Chapter 187 - What Are Sea Demons (2/2)
“Sea demons are a race with only females. They live in the depths of the ocean in the far east, almost never interacting with the intelligent races on the continent. They have beautiful looks, but only their upper bodies have the appearance of a human. Their lower bodies are all kinds of sea monsters…
“Other than these, there are also legends mentioning that it is actually not that sea demons do not interact with humankind, but because they possess the ability to transform into human appearances. After they go ashore, they immediately blend into the crowd… Yes, transformation ability. Many legends pointed out that the sea demons have a myriad of forms. They are born without a fixed form like water. Thus, they are able to turn into various forms. A good half of the tales about sea monsters in the open sea is their work.
“In addition, legends have been written about how sea demons make plans to visit land. As they have long lifespans, they treat the observation of the development of short-lived civilizations like humankind as a pleasure. Every time human civilization undergoes twists and turns, rises and falls, they would curiously come to watch. There are also people who believe that sea demons visit land to search for certain things. There are records of interaction with sea demons that someone had left behind in all sincerity and seriousness in certain ancient books of the silver elves. And it claimed that sea demons would interact peacefully with the intelligent beings on land. They would sometimes seek help from ‘land people’, and as long as the ‘land person’ was able to fulfill their wishes, they would receive extremely generous rewards —— sometimes it was rare pearls and jewels from the deep sea, sometimes it was strange, inconceivable magical equipment. It is said that the royal clan of the sea elves have a trident that can release thunder and lightning. It was a gift to them from the sea demons a thousand years ago.
“However, there have also been legends indicating that the sea demons seemed to have no idea about the value of the gifts they give out. They merely gift some things to land people according to their fancy. Sometimes, when you show them the way, they would give you a whole chest of pearls. At other times, when you’ve been a great help to them, they would only gift you a piece of fish ——and there’d be bite marks on the fish. The records in this aspect were also left behind by the silver elves.”
Gawain interrupted Pittman’s narration. “If a person encounters the sea demons while sailing in the ocean, how would they treat people who ‘invade the ocean’?”
Pittman lifted a brow. “You’ve touched my blind spot of my knowledge —— but according to the accounts in most legends, it is extremely, extremely dangerous to encounter sea demons in the deep-sea areas.”
“Extremely dangerous?” Gawain frowned. “Weren’t there many legends that mentioned sea demons interacting peacefully with people on land? They even gave gifts and whatnot…”
“But that was on land.” Pittman’s expression was very serious. “In the ocean, it seems they would be very aggressive. Especially when lost navigators enter some sea areas that they shouldn’t, sea demons would immediately turn into terrifying sea monsters to expel them, even pursuing and attacking. They are the family clan of the ocean, possessing unthinkable powers in the sea. Even the thunder and lightning summoned by the strongest Master Mage are no match for their storms. ——There are so many horror stories about deep-sea navigation. Not all of them are groundless tales.”
Gawain frowned. “Is that so…?”
……
At the same time, in the eastern deep sea far from the Loren Continent, some elegant and graceful figures were swiftly going past the dark seabed. Their snake tails or fishtails flapped in the seawater, allowing these beautiful and elegant creatures to move quickly like phantoms in the deep sea, subtle and elusive.
They were completely unaware that they’d become a topic of discussion for two humans on the faraway continent. For these deep-sea saltwater fishes, there was still very important work for them to complete.
A sea demon crossed a “ridge” on the seabed and looked at the sight ahead that snaked and sprawled out following the shape of the seabed. The special “deep-sea vision” allowed her to look out to an extremely far spot even in this dark bottom of the sea.
A startlingly huge cirrus laid across the seabed in front. Layers of corals and deep-sea vegetation covered the cirrus. Large amounts of tattered bits of flesh were scattered around the cirrus. They’d completely lost their vitality, but not the slightest sign of decomposition could be seen.
And in a place even farther, at the end of the cirrus that extended out like a small-scale mountain range, an even more massive shadow could indistinctly be perceived. That was the even larger main body of flesh, where the “first excavation-site” was.
The long snake tail of the excavation team leader slapped on the seabed; then the tail was raised up high, rapidly swinging in the seawater like a flag. She gave orders to her team members in a loud voice. “We’ll dig here today! Come on, everyone!”
The sea demons responded in unison. “Come on, everybody!”
“Don’t play too much with the ‘squid’. Don’t waste time!”
“Don’t waste time!”
“No eating engine fuel in secret!”
“No eating engine fuel in secret!”
“Start digging!”
“Start digging!”