Lords of Hegemony: Conquer from the Mermaids

Chapter 52: Glowing Seaweed
"My king, these guys tried to escape, but I brought them back." Li Gen swam over when Meng Zheng was watching the merman militia capturing prisoners.

He was holding a short fishman in his hand. This fishman looked short to Meng Zheng, but in the fishman tribe, he was considered tall.

Most mermen are only about 1.23 meters tall, but this merman is more than 2 meters tall, and he is not simple at first glance.

Meng Zheng nodded, looked at the merman on the ground, and said, "What's your name? What's your position in the merman tribe?"

The murloc was knocked unconscious, and it took him a while to recover. He raised his head and looked at Meng Zheng flatteringly: "My king, my king, please spare my life! My name is Gulugua, and I am the king of this murloc tribe!"

After hearing this, Li Gen angrily kicked him and said, "You are worthy of being the king."

Meng Zheng's eyes flickered with surprise when he heard this. He hadn't expected this murloc to be the king of the murloc tribe. He looked at Gulugua again and saw a cunning and cowardly look in his eyes, a stark contrast to the warrior image Li Gen had just described.

"Are you Gulugua?" Meng Zheng asked.

Gulugua nodded repeatedly and said flatteringly, "Yes, yes, I am Gulugua. My king, I am willing to surrender and serve you. I only ask that you do not kill me and my people."

Meng Zheng raised his hand to stop Li Gen from moving further. He smiled at Gulugua, but a subtle sharpness lingered in his eyes. "Oh? You're the king of this tribe? Then why did your people flee instead of fighting to the end under your leadership?"

Gulugua was speechless by Meng Zheng's question. He didn't know how to answer. He wanted to please Meng Zheng in order to save his life, but now he found himself in an awkward situation.

Li Gen sneered at the side, clearly dissatisfied with Gulugua's reaction. He was about to take action when Meng Zheng stopped him with a look.

Meng Zheng took a deep breath and said, "Gulugua, I trust you for now. However, what you need to do now is to show us your worth. Otherwise, you and your people will face serious consequences."

Hearing this, Gulugua's heart tightened. He knew that his life and death now rested in Meng Zheng's hands. To survive, he had to quickly come up with a way to demonstrate his worth.

"My king, I am willing to serve you!" said Guluqua eagerly. "I will do whatever you ask me to do, as long as you can spare my life."

Meng Zheng looked at Gulugua's eagerness to please, and a cold smile curled up at the corner of his mouth. He said slowly, "Gulugua, you must remember that your life and the lives of your people are now in my hands. If you want to survive, you must show your true ability."

Gulugua nodded repeatedly, beads of sweat already beading on his forehead. "Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right. I will definitely show my true ability and serve you."

Meng Zheng nodded and said, "Very good. Then tell me now, are there any important treasures or resources in your tribe?"

Hearing this, Gulugua's heart tightened. He knew that if he didn't tell the truth, it would probably anger Meng Zheng and put his life in danger.

After a fierce ideological struggle, Gulugua finally compromised. He said, "My king, our tribe has a special kind of seaweed that emits a faint light and can be used for lighting at night. This seaweed is very rare and can only be found among us fish people."

Meng Zheng's eyes flickered with disappointment when he heard this. However, he quickly regained his composure and said, "Oh? This seaweed sounds interesting. Could you take us to find it?" Gulugua nodded and said, "Yes, yes. As long as Your Majesty is willing to spare my life, I will take you to find that seaweed."

Meng Zheng smiled at Gulugua and said, "Very good. Then take us there to have a look. If that seaweed is really as magical as you say, I will consider sparing your life."

Meng Zheng turned to look at Li Gen and said, "Li Gen, take some people with you and follow this guy to find that seaweed. Remember, be careful and don't let him play tricks on you."

Li Gen nodded, indicating that he understood. He took a few militiamen with him and swam south of Tianyu Lake with Gulugua.

After dealing with Gulugua, Cangyue came over and said, "Chief, we have captured a total of 989 murlocs, murloc eggs, and murloc cubs. In addition, more than murlocs were seriously injured and they probably won't last much longer."

Meng Zheng's brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this, then relaxed. He looked at Cang Yue and said, "These merman eggs and cubs will replenish the merman population in the future. We must take good care of them and not let anything go wrong with them."

Cang Yue nodded, indicating that she understood. She continued, "Chief, what should we do with these seriously injured fishmen?"

Meng Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "These seriously injured fishmen have lost their fighting power. Keeping them alive would be a waste of food. Moreover, if we let them live, they might become a hidden danger for us. Therefore, I think we should..."

Having said this, Meng Zheng deliberately paused to observe Cang Yue's reaction. Cang Yue's face was solemn, as if waiting for his decision.

Meng Zheng continued, "Therefore, I believe they should all be executed to prevent future troubles."

Cang Yue's heart trembled upon hearing this. Although she understood that these severely injured fishmen were no longer valuable, she still felt a little reluctant to execute them directly. In the end, she nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Meng Zheng nodded with satisfaction. He said, "Very good, Cangyue. Go and make the arrangements immediately. Remember, it must be done cleanly and neatly, leaving no traces."

Cangyue responded and turned to leave. Meng Zheng stood there, looking at Tianyu Lake in the distance, secretly thinking about his next plan.

He knew that this attack on the murloc tribe was just the first step in their expansion plan.

Meanwhile, Li Gen and Gulugua had reached an area south of Tianyu Lake. There, they had indeed found a reef covered in a unique seaweed. At night, the algae glowed faintly, like a seabed of stars, a truly breathtaking sight.

Li Gen looked at the seaweed, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He turned to look at Gulugua and said, "These seaweeds are indeed very rare. You have performed a great deed this time. I will ask the tribe leader for your recognition."

Hearing this, Gulugua was delighted. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir. As long as you can spare my life, I am willing to do anything for you."

Li Gen smiled and said nothing more. He led the militia to collect the seaweed and prepare to bring it back to the tribe. Gulugua waited cautiously on the side, fearing that any mistake he made would anger these powerful beings.

(End of this chapter)