Chapter 212

Translator: Pai_

'Could it be they're pulling the exact same trick as before...?'

That was the first thought that came to Turan after reading the letter sent by the Head of House Carmine.

Although there was some variation, wasn't the pattern exactly the same as the trap that Jemel had planned when he visited in person in the past?

Of course, ordinarily, people wouldn’t use the same trick twice, but on the flip side, there was also the tactic of exploiting that very mindset and catching one off guard.

After all, once someone falls for an obviously blatant trick, they tend to unconsciously lower their guard, thinking, “Surely they wouldn’t try the exact same trick again.”

After silently staring at the letter for a few minutes in thought, Turan slowly folded the parchment.

“Tell them I’ll contact them soon.”

“Uh, it’s an urgent matter, so they need an immediate response on the spot-”

“Is the master of Parsha someone beneath the Head of House Carmine?”

“To think you dare to rush for an answer.”

The noble of House Carmine, who had been mumbling with a flustered expression, bowed his head under the intimidating pressure from the nobles of House Parsha standing beside him.

After he left, Turan gave the order to his subordinates to return to Kalamaf.

After riding for several hours and arriving at the city, the citizens welcomed the warriors who had returned from several days of dwarf hunting.

“Please look this way!”

“Haha, is all this really necessary...”

The wizards of Parsha laughed foolishly, seemingly pleased by the scene.

It was proof that, in these confusing and fearful times, people had come to desperately rely on the wizards who protected them.

While allowing the returnees to rest, Turan also confirmed a message sent from Meisa, who was currently governing the Aravion region.

[The Birdmen Tribe is rampaging all over the Takein Plains. It looks like it'll take time to get the situation under control.]

Bije, who had flown all the way from the Takein Plains with the letter, grumbled quietly.

-Too many fake birds there. Weak, but annoying.

To her eyes, the ones with human bodies and bird wings attached to their arms only looked like mere imitations of birds.

Of course, by Bije’s standards, “weak” was relative.

From the context, it was clear that using an ordinary flying magical beast as a messenger would almost certainly result in it being shot down mid-flight.

For now, it seemed they had no choice but to rely on Meisa to handle the Aravion side for a while.

When sending Bije, he had also requested her to check on the Nagin side, but if it was beyond her capabilities, there was nothing that could be done about it.

After spending about ten minutes playing with Bije, who had worked hard, Ashiz arrived with a tired expression.

“I heard something strange on the way.”

“They say the Carmine side want to finish off the Great Sea Serpent.”

“Is that a lie or is it true?”

“I don’t know. Even if the messenger was telling the truth, it might just be that he believes it’s true. They probably know about the Eye of Truth, so they must have taken that into account.”

“Is that so... So, what’s your conclusion?”

In response to Ashiz’s question, Turan shared the conclusion he had reached after pondering on the way back.

“For now, I’ll play along.”

“You’ll play along?”

“They still don’t know what I’m capable of. If I only use the same level of abilities as before, they’ll eventually reveal their true colors. Whether they choose to cooperate sincerely or try to pull something shady.”

What had changed since before was that Turan now possessed powers they were not yet aware of.

When one lacks power, they have to constantly be on edge, not knowing what tricks others might pull, but someone with power can afford to calmly say, “Go ahead, try to fool me.”

“Whether it’s the merfolk or the Carmine bunch, they’re both powder kegs that could explode at any moment. It’s time to start cleaning things up.”

If they cooperated sincerely, Turan was even willing to overlook the past invasion in alliance with the Great Sea Serpents to some extent.

But if not, if they were trying to pull some shady trick, then the upper echelons of House Carmine would be replaced that very day.

“Oh, by the way, while I was gone, did any word come from those guys?”

“Those guys... the dwarves?”

“Yeah. They called themselves the Honorable Republic or something, right?”

“Nothing yet. Maybe they ran away?”

At Ashiz’s words, Turan let out a quiet hum.

Based on what he’d heard before, it was likely that they still hadn’t reached a consensus within the community and were unable to make a decision.

If not, it could simply be that their nest was much farther from Kalamaf than expected, so it was taking them a long time to travel.

In truth, either way, it didn’t matter much.

As evidenced by the fact that Monarch had once sought to borrow the power of the Night Hunter to exterminate the dwarves, the Night Hunter’s tracking ability was so precise that it could locate even the secret bases the dwarves had built using all their technological prowess.

Turan, who had elevated Tracking Magic to the realm of a skill by manifesting the Shepherd’s emblem, could now display a similar ability. No matter how deeply they hid, he would eventually be able to find and wipe them out.

If they refused to submit and chose only to hide, then all that remained was to prepare the appropriate punishment.

“In any case, if they send a proposal, accept it, but don’t let them into the city. Without me, our forces aren’t overwhelming yet.”

“Got it.”

“We’ve cleared out the dwarf gangs near Kalamaf, but we’ll set aside time later to re-establish contact with more distant places, so notify the vassals via beacon...”

Ashiz quickly wrote Turan’s instructions down on parchment.

Even after returning from hard work, the duties of the Head of House Parsha were endless.

***

“This is unexpected. Our messenger hasn’t even returned yet.”

“Still, isn’t it a good thing that I came quickly?”

Head of House Carmine, Rodor, looked at Turan with a slightly bewildered expression.

After all, the messenger he had sent would still be on his way back from the vicinity of Kalamaf, yet Turan had suddenly flown in with an unknown person, so his reaction was understandable.

“Well, yes, it’s good that you came. But still, don’t you think your numbers are a bit too small?”

“Out of the current troops, the only ones who can fight properly underwater are me and this guy here.”

Turan pointed as he spoke, indicating Armania.

As always, Armania, who had been holed up underground, wore a complicated expression, likely troubled by the fact that he now had to face his own family in battle.

When he removed his mask and revealed his merman face, Rodor let out a low whistle.

“As expected, you must be the merman prince they’re so desperate to kill? That makes sense then.”

Guns and cannons, being powder-based weapons, were useless underwater.

Even aside from that, there were barely any who could fight underwater using fluid manipulation magic with real proficiency.

Those familiar with such tactics from the Gray Zone were mostly wizards from Ophen Port, but they had all perished during the last Great Sea Serpent invasion.

While they were talking, Turan used the power of his eye and the Sacred Relic to scout the Carmine forces.

‘At least it’s not a lie that they fought a battle and suffered heavy losses.’

Among Rodor and the other possessed bodies, there were several whose magic flow was unstable, as if they had been injured, and the overall numbers had decreased noticeably from the previous report.

“More than that, I’d like to hear how things are going on the sea side lately.”

“The sea side?”

“You already know, don’t you? All sorts of old-era races are popping up on land. If Great Sea Serpents have also appeared, this wouldn’t be the time to hunt merfolk.”

Even if they had, if Turan’s theory was correct, the enemies would be somewhat weaker than the real Great Sea Serpents, but still just as threatening.

To Turan’s question, Rodor shook his head and denied it.

“No Great Sea Serpents have shown up. I’m sure of it. When those things start rampaging, the sea has a completely different feel. You can tell right away.”

“Hm.”

Having heard the answer he more or less expected, Turan fell into thought.

Why had everything else appeared, but the Great Sea Serpents hadn’t shown a trace?

Was it because the merman race already existed to mimic their form?

Or was it because Monarch didn’t want to unleash them into the world?

Even Armania’s weakened state might be related to that somehow.

Either way, if the Great Sea Serpents hadn’t descended, now was the perfect opportunity.

If he didn’t wipe out Armania’s relatives now, they’d be an ongoing nuisance for a long time.

“Then let’s head out immediately.”

“Straight to the point. I’ll get things ready, so give me about thirty minutes.”

Shortly after, Turan carefully observed the wizards of House Carmine gathering along the shore.

As expected, all knight-class individuals without bloodline abilities were excluded, and only nobles with at least mid-tier capabilities or higher had gathered.

Anyone below that level wouldn’t be able to deal effective damage to the Great Sea Serpent in the first place, so it was only natural.

In truth, unlike when fighting humans, numbers often didn’t mean much when facing these kinds of massive monsters.

For example, if someone like Turan were struck by a knight’s magic, it might drain a minuscule amount of magic power to neutralize it. However, a giant monster with power equal to Turan’s could withstand such attacks with nothing more than its physical body, without consuming any magic power.

While Turan was briefly lost in thought, Armania, who had been silently following behind him with his mouth shut, finally spoke.

“Turan.”

“What is it?”

“Now that I’m by the sea, my condition is starting to improve.”

“I figured as much.”

That was one of the reasons why Turan had brought the weakened Armania here.

If the place for giants was the Enril Desert, and for dwarves it was the Gray Zone, then perhaps the sea was where the Great Sea Serpent merfolk belonged.

It seemed that hypothesis was correct.

“Then... does that mean I can’t stay in Kalamaf anymore...?”

At Armania’s somewhat disheartened voice, Turan burst out in a hearty laugh and shook his head.

“Well, if you’re okay with feeling a bit weak, you can stay anytime you want. Do whatever you like.”

From the beginning, Turan hadn’t taken Armania in because he expected him to possess the transcendent power of the Great Sea Serpent or because he offered the Jade Mirror, but simply because he was an unusually kind merfolk.

Even if the mirror disappeared and Armania could no longer transform into a Great Sea Serpent, Turan would not abandon him, and upon hearing that, Armania’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Turan, you’re truly a kind devil.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard you say ‘kind devil’.”

The laugh only lasted a moment, and then Rodor informed them that everything was ready, prompting Turan to do some light stretches.

“Let’s move out.”

“Good. I’ll leave the navigation to you.”

Not long after, a warship carrying several dozen nobles and a single merfolk began heading out to sea.

***

Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since Turan had crossed the North Sea.

The last time might’ve been when he’d acted under the identity of Onil?

Turan leaned against the edge of the deck, powered by the Carmine nobles’ magic, letting the sea breeze wash over him.

Right beside him, Armania stood with his mouth agape, looking dazed.

“What are you doing?”

“Breathing in salty wind instead of water. It feels like it gives me strength.”

Turan was about to tell him to stop because he looked like an idiot, but then he held his tongue.

So what if he looked stupid? If it really gave him strength, then it was something to be encouraged.

Perhaps it was thanks to the combined power of the dozens of powerful Carmine nobles steering the ship?

The warship’s speed was astonishingly fast.

They had perfectly coordinated the technique Turan had once used with Meisa and Solif, pushing the ship with seawater, and even had a few sea magical beasts pulling it from the front.

As a result, it only took two days for the ship that had departed from Ophen Port to reach a location in the middle of the North Sea.

Since Bije would be of no use underwater, Turan had sent her off for reconnaissance and spent time playing with Armania. With Tracking Magic, he could sense that a large number of merfolk were gathered below.

About ten minutes later, Rodor came to inform him they had arrived right above the enemy’s base.

“Just head straight down from here.”

“Your accuracy’s impressive. Anyone would think you’ve got a Chaser’s ability.”

At Turan’s words, the Carmine god tribe members all glared at him in unison.

In truth, one among them had fused Frost, Rapids, and Chaser bloodlines to gain an extraordinarily advanced tracking ability, though only within underwater environments.

The reason they reacted that way to Turan’s comment was because the source of that power was likely one of the two Carmine god tribe members who had been captured.

In other words, even though they were in a cooperative relationship, they still resented Turan for not releasing their kin.

“Let’s go in.”

“Right. Let’s go, Armania.”

“Got it!”

Leaving only a few behind to tend to the ship, the merfolk subjugation squad all leapt into the sea together.

Splash. As the cold seawater soaked his body, Turan activated the Carmine bloodline for the first time in quite a while.

He felt the strange sensation of seawater inhaled through his nose being converted into oxygen and flowing through his body.

[From here, go straight down.]

Perhaps they were using a technique that transmitted sound through the water as a medium, as Rodor’s voice reached Turan with a slight delay.

Turan responded with a nod, then grabbed the fin of Armania, who had transformed into a large shark right beside him.

“Ah, ah...”

[Ah.]

After a bit of practice, Turan succeeded in mastering the method of transmitting voice underwater.

It was partly due to his innate talent, but mostly because he was already used to sending his voice through wind, and the technique felt similar.

[Let me ride with you.]

[Can’t you swim on your own?!]

Armania replied in a whining, echoing sound wave-like voice, but despite his complaints, he obediently carried Turan as he descended downward.

The ocean, which was fairly bright just a few meters deep, rapidly darkened as they went lower.

Ten meters, fifty meters, a hundred meters, five hundred meters...

Before long, they were surrounded by pitch-black darkness beneath the sea.

Turan thought that if it weren’t for the power of the Carmine bloodline, the water pressure alone would have been quite a nuisance, when suddenly, lights began to appear far below.

‘We’re here.’

[It feels like... coming back to my homeland after a long time...]

Armania mumbled quietly beside him.

Though this was surely a new hideout the merfolk had built, and completely different from the place he used to live, the fact that it was an underwater dwelling seemed to stir up feelings of nostalgia.

The merfolk’s underwater base looked like the ruins of an ancient kingdom submerged by a flood.

Buildings carved from coral and stone clung tightly to the solid seabed, and glowing deep-sea fish were tied in places, illuminating the darkness.

One merfolk, noticing the approaching wizards, screamed at a frequency only their kind could hear and fled.

The presence of powerful enemies approaching must have been enough to suppress even their instinctual hunger.

Moments later, six massive Great Sea Serpents began to appear one by one around the base.

[Devils!]

[Have you come to wipe us out?]

[Armania!]

[Traitor to your own kind!]

At the shouts of what appeared to be his brothers and sisters, Armania, still in shark form, visibly shrank.

Urged by Turan’s sharp patting on his back, he reluctantly took on the form of a Great Sea Serpent as well.

While the other merfolk measured about fifty to sixty meters in length, Armania was clearly over eighty meters at a glance.

He seemed even larger than when Turan last saw him in the library.

And the only one of comparable size, the Merfolk King, a Great Sea Serpent, glared with wide eyes as he swam toward Armania.

[Father...]

[I won’t waste words, boy. Come back. I’ll forgive everything.]

The Merfolk King was openly trying to coax Armania back.

It made sense, given their desperate situation, they couldn’t afford to completely reject a “traitor”.

Even if Armania decided to rejoin the merfolk, it was uncertain whether they could still win against Turan and the Carmine nobles.

[Father, can’t you reconsider? Turan promised not to attack humans. If you agree, he won’t harm us-]

[That’s not a merfolk’s life. That’s the life of livestock! You’ve been to the surface, so you must know what a dog is. Is it so joyous to eat food handed down by a master, to breed at the master's command?]

[I... I...]

Armania fell silent, unable to respond.

As Turan quietly listened, he stepped forward to face the Merfolk King directly.

[So, you’re saying you’d rather die than give up a life of ruling the seas and eating humans at will.]

[And what will you do about it, monster?]

[If our ideals differ, we settle it by force.]

At the sight of the slingshot in Turan’s hand, the Merfolk King and the other Great Sea Serpents growled quietly.

They knew all too well what that slingshot could do, having once hunted the undead Great Sea Serpent together.

[Well then, shall we begin?]

As Turan loaded a chunk of ice, created from frozen seawater, into the slingshot and spun it, the Great Sea Serpents interpreted it as a signal to attack and roared in unison.

As the Sea Serpents and merfolk charged forward in an instant, the Carmine nobles in the rear also took up combat positions.

[Let’s go! Attack, all of you!]

As the thundering shout from behind spread through the water, Turan’s body spun upside down.

The wave from Rodor’s thrusting trident and the ice projectile Turan fired collided, creating a massive shockwave.