Chapter 775 - 762: Accelerating Mist
After the survivors of the Archipelago left for the Continent with Sofia, Silver Sand Bay—the largest island in the Archipelago—was returned to nature and became a true uninhabited island.
Vines climbed up the stone walls and threaded through cracks in the window frames into those rooms that had once been piled with shackles.
Lizards basked in the empty plaza, winged insects nested beneath the crumbling eaves, and branches and leaves squeezed out of every gap, slowly swallowing brick and timber frames.
Life on the island had never been so exuberant.
One morning, a thick fog surged in from the sea, rolling over reefs and beaches, wrapping the entire island in gray-white silence.
From then on, this island never appeared under the sunlight again.
...
The temporary mermaid camp at the entrance of the Tide Sanctuary.
"Right now there are two options. One is we cut off your fish tail, then have a Puki pinch you out a pair of legs, so you can go ashore. You just won’t be able to stay for long."
"And the other is, we fill Fat Otaku Puki up with water, embed a piece of transparent glass in its belly, and with you controlling Puki you can go wherever you want. Just change the water every two days."
"Lastly, there’s also Puki shapeshift... oh, come on!"
Lin Jun, who was in the middle of designing a "chase-my-man" plan for Mermaid Empress Saphirea, was the first to sense the change in the distant mist at the edge of the Fungal Mat.
Previously, although the mist had also been shrinking bit by bit, each advance was not very far, like someone doing frog jumps.
But this time was different—the damn mist had started a hundred-meter sprint, with the kind of momentum it had when it charged ashore during the Human-Demon War!
Alarms blared through the Fungal Network: "Woo-wee! Woo-wee! Return to the Tide Sanctuary immediately!"
The fishmen and half-demons in the sea who were in the middle of clearing out those mist monsters received the alarm and immediately retreated toward the Sanctuary.
However, most of the mermaids were not Connected to the Fungal Network.
After a brief moment of surprise, Saphirea closed her eyes and lifted her head; a high, far-reaching song rose from her throat, pierced the seawater, and spread out in all directions.
The mermaids near the camp all stopped what they were doing, lifted their heads, and followed the Empress’s summons as they swam over one after another.
They gathered around the Empress, tails swaying, not understanding what was going on.
"There’s danger. Everyone into the Sanctuary!" Saphirea did not waste words; with a wave of her arm she issued the order.
The mermaids did not dare delay and disappeared behind the stone gate one after another.
"Your Majesty!" An older mermaid suddenly doubled back. "Have Sara and Lillian already entered the Sanctuary? I haven’t seen them!"
Saphirea thought back; she hadn’t seen those two mermaids either.
After asking a young mermaid who often spent time with them, she learned that the two sisters had said that morning they wanted to return once to the trench to see if they could retrieve some keepsakes of their mother that they hadn’t managed to bring when they escaped.
Since, after Chis’s death, there were no real threats left in the sea, they hadn’t thought anything was wrong.
And now, the two of them had probably already swum a good distance away.
Saphirea did not hesitate. After driving the last few mermaids into the Sanctuary, she turned and shot off toward the trench.
"Do you really need to go personally? The mist is almost here." A knight-level Puki fish followed behind Saphirea; Lin Jun had no intention of just letting Saphirea casually get killed off.
But Saphirea insisted on going: "There are not many of my people left. I must protect every last one of them!"
Lin Jun thought for a moment and used the Fungal Network to sense the area, but did not find the two mermaids.
The problem with the sea was that some places were too deep; relying on the Fungal Mat on the surface, he couldn’t sense what was down there.
A few scouting Pukis spawned in the area where Lin Jun thought the two mermaids might be, then dived down into the sea.
After searching for half a day, the two young mermaids finally heard Saphirea’s song and were drawn over.
"Your Majesty, why are you here?" Sara and Lillian looked flustered, clearly already aware they’d made a mistake.
"No time to explain, come back with me, now!" Saphirea had sung all the way here; that enchanting voice now carried a hint of hoarseness.
"Congratulations, congratulations, you finally found them." The Puki fish beside them slapped its tentacles in congratulations, but its tone sank. "But it’s already too late to go back."
The three mermaids turned their heads; a thick white fog had already appeared at the edge of their vision and was rolling toward them at a terrifying speed—much faster than they could possibly swim.
The mist was not real fog; even in the sea, it did nothing to hinder its spread.
There was nowhere to run. Saphirea pulled the two young mermaids tightly into her arms and turned to look at the Puki fish beside her.
She knew it was only a puppet controlled by Boss; Boss would not be in danger because of the mist.
Her voice lowered, tinged with sadness: "Boss, if I can’t make it out... please bring a message to Elvyn for me."
"What message?"
Resentment and ferocity twisted Saphirea’s pretty face. "If he dares live happily ever after with that Elf woman... even if I die, I’ll curse them!"
Looking at that Delicious expression, Lin Jun silently decided in his heart that he had to put in more effort and do everything he could to keep this fish alive.
The next instant, the mist swallowed the three mermaids and one mushroom.
...
After the mist passed, they were not scattered, but the surrounding scene had changed.
A water tank?
The three mermaids and one Puki were all contained in a huge and sturdy water tank, and in the room where the tank was placed they could feel a slight rocking, as if they were on a ship.
In the room, besides the water tank, there was a fat man dressed like a rich merchant, a burly man dressed like a captain, and several guards.
They were speaking in a language Lin Jun could not understand.
That was strange. Lin Jun had already learned all the languages currently existing on the Continent; even Dragon Language he had pushed to Level 9 by dissecting those dead Kobolds. How could there still be something he couldn’t understand?
Only by relying on Saphirea’s Listening Level 8 did Lin Jun understand what they were saying.
"By presenting these three rare mermaids, we’ll surely win King Arthur’s favor. Once we’re granted the right to long-distance trade, our family will definitely rise again!"
The fat merchant shared his grand vision of reviving the family with his retainers. After the latter glanced at the tank, his expression turned odd and he tugged at the merchant’s sleeve.
The merchant turned back and leaned over toward the tank. "A mushroom monster? When did this thing climb in?"
He then shouted with a look of disgust, "Hurry, get this mushroom monster out of there. If it’s poisonous and it kills these precious mermaids, we’ll be in trouble!"
On receiving the order, the guards around him activated their Spiritual Protection Items and opened the lock on top of the tank.
They were on guard against the mermaids’ Charm, yet to their surprise, the moment the tank was opened, the first to strike was not the three mermaids, but the mushroom monster they had thought completely harmless!
Tentacles snapped out instantly; two guards clutched their necks and collapsed to the floor.
Before anyone else could react, the Puki fish flicked its tail, launching itself to the fat merchant’s back; its tentacles coiled around him and a blade pressed against his throat.
All at once, everyone in the room froze, not daring to move.
Lin Jun, however, was a bit puzzled.
This fat man was clearly the owner of this ship, and might be the core of this Mist Illusion Realm.
But this all seemed a little too easy.
Lin Jun wasn’t sure whether he’d just gotten too strong, or if there was some other trick to this Illusion Realm.
Still, trying a kill was never wrong.
"Reflection!" Just as Lin Jun was about to act, a shout came from outside the door. A sailor burst into the room. "Captain, something terrible’s happened, we ran into the Reflec—what the..."
The next moment, accompanied by a thunderous boom, a solid cannonball smashed into the room and hit the unlucky sailor dead on.
Through the hole, Lin Jun saw the source of the attack—a Bronze sea monster figurehead, intricate carvings along the ship’s sides, an utterly empty deck, and rows of square openings along the hull.
Looked very familiar... wasn’t this the same Ghost Ship they’d run into that time out at sea with Dylan?!
Whose memory was this Illusion Realm based on, anyway?
Wait a second—Lin Jun recalled that previous encounter.
If the Ghost Ship had appeared, then shouldn’t that other thing also...
"Aah!"
A sailor’s scream rang out from the deck outside.
Sure enough, the Water Ghosts had arrived too.