After mastering the resurrection technique, they begged me to extend their lives.

Chapter 82 The Mermaid's Pearl

The seawater was broken open by the bow of the ship, shimmering with fine, silvery-white foam.

Edward's fleet sailed into a colorful sea, and at the horizon, the sea surface gradually appeared adorned with vibrant hues.

The Coral Islands are one of the landmark areas where the inner and outer seas of Stardust Harbor meet.

There are no orderly dwellings, no well-built nests, and not even the slightest trace of the orderly appearance that a tribal settlement should have.

A grassy roof, scattered weapon racks, broken fences, and a small thatched hut every few steps—providing shelter from the wind and rain is a problem.

The vibrant, living corals grow freely, radiating a mesmerizing light and shadow under the refraction of the water.

As the large ship approached the shallows, the grayish-brown, scaly figures underwater began to emerge and surface, staring at the ship with wary and fierce eyes.

Fishman.

The subhuman race with an extremely poor reputation on the continent of Vain.

In human terms, "low-intelligence creatures are inferior to goblins."

"My Lord Prophet, they have arrived."

At the heart of the shallows, a large number of brown-scaled warriors wielding stone spears stood ready to attack.

Standing at the very center was a fish-man who was taller than his kind.

Its body was hunched over, its skin covered in a slippery mucus, its entire body a dark, ink-colored hue, its old eyes cloudy, and a faint aura of malevolence emanating from it.

It took a small step forward, its eyes fixed on the anchor and net lowered by the large ship, and slightly tightened its grip on the bone staff it was holding to grasp the seashell.

It was imposing.

It is the "Prophet's Ink Tide".

"Human pirates are no good, Elder. Do we really want to make a deal with them?"

The merman spearman Pegara stood protectively in front of the old prophet and asked cautiously.

"Our ancestors taught us long ago that in trading, only the result matters, not the process; achieving the goal is the best outcome. You simple-minded warriors still need to learn."

The old prophet's voice was hoarse and dry, as if he had a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat.

But seeing the pirates keep their promise and come to their camp instead of bringing a large group of goblins to attack them, it felt a sense of relief.

"We were driven from Hondora's Land by the snake people and the lizard people, and we had nowhere to go. This vast world simply could not accommodate our survival. But now, our ancestors have guided us. As long as we continue to sacrifice high-quality 'souls,' we can—return home and embrace the blessings of the Swamp God!"

"Gentlemen, we will inspect the goods first. If this shipment is 'pure,' we will keep it and let the pirates go."

"If the goods aren't genuine, leave all the pirates here and take all the ships. Understand?"

"Ugh, ugh, ugh—" (Fishman's language)

Countless brown-skinned warriors raised their stone spears high.

"pure."

On the large ship.

As the sailors surrounded them, An Xiao and her group stood back to back, drawing their weapons and remaining vigilant.

"What do you mean by this? Uncle Hogan, what does this mean?"

The little fox Xingmi was completely bewildered. She couldn't understand why someone she knew, her father's friend, would do something like this, even betraying her own people.

"Miss, I really don't know. I didn't contact Edward. I only received a message telling me to protect you. That's all I know."

It seemed that the Rocky Man Hogan was not joking, after all, he was now moving towards An Xiao's camp, even though An Xiao remained highly vigilant towards him.

"Don't worry, if Defias' team really does that, I'll protect you later. Edward's strength is only LV48, and my petrification vision can pinpoint his location. I'll defend against him for you."

Yan Yaren's words were sincere, and he did indeed turn his back to An Xiao, protecting him in front of him.

Since the other party has proposed defending against a single assassin, it would be impolite to say anything more.

"————Then I'll leave it to you."

An Xiao activated "Creative Gaze" and confirmed it a second time.

[Hogan Stoneskin, LV52, Rockman]

[A loyal subordinate of the Starry Sky Merchant Guild President, who was secretly protecting you on Miss Hoshimi's orders, felt deeply ashamed for failing to help during the Harpy incident and therefore decided to do everything in her power to rescue you this time.]

[Talents: Magic Resistance S, Earth Vision (Exclusive), Strength A, Agility A, Stamina A, Hit Rating A, Wisdom A —]

Good guy.

He's still a 5A-level player.

An Xiao quickly scanned the lower right corner and learned that his perception technique was obtained by communicating with the earth elemental spirits on the ground. If the enemy was in the air, the technique would be ineffective.

But coincidentally, any stealth stalker moves on the ground, and even if their footsteps are light or silent, the Rockman's sensory technique will quickly pinpoint their location as soon as they make contact.

It can be described as a completely targeted form of restraint.

"He has a remarkable talent; in his eyes, no assassin can achieve true stealth."

Having confirmed that what he said was true, An Xiao began to manipulate creation.

Public Channel: [Sino, left wing. Vita is watching the rear. Airi is standing beside me. With the demi-humans protecting the right front, as long as we stabilize our formation, we can create some space.]

Hino: [Received.]

Airi: [Brother, should we offer a blessing to the Naya people?]

An Xiao: [Not going. I'll only go if I can't hold on any longer.]

Airi: [Understood.]

An Xiao did not intend to fully trust the temporary members who had suddenly joined the team.

Although the information provided in the panel is partially accurate, who knows if other problems might arise in the end?

After all, there are pirates ahead and fishmen behind; once you're on a pirate ship, getting off is no easy task.

"Stop struggling, An Xiao."

At that moment, Captain Cuenca walked over with a smile, carrying a whale-shaped scimitar.

"We can't touch you in Stardust Harbor, but since you're planning to go to sea, there's nothing we can do. According to the intelligence my brother obtained in Alevant, your bounty is quite high."

But clearly, a bounty alone wouldn't be enough to mobilize so many people and go to such lengths to protect you.

The reason I brought you here is because the merfolk prophet needs a top-tier sorcerer as a prelude to be sacrificed to their god.

In exchange, they are willing to offer a "jewel" to purchase you and all members of your squad.

"A precious pearl?"

An Xiao squinted, having no recollection of this.

"That's right."

Kunka said, "The merfolk have lingered in the shallow seas for many years, and they accumulated wealth in the swamp kingdom for a long time, so they have collected many treasures with special abilities. The 'orbs' are a type of treasure that were enchanted by their ancestors. A good orb is worth far more than ten thousand gold pieces. Do you understand?"

"So, what type of gem do you want to exchange for?"

An Xiao coldly observed the approaching sailors, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

"Hehe, then you don't need to worry about that. Just know that with this, my brother's breakthrough is just around the corner!"

As soon as Kunka finished speaking, a series of clanging sounds rang out as all the crew members drew their swords and rushed towards An Xiao's location.

"Do not harm Miss Xingmi. Just capture An Xiao alive; kill the rest."

Kunka weighed the hilt of his sword, his expression immediately turned serious, and he unleashed a "Tide Slash" directly at the Rockman blocking his way.

An Xiao took a closer look and saw that the opponent's combat level was LV45. Although it was not as high as Hogan's, such a difference could still cause him considerable damage.

At this moment, shouts and cries could be heard incessantly on the deck.

Hogan cast a petrification shield on himself, and at the same time, he turned around and cast one on An Xiao behind him as well.

This made him feel a little embarrassed.

"Young man An Xiao, be careful of the surrounding area. The people of Defias have some firearms, so be prepared for defense."

As Hogan spoke, he took the hit from Cuenca.

His body was instantly covered in seaweed-colored magical particles, which looked like a mixed-attribute attack.

"it is good."

【Airi, activate.】

An Xiao controlled the princess to initiate the attack.

【learn.】

"Radiant Blessing".

"The Kiss of Life".

"Magic protection."

"Speed ​​Blessing".

One ring after another, like a fountain.

To everyone's astonishment, Airi bestowed upon everyone around her a team buff of 5 or more layers, and even cast Wisdom Blessing and Spirit Blessing on Hela individually.

On the other side, Hino cleaved a pirate's body in two on the spot.

The wind magic transformed into countless elusive wind blades, flying indiscriminately towards all enemies on the ship who intended to attack.

"Damn, this is pretty difficult."

Kunka frowned and dodged the gray beam of light that Hogan shot out from his mouth.

He knew that the Rock People's abilities were similar to Medusa's, namely "petrification light".

On the continent of Vain, there are basically only three types of creatures capable of unleashing such skills: snake people, rock spirits, and gargoyles.

Gargoyles can petrify themselves and then crash down, or they can disguise themselves as statues to launch sneak attacks, just like the Rock People.

The petrification beam attack, if you are accidentally hit, such as on your arm, will turn you into a solid state and then shatter, rendering you useless on the spot, which is extremely terrifying.

Cuenca was thinking of giving old Hogan another one of his signature moves, using a whirlpool to sweep him off the ship and into the shallows for the fishmen to deal with.

Unfortunately, despite the good idea, a petrifying beam of light shot out from the opposite side.

Cuenca raised his foot to dodge, but this time, he felt a chill on the sole of his foot.

"Damn it, that darn ice mage—"

Not far away, Hela used her "Deep Freeze" technique to immobilize him for 1.5 seconds.

It was at this very moment that the petrifying light sprayed directly onto his stomach.

Solid and solid.

"

'

0

Hogan smiled and raised his double hammers, then slammed them together in front of him.

Plop plop—

Captain Cuenca, who was just shouting a moment ago.

It was torn to pieces before everyone's eyes.

His head was still intact, but his abdomen was shattered into pieces and severed from his legs.

This is the power of petrifying light.

"That's pretty impressive."

At this moment, the fish-men below the large ship also took in the chaos on board.

The merman warrior Pegara eagerly asked the old prophet, "The pirates haven't managed to control the sacrifices at all. Elder, should we go up and take down all of humanity?"

"It's not the right time yet."

The prophet Mo Chao shook his head.

Pegara asked again, "The item we promised them in the trade, are we really going to give it to them? Elder, it's a treasure passed down from our ancestors, should we—"

"Your mind is like a reef."

The prophet Mo Chao looked as if he were looking at a lump of dung that resembled fish roe.

They were too lazy to even speak or explain.

"The 'precious pearl' is our race's most precious treasure. We can use it to tempt humans, but we've never said we'd actually give it to them."

I said the goods were genuine and kept them. I didn't say I would give them the "precious pearl".

"Now, the goods look very pure. So the goods are ours, the ships are ours, the treasures are ours, and the food and water are ours too."

"Rockhead, did you understand?"

The old prophet slammed his shell and bone staff into the ground with one hand.

In her other hand, she held up a crystal ball-sized pearl that shimmered with clear light, and when she looked at it, her eyes revealed a look of fascination.

If An Xiao were to see this, she would immediately understand why the fish-men would sacrifice their entire race and migrate to protect it.

—"Experience Orb - Mermaid": When carried, it increases the user's experience gain from all sources by 30%, party members' experience gain by 15%, and all living beings within a kilometer radius's experience gain by 5%.

Grade: SSS.

>