Chapter 610 – Swordfish Tribe
If it was like what Zhao Hai thought that the Fishman was having an internal problem, then the previously unqualified Rock Shrimp tribe would become qualified to see the Sea King, given the special situation.
The reason why this was possible was the enormity of the population among the Fishman. There were some people who would want to challenge the authorities, and those people were no doubt strong, and they might even have strong allies as well. At this time, the Sea King would want to pull even the smallest power he can find. And the weak Rock Shrimp Tribe was one of those.
It was precisely because of this that the Rock Shrimp Patriarch was allowed an audience with the Sea King. And the reason why Zhao Hai approached the Rock Shrimp Patriarch and not going directly to the Sea King was because he wanted to make an impression on the old Rock Shrimp.
Since they did good business with them before, the Rock Shrimp Patriarch believed in Zhao Hai’s words.
However, it would still take some time before the Rock Shrimp Patriarch can prepare. So he turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Mister, I can try and seek help from a larger tribe with regards to this matter. But before that, can mister show me proof of your status as the Foreign Prince of the Beastman Race?”
When Zhao Hai heard the old Rock Shrimp, he knew that he had succeeded. So he immediately said, “Of course, there’s no problem.” Then he took out the Beatman Command token and threw it over to the Rock Shrimp Patriarch.
The Rock Shrimp Patriarch received the token and looked at it. The Fishman also had their own records, and among their writings were magnificent stories about the outside world. Among them was the Prince’s Command Token of the Beastmen. This token was made with a kind of beast bone that was strong as steel and was as heavy as black iron. There was no way for this token to be replicated by other people.
When the Rock Shrimp Patriarch received the Prince’s Token, he immediately knew that it was the real thing. One must know that one of the heaviest metals in the Ark Continent was black iron. And it was impossible for other people to mistake it for something else. However, the Beastmen actually managed to replicate the weight of black iron with a beast bone. There was no records of what bone was able to do this.
The Rock Shrimp Patriarch looked at the Prince Command Token and then looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Mister, please give me time, about a few days or so. I’ll do my best to find a way. Is that alright?”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “There’s still time, so it won’t be a big deal. But this matter is also important and must be told to the honorable Sea King. I’ll have to trouble Patriarch for this.”
The Rock Shrimp Patriarch looked at Zhao Hai and then nodded, “Alright. Mister can rest a.s.sured. This one would certainly do everything that is possible.” Then he gave Zhao Hai a small bow before diving back down into the sea.
Shortly after the Rock Shrimps had gone down, Laura turned to Zhao Hai and said, “It seems like the Fishman did have an incident. Otherwise the Rock Shrimps would be certain that they wouldn’t see the Sea King. The Patriarch wouldn’t have thought that there was indeed a way.”
Zhao Hai nodded, he also carefully used his words in order to probe for answers. If the Rock Shrimp Patriarch really didn’t have a way, then he wouldn’t even dare to promise him. After all, the Rock Shrimps really needed human commodities, so he wouldn’t risk himself offending Zhao Hai. But since the old Rock Shrimp agreed, then there might really be a possibility. This basically meant that some instability has happened within the Fishman.
Although Zhao Hai had no understanding about the matters of the Fishman, he can still speculate from the business between the Buda Clan and the Rock Shrimp Tribe. Since the Rock Shrimp tribe can’t buy up all of the Buda Clan’s supplies, then the Buda Clan already had a metric about the Rock Shrimp tribes’ size.
From what Zhao Hai can see, the Rock Shrimp Tribe had similar standing with the Giant Horned Bulls as well as the Black Bellied Pig Tribe that Zhao Hai had met when the first entered the Prairie. They were people placed at the bottom of the power pyramid. Therefore, how could such a tribe be able to have an audience with the Sea King?
The Rock Shrimp Tribe being able to promise an audience was indeed a very strange thing. It was due to this that Zhao Hai knew that the Fishman had a giant accident. Otherwise the Rock Shrimp Patriarch wouldn’t have been so sure.
Lizzy turned his head to Zhao Hai and said, “Big Brother Hai, what do you think happened in the Fishman?”
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “I can’t possibly know. But from how the Rock Shrimp Patriarch has been acting, I’m afraid that the structure of the Fishman has become unstable. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to see the Sea King. The Sea King might have been scrounging up people in order to gain enough strength to hold into power.”
Megan nodded and said, “That’s extremely possible. If this is really the case, then I’m afraid that it’s not the time for us to come here. I think that the Sea King wouldn’t have time to get to see us.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Not really. Perhaps we came just in time. If we can help the Sea King solve this crisis, then we might have more leverage in discussing with the Fishman.”
Meg knit her brows as he said, “Young Master, but this is the sea. Compared to the Ark Continent, this place is much larger. It’s possible that there are innumerable experts here. Do we really need to take part in this conflict?”
Among his wives, only Meg kept calling him Young Master, even if they had already been married for so long. This made Zhao Hai feel strange, he had already told Meg about this many times, but Meg seems to not be willing to change it.
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “Even if there are a lot of experts in the sea, don’t we have much more? This time, I want to talk about the Divine Realm with the Sea King. The Fishman has the most population in this world. If they can help us deal with the Divine Race and the Demons, then we would have a much easier time doing so.
Laura nodded, “If that’s true, then that would be good. But Brother Hai, I’m afraid this would be more difficult than we imagine. After all, the war in the seas among the Fishman is much different compared to other places.
Zhao Hai showed a faint smile and said, “I’ve already had Cai’er prepare for this. There are now 9th rank undeads in the s.p.a.ce, and some of them are creatures of the sea. They should be stronger in terms of undersea battles. With the help of those guys, I think we won’t have much of a problem.”
When she heard Zhao Hai, she couldn’t help but smile and said, “So Brother Hai had already thought of it. Then we might only have small troubles undersea. But unfortunately, we can’t go underwater.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Why couldn’t we? I’ve already asked Cai’er to transform a Blade Scale Whale into an undead like Alien. When the time comes, we can just ride the whale and then go underwater.”
Megan became happy after she heard Zhao Hai, “Fantastic. I really wanted to see what the bottom of the sea looks like. I didn’t expect Big Brother Hai to be already prepared. So when do we go?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Don’t worry. If we go now, the Rock Shrimps might get offended. It’s much better to wait for the Rock Shrimp Patriarch to come back with news. I don’t think it would take him long to come back. Let’s just wait for him for a few days.”
Megan pouted her mouth before she nodded. Zhao Hai smiled, he also wanted to go underwater but it was not yet the time. He still hasn’t gained the approval of the Sea King. If he were to enter the seas right now, he would get attacked by them.
Although he was on his s.h.i.+p, Zhao Hai’s contact with the continent remained unbroken. Neither his business with the Beastmen nor Dwarves were getting affected.
Seven days later, Zhao Hai, who had been paying attention for the Rock Shrimps, suddenly spotted the Rock Shrimps along with their Patriarch. Zhao Hai immediately went to the s.h.i.+p’s deck. And sure enough, as soon as he arrived on top of the deck, he heard a Rock Shrimp say, “We request to see Mister Zhao Hai.”
Then Zhao Hai led Laura and the others to the bow of the s.h.i.+p to see the Rock Shrimp Patriarch. Seeing the old Shrimp’s tired face, Zhao hai immediately gave a bow and said, “I’ve seen the Patriarch.”
The Rock Shrimp Patriarch returned the bow as he said, “The Sea King agreed to have an audience with mister. Please follow me.”
Zhao Hai quickly responded, “Thanks, Patriarch.” Then the Rock Shrimp Patriarch nodded and then rode the bow of the s.h.i.+p. Zhao Hai knew that this was for him to guide the s.h.i.+p. So Zhao Hai immediately had the undead raise the anchor while hoisting the sails as he followed the Rock Shrimps towards the deeper parts of the sea.
A lot of Rock Shrimps were swimming alongside Zhao Hai’s s.h.i.+p. Seeing the Rock Shrimp Patriarch and the others, Zhao Hai was not sure if this was an escort or surveillance.
Zhao Hai and the others sat in the s.h.i.+p while looking at the monitor to see the situation. The ocean was indeed very big that it seemed limitless. The Haven was considered to be quick for a merchant s.h.i.+p. But compared to the Rock Shrimps, it was having a hard time catching up.
Moreover, Zhao Hai discovered that the route that they were taking was very safe. They were completely safe along the way. They didn’t encounter any attacks, nor did they encounter any reefs or unpredictable undercurrents.
At night, the Rock Shrimp Patriarch would lead his people to rest in the sea. Zhao Hai also stopped his s.h.i.+p and waited for the next day. This cycle was repeated for ten days.
In these ten days, Zhao Hai already saw a lot of Sea Tribes. There were Turtles as well as numerous Fishes. Because of their numbers, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to correctly identify each one of them.
And these tribes always came to the Rock Shrimp patriarch since they were encroaching on their domain, there were even some who were intending to rob them. However, when the Rock Shrimp Patriarch showed a token, the opposite party allowed them to pa.s.s. But although they were allowed pa.s.sage, the Fishmen still looked at Zhao Hai with curiosity.
Zhao Hai also knew that this was because of the long time where there was no contact between Humans and the Fishmen. So when they saw him, it was natural that they would feel interested.
In these ten days, Zhao Hai was expecting that he would be led to the Sea King. But he didn’t expect the Rock Shrimp Patriarch to bring him to the Swordfish Tribe’s Domain.
The reason why Zhao Hai identified the other party was because of their very special mounts. Their mounts had a very long bone spike that can be used as a spear, it looked very hard. Moreover, the fish was very big, about ten meters in length. On its back were big fins, which seemed to express power and prestige.
Riding atop these swordfishes were people who had the same kind of fins on their heads, looking like a well combed hair. The person was holding a long bone spear and was about two meters in height. It’s black skin looked slippery with mucus while he wore armor made of sh.e.l.ls and seaweeds. He looked like a very powerful warrior.