Chapter 72 - Underwater (2)
“There really isn’t much that is worth salvaging.”
“Should you really be saying that, Artpe?”
Artpe grumbled with all his heart. Maetel couldn’t believe what he was saying, so she asked again. She was justified in doing so. The Dimensional Pouch had plenty of s.p.a.ce even when he had put in the Kraken’s head. However, he had filled the Dimensional Pouch with the loot he had gained from the ocean.
“You should look at it this way. The truly important items were already put up for auction. If the ships contained items that were worth several hundred thousand golds, they would desperately be trying to recover it by now. It wouldn’t matter if the Lunatic Wave is going on or not.”
“Isn’t it, because they don’t have the ability to enter the ocean and retrieve their items?”
“Of course, there is that.”
Artpe’s words weren’t too far off from the truth. He was able to gain miscellaneous items from each ship. There were gold, gems and some small Artifacts. They were worth around 3,000 gold in total. It was enough to buy two pairs of underwear worn by the wife of Marquis R. No n.o.ble or merchant would risk their lives to recover such a pittance.
“There were a total of 50 ships, so I made around 160 thousand gold. Maetel, this is called the economic of scale.”
“Artpe is a really bad guy.”
Artpe did feel sorry for looting all the content of the ships, so he put the wreckage into a neat pile. It could be salvaged later if anyone wanted to recycle the materials. By the look of it, there was no way a human had done it. It was arranged in a natural manner, yet he made it so that the monsters would have a hard time destroying it.
After he finished his work, he looked around his surrounding. Monsters were still unable to bypa.s.s the 1st barrier wall, and he had completely cleared all the ships. He also collected money and items from the dead monsters. Everything was perfect.
“All right. Let’s go.”
[In this place…. I lost many compatriots. Many were merfolk from my kingdom.]
Sherryl spoke as she glared at him. Artpe had treated all the monsters including merfolks in terms of items and gold. It might have created a feeling of defiance within Sheryll. Artpe was careful not to allow water to enter into his Dimensional pouch. As he put away the pouch, he retorted in a light tone.
[Humans fight and kill even amongst each other. There is no way we would spare the Merfolk when they are the aggressors. If you want to argue with me on this point, you looked up the wrong address.]
[Not all humans try to kill each other. It is the same for the merfolk. We aren’t all cut from the same cloth. This was especially true for the merfolk from the Anaid Kingdom until those men came…..]
There was resentment within Sherryl’s voice. When she pledged loyalty to Artpe, she hadn’t said anything about what happened during the Lunatic Wave. It seemed when she was faced with the aftermath, her feelings had surged forward. It wasn’t as if Artpe couldn’t understand what she was going through, so he gave a somewhat suitable response.
[However, if you guys stayed within the deep sea, there would have been no reason for the humans to be hostile against the merfolk.]
[If master can truly drive out our enemies and withdraw the curse casted over kingdom….. The merfolk of the Anaid Kingdom will never invade the human realm. The great flow of Mana that visits us once a year will not guide our actions.]
Basically, she was implying they were civilized enough to be free from the effects of the Lunatic Wave. When he heard those words, he remembered that the merfolk hadn’t played an active role in any events from his past life. This was why he became a bit more interested in the merfolk.
‘The merfolk built their own civilization, so why didn’t we pay much attention to them…. Ah, that right. There has never been a case where one of the merfolk was able to get past level 200 to gain a high rank Cla.s.s.’
Their potential might be limited, or it might be an environmental factor. The actual reason was immaterial. They had never produced a powerful mermaid or merman that was able to leave their mark in history. Even if they had the advantage in number, over half the population were at a level where it made them useless. They were lousy monsters with levels in single figures. This was why humans and the Demon King’s army hadn’t paid any attention to them.
‘······the elite Mermen fighting units that were enhanced with the Curse of Madness can’t contend with the hero’s party or the Demon King’s army. However, they can be used as a sufficient threat against the humans. They couldn’t be transported using the ocean road.’
In his past life, the Chef had focused more on cooking the hero’s party instead of humanity. This was why the Demon King hadn’t done anything like this in the past. As expected, one could tell a lot had changed from his current life just by looking at this single issue.
Yes, he had already decided to wipe out the rest of the Archduke’s forces. It wouldn’t be bad if he cleaned up all the issues in regards to the merfolk that was connected to the Archduke. Artpe always hated leaving behind loose ends. It was something that remained from his days as one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
[All right. Most of everything you wish will come true if you guide us properly.]
[I am master’s servant. I’ll do whatever master wants. I just follow master’s order.]
At Artpe’s response, Sherryl’s face visibility brightened. She was trying to hide her emotions, so she worked hard to reply in a calm manner. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
Moreover, Maetel couldn’t understand the words of the mermaid, yet she was glaring at them as she stood next to him. It was a bit scary.
“Oppa. If we want to use that road, don’t we have to be on the other side of the 1st barrier wall? What are we going to do now? Do we have to destroy that wall?”
“I went through the effort of creating that barrier wall, so I won’t destroy it with my hands. We’ll tunnel below it, and we’ll be able to exit on the other side.”
Since he couldn’t bore through the barrier wall, he would make a temporary underwater tunnel to cross to the other side. It was such a simple plan that it made one wonder if such a plan was any different from making a hole in the wall.
While Artpe’s party members were taken aback by the news, Artpe took out two strands of Mana Strings. He intertwined the two strands, and he created a drill by rotating it. It was an exquisite use of Mana and magic, but in the end, the magic was….
“Artpe learned a lot of magic spells, yet in the end, you use the Mana Strings.”
“This is different.”
Artpe let out a smile of triumph, and he casted two more magic spells. The first was Hyper Rubbing. It was a magic that could increase friction to the extreme. The other one was called Haste. It increased speed.
It was almost impossible to combine magic spells. This was also true with combining the attributes of Skills. However, Mana String was a Unique spell. It had the ability to strengthen itself by adding the power of other Skills and Magic!
“Go, Mana String!”
“In the end, oppa can’t deny the fact that you always use Mana String and Hyper Rubbing as your main power…….”
“That part of Artpe is too cute.”
Even if Artpe was being cute, the result created by his magic wasn’t cute at all. The Mana drill was created by combining three magic spells. The drill started to rotate, and when it impacted on the ground, it started making a hole. The speed was so fast that everyone looked on in disbelief.
“We’ll charge through like this! I know it is creating a cloud of dust, but you’ll just have to endure it!”
“Everyone outside will realize what is happening! Hurry! Go faster!”
[S...such a terrifying magic spell…...!]
The two strands of Mana Strings violently rotated as they widened the hole then the tunnel started to lengthen. The members of the hero’s party boldly ran through this tunnel.
When they reached a depth that couldn’t be covered by the 1st barrier wall, the Mana Strings immediately changed direction as they continued forward. Artpe was truly meticulous. He collapsed the tunnel as soon as they pa.s.sed it. He perfectly tied the loose ends.
“All right. As expected, it worked perfectly.”
“We are already outside, oppa!”
[The tunnel is already perfectly repaired!]
If he wasn’t a magician, others would mistake him for a professional excavator. No one would be able to tell that a hole had been drilled here!
[Kee-ahhhhhhhhh!]
[H...humans! They appeared from within the earth!]
[We have to kill them!]
The monsters, who had been residing near the ocean floor, glared at Artpe’s party when they came into view. Amongst them, there were merfolk that were from the Anaid Kingdom. It was undeniable. Moreover, the number was much higher than Sherryl had estimated.
[How can this be? There are so many of them…..]
Sherryl’s eyes widened when she saw them. She knew a conflict with her people would occur, but when she was faced with it, she realized the reality was crueler than she had imagined. This idea was represented for example in marriage or when one was giving birth.
[Can you not see me, people of the Anaid Kingdom! I am Anaid kingdom’s princess! I am Sherryl!]
[Kill!]
[Kyahhhhhh!]
She readily presented herself in front of her va.s.sals, yet their answer were spears and streams of water. Sherryl created a water spear, and she was able to block the attacks in time. Her face was filled with sadness and anger.
[How can this be….. It isn’t just the humans. They didn’t even hesitate when attacking a mermaid.]
[Am I to a.s.sume that all the merfolk within your kingdom is in a similar state?]
[Before I was eaten by the Kraken, only 5% of the population was like this. However, a week had pa.s.sed, so…...]
[I don’t care how many of them were turned. No, it might be easier for us if all of them were placed under the curse.]
Why was that? The ones that were suffering under the curse would hold absolute animosity towards the force that had placed the curse on them. Artpe would be saving the merfolk from now on, and he would be in their good graces for saving them. It would make it easier to swing them towards his purpose.
Moreover, even if there were countless powerful curses, he had a monster that could eat it all. He grinned as turned to ask Maetel a question.
“Maetel, the humans above have no idea what we are doing, right?”
“Yes, I listened to their conversations. There is a fierce debate going on as to what they should have for breakfast.”
Maetel’s senses were incredible. She was at the floor of the ocean. Her senses were developed to a point where she could hear the conversations of humans talking outside the water. He believed it, since she said so.
Since it was morning, he leisurely thought about the b.u.t.tered corn cob. It had been delicious. As he had such thoughts, he took out Roa from within his robe.
“Roa, you can eat all of their curses. The Quest has just begun.”
[Nyaa?]
‘Really? I can really do as I like?’
Her purple eyes were twinkling as she checked once again with Artpe. He let out a bitter laugh as he nodded his head.
“Just don’t kill them.”
[Nyaa!]
Roa immediately shot forth inside the water. In the process, the black fog that had been maintaining the shape of the small black cat dispersed into the surrounding.
[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaang!]
Roa immediately absorbed the unclean energies from the broad domain! The merfolk of the Anaid Kingdom were spread amongst the countless monsters. Their eyes widened as they felt pain.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhk!]
[Koo-hoohk, hah-ahk!? W...where am I?]
After feeling the wretched pain, the merfolk of the Anaid Kingdom became sound of mind. It seemed the other monsters were sensitive to the change that had occurred. They turned to reveal their animosity towards the merfolk . Artpe used his Mana Strings to cut off the heads of these monsters.
“I didn’t kill all you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, because I was scared of you guys. I just wanted to get on my way as soon as possible.”
They couldn’t even overcome the barrier he had erected. They had been listlessly moving around in front of the barrier, yet they dared to bare teeth towards him? Their foolishness was boundless.
Artpe stretched out his two hands, and he freely swung 10 Mana String. The ocean was being filled with the blood and corpse of the monsters. Sherryl had been in a stupor when she saw the mayhem created by Artpe and Roa. He gave a firm order toward Sherryl.
[You should retrieve the confused merfolk. You are the princess of the Anaid Kingdom. Can you do this?]
[They are being overwhelmed to this degree….. My G.o.d.]
Sherryl once again realized that her master’s abilities were much greater than what she had imagined. She had no idea if this would be a boon or a misfortune for her.
[What are you doing? Aren’t you going?]
[I...I’m going!]
Sheryll had been in a stupor when faced with the might of her master. When she heard Artpe’s words, she quickly slapped her own cheeks. Then she rushed towards the water filled with blood, corpses, black fog and confusion. She yelled out.
[Follow me, merfolk of the Anaid kingdom! My lord has come to save our kingdom!]
[P...princess!?]
[Sherryl-nim! My G.o.d! She was eaten by the Kraken! The princess has come back from the dead! Our princess has returned!]
[Oh oh, princess-nim!]
It didn’t take long for Artpe and Roa to kill all the monsters in the region. Moreover, Sherryl was successful in gathering all the merfolk of the Anaid kingdom, who had regained their sense, around her.
Even now the number of monsters influenced by the Lunatic Wave were increasing in number. However, Artpe decided to leave the rest to the humans. His party had grown several hundred fold, and they headed towards the Road of the Merfolk.
This was the moment when the legend started with the Anaid kingdom. They weren’t of the merfolk. It was a legend made by humans from port city of Frate, and a single magical beast