Lu Jun was unsure of the strength of the reinforcements that had arrived afterward.
But he could guess that they likely weren't Supreme Monarch. According to the mental transmission from the host Mermaid Queen, all the Supreme Monarch were chasing that Water Monarch.
After all, dispatching an entire squad just to hunt a single monarch was overkill. No need to use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.
Those coming were likely Great Monarchs or Supreme Monarchs.
Even so, Lu Jun didn't want a head-on clash. Unsealing the Ancient King Armor Robes to fight them wasn't worth the price. All he needed was to rescue the Mermaid mother and daughter.
At this moment, he performed several short-distance teleports in succession and returned directly to the sunny beach in Sydney.
Then, all the sacred phenomena around Lu Jun completely receded. The Elemental Holy Spirits withdrew from his body, the boundless divine power rapidly dissipated, and a feeling of weakness returned. His body felt hollow, and he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
Compared to monarch-level strength, the normal form of a human body was indeed worlds apart.
At the very least, he would need two or three systems at the Super Tier or to master a Heavenly Seed technique before he could battle a true monarch head-on.
Not long after, Lu Jun adjusted his mindset. He had been improving rapidly lately, and Super Tier wasn't far off.
He moved quickly, quietly slipping into Sydney city. The Mermaid mother and daughter were completely hidden inside his personal spatial storage, their auras cut off.
Truthfully, Lu Jun didn't know whether that Sea Demon Empire reinforcement would just barge into human society and crash into an international metropolis.
But Sydney was home to the Holy Kai Altar—the headquarters of the Australian Magic Association. Even if an monarch trespassed, they would suffer terribly.
The only fear was that those bureaucratic mages, afraid of sacrifice, might try to negotiate with a Sea Demon bigwig and hand him over proactively.
If that happened, Lu Jun would be out of options—he could only switch identities, activate his emperor form, and go on a killing spree.
Soon after, he sat on a park bench in Sydney, silently awaiting judgment.
He waited for a long while, yet no news of a Sea Demon attack on Sydney arrived. He speculated: "They probably left."
The Sea Demon Empire likely wasn't prepared for a full-scale invasion of humanity and didn't want to alert their enemies prematurely, so they gave up on this location.
Lu Jun exhaled deeply in relief, then went to rent a private swimming pool and released the Mermaid mother and daughter to let them breathe.
Ring! Ring~
Two soft and pleasant hums echoed in his ears—the first low and mature, the second magnetic and lively.
First, a graceful, voluptuous, and mature mermaid emerged from the water. Beside her, a younger mermaid girl followed with a deliberately serious expression.
At this point, the Mermaid Monarch had already returned to normal human size. Her expression was weary, but she forced herself to perk up and softly hummed her thanks to him.
The young mermaid Princess also bowed in gratitude.
Lu Jun waved it off and asked, "It's fine. Do you two have any plans?"
Hearing this, the Mermaid Monarch hesitated for a moment and then let out a long hum.
They communicated via mental power, and Lu Jun quickly understood her meaning. He frowned slightly and said, "You're saying you still want to return to the sea, to find other clansmen and help them escape?"
Lu Jun really didn't support this action. Facing the full-scale manhunt by the Sea Demon Empire, even with a small-monarch leading the Mermaid Clan, they were still as insignificant as ants—scattered and fleeing, destined to fall sooner or later.
Moreover, he smiled bitterly inside. If the Mermaid Monarch insisted on leaving, then all his efforts this time would've been for nothing.
But there was nothing he could do. Both Holy Spirits were free beings, not his possessions. Was he supposed to expect them to repay him with their bodies or something?
Besides, he'd taken the water-elemental essence crystals from their lair. Strictly speaking, he owed them a favor, and this operation was merely him repaying that debt.
Just when he thought it was a lost cause, unexpectedly, the Mermaid Monarch spoke again, gesturing for the little mermaid to stay behind.
A sudden turn of events!
Ring~ The young mermaid girl couldn't hold back her emotions. Her pretty face was full of grievance as she urgently hummed, wanting to follow her mother.
Ring!! The mermaid Queen was cold and ruthless. She stated flatly that the girl was just a burden—if not for protecting her, she wouldn't have fallen into this situation. Her Lunar Eclipse form possessed unparalleled concealment abilities.
The little Water Princess couldn't respond. Her mind collapsed.
Then, the Mermaid Queen resisted the urge to soften and turned to let out a long, melodious hum to Lu Jun.
"What, you mean you want me to contract with your daughter?"
Lu Jun was overjoyed. After working so hard, he finally saw his mid-tier Summoning System's life contract slot filled.
He had previously tested the Water Monarch's abilities and found them incredibly powerful. Even if it was just the Commander-level Water Monarch fusing with him, together with the Northern Heavy Water and the Water-Avoiding Pearl, they might even be able to take down an ordinary Super Tier being.
Ring! The Mermaid Queen nodded in affirmation. She also understood clearly that the Sea Demon Empire was immensely powerful, and the future of the mermaid clan was bleak. It would be better to cooperate with a land-dwelling human and leave a path to survival.
Water-type Holy Spirits varied greatly. The river lords of inland rivers, the lake spirits and such were a different kind altogether. In terms of combat power, they were clearly inferior to mermaids who came from the monstrous oceanic lairs and wielded the Three Lights Divine Water.
There might even be a chance to rise again and restore their race.
Besides, while possessing Lu Jun earlier, the Mermaid Monarch had experienced a kind of spiritual resonance and sensed that this person's temperament was neither too good nor too bad. Coupled with the debt of gratitude, he was a decent choice.
In her view, humans live only a hundred years. Letting her daughter "lay eggs by borrowing a rooster" and grow up safely under a human's protection to reach her peak—what a cost-effective deal.
Lu Jun heard the Mermaid Monarch's words and was speechless. Why did all his dimensional summoned beasts and contract summons seem to approach him like they were taking a part-time job, each hoping he would die within a century?
That must be the downside of starting out with commander-level summons. They were all too opinionated and independent.
"Hmph, just you wait. I'll live two hundred, three hundred years, outlast all of you."
He entertained himself with a mischievous image in his mind.
Decades later, Lu Jun, old and frail, lay on a rocking chair, breathing his last. Several of his summons had reverted to their baby forms, surrounding him in a tight circle with worried and heartbroken expressions.
Yet year after year passed, and though he looked like he was about to die, he didn't.
The summons' expressions subtly shifted—from worry, to blank stares, to utter despair.
Lu Jun nearly laughed out loud. He reined in his thoughts and resolved to train diligently, setting a small goal: live longer than his summons.
In fact, ever since his blood and qi reached the fourth realm, that inhuman physical transformation had subtly altered his constitution. That tenacious vitality showed hints of a demonic nature, as if his lifespan had been extended by twenty to thirty years.
This would allow him to maintain his peak physical condition until about a hundred and twenty, after which death would come quickly.
That is, so long as he didn't suffer too many injuries or burn up all his life force.
In the pool, under the stern demand of the Mermaid Monarch, her daughter could only agree. She herself already had a favorable impression of Lu Jun.
Not only did he rescue her, he even went with her into the depths to save her mother.
Buzz buzz buzz!
Lu Jun's heart surged with excitement as he began to cast the mid-tier Summoning System contract magic.
A pale moon-colored magic array appeared between them. A drop of fresh blood squeezed out from both of their foreheads, meeting at the center of the array. Then it split apart again, returning to their own brows.
Immediately afterward, Lu Jun and the mermaid both felt a sense of their blood and hearts becoming intertwined.
Within his spiritual world, the moon-white summoning star cloud surged upward, becoming more solid and profound. Aside from the existing Shadow Crown mark, another emblem appeared—one shaped like the Crown of Sun, Moon, and Stars.
Contract successful!
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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