The ship suddenly lurched.
The sky seemed to darken slightly. The tranquil moonlight that had been cast upon everyone's faces disappeared. When people looked up, they discovered that a giant dark cloud had obscured the silver moon.
The sea suddenly grew furious.
The waves rose high, heavy dark clouds enveloped the sky, and lightning flashed in the distance.
"Ah, a terrible storm is coming!"
The sailors cried out in panic, quickly lowering the sails.
The tide suddenly surged, like a massive black mountain, crashing over and causing the magnificent ship to rock violently, making the King fall onto the deck.
Wave after wave, they sought to snap the ship's mast. Icy rain poured down. Silver lightning streaked through the dark clouds, striking down occasionally and turning the night into day.
The large ship swayed on the raging sea; compared to the towering waves, even the largest ship in the Summer Kingdom seemed too small.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The ship emitted cracking sounds, its beautifully painted planks broken by the raging waves, and its mast snapped by the strong winds.
The large ship tilted, half submerged in the sea.
Splash, icy seawater poured into the cabin.
"Protect the King!"
The chief petty officer gave orders to the Soldiers and sailors on the ship, but his command was drowned out by the strong winds and sudden rain.
But even if they could hear the command, what could they do?
The elite Soldiers helped the King, surrounding the monarch in the middle, maintaining balance amidst the strong winds and heavy rain, to prevent the King from being injured by collapsing masts or boxes and barrels scattering in the storm. Icy rain lashed down on the faces of the King and the Soldiers.
Beyond that, they could do nothing. They had sharp bayonets but could not wound the storm; they had beautiful shields and armor but could not resist the sea's fury.
"Oh my! Gods! Why must I encounter a storm at this very moment?"
The King lamented.
Not long before, he had just received the joyous news that his child was about to marry the Princess of Ender.
He hadn't even had the chance to personally see Prince Eric dressed in beautiful and luxurious attire, holding the hand of his bride, who was also adorned in a precious wedding gown.
"I wonder how Eric is doing..." The King leaned on the ship's railing, enduring the icy rain and biting wind, thousands of thoughts swirling in his mind.
Those facing death always have many memories.
"Eric, though you are a rebellious child who loves to dream, you possess a commendable courage, a persistence to never give up until you achieve your goals."
"You are indeed sometimes immature. But who is born steady? And who hasn't experienced the wildness of youth?"
"In any case, you are far, far better than your younger brother, who travels abroad, is playful, lustful, and good-for-nothing."
"You are now the Crown Prince of the Summer Kingdom, and you are destined to become the King of the Summer Kingdom in the future."
"Of course, what I am thinking now, you cannot hear. I'm afraid I won't be able to see you one last time!"
"Next, you will have a wedding with that Princess in the Imperial City of Ender. Under the illumination of thousands of oil lamps on the altar, you will place your hand on the bride's hand and speak your vows to her amidst joyful songs."
"When you learn the terrible news of your father's death at sea, you will bring that beautiful Princess of the Ender country back to the Summer Kingdom. Then, you will ascend the throne in my stead, becoming the new King of the Summer Kingdom. That little Princess will become the Queen of the Kingdom."
"Fortunately, before this, I have already advanced the alliance between our two countries quite a bit. You only need to complete the last small part."
"From then on, the merchant ships of the Summer Kingdom will travel unimpeded on the high seas, and the royal pirates of Ender will no longer attack our ships and fishermen. Their royal navy's reputation for dominating the sea will protect our ships. From then on, the country will become increasingly prosperous, and everything will slowly get better..."
"What a pity. You are still too young. Regarding the intrigues in the court, and how to select wise ministers and avoid sycophantic courtiers, I won't have the chance to teach you slowly..."
Too many thoughts and sentiments flashed through the King's mind.
At the end of these thoughts, the King felt a biting chill. It was the icy cold of the seawater.
He had fallen into the sea.
Salty and wet seawater flooded his nasal cavity, eroding the King's consciousness.
In his desperate struggle, the King saw many nimble figures, passing through the raging waves at an incredible speed, skillfully weaving around the floating wreckage of ship beams and planks.
"Is someone swimming in the sea? Who swims so skillfully and so fast? Better than the strongest swimmer I've ever seen!"
In his blurred consciousness, the King felt a sense of doubt.
Immediately after, he noticed that the lower halves of these figures were not human legs but beautiful fish tails.
Mermaids!
Many, many Mermaids!
Hundreds of Mermaids!
This astonishing sight made the King suddenly clear-headed for a few moments; he flailed his hands in the seawater, wanting to call for help to those Mermaids—this sounded incredible, but subconsciously, he actually felt that those Mermaids would save him—perhaps because he had just heard the saying "Mermaids are harmless" from his attendant.
However, immediately after, the raging waves slammed him back into the water.
In the icy, biting seawater, the King felt a strong hand grasp his arm.
Immediately after, this powerful and reassuring force lifted the King out of the sea, ensuring his head was above the surface so he could breathe fresh air.
The King glanced at the person who had saved him from behind.
It was a valiant man with a fish tail, wearing a crown carved from coral, and draped in a robe woven from thousands of fish scales. His strong left hand had pulled him up, and in his right hand, he held a golden trident.
"Wow, many humans have fallen into the water here. Their ship seems to have been hit by a terrible storm."
"Do you remember? Humans cannot breathe underwater, we cannot let them die in vain!"
The ruler of the sea raised his trident, giving orders to the other Mermaids.
The Sea King's voice was incredibly majestic, echoing across the entire sea, even overpowering the howling wind and the pattering of icy rain on the water's surface.
"Save them, save all the humans here, and take them to the nearest island!" the Sea King said.
The Mermaids heard the Sea King's command and began to lift up one fallen Soldier, attendant, and sailor after another, holding their heads above the water.
Many of the awakened Soldiers, sailors, and attendants could hardly believe the sight before them.
Mermaids, rumored to bring disaster and lure sailors into dangerous waters, were actually rescuing them!
Some fallen Soldiers were incredibly panicked when they saw the Mermaids, fearing these terrifying monsters would eat them, but when they discovered these Mermaids were actually there to help, they were so surprised they thought they were dreaming.
Innumerable thoughts flashed through the minds of those who had fallen into the water:
"Aren't those Mermaids?"
"So many Mermaids. I've never seen so many Mermaids gathered together."
"Gods. The Mermaids are helping us! They seem genuinely sincere."
"I knew it, those legends about Mermaids were just to scare children."
"..."
They waved their hands, signaling for nearby Mermaids to save them, shouting loudly, begging for the Mermaids' help.
Never in the history of sea and land had such a thing happened—sailors longed to see Mermaids, and were ecstatic as they swam towards them!
"Oh, Sea, I pray to you, I pray you extinguish your fury."
The Sea King raised his trident high.
"Let me and my people take you to land!"
...
At the Ender Imperial City Port.
Near the temple where the Prince and Princess were to be married.
Due to the great chaos at the port, the Soldiers guarding the temple also fell into disarray.
Several officers were directing each other, or reporting chaotic matters, such as which ship had sunk again, or which giant sea beast had suddenly appeared.
They continuously dispatched personnel to the warships at the port, to repair damage on leaky ships. The Soldiers stationed there were reduced by more than half in an instant.
Occasionally, even giant flying fish would leap out of the sea, directly splashing into the midst of these Soldiers, causing even greater commotion.
In such a chaotic situation, no one would notice that three birds quietly opened a window and flew into the temple.
"Bang!"
As soon as the three white doves entered the temple, Rhine dispelled the transformation magic, allowing the trio to revert to their original forms in a cloud of mist.
"Strange, isn't this supposed to be the wedding venue? Why is it empty!" Aurora exclaimed.
The temple, which should have been bustling, was empty.
On the altar, the fragrant oil in the expensive oil lamps was still burning, golden light illuminating the temple in the night, yet no one was there.
Now, the bride and groom, the priests, the band responsible for playing music, and the other nobles were all trapped in the world replicated by that full-length mirror!
—And that full-length mirror, of course, had long since been moved by the Old Witch's people and hidden in a secret location. To prevent anyone from breaking the mirror and releasing Prince Eric.
"As expected, it's not here."
Rhine showed no surprise upon seeing this scene.
Clearly, the Old Witch of Ender was involved in the entire plan.
And as the First Witch of Ender, her magical attainments definitely surpassed those of Violet Fairy, the leader of the 12 good witches of the Rose Kingdom, so she would certainly set up numerous obstacles.