Chapter 287 - 210: You’re the One Who Lured the Fish Dragons?
Xiaoyue was prepared. SWAT! Her claws shot out and gripped the Little Sea Serpent once more.
"Hssss!" The Little Sea Serpent twisted its head back, opening its mouth to bite, but its eyes met Xiaoyue’s pale green pupils.
The little bit of courage the Little Sea Serpent had managed to muster vanished in an instant. It timidly shrank back, its eyes welling up.
"Don’t be nervous. We’re not bad guys~"
Shao Ya chuckled and gestured for Xiaoyue to let the little one go. ’It’s not like she can get away, anyway.’
The Little Sea Serpent seemed to understand this. It simply curled up on the spot, staring pitifully at the white-haired human girl.
"Shouldn’t you be in the Deep Sea Area? How did you end up here?" Shao Ya asked gently.
The Little Sea Serpent lowered its head. "Hssss..."
Through the translations from their respective Pet Beasts, the group pieced together what had happened.
The Little Sea Serpent had indeed been in the Deep Sea Area, out foraging with its parents, when it dazedly wandered off and got lost...
Alone, scared, and hungry, it had unwittingly swum all the way to Pearl Harbor.
After catching a few fish to fill its belly, the Little Sea Serpent had intended to go back and find its parents, but it was drawn in by a mysterious and powerful aura.
It was an aura that only the most powerful Deep Sea Exotic Beasts possessed! To her, a Storm Fish Dragon, it was as irresistibly alluring as the finest delicacy!
So, unable to resist, she had followed it all the way here.
"Wait... You don’t mean...?"
Connecting this to the recent chain of events, Su Zhi had a suspicion.
"Hsss!" The Little Sea Serpent gazed at Xue Li with adoration.
’That’s right! It’s this Wave-Riding Duck!’
’She has an incredibly powerful aura. She’s my GOAT!’
"Quack?" A small question mark appeared over Xue Li’s head.
’What in the duck are you talking about?’
Liu Yuhang, on the other hand, was stunned.
Before he could say anything, Su Zhi’s eyes lit up. "Are you saying you sensed the aura of a Wave-Riding Duck from Xue Li?"
"Hsss!" The Little Sea Serpent nodded, its eyes fixed on Xue Li.
’There’s no mistake. We of the Storm Fish Dragon Race are the darlings of the sea. We have a natural sense for powerful Deep Sea Exotic Beasts!’
’This aura is especially strong on Xue Li! It’s simply... simply...’ The Little Sea Serpent was at a loss for words.
"Woof?" Yu Bao prompted from the side.
’The bearing of a Great Emperor?’
"Hsss!" The Little Sea Serpent’s eyes lit up, and it gave Yu Bao a thumbs-up.
’That’s the perfect word! You’re so cultured, bro!’
Yu Bao waved its paw bashfully.
"Class Rep, you’ve hit the jackpot."
Seeing the dazed expressions on Liu Yuhang and Xue Li, Su Zhi chuckled and forwarded him a chat log from a conversation he’d had with Luo Sen a few days prior—
[Luo Sen: Regarding your question from the other day, I have something to add.]
[Luo Sen: Actually, during the Classical Era, Hao Waterfowl didn’t have a fixed place for evolution.]
[Luo Sen: This type of Exotic Beast would swim into the deep sea to battle the fiercest storms and fight the most dangerous Sea Beasts, naturally evolving into Wave-Riding Ducks in the process.]
[Luo Sen: Storm Strait is actually a safety net, giving Hao Waterfowl with lower potential a chance to evolve.]
[Luo Sen: But later, due to the intervention of Beast Tamers, fewer and fewer Hao Waterfowl evolved in the deep sea, until the practice disappeared completely in the early modern era. That’s when Storm Strait became the sole place for their evolution, leaving Turbulent Duck as their only Evolutionary Type.]
[Luo Sen: If your classmate’s Pet Beast has failed to evolve repeatedly, it might be a sign that his Hao Waterfowl is on the verge of becoming a Wave-Riding Duck. After all, conquering the great sea is not a feat accomplished overnight.]
[Luo Sen: If that’s the case, you must tell me! This could be the first appearance of the Wave-Riding Duck Evolutionary Type in seventy-five years!]
Liu Yuhang’s jaw nearly hit the floor. "Is... is this from the living legend, Luo Sen?! He actually said all this?"
’He’s a legend, alright, just not a very stable one...’ Su Zhi thought to himself. Outwardly, however, he nodded with a joyful expression.
Liu Yuhang and Xue Li embraced excitedly. Liu Yuhang could feel his shirt growing damp with tears.
"...Quack!"
’So that’s it! I was too strong to load properly! I’m not a useless duck!’
"That’s my girl! Hard work really does pay off... We did it!" Liu Yuhang was also tearing up.
Seeing this heartwarming scene, the others couldn’t help but smile.
Only Fang Yuan seemed to want to say something but held back, then finally looked at the Little Sea Serpent and spoke slowly. "You believe you’re... a Storm Fish Dragon?"
"Hsss?" The Little Sea Serpent scratched its head.
’Am I not? My mommy and daddy are Storm Fish Dragons.’
"..."
"..."
"..."
The air went quiet for a moment.
Until Su Zhi’s eyes shot wide open.
"Shit! You’re the one who led the Fish Dragons here?!"
"Hsss?"
...
「Storm Strait」
Ke Yan and the resident Beast Tamer stood side by side, watching the ever-growing number of Storm Fish Dragons gathering on the sea’s surface not far away.
Neither of them was the least bit relaxed.
Ke Yan and his Copper Bone War Elephant were certainly a powerful deterrent to the Fish Dragon Group, but they were only a deterrent. As their numbers rapidly swelled, the Fish Dragon Group was already growing restless again.
In the face of sheer numbers, even the strongest Pet Beast would fall sooner or later.
The size of the Fish Dragon Group was like a rapidly rising floodwater. Once it reached a certain critical value, it would burst forth like a broken dam and overwhelm Storm Strait.
"Hasn’t the Purity Abyss Alliance arrived yet?" A trace of anxiety crept into Ke Yan’s voice.
"No... They said they were ambushed by Abyssal Exotic Beasts on the way!" The resident Beast Tamer’s face turned pale.
"Damn it!"
Ke Yan spat viciously.
Regardless of whether the Abyssal forces were behind the Fish Dragons’ attack on Pearl Harbor, for Abyssal Exotic Beasts to appear now was a truly sinister move.
This would only escalate the conflict. Furthermore, with the reinforcements blocked, the balance of power at Storm Strait would soon be lost. Once the Fish Dragon Group launched an all-out assault, the consequences would be unthinkable!
"Damn it... Has the Flying Shadow Alliance mobilized?"
"They left ten minutes ago!"
"Ten minutes..." Ke Yan’s brow remained furrowed.
The nearest Flying Shadow Alliance base was still some distance from Pearl Harbor. It would take them at least another five minutes to arrive. Under normal circumstances, that was fast, but in the current crisis, every second was precious.
"ROAR!"
The largest of the Fish Dragons, noticeably bigger than the rest, slowly emerged from their ranks, flanked by its kin. Its eyes glowed with a deep, eerie blue light.
[I am Han Lan, Clan Leader of the Fish Dragon Race. My youngest daughter went missing in the Pearl Harbor Area recently. I will give you one last chance. Hand over my daughter, or I shall level Storm Strait this very night!]
The resident Beast Tamer still attempted to de-escalate. "Please, calm down! We do not condone poaching in any form! A special task force is already searching all of Pearl Harbor. We ask for your patien—"
SPLASH—
Before he could finish, Han Lan flung a spray of water at him.
[Not condone? How laughable! That is merely an excuse for your collusion! If what you say is true, then do you dare open Pearl Harbor and allow us to search?]
"Bullshit!" Ke Yan shot back.
’Your kid gets lost, so you think you can just land in a human city to search? With this many of your followers in tow? What do you take human sovereignty for?’
’Even if you yourself have no ill intent, who’s to say your followers don’t?’
[This is why I say you humans are nothing but sanctimonious hypocrites!]
Han Lan sneered, the blue light in his eyes growing deeper.
[Since you are unwilling to open the harbor, we shall open it ourselves!]
As he spoke, the sea began to roar. It was as if the entire ocean was about to empty itself from its basin, rising in place and instantly blotting out the sky.
Sweat poured down Ke Yan’s face. Just standing there, he knew he could never withstand this attack.
Even so, he didn’t retreat a single step, nor did his Copper Bone War Elephant...
Suddenly, with a flash of Golden Light, Su Zhi arrived on the scene just in time via Shan Bao’s Flash Gold Teleportation, dangling the Little Sea Serpent in his hand.
"H-Hsss! QAQ" The Little Sea Serpent thrashed about as if it had just seen its savior.
Su Zhi said calmly, "Clan Leader, I’m sure you wouldn’t want anything to happen to your daughter, would you?"
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