Chapter 45
“What is that?”
Antaeus’s brow furrowed.
Flames!
There were very few who used flames in the sea.
Literally, in this underwater place, the damage of fire attribute attacks was halved.
But what on earth was that rising flame?
Antaeus was bewildered, but Lexus’s face, who was watching the scene with him, was distorted mercilessly inside the helmet.
‘Ignis!’
Lexus!
He knew it.
The only user who could create such flames in the sea, especially in the deep sea!
The fact that it was only the Flame Emperor Ignis!
‘Was he there?’
JDG!
Jeil E&M’s pawns, to think they would be here!
At that moment, he felt something was subtly off from the beginning.
Something black started swarming down from above.
“Mermen! They’re Mermen!”
“Mermen are coming down from above!”
“D-Don’t panic! Counterattack calmly!”
A group of Mermen with black scales!
They were riding sharks, swiftly cutting through the water currents and launching an assault on the Mermaid army.
“Those are the Shark Tooth Tribe! How did they get here?”
Antaeus gritted his teeth as he watched.
What surprised him wasn’t just the Mermen’s surprise attack.
Shark Tooth Tribe!
One of the eight Mermen tribes, nomadic inhabitants of the seabed known for taming and riding marine monsters, and simultaneously one of the most prominent combat tribes among the Mermen, were here now.
The eight Mermen tribes didn’t usually cooperate with each other.
It was known that only one person could compel them: the Merfolk King.
However, Prince Nereus hadn’t yet been recognized as the King, so normally, only the Golden Scale Tribe should have been present in Aqua Haven, without any other tribes.
But the Shark Tooth Tribe!
However, the Shark Tooth Tribe’s attack was just the beginning.
“General! Mermen have attacked from the rear!”
“The Iron Shell Tribe has appeared!”
“There are also Mermen from the Black Seaweed Tribe!”
The eight Mermen tribes!
Their armies had simultaneously sprung their ambush, overwhelming the Mermaid army’s formation all at once.
Mermen descending from above riding the currents like the Shark Tooth Tribe, Mermen attacking from the rear, and even Mermen emerging from their hiding places within Aqua Haven!
From the Mermaids’ perspective, it was as if they were surrounded on all sides!
The Mermaid army, which had been proudly advancing towards Aqua Haven, was instantly thrown into chaos by the Mermen army’s attacks pouring in from all directions.
A situation where all the armies of the eight Mermen tribes had simultaneously launched a surprise attack!
Why they had joined forces was unknown.
The Dark G*d’s Contractor!
The only vague speculation that came to mind was that he, who had come from the land, had somehow orchestrated this.
However, that wasn’t important right now.
Mermen!
The important fact was that they seemed to have laid a trap, taking advantage of this situation.
Upon receiving the report, Antaeus gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Scylla! Turn around! K*ll the Mermen!”
Just as Scylla’s head was about to turn at Antaeus’s command.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
JDG’s main tank cast a provocation skill and unleashed a sword energy, redirecting the aggro back towards JDG.
That’s right.
Ignis hadn’t come alone.
He had brought the entire elite raid team, composed of JDG’s high-rankers, including the vice guild master, for the Scylla Raid.
[Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!]
Scylla, whose aggro was pulled back by the provocation skill, roared and unleashed a sonic attack towards JDG’s raid team, but JDG’s high-ranking raiders skillfully blocked or dodged Scylla’s attacks.
JDG!
Their reputation as a member of the Top Ten Guilds wasn’t earned through playing marbles. Even underwater, JDG’s raid members were naturally dodging Scylla’s attacks while dealing damage.
Their raid, with the three elements of tank, damage dealer, and healer seamlessly interlocking like cogwheels, was simply breathtaking!
It was a movement befitting JDG’s elite raid team, who had researched and conducted dungeons and raids until they were sick of it, but for Antaeus, Lexus, and the Mermaids, it was nothing short of a nightmare.
‘How, how can this be!’
Lexus was horrified.
His plan had been perfect.
Drakan’s quest hadn’t progressed properly yet, and he had brought the Mermaids to k*ll Drakan without giving him any time for information to leak.
Even when he saw the Mermaid army marching towards the deep sea and Scylla’s majestic appearance, Lexus had been confident.
He would be able to witness Drakan’s demise with his own eyes.
But the scene unfolding now was the complete opposite.
The Mermen army’s attack pouring in from all directions!
JDG’s Scylla Raid unfolding against the backdrop of an empty Aqua Haven!
Lexus gritted his teeth and raised his weapon as he watched the Mermaid army, bewildered and unable to properly counter the unexpected ambush, floundering around.
And he realized.
That cunning b*stard must have set this trap!
Whether it was his intention from the beginning, when he started setting the trap, or if information had leaked from their side.
Lexus shuddered involuntarily.
Drakan.
The dirty tricks and the petty and despicable schemes he had displayed during the World Revolution came to mind once again.
‘As expected, he’s not an easy opponent.’
Muttering this to himself, Lexus shook his head to clear his thoughts and raised his main weapon, a sword.
Anyway, he was already caught in the trap, and there was no turning back.
Realistically, there were no items like escape scrolls that could be used during battle.
Even the Point Shop, filled with all sorts of convenient items, didn’t sell such items.
So there was only one path left for Lexus and the Infinite Eugene Church members!
Only attack.
‘Since it’s come to this, I have to k*ll him even if it costs me my life!’
Lexus’s eyes blazed.
For Eugene, Lexus was willing to sacrifice his in-game life.
The outcome of the war between the Mermaids and the Mermen wasn’t that important to Lexus and the Infinite Eugene Church executives.
Even if the Mermaids were defeated, if they could k*ll Drakan, that would be a victory.
Even if they all lost their lives here, if they could drag Drakan into the abyss of character deletion with them…… that would also be their victory.
So the situation wasn’t entirely unfavorable yet.
If they could cut off Drakan’s head, the operation would be a success, and he would be victorious.
A smile crept onto Lexus’s lips as he thought this far.
“Attack! Attack, I said! Don’t panic and attack!!”
Hearing Antaeus’s almost desperate command ringing in his ears, Lexus kicked off the ground, spear in hand, and cut through the water, charging forward.
Behind Lexus, the Infinite Eugene Church members, also wearing helmets that hid their faces, followed.
Their goal was only one!
Drakan!
To find and k*ll him.
▄ ▄ ▄
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“D*e! Mermaid bastards!”
[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]
I smiled as I watched the scene of the battlefield where weapons clashed, and roars and screams echoed.
Because the scene of the battlefield was the same, whether underwater or on land.
As I expected, Lexus, the Eastern Branch Manager of the Infinite Eugene Church, along with Mermaid General Antaeus, had led the main force of the Mermaid army to attack Aqua Haven, just as I had intended.
According to the ‘informant,’ they had seen the scene of my meeting with Nereus through the Earth’s Memory, recorded it on a crystal ball, and showed it to Antaeus. It made me realize once again the deep grudge they held against me.
They say you live long if you get cursed a lot. At this point, I wondered if I might be immortal.
Anyway, they had misjudged the situation based on the information I had leaked and led their army to attack Aqua Haven, falling neatly into the trap I had set.
And the result was this.
[Kyaoooooooooo!]
The Shark Tooth Tribe, riding on sharks, electric rays, and numerous other marine monsters, rampaged through the battlefield, tearing into the Mermaids.
From the rear, warriors of the Iron Shell Tribe, a crustacean Mermen tribe with a crab-like appearance, followed, slaughtering the Mermaids with their vicious pincers.
In addition, numerous Mermen from the eight Mermen tribes, each with their unique appearances, swarmed in, battling the Mermaids.
I watched the scene and leisurely raised the Iron Blood Executor, cutting down the Mermaids that rushed towards me.
“Berserk Sword.”
As I chanted the skill activation phrase, the crimson aura that had been concentrated on the Iron Blood Executor exploded, sweeping away two Mermaids who had been targeting me, causing them to scream.
[You have leveled up.]
Hearing the bland notification sound, I mingled with the Mermen in the midst of the battlefield, collecting experience, gold, and items.
Just as I was smiling with satisfaction at the pleasant notifications pouring in.
“Drakaaaaaaaaaaan!”
A voice calling my name came from afar.
I turned my head, and there, a dozen humans were swimming towards me at high speed, their blades gleaming.
They were my friends from the Infinite Eugene Church.
‘How can they not deviate from my expectations even a little!’
Like Sun Wukong in the Buddha’s palm, they couldn’t deviate from my expectations even a bit, rushing in recklessly to k*ll me.
I laughed, looking at the Infinite Eugene Church guys wearing helmets to hide their faces, thinking they were being clever.
“D*e!”
“Chain Lightning!”
“Wind Arrow!”
“Warrior’s Strike!”
As I burst into laughter, the user at the forefront roared, and simultaneously, my friends from the Infinite Eugene Church fired their skills at me.
Looking at the colorful skills flying towards me like arrows, I smiled leisurely, touched the ring on my finger, and muttered softly.
“Summon Kraken.”
