On the Kewenhua Grand Plains, the wind howled as heavy dark clouds churned across the sky.
Ang's enormous figure floated silently in midair, like an unshakable mountain.
A woman stood on each side of him.
The woman on his left was Katie, the Grand Archmage he knew all too well.
The one on his other side was a completely different sort of presence.
She was the Mermaid Empress from the Endless Sea.
Her pale-blue, form-fitting gown outlined her slender and graceful figure perfectly.
Her sky-blue hair, as clear as the sea itself, swayed gently in the wind. Her jade-white face appeared especially cold and beautiful beneath the dim sky.
Her eyes held the tranquility of the deep sea, yet also the unignorable majesty of a ruler.
She held a silver-blue staff, its tip set with a water-element crystal core. Watery light flowed slowly within the crystal, like a bottomless spring beneath the sea.
Ang tilted his head slightly and looked at the empress, unable to hide his surprise. "I thought the Mermaid Empress was merely an Archmage, or perhaps a legendary expert. I never expected you to be a Grand Archmage."
The empress raised her eyes. Her gaze was calm, but her voice carried a cool echo, as though it had drifted up from the deep sea. "So in your eyes, the merfolk are merely a minor race?"
Ang froze for a moment, then gave an awkward smile and said no more.
He turned to Katie, his expression turning serious again. "Lady Katie, your reinforcements... surely the empress isn't the only one?"
Katie frowned faintly and shook her head. "I've contacted Lanlost. He should be on his way. But as for the others..."
She paused, helplessness entering her tone. "None of them responded to my Magic Communication. They most likely