Chapter 364: Disaster Strikes Again

While Wu Qingsong was bargaining with Queen Gale, the harpies remained diligent in their mission—monitoring the movements of the Sea Draconians.

The Sea Draconians had gathered their scattered fishmen forces and concentrated them near several large reefs east of Gale Island. It seemed they had learned from their previous failures and were preparing to focus their strength against Wu Qingsong. However, when he suddenly ceased his attacks, their movements became almost laughable. Frustrated, they lashed out at Gale Island with a probing assault.

Wu Qingsong had to temporarily halt negotiations with Queen Gale and rush to the shore to deal with the attack. As expected, their offensive methods remained the same—water arrows, waterspouts, and tidal waves. But with the penguins already evacuated from the coastline, the attacks caused no real damage.

He hid carefully behind a cliff, waiting for them to climb onto the shore.

With their large bodies, they couldn’t possibly move quickly on land. If they dared to come ashore, Wu Qingsong was confident he could ensure they never returned to the sea. But after venting their anger, they quickly retreated into deeper waters, not even giving Wu Qingsong and Ling a chance to pursue.

“We’re heading to the western islands,” Wu Qingsong told Ling.

Now that the harpies and penguins were competing with each other, the spread of Xuanyuanism in Gale Island would not face much resistance. What mattered more to Wu Qingsong was making the birdfolk feel a tangible improvement in their lives after adopting the faith.

Driving away the fishmen to allow them to fish freely was essential. But in Wu Qingsong’s eyes, an even more impactful gesture would be securing additional land for them to expand and thrive.

The nearest group of islands was about 500 li west of Gale Island. Skilled harpy scouts would occasionally fly there to fish or hunt isolated fishmen.

Wu Qingsong and Ling had passed over the area on their way to Gale Island. If one disregarded the surrounding reefs, the region consisted of seven small islands. None were as large as Gale Island, nor did they have the same towering cliffs for harpy nests or mountains to shield them from storms. However, when combined, these islands covered a much greater area than Gale Island. They were also close to each other, making travel between them easy even for penguins and flightless harpies.

If one counted the reefs, the resources available here far surpassed those of Gale Island. The land was also suitable for planting more fruit trees. If he could take these islands and present them as a gift to the birdfolk, they would surely be overjoyed.

However, these islands and reefs were firmly controlled by fishmen. A significant population lived there, making conquest and defense a challenging task.

“The Sea Draconians from Gale Island shouldn’t have come from here,” Wu Qingsong observed after circling the area from high above. 

He hadn’t spotted a single Sea Draconian but had seen a large number of fishman shamans.

In the deeper waters, he also noticed many bizarre-looking fishmen. Erring on the side of caution, he refrained from provoking them.

The seven islands were roughly divided into two separate clusters. Wu Qingsong observed that the fishmen occupying the three larger northern islands were not of the same group as those on the four southern islands. They appeared to be rival factions, competing against each other.

This might be a useful factor for future conquest. However, his goal today was different.

After some searching, he finally spotted his target amidst a coral reef—two massive octopuses, surrounded by a swarm of smaller fishmen.

For creatures of such size, finding enough food to sustain themselves must have been a challenge. It was similar to how the orcs in the Elven Empire selectively bred giant war wolves. Wu Qingsong had encountered wild wolf packs on the Icefield before, but they were small, with only three or four members per group, and much weaker than their domesticated counterparts. Without the beastpeople’s care and selective breeding, they wouldn’t have grown so large or increased in number.

These giant octopuses must have been raised and trained by the fishmen as battle beasts. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have existed in such numbers.

Wu Qingsong watched as some fishmen threw food into the water while carefully avoiding the monstrous tentacles. However, due to the glare of the sea surface, he couldn’t clearly see what they were feeding them.

“Ling, take us down to the water’s surface,” Wu Qingsong ordered.

The fishmen had no idea what was coming. In this distant ocean, threats usually came from below—from rival fishmen tribes—rather than above. Because of this, they invested heavily in raising these octopuses, relying on them to guard their territory.

Octopuses were both highly intelligent and incredibly aggressive. If not raised and trained from infancy, they would be among the fishmen’s most fearsome adversaries. Even with domestication, accidents still occurred. Occasionally, a careless fishman would get too close and be snatched up by a tentacle, meeting a gruesome end as a meal for the beast.

One fishman, busy picking sea stars, suddenly sensed something unusual. It looked up to see a massive shadow on the water’s surface.

Sounding the alarm, it turned—only to hear panicked, high-pitched screams around it.

The once-calm waters abruptly churned into a violent vortex.

The next moment, a tentacle lashed out, striking the fishman from behind.

It blacked out instantly.

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen fishmen were dead—including their leader. The remaining fishmen scattered in terror, utterly confused.

What had just happened?

Why had their sea beasts suddenly gone berserk?

Before they could react, the two massive octopuses, struck by soul fragments, perished and sank to the seabed.

Shaken fishmen hesitantly approached, trying to understand what had just transpired.

But before they could get close, the once-lifeless creatures stirred again.

This time, however, their movements were different—slightly stiff, but unmistakably resolute. No longer distracted or resisting commands, they moved with unwavering purpose.

The fishmen finally noticed the enormous shadow above them.

It swiftly moved toward another coral reef.

And their two mighty guardians—now undead abominations—obediently followed, their tentacles writhing as they surged through the reef-filled waters.