Chapter 10: Attack from the Dark Alliance

As the corpses of the three Naga Sirens sank into the ocean, the sea grew calm once more. Looking at the female Naga Siren who had completely vanished from sight, Li Mingxing sighed and said, "Let's prepare to leave. Anyway, we were planning to fight to the death with the Naga Sirens this time, so it doesn't matter where we make our stand."

However, just as Li Mingxing deployed his ship, had all his troops board it, and prepared to set off, the half-demon mermaid detected the presence of more Naga Sirens nearby.

Startled, Li Mingxing turned back and asked, "Aside from the Naga Siren nest we visited earlier, are there any other lairs nearby?"

"None," the half-demon mermaid replied with absolute certainty.

"Then where did these Naga Sirens come from? Could they just be passing by?" Li Mingxing muttered in confusion.

His answer came in the form of a torpedo launched by a Naga Siren. If not for Aisha's lightning-fast reflexes, Li Mingxing's ship would have been blown apart by the blast.

Following the torpedo, the female Naga Siren leaped out of the water. Accompanying her were about thirty other Naga Sirens. These individuals looked somewhat different from ordinary Naga Sirens; in addition to green scales, they wore leather armor that resembled woven seaweed.

Instead of the fishing spears or underwater assault rifles typically used by Naga Sirens, they wielded gleaming tridents.

"What class of Naga Sirens are these? Why are their weapons different from the ones we encountered before?" Li Mingxing pulled the half-demon mermaid closer and asked.

"They are Naga Sirens who have joined other factions. According to Naga tribal law, anyone who leaves the race must surrender their tribal weapons. This is partly because those weapons are difficult to use, but also to create obstacles for defectors so they might stay with the tribe instead. Therefore, those who manage to leave are either utterly unmanageable or exceptionally powerful," the half-demon mermaid explained.

"They've joined someone else's forces?" Li Mingxing's expression turned cold. Looking closer, he noticed a distinct emblem emblazoned on the chests of these Naga Sirens—a black flame insignia, within which seemed to lurk a horned skull.

Li Mingxing recognized this mark. It belonged to one of the three Dungeon Alliance probationary heroes present here—a demonic probationary hero. He simply had not expected to run into them here.

Under normal circumstances, Li Mingxing might have greeted them, but right now, war was the only possible outcome between him and them.

On second thought, however, Li Mingxing realized this might actually be for the best. He had been worried about what to do if those three local tyrants decided to use him as bait and sacrifice him. Now that this opportunity had presented itself, how could he possibly let it slip away?

Li Mingxing leaped straight to the bow of his ship and shouted loudly, "Are you here to help me? If so, kill that female Naga Siren for me!"

Hearing Li Mingxing's words, one of the Naga Sirens immediately yelled out, "I don't care who you are! Anyone who kills our Naga people is an enemy of Igak, and an enemy of my master! Go to hell!"

With that roar, the Naga Siren named Igak charged toward Li Mingxing's ship, gripping his trident. Judging by his speed, Igak possessed at least third-tier strength, and he was surrounded by a layer of water-sphere-like defenses. It was clear that after losing his accustomed weapons, he had not failed to find alternative ways to enhance his combat power.

Yet close-quarters combat was precisely what Li Mingxing feared the least. Just as Li Mingxing prepared to make a move himself, the Black Stone Warrior grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Ever since we arrived here, I haven't made a single move. Instead, two of my subordinates fell into the sea and drowned, which tarnishes the reputation of us Grey Dwarves. Leave this fellow to me. I'll make them understand that even in the water, we Grey Dwarves are the strongest."

Saying this, the Black Stone Warrior stepped forward to the bow. Seeing the ashen-complexioned Grey Dwarf, Li Mingxing initially wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent. He knew that if he stopped the Black Stone Warrior now, the proud warrior would forever lose his confidence in battle.

Of course, Li Mingxing stepping back did not mean he intended to let the Black Stone Warrior face the enemy alone. The moment the Grey Dwarf advanced, Li Mingxing's griffins and sea monsters also moved into action.

Furthermore, fearing that the probationary hero might have other forces nearby, Li Mingxing ordered all the mermaids to dive into the water and stir up the thick white mist once again. While this mist might have little effect on the Naga Sirens, Li Mingxing believed it would prove useful against other enemies.

The one calling himself Igak flashed through the air and landed squarely on Li Mingxing's deck. But the moment he landed, the Black Stone Warrior delivered a heavy kick to his waist. Had Igak not reacted swiftly, that single blow would have sent him flying back into the water.

Igak was well-versed in naval combat, however. Recovering instantly, he thrust his trident forward. Along the path traced by the trident, a layer of frost materialized instantly, revealing that the weapon possessed magical properties far beyond mere sharpness.

Faced with such a trident, the Black Stone Warrior's expression turned grim. While he could shrug off most physical attacks, he had to exercise caution against magical assaults.

As the trident lunged toward him, the Black Stone Warrior lowered his head and charged directly at Igak. His battleaxe swung in an upward arc, crashing precisely against Igak's trident.

Naga Sirens prided themselves on being masters of the cresting waves, their greatest asset being speed upon the water. However, their physical strength could never match that of powerhouses like the Grey Dwarves. Under the sheer impact of the blow, Igak's grip on his trident wavered.

Seizing the opportunity without hesitation, the Black Stone Warrior took another step forward, planted a heavy boot on Igak's tail, and brought his battleaxe down toward the lower half of his opponent's body. It was a classic dwarf fighting style; dwarves were naturally short, and attacking the lower extremities was second nature to them.

Igak possessed genuine skill, though. Even with his tail pinned by the Black Stone Warrior, he managed to twist his torso a full hundred and eighty degrees, thrusting his trident straight at the top of the Grey Dwarf's head. In an instant, the Black Stone Warrior's beard turned completely white from the frost.

The Black Stone Warrior roared furiously, "Pipsqueak! I may not be one of those white-bearded mountain dwarves, but don't underestimate my cold resistance!"

Disregarding the trident poised inches from his head, the Black Stone Warrior swung his battleaxe straight at Igak's waist. Igak never anticipated this reckless counterattack. Though his trident pierced the Grey Dwarf, he was simultaneously cleaved in two by the brutal axe blow.

The Black Stone Warrior's entire body turned ghostly pale from the trident's chill. If two young druids hadn't rushed forward to heal him and drag him back to the medical tent stationed at the rear of Li Mingxing's ship, the Grey Dwarf might well have been frozen to death on the spot.

As the Black Stone Warrior was dragged away, the half-demon mermaid suddenly called out, "My lord, be careful! Naga Sirens have incredible vitality. Even when cut in two, they don't necessarily die."

Hearing this, Li Mingxing whipped his head around to look at Igak's severed corpse on the deck. True to the mermaid's warning, Igak was dragging his trident and his severed lower torso as he attempted to crawl away.

Li Mingxing lunged forward without hesitation, snapping his jaws down directly onto Igak's head. Having grown significantly larger recently, his bite carried immense force.

With a sickening crunch, Igak's skull was crushed open by Li Mingxing's powerful jaws. A torrent of foul-tasting blue blood sprayed all over Li Mingxing's face and filled his mouth.

That was the end of Igak; he was thoroughly and irrevocably dead. Li Mingxing kicked the corpse aside onto the deck and shouted, "Zheng, take the trident! Feed the corpse to the cannon fodder below!"

Aisha, having accompanied Li Mingxing to the strategy-layer netherworld previously, raised no objections to such arrangements. But Zheng, after witnessing Li Mingxing's actions and glancing at Igak's remains, spoke up hesitantly, "A-Xing, isn't this going too far? He's already dead."

"This is the only way to boost troop morale. I don't currently have Leadership or Command skills, and since they are land-based troops, boosting their morale this way is a necessity. Just treat them like NPCs in a game—they drop loot for us, and their numbers are endless."

"Still... I feel like he was an intelligent being. I..."

"Dragons and manticores are also intelligent beings, yet humans hunt them down just the same. In a world like this, you must learn to adapt. If you can't learn, you might as well go back to the real world and guard home for me."

Hearing Li Mingxing say this, Zheng hurriedly shook her head and replied, "No, A-Xing! I want to stay by your side forever. Don't worry, I won't have thoughts like that again."

Hearing those words, Li Mingxing didn't know what else to say. He smiled faintly at Zheng, while deep inside his heart, a nagging doubt began to grow—had he forgotten something crucial before entering the netherworld?