Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
However, although the women of the Siren Clan looked beautiful and gentle, they were not to be messed with. In fact, they were all born Spiritual Mages who specialized in Spiritual Magic and mental spells. Spiritual Magic was not that easy to defend against, not to mention affinity spells of the Siren Clan. During the casting, there was almost no magical wave. Hence, people tended to be struck by it before they even realized.
Hence, there were all sorts of Sea Clan slaves who were sold openly and secretly in the Endless Ocean, including Giant Shark Knights, but the women of the Siren Clan had never been sold.
The men of the Siren Clan might be ugly and hideous, but they were all very strong and powerful archers of the sea. Logically speaking, arrows launched in the water would not be shot far, and even when they touched the bodies of humans, there wouldn’t be great damage. However, the males of the Siren Clan should technically be Magic Archers because they had a wisp of oceanic laws that would allow the arrows that they shot into the sea to possess greater power.
During the great war of the ocean, the archers of the Siren Clan performed outstandingly, especially against the mages of the Thunder Eel Clan. The Ocean Archers had paid only a small price to annihilate the entire mage legion of the Thunder Eel Clan. Although the soldiers played an important role, it was enough to prove that the Ocean Archers had incredible combat power.
While the Giant Shark Clan troops reinforced the Thunder Eel Clan, and deterred the Siren Clan’s troops, the Giant Shark Knights had paid quite a huge price. Besides, it was said that an important reason for the victory of the Giant Shark Clan was due to the small population of the Siren Clan, and the Siren Clan’s queen did not want to suffer many casualties, so she ordered for them to return. Otherwise, even if the Giant Shark Clan had really won in the end, they would have had to suffer miserable consequences.
Hence, although the Siren Clan was small, they were also one of the seven great hegemons of the Endless Ocean. In fact, they were the top among the seven.
Putting aside the relationship between the Secret Merchant Alliance and the Siren Clan, the relationship between The Mermaid and the Siren Clan was enough to deter most people from creating trouble there. There was probably no safer place than The Mermaid to host the Secret Merchant Market. Besides, that point alone was enough to show that the Secret Merchant Market was definitely quite upscale, and there was an 80% chance that something of good quality would appear.
The famous ship, The Mermaid, was docked at Helena Port, and there were luxurious lighting and decorations, making it look like a shining bright pearl at night. There were some luxuriously dressed bigwigs on the quay who were greeting each other warmly or chatting with some friends. They boarded the opulent cruise ship one after another under the guidance of several ushers.
At this moment, several figures descended from the sky. They were Lin Li, Connoris, Donald, and Prince Tory. Although the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, Hopra City, was a distance away, they could arrive in an instant.
The arrival of Lin Li and the others did not attract much attention. After all, those who were here to attend the Secret Merchant Market were not ordinary people. However, after Lin Li and the others landed, another strange sound came from the air, causing everyone to subconsciously look upwards.
There was a dazzling silver alchemical machine that had a strange shape. It looked like a large steel bird that quickly flew to the sky above the crowd before slowly landing on the ground. When the alchemical machine settled on the ground, a dwarf dressed in colorful armor jumped out, and scurried towards Lin Li and the others.
Angelano rushed towards Lin Li, and complained in displeasure, “Felic, how mean of you not to ask me along to such a fun place.”
Lin Li stroked his forehead helplessly because he didn’t expect Angelano to chase after him. He didn’t intend to bring this dwarf along, not because he was afraid of being embarrassed, but because Lin Li’s purpose of going to the Secret Merchant Market was to get some treasures, so he had to keep a low profile. However, Angelano’s armor was too eye-catching, and if Angelano tagged along, there was no way he could keep a low profile.
He couldn’t help it. Since Angelano tagged along, Lin Li couldn’t chase him away, either. After all, Angelano was free and not bound to any contract, unlike Connoris and the others who had signed Soul Contracts with Lin Li. Sometimes, Angelano wouldn’t follow Lin Li’s orders.
“Master Angelano, you’re here too,” Donald couldn’t help his eyes lighting up as soon as he saw Angelano.
Back when they were in the Sky Castle, Donald had witnessed for himself Angelano’s attainments in alchemy. However, he wouldn’t dare to suck up to Angelano, because he had painstakingly gotten closer to Lin Li. If his plans were ruined because of that, it would be tragic.
Besides, Donald was also well aware that as long as he built a good relationship with the Tower of Dusk, there would be more opportunities to ask Angelano for advice on Alchemy Colossuses. Moreover, even if they wanted to poach Angelano, they couldn’t. Those who were greedy would usually end up losing everything.
Hence, Donald merely greeted Angelano before acting as the guide who brought Lin Li and the others to The Mermaid.
There were several attendants waiting at the gangway of the ship. When they saw Donald and the others, they raised their hands to gesture for them to wait before politely saying, “Guests, please show your invitation cards.”
Although there was no need to worry about anyone causing trouble on The Mermaid, there were still rules at the Secret Merchant Market. They were running a sordid business, so they naturally couldn’t let just anyone enter. Usually, they would send invitations to the acquaintances and invited guests ahead of time, and the latter would be required to display their invitation cards at the entrance.
Donald and Tory took out their respective invitations, and showed them to the attendants. Donald then said, “Get the people who are in charge to come here, I’d like to take a few friends in with me today.”
After reading the invitation cards, one of the attendants looked at Lin Li and the others behind him. He then said to Donald, “Yes, please wait a moment.” After saying that, he turned around, and went up the gangway to board the ship.
After that attendant boarded the ship, Donald turned around and explained to Lin Li, “President Felic, I’m really sorry, these are the rules here, and they apply to everyone. Please don’t mind it.”
Although it was a little troublesome, Lin Li was there to get some treasures, and he could still afford to wait. Hence, he waved his hand, and smilingly said, “It’s alright, it’s just waiting for a while.”
A few moments later, a person in charge who was wearing a white mask came out with the attendant. The mask was covering his face, and there was a silver swordfish drawn on the mask. He smiled, and said, “Master Donald, Prince Tory, welcome here. I heard that the two of you are going to bring your new friends here. Can you introduce them to me?”
Previously, Lin Li had learned from Donald and the others that all merchants and senior managers in the Secret Merchant Market would cover their faces with masks to hide their true identities, and the patterns drawn on the masks were their code names. The senior managers would wear white masks, while the variety of masks that merchants wore were unlimited. Hence, it wouldn’t matter even if they wore a pig mask.
At this moment, Donald gave way by moving to the side, and said to that manager, “Swordfish, once I mention the name of this person I’d like to introduce, you will know who he is. It’s President Felic!”
“President Felic! Which President Felic?” Swordfish froze for a moment as he was momentarily stunned.
Seeing that Swordfish wasn’t cooperating with him at all, Donald immediately glared at him, and emphasized, “Of course it’s President Felic of the Tower of Dusk!”
This time, Swordfish finally reacted. Although his expression was concealed by the mask, his tone was full of shock as he said, “Oh, so it’s President Felic of the Tower of Dusk! I’ve long heard of your name, but I unfortunately haven’t had the chance to meet you before. It’s a great honor to have you here!”
How could he not have heard of President Felic who had destroyed the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, and razed the barracks of the royal guards in one go? Those two incidents were known to everyone in the kingdom. Most importantly, the Gilded Kingdom had no choice but to tolerate the humiliation despite having been insulted twice. That made them wonder just how powerful must President Felic of the Tower of Dusk be that he could make the Gilded Kingdom so careful!
Lin Li did not really take to heart Swordfish’s compliments. The latter had definitely heard of Felic before, but it shouldn’t be that exaggerated. After all, merchants tended to lie all the time. Hence, Lin Li merely nodded with a smile, and said, “Don’t worry, I came here with the intention to get some items, and these two people behind me are my friends. Can we go in now?”
Swordfish hurriedly nodded, and said, “Yes, yes, if we had known that you were interested in our market, we would have sent the invitation in advance, Master Felic. This is negligence on our part, please pardon us.” He then personally guided Lin Li and the others to board The Mermaid from the gangway.
The Mermaid was slightly larger in size than the Gilded Kingdom’s alchemical battleships, but much smaller than The Star. In fact, when standing on the deck of The Mermaid, one would be able to see The Star. However, the size of The Mermaid could be considered rare among the ships.
After Lin Li and the others boarded The Mermaid, the Secret Merchant Market had yet to officially commence. After waiting for another half hour or so, The Mermaid finally set sail, and the moon was already in the middle of the sky. The Mermaid left the dock slowly, and headed for the sea, reminding Lin Li of the casino ships that existed in the world he transmigrated from, where the gambling would begin only after the ship had sailed into the middle of the sea.
