Yu Ling's tone was flat and even, as if she were stating a simple fact, without any resentment or murderous intent at the murder of her clansmen. Yet, even with such a simple tone, her clear, mysterious, and alluring voice still made the wizard feel dizzy.

"No, that's not what I meant, beautiful merman."

Pai Liu wasn't sure whether Yu Ling's calm reaction was due to anger or not, and simply smiled helplessly.

"Now that the king is dead—well, I mean he deserved it! But we two powerful beings don't need to continue this hostility and mutual harm. If this stalemate continues..."

"Oh? What will happen?" Yu Ling asked.

"It's hard to say, but at the very least, you'll be sought after by the other royals who lost their king, who will use this as a pretext to vie for the throne." They might even keep you as a pet, decoration, or trophy, keeping you imprisoned in a small pond for people to admire.

She didn't say the rest because, looking at Yu Ling's exquisite face—a face that only exists in the fantasy world of oil paintings—Paylu dared not relax for a moment, feeling wary of the power wielded by this clearly extraordinary merman.

His hand gripping the staff began to sweat nervously as he continued, "You'd rather wait until now, until the king is completely relaxed, than take action, because there must be some limitations to the use of this ability, and you have many concerns."

As for me... as a rare wizard in the human world, I have some influence in every country. Perhaps you could consider stopping this mutually destructive retaliation and leaving this sorrowful place... or, come with me to the human world?

"Pathetic and foolish human wizard, your shallow logic is truly laughable."

Yu Ling's face was cold and stern, and she said disdainfully,

"Our Merfolk have long lived on the seabed, controlling ocean waves and making it easier for humans to travel at sea without having to endure extremely harsh weather. But now... we have no choice but to suffer your cruelty. Humanity will eventually pay the price."

I, as the king of the merfolk, was born in the ocean, and naturally will be buried in the ocean as well. To the filthy world of humans? No interest!

Pailu took a deep breath, trying hard not to laugh out loud. Retribution? Do those nobles have anything to fear in terms of retribution? Even if there is retribution, it won't be the high-ranking people who suffer; it's always the lower-class people who suffer.

Although she scoffed at these words, Pailu was momentarily stunned when Yuling revealed her identity as the Merfolk King. She then said bitterly:

"Alright, Your Majesty the Merfolk King, I apologize on behalf of my deceased king for this atrocity, but please understand, I have no say in this matter." He looked at Yu Ling, his eyes filled with a complex expression. This Merfolk King truly had backbone.

Yu Ling didn't answer, but silently looked at Pai Liu. He didn't know what the other was thinking, otherwise he would definitely despise this guy's bizarre thought process. He had no backbone at all; if he could run, he would have run away long ago!

Pailu didn't know how to continue speaking, so she chose to remain silent.

The two of them continued their stalemate.

Yu Ling was originally waiting for the other party to continue offering conditions to persuade him, but he didn't expect that this wizard would be so inarticulate and actually give up! He almost threw another water bomb at him.

It's gotten to this awkward state, neither here nor there.

However, in that incredibly awkward eye contact...

Pai Liu and Yu Ling suddenly felt an immense pressure enveloping the entire sea. It was an ancient and powerful abyssal aura; its mere presence caused the entire fleet to tremble violently.

In that instant, cold sweat poured down Payi's forehead, his legs trembled, and he couldn't even move his feet!

"System, why would a monster that looks like a background character appear at a time like this?" Yu Ling was dumbfounded.

[The butterfly effect? ​​Maybe you did something that affected its hibernation.] The system fish continued scavenging, completely confident in Yu Ling's survival skills, and said carefree, [Relax~ Good luck, host! I believe you can handle it!]

Yu Ling: ...Thank you so much for trusting me!

"This...this is..." The staff in her hand creaked as Pailiu, overwhelmed by the oppressive aura, managed to utter these words with difficulty, "It's the aura of that slumbering abyssal behemoth!"

But this monster has been sleeping at the bottom of the sea for three hundred years! How could it suddenly awaken at this time?

"You're right." Yu Ling nodded slightly.

However, according to the system, this matter might have something to do with him in the slightest...

It seems... could it be...?

This abyssal behemoth was forced to awaken prematurely because of its two flushing toilet—oops!—void vortex skills, right?

Stay calm! You must stay calm! You can't let your image crumble. You must remain unmoved by this behemoth's threat and deal with it calmly!

"As you said, we can't fight anymore, wizard. I feel its presence rapidly approaching. Are you... going to save the other humans?"

As Yu Ling spoke, she turned her back with an aloof air and looked at the blue seawater that contained terrifying energy.

A sea breeze blew by, lifting her long, flowing hair that exuded the scent of the ocean, making her stunningly beautiful face even more breathtaking against the backdrop.

"Your people were also on those ships, Your Majesty the Merman. How do you view that?" The wizard found it hard to understand why this merman's behavior was so contradictory, seeking revenge on one hand while showing no grief over the loss of his people on the other.

"Do you think a noble king would choose to risk his life for an ordinary merman?"

Yu Ling parted her lips slightly, and the water column supporting her was re-infused with demonic magic, secretly preparing to escape. She said...

"I'm just a mermaid, and I can't even defeat you treacherous and vicious humans, let alone when a colossal abyss beast descends... So, are you going to save them, wizard?"

"..." Pai Liu fell silent again.

This situation is indeed tricky. He and the mermaid king, who is so beautiful that he doesn't seem to be human, seem to be about the same in terms of fighting power. The other party has frankly admitted that he can't beat him at all, so he can forget about saving people.

He was in a dilemma, extremely in a dilemma. This was the second time he had been in trouble. The first time, he had lost the king, and this time... he was going to lose the entire fleet.

If he were to return alone, how would he explain it to the other members of the royal family of that country?

Forget it, now is not the time to think about that; his own life is in danger.

"It's not that I don't want to help, but I'm afraid I'm in dire straits myself. How about... we join forces to save ourselves?"