Chapter 296: Section 84: Fire Gun Dragon Kiss
Since delving into the trench, they had faced over a dozen battles. The scale of the battles grew larger, and their intensity increased by the day, with an increasing number of Fishmen casualties.
Man Ying snorted coldly, looking at Sword Scar with dissatisfaction, “Are you scared?”
Sword Scar hurriedly explained, “I’m willing to go through fire and water for the Man Yu tribe! My lord, I am just worried about your safety.”
Man Ying sneered, “We should stop here, the frontal assault can end now. Follow me.”
Suddenly, Man Ying changed the team’s heading, and after turning several bends, the Fishmen arrived at a corner of the trench.
“This suction cave can take us directly to the lobsters’ lair,” Man Ying pointed to a black hole in the corner of the trench, finally revealing his plan, “We will go in together, strike directly at their lair, and snatch the pearls from their storage. Remember, the more pearls we seize, the greater our merit, and the more generous the rewards for each of you! These pearls are offerings to the Sea God. So, the rewards will not disappoint you, understand?”
...
The Fishmen responded in unison, their spirits lifted significantly with restored morale.
Man Ying, decisive and resolute, was the first to dive into the suction cave.
The rest of the Fishmen quickly followed, with not a single one deserting.
Their current location was deep within the trench’s belly, where it was exceedingly difficult to break out safely on one’s own. This was why Man Ying felt confident that the other Fishmen would follow him on this risky venture.
“So Lord Man Ying had a plan all along, but diving into the suction cave… That’s insane!” Pickled Vegetable shook his head continuously.
“Let’s go,” urged the Fishman youth with a push.
As Pickled Vegetable entered the suction cave, he was whooshed away to the depths in an instant.
The Fishman youth also dived into the suction cave right behind him.
The suction cave reacted quickly, the surrounding currents turning turbulent, propelling the Fishman youth like a bomb, speeding through the narrow, dark passageway.
The time spent inside the suction cave was much less than anticipated.
Soon, the youth was ejected, nearly smashing headfirst into the seabed’s sediment. With his combat training, he forced his body to twist, planting his feet firmly into the ground, barely stabilizing himself.
This move earned Man Ying’s slight nod of approval, not sparing his praise, “Wave Stepping, not bad.”
Most Fishmen ejected from the suction cave would fall into the seafloor sediment, getting battered and in severe pain.
The passages within the sea trench’s rocks were passable, but many of them were far from smooth. Bumps and knocks were inevitable during the journey.
The Fishman youth, too, was sore all over, suffering many minor injuries, with many of his scales scraped off.
He suddenly understood why Man Ying had insisted on forming a team of Transcendents. Ordinary Fishmen would not survive the violent journey through the suction cave and could easily be killed by the impact.
Only Transcendents, by activating their Fighting energy and strengthening their defenses, could survive.
The Fishman youth waited a moment more until the team was complete again.
“If we want to go back, we’ll have to go through the suction cave too. But not this one, remember to follow me closely, understood?” Man Ying growled.
With their only escape route in his hands, all Fishmen had to unleash a fierce fighting spirit.
A Scout brought back good news—the previous commotion caused by the Fishman troop in the trench meant nearly all the lobstermen had gone out to fight, leaving only a small group behind, with no Silver Level presence detected.
Man Ying was overjoyed.
The lobstermen tribe had more than one at Silver Level, but this time his luck was good; they had all gone away.
“Charge with me!” Man Ying roared, long-handled blade in hand, leading the charge at the forefront.
Then, the Fishmen shouted together and rushed toward the lobstermen’s lair—a vast cave.
The lobstermen inside the lair scrambled to battle. But this garrison was thinly spread with low Cultivation, composed entirely of the old, weak, sick, and disabled. They were quickly overwhelmed by the Fishmen.
Man Ying led the team deep into the cave, where the lobstermen had dug many small holes to serve as rooms.
The large number of Fishmen split up and began searching each one.
They soon discovered one of the lobstermen’s storerooms filled with a vast number of pearls. Many were of high Grade, and the Fishman youth even spotted a Gold Grade Wine Pearl.
“Quick, quick! Take all these pearls!” Man Ying urged.
The Fishmen moved hastily, all too aware that their time was limited. Once the lobstermen’s main forces returned, their exit would be much more difficult.
The lobstermen’s treasury was rich.
Most of the treasures were pearls.
They had many more pearls than the Fishmen, one main reason being that lobstermen’s staple food was clams. Not so for Fishmen.
The lobstermen, prying open giant clamshells at the seafloor to slurp the tender clam meat, would often discover high-quality pearls.
Since lobstermen rarely traded with the outside world, their pearl reserves naturally grew over time.
Apart from pearls, the storeroom also contained seaweed and other food reserves.
There was a small quantity of potions and ingredients, indicating that the lobstermen’s Shaman had the ability to concoct a few types of potions.
There were also various miscellaneous items.
Among these items were some magic ores found at the seafloor, figureheads from sunken ships, and weapons and armor seized from enemies after victorious battles.
“Ah?” The Fishman youth’s eyes lit up as he pulled a firearm from a pile of miscellaneous items in a hole.
It was a Short-barreled Firearm.
The bore of the firearm was large, seemingly made of red copper, with a robust style. The grip and trigger made from red crystal added a fervent touch to the firearm.
“Could it be… Dragon’s Kiss?”
The Fishman youth thought of a famous firearm.
This well-known firearm, named Dragon’s Kiss, was of Legendary Level, and its appearance closely matched the one the Fishman youth had just found.
“Has the Dragon’s Kiss disappeared for many years, and this is where it fell?”
No answer.
For now, one couldn’t confirm those suspicions.
The Fishman youth directly fastened the Fire Gun to his own belt.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” Man Ying began to assemble the team.
Fishmen swam out from various small caves, many holding pearls, some even carrying Treasure Boxes. Some held spears, sailor knives, and other weapons in their hands.
Therefore, even though the youth had a short-barreled Firearm with an inscrutable aura at his waist, he still went unnoticed in the team.
Man Ying tacitly allowed the Fishmen to pilfer along the way; his main objective for this expedition was the pearls.
The pearls scavenged by the Fishmen could pile up into a small mound half the height of a person. Some of the pearls were extremely large, like washbasins.
The pristine and lustrous pearls were stashed into several large chests, and the Fishmen began to retreat carrying them.
During the retreat, the Fishman team encountered the main force of the lobster folk who were rushing back to reinforce.
“We must leave someone behind to cover our retreat!” Sword Scar whispered to Man Ying, “I think the people from Wave Stepping would be very suitable for this.”
Man Ying snorted coldly and selected a number of Fishmen from Knight Sea Town, Brown Scales Sea Town, and Sword Fin Sea Town to stay behind and cover the retreat.
“Get the pearls out of the Sea Eye, we will come back to support you. Hold on! There’s absolutely no way to escape here,” Man Ying tossed out those words and turned to leave.
The Fishmen who were called upon took up their post with a resolve to die, standing their ground at the original site. They resisted the furious onslaught of the crustacean enemy, desperately buying time for Man Ying and the others with their lives.
The Fishman youth was not called upon but followed close behind Man Ying.
Likewise for Suan Cai (Pickled Mustard).
It wasn’t luck that spared them, but a deliberate choice by Man Ying.
Man Ying knew that the Fishman youth, Pickled Mustard, and Old Brown Scales had a deep connection. If he intentionally sacrificed these two, it would inevitably cause strong discontent among the high ranks of Brown Scales Sea Town, which wouldn’t benefit the rule of the Man Yu tribe.
Following Man Ying, the Fishman youth found the correct Sea Eye.
Man Ying left several Fishmen behind to inform the rearguard and took the lead himself, diving into the Sea Eye with the most valuable chest of pearls.
Soon after, the Fishman youth also carried a small box of pearls through the tunnel in the rock wall to the other side.
Man Ying was busy organizing his team and waiting.
Moments later, instead of the rearguard Fishmen joining them, a searching squad of lobster folk arrived.
“Damn it!” Man Ying’s expression changed; he spotted a Silver Level lobster among this search party.
Man Ying stood his ground, struggling fiercely against the Silver Level crustacean fighter.
The other Fishmen gave way, clearing out the central space for the two Silver leaders, each finding other lobster people to battle against.
To speak frankly, Man Ying was strong in combat, his Combat Skills continuously employed, keeping the enemy lobster leader firmly at a disadvantage.
But Man Ying grew more and more anxious as he fought.
The lobster had a sturdy shell, knowing it could not defeat Man Ying by itself; it almost gave up on attacking and purely defended.
It was trying to buy time!
And Man Ying had no way of defeating it quickly.
“Sword Scar, come help me!” Man Ying roared. He had a Combat Skill that required charging, needing a bit of time. But the lobster leader entangled him relentlessly, not giving him the time to charge.
Sword Scar, despite his reluctance, charged into the fray.
The lobster leader roared and directly sent Sword Scar flying.
Man Ying then ordered a Steel Bone Fishman Knight to go and hold him off.
The unfortunate Fishman Knight was snipped into two by the lobster, dying instantly on the spot.
The Fishman Knights had lost their mounts.
Their mounts, due to their large size, stayed on the first side when they passed through the Sea Eye as they couldn’t fit through.
At a critical moment, the Fishman youth suddenly charged forward on his own initiative.
When the lobster leader attacked him, the Fishman youth simultaneously employed the Combat Skills Red Scales Chaos Dance and Wave Stepping.
His body darted around chaotically; the lobster leader repeatedly failed to hit him.
Red Scales Chaos Dance allowed the Fishman youth, without fully exerting Silver Fighting Spirit, to directly resist the Silver offensive.
Wave Stepping greatly enhanced the Fishman youth’s mobility.
Now it was the lobster leader’s turn to become utterly vexed.
The Fishman youth was like a fly, buzzing around him in circles, annoyingly elusive!
“Good job, Duo Yu! When we return, you’ll be handsomely rewarded,” Man Ying bellowed. At last, he got his chance, raised his long-handled greatsword, and swung it down vertically.
The surface of the greatsword shimmered with Silver light, becoming incredibly sharp.
The lobster put up a full resistance, its claws were directly severed, followed by its entire upper body being split in two, leaving only the intact tail portion of its bottom half.
Man Ying had killed his opponent, exhaled a foul breath, and without rest, immediately turned to attack the other lobster folk.
As a result, the lobster people’s squad collapsed and was quickly slaughtered to the last.
“Go, go, go!” Not waiting for the rest of the Fishmen, Man Ying quickly led the team to hurriedly flee from the Sea Eye trench.
The main force of lobster folk that arrived shortly afterward missed them by only a bit.
Days later, the Fishman youth, along with Man Ying and others, arrived at Sea Eye City.