The water blade penetrated the black shadow and fell on the ice below. The black shadow's body twitched twice, then silently turned into a cloud of smoke and dissipated in the water.
Thanos bent down to pick up the rope that fell on the ice. As he moved, Gu Shi saw something faintly reflective falling from between the ropes.
"Hmm? What is that?"
Gu Shi reached out and grabbed the small reflective object. When he looked at it, he found that it was actually a somewhat dull orange-red scale. Judging from its size, it was very similar to the scales on Thanos' fish tail.
Thanos also noticed Gu Shi's actions. After seeing the scales in Gu Shi's palm, his gaze suddenly froze on them.
Thanos pursed his lips and said, "Gu Shi, can you show me that scale?"
Seeing Thanos's unhappy expression, Gu Shi quickly realized that there might be something wrong with the scale in his hand, but he did not ask, but just silently put the scale in Thanos' hand.
Thanos held the scales in his palm, felt it carefully, and couldn't help but sigh.
While gazing at the scale, he explained to Gu Shi, "For us mermaids, the scales on our bodies are naturally excellent containers for carrying magic power.
Mermaids don't have the habit of replacing their scales, and since scales are difficult to restore once they've fallen off, we've been intentionally channeling magic power into them from the very beginning of our training to make them stronger."
Hearing this, Gu Shi subconsciously glanced at Thanos's blue fish tail. No wonder the mermaid tails he had seen were all shiny. It turned out that a large amount of magic power was stored in them.
Thanos continued, “Under these circumstances, few mermen would voluntarily remove their scales.
I just tried to sense the magic within this scale, and if I'm not mistaken, it came from a mermaid."
Gu Shi pondered and said, "We just killed that black shadow, and then this scale fell off. It seems that this scale should be the source of the magic power that the black shadow relies on to survive."
Thanos nodded, "I thought so too."
Gu Shi stared at the dim scale, his mind racing. Judging from their current situation, the owner of the scale was likely dead. But why did the scale he left behind transform into such a dark shadow?
Seeing Gu Shi in deep thought, Thanos patted him on the shoulder and said, "This scale alone won't give us any more clues. Let's not think too much about it for now. Let's just keep moving forward."
Gu Shi came back to his senses and said, "You're right, let's go."
The two continued to move deeper into the city.
As they walked, Gu Shi and the others were attacked by black shadows several times in succession. These black shadows sometimes appeared alone, and sometimes moved in groups of three or five, making it impossible to determine the pattern of their appearance.
Just like the black shadow that appeared at the beginning, the two also obtained scales from mermaids after defeating other black shadows.
The further into the city you go, the more frequent the attacks become and the stronger the shadows become.
Gu Shi and the other two were concerned about the consumption of their magic power and physical strength. They felt that it was enough, so they found a suitable building on the side of the road to rest for a while and discuss the next countermeasures.
"one two three……"
Gu Shi moved the small pile of scales in front of him with his hands and sighed, "Just by sorting by color, there are more than ten types of scales."
Thanos didn't say anything. He was not in a good mood. Even though mermaids were not a particularly united race, his emotions still fluctuated greatly when he saw so many scales from different mermaids at once.
Gu Shi tried to comfort her, "Perhaps these scales were shed in battle? We haven't found a large number of scales from the same mermaid yet, so we can't say for sure whether the owner of these scales is dead or alive."
Thanos smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I've just never seen anything like this before, so I need to get used to it."
Gu Shi looked at Thanos and suddenly asked, "Come to think of it, I don't seem to know your age yet. Are you not yet an adult?"
Mermaids are different from humans. Their lifespan is about 500 years at most. Because their youth and adulthood last a long time, it is difficult to judge their age by their appearance.
If Thanos is still a minor and has not experienced life and death much, it would be disastrous if these scales brought him some psychological trauma.
Thanos replied with a smile: "What are you thinking? Of course I am an adult. Mermen reach adulthood at the age of one hundred. I am one hundred and twelve this year, more than old enough to be your grandfather."
Gu Shi glanced at Thanos' face with surprise, "One hundred and twelve? I really can't tell at all, you look younger than me!"
After asking this question, the originally slightly heavy atmosphere suddenly became relaxed, Thanos' mood also calmed down a lot, and Gu Shi also breathed a sigh of relief.
After a good rest, the two set off again.
No one knows how many shadows are lurking in this city. Even though the two of them are fighting intensively every day, there is no sign of these shadows decreasing.
After another fierce battle, Gu Shi was pulled by Thanos and quickly hid in a hidden room.
Gu Shi panted and complained, "Huh, huh, these shadows really are endless."
Thanos frowned, "This isn't a solution. The two of us alone can't withstand the siege of these shadows."
Gu Shi leaned against the cold wall, thought for a while and said, "How about this, I still have a lot of alchemical props with me, I will try to use the props to lure away these shadows.
If possible, we'll take the opportunity to explore further inside. If not, we'll retreat to the periphery and think of other solutions later."
"Okay." Thanos nodded in agreement.
After making the plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain, the two men no longer focused on fighting. Under the cover of Thanos, Gu Shi successfully set several traps in the surrounding area.
After everything was ready, Gu Shi and Thanos hid in an alley. Now it was time to test whether the plan would succeed.
Gu Shi turned around and asked quietly, "Are you ready?"
Thanos nodded.
Gu Shi pressed the button in his hand and activated most of the traps at once. With the loud bells echoing everywhere and the light flashing in the darkness, most of the shadows in the area were attracted over.
"Now, let's go!"
Gu Shi hugged Thanos' neck, and the two of them quickly ran out of the alley.
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