Chapter 620 – Cone Attack
When Zhao Hai saw the Mermaids, he couldn't help but stare. The Mermaids that he saw before were either wearing shells or a long seaweed gown. He wasn't able to see them wearing any other clothing. Laura and the others also asked the Mermaids about the reason why they don't wear much clothing. The reason was because not wearing anything made them feel the water element much easier. For their cultivation, this was something very good.
But these Mermaids that just came out of the Azure Dragon Snail wore something that Zhao Hai had not seen before. They were all on full body armor, they also had a Magic Staff on their hands.
The armor of these Mermaids seem to be made out of shells and bones of magic beasts. It was dark blue and looked very beautiful. It also had a helmet that made the originally sweet and pretty Mermaids look very heroic.
The Magic Staff on their hands looked very special as well, it was probably made out of crystals. It was a translucent carving that glittered from time to time. At the same time, it also looked quite tough, it might be even possible to use it as a weapon.
Zhao Hai looked at these Mermaids and couldn't help but smile bitterly. These Mermaids are really unique. Not only are they born with an innate affinity for water, they are also innately Water Mages. Moreover, they can also control marine beasts while also having very strong physical strength that was enough to be a threat. They were almost perfect beings.
After the Mermaids blocked Zhao Hai's group, they inspected them first before they gave the two a bow and said, "The General is already waiting for Captain Dashan and Mister Zhao Hai. Please follow us."
Zhao Hai and Dashan nodded, and then swam towards the Azure Dragon Snail. The space inside the snail was not small, however, Zhao Hai and Dashan's mounts weren't allowed to enter. It seems like it would be difficult for them to make a turn inside.
Zhao Hai turned to Luo Luo and the others and then said, "The space here is not so big, so I need to collect the Blade Scale Whale. Luo Luo, you can swim by yourself. You guys, come with me."
Laura and the others nodded and then gathered to Zhao Hai's side. Then Zhao Hai wielded his staff as a giant bubble surrounded them. After that, Zhao Hai collected the Blade Scale Whale.
Now that the Blade Scale Whale has been collected, the space inside the snail had gotten much bigger. Luo Luo swam towards the other Mermaids and gave them a salute before calling them sisters. The warrior Mermaids also returned Luo Luo's gesture, none of them looked down on her.
Dashan also dismounted from his whale. After that, the group went towards the Azure Dragon Snail and then entered it. After a while, they came into a hall which was made out of animal bones and aquatic plants. The floor as well as some chairs and tables were made out of either bone or wood. All of it was arranged to look like a warrior's hall.
But what made Zhao Hai surprised was the fact that there wasn't a drop of water in this hall. On the innermost part of the hall was a couch, the couch looked like a small bed. And a Mermaid warrior was lying on this couch.
When Zhao Hai's group entered the hall, Dashan and Luo Luo simultaneously bowed towards the Mermaid warrior, "This one has seen General Luo Ying."
Luo Ying looked up to Luo Luo and the others before nodding. Zhao Hai also led Laura and the others and said, "Zhao Hai has seen General Luo Ying"
Luo Ying stood up and then returned Zhao Hai's gesture, "Luo Ying has seen Mister Zhao Hai. Our Mermaid clan is deeply grateful for Mister Zhao Hai's assistance." Her voice sounded somewhat chilly. Although she had the same attractive features as the other mermaids, she seems quite different. The Queen had an aura of elegance and maturity, Luo Luo gave out an aura of energy, like a beauty under sunlight. But this General appeared somewhat chilly, she was like a beauty that also held a martial aura.
After exchanging greetings, Luo Ying asked Zhao Hai and the others to sit down. Then Luo Ying turned to Dashan and said, "You came just in time. The Sea Dragons have been increasing the intensity of their attacks these past few days. Moreover, they seemed to have a lot of experts that were helping them, causing us heavy losses. At this moment, the defense army has been reduced to four million troops. It's fortunate that you came in order to supplement the losses."
Dashan became shocked, "The Sea Dragons had help? Who?"
Luo Ying shook her head, then her brows wrinkled as she said, "I don't know yet. But they don't seem to be Fishmen. They have been using Dragon Beads in order to repel water."
Zhao Hai looked puzzled at Luo Ying and said, "General, can you tell me what these water repelling Dragon Beads are? I'm quite curious about them."
Luo Ying wasn't planning on hiding anything from Zhao Hai. So she nodded and then pointed to two gems in front her her and said, "These are Dragon Beads. They are something made from the eyes of Sea Dragons. No matter how deep you are, once you have one of these in your body, a shield would surround you. This would repel the surrounding water while at the same time, allowing you to breath naturally. But since Sea Dragons get buried as soon as they die, these Dragon Beads weren't very common."
Zhao Hai turned his attention towards the two blue beads. These beads don't look like eyes. They were as big as one's fist and looked just like two ordinary gems.
Luo Ying looked at Zhao Hai's expression and said, "After Sea Dragons die, their eyes would slowly contract before turning into this appearance. These Dragon Beads have been used by the Sea Dragon's helpers in order to give up huge losses. All of them were very strong moreover, there seems to be a lot of them. I suspect that after Sea Dragons die, their kinsmen would get their beads to use in times like these."
Zhao Hai nodded, then he turned to Luo Ying and said, "General, why haven't they attacked today?"
Luo Ying shook her head and said, "They've already attacked once but then drew back. I believe they would attack again soon." Then after she said that, a rumbling sound was then heard from outside.
Luo Ying's face changed as she said, "They're attacking!" Then she waved her hand as a water curtain appeared on the hall. The water curtain rippled before it showed the situation outside. But compared to Zhao Hai's monitor, the curtain was somewhat unclear, it was quite blurry.
However, this was still enough to surprise Zhao Hai and the others. This was the first time that they had seen someone else use a kind of magic that was similar to the monitor. If they knew about this magic before, they might already have a reason to use the monitor outside.
Although they have been surprised, Zhao Hai still kept his focus on the image that was on the curtain. They were attracted to the the fight that was about to happen.
They saw an army approaching from the opposite side. But the formation of this army was very strange. It looked like a huge cone and was constantly rotating. The tip of this cone was a big Fishman. The person had white skin and was about 5 meters tall. He had a large bone spear on his hand while having two large fins on his side and a large one behind him. He had a big bald head and was opening his mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth. He looked like a terrifying monster that would inflict fear on anyone.
At this time, Luo Ying opened her mouth and said, "They're using the cone formation this time. The one top the lead is a shark, a famous warrior named Sha Meng. Although this person is only 8th rank, his innate talent in weapons is terrifying. Moreover, he has a strong resistance towards magic. He is very difficult to deal with. In the ten times that they had attacked, 6 of them has him in the lead."
Then Zhao Hai saw that the defenders have also changed. Their formation had become similar to a swirling vortex. The center of the vortex was facing the tip of the cone. Once the cone stabbed into the vortex, the whole thing immediately released blood. The surrounding seas have been turned red.
At this moment, Dashan stood up, he bowed to Luo Ying and said, "General, let me join the fight. That Sha Meng has been quite fierce!" Dashan was also a famous warrior among the Whales. The Whales have always been stronger than the Sharks. So when he saw how that Sha Meng was being fierce, Dashan couldn't help but get the itch to fight.
But Luo Ying shook her head and said, "Don't worry, someone would be able to repel Sha Meng. You just arrived, so you needed rest. This time is just a probing attack, in a while, they would retreat."
Dashan sat down, but his eyes still showed his stubbornness as he stared at the water curtain. Although the image on the water curtain was clouded by blood, Dashan still kept staring, as though Sha Meng might come out of it any second.
Sure enough, just as Luo Ying said, this was just a probing attack. Before long, the opposite party had started to draw back, with the rear guard personally led by Sha Meng. After the confrontation, Sha Meng didn’t look tired, in fact, he even had the look of excitement.
Seeing the opposite side retreat, Luo Ying took down the water curtain before she turned to Zhao Hai and Dashan before saying, "This attack happens every day for several times. Since this time is only a probe, the next one would be more violent."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "General, can I head out first while it is still convenient to refine those corpses?"
When Luo Ying heard this, she couldn't help but look deeply at Zhao Hai. Then she nodded and said, "Alright, let's go." After that, she took the lead as she stood up and went out.
Upon exiting the Azure Dragon Snail, Zhao Hai immediately summoned his Blade Scale Whale. He tried to invite Luo Ying inside the whale but she snorted before she called a huge seahorse over from the snail. When the seahorse came over, Luo Ying immediately rode it and had it slowly swim towards Zhao Hai's whale. At the same time, Dashan also rode his mount and went to the other side of Zhao Hai's whale.
The other Mermaid warriors also called their mounts over and followed behind Luo Ying. Their mounts were also seahorses, and they were all well trained. These seahorses were green and had occasional blue spots on their bodies, their height exceeded five meters. Contrary to what Zhao Hai expected, these seahorses didn't hop around. They moved stably when they move forward, moreover, they were also quite fast.
Chapter 621 – Messenger Fish
Zhao Hai doesn't know that this seahorse wasn't an ordinary seahorse, nor was it just an oversized version of it. This seahorse was actually a variant beast.
Whether it be on the Ark Continent or the Sea, magic beasts were always present. And some of these beasts were likely to become different from their own race, people call them variant beasts.
Magic beasts were generally wild beasts that would be able to use magic. But variant beasts were those beasts that had their own Divergent Ability. These two things were different, and naturally, their strengths varied.
Magic beasts would discharge magic through the magic crystal inside their bodies, therefore, they were called magic beasts. But variant beasts are different, they can still use magic, but at the same time, they can also use their Divergent Ability. Divergent abilities, compared to magic was much more formidable. Because of this, one would rather provoke an advanced magic beast rather than a variant beast.
These seahorses that Luo Ying and the others rode on were variant beasts!
They might look like giant fishes and were slow. But in fact, they were experts in water magic while at the same time, being an ice-type variant beast.
Variant beasts were certainly magic beasts, but magic beasts aren't necessarily variant beasts. This was something that everyone knew. And Luo Ying's mount were these variant beasts. They were very famous in the entire sea, their name was Ice Seahorse.
Although the name ice seahorse seemed very ordinary, the 'ice' part of it held gerat significance. In addition to their ability to do water magic, these seahorses also had an Ice Divergent Ability.
Whether it be offense or defense, the water element has always been inferior to the ice element. And this ice seahorse was a variant beast that can use both. Although their water magics weren't strong, once they use it, their speeds would be greatly improved to the point that most magic beasts wouldn't be able to catch up to them. And on the other hand, their Ice element ability was on of a kind, it was the Ice Cone Spell!
Their water magic would act behind their bodies and act as their propeller, making their movements much faster. In addition to that, their ice cone spell would make an ice spear appear in front of them. Not only are they fast, their attacking prowess was also very strong. This gave the ice horses the nickname fiery ice cone beasts.
The name fiery ice cone beast didn't mean that they can also use fire element magic. This just meant that whenever these seahorses use their maximum speed, it would seem like they were blazing their way through everything. These kinds of beasts would give any Fishman a headache.
Zhao Hai curiously looked at these huge ice seahorses. But he didn't say anything as the blade scale whale headed towards the battlefield along with Dashan and Luo Ying's group.
Before long, the group arrived at the battlefield. At the moment, there were a lot of floating corpses present, but these Fishmen didn't do anything about them. One must know that water always flows, and it wouldn't take a long time before these corpses would get swept away by the sea current. This was also why Zhao Hai chose to come at this time, he didn't want to miss the chance of acquiring these corpses.
The Fishmen didn't have the custom of burying their dead underground. On the contrary, their burials would most likely involve the sea itself. That meant that when a Fishman dies, their kin would use a large shell as a coffin and then just let the shell go and have it slowly drift away. But if they couldn't find a big shell, they would just place the corpse out there and wait for it to be taken away by the current.
This didn't mean that the Fishmen were disrespectful to the dead. In fact, it was the direct opposite. The Fishmen highly respected the dead, they just think that since they lived their lives at sea, then after they die, they must return to the sea once again. It was because of this philosophy that they used this way to bury their dead.
These Fishmen also knew that once they let their kinsmen go and drift away, they would certainly become food for the magic beasts. But they still allowed it because they believed that the magic beasts of the sea were beings that were given to them by the Sea God and thus, were part of the sea.
On the battlefield, the Fishmen were doing the same thing. In their view, dying in this battle was akin to being buried at the sea. So there was no need to collect the dead corpses.
Zhao Hai gazed at the floating corpses. Although the contact between the two sides wasn't long, the casualties couldn't be described as small. In that short skirmish, there were already about a thousand dead people.
Zhao Hai turned to Luo Ying and said, "General, the bodies of your soldiers, can I use them?"
Luo Ying looked at Zhao Hai and nodded, "Mister, if those soldiers that died knew that they had given us help and had reduced further deaths, then they would certainly be able to rest in peace."
Zhao Hai looked deeply into Luo Ying. He discovered that Luo Ying was really a qualified general. She was a commander that had a soldier's heart, only such a person was qualified to be a good general. Only such a person could make soldiers and officers sacrifice their own lives for the greater purpose.
Then Zhao Hai turned his head back to the corpses and waved his hand. A black gas surrounded those corpses before vanishing along with the dead bodies.
Zhao Hai thought that these Fishmen wouldn't want to see undead at this time. He knew what expressions these Fishmen would give after seeing one. If he made these Fishmen see a pile of skeletons, then their morale would certainly suffer a huge hit. And at this point in the war, morale was extremely critical.
When Luo Ying saw that the corpses vanished, she looked at Zhao Hai, confused. Zhao Hai turned to Luo Ying and then smiled, "General, no need to worry. I have already stored the undead. I'm afraid that revealing those undead at this time will have a huge toll to the troops' morale."
When she heard Zhao Hai, Luo Ying couldn't help but nod. She was somewhat amazed at Zhao Hai. She didn't expect that he would have such a consideration at this time.
Then Zhao Hai looked at the Fishmen and said, "General, if the enemy is coming back, then I might as well stay here. What do you think?"
Luo Ying gawked, she didn't expect Zhao Hai to take the initiative and volunteer himself for combat. But she still shook her head and said, "Mister doesn't need to worry. Wars will always be like this everyday, the enemy just wants to grind our numbers down. I want mister to observe for two days while collecting more undead. After that, we can defeat the other party in one fell swoop."
Zhao Hai stared, then he nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll listen to the general's arrangement. If general has any need for me, then don't hesitate to tell me."
Luo Ying nodded, then he led Zhao Hai and the others back to the Azure Dragon Snail. After arriving inside the snail, Luo Ying immediately called her officers over as they began to disperse Dashan's reinforcing army into different divisions.
Originally, Zhao Hai wanted to return to the blade scale whale and then go to the Space. But when he saw that Lizzy and Megan were intently looking at how Luo Ying was managing things, he decided to stay.
Before long, the army that Zhao Hai came with was already dispersed to various groups. At the same time, Luo Ying also gave a command to be in full defensive mode. She thought that since the other part already had attacked for a few times, then it was time for them to launch a huge attack. So it was better for them to be prepared.
Zhao Hai carefully observed how Luo Ying divided the troops. He had discovered that although the army was arranged in a cubic matrix, each cube was also comprised of four smaller cubes. One of these smaller cubes had Turtle Fishmen or other defensive Fishmen in them. Another small cube was comprised of long ranged offensive Fishmen, some of them had long reaching attacks while some were those who were able to use long ranged magic. Another small cube was composed of melee attackers, mostly comprised of physically gifted Fishmen. On the last square were the support troops. The role of these troops were to support the other Fishmen while at the same time be the ones to have contact with the central command.
These four small cubes comprised the bigger formations. Some bigger formations were even part of a much bigger formation. This was the composition of their unit. Moreover, this method can allow them to be flexible to whichever command that was given to them.
Another thing that surprised Zhao Hai was their handy way of communicating. In order to relay orders, the Fishmen were using these small messenger fish.
These messenger fishes were very special beings of the sea. Their bodies weren't big, in fact, they were quite small. However, their swimming speed was very quick. Moreover, they can also be easily trained. Most importantly, these fishes were able to transmit information to each other. Even if two fishes were far away, they can still send forth a special signal towards one another.
The Fishmen uses this ability of the messenger fish to send message towards one another. Their messages were in code as well, and were made so that the message would be received at the shortest amount of time and at the safest way. If one doesn't know the secret code, then even if one has a messenger fish, then they still wouldn’t know what the other party was saying.
Upon knowing this, Zhao Hai couldn't help but think about his time back on earth, when he was watching a movie on the television. Both sides of the line were using telegraphs, which was naturally a more primitive version of the mobile phone or even the telephone. But in the Ark Continent, this discovery was still a very huge thing.
Zhao Hai became very interested in this fish, so he expressed his want for one of them to Luo Ying. He immediately sent one to the Space so that they can multiply. Although it didn't upgrade the Space, its ability improved Zhao Hai's way of communicating with the Space.