Chapter 316 - King of the Vast Sea

Countless Nine-Colored Meteorite fragments should still be scattered across the ocean. It was the source of the spiritual energy revival on Blue Planet.

Is it a celestial treasure, or is it something crafted by Limitless City? Regardless, even a single fragment of the Nine-Colored Meteorite is Treasure-grade.

Lu Ran felt that a complete Nine-Colored Meteorite would undoubtedly be at the Legendary-grade. In terms of rarity, it might not be inferior to the Stone of the Other Shore that the Other Shore was searching for. Now that all the meteorite fragments had fallen into the deep sea, if Lu Ran wanted to collect them, he had to develop oceanic factions.

If he planned to follow a legion-based strategy, these meteorite fragments were indispensable resources. To some extent, they could directly solve the problem of low average levels among legion familiars.

Lu Ran decided to let Dark Crow contact Mystic Turtle after it had rested. With the black dragon sealed away, Dragon Palace was now leaderless, and a power struggle was inevitable.

At this moment, Mystic Turtle had just been taken into Dragon Palace and was still an insignificant figure. But just because it wasn’t a core member of Dragon Palace now didn’t mean it would stay that way.

Lu Ran planned to support Mystic Turtle’s rise to power. He could make it the kin of Baby Cloud or Sudden Death King, turning it into the Turtle King that secretly controlled Dragon Palace from behind the scenes.

Alternatively, if Mystic Turtle was unwilling, Lu Ran could abandon the idea of supporting its rise and cooperate with the Merfolk Kingdom instead. However, to establish trust with the Merfolk Kingdom, he still needed to establish a kinship bond. The Mermaid Princess would have to become Baby Cloud’s kin.

Over the past few days, Lu Ran had already obtained a photo of the Mermaid Princess.

Hmm. To be honest, she is very beautiful.

Just like in the legends, her upper body was that of a stunning young woman, while her lower half was a beautiful fishtail covered in shimmering scales. Her entire form was both alluring and built for swimming. With proper training, she would undoubtedly become a powerful oceanic mage.

***

At Dragon Palace in the deep sea.

As Lu Ran had expected, not only were the human nations on land experiencing upheaval akin to an earthquake, but the various factions of the ocean were also undergoing significant turbulence.

Merfolk Kingdom.

In a grand coral palace that served as the royal residence, the Merfolk king, heavily wounded by the black dragon, was resting. By his side, a Merfolk prince with a shark’s head and a mermaid princess with a fishtail were attending to him. The shark-headed prince didn’t seem very bright, and the Merfolk king found him irritating.

This fool had gone to the land and returned with nothing but a few crates of iced red tea. And worse, he had lost the meteorite fragment that had been entrusted to him.

The mermaid princess, who possessed an enormous figure, got ready to speak. Beneath her cascading blue curls, her blue eyes shimmered like the ocean, complementing her delicate face and full figure. Her lower half, a deep-sea blue fishtail, glowed with an ethereal radiance.

“Father. For the conflict between the human nations and Dragon Palace, we only did a little by providing intelligence. We haven’t gained much from it.”

The muscular Merfolk King fell into deep thought before speaking.

“I know. I didn’t expect the human nation to be so powerful. You two, tell me your thoughts.”

“That human called Lu Ran seems to have performed exceptionally well in this war. The black dragon has been sealed, and the Dragon Palace has suffered devastating losses. Now that Dragon Palace is severely weakened, this is the best time for a counterattack. We could reclaim everything we lost.”

The Merfolk Princess floated gracefully as she continued, “Father, I believe that if we are to retaliate against Dragon Palace, we should first ally with that human nation. I am willing to act as an envoy, representing the Merfolk Kingdom in negotiations.”

“I want to attack! I want to help my brother-in-law get back Mystic Turtle!”

The shark-headed prince drew his trident.

The Merfolk King ignored his injuries and kicked him away without hesitation.

The Merfolk Kingdom’s headquarters were a marvel of nature, a massive architectural wonder composed of countless corals and undersea caverns. Unlike it, the Dragon Palace’s stronghold resembled an underwater palace, highly similar to human architecture.

In fact, this wasn’t surprising as both the Merfolk Kingdom and Dragon Palace were ancient factions that had existed since ancient times. Long ago, Dragon Palace had already developed the habit of enslaving humans.

Coastal human populations had been subjugated by oceanic beings, and the grand Dragon Palace itself had been constructed through human enslavement. This history was what shaped the black dragon’s arrogant and domineering nature.

Back then, human nations and tribes had worshipped it as a god, treating it as their divine faith and fearing it immensely. Thus, when the black dragon awakened, it immediately turned its predatory gaze toward human nations once more.

But unfortunately for it, times had changed. Even when faced with a Legendary totemic dragon, modern humans did not bow down. They fought when it was time to fight.

If totemic beings had once protected humanity, things might have been different. But after the decline of spirit energy, humanity had endured countless disasters on its own, without receiving a shred of protection from these so-called totemic guardians.

So now, even if a dragon appeared before them, people no longer saw it as unreachable or divine. There was no chance for any extortion to happen.

With the Black Dragon King and countless Dragon Palace sea beasts having vanished without a trace, the entire palace was in chaos. Inside a military camp, Mystic Turtle listened to the uproar outside and felt its head throb.

“What’s going on? What’s happening! This is a disaster. The world has become too chaotic!”

Tears welled up in its old, weary eyes as it recalled its recent ordeals.

It had been living peacefully in Green Sea, only to be captured by the Merfolk Kingdom. Fortunately, the Merfolk Prince had taken a liking to it and treated it well, allowing the old turtle to maintain a laid-back lifestyle.

But then, it was taken away by Dragon Palace. This time, there was no more slacking off. Upon arrival, it and the other numerous captured sea beasts had been divided among the Dragon Palace generals, each assigned to various military camps.

It had been forced into the role of a vice general, subjected to grueling training every day. As a mere vice general, Mystic Turtle had no knowledge of the conflict between Dragon Palace and the human nation, as its rank wasn’t high enough to receive such information.

However, judging from the chaos inside Dragon Palace, it was clear that something major had happened. Having been in Dragon Palace for a while, Mystic Turtle knew that this place was always at war. Previously, it had fought against the Merfolk Kingdom. This much, the old turtle was aware of.

But now, it couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Is another war breaking out? Has it somehow spread into Dragon Palace itself?

“I hate chaos. Compared to this, maybe working back in Green Sea wasn’t so bad after all.”

Mystic Turtle suddenly found itself longing for its old life in Green Sea.

Since I’ve been captured, have Lu Ran and the others ever thought of rescuing me...

But deep down, Mystic Turtle knew just how terrifying both the Merfolk Kingdom and Dragon Palace were. It estimated that the chances of Lu Ran coming to find it were practically zero.

“Hmm?”

Mystic Turtle’s gaze snapped toward the sudden appearance of a dark red eye before it.

The moment it saw this eye, Mystic Turtle’s expression froze in disbelief. And then, its shock only deepened because that dark red eye suddenly morphed into a spiritual entity. It was a crow in its clone form. Mystic Turtle immediately recognized it.

“

Caw!

”

At that moment, the Undead crow clone, born through the Eye of the Evil God, was just as excited.

It stared at Mystic Turtle and said, “General Mystic Turtle, I finally found the perfect chance to contact you.”

“You—you—you...” Mystic Turtle was shocked as it stared at Dark Crow.

Dark Crow scoffed. “Don’t be so surprised. It’s me, General Dark Crow. You... haven’t forgotten your identity, have you? The Grand Admiral of the Green Sea Navy, the former general of the Seven Beast Generals of Green Sea—General Mystic Turtle!”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

“Fuck.” Mystic Turtle’s jaw dropped further.

It couldn’t believe that Dark Crow had actually come all the way down to the deep sea.

How... is this even possible?

“Could it be...?”

Even though it had no idea how Dark Crow had managed this, Mystic Turtle’s heart suddenly raced with excitement.

“Lu Ran hasn’t forgotten about me, has he? You guys are here to rescue me, right? Answer me! Say yes!”

Dark Crow rolled its eyes at Mystic Turtle.

“

Tsk

. Look at you, so impatient. Of course, we never forgot about you. Lu Ran even joined forces with Manager Ying to seal the Black Dragon King and slaughter dozens of Dragon Palace generals to save you. The chaos outside was because of that.”

Mystic Turtle’s eyes widened.

What? This damn crow must be making stuff up, right?

“Anyway, our king has done so much for you. Don’t you think it’s time you showed some appreciation? For example, helping him rise from King of Green Sea to King of the Vast Sea?”

What?

Mystic Turtle was baffled.