Chapter 327 ? You are a mermaid

"Sorry, Feng, I'm so sorry! I'll fix it for you right away!" He hurriedly tried to smooth out the wrinkled skin, but the more he tried, the messier it became. Soon, he had completely peeled off the entire human skin mask.

Looking at the thin piece of human skin in his hand and then at the now completely unfamiliar head.

What the hell!!!

Who could be so cruel!

The cave echoed with some kind of eerie wailing, inhumane, not human at all, what the hell is this!

After a while, Ah Xi finally snapped out of his daze. Wang Feng wasn't dead, and neither was he. What the hell, he then instinctively looked around, only to see blood everywhere, scattered body parts, and half a head smashed open like a watermelon. The milky brain mixed with blood and moss, dyed in various colors, like the vomit of a drunkard, sprayed all over the cave...

Ah Xi was stunned.

Oh my God, who am I? Why am I here? What is all this!

Now that he had come to his senses, the smell of blood felt even heavier. He had no idea what had happened here, only remembering that he had fainted from anger after seeing Wang Feng's head... Probably just as he was about to be killed, he was saved by some unnamed, noble Holy Sanctuary expert! But... looking at the bloody mess all over the cave, this fight was just too disgusting!

He retched. His legs went weak, and he couldn't hold back from vomiting. He felt a chill all over his body just staying there, let alone thinking about any expert.

While vomiting, he stumbled and crawled, staggering towards the exit of the cave.

...

Dragon City, a bustling metropolis known for its strategic importance, was the hub of activity for many factions.

When the first layer of the Soul Illusion Realm completely disappeared, the Void Gate briefly opened slowly. All those who chose not to enter the second layer were automatically 'spat out' by the Void Gate. Both the Judgment and the Holy Sanctuary had obviously sent special personnel to wait here, not only to count but also to facilitate the timely rescue of some severely injured.

Beams of light continuously fell from the Void Gate in the sky, hitting the ground and gradually fading away. Survivors walked out of the beams. Having survived the brutal trials of the first layer, they could indeed be considered strong. But they clearly didn't receive the treatment that the strong deserved. The soldiers responsible for receiving them all had cold faces, with a hint of disdain in their eyes.

Returning after just the first layer, without any special circumstances like missing limbs, was undoubtedly desertion. Especially when they saw that only three from the Nine Gods had returned, while the League of Blades had dozens, the soldier in charge of counting at the Blade Fortress almost had the urge to grab these cowards and throw them back in.

"Twenty-seventh, Robin Serf; twenty-eighth, Kakashi Ku; twenty-ninth, Don Johnny..." The cold voice of the Blade soldier was exceptionally loud, as if deliberately making their names known to everyone.

Most of the Holy Sanctuary disciples lowered their heads in shame. After verifying their identities and handing over their Soul Tokens, they hurried past. They didn't regret their choice—surviving was better than anything—but that didn't mean they didn't know shame. No matter the reason for their choice, they would probably live the rest of their lives with the label of a coward.

Of course, there were those who didn't care at all, like Andy.

The moment he stepped out of the beam and felt the solid ground, Andy felt as though he had been reborn. The past few days had been like a nightmare.

Although in the eyes of the experts he was undoubtedly a coward, almost all of his Judgment teammates had died. Just being able to come out alive was enough for him to boast about in the Judgment! And thank goodness, Mapeier was safe too!

Thinking of Mapeier and the final battle with the Tree Demon, Andy's heart actually beat a little faster.

The first thing he did after landing was to look around, but after looking for a long time,

he didn't find Mapeier. He hesitantly asked the soldier in charge of registration at the Blade Fortress, who looked at him coldly and after a long while, spat out two stiff words: "She didn't come out!" Andy was stunned. Didn't come out?

Mapeier was clearly alive, how could she not have come out? Did she go to the second layer?

This... what a fool, such a scatterbrain!

Thinking of this, Andy opened his mouth, pounding his chest in frustration.

Mapeier was merely an exorcist and a potion master, her individual combat ability probably far inferior even to his injured self. Going to the second layer was practically a death sentence!

...

Over the past two days, the League of Blades and the Nine Gods had been truly struggling. Their situation was growing increasingly dire. At both the Blade Fortress and the opposing Divine Blade Fortress, the command rooms were abuzz with activity all day. Both factions employed surveillance techniques and could see that after entering the second layer, the numbers on both sides were dwindling rapidly.

Statistically, the Holy Sanctuary appears to be taking heavier losses. After all, whether in terms of numbers or strength, the Nine Gods clearly have the upper hand. However, the problem is that the Nine Gods have lost members of their top ten!

It's important to know that any of the current top ten figures almost play a pivotal role in this competition. More importantly, behind them are massive organizations.

The first to go missing was the seventh-ranked Golden Left Hand, Ming Ji. He wasn’t born into one of the ten great families, but he was from one of the three most special heavyweight forces in the Nine Gods Empire—the Battle Axe Colosseum!

The Nine Gods Empire worships martial prowess, and there are countless colosseums where life and death are decided, holding a very high status in the empire. The Battle Axe Colosseum is the undisputed leader of the Nine Gods Colosseum Alliance, training countless warriors through brutal battles. It is the purest and most primitive cradle of warriors in the Nine Gods Empire, with a history even older than the War Academy, comparable to the current ten great families of the Nine Gods.

The current master of the colosseum, Ming Ke, is also one of the top experts in the Nine Gods Empire, a formidable figure ranked among the Ghost Peak, holding sway over the Nine Gods Colosseum Alliance. In the Nine Gods, he holds a high position and is one of the most powerful supporters behind the Fifth Prince, Long Xiang, cultivating countless death warriors for his Wild Faction, a true powerhouse! Ming Ji is his beloved youngest son. Once this news reaches the Nine Gods, you can imagine the uproar it will cause.

The second to go missing was the fourth-ranked Blood Demon Manku. The power of the Blood Clan in the Nine Gods Empire is also formidable. Although they have been gradually distrusted by the royal family in recent years and have moved away from the core of power, a starved camel is still larger than a horse. The legacy of the Blood Clan is beyond what ordinary ten great families can match. Manku is the young leader of the Blood Clan. If he dies, given the Blood Clan's vengeful nature, this won’t be easily resolved.

The loss of two top ten figures is harder to swallow than the deaths of twenty or even two hundred ordinary War Academy practitioners. Although it is possible that their tokens were destroyed, honestly, that possibility is really minimal. On the other hand, in the Holy Sanctuary, no one from the top ten has gone missing yet.

The scales of victory seem to be tipping back slightly, although the Nine Gods still hold an absolute advantage in numbers, the situation is no longer as optimistic as before.

Moreover, with the rapid decrease in numbers on both sides, the perils of the second layer seem to have surpassed both sides' expectations.

Honestly, even though nearly half perished in the first layer, neither the Nine Gods nor the League of Blades were fazed, even feeling it was within expectations, as the weakest were eliminated. But the remaining are the cream of the crop, yet their numbers are still dwindling at an alarming rate, which is enough to indicate the problem.

If the second layer is already like this, what about the third, fourth, or even fifth layers?

On a smaller scale, the rewards from a soul illusion realm might be enough to drive any individual or faction to madness. But if we zoom out to the level of the struggle between the League of Blades and the Nine Gods, those gains and losses are not the most important.

As casualties increase on both sides, predicting victory, defeat, gains, and losses becomes increasingly difficult. Now, apart from other forces still coveting, the top brass of the League of Blades and the Nine Gods have shifted their focus away from the treasures. Many view this competition as a precursor to the future war between the League of Blades and the Nine Gods. After all, those who entered represent the future top forces of both sides, representing the capabilities of the forces behind them, and the level and investment in the cultivation of the younger generation.

Who will come out on top? Or will there be no winner at all? This is the topic that the high-level officials of both sides are truly concerned about now. In fact, the outcome will directly influence the League of Blades and the Nine Gods' decision on whether to go to war in the future, affecting the confidence of the high-level officials of both sides in this future war!

...

Sea People, Crescent Island.

This is a massive crescent-shaped island. The island has a mountain range running through it on one side, blocking the sea wind and forming a natural crescent bay as a wind shelter.

In this natural harbor, in addition to being able to dock thousands of human sea vessels at the same time, there are also hundreds of underwater berths for the sea people's submarines. The monsoon ocean currents blowing towards the Lower Five Seas also pass through here, making it the best route into the Lower Five Seas.

At this moment, in Crescent Bay, a large fleet is slowly setting sail. On the largest flagship, Clara stands by the porthole, watching the gradually distant port. Her heart is like a flower bud opening its petals, transforming from suppression to blooming, as if sweet spring water is pouring into a sandy sea, or spring rain moistening a drought-stricken land.

The sea people fleet she departed from the royal city of Alonzo has been swapped here for human ships.

This is the rule for the sea people to sail in the Lower Five Seas. Sea people's submarines, which can dive underwater, are generally not allowed to appear in the Lower Five Seas unless they are specially approved submarines and must have human inspection teams on board, only then are they allowed to sail in specific routes in the Lower Five Seas. Once a sea people's submarine is found violating the rules in the Lower Five Seas, anyone and any race can unconditionally attack it and legally plunder it.

The entire process of changing ships is actually quite cumbersome for the sea people, not only the transfer of personnel but also the transfer of various goods, involving moving, registration, statistics, and more! More importantly, more than half of the sailors on the transfer ships are human crew members hired for the job, and even half of the bodyguards are human mercenary groups.

But even the most arrogant sea people abide by these complicated rules, which were the decrees of the Supreme Sage Teacher regulating the sea people and humans!

Rules are important. After the disappearance of the Supreme Sage Teacher, these rules became the cornerstone of peaceful coexistence and mutual trust and benefit between the sea people and humans.

As the fleet sailed out of Crescent Bay, with the help of the monsoon, the huge fleet began to accelerate, and soon, Crescent Island became a small dot on the horizon.

Clara looked at the endless sea, where a group of sea birds chasing the ship were trying to get some easy food from the fleet. They always succeed, as many human crew members would rather eat less of their allocated lunch to feed these sea birds, which clearly have the ability to hunt for themselves. On both sides of the fleet, some sea fish were advancing with the help of the ship's force, occasionally showing their backs on the sea surface and making chirping sounds.

The feeling of leaving the royal city of Alonso... feels so good.

"Your Highness, the captains of all ships have sent safety signals, everything is normal." Mayfair squeezed into the cabin door, which was too narrow for her, as much as possible, "Your Highness, our current position is already in the Lower Five Seas."

Clara took a deep breath, entering the Lower Five Seas, constrained by human rules, truly leaving the royal city, and escaping the direct pressure of the queen's authority...

Clara clenched her fists, her fate once again in her own hands, even the air seemed to sparkle beautifully.

However...

Clara's relaxation was fleeting, as countless thoughts quickly filled her mind, each turning into a dilemma. Nominally, the Jin Beibei Trading House was under her control, and the human branches controlled by the mermaid royal family were under her jurisdiction. But in reality, no matter how she arranged the personnel, she remained just a puppet! To the core members, she was still a pawn, disposable at any moment... At this point, forget about commanding the branches of the Nine Gods—even the major branches of the League of Blades, which she had already purged, might not fully obey her. Those who had newly risen to power under her name might not truly be loyal, and while there would be no issues with minor matters, once fundamental interests were at stake, it would inevitably result in orders from above being met with countermeasures from below.

She couldn’t place her hopes on those people! She could only rely on herself.

In reality, the only area she could fully mobilize was the region centered around Aurora City.

And this, in fact, was something Her Majesty the Queen was pleased to see. The human branches were nominally handed over to Clara, but that was merely to elevate her status for negotiations with the Thunder Dragon, not to truly grant her core authority.

In truth, for a non-core mermaid princess, Clara had already received unprecedented favorable treatment. Those who could achieve what she had were not entirely nonexistent, but they were extremely rare. In the past two hundred years, they could be counted on one hand. It was foreseeable that her future would not be like other mermaids, used as bargaining chips by the royal family for marriages, becoming playthings for other sea people or humans—at least not for now.

If she had never seen the light, she wouldn’t have considered darkness ugly. If she had never experienced sweet joy, she wouldn’t have felt that dedicating her life to the mermaid race was a painful prison.

But she had seen the light and broken free from the closed circle of mermaids.

The world was so vast, so wonderful, so free!

She was unwilling to give up.

"Mayfair."

"Your Highness?" The tall whale warrior knelt, lowering herself until she was just slightly shorter than Clara, who stood by the porthole.

"Do you think I'm being too selfish?"

Mayfair answered without hesitation, "Your Highness, you are a mermaid."