Chapter Thirty-One: Slaying the Fishmen Chief, Precious Treasure

After the merman chieftain recovered, he roared furiously at the sky, brandishing his trident. The merfolk who had been besieging Chu Cheng immediately responded to their leader’s call and rushed to attack the rest of the party. At the same time, he summoned the sea to rise again—a tidal wave swept Wang Weilong and Cheng Mingyue away like arrows released from a bow, hurtling them toward Zhang Qing.

The steel trident spun, conjuring three water arrows that shot rapidly at Wang Weilong. In just three seconds, the chieftain cast several spells in quick succession. This merman leader was clearly a spell-casting boss.

In the water, Wang Weilong managed to right himself and stand firm. A flash of white light enveloped him in a semi-transparent, humanoid shield that blocked the first two arrows; the shield shattered, but the last arrow struck his shield, forcing him back two steps. He quickly pulled out a scroll and activated it; a layer of blue light rippled across his body, allowing him to turn and swim away as nimbly as a fish.

Nearby, Cheng Mingyue was similarly enveloped in blue light. She steadied herself in the surging water, moving as if on solid ground, and swiftly made her way toward Chu Cheng. Zhang Chunlei and Zhang Qing remained unmoved atop the three-meter-high boulder, safe from the crashing waves.

Enraged, the merman chieftain frantically manipulated the water. With a point of his trident, a vortex appeared, trapping Cheng Mingyue and holding her fast. She shimmered, an invisible ripple exploding from her in the water—a burst of speed skill. However, to everyone’s surprise, the skill failed to free her from the vortex; she remained immobilized, suffering continuous damage with numbers in the teens appearing above her.

"This is bad, help her quickly!"

Wang Weilong immediately turned and charged at the merman chieftain, but failed to stun him. With a casual swing of his trident, the chieftain sent Wang flying, then viciously drove the weapon into the vortex. The steel tip plunged into Cheng Mingyue’s chest, dealing a brutal blow of -218 damage.

He lifted her with another swing, preparing for a deadly combo—just then, thunder flashed overhead and a lightning-wreathed figure crashed down like a meteor. The impact sent the chieftain staggering backward, the force blasting Cheng Mingyue free and tumbling her into the sea.

"Colossal Strike!"

Twin blades raised high, the attacker brought them down in a fierce blow—another -165 in damage. As the chieftain regained his senses, a stomp sent ripples across the water, followed by a flurry of frantic slashes. In an instant, a cascade of damage numbers appeared.

The chieftain, now alert, swiped with his claws, conjuring a vortex at Chu Cheng’s side and trapping him as well.

"Blade Storm!"

Attempting to break free and failing, Chu Cheng decisively unleashed his ultimate skill. His body spun rapidly, and the overpowering effect shattered the vortex’s hold. Twin blades whirled at high speed, creating a storm of steel that carved deep wounds into the merman chieftain.

-62, -63
-30
-62, -63
-30

A dual-wielding warrior, two attacks per second, unleashing a relentless barrage of damage.

But under the chieftain’s counterattack, Chu Cheng was stabbed three times, each for -142, -143, -142.

"Impressive!"

"Interrupt him!"

Blade Storm could last seven seconds, but after just four, Chu Cheng couldn’t endure any longer and activated his speed boost to retreat. The chieftain prepared to give chase, but a distant arrow struck him, forcing him to reel back.

The skill was Venomous Dragon Pin—capable of putting its target to sleep for three seconds. Yet the boss’s resistance was too high; he woke after just over a second. By the time he surfaced, Chu Cheng had already used Blade Storm’s speed and his acceleration to put over twenty meters between them, pulling out a silk bandage to rapidly heal.

This boss hit far too hard—over three hundred damage with basic attacks alone. Even with his talents and defenses, Chu Cheng still took over a hundred and forty per hit. With just over eight hundred health, he couldn’t last long.

Cheng Mingyue was in an even worse state. With her health, two hits would leave her near death, and a third would surely kill her.

"Boom!"

A great fireball struck the chieftain just as he was about to pursue Chu Cheng again, the shockwave knocking him back. By the time he recovered, everyone was already fleeing without a backward glance, while Chu Cheng dove back into the crowd of merfolk, using them as a living shield between himself and the chieftain.

The merfolk, furious, turned all their attacks on him, oblivious to the fact they were now hindering their own leader.

"Only sixteen hundred health left—time for another round of burst damage."

At this point, all of the chieftain’s spells were on cooldown, and he could only force his way through the merfolk toward Chu Cheng with brute strength. But Chu Cheng fought and retreated, squeezing back to delay as much as possible.

On the boulder, Zhang Chunlei drew another magic arrow and began to charge it, while Zhang Qing chanted a spell. Five seconds later, a shaft of blue light pierced the waves, freezing the chieftain in front of Chu Cheng. Immediately afterwards, an ice spear detonated, the two skills combining for a devastating eighteen hundred points of burst damage—enough to shatter the chieftain, who had just over a thousand health left, into pieces.

"Notification: You have slain the Merman Chieftain. Gained 1,715 kill experience."

With the chieftain dead, the remaining merfolk lost all morale and scattered in panic.

Chu Cheng exhaled deeply, choosing not to pursue.

"Quick, gather the loot!"

He was closest to the chieftain’s corpse and hurried over. Amid the shattered remains, he spotted a treasure chest exuding a deep blue radiance, circled by wisps of red light—obviously a rare find.

There were several other chests scattered among the bodies as well. After gathering and counting them, the haul was: one deep blue chest rimmed with red, two ordinary blue chests, four green chests, and four wooden chests.

"Let’s open them!"

Everyone regrouped on shore, hands rubbing together in excitement.

"Who’ll do the honors this time?"

"Me!" Zhang Chunlei volunteered eagerly.

"Go ahead."

With a grin, he grabbed a wooden chest and popped it open. He quickly opened all four wooden and four green chests, setting the contents aside, then, full of anticipation, reached for the three blue chests.

No one cared much about the first two blue chests; as expected, each held a piece of blue equipment. But when it came time to open the boss’s chest, everyone watched with bated breath.

Click! The chest opened, a deep blue glow emerged, and everyone let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Still nothing..."

But just as their sighs faded, Zhang Chunlei pulled out two items from the chest, prompting a chorus of gasps.

"Wow, this is incredible!"

The Merman Chieftain’s Treasure (Excellent/Deep Blue)

Equipment Type: Trinket.
Requirement: None.
Base Attribute: All physical attacks deal an additional 20 points of water-element damage.
Special Effect: Grants underwater breathing; swim and dive speed +50%.
Active Skill: Use to summon an elite merman of your level to fight for you for one hour. Mana cost: 200. Cooldown: 24 hours.
Note: Summoned merman cannot exceed level 30.
Description: The prized possession of the Black Sail Sea Merman Chieftain.

"This thing..."

After reading the stats, Chu Cheng was utterly stunned.

"This is insanely powerful."

Not only was it a rare trinket, but its stats were exceptional. It would be a perfect fit for anyone, not just Chu Cheng.

Each attack would deal an extra 20 points of water damage. At level 5 Frenzy, with eight attacks per second, that meant an instant increase of 160 DPS—combined with the skill’s own damage, it was almost absurd.

The five of them exchanged glances, each seeing the desire in the others’ eyes.

Chu Cheng smiled wryly. Everyone wanted it—he knew he didn’t stand a chance.

He barely had two gold coins to his name; how could he possibly compete with the others?