Chapter 21 The Mermaid King is really prolific! "Don't be afraid, I..."
"Do not be afraid, my star! You are elegant, intelligent, and kind; a perfect being like you can best comfort the heart of this lowly coward. I am destined to suffer setbacks because my lover cannot accept me; all my happiness has vanished because of him..."
As the group stepped out of the door and headed towards the elevator, they were blocked at the elevator entrance by a group of people, and a series of sounds resembling operatic chants rang out.
"What is this?" Sang Zhitao twitched her lips. After spending so much time on Earth, she had actually forgotten that there was such an oddball.
"Is that prince bothering Platinum again?" Peg frowned slightly and gave the guards a look of displeasure.
Several guards knowingly pushed the crowd aside.
The merfolk were watching the commotion and were somewhat displeased when they were pushed aside. However, seeing that the merfolk looked like outsiders, they immediately remembered the news that the elves had come to visit. In addition, one of the hosts at the scene was also an elf, so they didn't say anything more and made way for them.
The scene inside wasn't the one everyone expected—Raru entangled with Platinum.
Platinum, on the other hand, watched as Ralu was led back by a pretty girl, seemingly oblivious to the spectacle. Ralu, meanwhile, continued to scratch the ground, his eyes fixed on Platinum, chanting praises incessantly.
“Platinum?” Peg paused for a moment before walking up to the platinum.
Before she could even ask Platinum, Platinum excitedly approached Sang Zhitao and asked, "Sylph, why are you out here?"
Sang Zhitao greeted her with a smile: "Yeah, I wanted to come out and have some fun."
Platinum looked at the throne she was sitting on, and said with a hint of pride, "What do you think? This throne is pretty good, isn't it?"
"Absolutely fantastic!" Sang Zhitao naturally didn't hold back her praise.
A boastful smile appeared on Platinum's seemingly youthful face: "I will do even better in the future."
While the elves chatted affectionately, Ralu and the girl had stopped pulling at each other.
The girl grabbed Ralu, pulled his ear hard, and walked apologetically to the front of the crowd, saying, "I'm sorry, Ralu was really rude. I apologize on his behalf."
"It's alright, I think Platinum probably doesn't care." As the highest-ranking Pokémon present, it was naturally most appropriate for Sang Zhi Tao to step forward in this situation. She first looked at Platinum, and after noticing the hint of worry in his eyes when he looked at Ralu's pulled ear, she understood and replied with a smile.
The girl saw her sitting obediently on the tall and strong Peg's shoulders, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, then she turned to Yaoran and stepped forward to give a deep salute of the merfolk: "I am Princess Sia, the 101st Princess, greetings to Your Highness the Elf Crown Prince."
"Hello, Princess of West Asia, it's a pleasure to meet you," Sang Zhitao replied politely.
Xi Ya was somewhat surprised by Sang Zhi Tao's polite address, but still replied, "Your Highness, please just call me Xi Ya."
“Then you don’t need to call me Your Highness the Crown Prince anymore. Just call me Sylph. Maybe we can become friends,” Sang Zhitao replied, looking at her.
"That would be my honor." Xiya lifted her skirt, bent her knees, took Sang Zhitao's small hand, and touched it to her forehead.
Sang Zhitao was taught by Yi Lei that this is a common etiquette in interstellar space, representing the respect of a subordinate for a superior.
She placed her right hand on her chest, bowed slightly, and returned a gesture of respect befitting an equal, indicating that she accepted the other person's respect and recognized them as an equal friend.
Sia readily accepted, then turned to Peg and the others with a smile and a nod.
Pegg and the others all gave Sia a military salute, a standard courtesy.
By this time, the mermaids who had been watching the spectacle had already dispersed.
Sia glanced around, rolled her eyes at Laru who had run back to Platinum's side, and then said to the others, "Do you guys want to go down?"
Peg replied, "Your Highness wishes to take a stroll around Mermaid Planet, and we are currently discussing whether to take the elevator to the Underwater City."
Sia replied with a smile, "This elevator is very slow. Let's go, I'll be your guide today and show you around Mermaid Star."
"Then I'll have to trouble Xiya~" Sang Zhitao was already a little hesitant about whether the elevator she took earlier was too slow, but when she heard Xiya's words, she felt that it was exactly what she wanted.
After hearing this, Xiya said, "Don't be so polite, come with me."
When Lalu saw that they were about to leave, a look of relief flashed across his face. He quickly said, "Alright, alright, sister, you take the guests to have fun. I have something to do."
Xiya rolled her eyes at him and raised her hand to give him a warning, but then she saw Platinum nod at her.
Before she could react, Platinum walked up to Sang Zhitao and said, "Your Highness, I won't go with you today. Take this with you."
Sang Zhitao curiously took the miniature brooch he handed her, and only after seeing him nod did she carefully pin the brooch to her chest.
Platinum felt relieved after seeing her put on the brooch and left with Laru.
"Darling~ are you going to accept me?" Ralu's surprised voice came from not far away.
Xiya covered her face with her hands, took a few deep breaths, and then looked up at everyone with a standard smile: "Let's ignore them and go."
Peg and the others exchanged glances, said nothing more, and followed Sia to another elevator.
"Isn't this the same?" Sang Zhitao looked curiously at the elevator in front of her, and then at the elevator she had ridden before.
Sia replied with a smile, "You are honored guests, and you are riding the VIP elevator. That elevator is very slow. It is to allow you to get used to the environment of the Merfolk and to show our Merfolk hospitality. This is what we usually use."
As she spoke, she walked into an elevator. The elevator was small, about twenty square meters, and there were already four or five people standing inside. When they saw Xiya come in, they quickly stood up and bowed.
Xiya nodded before continuing, "This elevator is very fast. If you feel uncomfortable, please let me know and I'll ask them to slow it down."
"Don't worry, we are handpicked soldiers, absolutely no problem," Peg said, raising his head and patting his chest.
Can……
In just ten minutes, Peg was leaning against the elevator, her brows furrowed, seemingly trying her best to suppress the churning in her stomach.
"Pegg? Is everything alright?" Sang Zhitao asked worriedly, sitting in Xiya's lap.
After Peg realized she wasn't feeling well, she moved her to the throne, but the elven guards all seemed to be putting on a brave face, so she had no choice but to hand Sang Zhi Tao over to Xiya.
Even so, she forced herself to stay focused, keeping a close eye on Sang Zhitao, fearing that something might happen to her at any moment.
"No...it's nothing...don't worry, Your Highness." Peg took a step back, leaned against the elevator wall, took a few deep breaths to suppress the nausea in her stomach, and then spoke.
West Asia had already arranged for people to slow down the elevator, but even so, it was still unbearable for Peg and the others.
Fortunately, the elevator took very little time to reach the underwater city; they were safely out of the elevator in just twenty minutes.
Peg and the others leaned against the wall for a while, then seemed to come back to life, taking the peaches from Sia's hands and placing them back on their shoulders.
"Speaking of which, don't you elves often take elevators to enter spaceships? Why do you seem even less comfortable with it than the earth-dwelling races?" Sia asked curiously.
Peg and the others had just recovered, and for a moment no one replied to her message.
Thinking about her experience on Elf Star, Sang Zhitao hesitated before saying, "Perhaps when we were on the spaceship on Elf Star, it wasn't so straight up and down, nor was it so far. Besides, the Elf race is one of the land-dwelling races, isn't it?"
Xiya wasn't really looking for an answer, she was just curious. She nodded when she heard the explanation and led them onward.
Several mermaids saw her approaching and bowed and ran away from a distance.
Sang Zhitao initially thought it was just an accident, but after seeing the mermaids bowing and running away in the distance, she asked curiously, "Why do they seem afraid of us?"
Sia said somewhat embarrassedly, "I don't have a very good reputation among mermaids."
"Hmm?" Sang Zhitao became even more curious. In her opinion, Xiya was pretty and had a warm and generous personality, so how could she have a bad reputation?
"Your reputation isn't just bad, it's downright repulsive." A stunningly beautiful and sexy woman walked over from the side.
Sang Zhitao noticed a resemblance between her features and those of Xiya, and became somewhat curious.
The beautiful woman bowed to Sang Zhitao before saying, "I am Princess Luya of the 76th year, greetings to Your Highness the Elf Crown Prince."
"Hello, Princess Luya." Sang Zhitao returned the greeting politely before asking curiously, "Why does Luya say that about West Asia?"
Luya glanced at Xiya before saying irritably, "She's a strongwoman, a violent maniac, extremely lethal, and loves to fight for justice. Everyone has encountered her when she doesn't know her own strength, so naturally they're afraid of her."
"No, I know what I'm doing, okay? I've never hurt my brothers and sisters!" Xiya couldn't help but protest.
Luya rolled her eyes at her before saying, "That's because we're thick-skinned and tough, you can't hurt us."
Just as Xiya was about to argue again, Luya interrupted her: "Otherwise, why would Father suddenly ask me to take care of the guests?"
Upon hearing this, Xi Ya indeed stopped saying anything.
Seeing that the two sisters were acting strangely, Sang Zhitao asked in confusion, "Why do you say a number before introducing yourselves?"
Before Luya could speak, Xiya quickly said, "That's because this is our order. We have so many brothers and sisters that we can't recognize each other without being introduced by numbers."
Sang Zhitao's eyes widened in surprise: "So you have more than a hundred brothers and sisters?"
Luya explained, “It’s not that I have more than a hundred brothers and sisters. My father has 103 princes and 120 princesses.”
"What's Laru's ranking?" Sang Zhitao asked, increasingly surprised.
“He is my father’s youngest child, and also the youngest prince, the 103rd prince, Raru,” Luya explained.
Sang Zhitao couldn't help but blurt out, "The Mermaid King is really prolific!"
Princess Luya didn't mind her surprise, after all, she had seen too many other races marvel at her father's ability, but she still explained, "After all, we are fish."
“Uh…that’s true.” Sang Zhitao hadn’t expected that to be the reason, and couldn’t help but twitch her lips.
However, something else flashed through her mind.
If I remember correctly, in the original story, Ralu, who fell in love with Platinum, was the only offspring of the Mermaid King, but now the Mermaid race has hundreds of brothers and sisters.
She frowned slightly, looking at the two sisters ahead, unable to understand what had happened to make the youngest, Raru, the only one.
Before she could think it through, a commotion broke out not far away.
Peg casually pulled her into his arms, while the other guards formed a protective stance, surrounding them.
Xiya frowned and demanded loudly, "What happened?!"
A wounded merman came running from afar, and a strong will to survive flashed in her eyes: "Princess, enemy attack!"
Xiya quickly stepped forward to catch him, and was about to call for help when she heard Princess Luya shout, "Watch out!"
Holding the injured mermaid, she rolled several times quickly, dodging the opponent's laser gun.
"Target: Elven Crown Prince. Don't waste time." A man in black flashed behind the assassin, whispered a few words, and then quickly rushed towards Sang Zhitao and the others.
Upon hearing his words, Xiya's eyes flashed with surprise. She turned and shouted loudly, "Watch out! Their target is the Elf Crown Prince!"
Upon hearing this, Luya quickly took a few steps back, protecting Sang Zhitao and her group as they entered the elevator.
"Ah!" A cry of surprise came from behind, and everyone realized that the assassin had circled around to the back, and one of the elven guards had already been stabbed.
News of the attack on Sang Zhitao quickly reached the ears of Monark.
With a grim expression, he led his men, including Hala, who had followed him, through the fast passage to provide support to the underwater city.
"Nora, go tell the king that the crown prince has been attacked!" He gave a few brief instructions and quickly left.
Nora nodded nervously, watched him leave, and then quickly ran towards the Mermaid King's Palace from the other side.
But she ran slower and slower, gradually turning her running into walking, until she stopped not far from the Mermaid Palace. She stared at the palace without saying a word, the tension on her face gone, replaced by indifference...
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