Translator: CinderTL
Mermaids.
In Chen Feng's memory, he had only seen them in movies.
He had always thought they were just human fantasies, but at this very moment.
The humanoid creature, curled up and collapsed on the beach, shrouded by the broad shadow of the Holy Shield Colossus, truly appeared before his eyes.
A human body, a fish tail.
Wavy black curls, fair skin, bright eyes glistening with tears, exquisite features, and vivid red lips.
Two shells covering her chest, the blue-green scales emitting a faint glow.
However, the mermaid, who should have been delicate, now appeared utterly disheveled.
"Don't hit me, don't hit me," the mermaid pleaded tearfully as Chen Feng and the others approached.
The six-meter-tall Holy Shield Colossus loomed like a small mountain, making the group seem insignificant.
Putting aside their awe at the colossus's size, Lei Long looked at the mermaid in confusion and quickly asked, "Why did you try to bewitch us earlier?"
"I... I didn't!" the blue-green scaled mermaid said pitifully. "I was just singing here. I didn't know you were nearby."
Chen Feng raised an eyebrow.
Singing?
The other crew members also looked puzzled.
Earlier, they had all been drawn into sad memories by the song, momentarily lost in it.
Was this not bewitchment, but simply her singing?
"Master Feng Chen, what she says might be true," Lei Long suddenly said after frowning and pondering for a moment, choosing to believe her.
Chen Feng looked at him, and Lei Long quickly explained, "It's said that mermaids are naturally blessed by the sea god. Some with special bloodlines have enchanting voices that can evoke memories."
"The largest circus in our Steel Kingdom has a mermaid. I saw it once when I went to the capital two months ago."
"Bad people, bad people!" The mermaid, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly spoke angrily, her tears stopping as she pointed at Lei Long.
Everyone was puzzled, and Lei Long was equally confused.
I was speaking in your defense!
"It's you, it's you who captured my kin!" the mermaid continued. "Elder Delia was right, you humans are all bad people!"
At these words, everyone's expressions changed.
Lei Long frowned slightly, about to ask more, when Chen Feng stepped forward.
"Can you find the Blue Heart Stone?" he asked.
He remembered Lei Long mentioning that the Blue Heart Stone was rumored to come from the mermaid race.
Since they couldn't wait for the ocean tide, perhaps they could find a way through the mermaid.
Moreover, the power of her song intrigued him. If not for his high willpower attribute, he might have fallen under its spell.
"I won't tell you!" the mermaid retorted, her attitude suddenly hardening at the mention of the Blue Heart Stone. Her reddened eyes no longer shed tears, filled instead with a look of defiance.
"Fine."
Whoosh!!
Chen Feng's arm shot out, his thick hand gripping the mermaid's neck as his expression turned cold. "I'll grant your wish."
The timing of her song was too coincidental. He could sense she wasn't telling the whole truth.
Instantly, his hand tightened like a vice, gradually increasing the pressure.
The mermaid's tail thrashed against the sand, her face turning red, her bright eyes wide as she struggled desperately.
[Fear Value +1!]
[Fear Value +1!]
[Fear Value +1!]
The panel notifications appeared. Though the gains were minimal, they proved her insincerity.
Finally, under the complex gazes of Lei Long and the others, Chen Feng released his grip, tossing the mermaid back onto the sand.
Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!
The mermaid clutched her neck, her eyes wide as she took deep, labored breaths.
She looked at Chen Feng with fear, and the next moment, he loomed over her, asking, "Now, are you willing to talk properly?"
---
"How is it?"
"We didn't find that mermaid. That bitch ran really fast."
Near a large island in Merman Bay.
A massive multi-masted ship was anchored outside a cluster of reefs, cannons lined up on both sides, with nearly twenty sailors armed with carbines patrolling the deck.
Someone reported in a low voice, and the burly man who seemed to be the leader frowned deeply.
He had a scar on his face and wore a black jacket.
Behind him, several iron cages were placed on the ship's deck, each containing a young and beautiful merman or mermaid, their hands clutching the bars, their faces pale and filled with despair.
All of this appeared in Chen Feng's perception as he signaled Lei Long and the others to stop their ship on the other side of the island.
"So, if I save them, you can bring me ten Blue Heart Stones?" Chen Feng asked the mermaid accompanying him, who looked at him with fear, her blue-green tail propping her up.
After some communication, he learned the full story.
The mermaids living in Merman Bay had their elders lured away by mysterious figures, while their younger kin had been continuously captured by foreign ships over the past few months.
No one knew their fate, but the mermaid Lei Long mentioned, the one displayed in the circus, might be one of the results.
The mermaid before him, named Fanny, had been captured while venturing to the surface with her companions but had managed to escape.
Discovering their arrival here, she had tried to use her song to seek help.
"Yes, yes!" Fanny, after a brief moment of hesitation, quickly nodded despite her fear. "If you can save my kin, I'll immediately bring you ten Blue Heart Stones."
"Promise?"
Her large, fluttering eyes were filled with hope and anxiety.
Chen Feng remained silent for a moment.
The Blue Heart Stone likely came from somewhere deep in Merman Bay, but neither he nor the Holy Shield Colossus were adept at diving or underwater combat.
So.
"Deal."
He nodded, not minding making another trade.
Just as he was about to step forward, Lei Long opened his mouth, seemingly hesitant to speak.
"Speak."
"Master Feng Chen..."
After a moment of hesitation, Lei Long stepped closer, keeping Fanny at a distance, and whispered, "These people dared to come to Merman Bay to capture mermaids and even managed to bring them back to the Steel Kingdom. They must be quite powerful and well-connected."
"This matter..."
"You don't need to be involved."
Chen Feng spoke indifferently.
With that, a pair of blood-patterned wings suddenly sprouted from his back.
Whoosh!!!
The blood wings flapped, and his figure became a blur.
In an instant, he left the ship, heading straight for the multi-masted vessel on the other side of the island.
Seeing this, Lei Long stood still, his face filled with uncertainty.
Which sequence's ability was this?
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Before he could recover, a series of explosions suddenly rang out.
Hidden in the shadows of the island, the group clearly saw the multi-masted ship's dozen cannons firing iron balls, surrounding the black-clad figure.
Fanny's face changed, and she cried out anxiously.
Whoosh!!
A whooshing sound interrupted her worry as the black-clad figure emerged unscathed, breaking through the smoke of the explosions and landing on the deck of the multi-masted ship.
"Who are you?!"
A furious roar erupted as the scar-faced man in the jacket unleashed his power, a layer of frost instantly covering his body.
Crack! Crack!
The ship's deck froze, and Chen Feng's feet were encased in frost, halting his movement.
"Daring to trouble me."
"Die!!"
The scar-faced man roared, exhaling white mist that transformed into icicles, shooting toward Chen Feng.
From a distance, Fanny was both shocked and anxious, but...
"Trust Master Feng Chen. His strength is something we can only look up to," Lei Long's reverent voice whispered in her ear.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The icicles seemed to hit solid steel, and Chen Feng stood still, looking intrigued.
Another sequence's power, seemingly able to control frost.
"How is this possible?!"
The scar-faced man's expression changed, and the armed sailors behind him hurriedly opened fire.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out, as if sparks were flying from his face.
Crack!
Finally, the frost on the deck cracked, and the frost on Chen Feng's feet exploded.
"Not good!"
The scar-faced man's face changed drastically as he quickly raised his arms, a layer of frost armor covering his body.
Boom!!
An Explosive Fist struck, without using Force.
Crack!
The frost armor shattered.
The scar-faced man spat out a mouthful of blood, sent flying backward and crashing into the mast, his face filled with shock and fear.
He was a fourth-tier Frost Sequence user, yet he couldn't even withstand a single punch?
Step!
Footsteps suddenly rang out, and the black-clad, black-haired youth appeared before him.
Without hesitation, he quickly stopped his retreat, pulling out a small black wooden box from his pocket.
Snap!
The box opened.
As if some force intervened, manipulating the rules.
Under a powerful suction, Chen Feng's figure became illusory, spinning as he was directly sucked into the box.
"This!!"
Lei Long, watching from afar, suddenly changed color, almost exclaiming aloud.
A supernatural artifact!
And not just any ordinary one!
"Hahaha, let's see how you die now!"
The scar-faced man on the multi-masted ship laughed maniacally, wiping the blood from his mouth, as he looked at the tiny, ant-sized Chen Feng inside the black wooden box.
This was a supernatural artifact bestowed upon him by the Duke. Even a fourth-tier Sequence user could only be trapped within it, slowly assimilated.
With a cruel smile, he was about to close the box and complete the process.
Boom!!!
Suddenly, an explosion rang out, and the black wooden box cracked.
The scar-faced man's cruel smile froze as he saw a black flash on the tiny figure inside the box.
Boom!!!
Another explosion.
The black wooden box shattered into pieces.
The black-clad figure reappeared, his body now covered in a layer of blue-black carapace, covering most of his torso and arms.
"You..."
Squelch!!
Chen Feng's fist pierced through the man's chest, the frost armor completely shattered, white mist dissipating, the smell of blood filling the air.
Gurgling sounds continued as the scar-faced man's eyes widened, blood foaming at his mouth, staring at Chen Feng in disbelief.
The supernatural artifact... exploded?
He had blown it up with brute force?
Thud!!
The blue-black arm withdrew from the bloody hole, and the scar-faced man's body collapsed.
The mermaids in the cages were utterly shocked.
The remaining sailors, witnessing this scene, were terrified. Some struggled to fire their guns, while others jumped ship, fleeing toward the island.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Chen Feng reached out, catching several bullets mid-air, and with a flick of his wrist.
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
One by one, the sailors fell, their bodies riddled with bullets, blood silently flowing, staining the sea and spreading across the deck.
Then, in the silence, Chen Feng, his arms still covered in blue-black carapace, calmly walked toward the iron cages.
The mermaids inside dared not speak, until finally.
Rip!!
The iron cages, sturdy as they were, were torn apart like cloth, freedom now within reach.
But at that very moment.
Whoosh!!
A black shadow suddenly leaped from the ship's shadow, aiming straight for Chen Feng's back.
Boom!!!
A Black Flash exploded, blue-black and gold covering his back.
Flesh and debris scattered as the hooded assassin, holding a dagger, looked down at himself in horror.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood dripped down, the left half of his body completely gone, only his head and feet remaining intact.
Even though he had used Shadow Leap at the critical moment, he had still been caught in the explosion.
"Who... are you?"
His eyes bloodshot, he stared at Chen Feng, unable to recall which Sequence this power belonged to.
Solar? Illusionist? Scholar?
Chen Feng didn't even glance at him.
Looking over the mermaids, he spoke in a low voice.
"Come with me."
With that, he turned and walked away, brushing past the half-dead assassin, descending the ship's ladder.
"You..."
The humiliation of being ignored deeply pierced the assassin's heart. He gripped his dagger, wanting to fight back, but his body was rapidly growing cold.
Thud.
Finally, his corpse collapsed, blood pooling like a red river across the deck.
The captured mermaids, snapping out of their shock, exchanged glances and hurriedly followed Chen Feng.
In the tense silence, no one spoke.
One mermaid wanted to express her gratitude, but then the water rippled and splashed.
Sensing something, they looked up.
A two-masted ship slowly approached, familiar faces waving excitedly.
===
At the same time, in the Steel Kingdom.
In a manor's study, a middle-aged man in a silk robe and woolen sweater sat behind a redwood desk, surrounded by bookshelves filled with various tomes.
"Duke, a letter from His Majesty the King. He hopes you will investigate the matter of the Blood Sea Vice Admiral."
A butler in a black suit stood opposite the desk, on a patterned red carpet, his back to the wooden door, speaking respectfully.
"Hmm."
The Duke in the silk robe hummed lowly, looking down at the latest newspaper in his hand.
"I heard there was a strike at the factory this morning, and some nearby commoners fell ill?"
"Yes, Young Master Lund has already handled it."
"Hmm, seems he handled it well."
Finding no mention in the newspaper, he nodded slightly.
"How did he handle it?"
"He made sure they all left Banli Port... permanently."
"Hmm, acceptable."
His eyes grew more satisfied, and the silk-robed man then asked about another matter.
"How is Merman Bay? Any news?"
"Not yet, but with Tule there, there shouldn't be any problems."
"Hmm, let's hope so."
He shook his head, putting down the document.
Gazing out the window, seagulls flew under the blue sky, and in the distance, the factory chimneys continued to spew gray smoke.
Everything seemed normal, but he couldn't shake a strange sense of unease.
"Duke?"
The butler called out in confusion.
But then, his expression changed.
He clearly saw a trickle of blood at the corner of the Duke's eye, his face darkening like a storm cloud.
(End of the Chapter)
---
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