Chapter 43: The Final Battle, Intersection of Two Paths

King Willipol scoffed with a voice full of anger, seemingly looking down on this certain Pirate King’s course of action.

“The current ruler of this box garden, the Great Evil God of the Sea, is a terrifying existence that stands in stark contrast to the God of the Emerald Sea and Truth we once served. If He were to regain His full power in this world where the gods are withering, what could possibly stop or oppose Him?!”

“They talk about migrating and hiding, what a joke! Not to mention that all beings in this box garden have died countless times already, merely puppets reborn under the Evil God’s power. The consequences of a mass exodus from the box garden are beyond what even the Book of Truth can answer. Even if we truly escape the Emerald Sea Region, what then?”

“The entire Endless Sea is shrouded in the shadow of the Great Evil God. Once He awakens, squashing us would be as easy as stepping on ants. Where can we escape to? Are we to flee to land, to humbly beg other races for pity in an even more disgraceful manner? Or are we to recklessly force our way through stormy seas, abandoning everything to venture into some unknown world that may or may not exist?!”

“A thousand years ago, the Merman Tribe already compromised once, disappointing our God. Back then, we were too weak and could only cry. Are we to utterly forsake our dignity now and become spineless trash?!”

“Even if there is a one in ten thousand chance, even if it means dying standing, I, Willipol, will absolutely uphold this final dignity and faith!”

“Cough cough… ha… ha…”

It seemed like controlling his emotions in such a state was not an easy task. The increasingly agitated former Merman King finally paused, taking small breaths to adjust his condition. Only then did Princess Nitira, gradually shaking off the shadow of death, have the opportunity to speak.

Her expression was a bit complex. Although it seemed that she had lost the initial firm opposition against her father’s stance, she still couldn’t share the same attitude and perspective.

“Even so… you can’t drag all the beings of the sea down with you. They are all innocent and unaware of the secrets; they just want to live a peaceful and stable life. They haven’t harmed anyone; they just want to survive… what’s wrong with that?”

“That’s just maternal kindness, just like your mother…”

Before he could finish speaking, King Willipol suddenly turned his head to look at a certain spot, disdainfully curling his lips.

“Hmph, they came quite quickly… Did they recover from the last incident so soon?”

“Boom!!!!!”

With a violent explosion, the stone door outside the secret chamber shattered into pieces, and several figures rushed in, surrounding the small space where Willipol was.

“Your Highness! You bastard!!”

Seeing Nitira hanging in the air by tentacles, pale and weak, Alec immediately flew into a rage, swinging his trident and leaping forward, seemingly wanting to free the captured princess first.

But strangely, as soon as Alec was within a meter of her, some sort of power—seemingly nonexistent yet tangibly effective—instantly bounced him away, causing him to crash hard against the wall of the secret chamber with a loud “Bang!!!”

“What the… What the heck is this?!”

The Miss Thief, who had entered the chamber with the queen and was also feeling a bit restless, was startled by someone’s trial-and-error. She hurriedly stopped her half-stepped foot, while Hong Yan beside her slightly frowned, her hand discreetly resting on the hilt of her sword.

They had fought their way here, and despite being elite, they had already lost quite a few people. Upon reaching their destination, they found the secret chamber too cramped, so the main force remained outside, concentrating on fending off the incoming Ghost Guards, buying time for their more elite assault team.

Thus, there weren’t many people who entered this chamber; besides the two of them, there were only Rashid, Queen Anies herself, Alec, Silisa, and a few royal guards.

Miss Vilyric had vanished midway like a magic trick because she had given prior notice, so the others were not too surprised. But since their strongest combat power was temporarily absent, they needed to be more cautious in battle. After all… many things here were too strange.

Glancing with her peripheral vision at Alec, who was coughing and standing up with the help of his guards, looking dizzy but apparently unhurt, Queen Anies showed no urgency in rescuing her captured daughter. She simply stood dignified with her scepter, meeting the gaze of her husband, who was already mostly replaced by tentacles and appeared nearly identical to the external Ghosts.

She seemed unfazed, her breath and demeanor as composed as ever.

“Mother, Father wants to…”

“Don’t worry, I know everything.”

Raising her hand to reassure the immobilized princess, the queen fearlessly stepped forward.

“Willipol, you have ultimately reached this point.”

The former Merman King, once the man she was closest to, smiled lightly, gently stroking the blank cover of the Book of Truth in his hands. His deep eyes, filled with dark colors, rarely carried a hint of warmth.

“Anies, do you also wish to oppose me? What a joke. You think this rabble can stop the arrival of the gods?”

Hearing such outrageously bad statements, Her Majesty furrowed her brow deeply.

“Your Majesty? You still have the face to consider yourself a king? King of what subjects, Mermen? The countless lives in this Emerald Sea Region? Willipol Mingjiao, from the moment you fell into obsession and madness, leaving the royal court to summon those Deep Sea Ghosts, raising your sword against your own people, you have already lost the right to be called king of this sea!”

“A king should bear the responsibilities of a king, not flee like a lost dog in the face of difficulties and abandon thought, pinning hope on unknown monsters, even plotting rebellion and slaughtering your citizens! You even went so far as to poison your own daughter!”

“Now, I bear the heavy responsibility of ruling my clan, diligently safeguarding the lives of the people in our waters for many years, and I have come personally to eliminate the culprit, and you dare arrogantly call yourself king before the true Merman King? Willipol, how was I unaware your face could be this thick?”

“You… well, well, your sharp tongue hasn’t dulled at all, Anies…”

Being so mercilessly reprimanded—or rather, ridiculed—by the queen, especially when seeing other Merman guards gradually realizing he was the missing former king through their exchanges, the awe and disappointment on Willipol’s face slightly stiffened, and his imposing demeanor was immediately suppressed by Anies.

However, he was once a king of a clan, and even though he had become what he was now, his past elegance and grace had not vanished; he soon calmed himself and nodded in deep agreement.

“Indeed, you are right… I no longer have the right to call myself a king. Call me a sinner or a madman; whatever you think is fine. From the moment I took that step, I, Willipol, have abandoned everything from the past.”

He scanned everyone present, seemingly searching for something, but ultimately found nothing. After a nearly imperceptible moment of distraction, as if he had made some resolution, he stepped forward.

“I’ll tell you flat out, the ritual is about to complete. The pure blood flowing within this child, Nitira, will become the best vessel for the gods! This is the only way for our Merman tribe to atone for mistakes and balance the awakening of the Evil God!”

His body quickly collapsed as if dissolving, turning into countless thick tentacles that crawled in all directions!

A roar that no longer resembled human voice echoed in the narrow chamber, accompanied by the oncoming sinister tentacles.

“Come on, you cowardly weaklings groveling before the Evil God! If you can, try to stop me!!!”

   

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