Deep in the black abyss of the ocean, a dark world with no light existed. Countless sea creatures lived there. All kinds of bizarre deep-sea creatures and sea monsters came and went freely.
Ever since blood had awakened in the Mermaid Queen Gina, she had not dreamt. Even though the three human kingdoms had declared war on the Mermaid Kingdom and all sorts of urgent matters had weighed her down, she had not dreamt even once. Since she was level four, she would now only dream in special situations.
Then, out of nowhere, she began to have the same dream for several nights in a row. In the dream, she entered a dark undersea world. It was so real but still somehow illusory. She heard someone calling her name.
It was the blood of the God of the Sea that longed for the depths. Every time she entered the dream, she could feel it boiling and stirring. She was sure that this was not a simple dream.
The next time she had the dream, she discovered the truth. With the power of the blood, she finally saw what was calling to her from the sea.
“What kind of monster is that!” she exclaimed.
She saw an enormous, ancient, underwater city that was built on the back of a monster the size of a mountain. No one knew how long it had been sleeping.
It was a giant cuttlefish. The huge tentacles spread out like small mountains and the gigantic head rested on the bottom of the sea. In its day it had been a horrifying monster. Now the monstrous body had been long dead and the city had been built on top of it.
The gentle sounds of life floated through the sea from the city.
In the quiet darkness of the underwater world, any faint sound was unexpectedly sweet-sounding. The mundane sounds of life turned into a beautiful piece of music, mesmerizing and intoxicating.
At this moment, Mermaid Queen Gina turned over and got up, awakened from her dream. She was still in her palace, but the scene she’d just witnessed was etched in her mind.
“The city of the God of the Sea, Yousar,” she said to herself.
While Gina was deciphering her dream, a different scene took place on the other end of the Swirl continent. In a castle in Plunburg, a sahagin alchemy warlock stood, gazing out of the window. He looked out over the dark ocean. Waves were rolling and tides were crashing into the sandy beaches and docks.
The sahagin alchemy warlock looked to the distant sea.
“Yousar!” he cried. “The trial has begun! Who will you choose as the next God of the Sea? Will the victor be a mermaid or come from us, the Koutao sahagins?”
Deep down in the sea, a child of the God of the Sea with a long snake tail wandered around. She followed a trail of bubbles up to the surface. The silver moon shone onto her head. As she emerged, the wind picked up and the waves crashed.
In the bay of the Barast Isles, the entrance to the Sea of Storms, the exploding roar of a monster shattered the still night.
The people awoke, startled, and looked out at the sea monsters howling at the moon, unsure of what had happened.
—
The sea was on fire. Rows of cannons exploded into hulls, leaving behind the smoking wreckage of ships. Broken planks, barrels, and corpses floated on the surface. The dead bodies were warriors of the Mermaid Kingdom as well as navy men, adventurers, pirates, priests and alchemy warlocks from the human allied forces.
It was a nautical war of four kingdoms to determine the ruling power of the ocean. Would mermaids or humans triumph? Endless battleships lined up on the waters, big and small. They fired at each other ceaselessly.
The alchemy cannons flashed continuously. Flames burst out of the cannons, reaching a few yards. Flames and smoke painted the sky. The sea turned into a world of ruins and wreckage.
*Boom!*
A few dozen alchemy cannons all fired at the same time from an enormous battleship. The glare of the fire was blinding.
“Turn around! Turn around!” cried the mermaid warriors.
Mermaid Kingdom ships were destroyed, sinking into the madness.
“Crash into them! We shall fight to the death!” yelled another warrior.
A Koutao sahagin gunman had not quite finished loading when a cannonball destroyed the cabin wall and went straight through his head. Wood chips splintered across the cabin. The sahagin became a headless corpse lying on the floor. The battleship crashed into the enemy and cut through their ship. Water flooded into both ships, dragging them down into the sea.
Both above the sea surface and below, Koutao sahagins continued their attack on human ships and soldiers. They boarded the human’s ships and fought violently. Swords and knives flashed, cannons fired, Koutao sahagins wielded heavy tridents with their inborn strength. The number of human soldiers was just too large, however, and many of them were official knights with awakened blood.
“Kill! For the queen!” yelled the mermaids.
“Kill the fish monsters!” screamed the humans.
“Fire! Fire, now!”
“Priests? Where are the onboard priests?”
The alchemy cannons and battleships of the human kingdoms were much higher quality than those of the Mermaid Kingdom. The cannons had better ranges and the ships had a better carrying capability. The leading battleship of the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro, the Breath of the Dragon, had 100 alchemy cannons and three decks.
It was a monster in the sea. However, in a world full of supernatural powers, the focus of the battle was on the saints.
Sea monsters and Children of the Sea attacked the humans’ battleships under the control of the priests of the God of the Sea from the Mermaid Kingdom. The roaring of monsters echoed in the waters. In the sky, sirens with the bodies of hawks hovered over the sea, attacking humans.
Unfortunately, the Mermaid Kingdom still had fewer battleships, soldiers, alchemy cannons and far fewer saints. Even with the help of the Children of the Sea, the priests of the God of the Sea were drowned by the countless supernatural resources of the human alliance.
Wherever the Breath of the Dragon passed, battleships of the Mermaid Kingdom sank into the sea. Priests from the Church of Light stood on the Breath of the Dragon and cast group incantations, killing the Children of the Sea and the hovering sirens.
“Incantation, Punishment Ray!”
All the priests chanted the spell at the same time. Light shone from the Breath of the Dragon and ripped a steam starfish apart.
The steam starfish was hit by the light beam which instantly covered it in scars and wounds. Organs exploded and scattered over the sea. The blue blood tainted the surface of the water.
The fleet of the Mermaid Kingdom was destroyed. Those who weren’t killed fled, severely wounded. The human army did not pursue them but continued to kill the Koutao sahagins left in the water.
All ships from the Mermaid Kingdom sank or fled. Corpses and wreckage from both armies littered the surface along with huge bodies of sea monsters. It was a living hell.
“We have won!” the human soldiers yelled triumphantly. “Long live humans! Long live the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro!”
The soldiers of the human allied army exploded into cheers. They threw their hats, hugged each other and shot their guns in the sky. The Mermaid Kingdom had been defeated. The goddess of victory was on the side of humanity. Humans named this battle the First Sea Power Battle.
The three kingdoms continued to attack the island cities and stations of the Mermaid Kingdom. They sank all mermaid fleets and merchant ships. The mermaids had lost their control of the sea and were forced to give up their stations on the sea.
Without fleets, the Mermaid Kingdom lost its ability to go into the deep sea. They could only stay in the shallow waters. Their influence was limited to the Swirl Continent. They lost their ability to influence the sea and therefore lost the sea. They were now just a resource for humans to exploit. The Mermaid Kingdom was in grave danger.
