Father Emperor is Truly Mad

The father and son stood at an impasse, and for a moment, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Suddenly, a crab general responsible for intelligence standing in the corner seemed to remember something. He slapped his forehead and stepped forward.

"Your... Your Majesty! Second Prince!"

"This official... I seem to recall something."

"What is it? Speak quickly!" the Sea Emperor urged.

The crab general hesitated, speaking with uncertainty, "Recently, we indeed haven't discovered any outsiders entering the Eastern Region, and all checkpoints are functioning normally."

"However, there are still some abnormal situations."

"Oh? What abnormalities?" Cang Che frowned.

"It's... over at the Red Coral Trench."

The crab general pulled a map from a nearby Clam Maiden's shell and pointed to a remote corner on it.

"That area was also a disaster zone for the outbreak of black spots, with a massive number of monsters."

"But these past few days... for some reason, the black spot monsters there have suddenly and sharply decreased."

"No one saw clearly what happened. They just said the monsters were rotting away in patches or simply vanishing."

"It has greatly reduced the pressure on the soldiers there; they even have the spare strength to support other defensive lines."

The crab general carefully stole a glance at the Sea Emperor.

"Do you think... this could be related to the subordinates of the Dragon Ancestor?"

"Red Coral Trench?"

Hearing this, a startling light erupted in the Sea Emperor's eyes, and his originally hunched body seemed to straighten significantly.

"A sharp decrease in monsters?"

"Is the Dragon Ancestor helping us in secret?"

He muttered to himself, then suddenly slapped his thigh, his beard trembling with excitement.

"That's it! It must be!"

"The Dragon Ancestor must have sensed the plight of my Eastern Region and known his descendants were at their limit, so he specially sent his subordinates to slip in and help us in secret!"

"Unassuming and low-profile, yet turning the tide at the critical moment."

"This is the true demeanor of a dragon!"

"This is definitely the Dragon Ancestor's handiwork!"

The more the Sea Emperor thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. The flicker of doubt in his heart vanished instantly.

"He is the Dragon Ancestor after all; his subordinates must all be extraordinary individuals with great divine powers."

"It's only normal that a bunch of mortals like you couldn't find any trace of them!"

The Sea Emperor turned to look at the stunned Cang Che and the other generals, shouting loudly, "What are you still standing there for?!"

"Quickly! Prepare my sedan!"

"We must go to the Red Coral Trench at once to welcome our distinguished guests!"

"Those are the messengers of the Dragon Ancestor, the benefactors of our Eastern Region."

"If we arrive late and make them feel neglected or that we lack etiquette, where will the honor of our Eastern Region's royal family be?"

The Sea Emperor was no longer coughing blood. As if experiencing a final burst of energy, he began vigorously directing everyone to prepare the ceremonial guards.

That posture suggested that as long as he met the Dragon Ancestor's messengers, the crisis of the Eastern Region would be resolved immediately.

The civil and military officials were also dazed by the Sea Emperor's sudden excitement, but they could only scramble to get to work.

Some straightened their appearances, while others prepared gifts.

Since the Sea Emperor had spoken, even if they didn't believe it in their hearts, they had to do a thorough job on the surface.

Soon, a royal ceremonial guard—though seemingly rushed, yet still of the highest grade—was assembled outside the Dragon Palace.

The Sea Emperor sat on the lead shell-sedan. Although his face was still ashen, his spirit was surprisingly high. He continuously urged the procession to speed up along the way.

As for Cang Che, he was fully armed, holding his long halberd and riding a sea beast, trailing at the very end of the line with a reluctant expression.

Looking at his father in front of him, who acted as if he had been injected with adrenaline, he curled his lip, his heart full of helplessness.

'Father is really crazy.'

'He believes it just because of some random rumor.'

'The monsters are black spots from underground. There are fewer black spots in the Red Coral Trench, but there are more monsters in the Blackwater Trench; even the defensive lines have fallen there.'

'It's normal for monsters within the earth veins to shift along with the veins, isn't it?'

Reasonably, Cang Che did not believe it one bit.

The Dragon Ancestor had been missing for tens of thousands of years; that was an iron-clad fact.

How could he suddenly reappear?

And send subordinates to help?

Pie doesn't just fall from the sky, let alone land right in the laps of people who are about to starve to death.

However...

When his gaze swept over the surrounding warriors who, despite their exhaustion, had a faint spark of hope rekindled in their eyes...

Cang Che's hand gripping his weapon couldn't help but tighten.

Emotionally, even if he didn't realize it or was too stubborn to admit it...

In the deepest part of his heart, he actually harbored a sliver of hope so faint it was almost non-existent.

'What if... what if it's true?'

'What if a miracle really happened?'

If there really was a Dragon Ancestor, if the Eastern Region really was saved...

Would there be hope for his father and elder brother too?

Cang Che's thoughts wandered as he followed the guards to the Red Coral Trench.

This place was at the edge of the Eastern Region's Boundless Sea, named for its abundance of spirit coral as red as fire.

In the past, the water here was warm and filled with red light, a playground for countless low-level aquatic races.

But now, it was deathly silent.

The seawater had long since become murky, and the coral was mostly covered by black spots, having withered away.

The many sea-folk parted the turbid water, advancing toward the depths of the trench in a grand procession.

'Father really is getting senile.'

Cang Che looked at the excited back of the man sitting on the sedan in front of him and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

'What Dragon Ancestor messengers? What secret assistance? This is clearly a coincidence.'

'The migration of black spot monsters follows patterns. If there are fewer here, there will certainly be more elsewhere.'

'The Red Coral Trench is remote with thin spiritual energy; it's perfectly logical that the monsters didn't find this place appealing and moved their base, leading to the collapse of the Blackwater Trench line.'

'To make such a big scene over a bit of hearsay... he isn't even afraid of being mocked by outsiders.'

Though Cang Che complained and was incredibly reluctant, as a prince and the commander of the guards for this procession, he still fulfilled his duty by remaining alert to his surroundings.

After all, this was a black spot outbreak zone. Although reports said the monsters had decreased, who knew if a high-stage mutated sea beast might suddenly jump out from some corner?

He had to protect his father.

"Everyone, stay sharp!"

Cang Che barked a low command. His long halberd vibrated slightly, rippling out waves that served as a reminder to the somewhat relaxed shrimp soldiers and crab generals around him.

"We haven't left the danger zone yet. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you all accountable!"

Just as he spoke, a slight commotion suddenly erupted at the front of the line.

The originally orderly ceremonial guard actually lost its step.

The whale-shark strongmen responsible for clearing the path at the front suddenly jerked to a halt.

Whale-sharks were massive and thick-skinned, usually considered the most stable of the sea-folk, but at this moment, they seemed to have been provoked by something.

They whipped their tail fins excitedly, letting out low humming sounds, and even began to lose control, attempting to break away from the procession and swim deeper into the trench.