The Mermaids' Pursuit

The sudden, ear-piercing noise left all four of them in a daze. Just as they were trying to figure out what was happening, they were horrified to see countless slender figures with fish tails emerging from every corner of the underwater ruins.

“No way!? This many? Did we stir up a whole nest of mermaids!?” Po Kong couldn't help but exclaim as he watched the number of figures continue to grow.

“Quit your babbling! Hurry up and run!” Starlight, reacting quickly, had already rushed to Po Kong's side. He grabbed the box on Po Kong's back and pulled him along, swimming away at top speed.

“Everyone, close your eyes!” Starlight commanded through the mental link immediately after.

At the same time, a brilliant orb of light rose from his hand like a sun rising in the sea, instantly capturing the attention of all the mermaids. A second later, the orb of light exploded like a bomb underwater, and a blinding radiance instantly swept through the surrounding hundreds of meters of sea.

The current greatly limited the power of the light elements, but it couldn't restrict their properties. The mermaids, who were swarming in like locusts, were caught off guard and immediately engulfed by the intense light.

The mermaids, long accustomed to the dim seabed, had never witnessed such a burst of light. For a moment, they thrashed about in the water, clutching their eyes in agony. Their shrill shrieks were as ear-piercing as countless knives scraping against a stone slab.

Taking advantage of the gap before the mermaids could adapt to the light, the four of them accelerated and broke through the encirclement before it could even form.

“It looks like these mermaids are the danger mentioned in Dad's journal! But in this situation, how are we supposed to find the path?” Xia Duo said quickly, glancing back warily as they rushed into a section of ruins to temporarily shake off their pursuers.

It wasn't that the mermaids were unbeatable opponents; according to Po Kong's feedback, they weren't particularly formidable aside from being thick-skinned and resilient. However, the four of them agreed that starting a battle underwater against an unknown number of enemies was definitely not a wise choice.

“No, Sister, I don't think that's right,” Moen said after a moment of contemplation.

According to the records in the journal, when their parents discovered this place, their strength was at most on par with theirs now—perhaps even far inferior in combat power to the two sisters, who had received the blessings of the World Tree for over a hundred years.

Yet they had still passed through this area, and the journal didn't explicitly mention the existence of mermaids. This was definitely unusual.

“Could it be that the real danger is something else besides these mermaids?” Xia Duo asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“Um... Little Shadow, since you have the journal your parents left behind, why didn't you just ask them directly before we set out?” Po Kong's voice chimed in, filled with confusion.

Xia Duo fell silent. After a long pause, Moen spoke in a calm tone: “Our parents lost contact with the tribe more than twenty years ago. To this day, we don't know where they are... or if they are even still alive.”

“Over twenty years ago? But back then, weren't you... weren't you still slumbering within the World Tree?” Starlight asked.

“Exactly. So, my sister and I have no impression of our parents other than this adventure journal and a few sketches,” Moen’s voice carried a hint of faint sorrow.

“I... I'm sorry...” Po Kong and Starlight glanced at each other, unsure of what to say for a moment.

The conversation through the mental link fell into a brief silence. Finally, Xia Duo spoke up to end the awkward topic: “Alright, don't overthink it, you two. This kind of situation isn't particularly rare among elves. Don't arbitrarily apply the common sense of the human world here.”

Although she tried her best to stay calm and answer in a casual tone, both Starlight and Po Kong could sense a slight tremble in her voice.

“Little Shadow...” Po Kong reached out, intending to pat Xia Duo's shoulder in comfort, but an unintentional glance through a gap above the ruins revealed a terrifying sight.

The mermaids had somehow discovered their location and had silently surrounded them, hovering directly above the ruins. The dense mass of figures was like a black wall, shrouding the ruins in shadow.

“Watch out! They're right above us!” Po Kong shouted through the mental link, no longer caring about anything else.

Starlight and the other two reacted instantly, snapping their heads upward. But they were a step too late. The mermaids floating above had already opened their mouths, filled with sharp teeth, and aimed directly at them.

“AHHHHHHHH!~~~~~~~~~”

Countless mermaids launched their attack simultaneously, and a massive sound wave swept across the seabed like a tsunami. This sonic attack was more than a hundred times stronger than the one from the mermaid child earlier. The high-frequency sonic impact was so intense that it created materialized white ripples, instantly leveling the ancient ruins below to the ground.

Being at the center of the attack, the four felt as if they had been struck in the head by a massive sledgehammer, falling into a brief state of confusion. Starlight, who possessed the strongest mental power, was the first to recover. He pressed his hands onto the seabed beneath him. Driven by his mana, several rock walls immediately rose from the seafloor, forming a sturdy stone shelter that protected the four of them. In the nick of time, the stone shelter blocked the falling stones and debris.

With the protection of these layers of rock walls, the shrieking immediately weakened significantly, allowing the other three to regain their senses. At the same time, Starlight created a light orb that floated beside them, illuminating the enclosed stone shelter.

He hurriedly used the light to check on them, asking, “Is everyone okay?”

“We're fine... Luckily you reacted immediately, otherwise we would've been buried alive here,” Xia Duo said softly, shaking her still-reeling head. This kind of attack was undoubtedly the most painful for her.

“But how did those mermaids find our hiding spot? We should have escaped quite a distance away!” Po Kong asked as he transformed his bracelet back into a longsword, preparing to break out at any moment.

“It must be the scent. Look!” Moen took the opportunity to quickly sweep her mana over everyone's bodies and soon identified the problem.

A trace of blood was faintly seeping out from the spot where Po Kong had been bitten by the mermaid child earlier. Although he had used his muscles to compress the wound, it didn't mean it had fully healed. It was highly likely the mermaids had tracked them by this faint scent of blood.

Thinking of this, Moen lightly ran her finger over his arm. A faint green light flashed, and the wound healed instantly.

“That should solve it!” Starlight said to his companions after seeing Moen treat the simple wound.

“Prepare to break through. This stone shelter I made won't last long! Everyone, put your hands on me! I'll use Instant Movement to get us all out, but I've never tried to transfer four people at once. I can't be sure how far we'll go, so be ready for a fierce battle!”

The three immediately nodded and, in a practiced motion, placed a part of their bodies on Starlight. Po Kong reached out his free hand to grab Starlight's left shoulder, Xia Duo pulled out the short blade strapped to her leg while pressing her other hand against his back, and Moen lightly took hold of his right arm.