The lanternfish swam slowly, the soft water plants swaying and occasionally brushing against the fish's skin.

Several small fish were hiding among the water plants when they were chased out by an anglerfish. The anglerfish clumsily and fiercely opened its mouth wide, revealing a row of fine teeth, and bit the small fish, swallowing it whole.

Yu Wanwan immediately had an idea.

She lifted her unbound foot, picked up an anglerfish, and kicked it.

The lanternfish was kicked away, and at first it could act as if nothing had happened. But Yu Wanwan's foot became more and more aggressive, chasing after it relentlessly. After being kicked several more times, even the best-tempered fish couldn't take it anymore. The lanternfish opened its mouth wide and bit at Yu Wanwan's leg with a loud snarl.

Its teeth were indeed formidable; though small, they were incredibly painful when they bit, and Yu Wanwan's leg was quickly drawn blood.

The head guard was still lecturing Shang Bing, and he seemed to be getting more and more worked up.

He felt that he had thwarted Shang Bing's arrogance in supporting the elders, and that he had also managed to win back some ground for Wang Cong from the elders.

"Did you even hear what I said! Tomorrow you'll go and clean the red crabs for me, you..." He stopped mid-sentence, his nose twitching, and asked in confusion, "Strange, why is there suddenly a bloody smell?"

He looked around and followed the scent of blood.

As soon as Shang Bing saw the direction he was heading, she panicked and swam to him, blocking his way: "Guard Captain, what are you doing there? There's nothing to see there."

The guard captain, stopped by him, found it even stranger: "I smell blood here, it smells a bit like the blood of my people, come and take a look."

Shang Bing immediately became alarmed: "How could this be? Look here, there isn't a single mermaid, so how could there be a smell of blood!"

He had a bad feeling. Could it be that one of the females he brought back had inexplicably bled and been discovered?

"That's right, there are no mermaids here, so why would there be a bloody smell? Step aside, let me go take a look!" The head guard felt something was wrong as he became more secretive, and he became even more determined to venture into the waterweed field.

Shang Bing tried desperately to stop him, but the head guard, being his superior, was definitely stronger than him. He couldn't stop him and was immediately thrown aside. The head guard waved, and his mermaid guards immediately swam up and pulled Shang Bing back.

The guard captain swam into the waterweed field, parted the waterweeds, and was shocked to find that there were actually several female members of the hot-blooded beast race hiding inside!

The bloody smell he had just caught was from a lanternfish biting the thigh of one of the females, tearing off a chunk of flesh, and the red mist of blood filled the seawater.

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Yu Wanwan chased away the lanternfish around her wound. The seawater irritated the wound, causing intense pain and dispelling the dizziness that had been causing her. Her previously bloodless face became even paler.

Fortunately, the guard captain had keen senses; it was worth it, considering she was bleeding and injured, with a piece of flesh torn off.

Yu Wanwan frowned.

Once she gets back, she must report her work injury to the Beast God!

The guard captain pointed at the females who shouldn't be there and glared at Shang Bing: "Shang Bing! What's going on with these females? How can there be female members of the Hot-Blooded Beast Clan here! Don't you know the King despises Hot-Blooded Beastmen the most? You dare to bring them to the bottom of the sea, what are you trying to do! Rebellion!"

Shang Bing had never seen him so angry before. After being scolded so harshly, her head was buzzing.

But Shang Bing was used to being scolded, and she quickly reacted, retorting directly, "What female? I don't know anything about that!"

"You don't know?" The guard captain sneered, "I don't know why you stopped me just now. I was wondering why you took this route today and only brought back so little stuff. Turns out you used all your manpower to capture females!"

The head guard, as expected of someone who had long regarded Shang Bing as a thorn in his side, completely guessed what was going on as soon as he opened his mouth.

Shang Bing's brow twitched, but she still retorted, "Don't talk nonsense. I don't know anything. I just happened to be here today!"

He just won't admit it, and there are no witnesses. Even if the Mermaid King comes, he can't do anything to him.

The head guard stared wide-eyed, but he couldn't do anything about Shang Bing.

Upon seeing this, Yu Wanwan frantically moved her facial muscles to remove the seaweed sealing her mouth. As soon as she was free, she couldn't wait to say, "He's lying! He's the one who captured us here. He even said he was going to use us to feed the red crabs and fatten them up!"

Shang Bing's heart skipped a beat, and she angrily retorted, "Shut up! When did I ever say such a thing!"

Yu Wanwan wasn't afraid of him either. If she couldn't make Shang Bing fall hard at this moment, she would be the one to die next!

She glared back without hesitation and said loudly, "What I said is true! He also said that he firmly supports the elders, and even if the Mermaid King says he wants to get rid of the Red Crabs, he will capture beastmen to feed the Red Crabs and let them overrun the Red Crabs!"

Yu Wanwan was determined to get rid of Shang Bing, and she was quick to make accusations.

It's not really a smear campaign; Shang Bing had indeed said he was loyal to the elders.

Yu Wanwan raised her bound hands and pointed to the merman guards who were following Shang Bing: "If you don't believe me, you can torture these mermen. They all came with Shang Bing to capture us."

Upon hearing that they were to be severely tortured, the group of merfolk immediately went limp.

The head guard has a long-standing grudge against Shang Bing. If he catches him, he'll definitely be in for a world of hurt!

The mermaids who were following Shang Bing shouted, "It's not our fault! It was all Shang Bing's idea!"

Shang Bing's eyes were bloodshot, and he wished he could rush up and stab Yu Wanwan to death with a harpoon on the spot. He never expected that such a good thing would turn out like this, and that she would say that she supported the elder in front of the head guard.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!