Chapter 280: The Mermaid
“It's over, Helen, descend!”
The passenger airship circled continuously in the sky.
An elderly man leaned on the ship's railing on the helm deck, observing the situation below.
Helen quickly controlled the airship to lower its altitude.
The passenger airship in the sky continued to circle.
It circled while descending bit by bit.
“The vast ocean is truly beautiful and terrifying!”
Standing on the water, Li Meng gazed at the sea.
Without the airship, even a god-level powerhouse would be trapped and perish in the ocean.
No matter how strong the Sword God's body was, it couldn't traverse thousands of miles of ocean.
Even the vast mana reserves of a Water God-level archmage couldn't cross a thousand miles of sea.
“Water God, get on board!”
At that moment, the passenger airship in the sky behind Li Meng dived down.
The massive passenger airship almost skimmed the sea as it flew.
Just as the airship swept past Li Meng,
he leaped from the sea.
His black-robed figure nimbly landed on the deck.
“Helen, ascend at full speed!”
The elderly man on the helm deck stayed vigilant.
The airship, flying close to the sea, rapidly ascended into the sky.
On the deck, adventurers stared in awe at the black-robed figure.
Even the three companions of Amay were filled with fear and didn’t dare to approach.
Li Meng turned and leaned against the ship’s railing, looking at the sea below.
His gaze sharpened as he noticed something curious.
In the distance, a head emerged from the water.
She had bright golden hair.
Her flawless white face seemed to be covered with a layer of tiny scales.
Her ears were human-sized but pointed.
Her sapphire-blue pupils shimmered with light.
“So this is a mermaid?”
Li Meng's eyes flashed with a trace of regret.
If he had known that the war with the Jawa Tribe involved the mermaids,
he would have caught a few to keep.
Even if they couldn't bear children, they would be pleasing to the eye.
“Xiao Bai, are mermaids widely distributed in the Coral Sea?”
Feeling tempted, Li Meng asked Xiao Bai about the mermaids.
“They are of mid-upper strength among the major sea tribes. Their numbers are the fewest, but they are very united and never have internal conflicts. Due to their habit of roaming, they have no fixed territory. Because of this, they are skilled in diplomacy and maintain good relations with all tribes except for the Jawa Tribe, which is impossible to communicate with.”
Hearing this, Li Meng’s desire intensified.
If mermaids were similar to nomadic tribes on land, constantly moving,
capturing them would not be easy.
Missing this opportunity would make finding them again as hard as searching for a needle in a haystack in the vast ocean.
“Forget it, there’s no place to keep them!”
After thinking about it, Li Meng gave up.
With his abilities, he was confident he could catch that mermaid.
But taking her along would be a problem.
As a marine creature, a mermaid couldn’t survive without water.
He couldn’t carry a large water tank around all the time.
Sighing, he turned and headed toward the cabin.
His exposed power made others too fearful to even speak to him.
Amid the reverent gazes of adventurers on the deck, Li Meng returned to the cabin.
“Father, which tribe’s powerhouse do you think he belongs to?”
On the helm deck, Helen asked her father.
The elderly man showed a contemplative expression and shook his head.
“That black robe must be a magical artifact that conceals his aura!”
Helen’s eyes revealed a trace of curiosity.
That person was too mysterious.
Because of his strange attire, Helen had paid attention to him.
Since he had no magical fluctuations,
Helen had assumed he was an ordinary person dressed oddly.
But today, the strength he displayed rivaled that of god-level powerhouses.
A god-level powerhouse was someone who could potentially enter the Overlord Rankings.
In cabin 05 on the upper deck of the passenger airship,
Li Meng sat sideways on the windowsill.
Even in his room, he could hear adventurers on the deck discussing him.
“Master, Sandra has made a move!”
Xiao Bai's warning caught Li Meng’s attention.
“What is she trying to do?”
“Earl Mors has almost fully recovered. Sandra doesn’t want to accept her grim future; she wants to resist, to change, to regain freedom and dignity!”
“Are these her inner thoughts?”
“Yes, they are firm thoughts!”
“Saint-level powerhouses are all proud; they wouldn’t willingly become the concubine of a goblin!”
Li Meng initially thought of saying “breeding tool.”
But as a civilized goblin,
he felt “concubine” sounded slightly better, albeit not by much.
Sandra’s relationship with him was essentially what humans understood as “concubine.”
Except Sandra hadn’t agreed willingly.
Sandra’s rebellious thoughts didn’t surprise Li Meng.
Sandra’s initial compromise was forced.
Once she calmed down, she would realize the truth.
She was dealing with a goblin, a race akin to monsters.
There was no need to honor promises made to him.
Even though she had sworn an oath, bound by her actions,
there were more ways into Goblin Forest than through the Garrison Fort.
“What could she do? The Obenlo City incident severely weakened the Irisis Principality. They can’t make any external moves for years. The Holy War Army of the Papal States has gone silent. The Garrison Fort can do nothing on its own.”
“Master, Sandra knows of your existence and the Throne Tribe. If she persuades the Papal States to form a hero squad to attack, it could pose a huge threat to the Throne Tribe!”
Li Meng frowned, lost in thought.
Xiao Bai’s words reminded him of Kain,
that brat who was the Sword Hero.
This suggested that human heroes were not unique.
There might also be heroes of shields, spears, and others.
If humanity assembled a hero squad to attack the Throne Tribe,
it would indeed bring trouble.
Though no matter how strong the world’s powerhouses were, they could be overwhelmed by armies,
killing god-level powerhouses required many specific conditions.
Decapitating a god-level powerhouse required another god-level powerhouse.
“This is a potential issue but not an immediate one. Let’s wait and see!”
Xiao Bai merely pointed out a possibility.
It meant Sandra had thoughts but hadn’t acted on them.
“What about Yue E? Is she still holed up in the Black Mountain Marshlands?”
Although he could directly communicate with Yue E,
Li Meng chose not to. Yue E needed to learn independence.
“She was injured not long ago and has retreated from the outer seas to inland waterways to recover.”
Li Meng’s heart tightened at the news.
He had a fondness for Yue E.
When together, Yue E often called him “boss” with such enthusiasm.
Compared to intelligent races, magical beasts were far simpler.
Li Meng appreciated that simplicity,
even though it was rooted in strength.