Chapter 49: Variables and the Unheard Secret

Hong Yan’s thoughts were quite simple.

Although the tentacles transformed by Willipol were strange, they didn’t exhibit an overwhelmingly unbeatable power; they merely excelled in their sheer number, continuously swarming, and constrained by such a small space while also needing to divert attention to protect Nitira, leaving the strong present struggling to cope.

Once the space was opened, especially after smashing half of the wall above into the room, the area those tentacles could cling to would be greatly reduced. This way, not only would their activity space expand, but they would only need to defend against enemies approaching from the front, making things much easier.

“Hey, whoosh~”

After weaving around with the tentacles, Miss Thief returned to Hong Yan’s side, unharmed, and upon seeing her teammates gathering with understanding and the surrounding shattered remnants of walls, she slightly surprisedly patted the swordsman girl on the shoulder with an air of elder wisdom.

“Not bad, little Hong Yan, you’re getting better and better lately. What has the boss taught you? I’m a bit jealous, haha~”

The gray-haired girl shook off Le Qiao Qiao’s hand and shot her a glare.

“Let me get this straight, you’re only seven months older than me, so this elder tone you’re using doesn’t really suit you.”

“Seven months is still a lot! Without the kind of baiting we just did, could you have succeeded?”

Helplessly shaking her head and giving up on further engaging with this carefree character who had no tension, Hong Yan saw that the tentacles transformed from Willipol, buried under stones, were reorganizing and seemed to have no intention of continuing the attack for now, giving her time to look back at Queen Anies and the others who had come together.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Although Queen Anies was a member of the Merman royal family, marked with six tear lines, that was merely a symbol of status. In terms of strength, she may have been slightly weaker than the elite guards selected around her, each reaching an aerial level.

Plus, as a mage not adept at physical combat, she had sustained some injuries in the recent chaos, and the valuable skirt she wore showed minor damages, making her look a bit disheveled. At that moment, she was being supported by Alec, treating her wounds with water magic, but that royal composure didn’t seem greatly affected.

“It’s alright, just a flesh wound. I have some old ties with Willipol, so even though he’s gone mad now, he wouldn’t kill me right away. It’s just…”

Following her gaze, everyone unconsciously looked toward the barrier nearby.

Even if Rashid seemed to have exhausted all his strength, so far, he still couldn’t stop the internal ritual from continuing. The tentacles that had originally bound and hung her had retreated, but the merman girl in the wedding still floated mid-air as if supported by an invisible fluid.

Beneath her feet, a magic formation perfectly fitted to the barrier was emitting dark blue light, pulling something from Nitira’s body while also seemingly injecting something else into her.

This left the princess showing signs of pain; the color of her hair became increasingly bizarre, and the aura emanating from her shot up rapidly towards a terrifying level that Nitira Mingjiao could never reach, as if she was gradually transforming into another… higher existence.

With a serious expression, the queen murmured softly.

“Is it the… revival of a God? I didn’t expect my daughter to possess such high potential…”

“That’s obvious. Nitira’s bloodline purity is one of the closest to the progenitor in the Merman Tribe for millennia. Her very existence is a miracle; otherwise, this plan might not have been possible in the first place.”

Willipol’s voice and figure reappeared not far away. It seemed he was freely switching between the forms of tentacles and a composite body, fundamentally transforming into a being completely different from mermen.

“A being favored by the ‘God’.”

The former king of the mermen seemed unconcerned about Rashid, who was trying to use the Book of Truth to dispel the ritual; he simply stepped forward calmly toward everyone.

“If it weren’t for her astonishing bloodline purity, she wouldn’t have easily gained the recognition of the Book of Truth, nor could she reach this so-called ‘real realm’ with its help. She… is destined to be the chosen one to become the new God; your futile resistance is utterly meaningless.”

Queen Anies frowned slightly, but since the other side hadn’t acted first to interfere with Rashid, she didn’t rush to continue the battle, casually retorting.

“The Book of Truth is an irreplaceable holy artifact. Since the one in the royal court has been taken away by you, how did Nitira come into contact with it?”

Willipol chuckled lightly.

“Ha ha, Queen Anies, aren’t you smart? Why not try to figure it out yourself? Moreover, the fact has proven that the Book of Truth is not unique; our Pirate King… also possesses similar powers, right?”

“…”

Seemingly affected by these words, Rashid’s movements slightly faltered, ready to say something, but Queen Anies immediately frowned, casting him a dignified and steady gaze, signaling him not to be distracted and to focus, then sarcastically countered.

“Willipol, we’ve lived together for decades. Let’s skip the lame divisive rhetoric; putting on a confident front as if you’ve already won—are you really as calm as you appear?”

“There’s a question I’ve been pondering since the incident began. Your phantoms are still raiding various regions of the sea, proving preparations are still underway. Why then the sudden hurried action to abduct Nitira for the ritual?”

“What’s the real reason driving your rush?”

As if hitting the nail on the head, the former king’s expression slightly changed, yet Queen Anies ignored his reaction, maintaining her contemplative demeanor, continuing to analyze coolly.

“This question, while seeming complicated, isn’t that difficult to deduce at all because you have the Book of Truth. The cause of your sudden change in plans must be something related to Nitira that has completely caught everyone off guard.”

“On the first moment of my daughter’s sudden disappearance, I organized all the recent content she had been exposed to, and the clues almost clearly pointed to a merchant caravan that recently appeared in the East Sea Pearl and stood out remarkably.”

She pointed at the surprised Hong Yan and Le Qiao Qiao.

“That would be Miss Vilyric and her group. Upon realizing this, I immediately went to Palut Island where they resided, sending someone to summon them for further probing.”

“Sure enough, these people, particularly their leader, Miss Vilyric, exhibited a level of mystery and demeanor that greatly surprised me, making me realize their extraordinary background. Hence, I confirmed this was probably the reason for your hasty change of plans.”

“Let me guess… you must have sensed certain information through the Book of Truth, something that frightened you or even terrified you, which prompted you to act immediately, completing the ritual while Miss Vilyric and her companions were still new here and hadn’t grasped the situation, right?”

Queen Anies smiled.

“And when we first met, that instinctive action of yours further corroborated my guess. It seemed you were looking for someone, and you didn’t see that person’s figure… Aren’t you relieved? Heh, I’m so familiar with those little movements of yours; even after transforming into this kind of monster, I can see right through it.”

“…”

The distorted former merman king suddenly stopped, his expression seemingly shifting between sunshine and rain, but soon returned to his usual indifference.

“Anies, your scheming and depth are still as profound as before. Honestly, I’ve long felt that you, having the same royal blood, are more suited to sit as the leader of the tribe than I am. It’s just because of bloodline issues that you failed to earn the recognition of the Book of Truth, ultimately settling for the queen’s position.”

“You’re very clever, often thinking further and broader than I do, better at hiding yourself behind a mask, and more rational… colder and more ruthless.”

“For a ruler, emotions and attachments are burdens; one should never harbor fervent sentiments like faith. Everything should prioritize the interests and survival of the race, and you fulfill all these conditions perfectly.”

Willipol glanced at his own daughter, floating within the barrier, merging with some existence as a sacrifice and vessel. An eerie smile suddenly appeared on the face made of tentacles.

“Ha… that girl probably still hasn’t understood why, in a place nearly isolated from the outside world like the Emerald Sea Region, a bunch of inexplicable poachers appeared just at the moment she slipped away alone to provide help and coincidentally exploited that one flaw while scattering from the main force, seizing the chance to capture her?”

“Oh, little princess of the Merman Tribe… this is truly a top-tier haul worth millions, and also a big deal that could cost lives! Those poor poachers must have been terrified when they received the task to catch you~”

The venue went silent.

After a long while, with the Pirate King’s seemingly premonitory sigh, the most carefree yet quick-reacting Miss Thief suddenly shouted in shock.

“Eh…? Wait, wait a minute, what do you mean? Was it Your Majesty the Queen’s people who orchestrated Princess Nitira’s past wandering in foreign lands?!”

   

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