Chapter 342

(342)

The waves surrounding the island soared sky-high, but they melted away like summer snow before the mermaid statue at the bow of the ship.

Four days later.

Carlon, Richenton, and the four members of the royal family landed on a tropical island.

The beach wasn’t made of sand but dead coral, pale to the point of whiteness, and further inland, a dense green jungle flourished.

“Your Excellency. Let’s go.”

Governor’s personal guard commander, Letje, spoke while carrying five harpoons on his back.

He was an excellent sword user, a master of harpoon throwing and cutlasses, and handled his plate gauntlets with ease.

Behind Letje, fearsome soldiers holding harpoons and swords guarded Carlon and the five members of the royal family.

The royals, having received ample explanation from Richenton, didn’t complain.

“……”

Even the young girl with short hair, who still had a hint of childishness, and the bespectacled boy remained quiet.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

They, too, were royalty who had grown up in the Royal Palace, notoriously known as the “Demon Exorcising Palace.”

They understood that everything came with a price, were familiar with intrigue and schemes, and had experienced the harshness of the world for years.

There was inevitably a need to offer substantial and minor rewards to the lords and governors who had sheltered them.

Carlon walked around ten minutes into the jungle.

However, he didn’t climb the mountain but maintained a distance where the beach was barely visible, walking along the coastline.

With Letje and Richenton on either side, he excitedly narrated various stories.

“A thousand years ago, the First Emperor subdued the merfolk in a coastal cave.”

“Isn’t this an inland area?”

“The coastline has extended over a thousand years with the growth and death of coral. Calculating the annual expansion, we surmised that advancing this far would reach the thousand-year-old coastline.”

“I hadn’t considered that.”

After walking for about two hours, Carlon stopped.

“That place over there.”

Behind a trickling stream was a large cave, and in front of it stood a figure.

However, its detailed form was far from what one might consider human.

Unusually tall, standing over two heads taller than an average man, its muscular body was covered with large greenish-blue scales larger than a palm. Its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, was enormous, with spines running along its back and translucent fins. Its gills, pulsating on its neck, were a reddish color.

“It’s a high-ranked Undersea People warrior, as evidenced by the luster of its scales.”

Carlon stroked his mustache, pleased, while speaking.

However, he remained the only one smiling in their party.

“Your Excellency. Please step behind me!”

“Governor. We came to meet mermaids, not the Undersea People, didn’t we?!”

Letje readied himself for battle, gripping his harpoon, and the five royals began casting spells.

The Undersea People warrior blinked its lidless eyes as it regarded them, and Carlon waved his hand.

“There’s no need to be so startled, Your Highness.”

“Standing in front of a man-eating monster—”

“The Undersea People were once an entirely different race from mermaids but over a thousand years, they have been assimilated and subjugated by mermaids to the point of becoming a slave race. We came to meet a mermaid princess, so there’s absolutely no cause for concern.”

Carlon had a coral talisman attached to his uniform, and upon seeing it, the Undersea People warrior bowed deeply.

This talisman was one of the gifts the former governors had received as representatives of the Emperor.

“Karrrr…”

Warriors hiding in the surrounding bushes and the stream revealed themselves, bowing deeply.

It was then that Richenton noticed that the water wasn’t flowing out of the cave but instead rising up from the sea, flowing into it.

‘It’s not a stream then. So, there truly is—inside here…’

* * *

The cave was wide enough for ten horses to gallop through side by side. Glowing corals emitted pale bluish and reddish light here and there, and giant seaweeds and sharp barnacles covered the interior.

Entities like the “Hermit Crab Tentacle Warrior” with massive seaweed on their back, “Octopus Guardian” nearly tall enough to reach the cave ceiling, “Sea Giant” reaching seven meters in height, and “Monster Sea Dragon” with the body of a large sea snake and four pairs of crab legs occasionally appeared among the high-ranked Undersea People.

The cave floor was submerged in seawater, with inconsistent depths, making it an unsuitable environment for walking.

The sticky salty air made it necessary to rest several times.

‘We’re gradually descending. We might be at sea level now.’

Richenton narrowed his eyes, keeping alert of the surroundings.

A massive cavern loomed ahead.

“Ooooh.”

“Um.”

“There’s no ship, is there?”

Its diameter was around 400 meters, and the ceiling was about 50 meters high.

The water rose at the edges of the cavern, forming a circular lake, and in the middle of the lake stood a white island.

The coral reefs glowing underwater indicated the water depth exceeded 5 meters.

Though there was no ship, the distance to the white island was around 50 meters.

Letje’s soldiers, the five royals including Richenton, and the ambitious governor Carlon, all skilled swimmers, could easily make it across.

Fierce underwater warriors of the Undersea People were abundant, but they didn’t dare to attack the governor and his party bearing the king’s symbol.

The white island was made of coral, cracking and emitting a crunching sound with every step.

Considering the luminous corals, Richenton noticed that the cavern was unusually bright and looked up at the ceiling.

“!”

The cavern ceiling was wide open, like entering the crater of a volcano.

The mysterious sight left the five royals and soldiers momentarily stunned.

The only one looking forward was Carlon.

His expression resembled an explorer who had found treasure or a bounty hunter who had spotted a criminal.

“Scheub Ardelra.”

Just then, the sun emerged from behind the clouds.

A pillar of sunlight poured through the large hole in the ceiling.

Zzzshh—.

There she was in the light of the pillar.

She was far more enigmatic and striking than the pillar of light itself.

Positioned on a pedestal surrounded by magical coral pillars, inside a giant clamshell filled with seawater, her green-blue scales sparkled like a rainbow under the brilliant sunlight.

Adorned with a coral crown, her lush, soft red hair, her sea-blue eyes, and her elegant white skin resembled the ocean. Dressed in attire woven from mysterious seaweed and pearls, her tail was covered in shimmering scales.

The mermaid princess who had reigned for a thousand years as an admiral.

Scheub Ardelra.

“Ooooh. The Light.”

“Hmph.”

At the appearance of this legendary existence, closer to mythology than folklore, Richenton and Letje muttered involuntarily.

Governor Carlon stroked his mustache and spoke.

“Admiral. Didn’t we say we’d meet again?”

The face of Scheub Ardelra stiffened.

Her sharp teeth grinding audibly.

As Carlon watched her, he chuckled.

“You still have a bit of time left on your contract. What happened to the ships, and where did the legs go?”

As if he’d been carrying it all along, he reached into his bag and pulled out a chestnut-colored uniform.

It was the admiral’s uniform of the imperial court.

“I propose right here and now. A renewal of the contract. Another thousand years of serving us with the same conditions. You will not set foot on land, you will not harm members of the royal family, and you will protect the southern seas.”

Scheub Ardelra let out a hollow laugh.

“I must have mentioned it before, Carlon.”

Though her voice wasn’t loud, it reverberated throughout the cave.

“I said I’d kill you if you ever returned to the sea.”

Richenton and Letje sensed instantly that matters would not be simple.

With a bitter voice, the mermaid princess commanded.

“Kill them.”

A momentary savagery crossed her usually otherworldly features, and a cruel nature shadowed her normally enchanting face.

The legend of sailors being dragged underwater and eaten wasn’t unfounded, and employing man-eating Undersea People warriors wasn’t without reason.

Though the thousand-year-long contract still had a few hours left, the consequences of breach faithfully descended upon her.

Pzzzt!

“Ugh!”

Golden streams unique to incantations surged, choking her throat and penetrating her scales.

But Scheub Ardelra had no intention of enduring this pain for another thousand years.

“Khhhhhh!”

Blood seeped from the gaps between her scales, and even as seawater spilled from the clamshell due to her painful thrashing, she didn’t withdraw her command.

Ssssshhh!

In the next instant, the Undersea People warriors emerged from the lake.

* * *

“Protect Lord Carlon!”

Commander Letje shouted with an almost ruptured voice, and the soldiers and sailors all alike drew their weapons, encircling them.

“Karrrr!”

The Undersea People warriors drooled profusely as they advanced.

The soldiers weren’t particularly worried until the heads emerged from the water.

Regular undersea people were seen akin to orcs of the sea.

They were certainly stronger than ordinary humans or conscripts, but for someone skilled in swordsmanship, they weren’t that terrifying.

“What the hell! Isn’t it huge!”

“Captain, isn’t something wrong?”

“Isn’t this before the really tough ones showed up?”

Scheub Ardelra only commanded the Undersea People warriors.

If she commanded her more powerful subordinates to kill humans, she would bear higher costs.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

The Undersea People warriors, shaking with excitement and fury, ascended the land with fins rising along their spines.

Standing around 3 meters tall with forearms thicker than sailors’ thighs, their bared-toothed jaws seemed capable of biting a bull’s head in one snap. The harpoons they carried resembled pikes.

“Haa!”

One soldier charged with a battle cry, throwing his harpoon.

He had once been a thug from the backstreets of the End-of-the-Line Port, enhanced by some smuggled SpiritPills, matching the strength of a sword-user.

Shshsh!

The harpoon precisely aimed at the leading Undersea People warrior’s thigh.

Where harpoons strike undersea people is crucial. Since they primarily use the muscles necessary for swimming, targeting the less-developed walking muscles, then severing the neck, has been the common strategy.

It struck exactly where targeted.

Clang!

And bounced off with a metallic sound.

“Huh?”

The soldier, perplexed, slowed down as per strategy.

“Karrrr…”

The Undersea People warrior bared its enormous teeth in a ferocious laugh.

Crack!

What followed was less a fight and more a struggle for survival.

“Khhaaaaaa!”

“Gills! Go for the gills!”

“My arm!”

The soldiers and sailors led by Letje were devoured by the fierce humanoid sea creatures who were enjoying their feast, while the charming faces of the mermaids watched in joy as their longtime oppressors were being undone.

“The hiring of the Undersea People as subordinates was certainly a good judgment call.”

“Their attack on the coast would trouble you, Princess, but you can’t do it yourself anymore.”

“It seems best to keep them along. After all, they’re not entirely alien anymore, right? They’re a race of this world now.”

But Carlon, as if foreseeing this level of resistance, chuckled delightedly.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

Richenton and the four members of the royal family raised their palms and summoned the aura of incantation.

Zzzshhh!

The golden aura that commands the world formed rotating hoops, and Scheub Ardelra’s face stiffened.

Clomp.

Richenton stepped forward, raising his voice.

“For a thousand years, we thought you would reform, but evidently, you remain beasts.”

The mermaid princess let out an indignant sound.

“… Solletarass!”

“In the name of the ancient dragon Solletarass, I command you to stop this carnage immediately!”

A thousand years ago, the same name that had suppressed her had returned after a thousand years to try suppressing her again.

“No!”

Clomp.

Richenton stepped forward again.

“And again, I command you to pledge a thousand years of loyalty to us!”

Scheub Ardelra clenched her teeth, indicating it was impossible.

“Ra, RaRaRa, RaRaRa.”

Almost immediately, she began to sing a sonorous song.

Zzzshhh!

A green-blue mist rose thickly, pushing back the aura of incantation.

However, Richenton and the four royals had honed their incantations for years driven by vengeful spirit against Jeilliris.

“Again, I command you to pledge a thousand years of loyalty to us!”

Woooooong!

Successive waves of golden light erupted.

While Scheub Ardelra’s power was overwhelming in magnitude, the might of dragons and the authority of mermaids couldn’t be compared qualitatively, and she had once sworn a thousand years ago not to oppose the royal family.

The golden wave, like a golden utensil slicing through a pudding wall, pushed back the green-blue mist.

Scheub Ardelra shed a tear.

“RaRaRaRaa…”

Her singing voice, too, dimmed before the golden wave, and the mermaids and Undersea People warriors lowered their heads.

“Oooh, Ha!”

Commander Letje thrust his harpoon into the gills of an Undersea People warrior.

Shrieeek!

Suddenly, a spear of fire flew out of nowhere and engulfed Letje.

Poof!

“Khhaaaa!”

Fierce flames surged, and Letje, along with more than half a dozen soldiers, burned to ashes without a trace.

“What the—”

“Who could have come here this deep?”

“… Huh?”

The royals, Carlon, and Scheub Ardelra themselves were all startled as they stared toward the passage.

Without a talisman of the mermaids and without subduing the Undersea People warriors, it was impossible for anyone to reach here.

Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.

Chilling footstep sounds echoed in the cave.

“Rebels gathered so amiably.”

His voice, matching the vertically slit, golden pupils of his eyes, was exceedingly arrogant and sly, exuding an inhuman aura.

“… How can you consider it another thousand years when it’s so unpleasant?”

His snow-white hair neatly fell over his shoulder, and though he wore the uniform one would wear at a ball or formal hall, in his grasp he held the massive head of a ‘Monster Sea Dragon.’

“Valenciaunos…”

One of the royalty quivered in his voice.

“Governor Carlon. I’ve come to investigate the crime of harboring fugitive royals.”

The Duke of the Bandits stepped upon the lake.

His white leather boots, equipped with magical irons, instead of sinking in the water, pressed firmly upon the surface, rippling the water beneath.

“Execution!”