CH 40.1

In the darkness, the mermen could only feel the water thrashing and tumbling like the sea was being overturned.

The bald merman had lived a long life, but this was his first time seeing such a battle. His heart was beating like thunder and drums.

The two kings of the deep sea, who had never seen each other, were now locked in a fight!

One had the sharpest teeth in the deep sea; the other had the most flexible and powerful tentacles in the deep sea.

All the mermen dared not breathe a word as they clung to the mountain of skeletons, their attention focused on the two overlords.

The sound of the monster’s wailing and roaring resonated beneath the sea, and the water shook with the wails, as if it were whimpering along with them.

The bald merman was listening intently to the sounds of the fight when he saw a figure approaching.

Before he could recognize who it was, he heard a voice as thin as a mosquito ring out in his ears, “It is I, Bai Lixin.”

In the sea, the smell of blood was already beginning to fill the air.

One of the two overlords had been wounded, or rather both of them had been wounded.

One mountain could not support two tigers, and the two ferocious beasts could only fight if one of them died.

When he heard Bai Lixin’s voice, the bald merman turned his head, also lowering his voice to a volume that the two could hear, “You are too bold!”

His tone was tinged with some anger, but there was also concern, “Do you know how dangerous what you did was?!”

Bai Lixin gladly accepted the bald merman’s loving admonishment and patted the skeletons beneath him without much hesitation, “Listen.”

The smell of blood was getting worse but nevertheless, the bald merman averted his eyes and turned his attention from the two overlords to the pile of skeletons beneath him.

Beneath the skeletons, he heard an extremely subtle sound.

It came from all directions, like the scraping and stirring of countless sand mussels crawling across the dunes at the bottom of the sea.

But these movements were dozens of times faster than the sand mussels.

“Are those the split turtles?” The bald merman’s voice was heavy, and he frowned as he turned to Bai Lixin.

Bai Lixin, “Yes.”

The bald merman’s heart tightened, “What then? As soon as the bodies hit the ground, these split turtles will immediately eat the meat clean.”

“Exactly, so whichever of these two monsters hits the ground first will not belong to us. Our target should be the one that is still floating in the water.” Bai Lixin’s voice was calm. The bald merman couldn’t see his face, but that didn’t stop him from imagining Bai Lixin’s wisdom-filled gaze.

“Our target is not the one that is killed in the end, but the other one that is still alive.” The black ink began to surge around them and currents moved around them like a whirlpool, “We need to split it up in the limited time we have. Get the other mermen over here. I have a plan.”

The bald merman had long been convinced by the skinny little merman in front of him, and as soon as Bai Lixin’s words left his mouth, he used sound waves to call all the other mermen over.

A huge tail smashed into the sea sand, sending sand and stones flying.

The mermen swam out through the cover of the sea sand, and the further they swam, the clearer their vision finally became.

The sea was very fluid, and with the two giants tangling, the ink did not remain for long.

It was now beginning to show signs of spread and dilution.

Only when they had swum to a place where visibility was better did the group of mermen come together.

Each merman’s face wore the fear of the aftermath and the worry of the unknown as they silently looked at the bald merman, waiting for the next step that had to be taken.

The bald merman, however, looked at Bai Lixin, “Well, the men have come together for you. What are your plans?”

The mermen were stunned.

But this daze only lasted a few seconds.

Although they couldn’t see what was happening in the darkness, they weren’t stupid. The sound wave that told them to stop moving, and the earlier warning, all came from this tiny, scrawny looking merman in front of them.

After the short surprise, they all turned to Bai Lixin.

The black mist was fading, and the two overlords fighting for their lives used the last of their battle spirit, moving with all their strength.

The shark-toothed monster had bitten off two tentacles, and they slowly fell into the sand, while the shark-tooth monster was wrapped tightly around the tentacle monster’s body.

One wanted to rip the other apart; the other wanted to crush the other.

As for the two tentacles that had fallen into the sea sand, they had just wobbled down into the sand when a swarm of split turtles crawled out of the sea sand beneath the skeletons. They crawled in orderly fashion onto the tentacle monster’s tentacles, and in just a minute’s time, the two immense tentacles had been gnawed down to a hair.

The mermen could only watch as the tentacle monster’s tentacles were eaten greedily.

Bai Lixin, “We have one more enemy beside the tentacle monster and the shark-tooth monster. We have to watch out for the split turtles. They came over when they smelt death, and once the bodies hit the ground, we won’t have time to snatch the food.”

Green Hair, “So what do we do?”

Bai Lixin, “There is one way. We have to cut the food as fast as we can before the body can crash to the sea floor.”

Green Hair, “How can we have time to cut? Look at those two tentacles just now. They fell into the sea sand in seconds, there wasn’t enough time to cut.”

“That’s why I need you all to join hands. Let go of the defeated one, and we’ll target the one that’s still alive. Keep luring it high enough that the height and buoyancy will increase the time it takes for the carcass to hit the ground. Hopefully, we can finish cutting the body with that borrowed time.”

“If that’s the case, the best target is the tentacle monster. The shark-toothed monster’s skin is too tough for us to cut through.” The bald merman looked at the two monsters whose battle had reached a fever pitch and analyzed, “But looking at the situation now, the tentacle monster seems to be dying. The tentacle monster has unbelievably strong explosive power and squeezing pressure, but its endurance is weak.”

“As the battle goes on, the tentacle monster will not be a match for the shark-tooth monster.”

Bai Lixin, “Then we’ll go help the tentacle monster. What is the shark-tooth monster’s weak point?”

The bald merman pointed to the shark tooth’s abdomen, “The shark tooth’s abdomen is the softest part of its body, and its heart is hidden in the deepest part of its abdomen. The heart is about 20 meters in, and this distance is so deep that it’s impossible to pierce at once.”

Bai Lixin brought both the crossbow and harpoon to his right and left hands to weigh them, “I’ll try. You can all swim above them, and once I’ve succeeded, be ready to interfere with the tentacle monster and draw it towards the top.”

The mermen looked at each other hesitantly, and the bald merman wanted to persuade Bai Lixin to remain safe.

But just as his mouth opened, he closed it again with clenched teeth.

He had to keep Bai Lixin safe, but he also had to keep his clan safe.

Bai Lixin’s solution was the best one so far. And that solution could only be achieved if the shark-tooth monster was defeated.

Who had the power to do that?

Was it him? Or Kaya? Or any other merman?

No.

None of them could.

The only one who could succeed was Bai Lixin.

Even though he feared for Bai Lixin’s safety, reason told the bald merman that this was the only way the mermen could exchange a ray of hope.

The bald merman gritted his teeth and finally nodded, “Okay! We’ll split up!”

“But, little one.” The bald merman still couldn’t help but warn Bai Lixin, ” Promise me that you will protect yourself. In the event of danger, put your life first, and never think of any silly ideas like sacrificing yourself for the greater good, understand?”

Bai Lixin looked into the bald merman’s small eyes that were beginning to get wet and sighed softly, “Don’t worry, I won’t die.”

He reached his hand to his back and gently stroked the butterfly imprinted wings, “I have the blessing of the Sea God. This butterfly is a gift from the Sea God, so don’t worry.”

In the black butterfly, a tiny black shadow reached out and wrapped itself around Bai Lixin’s fingers, following Bai Lixin’s example and stroking him as well.

However, the bald merman was still uneasy, “Don’t be foolish enough to listen to everything! Even if it’s an order from the God of the Sea, you can’t be foolish enough to get yourself killed.”

“Every being has the right to live, and even if you were created by the Sea God, you belonged to yourself from the moment you became conscious.”

Bai Lixin looked at the bald merman’s concerned gaze and suddenly smiled, “There is a question I would like to ask you.”

Bald merman, “What question?”

Bai Lixin, “If the merfolk are attacked by an enemy one day, and one merman steps forward to draw away the monster so that all the remaining merfolk can live. But that merman would be giving his life as a result. What would you do? Would you let merfolk survive?”

The bald merman barely even thought about it, and after only two or three seconds, he replied, “Oh yes, I would let all the merfolk survive. But I will be the merman that lures the monster away. The reason why merfolk can survive in this sea full of behemoths is because of their tough hearts and an immortal spiritual heritage. For the sake of my species and those offspring, I would be the cornerstone that holds them up.”

The eyes of the mermen around him also became distinctly serious and determined.

Bai Lixin looked into the eyes of the old merman who had a blazing fire.

Bai Lixin knew that this flame would last forever.

He laughed softly, “If you can, then why can’t I also be that cornerstone? But my cornerstone is old and smelly, and I fear it will choke these monsters to death.”

Several pearls immediately fell from the corners of the bald merman’s eyes.

Bai Lixin turned back, “Don’t waste time, get moving!”

“Give me your crossbow,” Bai Lixin said, reaching out his hand to Green Hair.

He slung the harpoon on his back, and where no one could see, a thin shadow immediately stretched out from the black butterfly, wrapping around the harpoon and securing it to his back.

An arrow was already placed on Green Hair’s crossbow, and he asked, “Do you need me to take the arrow off?”

Bai Lixin smiled lightly, “No, this is just right.”

Seeing Bai Lixin’s warm smile, Green Hair’s face flushed furiously and hurriedly shoved the crossbow into Bai Lixin’s hand.

The battle in the distance was coming to an end.

Bai Lixin swam towards the two behemoths, while the other mermen gritted their teeth and began to swim towards the top.

Because the two overlords were fighting so close to the sea floor, skeletons and rocks were being pounded all over the sea.

Like a bolt of lightning, Bai Lixin weaved nimbly and swiftly through these obstacles.

Worried about Bai Lixin, Green Hair and the bald merman looked back only to see a beautiful blue meteor drawing a constant “Z” and “S” shape in the water.

He moved nimbly through the wild and turbulent water, as if he was dancing instead of dodging.

He moved gracefully and with a glorious sharpness.

He was so small in front of those two behemoths, yet he was so dazzling.

He was an outsider, but he was now fighting to the death for the sake of the merfolk.

At that moment, there was no room for anything else in their eyes except that bright blue meteor.

Their eyes followed Bai Lixin’s figure closely, fearing that they would miss the slightest development.

They saw Bai Lixin arrive behind the shark-toothed monster in a few swoops.

They saw Bai Lixin shoot two arrows one after another, and almost at the same time as he shot the arrows, his tail quickly flicked back and the harpoon that was stuck to his back immediately flew up. Bai Lixin propped himself up on a flying rock with one hand and spun around in an upside-down golden hook position, and his tail fin simultaneously slapped hard at the end of the harpoon.

The harpoon, like a small steel cannon mounted on it, shot out with a raging force!

Two arrows and one harpoon flew straight out along the same track!

The bald merman’s eyes widened.

He saw one arrow penetrate into the shark-toothed monster’s white skin.

Immediately afterwards, another arrow burrowed along the hole left by the first one.

And not long after the two arrows had gone in, the harpoon with the greatest force followed!

It still went in the same hole.

The bald merman could not see what happened after that, but he could guess.

Without the hard skin in the way, three successive sharp attacks had in. The last harpoon sent all its power to the two arrows in front of it.

Those two arrows would be like two shooting stars, cutting the most brilliantly dazzling light and hitting their target squarely!

They did not delay their swim as they watched, and they soon swam above the two monsters. The huge bodies obscured their vision and Bai Lixin’s thin figure, but the bald merman knew that Bai Lixin had made it.

He had done it; he had really done it!

If there was ever a merman in the deep sea who could achieve such finesse and strength, it would be this mysterious and ever-surprising Bai Lixin .

Small in stature, but powerful enough to shake the world.

It wasn’t that Bai Lixin was really capable of extinguishing the world, but he saw a strength and spirit in Bai Lixin, and the little one’s ruthlessness infected them all as if it were a virus.

An excited sound wave cut through the waters as the bald merman whipped his tail vigorously and began to swim hard upwards.

He tilted his head so that the mermen behind him could not see his face, but white pearls kept falling around him.

Just when they had reached a distance of more than twenty metres above the heads of the two deep-sea overlords, a harsh and deep roar resounded throughout the sea.

It was the final wail of the shark-toothed monster overlord!

The bald merman could even see ripples because of the wail. He looked down as the tentacle monster released the dying shark-toothed monster.

The former unbeatable hegemon of this deep sea was now like a lofty mountain, crumbling to the ground.

Its glory and legend would be forever buried in the deep sea from today onwards.

At that moment, an inexplicable emotion suddenly came over the bald merman’s heart.

But this emotion did not last long, as just as the shark-toothed monster fell, a blue meteor flew up, followed by an unstoppable tentacle!

The bald merman calmly commanded the surrounding mermen to cover for Bai Lixin, “Keep releasing arrows to draw the tentacle monster up. Shoot as you swim to give Bai Lixin a chance to escape! Don’t shoot at the tentacle monster’s head, just its tentacles!”

One arrow after another was shot out, and under the protection of this rain of arrows, Bai Lixin quickly dodged the tentacle monster’s attack and returned to the group.

He returned the crossbow to Green Hair and said “Thank you.”

As soon as Green Hair got the crossbow, he joined the fight.

The tentacle monster had just defeated its arch-enemy, and was in a state of great arrogance as it rode the wave of victory upwards.

In its mind, there is no other rival at the bottom of the sea.

As the only overlord of the deep sea, it was surprising that an ant would dare to provoke it like this.

Damn it!

As they swam further and further upwards, the faces of the mermen became increasingly ugly.

Their stomachs began to swell, and their originally green skin began to swell and redden rapidly.

They had lived in the deep sea for years, and the further up they swam, the more the pressure was reduced.

Without that strong pressure, the mermen’s body fat was swelling as the sea pressure decreased.

If they swam further upwards, they would explode and die from their body fat expanding too much.

Bai Lixin also felt the difficulty, but because this physique was provided by the system, he was a little better off and his reaction was not so serious.