Chapter 534: Legend of the Sea God

The merpeople were an alien race that lived by the seaside. According to the monarch of stars' information, there was a peak- or higher-grade lifeform in the vicinity, which the merpeople worshiped as their guardian deity.

After his experience with the Baimei, Zhang Lie shuddered at the idea of wasting his time and slaughtering so many foes pointlessly.

This time, if he were to discover that this supposed guardian deity was only a peak-grade lifeform, he would leave immediately before anyone could stop him.

Despite all his travels, he had only amassed ten disaster gene fragments, for a grand total of eleven. He was very dismayed at the results he had obtained.

Of course, it wasn't unexpected. The sura were unaware of the existence of disaster-grade lifeforms, and the monarch of stars had only specified that the lifeforms be stronger than ordinary peak-grade ones.

In other words, many of the lifeforms on the list were still far from evolving into disaster-grade, and a century or five wasn't enough time to breach that gap.

Disaster-grade lifeforms were so rare that they were difficult to find even with the monarch of stars' information. Dredging through the memories of his past life, he recalled the existence of three disaster-grade lifeforms in the second realm, but none as clearly as were recorded in the monarch of stars' files.

The monarch of stars' information was detailed and described the nature of the lifeform in question. Zhang Lie's memories were vague and imprecise, and he had killed one of them, the golden roc, before it had fully morphed into disaster-grade.

Furthermore, information about disaster-grade lifeforms was mutable and quickly became outdated—without specific information, it would be difficult to find their lairs and hunting grounds, and there would be no way for Zhang Lie to strike.

The monarch of stars' information had been compiled some time ago, but it at least provided a start. Indeed, Zhang Lie had only found the double-headed disaster-grade spider thanks to the monarch of stars' compilation.

Although he wasn't sure how many disaster-grade lifeforms he would ultimately find, he had no other recourse.

Zhang Lie headed to the merpeople's village, which was situated right by the sea. The buildings were worn-down, and the tribe didn't seem to be prospering.

A small, thin merchild rushed out of the village.

This was the first time Zhang Lie had ever met her like. Her hair was blue and draped down her shoulders, her skin was smooth and shiny, scales crept up her arms, and she had wide soles, almost like flippers, covered with a thin membrane.

These merpeople seemed more like a cross between man and dolphin rather than man and fish.

The merchild's body was heavily wounded and bruised. She was as thin as a stick, and she seemed to be running away in a hurry from something behind her. She banged against Zhang Lie's body and stumbled to the ground. Behind her came a number of loud voices. "Catch her, quick, catch her!"

"Please, save me!" The merchild dragged himself up from the ground and caught the corner of Zhang Lie's hem as though she were grasping at a lifeline. Her wide, lustrous eyes pleaded at him. In human years, she looked to be a child about thirteen or fourteen years of age.

A mob of merpeople followed after her, waving all sorts of tools and implements. They frowned upon seeing Zhang Lie with the merchild.

"Human, scram! This is none of your business!" the leader of the mob warned.

Zhang Lie stepped back and extricated himself from the merchild's hands. He didn't much care about the conflict between the child and the rest of the tribe; who knew what she had done?

The mob seemed rather surprised that he had acquiesced so easily. One of the men from the mob strode forward and caught the child's arm.

She screamed and turned to Zhang Lie again. "Please, save me! They're going to feed me to a genetic lifeform!"

The man slapped her on the face. "How dare you call the sea god that!"

Zhang Lie's eyes widened. Had he found a trace of the sea god so easily?

The child cried out, "Even if you sacrifice me, there's no way you'll find more fish around! The reason there aren't any fish near this village is because that creature's eating them all!"

The man gave the child another slap. "Nonsense! The only reason we've been able to thrive for this long is because of the sea god's blessing. It's an honor for you to be a sacrifice, to be able to serve the sea god for eternity."

The child continued to struggle even as her face turned red. "If you think it's an honor, why don't you serve the sea god yourself?!"

The man's face turned dark. "The tribe raised you, and your life belongs to the tribe. It's time you pay it back."

The child's words seemed to provoke an immediate response from the rest of the mob.

"That your flesh and soul will forever be with the sea god is an honor. If we were chosen, we would gladly be the sacrifice, but we weren't chosen."

"What better reason to live could there be? We dedicate our entire lives to the sea god."

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Your sacrifice will bring peace and prosperity to the entire village."

The unfortunate child was unable to overcome the mob, and she was quickly dragged back into the village.

Zhang Lie suddenly spoke up. "Can I participate in this ceremony?"

The man who had spoken earlier frowned. "You're not from this tribe. What reason would there be to permit you in?"

Zhang Lie naturally wasn't interested in the ceremony, but rather this sea god.

"I'm a reporter—no, a wandering bard. I roam the second realm in search of different cultures and experiences, and I'd like to write an ode based on this ceremony to disseminate your culture and beliefs," Zhang Lie explained.

The man still remained suspicious. "There has never been an outsider allowed to witness the ceremony."

"Aren't there exceptions to every rule?"

The man waved a hand at him impatiently. "Scram!"

Zhang Lie spread his arms. "Alright, I won't lie about my identity any longer—I'm actually a devout believer of this sea god myself! While I was exploring the region, I've heard countless tales of his exalted visage, and I've always wanted to witness the sea god in person."

The man glanced at the rising tide, which had crept all the way up to their ankles while they were talking. "I don't have time to waste with you. I don't care if you're a wandering bard or devout believer. Leave immediately, or I won't go easy on you."

Moments later, the merman felt himself sailing through the air, not knowing just what had happened. He landed right by the mob's side. Taking advantage of the commotion, Zhang Lie grabbed the merchild.

He shouted, "I repeat, I want to see this sea god for myself!"

Despite the fact that Zhang Lie had made a move, the merpeople weren't enraged—they looked around them with shock and fear. What Zhang Lie didn't notice was that the tides were behaving erratically. By this time, the water level was already past his legs...