The bronze bell still echoed over the sea. Three mermen knelt on the water with their heads lowered, their movements so perfectly synchronized they looked like puppets pulled by strings. The silver-armored man stood atop a wave, bell in hand, his gaze as cold as iron.
Chen Wuya stood at the bow, one palm pressed against the dragonbone as Misaligned Force slowly flowed. He neither moved nor spoke. Bai Zhi and Mo Feng were not at his side; he alone witnessed this scene.
He stared at the merman leader. Moments ago, the man had been roaring that he would slaughter them all. Now, like the other two, he hung his head without moving.
Something was wrong.
These people were not acting of their own will.
He recalled the flicker in the other's eyes when he had shouted "Tuoba Lie." It had not been hatred, but confusion—like a beast locked in a cage, ramming itself wildly against the bars.
The silver-armored man shook the bell again, its chime a note higher than before. The merman leader's shoulders trembled. Slowly, he raised his head, and his trident once again pointed at Chen Wuya.
"Intruder... die."
The voice was mechanical, nothing like the voice of a living person.
Chen Wuya suddenly smiled. He pulled a skewer of grilled fish from his robes, still wrapped in oiled paper and still warm. It was the ration Mo Feng had left behind that morning, which he had yet to eat.
He held up the fish skewer and waved it at the merman leader.
"You people talk about the 'Sea God's wrath'?" he called loudly. "Are you hungry? Want some fish?"
The air abruptly fell silent.
The merman leader froze. His eyes fixed on the grilled fish, his nostrils twitching faintly. His lips moved as if he