Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
As the sky darkened, the sunset had completely disappeared behind the mountains.
Ruo Yi emerged from Xi Wei’s room, gently closing the door behind her. She stood at the doorway for a moment, catching her breath, her peach-blossom eyes misty. Glancing at her lips, she subtly licked them. Ruo Yi knew that from this moment on, a part of Xi Wei belonged to her, which was the best gift she could ask for.
Calming herself, Ruo Yi returned to her room. Blushing, she went to the wardrobe, tidied her long, slender legs, and changed her clothes. She then walked through a corridor to Xing Hai’s room.
“Loli, you go serve Master. I’ll watch Bubbles.”
Loli, who was by Xing Hai’s side, stood up at the words. She suspiciously approached the fox-eared girl, twitched her delicate nose, and her expression changed. She pouted angrily, muttering, “Cunning fox, you said you were going to give a gift, but you were actually here to steal a bite, Hmph!”
“And you’re not even wearing underwear!”
Ruo Yi chuckled sheepishly, shamelessly saying, “Hehe… How can what a fox does be considered stealing…”
“Stick out your hand!” Loli glared at Ruo Yi, her cheeks puffed out, and said sternly.
Seeing the scattered needle pricks on Ruo Yi’s hand, Loli’s discomfort eased. After all, no matter what, Ruo Yi was sincere towards Master. Thinking this, a soft glow appeared in her hand. She gently held Ruo Yi’s tender hand, and soon, those soft, slender hands became smooth again, without a single wound remaining.
“Alright~ You’re all grown up, and you’re still faking it. Do you think Master won’t see through it?”
“Thank you,” Ruo Yi said sincerely, looking at Loli with gentle eyes. She then continued, picking up on Loli’s words, “It doesn’t matter if he sees through it or not. It’s about receiving the intention.”
“Besides, those needle marks aren’t fake. They hurt when they go in,” Ruo Yi whined. She blinked her watery peach-blossom eyes, tears welling up, her tearful expression making Loli frown. This fox-eared girl was a drama queen when she wasn’t serious. She wondered how the once innocent girl had become like this.
“Hmph~” Loli, too lazy to deal with her, snorted and stomped out of the room.
Not long after, soft, sweet, and spoiled voices echoed from Xi Wei’s room: “Master~ Loli doesn’t care, Loli wants some too!”
***
In the boundless ocean of the Cain Continent.
In the pitch-black deep sea, if one were to explore further, they would find a vast city built among coral reefs. This was Yingzhou, the empire of the sea race. A majestic statue of the Sea God, holding a trident, stood in the center of Yingzhou. His beard and hair flowed in the current, his eyes filled with authority, as if in the act of throwing. Ripples formed on the trident, and countless schools of fish swam around the Sea God statue, surrounding it.
Far from the Sea God statue stood a peculiar statue that resembled a giant octopus. Its body was plump, its tentacles short and thick, covering almost its entire form. Numerous eyes, some open and some closed, were densely packed around it.
“Who!”
“Who stole my race’s sacred artifact, the Trident!?”
In the glorious palace of the Sea Race, the Naga Empress, with her serpentine tail and alluring charm, was filled with rage. Her six long, slender arms, each holding a weapon, also pointed in five different directions at her trembling Naga subjects below. Her long hair writhed behind her, revealing itself to be a tangle of dark, ferocious sea snakes.
The entire palace trembled with the Naga Empress’s roar, and the sea tribes prostrating on the ground were struck with fear.
“Your Majesty…” A Shark Guard, shivering, crawled to the Empress’s throne and said with trembling lips, “The Coral Witch has traced back the scene. This is the backtracking crystal.”
“Bring it up!”
“Yes…” The Shark Guard pressed himself almost entirely to the ground, holding the backtracking crystal above his head. Propelling himself forward with only his tail, he painstakingly inched towards the Empress. Yet, even his carefulness could not save him from his fate.
“Your fingernails are too long.”
The Naga Empress coldly gazed at the Shark Guard at her feet. She lifted the backtracking crystal, and in the Shark Guard’s horrified eyes, the snake hair behind her hissed, then swarmed forward, tearing the poor Shark Guard to shreds.
The atmosphere in the palace became even more deathly still. Unfazed, the Naga Empress gently brought the crystal closer, infusing it with a trace of magic. Soon, fragmented images materialized within the crystal. Filtering out useless information, the Naga Empress’s beautiful eyes narrowed, and the image in the crystal ball froze.
It showed an armored human male suddenly appearing in the Sea Race’s sacred temple. He immediately grabbed the Sea God’s Trident, and with a twist of space, he vanished along with the Trident.
“Good! Very good… Humans!” The Naga Empress gritted her teeth and growled, “In these years, my Naga race has been busy fighting demons in the Storm Sea and resisting the invasion of the Old Ones’ slaves, allowing you humans to take advantage of the situation.”
“Since that is the case…”
“It is time to reclaim the land.”
The Naga Empress’s eyes blazed with immense anger and hatred. She smashed the crystal ball onto the ground with a “crash,” and her roar echoed throughout the palace: “Assemble the soldiers! Counterattack the land!”
“Find him! Find this human male with golden messy hair, wearing armor and carrying a greatsword!”
“He dares to steal my Sea Race’s sacred artifact, I will tear him to pieces and scatter his ashes!”
***
On the coastal border of the Andor Empire.
The sky was gloomy, with rumbling thunder and light rain. The old fisherman was fortunate today. To catch more fish, he had sailed his small boat a bit further out. Despite the foul weather, he not only caught a large net of fish but also managed to return without encountering a sea storm.
“Sea God’s blessing, these fish are enough to pay two months’ taxes,” the old fisherman muttered to himself, tidying his fishing net and cleaning his boat, a hint of joy in his eyes.
“Old partner, sail with me for another half a year, and I’ll find the Red Nose Blacksmith to outfit you with some iron plating.” He gently stroked his small boat, speaking softly. Compared to the tenant farmers who toiled in the fields every day, his life was undoubtedly much more comfortable. Not only did he get to eat fish every day, but he could also sell the extra at the market to buy candy for his granddaughter.
Thinking of his granddaughter, the old fisherman felt renewed vigor. He briskly tidied his fishing net and boat, hiding them behind a cluster of rough reefs before walking home, humming a cheerful tune.
“The vast sea becomes a soft bed~ Swaying with the sea breeze and the beautiful ladies on the boat…”
Arriving at his doorstep, he noticed that his granddaughter Jessica, who usually waited for him there, was absent, which puzzled him. He wondered if she had wandered off to play somewhere.
“Jessica, see what Grandpa brought you?”
“A colorful shell, your favorite kind!”
“Jessica?”
There was no response. The old fisherman smelled a scent of blood, distinctly different from the smell of fish. A premonition of disaster washed over him. With a sense of panic, he pushed open his door.
*Crack—* A flash of lightning illuminated the sky. The old fisherman saw his beloved granddaughter Jessica in the room, her eyes wide open in fear, lying in a pool of blood. Beside her, a sea monster with a serpentine lower body and an alligator’s head slowly turned around. Its savage, ferocious gaze fell upon the old fisherman, and warm blood dripped slowly from the sharp, icy spear in its hand. Far out in the sea, illuminated by the lightning flashing intermittently through the clouds, countless Naga soldiers were emerging from the water…
