Chapter 611 – Stone Column Island
Zhao Hai saw on the monitor that the Rock Shrimp Patriarch gave the Swordfish man a salute. Then after a bit of talking, he presented a token to the Swordfish tribesman.
The Swordfish tribesman received the token and after taking a look at it, he nodded. Then the Rock Shrimp Patriarch and the others returned to the sea's surface.
Zhao Hai looked at the situation and understood that he wasn't here to see the Sea King. The Rock Shrimp Patriarch can only escort him up to here.
After that, just as Zhao Hai closed the monitor, the Rock Shrimp Patriarch's was heard outside, "I ask Mister Zhao Hai to please come out." Then Zhao Hai and the others went on to the ship's bow to see the Rock Shrimp Patriarch as well as the Swordfish tribesman. The Swordfish was still sitting on his mount, he came along with his men. All them looked at Zhao Hai with a hint of curiosity.
Zhao Hai gave a bow and said, "I've seen the Rock Shrimp Patriarch and brother Fishman. Why did Patriarch call for me?"
The Rock Shrimp Patriarch returned the bow and then said, "Mister, we can only take you up to here. This is the Junior Patriarch of the Swordfish tribe. The next step would be up to him."
Zhao Hai quickly replied, "I thank the Patriarch for his efforts. The Patriarch doesn't need to worry, I have already sent a letter back to the family, they will be sending you two shipments worth of supplies. That would be my gratitude for Patriarch's help. The Patriarch would just need to wait in your place and the ships would arrive in a few days. Please don't refuse this gift."
The Rock Shrimp Patriarch's face couldn't help but burst in glee, "Then mister Zhao Hai has my deepest gratitude. Junior Patriarch, Mister Zhao Hai is a very good person. Please take care of him."
The Junior Patriarch of the Swordfish tribe looked at Zhao Hai and nodded, "I will. Patriarch Libben can rest assured." The Rock Shrimp Patriarch then nodded and gave a bow to Zhao Hai before he submerged back to the sea.
Zhao Hai turned to the Junior Patriarch of the Swordfish tribe, he gave a bow and said, "Zhao Hai has seen Junior Patriarch, I apologize for the trouble."
The Junior Patriarch of the Swordfish tribe was polite to Zhao Hai as well. He returned Zhao Hai's bow and said, "Mister is too polite. The Sea King had issued summons for mister, so naturally we wouldn't dare to ignore it. Mister, please come with us." Then the Junior Patriarch went to the front of the Haven. The other Knights looked at Zhao Hai before they went to the sides of the ship and escorted it.
Zhao Hai discovered that the Junior Patriarch of the Swordfish tribe seemed to dislike having in contact with him. However, this Junior Patriarch also seemed to be very strong. Zhao Hai estimated this Junior Patriarch to be equivalent to an 8th rank human expert.
Zhao Hai has no way to calculate a Fishman's age, so he didn't know how old this Junior Patriarch was. But what he definitely knew was that this Junior Patriarch was not old for his race. For him to be 8th rank was a proof of his extraordinary talent.
Moreover, Zhao Hai also discovered that this Junior Patriarch's army was very unified. These Swordfish Knights under his command, although only about 500, were comprised of 6th to 7th rank experts. These people were very unified that even in motion they still kept their proper formation.
Zhao Hai also paid close attention to the Swordfish knights' reaction towards the Junior Patriarch. They seem to have no hint of resistance to his command, some of them even carried expressions of worship. This showed that the commanding power of this Junior Patriarch was very great.
An army this sharp usually held great pride. Even if one's status was high, if they don't believe your strength, then they would find it hard to follow you and would only look down on you. However, this Junior Patriarch seemed to have completely conquered these people. There was no need to doubt his strength and skill in handling his army.
Zhao Hai wanted to talk to this Junior Patriarch, but it seems like this Junior Patriarch was unwilling to talk to him. Zhao Hai tribed to open up a conversation only to be turned down with short answers. In the end, Zhao Hai chose to give up.
Following Laura and the others in returning to the Space, Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile bitterly. Laura looked at Zhao Hai and couldn't help but chuckle, "Brother Hai, they actually chose to ignore you. I haven't seen that before."
Zhao Hai forced a smile and said, "It's just his arrogance. Hehe, this is the first time I've seen someone do that to me."
Meg suddenly got fired up, "His arrogance is useless. Compared to the Young Master, his strength is just nothing. He actually acted disrespectfully to Young Master, you should go and teach him a lesson."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Calm down, we're still in their domain. In addition, this Junior Patriarch is still young. Being this young and already strong is commendable. After all, he didn't have the help of the Space."
Although Meg nodded, her face still couldn't hide her indignation. In her heart, Zhao Hai was the best, he was the strongest of them all. She would get angry if anyone were to dare to be impolite to Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai thought that he would be seeing the Sea King after only a few days. But he didn't expect the ship to travel for 20 days. On the 20th day, Zhao Hai discovered that there was a rainbow like radiance in the distance.
Zhao Hai opened the monitor and immediately became shocked. The rainbow lights was not too far. But after seeing what it was, Zhao Hai couldn't help but stare at the scenery, surprised.
What Zhao Hai saw was an island. But this island was peculiar, it wasn't connected to the sea but was instead held up by 13 huge pillars on the water.
He didn't know how these stone pillars were produced, but there were many holes on each pillar of which water kept flowing out. The water produced mist that would in turn make the rainbows.
Zhao Hai also saw that in those holes, Merpeople can be seen. These merpeople had the upper bodies of humans but had a lower body of a fish. They all had long golden hair and dark blue eyes. Their chests were covered by shells while the others parts were left exposed. They looked pure with a tint of temptation. Their appearance made people unable to look away.
Laura and the others were also dumbfounded upon seeing these people. They also didn't think that there would be such a place. The mists kept coming as an endless amount of water kept pouring down the pillars. There were also the attractive mermaids. This made them feel like they were in a fairytale.
After some time, Laura and the others recovered. Their mouths couldn’t help but release a sound of wonder. Zhao Hai was also the same, this scenery was indeed too beautiful.
At this time, the Haven was already slowly approaching the place. After heading to the island for some time, they were immediately blocked by a gigantic Fishman. This man's stature was very tall and big. He was even taller than the biggest Beastman. It had blue skin and was as tall as Zhao Hai's stone golem and looked just as strong. He held a huge trident on one hand that was about 20 meters long, it looked quite heavy.
The bodies of these people don't seem to be different from humans. The sole difference were some parts of their body as well as their enormous tail. The tail was very robust, Zhao Hai seemed to identify it as something that belonged to a whale.
These people had their mounts as well. Each one of them had huge blue whales that carried them on their backs. They looked extraordinarily formidable. After they blocked the Junior Patriarch of the Swordfish tribe, the Junior Patriarch immediately took the token that was handed over by the Rock Shrimp Patriarch and gave it to the opposite party. The huge fishman nodded before he waved his hand, sending the Junior Patriarch away.
Although the Junior Patriarch was arrogant, he still wouldn't dare to pull rank against these Whale Fishmen. The Junior Patriarch bowed to the Whale fishman before he retreated. The Whales then started to slowly float towards the surface.
When the Whale fishman started to appear on the surface, Zhao Hai can immediately feel the pressure coming out of them. These Whale fishmen on top of the whale mounts looked just like the ancient giants from the legends. Their heights had surpassed the deck of the ship.
Before Zhao Hai could speak, one Whale fishman said, "You are Zhao Hai?" His voice rumbling, it was as deep as thunder.
Zhao Hai didn't get frightened, he immediately gave a bow and said, "Brother Fishman, I am indeed Zhao Hai."
The Whale fishman looked at Zhao Hai and said, "The Sea King has summoned you. Go retrieve your sails." Zhao Hai complied as he had the undead take down the sails of the ship.
Just as the sails were taken down, two Whale fishmen arrived by his ship and extended their hands towards the Haven's bow before pushing it towards the small island.
Zhao Hai looked at these Whale fishmen, he didn't think that these soldiers would have this strength. They seem to push an Ironclad Five masted ship with absolutely no effort.
It didn't take a long time for them to arrive at the vicinity of the small island. However, Zhao Hai cannot walk at this time. This was because surrounding the small island were all kinds of reefs. There was simply no way for the ship to continue.
Zhao Hai also saw some Mermaids on the reefs. These mermaids looked curiously at Zhao Hai. Once in a while they would whisper some words to their companions before bell-like laughters echoed out.
About one kilometer away from a column, the Haven stopped. The Whale fishman then looked at Zhao Hai and said, "You come to my mount's back. I'll take you further."
Zhao Hai expressed his gratitude before leading Laura and the others to the back of the whale. When they arrived on top of the whale, they discovered that they were only as tall as the Whale fishman's feet. It seems like if the Whale fishman wants to, he could step on them.
The Whale fishman turned his head to Zhao Hai as he cracked a smile. Then he led his whale mount to swim towards the island. Before long, they had passed by the stone columns and reached the middle column of the island. Zhao Hai noted that the stone column seem to be several hundred meters high. The waters from the holes above also kept flowing down. On top of this stone column was a palace, something that Zhao Hai has not seen before.
Chapter 612 – Queen
The Whales took Zhao Hai to the stone pillar. The holes on this pillar weren't small, however, the Whales were still unable to go up.
The Whale fishman shouted towards the stone pillar, "Old Turtle, please come out." Just as his voice fell, a person suddenly appeared from the bottom of the stone pillar. After seeing him come out, Zhao Hai found out that this man was a Turtle fishman. He wore trousers made of seaweed with an upper body of a turtle, with a carapace protecting his front and back.
The Turtle fishman looked at the Whale fishman and said, "You called me?"
The Whale looked at the Turtle and said, "This is mister Zhao Hai. He's someone that the Sea King had summoned. I ask the old Turtle Fishman to help me bring him up."
The Turtle fishman looked at Zhao Hai and then said, "You are Zhao Hai?"
Zhao Hai nodded, "I am Zhao Hai." Then the Turtle nodded. He waved as several turtles appeared from the stone pillar. These turtles weren't large, their shells were only about two meters in diameter.
The Turtle fishman turned his head to Zhao Hai and the others and said, "Stand on them, I'll go take you to the top." Zhao Hai nodded, and then stood on the back of a turtle before they were taken up the stone pillar.
Upon entering this pillar, Zhao Hai had found out that it actually was a maze. There were plenty of interconnected channels inside and each of them had their own water currents. In the end, the Turtle fishman had brought Zhao Hai to a steadily flowing part of the pillar.
This pillar was unexpectedly a water slide. Each pillar had rushing water cascading down. One could clearly see that the water was very deep.
Zhao Hai felt strange, he was surprised as to how the Fishmen were able to do this. How did they manage to place a large amount of water in such a place? It was really amazing.
However, the turtles seem to not care about it as they swam against the stream. All of them were steadily going upward with speed that couldn't be described as slow.
Zhao Hai counted probably about half an hour before they reached the top of the pillar. The position that they were in now was actually a big pool. An in the middle of this pool was a palace.
The palace was constructed beautifully. It was made out of white stone with its top being a blue tent. On the walls were endless pearls and crystals. These pearls and crystals made for an attractive sight. They sparkled under the sunlight, and they seem to be intricately arranged that their reflections had illuminated the big pool. The illuminations on the pool showed different Fishman tribes, it was very beautiful.
Zhao Hai and the others couldn't help but be in awe with such a scene. They didn't expect that they would be able to see such a beautiful place. At this time, the Turtle fishman stopped at the pull. Then the old Turtle Fishman turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Mister, please come ashore. Some people would be meeting you there."
Zhao Hai nodded, then he gave a bow to the old Turtle Fishman and said, "I thank Brother Fishman." Then he took a step towards the shore along with Laura and the others.
After seeing that the group had come to shore, the old Turtle Fishman then turned around to leave along with the turtles. But at this time, a person walked out of the palace. This person was a blonde haired woman with blue eyes. In her hand was a crystal staff. She wore a green robe on her body. It was evident that her robe was made out of seaweed.
The woman went towards ZHao Hai and bowed. Then she smiled and said, "Are you the Buda Clan's Patriarch, Beastman Race's Foreign Prince, and the Dwarves' Foreign Elder, Zhao Hai?"
Zhao Hai recovered, then he bowed hastily and said, "I am indeed Zhao Hai. May I know who the young lady is?"
The woman smiled faintly and said, "I'm a person of the Sea King's palace. My name is Lola, please come with me."
Zhao Hai quickly said, "This one has seen officer Lola. If I may ask, what clan does officer Lola belong? Are you a Human?"
Lola smiled faintly and said, "There's no need for mister to be too polite. I am not a Human, I'm a mermaid. We mermaids can change between tail and legs all year round. So it isn't strange to see us walking like this."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "So that's how it is. I didn't think that the Royal Tribe of the Fishmen were actually the Mermaids. This is the first time that I've heard of this."
Lola curiously looked at Zhao Hai, "This is the first time? How is that possible? In the past, there were several occasions where the Fishmen and Humans came in contact. The nearest one should be about several thousand years ago. Did the Humans not have this in their records?"
Zhao Hai stared, then he turned to look at Laura and the others and said, "Did you know about this?"
Laura and the others shook their heads. Then Laura replied, "I didn't. I've read all of the history books that we have collected. And in the past ten thousand years, there has been no contact between the Fishmen and the Humans."
Lola looked at Zhao Hai and then shook her head, "There's nothing strange about that. Our initial relationship with the Humans was very good. But later on, the Radiant Church had started to pressure us, causing our contact with the humans to be cut off. Later on we heard that the people of the Radiant Church had taken charge in making the history books of the humans. So it was natural that they wouldn't include us in."
Zhao Hai stared, he wasn't aware of any of these matters. No wonder there wasn't even a word about the Fishmen in the ten thousand year history of the Humans. Moreover, these history books were unfairly aggressive towards the Beastmen. In the history books, the Beastmen were described as wild and aggressive while the Dwarves were violent and irritating. The Elves had it better, since they were written to have unparalleled beauty. But this was not a good thing. This made the humans covet the Elves. For a period of time, there were humans who were capturing Elves and made them into slaves. In the end, the Elves retreated from the Human lands and went to the Elven Forest, completely cutting their contact with the outside world.
After putting all of this together, Zhao Hai was able to understand what was going on. This must be one of the plans of the Radiant Church. They wanted the Fishmen to be forgotten, and the Beastmen and Dwarves to be hated. But since the Elves were too perfect, the Radiant Church were unable to find dirt on them. The Church can only use one method, and it was to make the Elves cut their ties with the Humans. In the end, their plan succeeded, making it very difficult for the races to come in contact with the humans.
At this time, Lola had already brought Zhao Hai and the others to the Great Hall. This Great Hall was very spacious. From what Zhao Hai can see, the Great Hall must have been about 20 meters high. The ceiling of the hall was made out of crystal, making it possible to see the outside directly. These crystals were also adjusted in order to be a beautiful piece of art.
The stone pillars of the Great Hall were also inlaid with pearls and crystals. There were mermaids standing on each pillar, but each of them had already turned into their Human form.
In the innermost part of the Great Hall was a special throne. It looked like a normal throne but with half of it underwater. A mermaid was sitting on this throne. She wore green robes along with a crystal crown on her head as well as a crystal scepter on her hand. However, she didn't change into her human form, her lower body was tail of a fish.
Lola led ZHao Hai and the others to the beautiful mermaid up to about ten paces away. Then Lola bowed to the Mermaid and said, "Your Majesty, Mister Zhao Hai and his wives has arrived."
The woman waved his hand, then Lola bowed again before going back. Then Zhao Hai and the others went forward and bowed, "Zhao Hai has see Her Majesty the Mermaid Queen."
The Queen nodded, then he looked curiously at Zhao Hai, "Mister Zhao Hai, Miss Laura, Miss Megan, Miss Meg, Miss Lizzy, Miss Ni'er. I welcome you in behalf of all the Fishmen. May I know the reason why you've been anxious to see me?"
Zhao Hai and the others stared, they didn't think that the Queen would get their names accurately.
Zhao Hai looked confused at the Queen but he still answered, "It's an honor for Her Majesty to know our names. I came this time to tell Your Majesty of an important matter."
The Queen smiled faintly and said, "Mister can tell me."
Zhao Hai looked at the Queen and suddenly said, "Before I say it, I want to ask Your Majesty something. What is your view of the Radiant Church?"
The Queen gawked, she was confused at Zhao Hai's question. Then she asked Zhao Hai, "What is the purpose of mister's question? Is mister's trip because of the Radiant Church? I heard that mister is enemies with the Radiant Church."
Zhao Hai stared, he looked at the Queen and said, "Does Your Majesty know about this?"
The Queen smiled faintly and said, "Of course. Although there weren't much contact between the Fishmen and the Humans, that doesn't mean that we don't hear any news at all. Especially my mermaid race."
When Zhao Hai heard the Queen, he couldn’t help but get surprised, but he still answered, "Then it's good that Your Majesty knows about the matters of the continent. I just want to know about how Your Majesty views the Radiant Church."
The Queen looked at Zhao Hai and said, "The Radiant Church is an evil organization. They probably wanted to rule the entire world and enslave all the races, including us Fishmen."
When he heard the Queen, Zhao Hai's confidence went up. He looked at the Queen and said, "I don’t know if the Queen knew about the war tens of thousands of years ago. Where all of the major races of the Continent united. The matter about the war against the Divine Race?"
The Queen stared, then she thought for a moment before she said, "I do remember it. Our clan has it on our records. At that time, our Fishman Race also entered that war. But since most of the fighting happened on land, we weren't much of a help. But there were still a lot of our Mermaid tribe's elders that had died in that war."
Zhao Hai was now fully assured, "I'll tell Your Majesty about all I know. I suspect that the Radiant Church is a chess piece that the Divine Race had placed here in the Ark Continent. They were here in order to prepare for the Divine Race's invasion."
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, the Queen's facial expression couldn't help but change, "Mister, tell me all the details."
Zhao Hai nodded, and then narrated how he helped the Dwarves to restore their artifact spirit. Then on about the time he went to the Northern Icefield in order to retrieve the Beast God's Spear. He also expressed his numerous speculations."
While the Queen listened to Zhao Hai, her face constantly changed. After Zhao Hai finished, the Queen sighed and said, "So that's how it is. No wonder mister can become the Beastman Race's Foreign Prince. Also it seems like there's nobody in the continent that knew about you becoming the Foreign Elder of the Dwarves. So Mister has been preparing for this matter. It seems like the people of the continent had heavily underestimated mister's capabilities."
Zhao Hai looked strangely at the Queen. From her words, it seems like she was updated on the matters of the continent. This made Zhao Hai confused, how could the Fishmen had such deep understanding about the continent?
The Queen looked at Zhao Hai and then smiled faintly, "Mister doesn't need to get confused about why our Mermaid clan is aware of the matters of the continent. Does mister know about the Sea God's Merchant Union?"
Upon hearing Sea God's Merchant Union, the faces of Zhao Hai and the others couldn't help but change. It was not because they didn't hear about it, but it was because they were too familiar with the name.
Among the big Merchant unions of the continent, the Sea God's Merchant Union was the most mysterious. The main business of this Merchant Union were their clothing and jewelry.
The Queen wouldn't mention the Sea God's Merchant Union for no reason at all. Just her mentioning this name meant that the merchant union is under the Mermaid Clan's control! This was too shocking, people had always believed that the Fishmen were always in the sea. Because of this, nobody would suspect that they would openly make their own merchant union. And it was actually one of the most famous merchant unions in the continent.
Zhao Hai and Laura looked at each other and can see the shock in each other's eyes. The Mermaids were too formidable. They can actually hide this for a long time, it was too amazing.
The Queen looked at Zhao Hai's expression and smiled, "Mister shouldn't be too surprised. After all, we, the Fishmen, still needed Human products to live. But we cannot openly trade with the Humans. After all, most of the Fishman races didn't have good impressions towards your race."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "I understand. Since Your Majesty knows, what would your race do now? Will you help us in dealing with the Radiant Church and the Divine Race?"
The Queen thought for a moment before she nodded, "Naturally. The Radiant Church was the main culprit who drove us away from the continent. And they also wanted to enslave everyone. So why wouldn't we agree? We shall help you to deal with the Radiant Church and the Divine Race."
When he heard the Queen, Zhao Hai couldn't help but be glad, "I thank Your Majesty."
The Queen smiled faintly and said, "Mister shouldn't be too polite. Compared to what mister had done, my word is nothing. But mister, we're in quite of a trouble right now. I'm afraid we won't be able to provide help in the meantime."
"I knew it!" Zhao Hai said inside. But he smiled and said, "If Your Majesty trusts this Zhao Hai. Then I could provide you with a helping hand."
The Queen stared, then she shook her head and said, "No need. The Buda Clan might be strong on land, but this is the sea. I'm afraid Mister can't provide much of a help."