Chapter 308 - Sincerity of the Merfolk Kingdom

"It's possible!"

Lu Ran was furious when he found out that the prince kidnapped Mystic Turtle.

That fella didn’t just kidnap some random turtle off the streets. He kidnapped one of the generals of the Green Sea City but still had the nerve to come ask for an alliance.

"What’s the government’s position?" Lu Ran asked.

"The Merfold Kingdom showed its sincerity and is willing to send their princess to Xia for a political marriage or to contract with a human beastmaster.

"Also, if the Xia Empire and Dragon Palace go to war, the Merfolk Kingdom is willing to send reinforcements and fight alongside the empire.

"Their primary goal is to overthrow the Black Dragon King with us."

Lu Ran began to mull it over in his head while Gu Qingyi continued.

"The top officials think that an alliance is plausible. There are risks of course, but having an ally with a powerful naval force could ensure peace along the coastline in the long term.

"Oh, the Merfolk did put forth one other condition."

"Why are they being so fussy?" Lu Ran complained.

Based on Manager Ying’s intel, the Merfolk Kingdom had some sort of trump card that was able to ward off the Black Dragon King. Otherwise, they would’ve been wiped out long ago.

"What is it?" Lu Ran finally asked.

"The Merfolk Kingdom hopes that if Xia Country is willing to form a political marriage then it would be with you.

"At the same time, if she were to become a contracted familiar, you or one of the Zodiacs become her beastmaster."

"What the hell?" Lu Ran was astonished.

"Is my handsome face so renowned to the point where even the deep seas know about me?"

Gu Qingyi didn’t have a good response to that so she just moved on.

"Ever since they got in touch with the human alliance, they’ve focused on marriage. Specifically, they targeted individuals with special abilities.

"Everyone knows that you have an ability. Add that to your popularity, it’s normal for them to be interested in your... genetics!"

"Please turn them down for me. I’ve been single for 18 years, but I won’t marry someone out of desperation.

"Wait, do you have a photo of the mermaid princess?"

“...Didn’t you want to refuse?”

"I won't consider a marriage, but I can consider contracting her," Lu Ran defended himself.

"If she has decent talent then I wouldn't turn down a new familiar," Lu Ran explained as he looked at Baby Cloud.

Lu Ran wasn’t actually all that tempted by contracting the mermaid princess. This was because he only had a limited number of contract slots. He didn’t want to waste one for the sake of politics.

However, he didn’t necessarily need a contract slot to get a new familiar. He could have Baby Cloud contract her as a kin.

Although the weather sprite had the Water attribute and could travel underwater, it wasn’t its main attribute. Having a kin that specialized in the Water attribute would make sea travel much easier.

Lu Ran originally planned to make the old turtle become Baby Cloud’s kin, but after some thought, he decided he would rather look at the mermaid princess.

"Keep dreaming. Of course there aren’t any pictures,” Gu Qingyi answered.

"So the government has agreed to the alliance with the merfolk?"

"Not yet."

"Can you help me look into the situation regarding the black turtle?

"The prince might not have known that the turtle already belonged to me back then, but he still ultimately lost it to the Dragon Palace. I can’t let that slide."

Lu Ran wasn’t going to let the prince off easy.

If the prince wanted to form an alliance then he would have to get past Lu Ran first.

***

The Merfolk prince was only a level 49 Low Overlord. He was significantly weaker than his father. Once he set foot on land, a surveillance team of first-generation beastmasters followed him to make sure he didn’t cause any trouble.

In a tiny room, a blue-skinned merman with a shark head enjoyed various drinks made by humans. A sudden knock on the door made it shudder.

Previously, he didn’t fear anyone, but ever since the Merfolk King was injured by the Black Dragon King, the prince had to rein it in a lot more.

He was keenly aware that his primary goal was to push through the alliance. Failure wasn’t an option.

"Your Highness, we were ready to move forward with the alliance, but after some digging, we discovered that you have previously acted against us," Dr. Gu told the prince after entering the room.

"How is that possible?" The Merfolk Prince gripped down on the cup of iced black tea in his hands.

"A few months ago, did you send a team onto land and kidnap a turtle?"

Gu Qingyi’s question left the prince speechless.

"Um... that..."

He remembered something like that did happen. His scalp was numb as he looked Gu Qingyi in the eyes. He wanted to lie, but couldn’t bring himself to actually do it.

"Yes, something like that did happen," he answered.

"That turtle is a general under the King of Green Sea from our Xia Empire. The King of Green Sea is someone you heard of. It’s none other than the Lu Ran you wanted to marry the princess."

"B-b-b-but...” The prince could only stammer.

Gu Qingyi carefully observed him for a bit before finally asking, "Regardless of whether we form an alliance or not, as a show of sincerity, shouldn't the Merfold Kingdom return the turtle to Lu Ran?"

The Merfolk Prince wanted to cry.

"I didn't know that the old turtle had such a background back then. It didn’t say anything after I conscripted it.

"I invited it to work under me because I saw that it had a unique power.

"After it joined our Merfolk Kingdom, not only did it not reveal its identity, but it was even eager to work for me. I actually rewarded it with various resources to further improve its strength as well. I didn’t mistreat it in the slightest!"

It was Gu Qingyi’s turn to be speechless.

What nonsense! Who would be stupid enough to threaten their kidnapper? If it gave you some stupid line like ‘If you don’t release me right now then my boss will come beat you up’ then wouldn’t you have just killed it?

Of course, it laid low and waited for someone to come rescue it!

Following this logic, Mystic Turtle showed some decent foresight. It was smart enough to trick the Merfolk Kingdom into feeding and housing it for free while waiting for a chance to escape.

"If that's the case then everything should be fine," Gu Qingyi acquiesced.

"When will you release the turtle?"

"Ummm..." The Prince didn’t know what to say again.

"The turtle... the turtle...

"General Mystic Turtle is very talented, and with the resources I have provided, its dragon bloodline improved tremendously.

"But coincidently, it happened around the time the Dragon Palace rose to power. The generals from the Black Dragon King wanted to capture dragon-blooded creatures to join them, so Mystic Turtle ended up getting captured.

"I wasn’t able to save it in time. It's all my fault."

The prince grimaced as he realized that he was in serious trouble.

He didn't expect that such a minor incident would end up offending Lu Ran.

"I am willing to offer some extra things in hopes that my future brother-in-law will forgive me.

"Once the war with the Dragon Palace reignites, I will definitely help my brother-in-law to rescue General Mystic Turtle."

“Hmm? What extra things?"

Gu Qingyi didn't care about the prince’s title. She knew what Lu Ran really wanted. He was just looking for some information on the turtle so he could leverage it for some compensation.

"A Divine Stone Fragment! I am willing to give my brother-in-law the Divine Stone Fragment in my possession!"

"Divine Stone Fragment?" Gu Qingyi’s expression went blank.

What is that?

"It was something given to me by my father.

"Originally, our family was dwelling in the deep sea when, suddenly, a fragment of a nine-color divine stone fell into the ocean. When it smashed into the seabed, natural energies gushed out from it which allowed us to transcend.

"That nine-color divine stone shattered into many fragments and scattered across the sea. Pieces were claimed by various transcendent creatures.

"Our family is lucky enough to have three pieces and my father, sister and I each possess one.

"I have mine with me right now."

When he mentioned this, he reached into his collar and pulled out a nine-colored stone to show Gu Qingyi.

She realized what it was once the prince explained its origins.

The spiritual energy revival was brought on by a nine-color meteor that ultimately landed somewhere in the ocean. Many countries sent expedition teams to look for it, but they all came up empty. It turned out that the meteor shattered and was claimed by various sea creatures.

[Name: Nine-Colored Meteorite Fragment]

[Grade: Rare]

[Description: A piece of a mysterious meteorite from outer space. Carrying it can slowly improve a familiar’s level.]

What?

"My father said that carrying this stone fragment could improve my strength even if I didn’t train. If I combine it with proper training, I can improve even faster,” the prince explained.

It was definitely a good item, but it wasn’t something that the prince couldn’t do without. It wasn’t a bad idea to use it to compensate Lu Ran.

***

“That meteorite split into a bunch of fragments?” Lu Ran was surprised by Gu Qingyi’s update.

The effect of the meteorite fragment was even more shocking. It was essentially cheating. The original satellite images showed that the meteorite was pretty big. In that case, how many fragments are out there?

Lu Ran was always curious about the deep sea, but now it seems that it was filled with countless high-level beasts.

Who knew how many of them acquired meteorite fragments? They were bound to be very high level, higher than any beasts on land.

"Can you collect them...?"

When Lu Ran thought that there might be a large number of meteorite fragments in the deep sea, he was immediately jealous.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Perhaps these fragments would have little effect on his main pets, but for Lu Ran who used legion tactics, it could definitely be useful.

"Hey, hey, hey." Dr. Gu's voice came to Lu Ran's ears again.

What if I collect them all?

"Okay, since the Merfolk Prince didn’t abuse the turtle and provided it with so many resources, I will let the matter rest," Lu Ran said magnanimously.

"Since it was abducted by the Dragon Palace, it should stay there and gather intel.

“Once we capture the Black Dragon King, we will crown your Azure Sea Dragon as the new king of the Dragon Palace. When that happens, we can appoint Mystic Turtle as the prime minister.

"If I remember correctly, there’s a sizeable guild in Limitless City #3 called Dragon Palace City. It was created by your fans, and now you’re about to have a real dragon palace. "

"Ahem...

"Do you want this meteorite fragment? If you really want it then I can have a familiar send it over.”

"Yes, please do!"

***

After hanging up the call with Dr. Gu, Lu Ran patted the weather sprite under him.

"Would you be interested if I found a kin for you? You can choose between a dragon, turtle, and mermaid princess. Please don’t ask for something like a whale or shark. "

Baby Cloud thought it over for a moment before replying.

I want them all!

How could it be a big boss with just one subordinate?

It wanted a black and white orca that looked like Captain Doofus. It also needed a dragon like Sudden Death King. Finally a kunpeng that could transform into a bird like Dark Crow would complete the set.

While Lu Ran was teasing Baby Cloud, the deer faith spirits all turned to look in one direction before running off. This caught Lu Ran’s attention so he immediately ordered Baby Cloud to follow them.

***

Lu Ran didn’t know why the deer spirits suddenly started behaving strangely but he looked forward to finding out.

However, as if they were just teasing him, they stopped to graze after running for a while.

Lu Ran was furious, but his mood quickly improved when he saw a white-winged dragon approach.

It was one of Dr. Gu’s dragon familiars that evolved from a bird. It was here to deliver the meteorite fragment. Lu Ran rewarded it with a dragon dish as he placed the fragment into the ruin space.

He asked for the fragment to be delivered because he suddenly had an idea.

What if he gave the meteorite fragment to Sudden Death King to comprehend a new technique? Sudden Death King already had a skill that essentially turned it into a meteor by crashing down from a high altitude.

This meteorite could help it comprehend Meteorite Intent!

"Something feels off. This meteorite smashed into the seabed and shattered. Wouldn’t that mean that it’s pretty fragile? If Sudden Death King imitates it, then would it also break into pieces?"