Chapter 720 - Chapter 720: 229. Shadow of the Mermaid_3 (1/2)
Chapter 720: 229. Shadow of the Mermaid_3
Noland Lee followed Hadley Grant, slowly sinking together.
After they left the magic yacht, the door of the pressure cabin automatically closed, and the magic lock and protective array on the ship started.
A few subtle flashes of light passed over the surface of the ship, and the entire ship was covered by a transparent veil, entering into an invisible state.
“Hadley, are there any sea people around here?” Noland’s gaze glided over the seafloor illuminated by sunlight.
All he saw were many caves emitting faint blue light and white sand, but no sight of sea people.
Hadley recalled:
“I’ve hardly seen any sea people. However, last time I went out to sea, I did encounter traces of merfolk. I accidentally stayed in the Blue Cave until evening. On my way back, I ran into a group of young merfolk. I couldn’t communicate with them because we didn’t share a language. Fortunately, neither they nor I wanted any trouble and each found a cave to leave.”
“Merfolk…” A picture of “merfolk” from a magic textbook came into Noland’s mind.
The definition of merfolk in this world was the same as in Noland’s original world, referring to peculiar creatures with human torso and fish tail.
Merfolk were born as dual-practitioner casters of both water and deep-sea systems.
They were unwilling to dispute with land creatures and refused to communicate with other races.
Many times, the merfolk population discovered the previous day would move away the next day, avoiding humans from afar.
Up until now, the Ulnas Circle discovered no less than ten merfolk tribes but never reached a friendly agreement with them.
“Hadley, did you report your encounter with the merfolk to the Deep Sea Branch?” Noland asked.
Hadley shook his head:
“I didn’t report to the Deep Sea Branch, even though doing so would have earned me a reward.”
“Oh? Why not?” Noland asked.
“Because… um…” Hadley hesitated and thought for two seconds, then said:
“Because I didn’t want our human existence to disturb merfolk, Jarvis. I thought that since they constantly avoid land creatures, and as they don’t want to be disturbed, I better not report it to the Deep Sea Branch.
“Of course, another reason was fear of attracting poachers. The Dread Sail Pirate Nation’s bastards love to hunt merfolk. The Deep Sea Branch has discovered many cases of Dread Sail Pirates massacring merfolk. If they know there are merfolk in the Blue Cave, that would have been troublesome, and I would be seen as a criminal by the merfolk.”
Noland looked at the bulky liquid man:
“You have a point, let’s pretend there are no merfolk here.”
Hadley Grant pointed to an entrance below and changed the topic:
“Look there. That’s the best entrance to the Blue Cave. I’ve usually entered the Blue Cave from that entrance. After we go in, we’ll continue to dive about twenty meters, turn a few corners, and see a cavern covered with dragon clan collections. Many of the things you bought were actually picked up by me there.”
Noland looked in the direction Hadley pointed.
The entrance emitted relatively bright blue light, the light source being the glowing moss.
These mosses were about half a meter high and looked more like lush bushes. Occasionally, colorful fish would swim through them.
After sending out several Deconstruction Techniques, Noland received tips related to the cave entrance, glowing moss, and subsea region.
In those tips, Noland didn’t see any phrases like “Deconstruction will cause negative effects”.
This indicated that the possibility of the Cave of Spreading Moss being dangerous was relatively low.
For a precaution, Noland activated the “Perception Enhancement,” a spell with an astonishing energy consumption rate.
The consumption of as much as 100 energy points per minute granted immeasurably keen observation and extremely sensitive perception.
All the gazes directed at Noland would be detected by him.
Just at the moment when “Perception Enhancement” was activated, Noland discovered the traces of a mysterious creature hidden at the edge of a cave entrance blending perfectly with the surrounding environment.
This mysterious creature was lurking at the edge of a cave entrance, a hundred meters away. Using its impeccable disguise, it was casting an observing gaze towards Noland Lee and Hadley Grant’s direction.
Noland controlled his facial expressions and head, not displaying any emotional fluctuations. His head was always facing the increasingly large blue entrance directly below.
Taking advantage of looking around, he allowed his gaze to inadvertently sweep across the mysterious creature as he cast Deconstruction Technique.
[System Message:]