Unexpected "Visitor"

In the forest, several fishmen with different skin colors cautiously advanced along the mountainside. The hot and humid environment made their skin itch, and they felt uncomfortable all over.

Splash, splash...!

One companion couldn't stand it any longer. He unscrewed his water bottle and poured it over his head.

"Roar! So refreshing!"

"You're using too much! We're all enduring it!"

His companion quickly snatched the water bottle back, shook it by his ear, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, there was still half left.

As fishmen, being without water in these deep mountains, where there were hardly any streams, would be worse than killing them.

The reason why Arlong established his base in Cocoyasi Village was precisely because he valued the solid sandy soil near the ocean in that area, wasn't it?

Tucking the water bottle away, he turned to the villager leading the way and glared fiercely.

"Hey, human! How much further?"

"Just... just ahead."

The villager was gaunt and sallow. He shivered at the words. To the fishmen with sharp teeth and claws, he was as weak as an infant, utterly incapable of resistance.

"After passing through this forest, you'll see the beach."

"Hurry up and lead the way, don't dawdle!"

"Yes!"

The fishmen perked up and continued walking through the forest.

The ghost ship incident had made Arlong furious. He didn't fear killing or committing evil, but he couldn't stand being framed by others, especially by humans.

Arlong knew very well that there were no other fishmen in the East Blue besides himself.

So, with a single command, he dispatched his bored compatriots who were idling in Arlong's territory. Regardless of the method, they had to find the culprits.

The fishmen arrived at this village on the fringes of Arlong's domain. After swaggering in and eating their fill, they began to inquire about the matter.

They had initially thought it would be a wasted trip, but unexpectedly, someone had indeed discovered something unusual.

A few days ago, during a heavy rainstorm, this villager, who had gone up the mountain to gather herbs, was trapped. Staying in the deep mountains at night was akin to seeking death. There were many fierce beasts in the mountains, and even if the rain masked their scent, it wasn't necessarily safe.

So, he headed towards the rocky area behind the mountain.

There was a beach there, rarely visited by anyone. Besides the locals, almost no one knew about it. The surroundings were desolate. Forget wild beasts, there wasn't even any vegetation. It could be said to be quite safe.

But when he arrived, someone had already beaten him to it.

A group of pirates was gathered on the beach, having a feast. It seemed they were also stranded there due to the unsafe sea conditions caused by the storm.

Pirates are not good people!

Startled, the villager immediately fled. Driven by fear, he ran all the way back to the village.

He returned to the village and told the village chief about it. A group of strong young men immediately set out and crept back to the beach to observe the situation, only to be stunned to find that the pirates were gone!

The bonfire still held residual warmth, proving he wasn't lying.

But strangely... the pirate ship remained.

How could pirates abandon their ship?

This was not very pirate-like!!

Silence reigned all around.

The villagers cautiously observed for a long time before finally mustering the courage to go aboard the ship to investigate.

There was still no one.

There were only messy, greasy tables and still-warm food on the ship, proving that something had indeed been feasting on this ship before.

"A ghost ship!!"

Recalling the terrifying rumors that had been circulating widely during this time, the group scrambled back in a hurry.

And then...

Even the ship disappeared.

No matter how they searched, the empty pirate ship had vanished into thin air. They scoured the entire beach but found no footprints other than their own.

The villager returned home and fell seriously ill, becoming delirious. The villagers all said that the pirates he saw that night were actually ghosts, and it was the ghosts who sailed the pirate ship away.

The story sent chills down the spines of the fishmen, but having been born on Fish-Man Island and witnessed grand events, they unanimously agreed that there was something suspicious about the matter.

Perhaps someone had deliberately created a "ghost" ship to spread fear.

They had followed now to see if they could find any clues.

Fishmen loved water and disliked land.

The group moved forward in silence, like deflated balloons, struggling through the forest. Pushing through the bushes, the area ahead suddenly opened up.

Standing on a cliff about seven or eight meters above sea level, the leading fishman, Kōbi, gazed out at the ocean with shock in his eyes.

"I didn't expect there to be such a natural harbor behind Klar Village! If it weren't for this search, who knows how long we would have been kept in the dark... wouldn't you agree?"

This natural harbor had a superior terrain, making it ideal for escaping out to sea or launching an attack.

"L-Lord..."

The villagers were startled and quickly knelt down. "This coast requires crossing the entire mountain. Our village has been fishing for generations and never came here. We truly didn't intend to hide it!"

"I know, I believe you."

Kōbi smiled sinisterly. "However, whether Arlong will believe you depends on your luck."

With that, he exchanged a look with his companion and leaped.

A height of seven to eight meters was nothing to Fishmen who could withstand the deep sea pressure. They were natural warriors with physical capabilities far beyond ordinary people.

"Everyone, search separately, don't get careless!"

"Hahahaha, maybe those guys already ran away!"

"If they really ran, Arlong will beat us to death..."

"Oh, right! That's a good point, hahahahaha..."

The group laughed heartily and landed on the beach with a "plop, plop." In these waters, they simply didn't believe anyone could be a match for a Fishman.

"Huh?!"

As soon as he stood up on the beach, Kōbi's eyelids twitched. He suddenly turned his head and looked at the man standing at the mouth of a cave beneath the cliff to his right, stretching his arms. His expression changed drastically.

"Who are you!!!"

Facing these uninvited guests who had dropped from the sky, Lowett was also stunned. He blinked and ignored them, turning back to ask.

"Is this the good scenery you were talking about?"

A group of strangely shaped Fishman brothers wearing swim trunks?

I came out for some air after ten days, only to see this?

"Roar!"

The Black Knight felt wronged. He hadn't seen anyone outside when he dug this exit.

"Never mind, the Ghost Ship incident is escalating, making the pirates too scared to approach. It's time for me to take a stroll."

Lowett waved his hand, looking at the Fishmen as if they were already dead.

"Surround them! I want them alive..."

You two want to surround us four?

Kōbi was taken aback.

Am I stupid, or are you?

And you want them alive?

"It really was you, the culprit behind the Ghost Ship!"

A Fishman sneered. Just as he was about to say something, a hand suddenly emerged from the sand and grabbed his ankle.

"What is this?!"

He was startled.

Why is it so... cold?

With his strength restored to the level of an Elementary Mage, Lowett wouldn't deliberately create Zombie Puppets, something even Spell Apprentices could make. After all, they were just the lowest-tier cannon fodder with very limited use.

However, he also wouldn't specifically reduce their numbers. In a Necromancer's eyes, the dead and the living were no different. With these zombies around, his territory felt livelier, more populated.

"Roar!!"

A rotten, foul-smelling face emerged from the yellow sand. Under the Fishman's horrified gaze, it opened its mouth and bit his leg.

Instantly, blood splattered.

"Ah!!"

"Careful, the enemy is under the beach!"

"No, they're not people, they're monsters!"

Watching hundreds of zombies crawl out from under the sand and surround the four Fishmen, Lowett stroked his chin.

"Red blood? If I recall correctly, they retained their genetic lineage. Are they indeed some kind of bio-engineered creatures similar to beastmen?"

The beastmen in the Mage world weren't those with green faces and fangs, but rather foxmen, tigermen, bear-men, ape-men, and so on.

They were experimental products created by the School of Life in an attempt to prove they could surpass the School of Necromancy and achieve the creation of "life."

"If your heads were a little more distinctive, I might suspect one of my predecessors had a hand in this."

Looking at these individuals whose appearances were closer to "humans" than "fish," Lowett's interest grew.

His fingers trembled slightly.

The Black Knight, who served by his side, turned into an afterimage and charged out, then vanished in an instant.

Pfft!

As a Fishman turned, a steel cat's claw pierced its stomach and emerged from its back.

"You're... Hundred Plans!"

The others were shocked. With Colonel Rat as their intelligence source, Arlong already knew that Hundred Plans, Kuro, had faked his death to escape.

But they never imagined that he was the one who had been creating the Ghost Ship cold cases!

The Black Knight didn't answer, instead disappearing again and leaving deep, bone-revealing claw marks on another Fishman's chest.

"Quick, go back and tell Boss Arlong, it's the Black Cat Pirates!"

After all, he was a pirate captain with a bounty of 16 million Belly. These Fishmen, no matter how much they underestimated humans, didn't have the confidence to ignore him. One of them opened his mouth wide and shouted towards the villagers hiding on the cliff.

Lowett's gaze drifted over playfully.

The straight-line distance was less than twenty meters. The souls of the living were too conspicuous.

But...

"Ptooey! Go to hell, you monsters who are neither human nor fish!"

The villager glared with bloodshot eyes: "Even if you let us live to go back, Arlong will kill us for not telling him about this coast."

"Scum! Bastards! Trash of the sea!"

"You all deserve to go to hell!!"

One had to admit, courage was a truly wondrous thing.

The roar from an inconspicuous nobody momentarily halted the frenzied slaughter on the beach.

Then...

"Bastards!!"

Amidst the unwilling roars of the remaining Fishmen, the undead army surged forward, burying them in a mountain of corpses.

Happy Birthday to our great Motherland!

Happy National Day to all my esteemed readers!

If you can't find the book by its title, you can try searching for the author. Perhaps they've just changed their name!