Once inside this lush green landscape, the surroundings grew even colder and damper.
The trees had an unusually slender growth pattern, their trunks entwined like several thick vines spiraling upwards.
Clearly visible were the indentations in the trunks, with veins extending upward in several strands.
But the canopies were enormous and dense, with branches intertwined and connected between trees.
The entire area was practically completely obscured from view.
It was nighttime, and once they entered, the stars in the sky were completely invisible.
Seeing this situation, Alka said bluntly, "Let them return. We'll rest outside today and cross again tomorrow."
After all, it only takes two or three hours to cross the area, eliminating the need to cross at night when it's more dangerous.
Night is the favorite time for all dangerous creatures. Lucilia nodded at Alka's words.
They called the puppet girl, who had gone out to explore the surrounding area, over through their internal network. Since they had decided to rest here, they tied the Swallow to a tree.
Simon connected the Swallow's rear connector thruster between several trees and then extended it.
A simple habitat was complete.
Although a bit crowded, with the nearby boats and the three marines who could rest comfortably in the water, everything seemed just right.
After making the simple arrangements and assigning the guards, everyone settled down and drifted off to sleep.
In this forest, the nights were no longer as quiet as elsewhere; there were the subtle chirping of insects and the sounds of fish swimming in the water.
It lasted well into the night. Everything seemed so quiet and peaceful.
Lucilia, having just woken up and continuing her vigilance, used the dim light of the single, lit illuminator to read the book in her hand. Beside her, several puppet girls stood on guard.
"There's movement."
Lucelia's mind suddenly swung to these words.
Hearing the voice, Lucelia continued to read the book as if nothing had happened. After a dozen seconds, she slowly closed the book and then snuffed out the lightstone.
The moment she snuffed it out, her figure immediately retreated into the shadows and disappeared.
Only a gentle breeze could be heard.
Lucelia had already reached the puppet girl who had brought her the message.
And the movement she was talking about was just below.
Several dark figures, concealed by the moonlight, were a bit wary after the lights went out. Now, they lay quietly in the water, only their heads poking out.
Not human.
Lucelia, with her darkvision, had already discerned the creatures within the shadows.
Though her skin color couldn't be discerned, they looked more like murlocs. They were, however, rather small, their legs perhaps only about a meter long, and their backs hunched.
It wasn't that they were acting cautiously, but rather that they simply looked like that.
Reef murlocs.
Soon, Lucelia searched through her mental memory to find the origins of these murlocs.
Smooth, slimy skin, the smallest of the murlocs, with a hunched back and thin hands and feet.
A massive mouth and two rows of sharp teeth are their most striking features.
Two enormous eyes atop their heads.
Those are their only unique features, allowing them to have a wide range of vision. Among the murlocs, whose racial differences are quite distinct and obvious, their vision is among the best.
But this is their only real strength.
Although she wasn't wearing her reconnaissance goggles, she could still tell by feeling, experience, and her own knowledge that these murlocs weren't very powerful. It definitely wasn't even at the third stage.
Three in total.
In their hands, they held what looked like spears made from sharpened branches. The weapon looked extremely low-quality.
It couldn't even be considered a weapon.
However, since they were murlocs, Lucelia thought for a moment and didn't rush into an attack.
Instead, she warned the puppet girls to be on guard and disappeared from the branches.
In a few seconds, she returned to her resting place and gently woke everyone.
She patted Pororo in particular.
"It's a group of reef murlocs."
"Those annoying bastards?" Pororo's expression flickered slightly at the mention of the name "reef murlocs."
He clearly didn't seem to like this branch of murlocs, so different in size from himself, yet belonging to the same species.
"Forget it, I'll go take a look."
Pororo said, sliding directly into the sea from the side.
His enormous size caused not a single ripple.
Swimming swiftly beneath the surface like a silent hunter, he soon spotted the group of reef murlocs, stealthily beginning their new movements.
Saw only three of them, Pororo no longer hid, suddenly emerging from the water in front of them.
"What are you little bastards up to?"
"Ah!"
Pororo's sudden appearance startled the reef merfolk, causing one to cry out in fear.
The two companions beside him immediately covered his mouth with their hands.
Then they looked up at the towering Pororo.
Seeing he was also a merfolk, he smiled and nodded, then pointed in the direction of Arka's men.
"Over there, humans, delicious food, steal."
After saying this, he extended his hands and bent his waist even lower, arching his back.
This meant that Pororo should go first.
"Alas, even in the vast ocean, they haven't changed their dull demeanor," Pororo muttered helplessly to himself.
"They're my companions. Go away."
As soon as these words left his mouth,
The Sanming fishmen froze in their places, their faces clearly showing surprise, which was so different from that of humans.
He nodded quickly, completely submerged himself in the water, and swiftly left the place.
After sending away these small fishmen who wanted to steal, Pororo walked back helplessly.
Lucille dropped from the tree branch and stood on Pororo's shoulder.
"Are they... really your compatriots?"
After all, the behavior of the three fishmen had left Lucelia completely stunned.
It was so obvious, and yet they still wanted Pororo to join them in the theft.
Although they communicated in the unique language of the merfolk, Lucelia understood it perfectly.
Bororo nodded helplessly. "I'm reluctant, but it's okay."
A bunch of guys who can't even speak merfolk properly."
As he spoke, he sighed.
After a few steps, they returned to where Alka's men were.
"So, is it resolved?"
"We sent them off. A bunch of thieves were trying to steal some food."
"Since they're your compatriots, why don't you invite them over to get to know you?" Jason asked curiously.
Hearing this, Bororo turned and looked at him with a strange look.
"Would you invite a human who wants to steal your things?"
"Uh... okay."
Now that everyone was awake, they didn't feel like going back to sleep. Looking at the time, they were all almost done.
They'd rest for a while and then continue their journey at dawn.
"So what were those murlocs like?" Jason asked.
Lucelia replied, "A few reef murlocs."
"Reef murlocs?" Jason was a little puzzled.
I'd never heard of a fish called a reef murloc.
The names of the murloc subgenres were simple and direct.
For example, shark-like creatures were called shark murlocs, though there were many different types of sharks.
Of course, not every species has a corresponding merman.
Octopus merman, tigerfish merman, swordfish merman.
Just hearing these names gives you a rough idea of what these mermen resemble.
"Reef merman, they're called that because they typically live on reefs near the shore.
There aren't many fish that look like them. They're small and thin, and they're at the bottom of the merman spectrum. And it seems their intelligence isn't generally very high."
Lucelia shared the general information she knew, which was all information she'd read in books.
After seeing the real thing today, she realized it wasn't much different from what she'd seen in the books.
Pororo nodded. "Indeed, they're basically the largest group of murlocs. Aside from their color, they all look pretty much the same.
Their brains aren't very good, though. They're probably somewhere between beasts and intelligent beings."
"There aren't any reefs here."
"We don't have to live near reefs. It's cold and damp here, but it's just perfect for murlocs.
With so many trees, there should be plenty of small fish underwater, more than enough to support a small population."
The group chatted idly until the sky curtain parted.
After packing up, they continued on their way.
At this point, Simon had dismantled the rear thrusters. The area was too vast, making it difficult to maneuver through the woods. After all, even a slender ship like the Swallow needed to find a wide area to maneuver. The sails had long been furled, and the masts were stacked. Since we were on the Swallow, even though the trees had thin branches, they still obstructed our path. After circling back and forth for a while, we were finally almost out of the way. Even in daylight, the place was gloomy. Only beams of light shone through the gaps between the leaves. Pororo swam alongside the Swallow. Looking at the wary gazes in the distance, he shook his head helplessly.
'Don't they think they're hiding well?' Jason couldn't help but ask.
'Don't doubt it, it's just like that.'
Pororo held his forehead, feeling extremely helpless.
'Ah, hurry up, hurry up.'
'Not far away, two murlocs hid under a tree, their heads exposed, seemingly believing they were well hidden. He watched Alka and the others leave warily.
'As for disguises.'
'Although these fishermen had slight green spots on their bodies, the large tree they were leaning against was brown, and they were holding green leaves to shield their heads.
I hadn't anticipated the leaf's size, making its movement even more noticeable.
The Flying Swallow finally left the lush green belt.
"Go this way, the guides are pointing this way." Alka felt the direction.
Sofia sat on the boat, emitting silver ripples, surveying the surroundings.
In such an unfamiliar place, whether or not to map it, it's always helpful to explore.
They hadn't sailed far.
A strong stench of decay wafted over.
It drifted from the air on the breeze and into their nostrils.
A corpse slowly drifted towards them from the distance.
Judging from the condition of the body, it had been dead for a long time. The foul odor made everyone frown and hold their breath.
Julia and Matrissa jumped onto the boat from the water as quickly as possible.
"Circle," Alka couldn't help but say.
Sofia steered the Flying Swallow and circled, avoiding the direction of the corpse.
Although he felt disgusted,
Alka still kept his eyes open, looking at the body from a distance, carefully observing it.
"Knife wounds, and still with hemp ropes tied around his body. He's been dead for two days, probably eaten clean."
It's not easy for a corpse to survive in a place like this and still stink.
But the body was almost gone. Alka could already see a large school of fish beneath it, devouring the rotting, smelly flesh.
The skeleton was now exposed in most places.
It wouldn't be long before only a skeleton remained of this foul-smelling corpse.
"Be careful."
With that, everyone continued on their way.
It took only a few hours.
Simon spotted a village in the water from afar. This time, it was a real village.
It just looked small.
More like a simple manor on the water.
Various branches and wooden poles formed the village's walls. The entire village was built on sea level using this soft, bamboo-like wood.
And on platforms made of wooden poles and bamboo, there were thatched houses.
Simon watched from afar.
From their position, they could just see what looked like the village's main gate from the side.
Several corpses hung from the gate, swaying slightly in the breeze.
Not far away, several wooden poles were stuck in the water, with various skulls hanging from them.
This place, from the inside out, betrayed its unforgiving side.
"This place stinks," Pororo said, covering his nose as he emerged from the water.
As the one with the most sensitive sense of smell, he couldn't stand it.
The stench had dissipated after the corpse had just passed, but here, the odor persisted.
The waters here also looked a bit filthy. As they swam across the surface, numerous small schools of fish swam around them.
And unlike the fish elsewhere, a large number of them followed their boat directly below.
"Are you used to it?" Jason couldn't help but wonder as he watched the scene unfold.
The crystal dragon, sleeping on the rear thruster, rolled over and opened its eyes.
With Ululius's awakening, the surrounding fish immediately dispersed, clearing the area.
"Want to go over there?"
"No, let's go around it to avoid trouble," Alka said.
This place clearly wasn't very friendly. Going around it was better to avoid more trouble than more; they still had things to do.
Hopefully, this seemingly unfriendly place wouldn't come and bother them.
"I think we want to escape, but they don't," Simon said, floating in the sky.
The village's wooden gate had already been opened, and one slender rowboat after another quickly emerged, rushing towards their location.
The boats were filled with people. But their ferocious expressions, their flabby faces, and the various scars and tattoos on their bodies revealed their attitudes.
Simon looked through his glasses.
"Not very good, just one third-stage one. A bit too weak."
"Let the Puppet Army move," Alka said bluntly.
It just so happened that the enemy was numerous, and the Puppet Army was just right.
Lucilia nodded and disappeared into the shadows.
The doll girls, who had been playing around on the ship and the thruster, immediately sprang into action upon hearing Alka's words. They seemed accustomed to the teams they had formed earlier in the Fragrance Room, and they continued to move as usual. "Boss, something's coming over here," said a man holding a crude telescope at the bow of the ship, turning to address the burly man behind them. "Something, what the hell could it be? Is it something to kill yourself?" However, before he could respond, the man holding the telescope suddenly froze in his tracks. Blood gushed from his mouth. His eyes filled with crimson before losing their luster. "Uh... yes,"
He fell to the ground before he could finish his words. A gleaming bloody hole appeared on the back of his head, a thick, white fluid tinged with blood oozing out.
Observing this, a thin energy shield immediately enveloped the sturdy warrior.
As the shield appeared, he drew his weapon. A dagger, arm-length long.
He glanced around with alarm.
He hadn't seen the enemy just now.
"Ah!"
A scream emanated from the surrounding ship.
A girl, about 40 centimeters tall and wearing soft armor, crashed into the back of a villain.
He knocked them down, then bent and swung the bloody blade in his hand.
The head slid off, and a large amount of blood spurted out.
The puppet girl, bathed in blood, didn't care.
"Hehe, die!"
She said, stepping on the corpse and rushing towards the next one.
"Ah! Don't come over here!"
"Monsters, these are all monsters."
Some people slid into the water in fear, trying to escape.
With the sound of splashing, some puppet girls plunged directly into the water.
"Spare my life, spare my life!"
Faced with various pleas for mercy, the puppet girls laughed and didn't respond.
He swung the blade as usual, mercilessly.
The strongest among them, the one who had achieved the third stage of perfection, the sturdy man known as the Boss, held his shield tightly.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, and he looked around warily.
He knew he had met a tough opponent this time.
Why did such a powerful person have to ride in such a small boat? Wouldn't a sea carriage be better?
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
A scarlet spike had pierced his neck.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his head was stiff, trying to turn back.
The bloody blade slipped.
A bloody trail slid down.
The light was gone from her bloodshot eyes.
She never saw who had murdered her until her death.
She sheathed her dagger and vanished into the shadows once again.
The puppet girl's killing was unusually efficient.