’s ring finger and pinky to his lips. He wouldn’t utter a word to summon Thrett. He wanted to believe that, even without the constraints of the contract, Thrett would come to him. Just as Thrett had said, he considered Ellyad an important companion and wouldn’t abandon him.
“Awake, huh? Welcome, our lovely new brides, the two of you.”
Suddenly, a young merman with light blue long hair entered the room, holding two pieces of fabric. His voice was filled with excitement and cheer, waking up Wei Yu and putting Ellyad on guard.
Wei Yu, upon waking up to the unfamiliar environment, showed no signs of panic. He quickly surveyed the surroundings and shifted his gaze to the unexpected merman.
The merman wore only a finely carved crescent moon-shaped agate necklace on his chest. Metal armlets and wrist guards adorned his arms, and his lower fish half not only had dangling copper ornaments but also carried a bronze-hued ancient sword. The fish tail emitted a dreamy neon glow in shades of blue.
“Why did you, a merman, arbitrarily imprison us?” Wei Yu was the first to speak out.
“And capturing only me would be one thing, but daring to grab Ell as well.”
Before, he had accidentally caused Ellyad to fall, leading to the assault on his own head. There was also the incident in the arena where he inadvertently caused Ellyad to be knocked unconscious, and he, too, was kicked away. Furthermore, there was the poisoning incident where he scared himself half to death when suspended in the air. Now, dragging Ellyad underwater meant that both he and this merman were destined to meet a gruesome end. The terrifying expression of the black-haired demon flashed through Wei Yu’s mind, sending shivers down his spine.
“I am Lance, the king of the merfolk. Let’s set that aside for now. These are enchanted garments; once you wear them, you can move freely outside the bubbles. Hurry and put them on; the feast is ready.” After saying this, Lance stuffed the two pieces of fabric into the bubbles, and the clothes felt surprisingly dry to the touch.
“A feast?”
Although Wei Yu was uncertain about the merman’s intentions in capturing them without detaining them, he was certain it wasn’t for attending a feast. He had never heard of the merfolk being so hospitable.
Wei Yu pondered silently, deciding that once they both put on the clothes, they would find a way to escape together. Regardless, they needed to get out of the water and back to the shore. Being in the water now left them completely vulnerable. If these fish were ruthless, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to meet their end instantly.
Are Thrett’s wings more like bat wings, with a membrane across elongated finger-y digits, or are they more like… literally skeleton hands?