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(342)
The waves surrounding the island were so high that they seemed to pierce the sky, but they melted away like midsummer snow in front of the mermaid statue on the bow.
Four days later.
Carlon, Licention, and the four royal families landed on a beautiful tropical island.
The beach was pale white, made of dead coral rather than sand, and the interior of the island was covered with dense green jungle.
“Your Majesty, please go.”
The Governor's private captain, Ledge, spoke, carrying five harpoons on his back.
He was an excellent sword user, a master of the harpoon and cutlass, and was also adept at wielding plate gauntlets.
Behind Ledge, a fearsome cavalry carrying harpoons and swords guarded Carlon and the five royals.
The royal family had heard enough explanations from Licention, so not a single one of them complained.
“…….”
Even the short-haired girl who still had a childish look and the boy with glasses were like that.
“Shall we go?”
"huh."
They were also members of the royal family who lived in the palace called Bokmajeon.
He understood that everything had a price, he was used to intrigue and trickery, and he had been through the rough stuff for years.
The lords and governors who hide them must be rewarded with something big or small.
Carlon walked into the jungle for about ten minutes.
But I didn't climb the mountain, I just walked along the coastline, keeping the distance so that the beach was barely visible.
He continued to talk about this and that with a somewhat excited look, with Ledge and Licentio on his left and right.
“It is said that a thousand years ago, the first emperor subdued a mermaid in a coastal cave.”
“Isn’t this the coast?”
“The coastline has expanded over the past thousand years as corals have grown and died. When we checked how much it has expanded each year and calculated backwards, we found that if it has expanded this much, it would have been like the coastline a thousand years ago.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
After walking for a couple of hours, Carlon stopped.
“That’s the place.”
There was a large cave behind the valley with flowing water, and a figure was standing in front of the cave.
However, its detailed form was far from the 'in' spirit.
A height that is at least two heads taller than the average giant, a muscular body covered in blue-green scales larger than the palm of one's hand, a huge mouth full of teeth, spines and translucent fins along its back, and even red, swollen gills that flare from its neck…
“He is a warrior of the Fish Tribe. Judging by the luster of his scales, he is of high rank.”
"Carlon said, twitching his moustache pleasantly.
But he was the only one among the group smiling.
“Your Majesty, please come behind me!”
“Governor. We came here to meet mermaids, not fishmen!?”
Ledge prepared his battle stance, holding his harpoon, while the five royals also cast their spells.
The fishman warrior looked at them, his lidless eyes twitching, and Carlon waved a hand.
“You need not be so surprised, Your Majesty.”
“In front of a man-eating monster-.”
“Originally, the fish-people were a completely different race from the mermaids, but over the millennium they were assimilated and subjugated by the mermaids, effectively becoming their slaves. We came to see the mermaid princess, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Carlon had a coral amulet hanging from his uniform, and the fish-man warrior nodded when he saw the amulet.
The amulet was also one of the gifts that the successive governors received as representatives of the emperor.
“Karrrrr……”
The warriors who had been hiding in the surrounding grass and stream also revealed themselves and bowed their heads.
Then Licention realized that the water in the valley was not flowing down from inside the cave, but was rising from the sea and flowing into the cave.
'It wasn't even a valley. Then it was really inside here… … .'
* * *
The cave was large enough for ten horses to gallop side by side, and was dotted with bioluminescent corals that gave off a bluish or reddish glow, and was filled with giant seaweed and sharp barnacles.
High-ranking fish-people were also seen here and there, such as the 'Crab Tentacle Warrior' who carried a giant sea snail on his back, the 'Octopus Guardian' whose standing height reached the cave ceiling, the 'Sea Giant' who was 7 meters tall, and the 'Foreign Sea Dragon' with the body of a giant sea serpent and four pairs of crab legs.
The cave floor was covered with seawater, and the depth of the water varied, making it not a very good environment for people to walk.
The weather was hot and windy, so we had to take several breaks in between.
'It's going down little by little. It might be at sea level now.'
Licention narrowed his eyes and looked around cautiously.
A huge cavity appeared in front of me.
“Oh.”
“Hmm.”
“There won’t be a ship… right?”
The diameter appeared to be about 400 meters, and the ceiling height appeared to be about 50 meters.
At the edge of the lake, seawater rose to form a ring-shaped lake, and in the middle of the lake rose a white island.
There were several corals growing in the water that were shining, so I could guess the depth. It seemed to be over 5 meters deep.
There was no boat, but the distance to White Island was about 50 meters.
The private soldiers led by Ledge, the five royals including Licention, and the ambitious governor Carlon were all good swimmers, so they were able to cross before long.
The water was rife with vicious fish-man warriors, but they did not dare to attack the governor and his party, who wore the king's insignia.
The white island was made of coral, and the waves made a crunching sound whenever one stepped on it.
Licention noticed that the cavity was too bright, even considering the presence of the glowing coral, and he looked up at the ceiling.
“!”
The common ceiling was wide open.
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It was like entering the crater of a volcano.
The five royal family members and even the soldiers were dumbfounded by the mysterious sight.
The only one looking straight ahead was Carlon.
He had the look of an explorer looking for treasure, or a bounty hunter looking for criminals.
“Shoove Ardella.”
Just then the sun broke out of the clouds.
Sunlight poured in like a pillar through a large hole in the ceiling.
Saaaaah-.
She was where the pillar of light was pouring down.
She was a much more mysterious and impressive being than the pillar of light.
On a platform lined with coral pillars inscribed with spells on all sides, inside a giant seashell filled with seawater, the brilliant sunlight made the turquoise scales shine like a rainbow.
A coral crown, lush, soft red hair, blue eyes like the sea, and white skin with alluring curves, a robe woven from mysterious seaweed and pearls, and a tail covered in scales.
The mermaid princess who lived as an admiral for a thousand years.
It was Shuv Ardella.
“Oh, light.”
"after."
Licentio and Ledge were shocked by the appearance of a being that was close to a legend, no, a myth.
Carlon said, twitching his moustache.
“Admiral. Didn’t you say we’d see each other again?”
Shuv Ardella's face hardened.
The white fangs were sharp.
Carlon smiled at the sight.
“There’s still time left on the contract, but where did the ship go and where did the bridge go?”
He opened the bag he had been carrying the whole way here and took out his maroon uniform.
It was the uniform of an imperial admiral.
“Let me propose this here and now. It is a contract extension. You will serve us for another thousand years. The terms of the contract are the same. Do not come ashore, do not antagonize the royal family, and protect the southern seas.”
Shuv Ardella let out a hollow laugh.
“I told you, Carlon.”
It wasn't a very loud voice, but it echoed throughout the cave.
“If you come back into the sea, I will kill you.”
Licention and Ledge had a feeling that things would not be easy.
The mermaid princess commanded in a fishy voice.
“Kill him.”
His originally wild nature suddenly appeared at the corners of his mouth, and his once mysterious face was filled with terrible sadism.
There was a reason why there was a legend that they would drag sailors underwater and eat them, and there was a reason why they called them cannibalistic monsters.
The backlash against breaking the contract was steadily creeping up on her, as there were still hours left in the thousand-year-old contract.
Phage crackle!
“Ugh!”
The golden current unique to the dragon rippled around her neck, burrowing into her scales.
But Shuv Ardella had no intention of suffering this pain for another thousand years.
“Ugh!”
Even as blood seeped from between her scales and seawater overflowed from her shell as she struggled in agony, she did not back down from her orders.
Choaaaak!
The next moment, fish-man warriors emerged from the lake.
* * *
“Protect Lord Carlon!”
Captain Ledge shouted at the top of his lungs, and the men and sailors, fearsome as they were, gathered in a circle, each with their weapons drawn.
“Karrrrr!”
The fish-man warriors rushed towards them, drooling.
The soldiers weren't too worried until they saw a head sticking out of the water.
The common fish-people were treated as sea orcs.
It was clear that he was stronger than a normal human or a conscript, but it meant that he was not a fearsome opponent as long as he had properly learned swordsmanship.
“But what the f*ck! How can it be so big!”
“Captain! What’s wrong?”
“The real strong guys haven’t even appeared yet, right?”
Shuv Ardella gave orders only to the warriors of the fish tribe.
This was because having more powerful subordinates kill humans resulted in greater rewards.
Chulbuk! Chulbuk! Chulbuk!
The fish-man warriors came ashore, their fins rising along their spines quivering with excitement and anger.
He was 3 meters tall, his forearms were thicker than the thighs of sailors, his teeth bulged out like they could bite off a bull's head in one bite, and the harpoon he held looked like a long spear.
"under!"
One of the soldiers threw his harpoon with a shout.
He was a former gangster who ruled the back alleys of the port at the end of the world, and thanks to the elixir he smuggled, he was a fighter with strength comparable to that of a sword user.
Wedge!
The harpoon that flew with a bang accurately aimed for the thigh of the fish-man warrior in the lead.
Since fishermen mainly lived in the water, their walking muscles were weaker than their swimming muscles, and a common tactic was to stab them in the area with a harpoon and then cut off their heads.
The harpoon hit the target.
Kaang!
It bounced off with a loud crash.
"uh?"
The private who had been running according to the tactic slowed down in confusion.
“Karrrrr……”
The fishman warrior opened his huge mouth and laughed ferociously.
Kwajik!
What happened next was more of a struggle for survival than a fight.
“Kwaaaaak!”
“Gills! Aim for the gills!”
“My arm!”
The soldiers and sailors that Ledge had brought were eaten by the fish-man warriors, the ferocious cannibals feasted, and the mermaids, their beautiful faces poking out from the water, watched with delight as their old oppressors were dismantled.
“It seems like it was a good decision to take the fish people under my wing.”
“It would be painful for the princess to have them attack the coast, but she cannot do it herself.”
“I think it would be better to keep it with you in the future. It’s a bit strange to call it a foreign substance now. It’s a species of this world.”
But Carlon smiled happily as if he had expected this to happen.
"majesty."
"okay."
Licention and the four royals raised their palms and drew forth the energy of the dragon's tongue.
Saaaaah!
The golden aura that commanded the world spun around in a ring, and Shuv Ardella's face hardened.
Damn it.
Licention took a step forward and raised his voice.
“I thought you had reformed after serving us for a thousand years, but you are still monsters.”
The mermaid princess let out a sigh.
“……Soletaras!”
“In the name of the Elder Dragon Soletaras, I command you to stop this slaughter immediately.”
The name that had tormented her a thousand years ago was coming back a thousand years later to torment her again.
"no!"
Jeebuk,
Licention took a step forward and continued speaking.
“And once again, swear to us your loyalty for a thousand years!”
Shuv Ardella gritted her teeth as if she couldn't do that.
“Ra, RaRaRa, RaRaRa.”
Soon she began to sing brightly.
Saaaaah-.
A turquoise mist rose, pushing away the dragon's energy.
However, Licention and the four royals honed their dragon tongue for years in their quest for revenge against Jaylilith.
“Once again, swear to us your loyalty for a thousand years!”
Woohoo!
Golden waves burst out one after another.
Although the total amount of power was overwhelmingly overwhelming, the dragon's power and the mermaid's power were incomparable in quality, and Shuve Ardella had sworn a thousand years ago not to antagonize the royal family.
Golden waves pushed away the turquoise fog like golden utensils cutting through a wall of pudding.
Shuv Ardella shed a tear.
“RaRaRaRaa…….”
Even her singing voice faded away before the golden waves, and the mermaids and fish-man warriors lowered their heads.
“Ugh, ha!”
Captain Ledge raised his harpoon and poked the fishman warrior in the gills.
Wedge!
Then, a spear of fire suddenly flew in and struck Ledge.
pop!
“Kwaaaaak!”
A fierce flame rose up, and Ledge and five or six of the soldiers were burned to the ground without a trace.
"what!"
“Who came all the way here……!”
“……?”
The royal family, Carlon, and Shuv Ardella all looked down the passage in shock.
There was no way anyone could have gotten through the mermaid warriors and made it this far without a mermaid amulet.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
An eerie sound of footsteps echoed from the cave.
“The traitors are gathered together in harmony.”
His voice was extremely arrogant and smug, befitting his vertically slit golden pupils, and he exuded an inhuman aura.
“……If you hate it that much, why wait another thousand years?”
His white hair was neatly combed back, not befitting the place, and he was wearing a uniform that he would wear to a ball or a wedding, but he was holding the gigantic head of a 'foreign sea dragon' in his hand.
“Valencian…….”
One of the royals raised his voice.
“Governor Carlon. I will punish you for harboring the runaway royal family members.”
The Duke of Mangnani took a step onto the lake.
The magical crampons attached to his white shoes, instead of sinking into the water, made ripples in the water's surface and stood firmly on the surface.
“It’s the death penalty!”