Chapter 5: The Mermaid’s Decision

Just as Li Mingxing was preparing to send out the last of his strength, the griffins returned from nearby under Zheng’s leadership. On the sea behind them, Li Mingxing also saw six mermaids with blue hair.

He immediately understood. The griffins had taken over the mermaids’ nest, and these six were newly born there. They now counted as his subordinates.

The mermaids could not have arrived at a better time. With their help, Li Mingxing could enter the white fog and drag out every mermaid hidden within it.

As soon as they reached him, Li Mingxing did not stop. He shouted, “You six, follow me in! Sea monsters, stay behind them and prepare your Devouring skill. If anything goes wrong, swallow them immediately. I refuse to believe any of those mermaids are above the fifth rank!”

As he spoke, Li Mingxing forced his ship forward into the fog. Only after entering did he understand why none of his subordinates had returned.

The surface of the water within the white fog was covered with his men. From their condition, it was obvious that they had all lost consciousness; some had even died.

Li Mingxing’s expression turned icy. He addressed the mermaids who had just joined him. “Disperse this mist.”

The mermaids all shook their heads. “We cannot. This is beyond the power we possess.”

“Then lead us to its source. Take us to the place where the fog originates.”

That, at least, was something they could do. Before long, Li Mingxing and his troops followed the mermaids to the source of the white fog.

There he discovered that, at the center of the mist, every mermaid except the one with dark green hair had fallen asleep. White vapor continuously drifted upward from their bodies. Clearly, this was the true origin of the fog.

The mermaid was somewhat surprised that Li Mingxing and the others had managed to reach her. Li Mingxing, however, was even more surprised. He sensed a demonic power within her.

That power had fused remarkably well with the mermaid’s own strength. If she had not unleashed all her power at that moment, Li Mingxing would never have detected it.

Now that he had discovered it, he naturally had no intention of letting her go. He stepped forward and called out, “You have nowhere left to run. Join me. I possess what you need.”

The mermaid glanced at him, then pressed the orb of water she had been holding into the surface of the sea. At once, more white vapor surged from the surrounding mermaids.

Li Mingxing would not allow her to use such a move again. He sprang directly from his ship and landed in front of her.

The mermaid merely slipped backward, and a column of water shot up from the sea, striking Li Mingxing squarely. But his body had grown countless times stronger since he first entered the Inner World. He paid no heed to the attack. With a sweep of his tail, he launched the flying sword hidden within it.

The attack was something the mermaid had not anticipated. Though her reflexes were swift, the water orb in her hand was struck and shattered by Li Mingxing.

With the orb gone, the white fog around them vanished for a brief moment. In that instant, Li Mingxing rushed to the mermaid’s side and clamped his teeth onto her hand.

The mermaid was startled. She swung back and struck him squarely on the nose.

Li Mingxing had originally intended to bite her to death, but the blow hurt so much that he whipped his head aside and flung her onto his ship.

The only ones still awake aboard the vessel were the zombies known as Flesh Puppets. The moment the mermaid landed, they surrounded her from all sides and tried to pin her down.

But at her current level, she was far stronger than an ordinary mermaid, whether in magic or physical combat. She showed no fear as the Flesh Puppets closed in. With a backward sweep of her hand, she released a long volley of ice arrows and blasted them away.

By then, Li Mingxing and Zheng had also returned to the ship. Li Mingxing lunged forward like lightning, while Zheng flew straight into the sky, preparing to use her High-Altitude Collision.

The mermaid realized that the situation had turned against her. She wanted to leap back into the sea, where she would have had a chance to escape Li Mingxing.

But he would not let her get away. He sprang in front of her and opened his mouth to bite again, while the hook at the end of his tail stabbed downward. This time, he intended to use the poison in his tail to immobilize her.

He had not expected the mermaid’s control over water to have reached such a level. Liquids held little effect on her. His poisonous sting failed to accomplish what he intended and instead gave her an opportunity. She seized his tail and tried to haul him up and throw him aside.

Li Mingxing’s strength had also become formidable. He retracted his tail and twisted around, intending to shake her loose.

At that moment, with the white fog dispersed, his subordinates began regaining consciousness one after another. A harpy witch awoke just in time.

Her feathers were still soaked, and having only just awakened, she could not gather much magical power. Even so, the little magic she possessed formed a bolt of lightning that struck the mermaid, paralyzing her for an instant.

Li Mingxing, who had been waiting for an opening, seized the chance. He lunged forward and struck the mermaid in the face.

At the same time, Zheng had reached the highest point, seven hundred meters above the sea, and unleashed her High-Altitude Collision.

Under the force of the two attacks, the mermaid spat blood toward the sky and collapsed onto Li Mingxing’s ship.

Li Mingxing stepped forward and found that she was still alive, though her injuries were so severe that she was barely clinging to life.

He hesitated as he looked at her. His subordinates were beginning to awaken one by one, and the Water Elemental also climbed from the sea onto the ship.

“If you place her in the water,” the Water Elemental told him, “she will recover her former strength within three days.”

“But we have no way to control her. Someone like her is useless if she cannot be controlled,” Li Mingxing said, shaking his head.

“She is not entirely useless. The other mermaids are still alive, and you have sea monsters among your forces. You can persuade them to surrender.”

“Persuade them to surrender?”

As he spoke, Li Mingxing walked over to the mermaid. He was about to ask whether she was willing to join him when he noticed that her head seemed to be made of seaweed, with a purplish-red hue beneath it.

This made him even more certain that she possessed demonic blood, though he did not know which demonic race she came from. Li Mingxing felt a faint fondness for those with such a dark inclination. He smiled and said, “Little girl, how about joining me?”

At his words, the mermaid struggled to raise her head. “Who are you calling little? Just look at me. What part of me is little?”

Li Mingxing’s gaze followed the length of her body. She was not small at all. Nearly six feet tall, with a full figure hidden behind her shell covering, she possessed the unmistakable qualities of a mature woman.

What attracted Li Mingxing most was her lower body. Though it was shaped like a fish’s tail, its curves were as graceful as the most beautiful human thighs.

She was struggling to support her upper body. As she moved, a fresh, ocean-like fragrance drifted into Li Mingxing’s nose.

At that instant, the erotic dragon constitution within him stirred of its own accord. His eyes reddened, and he stepped forward, nearly placing his foot upon the mermaid.

The aura radiating from Li Mingxing affected her as well. A flush appeared across her face. Just as the two were about to draw together, Zheng leaped down from her dragon mount, came to Li Mingxing’s side, and seized him, dragging him into a nearby cabin.

As she watched Li Mingxing being pulled away, a trace of disappointment appeared on the mermaid’s face. But she now understood her own feelings. Carefully moving herself to the side of the ship, she leaped directly into the sea.

Aisha, the only one still aboard the ship, assumed that the mermaid was trying to escape. She was about to give chase when she saw the mermaid, after entering the water, organize the other mermaids and help carry Li Mingxing’s subordinates back to the ship.

Aisha immediately understood that the mermaids had joined Li Mingxing’s forces. She led the young druids in treating the soldiers the mermaids brought aboard.

With the mermaids’ help, Li Mingxing’s troops were soon rescued. The mermaids had not been trying to kill them before, so the losses were not severe. Only all the zombies and more than a dozen harpy witches had died, a loss that would have little effect on Li Mingxing’s subsequent battles.