[Vol. 7] Chapter 50: Hidden Agendas? Who Is the Traitor?
Alex shot a fierce glare at Le Qiaoqiao, making her immediately shrink behind Hongyan in fear.
If they weren’t technically on the same side right now, he probably wouldn’t have hesitated to smack her for running her mouth.
"What nonsense are you spouting?! Her Majesty loves the princess more than anyone. Why would she ever do such a thing? And what reason would she even have?! Say another word of this nonsense, and don’t blame me for what happens next!"
"Uh… but didn’t the tentacle monster uncle just say that…?"
"Willipol is insane! He’s the one trying to sacrifice the princess! Are you stupid?!"
As the argument between the two escalated, it became clear that the queen herself wasn’t getting involved. Instead, Willipol’s expression slowly shifted into something more dangerous, an unreadable smile.
"Heh… Alex, this little girl isn’t stupid. In fact, she’s sharper than all of you. That’s why she was the first to instinctively notice the contradictions in this whole situation, and why she’s so close to figuring out the truth."
"Think about it with that muscle-filled head of yours. Even with all the chaos in the sea at the time, how could Nitila, a princess of royal blood, heavily guarded, be kidnapped by a group of poachers whose origins were completely unknown?"
"First off, Nitila wasn’t a military commander. Under those circumstances, why would Anies send her, someone with only average combat skills and little leadership experience to provide support?"
"When she went missing, the [Great Whirlpool] was at its peak. By that time, any outsiders should have already left the Emerald Sea. So why were there still poachers lurking around?"
"There are tens of thousands of islands in the Emerald Sea. Why did those poachers just so happen to be on the exact one Nitila was traveling to?"
"And even if they did manage to capture her, the [Great Whirlpool] had already sealed off the sea’s entrance. They couldn’t have escaped right away. So how did they manage to avoid detection and survive long enough to wait an entire year until the Whirlpool’s activity weakened?"
Alex froze, his expression conflicted. He clearly wanted to argue back but couldn’t find the words.
Seeing this, Willipol’s eerie, tentacle-covered face twisted into a mocking grin.
"The timing, the location, the people involved. None of them fit the conditions for this to happen. And yet, it still did. Doesn’t that seem extremely strange? Completely illogical? And after that… what did your dear Queen Anies, the one who supposedly dotes on her daughter, actually do?"
The former King of the Merfolk swayed his head slowly, his words landing like heavy blows on the minds of those present.
"She~ did~ nothing~ at~ all."
"Her beloved daughter, her youngest daughter, was taken and sold as a slave. And yet, your queen didn’t lift a finger to find her. Instead, she put on a show of grief, claiming she was too busy with the affairs of the sea, only issuing a token search order before letting the matter fade into silence."
"It wasn’t until two or three years later, when Nitila was accidentally rescued in the distant Human United Kingdom, during a large-scale crackdown on poachers, that she was finally found. The humans who saved her contacted the merfolk there, and news of her survival spread back to the Eastern Sea Pearl, causing an uproar. Only then, under pressure from your own people, did you begrudgingly bring her back."
"So tell me, Your Majesty, why is it that the very person responsible for abandoning her own daughter to exile, to near death, is now personally coming to save her? Doesn't that seem… just a little too convenient?"
"......"
This time, it was Anies who fell silent.
Willipol had no solid proof, his words were pure speculation, even baseless assumptions. And yet, as he pointed out, the circumstances of Nitila’s abduction were full of inconsistencies. If you stripped away all the impossible explanations, the only remaining answer, no matter how unthinkable, would be dangerously close to the truth.
The uneasy, even horrified expressions on the faces of the gathered merfolk showed that they were starting to realize it too.
Everyone was waiting for an answer. A denial, an explanation. Whether out of emotion or reason, they had no choice but to stand behind their queen.
But Queen Anies simply slammed the tip of her staff against the ground, the sharp trident cutting through the rising doubts like a clear chime meant to snap them back to reality.
"Focus! Have you all forgotten where we are? He’s only trying to distract us!"
Alex and the others were suddenly startled. Their minds, already clouded with doubt, quickly snapped back to clarity. However, Willipol’s words had already shaken them deeply, subtly eroding their awareness and defenses without them realizing it.
At that moment, Willipol suddenly shouted—
"That’s right! But it’s too late! Now! Attack!!"
"Watch out behind you!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Before anyone could react, a powerful surge of water exploded around them like a crashing thunderstorm!
The force of the impact was overwhelming, like a massive beast slamming into them with unstoppable power. Alex and several elite royal guards were caught off guard. Before they could even scream, they coughed up blood and were violently thrown into the air, their bodies forming tragic arcs before crashing to the ground.
Their spilled blood was immediately drawn in by an unseen force, rushing toward the invisible barrier surrounding Nitila’s body. The moment the blood was absorbed, the barrier flared with a dazzling light!
The ambush had been both sudden and devastating, striking from dangerously close range. Even the elite merfolk guards, powerful enough to be considered sky-tier warriors, couldn’t endure the impact with just their physical strength. The amount of blood they lost was so severe that even the strongest among them would now be hanging by a thread.
Only a few had managed to defend themselves in time, Queen Anies, Le Qiaoqiao, and Hongyan. They had reacted just fast enough to block the attack, but even then, the sheer force of the strike, on par with an all-out blow from a legendary warrior, left them slightly injured and pushed them away from their original positions.
And that left only one person completely exposed...
"Cough… cough… A fifth-tier spell, [Azure Sea Surging Waves]? Heh, you really went all out. If I remember correctly, using that move shortens your lifespan, doesn’t it?"
The shimmering water shield surrounding Queen Anies shattered under the impact. She coughed up two mouthfuls of blood but simply narrowed her eyes, turning her gaze to the shadowy figure now standing behind Rashid.
A dagger was pressed tightly against Rashid’s back, forcing him to raise both hands in surrender. And as a result, The [Book of Truth] lost its glow and tumbled to the ground.
This was someone who had been present throughout the entire incident. Always active yet never as eye-catching as the Queen or the Princess. Because of this, many had overlooked her.
She wasn’t a crucial figure in the operation. However, her sudden betrayal sent an already dire situation spiraling further out of control.
She was a key member of the rescue mission, the first high-ranking merfolk Violet encountered after arriving on the island, and the leader of Palut Island.
"Silisa Hailyn… you traitor."
The Sea Priestess, whose long hair flowed like ocean waves, smiled faintly. Her once clear, mysterious eyes now seemed filled with an indescribable darkness. Holding Rashid hostage with a dagger, she shook her head and spoke in a calm tone, as if explaining something obvious.
"Your Majesty, I haven’t betrayed anyone. From the very beginning, King Willipol and I have been on the same side. We both believe in the great Truth and trust that They will bring salvation. Given that, isn’t it obvious who I should be helping?"
"Hmph..."
On the other side, under the protection of the swordswoman, Le Qiaoqiao had managed to avoid serious harm. She had just withdrawn her bloodstained hands from a fallen merfolk guard, shaking her head grimly.
"He’s already dead. A couple of them are still breathing, but… barely."
"…I see."
Although her aversion to blood had lessened over time, the brutal sight of Alex and the others being ambushed, gravely injured, or even killed outright still made Le Qiaoqiao feel dizzy. The usual carefree expression on her face was now replaced with clear frustration and anger.
"Miss Silisa, are you insane?! They’re your own people!"
"That’s enough, Qiaoqiao. Calm down and stay focused. Miss Violet warned us earlier, remember? To [be careful of what's behind us]."
After swallowing a few pills to ease the internal injuries caused by blocking [Azure Sea Surging Waves] at close range, Hongyan patted her shaken companion on the back. Then, with an icy gaze, she turned to the now-revealed traitor.
"She was Willipol’s informant in the Eastern Sea Pearls from the very start."