Deep in the Sea Abyss, Mermaid Shells and Conches

"My grandfather once told me that long ago, a vast area of the sea, including the Green Glimmering Sea Abyss Restwind Harbor, was the kingdom of the Merfolk's Song."

The sea creatures rule over everything in the water, and even powerful human wizards in the Merfolk's Song must treat them as equals.

However, one day, a terrifying demon suddenly appeared from the depths of the abyss, the Merfolk's Song was destroyed overnight, countless sea creatures were slaughtered, and the entire abyss was stained green with blood.

Ronan blinked; he had only just realized that the blood of the sea creatures was green.

According to Chuck's account, the Magic Airship the two were riding sped into the area of Green Glimmering Sea Abyss.

We continued forward along the dark green sea until it was completely dark.

The starry sky over the sea at night is exceptionally clear and bright, reflecting off the calm, undulating surface of the sea, which resembles frozen jade, creating a profound sense of peace and tranquility.

A thin mist gradually rose from the sea, and the Magic Airship, its body shimmering with the faint light of runes, moved silently through it.

Ronan stood at the bow of the ship, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves against the surface of the sea, feeling as if he were passing through a long mist of time and arriving in an ancient era.

He thought that somewhere deep beneath him, in the ocean, lay a vast and ancient lost kingdom.

A strange feeling stirred within Ronan. He imagined a thriving and magnificent civilization standing under the same starlight in ancient times, on the same sea, where mermaids gently sang "My Lord" as they brushed the waves.

A voice interrupted Ronan's reverie. He turned around and saw Chuck looking at him with bright eyes.

"May I disembark for a moment?"

Tonight is a full moon, and many interesting things will surface in the sea. If I'm lucky, I might be able to catch a few to present to you.

Ronan thought for a moment, then said nothing. He casually opened the runic barrier outside the Magic Airship, and Chuck disembarked.

"Pop—"

Chuck leaped into the sea, and the splash he made upon entering the water was almost negligible.

On shore, Chuck looks like just an ordinary, somewhat pathetic fisherman, but once he's in the water, he's like a completely different person.

He was so agile that he seemed to be more than twenty years younger. His special lung structure and gills on both sides of his cheeks allowed him to breathe freely in the water. Ronan even noticed that when Chuck was in the water, the force he generated by the swinging of his limbs was about two to three times greater than normal.

"Is this the bloodline of the sea race?"

At first, Ronan's mental energy followed Chuck, but later it gradually spread to the depths of the sea.

In stark contrast to the tranquil beauty of the sea surface, the scene beneath the surface is entirely different.

No light could penetrate the water, and the underwater world was eerily quiet with very few fish. There seemed to be a special energy substance in the seawater that had a certain effect on hindering and inhibiting the wizard's spiritual power.

Ronan stopped the airship, and as he gazed at the sea, a faint white light appeared in his eyes. The white light wove an eye pattern on his forehead, and he tried to use the [Eye of Truth] to explore the truth beneath the sea.

Under the detection of the "Eye of Truth," Ronan saw that the seawater was filled with many strange black substances. The further down he went, the more of these black substances there were. In the end, they were so densely packed together that they looked like countless worms, giving people a chilling feeling.

Ronan kept casting his "gaze" deeper into the abyss, and the eye pattern on his forehead, which was flashing with white light, seemed to grow over time, becoming more and more intricate and realistic.

At a certain moment.

"Buzz—"

Suddenly, Ronan's Eye of Truth broke through a certain boundary, and the scene before him suddenly became "clear and expansive".

He seemed to see the outline of a magnificent but blurry complex of buildings, but before he could get a good look, a huge black shadow suddenly flashed past in front of him.

In that instant, Ronan felt a strange sense of dread and terror.

He took two steps back abruptly, instinctively reaching out to cover his forehead. The white eye pattern representing the "Eye of Truth" shattered instantly, and fragments of light, along with blood, flowed down between his fingers.

"Hiss--"

Ronan took a deep breath and looked down at the sea; his expression had completely changed.

The legend Chuck told may be true. Perhaps something extremely terrifying is hidden beneath the Green Glimmering Sea Abyss, which led to the destruction of the once glorious Merfolk's Song kingdom and the lingering shadows that have not yet dissipated.

[Eye of Truth] Just as Ronan broke through to the second stage of Magic Domain Resonance, his Master Level proficiency exceeded one thousand points. The surge in power allowed Ronan to inadvertently "peek" at an incredibly ancient and evil aura.

That feeling was somewhat familiar; upon closer reflection, it seemed remarkably similar to the scene of another alien space I had witnessed through the mutated World Stone coordinates.

Ronan's soul was even affected, and all nine Spiritual Power Crystal in his mind dimmed.

He subconsciously reached out and touched the spot on the back of his right hand marked with the World Stone Coordinate Mark, and it took him a long time to calm his turbulent emotions.

"No wonder the Green Glimmering Sea Abyss is considered a forbidden area by the wizards of Restwind Harbor. Ordinary people dare not and are unwilling to come here. There are indeed some unknown dangers here. Even I, Third Level Wizard, need to be careful."

Ronan pondered in silence.

The Merfolk's Song Ruins at the bottom of the Green Glimmering Sea Abyss, the Ancient Mirror Garden Ruins, the Dwarven Kingdom of the Mechanical Heart. These ancient civilizations that once existed in the south but have disappeared or perished one by one seem to be controlled by the same enormous dark hand.

He sensed the scent of ancient conspiracies and secrets buried by the dust of time, as if he had grasped something, but dared not delve deeper to explore the truth, lest he be swallowed up.

If Ronan had previously harbored some interest and curiosity about the Merfolk's Song ruins, he has now completely given up on the idea.

This was not something he could access at the moment. All he wanted now was to see the Howling Fish as soon as possible, achieve his goal, and then leave this mysterious sea.

"Splash—"

As Ronan pondered, he heard the sound of water breaking.

Chuck climbed onto the airship, soaking wet. Without even wiping the water off his face, he quickly walked up to Ronan and presented what he had been clutching tightly to Ronan like a treasure.

Ronan didn't think Chuck could retrieve anything of value from the sea, but when he saw what Chuck was holding in his hands, a look of deep surprise appeared on his face.

——

Chuck was holding two fan-shaped seashells. They looked ordinary, but under the moonlight and starlight, the seashells slowly opened, revealing two tiny, naked people inside.

They all looked like fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls, with snow-white skin and beautiful figures. One was slightly thinner and had long, seaweed-like hair, one red and the other green.

If we ignore the size of these two scallop figures and judge them solely by their appearance, they would definitely be considered among the most beautiful women in the world.

The bodies of the two tiny girls were tightly connected to the scallop and could not move. When they saw Ronan, they were initially trembling with fear. Then they hugged their chests and made a pleading expression. When they found that Ronan was unmoved, the two girls started singing loudly one after the other.

The singing was incredibly beautiful, like the same ancient ballad.

As they sang, tiny glittering stars appeared and surrounded them, creating a hazy, dreamlike feeling.

"What's this?"

Ronan looked at the two beautiful girls inside the scallops with a strange expression and couldn't help but ask Chuck.

"It's Mermaid Shell, sir!"

Chuck seemed equally excited. "I heard them singing to the moon and thought I'd give it a try. I never expected to find them so easily... It's said that those who eat live Mermaid Shell can gain eternal youth, but because they are the sea god's favorite pets, those who capture and eat them will be cursed by the ocean. Of course, it's all just a rumor, who knows if it's true or not?"

Chuck shrugged nonchalantly.

"Mermaid Shell"

Ronan murmured the name. The two scallop girls, who had been held up by Chuck and exposed to the sea breeze for half a day, were now shivering from the cold. But fear sustained them as they sang their hearts out, trying to please the "giant" in front of them.

Ronan admitted that he was very interested in this amazing little gadget.

Eating it raw is of course out of the question, and he doesn't have any particular fetishes. However, it would be quite nice to use the Mermaid Shell, which can produce a beautiful singing voice, as a "walkman" when he's bored.

He brought his Dust Elf Arrietty with him this time, so the three little ones could keep each other company and increase his number of "living beautiful girl figurines" to three.

"What reward do you want, Chuck?"

Ronan gladly accepted the "gift" and asked Chuck in front of him.

"Nothing is needed."

Chuck knelt before Ronan and kissed the deck beneath his feet. "It is already a great favor that you are willing to give a man like me any respect."

Ronan's eyes flickered slightly. After thinking for a moment, he took out some magic stones and some worldly treasures that he hadn't come to clean up before from his Space Ring and placed them in front of Chuck.

"Take it, Chuck. You deserve it."

Ronan said calmly.

Chuck couldn't refuse Ronan's gift. He hesitated for a moment, but only picked out a beautiful gemstone necklace from the things Ronan gave him, and then pushed the rest of the items back.

"That's enough for adults."

Chuck carefully tucked the gemstone necklace into his pocket and whispered, "If I ever have the chance to go back, I'll give it to Maggie. She'll be so happy."

Ronan didn't need to ask to guess that the "Maggie" Chuck mentioned was the fat woman he had specifically said goodbye to before leaving.

The other person seemed to be working as a prostitute in the slums, and now Ronan felt from the bottom of his heart that she was really unworthy of Chuck had a pure and simple heart.

Perhaps sensing the unintentional meaning in Ronan's eyes, Chuck spoke up to explain, "Maggie is a wonderful woman. In the entire Restwind Harbor, she's the only one who doesn't look down on me for who I am, for who I am."

"Maybe she just wants your money."

Ronan felt it was necessary to remind Chuck, "The child in her belly may not be yours."

"I also hope it's not mine."

Chuck chuckled and said softly, "That way, 'our' child won't have to become like me. She's truly a good woman; she'll be willing to live a good life with me, as a family."

Clearly, for Chuck, the sea creature bloodline in his body is a curse.

Upon hearing Chuck's reply, Ronan said nothing more, only calmly stating, "You'll make it back alive, Chuck, I guarantee it."

Chuck bowed respectfully to Ronan, then retreated to a corner and took out the potion the black-haired wizard had given him, applying it to his body little by little.

The Magic Airship continued forward, with Ronan standing at the bow, controlling the direction of the airship while playing with the two Mermaid Shells.

After studying them for a short while, the two tiny beauties inside the scallops fainted one after another due to fear and exhaustion from singing. Ronan had no choice but to put them away temporarily and let them rest.

The airship traveled for some time before gradually arriving at the depths of the Green Glimmering Sea Abyss.

Actually, not much time had passed, but the moonlight and starlight overhead had become very dim.

The vast sea seemed to be shrouded in a thick, impenetrable green ink, and the atmosphere gradually became gloomy and eerie.

"Grown ups."

After his break, Chuck stood up on his own and gave Ronan an inquiring look.

Ronan nodded and told him to "be careful."

Chuck didn't say anything, but took off most of his clothes, then took out a bone-handled dagger that he had brought with him, and forcefully cut wounds all over his body, with red and green blood flowing down quickly.

After doing all this, Chuck leaped out of the airship and landed in the sea with a splash.

Ronan stood coldly at the bow of the airship, his mental energy fully deployed, keeping a close watch on Chuck and the movements of the surrounding sea.

Chuck lay in the icy seawater, trying his best to push the seawater, which was stained with his own blood, away and continuing to cut more wounds on his body with the dagger.

Seeing his face gradually turn pale, Ronan tossed him a bottle of healing potion and collected some of his blood, intending to use it for research later.

Time passed second by second, and gradually, a strange sea breeze suddenly arose on the sea.

A sound, like the crying of a baby or the chirping of a conch shell, drifted over from afar.

"They're here!"

Ronan's mental energy detected several dark figures approaching Chuck at an incredibly fast speed in the seawater. He calmly raised his hand and used his mental energy to pull Chuck directly out of the seawater.

Chuck, who had taken the treatment, was actually in good condition. After landing back on the deck, his first words were, "Sir, you were in too much of a hurry. If you wanted to catch them, you'd better let me continue."

"No."

Ronan stepped out of the airship, his robes fluttering as he descended towards the sea below.

His main goal was to figure out the secret of the Howling Fish's life force burst so that he could improve his technique of compressing Life Light Sphere. As long as he could do that, whether or not he could capture the Howling Fish was not important to him.

"Buzz—"

As Ronan's shoe tip lightly touched the sea surface, a pale golden Spiritual Force Field instantly spread out from his body.

The entire sea beneath him immediately pressed down, and heavy waves piled up instantly under the terrifying mental force, causing the void to twist layer by layer.

Without needing to cast any spells, Ronan's mental power alone was enough to "capture" the several Howling Fish attracted by Chuck's blood, lifting them out of the seawater and into the air.

It resembled the first "Howling Fish" he had obtained; both were piranhas with human-like limbs on their exteriors.

The moment Ronan grabbed the Howling Fish with his mental power, they began to struggle violently. Ronan could clearly "see" intense life energy rapidly gathering in their respective bodies, like a bomb about to explode after a fuse has been lit.

The next second will probably be the terrifying sonic attack unique to the Howling Fish.

Ronan didn't dodge; instead, he took the opportunity to quickly infiltrate his mental energy into the bodies of several Howling Fish.

Under Ronan's powerful mental probing, every detail of the tiny fish's internal structure was revealed. "Roar—Buzz—"

Several terrifying sound waves suddenly erupted in the night sky, and the resulting ripples in the void were instantly smoothed out by Ronan's Spiritual Force Field, causing him no harm whatsoever. However, on the sea surface below, huge waves splashed up. As everything gradually subsided, several Howling Fish that had erupted hung stiffly in mid-air, as if they were completely dead.

At that moment, a strange light shone in Ronan's eyes.

In that instant, he finally glimpsed the secret of the Howling Fish.

He saw it all inside the several Howling Fish, whose life force was bursting forth—

A strangely shaped, small, broken snail!