Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 167.1
Translator: Pai_
Over the past few months, the House Carmine and the Great Sea Serpent Mermaid Clan had engaged in an intense and ferocious battle.
The mermaids, after transforming into Great Sea Serpents, not only controlled Magical Beasts to devastate all coastal cities and villages of Carmine but also went so far as to attack inland cities along the rivers.
This clash only came to a halt recently, after one of the three who had gone to search upon hearing Armania's whereabouts from a kidnapped Carmine noble managed to return alive.
[That guy killed the other two?]
[Yes. I barely made it back alive. Father, you’ll avenge us, right?]
At the words of the only surviving child, the Mermaid King let out a deep sigh.
To make yet another enemy while already at odds with Carmine?
Of course, since Turan is also human, he would eventually become an adversary to fight, but there is an order to such things.
‘I expected this, but it’s more serious than I thought.’
The transcendent power obtained through the corpse of the Great Sea Serpent did not come free.
There were those who had to be killed because they had gone completely insane, some like the prince before him who suffered mental damage, some like the king himself who had become somewhat more violent...
‘And there’s even one who hasn’t changed at all.’
The Mermaid King recalled Armania, the young prince who had fled with the clan’s treasure.
The child who was believed to hold the answer their race had long sought, who was thought to possess the greatest vessel and thus must be made the successor of their species...
But that child parted ways with them simply because he didn’t want to fight a mere human.
Now, if only to retrieve the treasure, and to prevent the location of their stronghold containing the Great Sea Serpent’s remains from being exposed, they had to kill Armania.
The problem was how they would accomplish that.
After the last clash, the House Parsha had completely evacuated the areas near the coast.
No matter how strong the power of the Great Sea Serpent Mermaids was, it was significantly weakened on land, making it difficult to initiate a fight.
To make matters worse, as they had just considered, they were still in the midst of a full-scale war with the House Carmine.
So, while contemplating and calling back their kin, letting the conflict settle into a temporary lull for several months.
A messenger from the House Carmine arrived.
As someone who possessed the Rapids Bloodline, he easily entered the palace beneath the water and, ignoring the hostile glares of the mermaid royalty surrounding him, delivered his house's message.
[A strategic alliance?]
[Yes. What you want must be the Blue Coral Crown, right? If don't have it, maybe you could one day lose the power of the Great Sea Serpent and become subordinate to us again. We’ll return it to you, so in exchange, let’s forget the past grudges and cooperate.]
After all those years that Carmine had oppressed the mermaids, now they wanted those grudges to be forgotten just because they were returning that?
While the surrounding mermaids screamed to tear the envoy’s body apart and devour him, only the Mermaid King held them back.
There was no way those people would propose something with only such simple conditions unless they were fools.
[Let's hear the details first.]
[You know the House Parsha, right? We want your help dealing with them. In return, we’ll provide you with humans every year. Use them as food or slaves, do with them as you wish.]
Had it been during the height of the war, it might have been dismissed as nonsense, but now it was not something that could be so easily ignored.
Since becoming aware of Armania’s existence, the mermaids had also mobilized their pirate underlings to gather information about the human world, so they knew Turan’s power was not to be taken lightly.
Turan had planted his subordinate in the eastern House Varaha as head, formed an alliance with Lavitas in the south, and grown his power tremendously.
If he were to gain even more strength and then demand accountability for the destruction of his port and the killing of his people...
[How do you plan to attack?]
After long deliberation, the Mermaid King accepted Carmine’s proposal.
Of course, the opponent had been their oppressor for generations.
An unforgivable and unpardonable existence.
However, if one had to choose between an old enemy who could be dealt with later, and a growing threat that might someday consume them, the latter must be eliminated first.
Judging by the way he mercilessly slaughtered members of their race, reconciliation with Turan was impossible.
He would have already learned that Armania planned to be hostile in the long term.
Above all, by dealing with House Parsha, the mermaids would gain a significant advantage unknown to House Carmine.
‘I must retrieve the Jade Mirror from Armania somehow. Before others discover what it truly is...’
The space transfer ability of the House Parsha had yet to be exposed for what it truly was, but given enough time, someone was bound to realize that it was the mermaids’ ancient treasure, the Jade Mirror.
Not only was it a practical treasure that enabled free movement between the North Sea and South Sea, but it also held immense religious symbolism as a legacy of the Great Sea Serpent, once revered as a divine being.
Upon the Mermaid King’s acceptance, the Carmine envoy grinned slyly and said,
[Before long, House Varaha will invade House Ruvan. You can attack House Parsha to coincide with that. Their family head and most of their main forces will be deployed to the east and won’t be able to respond.]
Of course, the absence of main forces also meant they wouldn't be able to inflict significant losses through the attack, but for a human Great Noble House, having their home base seized carried significance far beyond material damage.
[But don’t they have the means to cross space? What if they return using that?]
The Mermaid King already knew that Turan had linked the pair of Jade Mirrors between House Parsha and House Varaha, making it easy to travel back and forth between the two.
At his question, the House Carmine envoy clicked his tongue in annoyance.
[Of course, that’s accounted for. We’ve already spoken with the House Ruvan. They won’t engage directly with House Varaha’s army, just maintain a tense standoff at a close distance. If the enemy advances, they’ll retreat, and if they retreat, they’ll pursue. With an enemy right in front of them, there’s no way they’d return so easily.]
It sounded plausible in theory.
Even with the Jade Mirror, or rather, especially because of the Jade Mirror, it would be difficult to leave the battlefield in such a situation.
And the vulnerability of the Great Sea Serpents on land could be somewhat mitigated with help from the House Carmine.
If powerful nobles with the Rapids Bloodline worked together, they could transport large quantities of water inland.
In summary, it was an offer the mermaids had no reason to refuse.
As an advance gift, they could secure the troublesome Blue Coral Crown and reinforce their dominance as the leader of the mermaid race, receive humans for food, recover the lost Jade Mirror, and eliminate the traitor as well?
Even the other mermaids, who had initially reacted furiously in opposition, were now quietly listening with interest to the envoy’s proposal.
The only caveat was that the House Carmine might betray them in the middle of the war.
Just as the mermaid king wished to remove both House Parsha and House Carmine, so too did House Carmine likely desire to get rid of both House Parsha and the mermaids.
[Fine. But we won’t deploy our full force. Like you said, if House Parsha’s main force has already been dispatched, we shouldn’t need overwhelming strength to take them down.]
The most decisive approach would be for both powers to deploy their full forces simultaneously and crush the enemy, but they had far too little trust in each other for that.
In case the other side struck a blow from behind, they had to ensure any losses they sustained would be manageable.
[Alright. Our family head won’t personally get involved either. But don’t half-ass it and pretend to help.]
[Understood. And one more thing, we need a hostage.]
[A hostage?]
[Your successor. The one you plan to use as the next body for your head. Bring him to us. Once House Parsha falls and it’s confirmed you didn’t betray us, we’ll send him back.]
At the Mermaid King’s demand, the envoy scowled.
How dare this arrogant fish demand that?
Though he fully understood the envoy’s contempt, the Mermaid King maintained an expressionless face as if cast from metal.
Before long, the envoy let out a sharp sigh and shook his head.
[Fine, fine! That condition is added too.]
The Mermaid King had expected a bit more resistance, so though surprised, he did not let the emotion show.
After finalizing a few more adjustments and bringing the negotiation to a close, he posed a quiet question to the other party.
[Why are you going this far?]
[Hmm?]
[As far as we know, you haven’t even had a full-scale conflict with the House Parsha yet. At most, it’s been nothing more than a battle of nerves. Is there really a reason to go to such lengths just to uproot them?]
Even as the Mermaid King asked, he didn’t expect a straightforward answer.
But contrary to his expectations, the envoy chuckled and nodded.
[I feel the same way. But… it seems there’s someone who doesn’t agree. A friend from the west who’s desperate to crush them no matter what.]
***
