Chapter 215: The Deep Sea Battle

Chapter 215: The Deep Sea Battle

As Su Nan savored his seafood feast, Xie Man and his companions, who had recently arrived at Rainbow Bay, were already aboard a ship heading into the Rainbow Sea.

On the endless expanse of the ocean, a ten-meter-tall ship sailed slowly, parting the waves and creating ripples in its wake.

"Is this the Rainbow Sea?"

Arthur's eyes sparkled as he gazed at the shimmering water over five hundred meters away. The water was bathed in a beautiful lavender glow, making the waves look exceptionally enchanting.

Due to its location at the intersection of land and sea geomantic nodes, this area occasionally experienced unique phenomena, causing the sea to emit various hues of light. The Rainbow Sea got its name from this very spectacle.

Tajana stood at the edge of the deck, curiously observing the surrounding scenery. In the underground world, there were only lakes and swamps, no vast oceans. This was her first time witnessing the true majesty of the sea. The shimmering waves and the horizon where the sea and sky met gave her a sense of boundless freedom.

Within her line of sight, there was almost no land in sight, only a few seabirds and an abundance of marine life. However, these fish were bizarre and varied, many of which she had never seen before.

On the other side, Xie Man, Cole, and Fleming were chatting with a woman.

The woman was stunningly beautiful, with a lithe and curvaceous figure, but her lower half was a thick, snake-like tail. This revealed her identity as a noble from the Lamia race.

During the unification of the underground world, the Star Alliance conquered over a dozen Lamia city-states, and these Lamia clans were eventually placed under Carolina's command.

Andrea, the Lamia noble, was the ruler of one of these city-states and now governed one of the city-states in Rainbow Bay.

Upon hearing that they wanted to explore the Rainbow Sea, she offered to accompany them and even brought a group of guides.

The guides were actually a group of merfolk.

Standing only to the waist of an adult human male, these merfolk had indigo skin, fish heads, and human-like torsos and limbs covered in fine scales. They also had webbed fingers and toes.

These merfolk came from a clan near Rainbow Bay. When the Star Alliance first arrived and began building the city, they encountered this merfolk clan raiding the area. A squad of golems was dispatched, and the merfolk were decisively defeated. The Alliance then pursued them to their lair, causing the merfolk to surrender and pledge their allegiance.

Although these merfolk lived in shallow waters, they were familiar with the Rainbow Sea, so Andrea accepted them as guides.

The leader of the merfolk was a merman named Bluescale, who was now eagerly introducing the Rainbow Sea to the group.

"The Rainbow Sea is home to many toxic species. About one-fifth of the fish here are venomous and need to be carefully identified before consumption."

"However, most non-toxic fish are incredibly delicious, whether stewed, grilled, or eaten raw. If the honored guests wish to taste them, just let me know. I must say, my culinary skills are quite excellent."

Bluescale smiled ingratiatingly, adopting a subservient demeanor. He had heard that these people were even more powerful than Lady Andrea, and if he could please them, he might be promoted to clan leader.

Xie Man and Fleming looked somewhat awkward at the merman's eager offer to cook the sea fish.

"Cough." Xie Man cleared his throat. "Don't waste time with unnecessary talk. Tell me, what powerful sea monsters are in this sea?"

The merman scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Sir, to us merfolk, all sea monsters are powerful."

"..."

Xie Man realized he had asked the wrong person. Asking a creature that couldn't even fight a knight which sea monsters were powerful was a mistake.

He turned to Andrea, who thought for a moment and said, "In the shallow waters, there are no particularly powerful sea monsters, but the deep sea is home to many. Sea dragons, dragon whales, megalodons, mosasaurs, krakens, giant jellyfish..."

Andrea listed dozens of sea monsters, her expression serious. "These sea monsters possess the strength of second or third-circle legendary beings. If you encounter them, it's best to avoid combat if possible."

While second or third-circle legendary monsters on land might not be too formidable, in the ocean, they were a significant threat. Without at least one or two levels of power above them, it would be impossible to deal with these sea monsters.

At that moment, there was a commotion on the other side of the deck.

However, it was Tiana who pulled a creature out of the sea.

This bizarre creature resembled a giant, multi-legged freshwater lobster. It stood at 1.5 meters tall and 3 meters long, with a hard, turquoise-blue shell. Its small eyes blinked incessantly, and its two massive claws were thick and powerful, while its lower legs were robust.

Despite being restrained in midair by a Mage's Hand, it still shouted loudly, thrashing and waving its massive claws, clearly aggressive.

"This is a Lobsterman. They have very low intelligence, about the same as a dog," Andrea explained to Tiana and Athel, who were curiously examining the creature. "They are highly aggressive but weak in combat. An experienced Squire could easily deal with a Lobsterman."

Bluescale approached, eyeing the Lobsterman and swallowing hard. He rubbed his hands together and smirked, "Lords, the meat of a Lobsterman is quite delicious. Perhaps you could let me handle this one and prepare a feast for you all."

Sheman and the others exchanged glances and ultimately declined.

Lobstermen were, after all, an intelligent species and humanoid in shape. Eating their flesh was unsettling.

Tiana, however, was intrigued.

The Dark Elf didn’t care much about such things. She was curious about the taste difference between Lobstermen and regular lobsters.

But seeing that Athel and the others had refused, she reluctantly gave up the idea.

Andrea continued, "Lobstermen generally live at the boundary between shallow and deep sea regions. Encountering a Lobsterman means we are about to enter the deep sea area."

"We will likely encounter Deep Sea Nagas and Siren Mermaids soon, so we need to be cautious."

Hearing this, Sheman and the others put away their playful thoughts and nodded seriously.

Once they entered the deep sea area, the number of sea monsters increased noticeably.

Along the way, they often saw sea monsters battling each other, their blood staining the nearby waters red, which then attracted more predators, leading to large-scale battles.

According to Andrea, such battles were common in the deep sea area.

It was best to stay away from such situations to avoid getting dragged into the chaos.

Occasionally, they would encounter sea monsters attacking the ship, but Sheman and his group quickly dealt with them.

With two Level 3 Wizard Apprentices on board, they didn’t need to worry too much unless they encountered a Level 3 Legendary sea monster.

Considering the dangers of this mission, Sheman and Corey brought a good number of high-grade rune stones.

Even if something went wrong, escaping wouldn’t be too difficult.

Andrea praised, "With you all here, this voyage has been much smoother."

"Fleming asked curiously, "How did you deal with sea monsters before?"

"Enchanted golems with Levitation spells usually handled them," Andrea replied with a hint of frustration. "However, golems are extremely heavy and need to maintain the Levitation spell to be carried on board. Even then, a ship can only carry a limited number of them."

Sheman and the others nodded in understanding.

Golems could weigh anywhere from ten to twenty tons and were massive. Ordinary ships could barely carry a few.

Even if all the golems were made of mithril, the ship’s combat strength would still be limited. Encountering a larger number of sea monsters meant they had to flee.

Sometimes, even fleeing was a luxury.

No wonder the exploration and expansion of the Rainbow Sea had made little progress.

"Lord Mayor Andrea, please rest assured," Sheman smiled. "The Academy has developed more sturdy and larger magic ships, along with specialized underwater puppets. They will soon be mass-produced and deployed here, giving us the strength to venture into the deep sea."

Andrea’s face lit up with joy, "That’s wonderful!"

Heaven knows, she had endured a lot from the Deep Sea Nagas and Siren Mermaids in recent years. She had long wanted to deal with those cursed creatures!

At that moment, a warning call came from the lookout on the deck.

"About two kilometers ahead, we’ve spotted Deep Sea Nagas and Siren Mermaids!"

Andrea’s expression changed, and she quickly moved to the edge of the deck, taking the telescope offered by her subordinate and looking the distance.

Sheman and and the others activated the sharp-eye earrings they wore, their eyes flashing blue as their vision zoomed in on the distant sea.

The vast sea was the stage for a fierce battle.

On one side were humanoid creatures with snake-like lower bodies and scales, resembling noble Lionmen but with sea-blue scales and webbed hands and feet.

"Deep Sea Naga!"

Despite never having seen them in person, Fleming immediately recognized the origins of these humanoid creatures.

They were almost identical to the images he had seen in books.

His gaze then shifted to the other side of the battle.

A group of strong sea witches rode on headhunter sharks, also humanoid beings with elongated, serpentine tails.

These were the Sirens.

Those unfamiliar with these two races might easily confuse them.

However, there were significant differences between the two.

The Deep Sea Naga had evolved to possess fish-like features, while the Sirens' upper bodies were nearly indistinguishable from humans.

Moreover, the Deep Sea Naga were a race with both males and females, whereas the Sirens were exclusively female, belonging to the banshee lineage.

They were semi-undead beings that roamed the seas, given new bodies by the ocean itself.

While the number of Sirens was not large, most of them were incredibly powerful.

They were masters of illusion, possessed stunning beauty, and had fatally enchanting voices that could command other marine species, making them a highly dangerous existence.

It's worth noting that Sirens did not reproduce through mating but were instead born from the sea, somewhat akin to spirits of nature, though they represented the evil aspect of the ocean.

In the battle, the Deep Sea Naga had a numerical advantage, outnumbering the Sirens by almost double. However, the Sirens held the upper hand.

Wielding tridents, they displayed exquisite combat skills, fighting multiple opponents at once and occasionally breaking into song to cast illusions.

Even from two kilometers away, the melodic and enchanting voices could still be faintly heard.

Standing nearby, Blue Scale was already entranced, about to step into the sea, but Fleming slapped him awake. Blue Scale immediately scrambled into the ship's cabin, plugging his ears to avoid the songs.

"That's strange," Arthor said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "The combat techniques of those Sirens seem to have a trace of knightly combat skills."

The young woman turned to look at Cole.

Among the group, Cole had the deepest understanding of knightly combat skills.

Apart from being a third-level wizard apprentice, he was also a junior grand knight.

"Indeed, there are traces of knightly combat skills, and they are quite refined, not the common variety found outside. They are likely the work of a master," Cole said, frowning.

While Sirens engaged in close combat, their civilization's development was limited, and they could not possess the intricate knightly combat skills of humans, mostly relying on straightforward battle techniques.

The scene before them differed from the information they had read about Sirens in books.

"Not just that, have you noticed?" Sheman suddenly spoke up. "The power of the Sirens' songs seems a bit too strong, doesn't it?"

The group was taken aback, then appeared thoughtful.

Thanks to Sheman's reminder, they realized that even from two kilometers away, the Sirens' songs could still influence them, causing Blue Scale to lose his composure. The power was indeed alarming.

Either the information they had read in wizard texts about the Sirens was incorrect, or these Sirens themselves were different.

Sheman turned to Andrea and asked, "Are all Sirens like this?"

Andrea shook her head. "We've actually noticed this issue. Before entering the deep sea, we captured some shallow sea marine creatures and questioned them about the Sirens. The information we received was different from what we've encountered in reality. We suspect that the Sirens may have changed over the past few decades."

"In the deep sea, the Deep Sea Naga were once the most powerful intelligent race, always overshadowing the Sirens. But in the past few decades, the Sirens have gradually overtaken the Deep Sea Naga."

"From what I understand, the Deep Sea Naga have been defeated in the last few major battles against the Sirens."

As if to confirm Andrea's words, the distant battle had already reached a conclusion.

Under the fierce attacks of the Sirens, the Deep Sea Naga were utterly defeated and scattered in retreat. However, they were quickly pursued and slain by the Sirens riding headhunter sharks.

Only a few Deep Sea Naga managed to escape.

After the battle, the Sirens did not stop there.

With a low, resonant conch sound, the Sirens turned their direction and charged toward the ship, riding their headhunter sharks.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end