Chapter 215 - The Appearance of the Naga

Chapter 215: Chapter 203: The Appearance of the Naga"Baron, are you there?" someone from the Military Department of Diyalos City knocked on the door.

"What is it?" Lu Hong opened the door, Lock Fan was lying on the sofa, sound asleep after the continuous and rushed journey which had tired everyone out.

"It’s like this, our people spotted a group of scattered soldiers at Shallow Breath Lake and came to report to the Baron," the person from the Military Department left as quickly as he arrived, seemingly just to provide information.

Shallow Breath Lake? Lu Hong didn’t wake Lock Fan as he pulled out a map. Shallow Breath Lake, like the Salt Lake Sea near Jinhui City, was an extension of the Divine Grace Ocean inland.

Should we go?

Lu Hong was indecisive, now that it was clear someone was targeting him deliberately, the information this time might also be someone’s ploy to delay his arrival at Haiya City.

But the opponent’s move was quite precise; Shallow Breath Lake was not far, half a day was enough to get there.

If they set off now, even taking a detour, they could still reach their destination within the last deadline.

"Lock Fan, get up," Lu Hong kicked him awake.

"Huh? Didn’t you say rest for half a day? So soon?" Lock Fan rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"The Military Department provided information that this group of scattered soldiers is now gathering at Shallow Breath Lake."

Looking in the direction Lu Hong was pointing, Lock Fan said irritably, "This is definitely the enemy’s bait, boss, let’s not go."

"Let’s endure it and check it out, I want to see who is playing tricks behind the scenes."

"What if it turns out to be empty?" Lock Fan shrugged. "If they’re really there, it’s good, but if we find nothing, wouldn’t we be busy for nothing?"

"We can still make it in time to reach Haiya City, but everyone will have to endure a bit of hardship," Lu Hong said with a hint of apology on his face. "Sorry for dragging everyone into this."

"Heh." Lock Fan said, "What’s this? When I led them in the desert chasing bandits, we went several tens of days without sleep. Here’s what we’ll do: you go and get ready first, then go to the Military Department for more information. I’ll wake everyone up and prepare some stimulating potions to boost our spirits."

"Alright, thank you." Lu Hong patted Lock Fan on the shoulder, appreciating his reliable comrade.

An hour later, Lu Hong and the others gathered at the gate of Diyalos City and quickly set out towards Shallow Breath Lake.

Shallow Breath Lake, being close to the city outskirts, wasn’t a scenic spot for excursions, but the ferocious demon beasts had mostly been eradicated. Like the Salt Lake Sea, it was an extension of the ocean, but the water level was not high, the deepest part only reaching a person’s thigh.

Just as they arrived at the Salt Lake Sea, a waft of blood infiltrated Lu Hong’s nostrils from the wind.

"Everyone, be on your guard!" Lu Hong ordered sharply. "There seems to have been killings nearby."

"Killings?" Lock Fan also took out his weapon and carefully scanned the surroundings. "Does someone want to assassinate us?"

"Let’s not go too deep, just explore the situation."

"Okay." Lock Fan turned back to his comrades. "Everyone, be careful!"

As they ventured deeper, blood began to appear in the lake water; it was human blood.

"We should be close now, stay alert, and don’t let anyone ambush us."

Lu Hong walked in the forefront, tightly gripping his weapon, feeling uneasy about the unknown threat.

Ten minutes later, a small hill made of bodies suddenly appeared in front of everyone. From the clothes of the deceased, it was apparent they were the scattered soldiers from different planes.

"Murdered? Is someone trying to frame us?!" Lock Fan was both shocked and furious. "How can such a thing happen during the time the Empire is at war with the Snow Clan Nation?"

"It doesn’t seem so," Lu Hong carefully examined the bodies. "The wounds are not caused by swords, look at these three holes."

"Caused by a spear?" Lock Fan guessed.

Lu Hong shook his head. "Does your family’s spear make three holes side by side?"

Standing next to Lock Fan, Wei Yang suggested, "Could it be a trident then?"

Yes, a trident would most likely leave such wounds.

Wait! Lu Hong was startled. A trident?!

"Run! Retreat immediately!" Lu Hong shouted, and as his voice fell, a giant wave swept in.

Lock Fan reacted even faster than Lu Hong. "Earth Shield, Wall of the Earth!"

A pair of arms, conjured from earth elements, burst from the lake bed, firmly protecting them as the wave fiercely crashed against them, matching force with force!

"Dammit, the mastermind behind this has finally appeared," Lock Fan looked toward the figure slowly emerging from the lake, then froze: "Is that a demon beast?"

"No." Lock Fan’s face turned extremely grim. "They are Naga."

"Nana... Nana... Naga?" This was Lock Fan’s first encounter with these half-human, half-snake creatures with four arms.

As the Nagas emerged one by one, they shockingly discovered they were already surrounded by the enemy.

A six-armed Naga stepped forward and chuckled: "Didn’t expect someone here would actually recognize us?"

"Are you really Nagas?" Lock Fan asked solemnly. "Do you know that you are currently trespassing on the Sacred Empire’s territory?!"

"Sacred Empire?" The Naga sneered. "Soon, there will be no such damn Sacred Empire. The whole world will belong to the Sea Race!"

Faced with the Naga’s derisive laughter, Lu Hong sneered back, "Did you find the ’Tidal Orb’?"

"Huh?" The opponent’s laughter stopped abruptly. "How do you know about the Tidal Orb?"

"Not only do I know about the Tide Pearl, but I also know that your Naga Queen is about to give birth."

From the change in the other’s expression, it was clear that Lu Hong had guessed correctly.

"How do you know about the secrets of my sea tribe?" The Naga’s tone was icy cold. Apart from a few high-ranking Nagas, almost no one knew about the queen giving birth.

"Hehe."

Lu Hong’s cold laugh did not anger the other party. Instead, sheathing the weapons on her six arms, the Naga bowed slightly to Lu Hong, "I am Natias, the War God of the sea tribe. May I know your esteemed name?"

"Tukuru, Sacred Empire, Baron Yitian." The title of Earl had been approved by Konstantin, but the formal authorization ceremony had not yet taken place, so the title of Baron had not been updated.

"From duke to baron, your status is not very high," Natias said puzzledly. "But I don’t understand, you are just a baron, why do you know so much about the secrets of my sea tribe?"

"If I tell you, will you let us go?"

"Of course not, but your deaths will be quick," Natias pointed at a mountain of corpses and said. "Look, they died in great agony, these fools knew nothing at all."

They had been summoned from other dimensions; how could they know much about divine graces?

Lu Hong retracted his regretful gaze and said, "Then I have nothing to tell you."

"Seeking death!" Natias shouted, and a thousand sea tribe members behind him launched a fierce attack.

"Defend!" Lock Fan commanded, and thirty classmates coordinated perfectly, activating a triple-layered magic shield in an instant.

The Naga’s water arrow attacks broke through the first layer of defense but halted at the second layer.

Natias raised his swords high, and two streams of sword energy surged forward like breaking waves.

"Blood Cross Slash!" Lu Hong pushed forward solitary, and two beams of blood light emerged in response.

Lu Hong’s all-out strike posed no threat to Natias’s attack. The sword energy shattered the defense constructed by Lock Fan and the others, cutting dozens of classmates in half.

"Ahua!"

"Xiao Nu?!"

Faced with the sacrifice of close friends, the rest of the group’s anger surged to the skies, their eyes red with rage.

"Kill!"

"Avenger them!"

Lu Hong, driving his full energy, shouted, "Energy, Shock!"

Yin Hong’s Blood Wolf suddenly exploded, repelling the attacking Nagas.

"Don’t linger, run for your lives!" Lu Hong leaped forward, decapitating a Naga warrior with his sword, and tried to break through alongside Lock Fan.

Natias no longer continued to strike; after all, as a Third Transition Peak powerhouse, constantly bullying inferior youths was somewhat embarrassing. "Don’t let them escape, keep that baron alive for me, I have questions."

Under Natias’s command, a thousand Naga warriors surrounded them tightly. In the water, the Naga’s magic power linked to the ocean seemed inexhaustible.

Lu Hong and his people were at a disadvantage in terms of skill exchange.

"Bloodthirst, activate!" Lu Hong decisively activated the Bloodthirst Skill, hoping to break through the encirclement with the power of blood.

Natias pointed a finger, "Deep Sea Purification!"

Regardless of how Lu Hong tried to block, a drop of pure seawater still landed on his forehead, instantly breaking the Bloodthirst Skill.

The sea tribe, having been born in ancient times and with an unbroken lineage, knew the warrior profession better than any other race.

The method to break the Bloodthirst Skill was something Natias had read in ancient texts when he was very young.

Under attacks many times their own, Lu Hong watched as those around him fell one by one, the Naga’s tridents mercilessly harvesting their lives.

"No!" Lu Hong’s face contorted with rage, exposing a fatal flaw on his back as the Naga’s attack was imminent.

"Be careful, boss!" Di Mingyuan rushed forward, shielding him with his body from the lethal blow.

"Ming Yuan!" Lu Hong roared.

Di Mingyuan coughed out blood, weakly grabbing Lu Hong’s arm, "Boss... you... you must survive and leave!"

"Ming Yuan!" Lock Fan, too, was almost driven mad, his bond with his classmates even deeper than Lu Hong’s. With the death of many close friends, he was losing his mind.

"Dad!" Lock Fan wailed as the pendant on his chest shattered, and Lan Sa’s voice and image tried to cross from the twisted space.

"Scram!" Natias picked up his trident, and a bolt of lightning shot out.

Lan Sa, seemingly struck hard in the space, barely stretched out an arm and grabbed the blood-soaked Lock Fan, "Run!"

"No!" Lock Fan wailed loudly, struggling to free himself from his father’s grasp.

"Run!" Lu Hong repelled the attacking Naga and pushed Lock Fan. "You must avenge us."

"Boss!" Lock Fan’s calls faded with the twisting space. But Natias seemed not willing to let the fleeing Lock Fan escape; powered by magic, the trident glowed blue and brutally stabbed into the spatial rift.

The immense impact sent Lu Hong flying a hundred meters, plunging into the lake.

At that point, Lock Fan’s fate was unknown, and besides Lu Hong, Shallow Breath Lake had no other survivors.