"Tens of thousands of aquatic creatures?"
Murong Yunji stared blankly at the other person. This Li Household courtyard was on the eastern edge of the city, at least half a city away from the sea. At this distance, could she really see the aquatic creatures coming ashore?
"Senior, did you see it?" Wei Gongzhan was also stunned.
"I can smell it," Ao Zhen said calmly. "The fishy smell unique to aquatic creatures is very noticeable when they first come ashore, and the higher my dragon bloodline, the more sensitive my sense of smell. Although we are far from the estuary, I can still smell it. And there's a very serious problem."
"Um?"
"The humidity here is very high, much higher than in a normal city like Haikou." Ao Zhen looked at Murong Yunji: "Perhaps ordinary people can't feel it, but you should be able to, right?"
Murong Yunji frowned and nodded, saying, "It is indeed much more humid than the North Sea. I always thought it was because of the South Sea Dragon Palace. Could it be caused by some special factor?"
"Only when dragons gather will this temporary rise in water vapor occur," Ao Zhen said quietly. "Dragons control the water vapor of the world and can collect the essence of water for the Dragon Palace. Generally speaking, dragons are scattered throughout the four seas and even some rivers. Occasionally, one or two will return, but only after they have collected enough essence. After receiving their reward, they will continue their collection. It is unusual for this situation to occur. There is only one possibility for this situation: at least a thousand dragons have returned!"
"There's such a saying?" Murong Yunji felt she had learned something new, and then said, "Is it an action by the South Sea Dragon Palace?"
"The dragons only listen to the pure-blooded dragons. In the South Sea region, the dragons of the South Sea have the highest bloodline. The Dragon King has absolute control over the dragons, which is why we in the West Sea still can't completely control those dragons."
"What does the Nanhai Dragon Palace want to do?" Murong Yunji asked doubtfully, "Didn't you say before that the strange uneasiness came from the boy from the Chen family? I thought the problem this time was with the boy from the Chen family."
"I'm puzzled too," Ao Zhen said calmly. "That kid from the Chen Household is definitely suspicious. And as I walked through the city, I noticed several mansions emanating unsettling auras. Those strange smells should be coming from your human families, but why does the South Sea Dragon Palace seem to be planning something big?"
Wei Gongzhan's eyelids twitched at the sound of this, " The South Sea Dragon Palace. Are they planning something big?"
"So you think that by summoning back thousands of dragons and sending tens of thousands of aquatic creatures ashore, you're here to celebrate the New Year in South Sea City?"
Wei Gongzhan: "."
"But," Murong Yunji frowned, "The ancient texts record that once someone becomes a dragon, they are considered a close relative by the Dragon Palace, and no matter what their bloodline was before, they will not be ostracized. That's why all races strive to become dragons."
Upon hearing this, the other person raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "You actually believe that?"
Murong Yunji: "."
"The Dragon Transformation is open to all races because the Dragon bloodline is not strong, and the slightest carelessness could lead to the extinction of the race. In addition, there is the threat of the Heavenly Python Palace, and adult Dragons must go to the battlefield to experience risks. The number of Dragons who die in battle is far more than those who give birth. But the Heavenly Python Palace is different from us. They lay eggs, giving birth to more than a dozen at a time."
"If Dragon Transformation weren't allowed, my Dragon Palace would have been destroyed long ago. As for what your human ancient texts say, tsk. If they didn't say that, how could they entice all races to transform into dragons? Are you suggesting that the dragon race needs cannon fodder on the battlefield?"
Murong Yunji and Wei Gongzhan both felt their faces twitch. Everyone said that humans were cunning and ruthless, but these demons were no less so; they were all black-hearted creatures.
"In that case, the Dragon Clan wasn't truly sincere towards the South Sea Families from the start. Their cooperation might be a case of sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams!" Wei Gongzhan quickly analyzed, "My elder brother sent scouts to investigate this area. The South Sea Families have the largest number of Dragon Transformation individuals, which means the South Sea Dragon Palace has given up most of its resources. In contrast, the families have been fully committed to unsealing the South Sea aquatic creatures. Currently, the South Sea's Yaksha forces and aquatic creatures are the strongest among the four Dragon Palace, making their cooperation the smoothest."
"It's unreasonable that things have turned out this way."
"What's unreasonable about it?" Ao Zhen looked at Wei Gongzhan. Although this little guy lacked common sense, judging from his behavior at the dock just now, he was a thoughtful person. Perhaps he could come up with some ideas.
"If the South Sea Clan had other plans, they shouldn't have released so many aquatic creatures from the South Sea. This would be completely entrusting their safety to the South Sea Dragon Palace. Under such circumstances, it would be even more unreasonable for them to secretly cause trouble."
"So what do you think it will be like?" Ao Zhen countered, "You saw it yourself just now; that strange feeling comes from humanity itself."
"Don't you aquatic tribe have a kind of sea monster that can be implanted into a human brain and then impersonate a human?" Wei Gongzhan suddenly remembered this. On sea ships, sailors are most afraid of sea monsters. The fact that the door gods can identify sea monsters is a great advantage that makes the trade in Jiangnan so booming.
"Oh, you mean Demon Insect?" Ao Zhen nodded and said, "Strictly speaking, those things aren't aquatic creatures, because no proper aquatic creature would deal with them. They belong to the insect race, and they don't just harm humans. They'll attack any other creature below their food chain. The reason they haven't eaten the brains of my dragons is because they don't have the ability. These things are ostracized even among aquatic creatures; I've never heard of any Dragon Palace taking them as subordinates."
He then added, "Moreover, something like this couldn't possibly give me such a strong sense of unease; even the Demon Insect King wouldn't have that qualification."
"Senior," Wei Gongzhan said solemnly, "I don't mean to say that Chen Zhuo is a sea monster. What I mean is, is there something inside the Dragon Palace that possesses the abilities of a sea monster, capable of parasitizing and controlling a human?"
Upon Ao Zhen frowned, but after thinking about it, she felt that the logic was quite reasonable. If the South Sea Clan had been deceived by the South Sea Dragon Palace from the very beginning, then perhaps the dangerous anomalies within the clan did not originate from humans themselves, but rather from the South Sea Dragon Palace?
But what could it be?
Ao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "The experiments in the Central Dragon Palace might have produced something like this, but it was mainly my good-for-nothing third brother who was handling things there; the South Sea forces hardly got involved. But you never know." She then looked at the other person and said, "You're very smart, and your thinking makes a lot of sense. What do you think we should do next?"
"We're here to gather intelligence, not to change the course of events." Wei Gongzhan's mind was clear at this moment, and he quickly said, "Moreover, according to what you said, the South Sea Dragon Palace is likely to make its move today, and we can't change it even if we want to. My suggestion is to evacuate and report the situation here immediately. Of course, it would be best if we could capture a sample. However, actively seeking trouble might be risky, and that's for you to decide, senior."
"This is troublesome," Ao Zhen said, looking outside the house. "They've probably already come looking for us."
--
What exactly is going on?
The Dragon Transformation elders of the major families in the South Sea had obviously also sensed the presence of the aquatic creatures coming ashore. They flew out of their homes and gathered together, staring solemnly at the dark clouds in the sky.
The air was filled with an unusually high amount of moisture; those dark clouds suggested more than just a simple rain—it felt like an approaching storm.
"But what happened in the Dragon Palace?"
"We haven't heard anything. Third Elder Chen, your Chen Household has the closest ties with the Dragon Palace, haven't you received any news either?"
The old man, known as Third Elder Chen, frowned upon hearing this and looked into the distance. Such a large-scale operation—why was there no news from that side? Could something have happened to the Dragon King, or perhaps...
Everyone had a bad feeling. When a large number of family elders set off for Cloud Capital, the protection of the South Sea came from the tens of thousands of aquatic creatures that had been revived by the Dragon Palace.
However, if these tens of thousands of aquatic creatures are enemies instead of protectors, the situation will be much more difficult to manage.
Thinking of this, the elders of the several families exchanged glances, nodded, and then activated their bloodlines one by one. Their bodies were covered with dragon scales, and dragon roars soared into the sky. They transformed into unique fire dragons of the South Sea and flew to the top of the city gate, looking down at the aquatic creatures that were approaching the South Sea City.
"Why have you come ashore? Is this on the Dragon King's orders?"
This is both an inquiry and a warning. Although Laoda have left and South Sea City lacks suitable military forces, there are still quite a few Dragon Transformation sorcerers remaining in South Sea City. In addition, there are magic arrays that have been set up South Sea City in the past, along with dozens of Dragon Vein sorcerers. Even if there are tens of thousands of aquatic creatures outside, they may not be able to break through the South Sea!
Tens of thousands of aquatic creatures looked up at the sky, hesitant for a moment, a sight that made the elders breathe a sigh of relief.
South Sea City is extremely dependent on the Dragon Palace, but it is not without any precautions. For example, in terms of revival, only low- to mid-level aquatic creatures are revived, with the highest being the Yaksha General. The true dragon native to the South Sea Dragon Palace has never been unsealed, partly due to insufficient resources and partly because they want to be on guard.
After all, no one can say for sure whether unexpected things might happen if the righteous dragons are unsealed.
The Dragon Palace operates on a bloodline system, and dragons have a natural advantage over ordinary aquatic creatures. With dozens of Dragon Vein sorcerers here, even if there are tens of thousands of aquatic creatures outside, the threat to them is limited. The dragon aura emanating from them alone would probably keep these aquatic creatures from getting close!
Although we don't know what happened, the situation isn't too bad.