[Vol. 7] Chapter 13: The Familiar Mermaid Princess
No one knew exactly what Rashid and King Willipol talked about. Even Silisa, the Sea Priestess, seemed unaware. But the meeting ended badly, and the Pirate King quickly left the royal palace, disappearing without a trace.
After that, King Willipol suddenly issued an order: the Eastern Sea Pearl and its allied tribes were to strengthen their forces and prepare for an imminent attack at all costs.
The king never specified what kind of attack they were facing. Some tribes guessed it might be pirates like Rashid, while others suspected something even worse. Normally, profit-driven pirates wouldn’t openly wage war against the Emerald Sea Islands Alliance. However, minor skirmishes had happened before, so no one questioned the king’s command. They simply focused on gathering their strength, preparing for the difficult battle ahead.
But months passed, and the expected war never came. Instead, something even more shocking happened within the Eastern Sea Pearl, something beyond anyone’s imagination.
King Willipol, the Chieftain of the Mingjiao tribe, the ruler of the Eastern Sea Pearl and the entire Emerald Sea, had gone missing.
Yes, missing.
He vanished without any warning, leaving no trace behind. Even the strongest warriors guarding the royal palace noticed nothing unusual, as if he had simply disappeared into thin air.
No one knew how or why the king disappeared, but his absence threw the Eastern Sea Pearl and the entire Emerald Sea into chaos. The once well-prepared war defenses crumbled as fear and uncertainty spread across the islands.
And then, at the worst possible moment, the attack finally came.
But it wasn’t Rashid and his pirates.
It was the [Ghost Ship].
Rotting ships that had been buried beneath the deep sea for centuries suddenly rose to the surface, forming an eerie fleet. These ghostly vessels launched relentless attacks on the island tribes nearby.
The enemies on these ships weren’t living beings. They were the long-drowned crew members, now twisted into nightmarish forms. Their numbers were overwhelming, and soon, nearly half of the Emerald Sea was caught in the flames of war.
As the heart of the Emerald Sea, the Eastern Sea Pearl suffered the worst of the attacks. The battles were fierce, and despite the merfolk’s desperate resistance, they struggled. King Willipol’s sudden disappearance had left them leaderless, and the ghostly enemies were far too strange and terrifying.
The war turned against them.
The ghosts pushed deeper into the islands, and in the midst of the chaos, disaster struck again.
While leading her people to aid other island tribes, the princess was ambushed by poachers and kidnapped.
From that moment on, she vanished without a trace.
As the situation grew worse, the leaderless royal palace was overwhelmed, struggling to keep things under control. The crisis was pushing them to the brink of collapse.
At this critical moment, an unexpected change occurred.
The Pirate King, Rashid, arrived aboard his ship, leading his fleet to support the tribes of the Emerald Sea. Using their superior mobility, the pirates moved swiftly across the ocean, helping the island tribes harass the advancing [Ghost Ship].
While they weren’t the main force fighting against the ghosts, their efforts bought the tribes much-needed time and breathing room.
With this brief reprieve, the king’s wife, Anies Mingjiao, stepped forward. As a member of the Mingjiao Tribe, she formally announced that King Willipol had returned to the sea in spirit. Taking on the responsibility he left behind, she assumed the throne as Queen Anies and led the merfolk and island tribes in battle against the [Ghost Ship].
With a strong leader once more, the tide of war began to turn. Over time, the situation improved. Queen Anies led the merfolk and allied tribes through several major battles, defeating the [Ghost Ship]’s main forces. Pushing forward, they surrounded the remaining enemies from multiple directions, forcing them back to the farthest edges of the Emerald Sea, near the borders of the Ghost Sea.
The Ghost Sea was a forbidden zone, a place where the living dared not tread. Even the Mingjiao Tribe couldn’t cross its waters. But for the ghostly creatures that had emerged from the depths, it seemed to pose no obstacle.
Realizing they were losing, the monsters aboard the sunken ships retreated into the Ghost Sea, as if following some unknown command. The allied forces could do nothing but watch, unable to chase them any further.
By then, the war had lasted for several years. The tribes of the Emerald Sea, including the merfolk, were completely exhausted. Meanwhile, the young mermaid princess, who had been kidnapped by poachers during the chaos, still needed to be rescued.
With no other choice, Queen Anies ordered the troops to withdraw, leaving only a few outposts near the Ghost Sea to monitor the area.
Another year passed. During this time, the Ghost Sea remained eerily quiet, with no sign of the ghosts ever returning.
And then, by a twist of fate, the missing mermaid princess was finally rescued and safely returned to the Eastern Sea Pearl.
The merfolk celebrated with joy, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
They thought it was all finally over, that they could return to a peaceful, quiet life.
But they were wrong. A far greater disaster was about to unfold.
The Eastern Calamity. The [Ghost Ship] had appeared.
“So, what you’re saying is… the Eastern Calamity, the [Ghost Ship] has returned, bringing back all those wrecked ships that sank to the ocean floor centuries ago? And now, they’ve sailed out of the Ghost Sea once more to attack the tribes of the Emerald Sea?”
The priestess furrowed her brows slightly.
“You just called the monsters in those rotten ships 'ghosts'. Are you using that word literally, or are you suggesting there’s some deeper connection between them and the [Ghost Ship]?”
Silisa shook her head, her tone thoughtful, as if she were merely speculating.
“We can’t say for sure just yet. But based on recent investigations of shipwrecks in the deep sea, we’ve confirmed that every single one of them belonged to ships that vanished or sank after encountering the [Ghost Ship] over the past few centuries. And now, they’ve reappeared. This time, alongside the Eastern Calamity itself. That’s why we believe they’re connected.”
“Hah. Sounds complicated… Alright, alright. Let’s get to the point. What kind of help do you need, and how are we supposed to work together?”
“I’ll explain that part myself.”
A voice, clearer and sweeter than the priestess’s, suddenly rang out. It carried a youthful energy, distinctly younger in tone.
Violet raised an eyebrow, immediately pinpointing the source. She turned her gaze toward the moonlit lake, where the calm surface had begun to ripple. A figure slowly emerged from beneath the water.
As she took her first step onto the shore, her sleek, fish-like lower body transformed, scaling patterns faded rapidly, replaced by two pale, slender legs and bare feet.
She was a young girl of noble beauty, exuding the grace and elegance of someone born into power.
Her long, silvery-white hair, streaked with hints of deep ocean blue, shimmered as she shook off the water effortlessly. She wore an intricately designed, regal gown, and a delicate, jewel-adorned crown rested atop her head. But what stood out most were the six tear-shaped markings near the corners of her eyes, a symbol of her noble bloodline.
As her gaze met the priestess’s, her lips curved into a soft, delighted smile.
“It’s been over a year since we last met in [Demon Suppression City]. I wonder… do you still remember me?”
The mermaid girl lowered her head slightly in an elegant bow, her refined posture as graceful as ever. But her smile deepened, carrying a touch more warmth.
“Allow me to introduce myself once again. My name is Nitila Mingjiao, the youngest daughter of the current Mermaid Queen, Her Majesty Anies. It seems fate has led us to meet again, Miss Violet~”