Bai Ye gently lifted the Sea King's fair, flawless chin with his fingertips.
Her tear-streaked, peerless face seemed to have lost all color. Even her azure eyes no longer shone, leaving only emptiness and numbness.
"You should be on your way. Your father is still waiting for you."
"Father..." the Sea King murmured blankly.
The next instant, countless crimson threads shot out from Bai Ye's body and violently pierced the Sea King's delicate form.
The agonizing pain made her beautiful eyes fly wide open. She wanted to cry out, but crimson threads filled her throat.
"Take a deep breath. Feeling dizzy is normal."
Under Bai Ye's gentle reassurance, the mermaid... became dried fish.
Her skin, smoother than silk after long immersion in the deep sea, shriveled and wrinkled at a visible rate. Her azure scales, glittering like gemstones, turned ash-gray.
The mass of black snakes atop her head, once baring their fangs and claws, drooped listlessly one by one.
The second-generation Sea King was completely dead. She had not even struggled.
As a powerhouse who had mastered the True Understanding of the Domain, if she had fought desperately, even a god would have needed to expend some effort.
Unfortunately, her heart had already died.
Squelch...
The crimson threads withdrew, and the Sea King's shriveled body collapsed limply into the sea of sand.
With her death, the torrential rain filling the sky gradually ceased as well.
Having lost the rain's protection, the Sea Clan's combat strength visibly weakened. Coupled with the blow to morale from the Sea King's death and the sacrifice of their fortune—
Panic and collapse came in an instant.
Night Owl seized the chance to counterattack. Tens of thousands of Night Owl members charged forward, trampling over the corpses of comrades and enemies alike.
Bai Ye slowly rose