The Future of the Fishmen

Chapter 44 The Future of the Fishmen

"Chieftain."

Inside a grand hall made of translucent crystal, the lord-man knelt respectfully before the towering throne.

On the walls surrounding the main hall, yellow crystals emitted a faint light, which, through the refraction of the crystals, illuminated the entire hall.

Seated on the throne was a tall, somewhat weary merman who held a scepter in his hand, the top of which was inlaid with a dazzling gem that exuded a mysterious power.

This is the king of the fish-men, the chieftain of the fish-men race.

"Those outsiders have been sent into the abyss as you instructed," said the merman lord.

"Hmm, not bad," the merman chieftain said calmly.

"Kasher, are you curious why I told you not to touch those outsiders?" The merman chieftain noticed a hint of displeasure in the domain lord merman's actions.

"Your subordinate wouldn't dare!" Kasher's heart tightened, and he quickly admitted his mistake.

"Well, since things have come to this point, there's no harm in telling you all about it."

With a wave of his hand, the merman chieftain summoned three more mermen at the Domain Lord level to enter the main hall.

"The Lord God perished more than a million epochs ago," the merman chieftain said, emphasizing each word.

"What?" Kasher asked in disbelief.

That was an immortal god! How could he have fallen so easily?!

"The God Lord offended someone he shouldn't have, and was killed. Before his fall, he bestowed the 'Sea-Suppressing Pearl' upon our clan, which has been passed down through generations. It is because of this treasure that this world has been able to endure for so long after the God Lord's death."

"Isn't the Sea-Suppressing Pearl something our clan created to monitor changes in the sea?" Kasher asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's just a name; the real Zhenhai Pearl is incomparable to that thing." The fish-man glanced at him casually and continued.

"The power of the Sea-Suppressing Pearl comes from the outside world. In reality, we should all be members of the human race outside. It's just that due to some changes, the God Lord fell, which severed our connection with the outside world."

"These messages can only be known by the chieftains of each generation. Kasher, you are the last hope of my fish-men."

"The merfolk chieftain said."

"My lifespan is coming to an end, and the power of the Sea-Suppressing Pearl is declining year by year. The talents of the fish-men are getting worse with each generation, and even this world is no longer stable."

"My final wish is for my fish-men race to leave this place and venture into the vast universe. Only there can my fish-men race find a way out!"

"Kasher, you are the most promising young member of my Fishman race to reach the World Lord level. I will pass on the position of the next clan leader to you. From now on, you will be the clan leader of the Fishman race!"

"Greetings, Chieftain!"

Upon hearing this, the other three domain lord merfolk knelt down before Kasher.

"What?"

Kasher was still immersed in the words of the merfolk chieftain, never imagining that the next moment he would become the hope for the future of the merfolk.

"Come, my child." The merfolk chieftain stepped down from his throne and came before Kasher.

"This King's Scepter is the symbol of the clan leader and the key to unlocking the treasure trove beneath the abyss. The Sea-Suppressing Pearl is there. As long as we retrieve it, our fish-men will be able to escape this world."

"Those outsiders are all of extraordinary status and position. Consider them my backup plan for you. If necessary, you can use their lives to gain the help of humans from the outside world. I believe you can lead the fish-men out of here and become stronger."

"Chieftain, you..." Kasher asked, puzzled. "Aren't you still alive? Why are you in such a hurry to give me this?"

"Wouldn't it be better if you led us out of here? I'm just a lowly domain lord."

"..."

Their eyes met, and after a brief silence.

The merfolk chieftain awkwardly said, "Ahem, I'm not important. As long as you hand over those outsiders, the humans outside will definitely help you find a new territory for the merfolk."

"At that time, the Zhenhai Pearl will be able to naturally absorb the power of the universe and slowly recover. Perhaps one day, you will become the new God Lord."

"Of course, if necessary, we can sacrifice the Sea-Suppressing Pearl to ensure the safety of my fish-men race, since it is practically useless now."

"For millions of epochs, the safety of my fish-man race has been protected by the Sea-Suppressing Pearl. Now that its power is exhausted, it is time for it to rest."

"Chieftain!" Kasher shouted, but still couldn't stop the merfolk chieftain from leaving.

The remaining three merfolk looked at each other, then exchanged glances and lifted Kasher onto the throne.

"You all conspired to swindle me?"

Kasher understood everything, but it was too late.

He had already sat on the throne and held the scepter in his hand; he was now the chieftain of the merfolk.

The chieftain who bears the weight of billions of fish-men's lives.

……

Gu Ce was unaware of what happened inside the main hall.

The good news is that he has entered the virtual universe through Rimuru and made contact with Hafa and Edra.

"Don't worry, my teacher will find a way to rescue you. The fact that there are humans from the Divine Kingdom inside means that the Lord of the Dry Sea must have left behind some treasure that can protect the space," Hafa said, patting his chest.

I wasn't entirely sure before, but now I'm certain.

Hafa thought to himself.

"Those merfolk don't seem to want to attack us," Gu Ce said.

"That's normal," Hafa said nonchalantly, waving his hand dismissively. "They most likely have someone who knows what's going on outside. If they dare to make a move, they'll inevitably face annihilation, even if they have a world lord."

"I reckon they won't attack you; in fact, they'll protect you. After all, you're their last hope, their 'bargaining chip' to get from the Kingdom of God into the universe."

"The potential of the humans of the divine kingdom is almost completely locked, haha." Hafa shook his head. "Don't even mention facing my universe's number one bank, I'm confident I can wipe out any random mid-level civilization."

Gu Ce seemed to be deep in thought.

"You could use this as leverage to swindle some treasures from them," Hafa said with a half-smile.

"I estimate that all the good things in the Dry Sea Divine Kingdom are in the hands of the fish-men, and even the treasure that suppresses the divine kingdom may be in their hands. If you can get your hands on this, my teacher is willing to pay a huge price to exchange with you."

"Is that so?" Gu Ce remained noncommittal.

"Of course." Halfa did not continue the topic.

"Go back now, and remember to tell them not to do anything foolish. We've also received news from Bai Zhou; they've been caught too."

Halifax ended the communication.

Gu Ce was pondering how to trick the fish-men into giving him the treasure.

Forcibly seizing it is unrealistic.

A seventh-tier Hengxing level cultivator, defeating a Domain Lord level cultivator?

This kind of power difference almost doesn't need to be represented by simple numerical values.

With this ability, why would Gu Ce need to participate in the Genius Battle? He would have been accepted as a disciple by those great beings long ago.

cheat?

How to scam?

Gu Ce pondered deeply.

"Master," Rimuru offered his advice at the opportune moment.

"What the merfolk want is territory. If we give them territory, or even the protection of a strong person, how will they thank us?"

"That's possible, but where would we get territory? Put them on Earth?" Gu Ce said helplessly.

"Isn't there another prince outside, the prince of the Cuimu Empire?" Rimuru said.

Please vote, add to your favorites, and follow this story!

Please point out any bugs you find.

(End of this chapter)