Communication Between Divine Domain Kinfolk and Natives of Other Planes

It was quite remarkable. Murlocs had no language at all and did not know the Common Tongue. They could only make primitive aquatic noises like incoherent babbling, yet both he and the Naga could clearly understand what they meant. It was truly strange.

Lin Xiao looked in the direction the Kinfolk indicated. Strands of kelp rose from the seabed and hung down through the water. Clusters of brightly colored coral swayed with the currents, while colorful Little Fishmen darted between the kelp and seaweed. Every so often, he saw schools of little fish gathered around a long strand of kelp, gnawing on it. They looked like strings of multicolored candied hawthorns hanging from the kelp.

He did not see any Lobsterfolk, but he could smell the blood lingering in the surrounding seawater. Not far away, a school of small fish had gathered on the seabed, fighting over scraps of flesh.

"Kill!"

He swung the Short Spear in his hand toward one direction, and the Naga and Murlocs surged forward without hesitation.

He was not worried about running into an immovable wall. If the Sea Shrimpmen had truly been powerful, they would have attacked the Murloc tribe long ago. Why would they be hiding here in ambush?

A large group of Naga and Murlocs charged in. Believing they had been discovered, the Lobsterfolk hidden among dark seaweed and the uneven seabed rushed out from their hiding places.

"They're huge!"

The shells covering these Lobsterfolk came in layers of blue, cyan, and purple. They were around three and a half meters long, about the length of a tiger. They resembled enormous freshwater crayfish with many legs. A pair of small eyes on their stalks could swivel nimbly, while six antennae danced flexibly from their heads. Their two massive dark pincers opened and closed, looking capable of crushing anything between them.

They were about the size of three Murlocs stacked together. They were slightly shorter than the Naga, but their bodies looked much sturdier.

Still... no disrespect to his opponents, but looking at the Lobsterfolk, Lin Xiao could not help feeling that he was not looking at enemies, but at a walking seafood feast.

At that moment, an idea suddenly came to him. Should he capture some Lobsterfolk and raise them in his Divine Domain, so he could catch one whenever he wanted a lobster feast?

These Lobsterfolk were extremely fierce. As they rushed from their hiding places, their four small legs beneath their bellies and their webbed tails moved rapidly, propelling them through the water in nimble bursts. Then... shadows shot toward them like javelins, slamming into them and sending them flying. Their hard shells burst apart, scattering chunks of flesh everywhere. Dazed, they drifted toward the seabed, only to quickly recover. Before they could do anything, another swarm of shadows crashed into them. And then there was no more then.

These Lobsterfolk possessed considerable individual combat strength, but there were not many of them, only a little over a hundred. They had probably never encountered charging Murlocs before, and the sudden explosive Charge left them completely stunned.

Over a hundred Lobsterfolk were split apart on the spot. Lin Xiao followed close behind and charged in, smashing the head section off one Lobsterfolk with a single blow of his spear. Its protruding eye stalks and several antennae were all crushed off, killing it instantly.

He fought with tremendous bravery and ferocity. Relying on strength far greater than that of his companions, he killed seven Lobsterfolk in one go, while the rest were divided and surrounded by the densely packed Naga and Murlocs.

After the battle ended, one Naga and four Murlocs had accumulated enough experience. He spent 1,400 Faith Points to promote them.

Murlocs were a low-level race. Advancing from level zero to level one normally required 100 Faith Points. If promoted by force without experience, they required 1,000 Faith Points, ten times as much.

Naga were an Intermediate Race. Advancing from level one to level two normally required 1,000 Faith Points. If promoted by force without experience, they required a full 10,000 Faith Points.

With enough accumulated experience, they could advance several levels in a short time. However, forced advancement without experience required an interval of one year in Divine Domain time, and the higher the level, the longer the cooldown.

The Murlocs quickly cleaned up the battlefield, gathering the larger corpses. Some of the scattered bits of flesh that had been smashed apart were secretly eaten by them.

To the Murlocs, Lobsterfolk tasted incredibly delicious. They were a lively seafood delicacy that could be eaten raw.

Several Murlocs carried over a lobster more than three meters long. Lin Xiao smashed off one of its pincers with his spear, then brought down a heavy fist and shattered the hard shell of the claw. He pried it open, revealing crystal-clear lobster meat. He scooped out a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. It was pleasantly chewy, sweet, and delicious.

He only collected a dozen or so Lobsterfolk corpses into his Divine Domain. The rest were distributed among his subordinates to eat.

As they feasted heartily, they failed to notice a massive shadowy group quietly approaching across the seabed more than a thousand meters to the south.

It was not until a Murloc that had finished its small piece of lobster meat and was cutting kelp to eat spotted a large group of Murlocs creeping over through the seagrass on the seabed. It let out a strange cry, and only then did Lin Xiao react. He shouted loudly, ordering his subordinates to prepare for battle.

Yet to his surprise, after these Murlocs discovered them, they did not attack at once. Instead, they curiously examined the Gray Mist Fishmen.

Lin Xiao's gaze flickered as he swept his eyes around. He roughly estimated that this large group of Murlocs numbered at least two or three thousand, twice their number. But if they really fought, those Murlocs might not be able to defeat them. After all, they had a large force of Naga.

However, since this group of Murlocs had not attacked immediately, he did not make a move either. He waited to see what would happen.

At that moment, several Murlocs larger than the others, likely their leaders, swam out from the group and babbled at the Murlocs, "@%#￥@"

A quick-witted Murloc swam out and responded with a string of gibberish:

"￥&%&￥&"

"%￥&&￥."

"%￥#...*&"

Outsiders would surely think they were arguing. Yet to Lin Xiao's ears, this was what they were saying:

"Your Murlocs aren't from nearby. Where did you come from?"

"We came from far away. We live not far from here."

"Have you encountered the evil Lobsterfolk?"

"We defeated a group of Lobsterfolk that ambushed us."

"Did those evil Lobsterfolk escape?"

"No, we killed them and ate them."

"You are brave warriors!"

Lin Xiao's mouth twitched as he continued listening to their utterly pointless conversation.

Then, after quite a while, their exchange gradually changed from mutual questioning and communication into casual chatter. The two sides looked as though they had become quite familiar with each other.

Lin Xiao listened quietly to their conversation without interrupting.

He was also quite curious whether the Kinfolk in his Divine Domain could spark something with their counterparts from another plane.

Now, it seemed they did not fight the moment they met. To the creatures of other planes in the Outland, the species from his Divine Domain did not appear particularly different, nor did they receive any special treatment. They were simply treated like a group of wandering Murlocs.

It was worth noting that the bloodline fused into the Blackscale Naga was primarily Murloc bloodline. Though similar to Naga, they were not actually the same species. Strictly speaking, they were a Murloc variant, or perhaps an evolved species. Their race was still classified as Murloc.

Therefore, these Murlocs did not become hostile upon seeing the Blackscale Naga, whose appearance differed greatly from their own, as they would upon seeing true Naga. Instead, they even felt a trace of affinity.