Winter in Breyak was so sunless that Two Suns were almost never seen. Diyang went without saying, and even when Laya rose, it only circled near the horizon.
At ten in the morning, Ochira, a High-Rank Wave Master of the Merfolk, finally reached a point three kilometers off the coast of Breyak, accompanied by Naga Temple High-Rank warrior Xinake and a group of Merfolk High-Ranks.
Xinake said to Master Olila, the High-Rank Berthao leading the group, "Master, considering that none of the warriors we sent out have returned from the coast of Breyak these past few days, I suggest you send out some familiars to scout and find a direction where the Sea Beastmen are relatively weak. Then we can press farther in."
Ochira agreed. "You have a point, but this is fresh water, close to freezing. Familiars won't be very active in it."
The familiars the Merfolk called Sea God Descendants were the eggs of Sea Monsters. They required a certain temperature and salinity to hatch and stay active; unlike High-Rank Merfolk, they couldn't get by in just any patch of water.
As the group of Merfolk struggled to decide what to do, they faintly sensed a tremor coming from the deeper waters.
"What's going on?" Ochira swam less than ten meters farther in before sensing someone who seemed to be one of her kind approaching from the north.
A few dozen seconds later, a white creature swam rapidly toward the Merfolk through the dim lake water. Ochira could just make out its streamlined body. Through the Magic Web, she sensed that its strength was on par with her own—it was a High-Rank.
"Is that... one of our warriors patrolling here?" Ochira murmured. She was just about to greet it when she noticed that its body had not a